Other manufacturers?

[fadeddata]

I'm interested in picking up some new modular manufacturers but I don't know where to start. I figured it might be a good idea to post here with modules & manufacturers that I like and see what others think.

I've found that I can get along with modules that are at most 1 menu deep, so Pams New Workout is a good description of that. It's about as deep as I like to menu dive and because of the LED's I have a clear idea of what's going on.

Things I've kept and probably will continue to keep:
Make Noise Maths & QMMG
Mannequins, all of them (Silhouette is on the way)
Toppobrillo, all of them (I don't have Cluster yet)
Noise Engineering LI, BIA(lia), Versio
ALM Pams New Workout
Intellijel Quad VCA, Shifty, and 1U stuff
Qu-bit Data Bender, bought on a bit of a lark but really enjoy the sound, the UI is so-so
XOR NerdSEQ, it's really not like the other things in this list, it's a computer sequencer but I find it very immediate.

Things I'm mixed on:
Joranalogue Generate 3 and Filter 8, they're easy to use but I don't always enjoy the sound I get from them
Vult Freak, same as above, I'm a bit mixed on the sound of it
Plaits, the UI is ok? The sound is ok?
Assimil8or, I love the sound, I kinda hate the UI, I always forget the shortcuts

Things I've moved on from:
Make Noise Rene V2, I really didn't like the UI, I spent time with it and could never get into the flow
Make Noise Morphagene, similar to the Rene V2 but I did find the Morphagene a bit more accessible
Intellijel Tete/Tetrapad, UI was pretty simple, but I didn't like the feel of the module, I ended up using it as a bigger Pams New Workout
Disting, I couldn't tell what it was doing without a little manual nearby

Outside of modular I enjoy Elektron and DSI/Sequential synths.

I have an assortment of utilities, VCA's, and stuff. So, yeah, what manufacturer do you think I should explore next? Or maybe I should dig deeper into a manufacturer?

[GuyaGuy]

Sounds like you mostly like hands-on modules with straightforward UIs even if there is an algo behind it, which is sort of my preference too.

There are tons of brands out there but just a few that I've tried and meet those criteria and have a broad offering: Doepfer, Xaoc, Tobinski, TipTop, Flame

But there are so many brands now it might be easier to start by saying what kind of function or setup you want rather than just reading a laundry list of brands.

[fadeddata]

Mostly just trying to hear what others feel is a good direction to explore for awhile. I feel I’ve kinda stayed within a few brands. Xaoc had caught my eye along with Schlappi Engineering. I’ll check out some of those other brands you mentioned.

[johans121]

Doepfer

[fadeddata]

I think what’s always made me not interested in Doepfer is the lack of functionality per module. I feel like I need a lot of width to support a deep/complex system. Maybe I’m wrong?

[lfad]

Mostly just trying to hear what others feel is a good direction to explore for awhile. I feel I’ve kinda stayed within a few brands. Xaoc had caught my eye along with Schlappi Engineering. I’ll check out some of those other brands you mentioned.

Those are both solid, quality brands to explore. Good build quality, clever functionality, and mostly no menu-diving (with a couple specific exceptions on the Xaoc side). I agree it'd be helpful to know more about the actual functionality you're after, though.

[tomchurchill]

Based on your current likes, I’d check out Xaoc, Instruo, Tobinski, New Systems Instruments and Random*Source/Serge.

[johans121]

Doepfer

I think what’s always made me not interested in Doepfer is the lack of functionality per module. I feel like I need a lot of width to support a deep/complex system. Maybe I’m wrong?

Other than this reply to me, you provided zero requirements in your previous posts. You are leaving it up to the community to guess what you want. The only thing we as a community can go off of is that you seem to get along with modules that are, at most, one menu level deep.

To me, these types of posts indicate that the user are not happy with their modular and they look to others so that they may be recommended that “magic” module that will turn that frown upside down.

Dude, you have some kind of idea of what you need, and then you have to share that with others when you ask for help/suggestions.

You basically asked the community to list almost all eurorack manufacturers to you.

When you ask for suggestions, help others help you by stating what your goals/needs/desires/requirements are.

[fadeddata]

Thanks for the follow ups on Schlappi and Xaoc. It’s expensive to just jump into another manufacturer so getting some feedback that I’m on the right path is very helpful. Creative internal implementations are always exciting to me. I really enjoyed learning about mangroves and seeing how it can be replicated in the sport modulator.

I’m not currently after a specific feature or requirement. I want to pick up something new that can inspire. I typically watch a lot of videos before buying anything new so I’ll probably do that for the short list of manufacturers people have provided here.

I guess I might say that a requirement could be functional density but with a “good” UI. Or maybe it’s that the internal logic is exposed in away that it almost feels idiomatic to use?

Is there a manufacturer that often gets this right? Or maybe it’s module to module?

[johans121]

FYSA

Ease of use tends to have an inverse relationship with feature density.

There is not one manufacturer that gets everything, or most of everything, right. This you’ve already discovered.

Rather than seeking specific manufacturers, maybe you should research all the “What is your favorite XXX module” threads that are out there, and then research those listings. That will probably get you further along than getting a list of someone’s favorite brand.

Don’t worry this is my last post on this thread.

Since you are still asking about brands, I still suggest you look at Doepfer. A lot of modules that do specific things, and does them well, is better IMO than those that at are feature rich but sacrifices functionality or ease of use.

Also, Doepfer is not my favorite brand - Synthtech is, but Paul passed away, so there’s that.