Your "Ah-Hah" moment with modular

[Bogus]

When I got my A-150 and A-151. That's when the whole "fully-modular" thing hit me hardest.

[sempervirent]

When I realized that the 12-tone scale is a beautiful lie.

[bkbirge]

I had one last night - not a big one, just confirmation that different gate lengths add so much life to sequences

That was one of my epiphanies not too long ago also. I built an orbitals sequencer which has variable gate length and was playing with it for percussive sounds. Now variable gate length is a must have for me.

[StoneLaw]

Patching the livewire AFG into the malekko Borg 2 filter and twiddling the cut off knob. Hooked since.

Ha I was actually going to post nearly the exact same thing... I had a tiny modular and was enjoying playing with it but not really getting what I wanted from it... I added an afg and it was a lot better but still wasn't quite what I wanted... It was fun but didn't really sound as good as some of my other synths. Added a Borg 2 and .mix and suddenly everything that came out of the thing sounded amazing. That was the day I was sold on modulars and sold almost all of my other synth junk.

Also, adding a second sequencer and clock divider really opened up my sequences a lot. For awhile I had an oberkorn and it was cool but was pretty much making one measure loops. I sold it for a different sequencer, but once I added another sequencer I was starting to make music and not just short loops.

[StoneLaw]

what else.... using maths as a trig to gate convertor (stumbling across it without using a manual or patch book) was an aha moment, both for the modular and for maths.

Also, sample+hold was a big aha.... I had never really understood them, but when I finally did I realized all of the awesome things they can do in a modular (using one to 'freeze' sequencer notes to make a fast sequence play sustained notes, and for analog sample rate reduction)

[Noisefan]

When I realized I needed to get two cats!

Actually my first Ah-hah moment was in the late 1990s, maybe 1998. I was playing in a downtempo trio. We used all kinds of hardware synths, soft-synths, samplers, turntables, bass guitar, etc. One of the members eventually got a small Doepfer system. To be honest it seemed more trouble than it was worth. But as he got better at realizing what he needed his system was growing and it became his unique personal sound. He was creating his visionary instrument like no other. I was a bit jealous.

I guess my Ah-hah was how MODULAR modular synths could be.

Still, it took me another dozen years to begin my modular addiction.

[narwhal]

when i cross modulated the d-lfo at audio rate.

[clusterchord]

realizing that I can use pretty much anything to modulate anything in eurorack. Sending CV through reverbs, delays, filters or whatever..

pretty much sums it up. Especially new area for me was audio rate CV-ing digital modules.

I'd add, discovering the musicality of vactrol response in decays. Minutes after hooking my first ever euro setup, using maths in most basic simplistic way , ie as lfo to filter was already an eye opener, compared to classic LFOs.


I'm yet to get my feet wet with clocks/dividers. waiting for my first sequencer (audio damage) , and then another Pandora's box will be opened..


Bottom line, I'm enjoying the ride to no end, like that I'm gradually discovering new things..

[koshi]

When I got my A-150 and A-151. That's when the whole "fully-modular" thing hit me hardest.

A 151 for me too + when I realised how cool it is too have so many different colours of sound in relatively small package with one power supply. Might be obvious but didn't get to me until I've put few modules in the case. I was into tabletop effects before Sherman, T-Res, etc.

[the83]

when I realized that I don't need filters.

[skyshaver]

That I really enjoy the sound of three oscillators tuned an octave apart or even in unison by ear. Seriously, I'll patch the e340, e350 and braids into a mixer to tune them and then find myself sitting there entranced by the sound for way too long, then I'm all "oh right, patching"

[celestial tomes]

When I realised, that more modulars and modules doesn't equal more music productivity.

word up.
just because you have synth stuff doesn't mean you're going to make amazing new music.
Just like if you have a stratovarius or a gibson sg won't make you yehudi menuhin or tony iommi

devoting time to what you have and finding the secrets within the machine and within yourself.

it really makes you realize how hog-wash most people's youtube videos are.

[hangars liquides]

When I realized I would sequence everything from the modular, that midi to CV was no longer necessary, that I could get that groove from jumping electrons exclusively.
When I realized that playing with the modular was the best way for me to find inspiration.
Overall, every time I realize that what I am seeking the most in music is observing the modularity of structures, rather than listening strictly to harmony and rhythm.

[listentoaheartbeat]

Two detuned sines with a percussive, decaying amplitude envelope (i.e. two pinged filters) through a wavefolder. The range of sounds you get from this simple arrangement is astonishing.

[Mercutio]

Sync modulation and amplitude modulation !

Trig out (fast repetition) in audio in !

Modulation on attack or decay

[Mercutio]

And of course seeing SHAKMAT in action at brussel meeting...

[video][/video]

[listentoaheartbeat]

And of course seeing SHAKMAT in action at brussel meeting...

[video][/video]

Wow, that's something! The live mixing / arranging part from 3:20 is nuts. Love how you can hear the faders snap on the edge.

Is there a direct audio recording of this?

[Adminius]

I have ah-ha moments almost every time I power-up my modular.

The last ah-ha came with the realization that clock-dividers and step-counters can work wonders when applied to logic modules and sequencers.

[ETP]

I have ah-ha moments almost every time I power-up my modular.

yeah that´s true. i always try out new things, so this is true. always jamming seldom record

[Wracked with Guilt]

I took the plunge 5 years ago, buying about 9U worth of random modules and a Doepfer power supply sans case at a great price from a studio in South London. I knew almost nothing about modulars apart from what I’d read in Jyoti Mishra’s excellent primer in Sound on Sound and I hadn't even discovered Muffs at this time, to my shame.
I remember getting home late that night and mounting the more interesting looking modules in the cardboard box my Blofeld came in. The Gods were smiling and I somehow managed to avoid blowing anything up or electrocuting myself. It all looked a bit precarious so I mounted the box in the frame of my baby son's cot while he slept on oblivious.

I very quickly patched the AFG’s Animated Pulse & Alien Saw waveforms into a pair of A-124 Wasp filters and set the outputs to a mixer then to the TipTop Z5000 with a long reverb, then randomly patched in a bunch of slow LFOs into the AFG’s inputs. Total noobiness. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden this immense glacial drone emerged out of nowhere. I was completely blown away with the AFG - my "Ah Hah!" moment. I quickly fired up the laptop and recorded my first wiggle into Reaper - it distorted a bit but I was so proud I ended up putting it on YouTube, bless.

[video][/video]

Sadly I sold the AFG for something more trendy and a lot smaller - a CycleBox perhaps - and have regretted it ever since. It was an exceptional first oscillator

[silversurfer]

How logic modules work, sounds simple but when you first see AND, OR, NAND, NOR, etc.

One thing I find though, I always have my 'ah-hah' moments when I'm not at the machine, sat at work desperate to get home and try a patch

[bj_gzp]

For me modular is mainly about the aha moments. Especially as i feel more like a researcher than musician/artist. Since 10 years i put me regularly up challenges to patch something. I really enjoy when having a hard time get through them.

Last little moment was when last week i decided after half a year to try once the synch/tab mode on the Quad lfo

Big moment 2 weeks ago: couldn't make a Gordius LGM2 work in a practical way for me using an external midi controller in the place of a floor pedal.
I was blocked for 2 years, until by error i ended up in a config with a slave pedal set. The solution was to use "virtual" pedal controllers just to make the LGM2 control logic work.
Now i can send at the flick of a button whatever string of midi massages to change my patch settings.

[silvano]

another aha moment: when for the first time I simply modulated PW at audio rates (it was an error... I confused lfo with vco)

[jak]

having the DPO oscillators FM each other!

[stike]

Wow - just reading all these - so many things to look forward to.

Right now just trying to summon the will to rip out the current patch and start one that plays with adding/subtracting octaves from the Rene Q CV out via the PP. I bought an Intellijel Unity mixer specifically for this and just haven't taken the time to put in the work (tuning the PP CVs) to make this happen.

Keep those moments coming.