Expression and animation options

[hawkfuzz]

I've grown tired of the programmed patch and simple knob twist. I need some real time playability.

I love the Hydrasynth for the expressive nature with poly AT when playing. I'll twist knobs when jamming on my modular but I'm missing the connection I get from guitar and the hyrdra.

I've seen some knob recorders and CV recorders and some tactile things.

What do you find yourselves using to give your patches live control and engagement?

[PolarIceCaves]

I’ve been interested in this as well. This Softwire Synthesis module, Press, comes to mind.

Allows for nice expressive cv creation I’d assume.

[GuyaGuy]

Tetrapad + Tête is great for this. They can be controllers, motion recorders, a sequencer, etc.

[cbm]

If you have a good MIDI interface couldn't you control your modular with your poly aftertouch / MPE keyboard?

As far as controllers that are actually part of the modular goes, I've been on a gesture recorder kick for the last couple years. In order of "most use" I have:

• Intellijel Planar 2

• Erica Black Joystick 2

• Dnipro Krait

• Intellijel Tete / Tetrapad

• Doepfer R2M

All of these can add a touch of the human to things.

[moremagic]

using two channels of pressure points, one into a slew signal input and the other into cv input, feels almost like a fiddle bow. play an f(h) choices joystick too, which adds a lot, likewise into a slew adds a lot

[hawkfuzz]

I keep my Hydra for band things and don't want to incorporate it for modular.

How's the Dnipro? It seems compact and flexible.

[cbm]

How's the Dnipro? It seems compact and flexible.

It's pretty great in general, but perhaps not as expressively wiggeable as a joystick. It really is great fun, though.

[Fallen_lassen]

I use the OP-Z as a cv recorder a lot. With the stepcomponents it is endless fun.

[deecalk1]

https://pulplogic.com/product/express/

https://pulplogic.com/product/n-o-sw/

https://pulplogic.com/product/fsr/

https://www.electronicmusicworks.com/di ... order.html

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1057312466 ... e_19&crt=1

https://www.ehx.com/products/8-step-program/

[hawkfuzz]

The joysticks seem best but I’ve never touched one. Planar 2 and the Erica joystick look great.

[al2o3cr]

The LS-1 from Soundmachines is a fun little 4hp module to try out "knob recording" without spending much.

[Rex Coil 7]

I've posted this image a lot (if you listen you can actually hear the eye rolls!) ... but it's pretty relevant to the OP's needs. I put it together for same reasons, I wanted controllers that gave me the same connection that a guitar does. Each ribbon provides two channels of CV .. one from where your finger is positioned on the ribbon, the other from the pressure applied to the ribbon. There is also an XY joystick, one channel of Aftertouch, plus velocity, kybd can be split into 4 zones of choice.

Total of 8 channels of CV, plus 7 gate sources, and up to 4 channels pf MIDI note (note-on velocity and note off velocity). FATAR TP-9s keybed btw.

And this is just my keyboard controller. There are a number of other touch-controllers in the controller cabinet (Euro).

[Ghost_the_garden]

Probably not the most expressive option, but for the money pretty cool. Its passive so you could make a little box for this thing to hold it in a convenient place/way

https://www.elc.systems/store/p/elc-sys ... -keyswitch

[Just another rookie]

polarising mixer> Antumbra fade> assign in wmd metron.
Various settings on metron allow for a wide range of options per assign in.

Polarised mixer takes inputs from various envelopes. Which can be fine tuned or inverted as you see fit.....
The fade is basically on off with creative points along the travel of the fader. A few recordings since owning the metron have occurred with exactly this patch.

Drum pattern modulations! All day long.

Of course there is also assign in2 on the wmd....

It’s a killer combination. You can turn very simple loops/phrases into properly time quantised splices.
Each gate is assignable I/o so you can pick whichever elements you want to be involved in the splice fest.
Literally turn 4 to the floor into a jungle mash up.
Or whatever genre turns you on?

It’s definitely way easier/quicker than programming each step and most likely will yield results you wouldn’t necessarily consider.

Edit....
And div kid mutes! For some stuff too.

[starthief]

Tesseract Sweet Sixteen, Planar 2, 0-Ctrl. I've pulled out my Softwire Press for now but preordered a Bela Gliss instead.

MIDI to CV with an old Line 6 MIDI expression pedal, or once in a while, Launchpad Pro mk3, or pressure or velocity CV output from my Minibrute 2S.

[Rex Coil 7]

Lightstrips and Lightplane (made by Soundmachines). I have both .. they record your gestures .. very useful.

Doepfer controller wheels module.

Planar 2 ... it's ~ok~ but quite costly. I have two of them.

Still, these little things are basically toys. If you want a real physical connection you need stuff you can actually get physical with (see kybd w/ribbons above). It doesn't have to be a keyboard, good quality ribbons can be mounted to any strong/solid object or surface.

Foot controls are pretty helpful "in the moment" .. I modified three of the Ernie Ball volume pedals to suit working with modular gear (requires a little machine work to mount the required pot inside of it or the idea will not work). I like the length of throw far better with the Ernie Ball pedals than any of the pre-manufactured offerings (Moog et al). And those Ernie Ball units will outlive you two times over, they're also completely repairable and maintainable for years to come. Solid machined aluminum.

[hawkfuzz]

Tesseract Sweet Sixteen, Planar 2, 0-Ctrl. I've pulled out my Softwire Press for now but preordered a Bela Gliss instead.

I forgot about that. I like it.

Lightstrips and Lightplane (made by Soundmachines). I have both .. they record your gestures .. very useful.

Planar 2 ... it's ~ok~ but quite costly. I have two of them.

Lightstrips have seemed like the obvious entry module.

What's your beef with the Planar if you have 2?

[Rex Coil 7]

Tesseract Sweet Sixteen, Planar 2, 0-Ctrl. I've pulled out my Softwire Press for now but preordered a Bela Gliss instead.

I forgot about that. I like it.

Lightstrips and Lightplane (made by Soundmachines). I have both .. they record your gestures .. very useful.

Planar 2 ... it's ~ok~ but quite costly. I have two of them.

Lightstrips have seemed like the obvious entry module.

What's your beef with the Planar if you have 2?

No beef. They're just joysticks. While sticks are "ok" for the job of live expression, they're not the best choice (especially if they're the only manual modifier in the works). They are a choice, yes. But I prefer other methods before (or in addition to) the stick. The dot com stick is sprung, which makes it better suited for certain things, the Planar 2 is not sprung, which makes it better suited for ~other~ certain things. One of each is going to tap the wallet for nearly $1,000 munneychecks (for quality ones, that is).

[tcrist]

I like the Erica Joystick 2. 4 channels of recorded movement. Easy to use.
Worng's Vector Space is great for outputting a variety of related modulations.
Feed those sources into a Qu-Bit Synapse and you are dealing!
I have a ton of modulation sources I built in Max which I use via Expert Sleepers modules.
Got my eyes on a Patching Panda Ephemere.

For spatial animation, I use the above, the Orbit 2, Aeolus Seeds and mixers, and a ton of VCAs.

[Rex Coil 7]

....and a ton of VCAs....

..absolutely required. well done.

[tcrist]

....and a ton of VCAs....

..absolutely required. well done.

Yeah. On my latest quad system I had a total of 40 including a couple 4ms VCAMs!!!!! LOL

[decimeter]

I wonder, if you're looking for the expressivity and tactile connection of more traditional instruments, cv recording may undermine that...akin to playing a guitar lick once then handing off the guitar to your bandmate to play it for the rest of the song. Touche by Expressive E looks intriguing if out of rack solutions are ok. I'm holding out for the SOMA Terra to feed into eurorack.

[robotfunk]

One day I'll have enough time to solder together my Appendage controller ... One day..