Within like 10 hours, both Intellijel and Pittsburgh Modular hunted me down with their amazing customer service and asked to fix the issues I mentioned. So for what it's worth, I should have said this in the video: Every company has defective modules, I was just too lazy to do anything about them. I'll be happy to finally have the Plonk experience everyone is raving about. :)
Glad you are getting love on the Plonk. I love this module. It is near and dear to my heart as a percussionist. This module along with Rings, Plaits, and Basimilus Iteritas Alter allow me to humanize the beats that I create. In fact, there are times when I feel I am playing my congas alongside the modular system.
SV-1 was my first foray into modular and the used unit I bought had a defective ADSR. Pittsburgh was super helpful and quick fixing it and modding it into a glorified SV-1B. Love those folks, amazing customer service.
I'm a metal guitarist with zero knowledge of anything electronic music related, but I still always watch your videos because your content is incredibly interesting and fun to watch.
I named my octatrack "Old Greg" because it kidnapped me against my will and forced me to love it and now I'm drinking Bailey's at the bottom of the ocean with Old Greg and the funk.
Great to see the Pittsburgh filter get love. I've had one forever and it sounds great on literally everything but I especially love running guitar through it, set as a notch filter with cranked Q and some slow smooth modulating CV on the cutoff.
WHOA HOLD THE PHONE.... I've only had a few of your videos pop up which I passively watched while working or soldering a module or whatever and... You're The Flashbulb?!?! I'm sorry for being embarrassingly late to the party but... I just can't even believe that. Thank you so much for making music I've listened to a whole lot and for making great videos!
@ 1:08 u can see the module he tried to hide from us. its just the empress effects zoia guitar pedal in a eurorack module. it was already shown on some other namm
Wait- You're The Flashbulb? No shit! It Pours is a track that I constantly recall and replay. Just incredible atmosphere, stirs up the distant emotions. Amazing work.
It's a little unfair - and probably illegal to be this good at so many flavors of music, this charming, this well-informed, well-spoken, good looking and funny... but hey, we're all richer for it. So more power to him :) (Plus, from what he's saying and doing - he's got a big old heart and a sense of ethics to be proud of).
I've been a synth guy for a couple of years now - but after this video, I myself feel surprisingly dense. (Modular seems like almost a different world of electronic music-making still)
I kinda feel you on the 4MS spectral multiband resonator. I have the 4MS spherical wavetable navigator and it's a beautiful module but only seems to have a limited sound range, kinda like an ice cream truck. But I live the arpeggiator function. I could listen to it for hours. I'm kind of surprised you'd sell the Mother 32. It's a classic. I agree with you on the DFAM. I use it as a synth, not a drum machine. And I wouldn't trade it either. My next purchase will probably be the Doepfer A-111-4 quad vco because it's an awesome module and I see it now comes in black :D
Synth is like another planet compared to a fretboard. This kind of content clickbait/dinner does not matter. It amazes me how one does not get overwhelmed by these setups, as well being able to create entire musical compositions without getting distracted by the amount of choice or even limitation. Much respect.
Feel you on the SMR. It's such a cool and complex module but despite putting a lot of effort into it, I came to the same conclusion. What I use it for most is running the output near the end of a signal chain into it and using the envelopes generated by the SMR to modulate the original sound source, so the patch is modulating itself. It makes for some very organic and subtle modulation, especially on a module like rings.
I really appreciate that you did an "everything I own" video. I wish everyone did. It's tempting to think people uploading TH-cam videos have every module ever made, and can get frustrating knowing you can't actually do that. It's nice to see that with, even you, there's a limit. You have a LOT of modules, but it's nice to remind myself that you also DON'T have some. Sounds simplistic and childish I know. But I guess it's a psychological intimidation factor and your honesty gives me a more reasonable estimate of reality outside of my own imagined exaggerations. THANKS
Rings!! Yay! 😆 I started about a year ago and slowly building, up to 5 currently. Rings was my first module, the went for a midi to cv to use it with a keyboard lol. I still love it. The Disting is one of my other modules which I think it’s a great module when starting out cause it will let you try all kinds of things with your other modules and see what things to go for in the future 😜. Thanks for the input!!
This was great. I've been looking into starting a modular setup and I've been overwhelmed by a lot of the different things out there. This showed me what a lot of things do better than 20 minute videos of some guy going "umm" and "uhh" while he tries to overexplain a single item.
The module he could not show is the empress euroburo, the eurorack version of the zoia. Very happy to see this module in a rack because I was beginning to think Empress abandoned it!
i was surprised about your take on the disting, i have a way smaller system so it really works great as that swiss army knife turning my case into anything really.
Thanks for this. I cringe at most advice-giving videos and forum posts and only really respond to posts like this - someone talking about the choices they've made for themselves and what they themselves get out of those choices. Great video.
Love the shirt! Video's great too, I appreciate you going over how much you use each module and whether you'd keep it or not, that's helpful to know now that I've started my own rack and am looking into ways to better fill out my system.
Love the videos man, keep 'em coming! One thing I'd like to contribute about "true" modular vs. VCV Rack - my brain has this pathological need to follow some set of "rules" or patterns. One of my biggest loves about using VCV Rack is that I can't just keep using the same patch over and over and just modifying it a little, like I would if I had an actual modular setup. If I didn't unplug all the cables at the end of the day (extra work), I'd sit back down the next time and maybe make a couple of changes, play around, leave, come back, wash rinse repeat. With VCV Rack I'm forced to come up with new patches effectively every time I sit down which means that I can force my brain to be creative despite it wanting to be extremely lazy/efficient. Either way, this video gave me some more info about the Mutable modules that I will be able to take into VCV Rack, so thank you very much!
Interesting video. I feel cheated on that I just found out about your channel. I enjoy your viewpoints! I also enjoy watching people bleep-bloop their modular gear, but I've never been interested in owning any. At this stage of my life, I just don't have the mental energy or motivation to spend time experimenting with so many sound possibilities. I'd have to be immortal in order to feel that time is on my side for going down that modular rabbit hole, ha-ha! I do feel some odd pleasure and reward seeing people tweak and noodle their modular setups, but for me, my traditional subtractive and FM synths offer enough sound possibilities to last me the heartbeats I have left.
You can cover it up all you want but I can just FEEL that beautiful colored button grid under there! That will be a very... Empressive module for sure.
A neat little module i just found is the Muta Jovis from Noise Engineering. I snagged 2 when they were on sale and initially thought they were plain old mutes, but they also function as buffered downstream mults. pretty cool for < $100
It is more overwhelming than intimidating. I was lucky to be poor af when I got into it so I couldn't buy anything, I just studied how it worked for a year and a half before buying my first modules and for me, that was a really great way to get into it
yes please think that :D I got into it in August, thinking I will gradually build up, maybe a module a month or so. It all went downhill with a full 104hp and another 84hp racks now full. It's a trap
1010 toolbox is worth every cent. I got rid of my steppy, mimetic digitalis and a couple utils modules for this. Its 26 hp with a flip able touchscreen.
There's many alternatives to Maths. Frap Tools Falistri was the best fit for me. Then there's R*S Serge DUSG, Cosmotronic Delta-V(cheap and small), Ritual Electronics Anima, Befaco Rampage, Sin Phi Miasma, Addac 506 - and more. They all have their own take on the concept. I think I will get 2x Contour 1 + Compare 2 for my second "Maths".
agreed, i use both a DIY miasma and an elby VCS which is an old style serge slope generator. the joranalogue range looks amazing. as does the frap tools range!
The different parts of Maths are easy to replace, but I don’t think any other module offers straight up replacement for the combination on dual function generators, attenuverters, mixing and logic. It’s not irreplaceable but for a smaller systems it is pretty damn dense in it’s functionality while stile remaining ergonomic to patch and play. I once toyed with the idea of replacing my Maths with Rampage and Cold Mac, but there the Maths still stands in my case (Cold Mac too, though). I actually would prefer the Rampage as a pure function generator, R*S DUSG too, but all the other clever stuff added in makes Maths a winner for me.
@@MrQurutin Yeah if you want the exact features of a Maths then getting a Maths is best. The point is that there is a variety of takes on the same concept and some of them might have a better/more interesting feature set for a specific setup. That said Maths is still excellent.
Contour 1 is cool and i love being able to bend the slopes independently. But it's a lot easier to dial in musically pleasing timings with Function and/or Maths. Personally I prefer Mini Slew bc of the attenuverter on the output (without the hp cost of maths) and ability to lock the time before bending slope, but something about Function just tends to be easier to find envelope sweet spots.
Hi Benn! I know this is an old video, but with Mutable Instruments sadly sunsetting, I have a MI-related question based on a couple of your modules here. I'm also new to modular, so pardon any obliviousness. Two of your keepers here are Elements, and Rings. I picked up Rings, having already been convinced by some other deep dives. You say of Elements that you use it in (at the time) 70% of your patches, and you note its range and versatility. Later you mention Rings, which is derived from Elements, but say you use it 30% of the time as it's a 'unique sound' (meaning identifiable?) So, my question is, can you say any more about the difference between Elements and Rings in terms of their sonic character and range, and why? And, can you speculate at all about use cases in which Elements and Rings are used side by side, perhaps even feeding into one-another? Thanks for any thoughts whatsoever! (Also, given your appreciation for Mutable Instruments, I'd love to see you do a video demo of just MI units 'for posterity'.
I always felt the same way about naming instruments, and calling it Subway is hilarious. Oh, I was listening to the Empress Bass Compressor demos, and you are incredibly skilled!
you should never give away the 4ms spectral resonator. once you find out what this monster can do you never ever give it away. its like maths..... you aiways find new stuff to do with it. great manual, too! but i must confess its a damn complex module!!!
I got the 4ms STS and it's cool but as you I never use it for sampling. Also find the button combos a bit silly. I recently got the Erica Drum Sample and find it much easier, intuitive, fun to use, does not click or pop as much, takes less space and is more playable. I will however still keep the STS.
Pity, the Disting Mk4 makes a nice very long sample player, playing stereo loops that hours long is no problem for it. The clocked and scrub modes for sample playback are also fun. of course setting up an SD card with all the things you might want to do with it is the prep work you have to invest in order to do much with this module.
Great video and as someone who plunged deep into Eurorack modular last year, Mutable Instruments are some of my favorite modules that do a lot, sound great and are fun to use. In fact with Plaits into Beads (Clouds v2) into Rings into Marbles gets me into ambient nirvana and so much more. Plus I love the cool toys and swag that come with each Mutable Instruments module. Sorry to hear about your issues with Plonk. I've had Plonk for a year and love it sounds great and lots of CV to patch it.
Nice one, Benn! If there's one module I'd recommend, it would be the Doepfer A-124 Wasp filter. The dirtiest filter resonance I know, for a very fair price.
The Disting mk4 is sooo good, send a clock to x and use it's Euclidian sequencer or clockable LFO, it's a great extension to the rample by adding 2 more triggered sample (works pretty much the same as rample) Oh and its got great reverb and delay...
Surprised you were gonna get rid of your Mother-32. Not keeping it even for the delicious Moog filter? Admittedly, I think that's what I use it most of the time for. I agree with your view on Expert Sleeper's Disting, but the new Disting EX solves a lot of the UI issues - still plenty of menu diving and constant manual check, but it's extremely powerful. Can even produce multi-sampled libraries of your other instruments, and it has a built-in Dream Machine (I'll let you research that). Also, no Marbles from Mutable? Anyway - one of the most interesting videos - perfect speed, perfect jargon :) Is there a final tally of what's on the top and bottom? Do you have a Modular Grid account?
I've found great ways of using the 4ms SMR for drones that doesn't sound like an icecream truck. Using an ochd I have each voice's volume go up and down in a de-synchronized way, then sufficienty distort the voices with delays/reverbs/distortion. The result is an ever morphing ambient drone.
So many cool features, but I've never fallen in love with the Disting. I've owned three Distings and always end up selling them. I don't love the interface. I guess I just prefer a dedicated module to a multipurpose. Love my Little Mikey, though. Wouldn't sell that for the world.
I am intrigued by the difference between Ornament and Crime, the Disting MK 4 and the ES-8. To me all 3 are very interchangeable, with varying degree of tune. The Disting is too hard to use. I get it, the new Ex Alpha is useable from the interface on the screen. The ES-8 Try connecting it to a computer, and call up VCV, Softube, Cherry any of the virtual modulars and connect its I/O to the ES-8, then you have a multiplier of things that can benefit your modular that are not necessarily better if analog. Circadian Rhythms for instance, or any clock function. (Because you asked at the end. :) Great video mate! Such an easy to get layout of your racks. Loved it.
A modular is a personal instrument. I am more old school in terms of single function modules. I don’t have any patchable synths in my rack, though I do have a Minibrute 2S on the table in front of my main system. These days stuff comes in but almost nothing goes out.
well darn I use the disting in 100% of my patches I was actually pretty sad to see you never use it. the interface is difficult to navigate through but I usually use it for the effect algorithms (chorus, reverb, delay, phaser) which are all fairly simple to find and use. that said, if you still find it difficult, the disting ex has a much better screen and is basically two distings in one. highly recommend looking into that if you haven't already!
I do use my disting, but because I'm poor and my Neutron needs friends. You'd probably find more use out of Disting EX, with better interface and algorithms, and with a dual disting mk4 mode you probably wouldn't use (but who knows?). However I don't think you NEED a Disting with a case this big with stil some room, and being able to afford getting new modules if needed.
I have the same thoughts. Disting is great for its size and price and shines particularly in a smaller setup. I had numerous situations where I needed a functionality in a patch and Disting already could do this, so it saved me a lot of money. ;)
@@BennJordan it might be a power issue. I have the module and found it to be extremely unreliable until a picked up a Make Noise powered Skiff with a beefier power supply than my 4ms pods. The Nebulae works perfectly in that rack. I once moved it out and back into a pod and it started acting up again. I don’t know enough about the various power bricks but this is the only module I have that can’t move between my different power sources. That said, I often wish I’d gotten the Arbhar or Morphagene instead. However, only the Nebulae will let you change speed without changing pitch which I have often found very useful.
Looking at your video my attention was drawn to the Doepfer A-152. Could you show in a video how you use this module? I'm considering on purchasing one, but I'm not sure if I'm then just adding redundant functions to my rack. I already have an A-151 sequential switch and a A-149-1/2 source of uncertainty with random gates out. So, I'm really curious to your way of using the A-152.
![Moog, Retailers, And Clones [Op-ed]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PyA7XnqdufI/mqdefault.jpg)
Within like 10 hours, both Intellijel and Pittsburgh Modular hunted me down with their amazing customer service and asked to fix the issues I mentioned. So for what it's worth, I should have said this in the video: Every company has defective modules, I was just too lazy to do anything about them. I'll be happy to finally have the Plonk experience everyone is raving about. :)
Yea, but you voided the warranty on Clouds when you loaded 3rd party firmware...oh wait this isn't Korg or Roland.
the 'embarrasing brand'-solution is great!
and please give the poor disting some love ;_;
Glad you are getting love on the Plonk. I love this module. It is near and dear to my heart as a percussionist. This module along with Rings, Plaits, and Basimilus Iteritas Alter allow me to humanize the beats that I create. In fact, there are times when I feel I am playing my congas alongside the modular system.
My experience with Pittsburgh Modular has always been stellar. They really care for their customers.
SV-1 was my first foray into modular and the used unit I bought had a defective ADSR. Pittsburgh was super helpful and quick fixing it and modding it into a glorified SV-1B. Love those folks, amazing customer service.
I'm a metal guitarist with zero knowledge of anything electronic music related, but I still always watch your videos because your content is incredibly interesting and fun to watch.
That's how I started. If you play guitar and get the feeling that you want a lot more pedals than you need, you're probably a synth guy.
@@georgescdoodle I wonder if that's how some electronic artists start out.
@@georgescdoodle That's how I started
@@georgescdoodle right on the mark.
Same! Lol
I named my octatrack "Old Greg" because it kidnapped me against my will and forced me to love it and now I'm drinking Bailey's at the bottom of the ocean with Old Greg and the funk.
want to go to a club where people wee on each other?
And force you to watch endless British Bake-Off
OG: I like you. What do you think of me?
HM: I don’t rightly know, sir.
OG: Make an assessment.
HM: I think you’re a nice modern gentleman.
made my day
Great to see the Pittsburgh filter get love. I've had one forever and it sounds great on literally everything but I especially love running guitar through it, set as a notch filter with cranked Q and some slow smooth modulating CV on the cutoff.
I had a disting in my case for a little bit before I finally busted the manual open and started using it. Very worth.
WHOA HOLD THE PHONE.... I've only had a few of your videos pop up which I passively watched while working or soldering a module or whatever and... You're The Flashbulb?!?! I'm sorry for being embarrassingly late to the party but... I just can't even believe that. Thank you so much for making music I've listened to a whole lot and for making great videos!
@ 1:08 u can see the module he tried to hide from us. its just the empress effects zoia guitar pedal in a eurorack module. it was already shown on some other namm
Wait- You're The Flashbulb? No shit! It Pours is a track that I constantly recall and replay. Just incredible atmosphere, stirs up the distant emotions. Amazing work.
Benn has such an inspiring personality
It's a little unfair - and probably illegal to be this good at so many flavors of music, this charming, this well-informed, well-spoken, good looking and funny... but hey, we're all richer for it. So more power to him :) (Plus, from what he's saying and doing - he's got a big old heart and a sense of ethics to be proud of).
This video is surprisingly informative and dense. Thanks Ben!
I've been a synth guy for a couple of years now - but after this video, I myself feel surprisingly dense.
(Modular seems like almost a different world of electronic music-making still)
Hey nice to see one of my modules here. That is a very old .BAM!
Nice to see an honest and non-gearlusty rig walkthrough for a change!
I kinda feel you on the 4MS spectral multiband resonator. I have the 4MS spherical wavetable navigator and it's a beautiful module but only seems to have a limited sound range, kinda like an ice cream truck. But I live the arpeggiator function. I could listen to it for hours. I'm kind of surprised you'd sell the Mother 32. It's a classic. I agree with you on the DFAM. I use it as a synth, not a drum machine. And I wouldn't trade it either. My next purchase will probably be the Doepfer A-111-4 quad vco because it's an awesome module and I see it now comes in black :D
Great Work! Love your setup!
Synth is like another planet compared to a fretboard. This kind of content clickbait/dinner does not matter. It amazes me how one does not get overwhelmed by these setups, as well being able to create entire musical compositions without getting distracted by the amount of choice or even limitation.
Much respect.
It’s like a pedalboard. You can get distracted, it’s up to you.
This really shows how underrated Doepfer stuff is. Sure, it's not THAT interesting, but they are all so useful and straight forward, very inspiring.
Doepfer is great for all around build quality and price. Ladik is also another great company.
Intellijel is similar, it's why I like them (that and 🇨🇦🇨🇦)
Feel you on the SMR. It's such a cool and complex module but despite putting a lot of effort into it, I came to the same conclusion. What I use it for most is running the output near the end of a signal chain into it and using the envelopes generated by the SMR to modulate the original sound source, so the patch is modulating itself. It makes for some very organic and subtle modulation, especially on a module like rings.
I really appreciate that you did an "everything I own" video. I wish everyone did. It's tempting to think people uploading TH-cam videos have every module ever made, and can get frustrating knowing you can't actually do that. It's nice to see that with, even you, there's a limit. You have a LOT of modules, but it's nice to remind myself that you also DON'T have some. Sounds simplistic and childish I know. But I guess it's a psychological intimidation factor and your honesty gives me a more reasonable estimate of reality outside of my own imagined exaggerations. THANKS
Rings!! Yay! 😆 I started about a year ago and slowly building, up to 5 currently. Rings was my first module, the went for a midi to cv to use it with a keyboard lol. I still love it.
The Disting is one of my other modules which I think it’s a great module when starting out cause it will let you try all kinds of things with your other modules and see what things to go for in the future 😜.
Thanks for the input!!
Lol, Benn!! That “Well Hi” was a spot on impression of that adorable cat. Big props. I don’t do modular, but you got my like and view just for that 😂
This was great. I've been looking into starting a modular setup and I've been overwhelmed by a lot of the different things out there. This showed me what a lot of things do better than 20 minute videos of some guy going "umm" and "uhh" while he tries to overexplain a single item.
Great vid. Dude, I love the nebulae and the sts. Especially with samples of sitar’s, violins and kotos. Into clouds, your away.
That unreleased module looks like a Euroboro but I could be wrong off a quick glance :). Fun overview!
The module he could not show is the empress euroburo, the eurorack version of the zoia. Very happy to see this module in a rack because I was beginning to think Empress abandoned it!
i was surprised about your take on the disting, i have a way smaller system so it really works great as that swiss army knife turning my case into anything really.
Your videos just get better and better i swear.
The new Acid Rain Technology Maestro looks really cool. I haven't bought a new module in awhile either but that definitely looks interesting.
“ice-cream-trucky sound” is my new favourite phrase.
im just glad i picked pretty much the same coremodules :DD good to hear you keep them haha. elements rings etc
Thanks for this. I cringe at most advice-giving videos and forum posts and only really respond to posts like this - someone talking about the choices they've made for themselves and what they themselves get out of those choices. Great video.
I loved this video, being in modular for a good 10 years I can say I will never trade a module!
Love the shirt! Video's great too, I appreciate you going over how much you use each module and whether you'd keep it or not, that's helpful to know now that I've started my own rack and am looking into ways to better fill out my system.
Ice cream truckee sound? Ok. THAT is brill!
I _love_ the A-152, would love to see how you use it. The T&H is so much fun to mess with.
So I had no idea you had a youtube channel until this randomly popped up. Love you Flashbulb, cant wait to see you live again.
So what was the secret module?
Love the videos man, keep 'em coming! One thing I'd like to contribute about "true" modular vs. VCV Rack - my brain has this pathological need to follow some set of "rules" or patterns. One of my biggest loves about using VCV Rack is that I can't just keep using the same patch over and over and just modifying it a little, like I would if I had an actual modular setup. If I didn't unplug all the cables at the end of the day (extra work), I'd sit back down the next time and maybe make a couple of changes, play around, leave, come back, wash rinse repeat. With VCV Rack I'm forced to come up with new patches effectively every time I sit down which means that I can force my brain to be creative despite it wanting to be extremely lazy/efficient. Either way, this video gave me some more info about the Mutable modules that I will be able to take into VCV Rack, so thank you very much!
Interesting video. I feel cheated on that I just found out about your channel. I enjoy your viewpoints! I also enjoy watching people bleep-bloop their modular gear, but I've never been interested in owning any. At this stage of my life, I just don't have the mental energy or motivation to spend time experimenting with so many sound possibilities. I'd have to be immortal in order to feel that time is on my side for going down that modular rabbit hole, ha-ha! I do feel some odd pleasure and reward seeing people tweak and noodle their modular setups, but for me, my traditional subtractive and FM synths offer enough sound possibilities to last me the heartbeats I have left.
your video filters are quite soothing to the eyes
Great video, would love watch this for hours from many peoples systems.
Thank you bro. I been enjoying your videos lately. I relate to a lot of your stuff
Great video very clean way of looking at used/not used gear.
You can cover it up all you want but I can just FEEL that beautiful colored button grid under there! That will be a very... Empressive module for sure.
Yes, this.
A neat little module i just found is the Muta Jovis from Noise Engineering. I snagged 2 when they were on sale and initially thought they were plain old mutes, but they also function as buffered downstream mults. pretty cool for < $100
"well, hyYiiiiye!" liked instantly. Love you.
Extremely great video. The New Sound Agency is listening...
I like this criteria of "would I trade it" ..good way to winnow down to the essentials.
Yes yes yes on that Cribs camera work dude
Modular synthesis just seems like such an intimidating medium to get into
It is more overwhelming than intimidating. I was lucky to be poor af when I got into it so I couldn't buy anything, I just studied how it worked for a year and a half before buying my first modules and for me, that was a really great way to get into it
If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to answer them
You can try it out though on iOS there are quite a few apps, for example miRack. There you can learn the ropes and try out what tons of modules.
Try VCV rack, it's free.
yes please think that :D I got into it in August, thinking I will gradually build up, maybe a module a month or so. It all went downhill with a full 104hp and another 84hp racks now full. It's a trap
Cool to see you using the doepfer a143-1. It is one of my favourite modules.
1010 toolbox is worth every cent. I got rid of my steppy, mimetic digitalis and a couple utils modules for this. Its 26 hp with a flip able touchscreen.
Actually laughed out loud at click dinner. And the quick closeup made it hit even better.
I LITERALLY put this vid on while eating jimmy john's
Fantastic video Benn, very interesting and useful to compare my thoughts and feelings to what others think about their same modules...
There's many alternatives to Maths. Frap Tools Falistri was the best fit for me. Then there's R*S Serge DUSG, Cosmotronic Delta-V(cheap and small), Ritual Electronics Anima, Befaco Rampage, Sin Phi Miasma, Addac 506 - and more. They all have their own take on the concept. I think I will get 2x Contour 1 + Compare 2 for my second "Maths".
agreed, i use both a DIY miasma and an elby VCS which is an old style serge slope generator. the joranalogue range looks amazing. as does the frap tools range!
The different parts of Maths are easy to replace, but I don’t think any other module offers straight up replacement for the combination on dual function generators, attenuverters, mixing and logic. It’s not irreplaceable but for a smaller systems it is pretty damn dense in it’s functionality while stile remaining ergonomic to patch and play. I once toyed with the idea of replacing my Maths with Rampage and Cold Mac, but there the Maths still stands in my case (Cold Mac too, though). I actually would prefer the Rampage as a pure function generator, R*S DUSG too, but all the other clever stuff added in makes Maths a winner for me.
@@MrQurutin Yeah if you want the exact features of a Maths then getting a Maths is best. The point is that there is a variety of takes on the same concept and some of them might have a better/more interesting feature set for a specific setup. That said Maths is still excellent.
The VCAs on the Delta-V are a fantastic convenience
Contour 1 is cool and i love being able to bend the slopes independently. But it's a lot easier to dial in musically pleasing timings with Function and/or Maths. Personally I prefer Mini Slew bc of the attenuverter on the output (without the hp cost of maths) and ability to lock the time before bending slope, but something about Function just tends to be easier to find envelope sweet spots.
Hi Benn! I know this is an old video, but with Mutable Instruments sadly sunsetting, I have a MI-related question based on a couple of your modules here. I'm also new to modular, so pardon any obliviousness. Two of your keepers here are Elements, and Rings. I picked up Rings, having already been convinced by some other deep dives. You say of Elements that you use it in (at the time) 70% of your patches, and you note its range and versatility. Later you mention Rings, which is derived from Elements, but say you use it 30% of the time as it's a 'unique sound' (meaning identifiable?) So, my question is, can you say any more about the difference between Elements and Rings in terms of their sonic character and range, and why? And, can you speculate at all about use cases in which Elements and Rings are used side by side, perhaps even feeding into one-another? Thanks for any thoughts whatsoever! (Also, given your appreciation for Mutable Instruments, I'd love to see you do a video demo of just MI units 'for posterity'.
Hey Benn, you should check out some modules similar to Maths like the Befaco Rampage and the Frap Tools Falistri
Genuinely love your humour.
Very interesting, I like the way how you describe each modules
Thanks
Befaco rampage is comparable and I love pairing it with maths for chaining modulation
Ok, I asked 4 months ago, but now I'm DYING to know what that mystery module that was "coming out very soon" was!
I always felt the same way about naming instruments, and calling it Subway is hilarious. Oh, I was listening to the Empress Bass Compressor demos, and you are incredibly skilled!
you should never give away the 4ms spectral resonator. once you find out what this monster can do you never ever give it away. its like maths..... you aiways find new stuff to do with it. great manual, too! but i must confess its a damn complex module!!!
I got the 4ms STS and it's cool but as you I never use it for sampling. Also find the button combos a bit silly. I recently got the Erica Drum Sample and find it much easier, intuitive, fun to use, does not click or pop as much, takes less space and is more playable. I will however still keep the STS.
I think now I just watch these videos for the humor. That Seinfeld bit in the "Ready To Go Modular?" video, I'll never forget it
Sell the distink mk4 and get the super ex disting, the screen is readable!
I have no idea what a Module does but this was an incredibly entertaining video and I'll definitely learn what a Module does now
Download VCV rack. It is the same, you can actually use all of those mutable instruments modules, and it's free.
This was really cool to watch as someone with lots of classic synth knowledge but no eurorack experience!
Pity, the Disting Mk4 makes a nice very long sample player, playing stereo loops that hours long is no problem for it. The clocked and scrub modes for sample playback are also fun. of course setting up an SD card with all the things you might want to do with it is the prep work you have to invest in order to do much with this module.
Did the unreleased module towards the end ever come out?
Best synth of 2020...
I pad - modular.
I sent my sv-1 to pittsburgh for the oscillator stability update and asked them to reduce the fine tune knob range to half, which helped me a lot.
Great video and as someone who plunged deep into Eurorack modular last year, Mutable Instruments are some of my favorite modules that do a lot, sound great and are fun to use. In fact with Plaits into Beads (Clouds v2) into Rings into Marbles gets me into ambient nirvana and so much more. Plus I love the cool toys and swag that come with each Mutable Instruments module. Sorry to hear about your issues with Plonk. I've had Plonk for a year and love it sounds great and lots of CV to patch it.
I ordered a behringer neutron as my first modular/semimodular experience. It’s hasn’t arrived yet but I’m excited to get it.
Could you go over how exactly you use your o_C's? I struggle with those modules.
Nice one, Benn! If there's one module I'd recommend, it would be the Doepfer A-124 Wasp filter. The dirtiest filter resonance I know, for a very fair price.
The Disting mk4 is sooo good, send a clock to x and use it's Euclidian sequencer or clockable LFO, it's a great extension to the rample by adding 2 more triggered sample (works pretty much the same as rample) Oh and its got great reverb and delay...
16:30 wait holy shit this dude is the dude from Flashbulb?!
Yes
Lol we don't understand the question. 😘
Surprised you were gonna get rid of your Mother-32. Not keeping it even for the delicious Moog filter? Admittedly, I think that's what I use it most of the time for. I agree with your view on Expert Sleeper's Disting, but the new Disting EX solves a lot of the UI issues - still plenty of menu diving and constant manual check, but it's extremely powerful. Can even produce multi-sampled libraries of your other instruments, and it has a built-in Dream Machine (I'll let you research that). Also, no Marbles from Mutable? Anyway - one of the most interesting videos - perfect speed, perfect jargon :) Is there a final tally of what's on the top and bottom? Do you have a Modular Grid account?
I've found great ways of using the 4ms SMR for drones that doesn't sound like an icecream truck. Using an ochd I have each voice's volume go up and down in a de-synchronized way, then sufficienty distort the voices with delays/reverbs/distortion. The result is an ever morphing ambient drone.
thanks for finally doing this, and done well - useful info from a seasoned musician :)
I feel like you're technically soliciting trades in this video which is amusing somehow
Thought the same thing xd. Do a video in the same format for hardware mixing tools ei. Compressors. Eqs
that sounds like a term of art. does it mean something specific? "soliciting trades", something to do with stock?
Oh no I meant it sounds like he's telling us what modules he wants to trade out of system, implying we should make him offers! Haha
Cool video and the way you presented was very helpful. Thanks!
Agree 85%, but it's time to dive into Disting Benn.
hard agree with benn. when you're wasting time menu diving instead of patching; you're losing.
@@toiletfriend420 toilet friend? hmmm. have fun.
So many cool features, but I've never fallen in love with the Disting. I've owned three Distings and always end up selling them. I don't love the interface. I guess I just prefer a dedicated module to a multipurpose. Love my Little Mikey, though. Wouldn't sell that for the world.
warps is the perfect secret sauce module imo. great for gently coloring boring patches with the capability to get real weird on command
just great stuff here. thanks for showing, really enjoyed your presentation! groove on
That was very useful, very entertaining and (thankfully) very different from everything euro related I ever saw! Super cool!
I am intrigued by the difference between Ornament and Crime, the Disting MK 4 and the ES-8. To me all 3 are very interchangeable, with varying degree of tune. The Disting is too hard to use. I get it, the new Ex Alpha is useable from the interface on the screen. The ES-8 Try connecting it to a computer, and call up VCV, Softube, Cherry any of the virtual modulars and connect its I/O to the ES-8, then you have a multiplier of things that can benefit your modular that are not necessarily better if analog. Circadian Rhythms for instance, or any clock function. (Because you asked at the end. :) Great video mate! Such an easy to get layout of your racks. Loved it.
just wanna say before watching that.... I need a video like this
southern cat: "well hi" ..
A modular is a personal instrument. I am more old school in terms of single function modules. I don’t have any patchable synths in my rack, though I do have a Minibrute 2S on the table in front of my main system. These days stuff comes in but almost nothing goes out.
Great video! I’d love to see more modular content 🤓
15:00 I look forward to your video on Clouds 2. I'm so happy you stan MI.
well darn I use the disting in 100% of my patches I was actually pretty sad to see you never use it. the interface is difficult to navigate through but I usually use it for the effect algorithms (chorus, reverb, delay, phaser) which are all fairly simple to find and use. that said, if you still find it difficult, the disting ex has a much better screen and is basically two distings in one. highly recommend looking into that if you haven't already!
It's definitely the eurorack version of the empress zoia
Is it an v2 of the euroburo? I thought that was already out/announced...
@@jonathaninnes4124 i think it's announced but not officially released yet.
@@256k_ looks like it, I was sure I had seen videos of it nearly a year ago. Weird he wouldn't show it, there's a few demos of it already on YT.
Yup.
It did look like Zoia, was it ever announced? I've left several comments asking for an update but haven't heard anything!
Benn Johnson and Tinez collaborate. The Universe resets, we suffer but the greater good is achieved.
I do use my disting, but because I'm poor and my Neutron needs friends. You'd probably find more use out of Disting EX, with better interface and algorithms, and with a dual disting mk4 mode you probably wouldn't use (but who knows?). However I don't think you NEED a Disting with a case this big with stil some room, and being able to afford getting new modules if needed.
I have the same thoughts. Disting is great for its size and price and shines particularly in a smaller setup. I had numerous situations where I needed a functionality in a patch and Disting already could do this, so it saved me a lot of money. ;)
9:00 Nebulae doesn't output audio because its set to listen to inputs and record into live buffer. Turn off source button.
Oh I did 😅 what you don't see is the 5 minutes troubleshooting before just moving on
@@BennJordan it might be a power issue. I have the module and found it to be extremely unreliable until a picked up a Make Noise powered Skiff with a beefier power supply than my 4ms pods. The Nebulae works perfectly in that rack. I once moved it out and back into a pod and it started acting up again. I don’t know enough about the various power bricks but this is the only module I have that can’t move between my different power sources. That said, I often wish I’d gotten the Arbhar or Morphagene instead. However, only the Nebulae will let you change speed without changing pitch which I have often found very useful.
Pity you can’t get it work ... given it can run pd, csound and supercollider patches , I’d have thought it be up your alley.
Of course you haven't added a module in 6 months. YOU HAVE THEM ALL. Hahah, Awesome video brother.
Looking at your video my attention was drawn to the Doepfer A-152. Could you show in a video how you use this module? I'm considering on purchasing one, but I'm not sure if I'm then just adding redundant functions to my rack. I already have an A-151 sequential switch and a A-149-1/2 source of uncertainty with random gates out. So, I'm really curious to your way of using the A-152.