Support my project on Patreon: www.patreon.com/monotrail Or shop through my affiliate links: US: link.perfectcircuit.com/t/v1/8-12626-267461-9759 EU: www.thomann.de/de/index.html?partner_id=32555
I have browsed so much of the eurorack space on RUclips, and it's hard to find a channel that will dive into technical explanations complex patching techniques as opposed to showing off more and more gear that a newbie like me feels like they need due to lacking knowledge on how to make patches with the stuff they already have. Thank you so much for these videos and those clean diagrams you show in them.
Hey, thanks for your thoughts! That's exactly the reason I started making these videos. Have to admit along the way I got tempted to work with some new and fancy stuff, but this year I am back on my old goals, making more content without any of the newest and latest. I feel that is an endless stream! Enjoy your journey, and thanks for watching!
I just found your channel. And, my friend, you're a champ. I absolutely love your schematic diagrams for modulation ideas -- of all the videos I've watched, yours is the first that builds these ideas incrementally and clearly. Looking forward to exploring your other videos.
An excellent video creatively done. This is a topic in Modular Synthesis which I knew nothing at all about....so thank you, as now I've learned something new! Also, I can go back to your video when I get frustrated trying to create this type of patch. This series you are doing is perfect for those of us who are new to Modular Synthesis.🎵☀🐾
Thanks for letting me know! It takes some efford indeed, but I hope this channel wil grow a bit over time, and it's really motivating to read these positive messages! :)
@@MonotrailTechTalk With subtractive synthesis one often focuses on what happens after the VCO, filters, envelopes, FX etc. Your video opened my eyes for what one can do with CV before it even gets to the oscillator. The animated patch graphics, I print screened all of them and printed them on paper for future reference. Thanks for all your efforts!
Your videos are great! The explanations are thorough and concise. And like somebody else said, the graphics are really well-made and very easy to understand.
Happy to hear it helped! It's great to see the modular community grow, and I'm aiming to make these fairly beginner friendly, while still offering depth. Cheers!
First - thank you! Subbed and will visit Patreon. Second just wanted to chime in about the 4ms 4 channel clock div/mult -- there is an expansion that adds trigger outputs that can be shaped as well and I have found that really useful, especially the mode where I get a trigger at the beginning and end of a gate/clock output cycle.
Awesome, thank you! And that sounds interesting! Was just thinking the other day about how most modules don't offer the option to output gates or triggers, and you just have to deal with that :)
Your videos are amazing, thank you so much for producing these. I am very new to synthesised music and rather than buying modules I’m building them from scratch. This adds even more complexity because not only am I learning how to make these circuits, but I don’t always even know why I need them in the first place. It’s a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation where I need the finished modules to try out so I know what to build. Or… well that’s where your videos come in. My brain often hurts at the end, but in a good way. You pack in so much useful information and so clearly. Incredible. Thanks again :)
Hello James! Thanks for your comment, so nice to read these kind of messages. I did a few very simple 9v circuits at some point, just because I wanted to get a little bit more feeling of what was going on inside of modules. But also quickly decided it is very complex, and would take me to much time to make anything with quality. But I for sure understand the attraction to building yourself! Im glad you get some value out of these videos, I'm happy to make them, and plan to do a lot more! All the best :)
@@MonotrailTechTalk That's cool you played around with some circuits too. It can be good to get an understanding and appreciation of where the sound comes from and how it can be influenced, but for sure it shouldn't get in the way of creating music if that's your main interest. Great to hear you have plans to do a lot more, I look forward to it. Thanks again and all the best.
This is one of the best value Patreon packages out there- a bunch of clear, concise, informative videos, with patch sheets. Added value? The use of Doepfer modules. Who hasn’t watched a video, thought “I could make good use of that module”, only to find that it costs £250+…
Hi Monotrail, thank you for making the effort to make this Video. I find it super informative. I‘m probably going to watch it several times. I have an Ae Modular system for a year now and your explanations and ideas in this tutorial help me to get a better unterstanding of modular synthesis and more out of my system. ✌️🥸
@@MonotrailTechTalk I do :) Hopefully more 3rd Party manufacturers will develope modules for this format in the future to make it even more interesting. :)
Really interesting videos, as I’m just getting slowly into modular world, this is what I was looking for (and it’s quite difficult to find something relevant out there for people who are just starting to discover all of this). Anyway thanks for the amazing work here! Take care!
Hey, thank you, that is good to hear! I still consider making a true Modular 101 course. If all goes well I might start that this year. Thanks for the positive comment! And all the best :)
Hi there! I've been busy with some work and healt problems lately, but will get back to videos really soon. My Patrons have been the best and the extra money from that gives me a chance to buy/exchange some modules to talk about. High on the list is the Doepfer a166 logic!
Incredibly informative! I've been enjoying your videos. My only suggestion would be to include even more "hands-on" / live sound examples so we can hear the differences between the different schematics you describe. Also would love to hear more performances on your channel so we can hear your sound but I understand if you want to keep it more educational.
Thank you! Glad to hear it :) And I agree, the sounddemos are one of the most time consuming parts of the videos, though, and unfortunately I have to limit the amount of time I spend on these. I hope the amount of time I can spend on these will grow allong with my Patreon next year ;) Indeed I split up the music and tech talk videos on purpose, so people can find/subscribe to what they like. if you like to hear my music, please visit my main channel! Five years worth of modular jams ;) ruclips.net/user/monotrailmusic
Start with a few modules that seem like an exciting playground. Your plans will change for sure, and noticing what is missing when you start using it will change your plans for sure as well!
When I start an empty rack on ModularGrid I just end up with a decently filled one before it looks satisfying and the price tag is always near 5k lol. It is not easy to find a half rack idea that works.
Honestly I was surprised when I saw the 700:1 like ratio but I understood why when I started watching. This is really high quality content and I'd love to see more stuff like this. Also I've been playing around with VCV Rack recently which is great for certain things but it's crazy how much better hardware sounds compared to digital when it comes to basic oscillators and subtractive synthesis in general... (although I'd highly suggest you to consider upgrading your camera and mic if you really wanna get "serious" about this in the future)
Dear General Kenobi, nice to see you around these parts! Glad to hear you got some value out of it, and I for sure plan to keep doing this for some time. VCV rack is a great playground. Might even do some video about that in the future as well. Also already moved to a new studio and upgraded my camera since this video. Microphone is next on the list! For example in this more recent vid: ruclips.net/video/DZX-yNUOc0Y/видео.html All the best!
Great video. The two Doepfer clock dividers are fundamentally different, no? One is a binary divider, the newer one is a musical divider. I don't have either but it'd be cool to see a comparison of both.
Thanks! There are two Doepfer dividers the a160-1, and the a160-2. Both are simple dividers that output gates instead of triggers. The a160-1 only has divide by 2/4/8 etc. The a160-2 also offers divide by 2/3/4/5 etc, and prime number divisions, so its more flexible. However, then theres also the Doepfer a161, wich is not a divider at all, it just takes a clock and then cycles a single high output through 8 steps. The a161 only works when fysically linked to the a160-1 though, and not with the a161-2. Nice and confusing, hope that is what you ment!
What a great explanation! Thanks a lot! Can you suggest some modules for a newbie "generative drummer system"? I just want a small system with "whom" I can jam. As having your own mad drummer. Someone/something you do not have to program.
Hi there, and thanks :) Hmm, drum module wise id say have a look at the Basimilu Iteritas Alter. A digital very flexible drum voice. But my personal favorite is to work with a sample player. You can load all sortsof sounds into it, single hits, loops, etc, and will keep you sounding goof for decades. When it comes to not programming, or jamming, maybe look into modules that can provide random votlages and triggers :) If you say "mad drummer" to jam with I think a buot a video I made a while ago, just using the 4ms stereo triggered sampler. One side with 10 drum samples, and one side with a merimba kind of sample. Then just used the Korg SQ-1 to sequence both parts: ruclips.net/video/KfWquEL8hnU/видео.html
Thanks@@MonotrailTechTalk I will have a look at the module you mentioned. I know a sampler might do the job. However, I don't want anything prerecorded, since I want to create everything on the spot. Have a nice day. :)
Good info. What can you do with a modular synth that you can not do with an Arturia Polybrute, Novation Summit, Korg Prologue, Korg Kronos...etc.? Thanks.
Those synths you mention are all poly synths, which is something the modular is bad at. But to me a modular is a customizable toolbox. There are a lot of things those synths can't do. Many most people wont miss, like having fun with custom patched sequencers, switches, quantizers etc. For me the big thing. I can do a full performance with multiple voices, percussion, mixing, FX etc, all in a portable case smaller than any of those synths.
Thanks for the video! How do you synchronize the SQ-1 with the Beatstep Pro? I tried to connect the "In sync" of the SQ-1 to a "drum gate" of the Beatstep pro, and I keep having "ghost" triggers.
Yes unfortunately the Korg (also the volca series) respond to a gate / trigger 'off' signal as well as the 'on' signal, thats pretty anoying if you ask me. I I often use a attack decay envelope in between. If you tweek the decay time, you can get a propper sync.
@@MonotrailTechTalk If you use the midi center from Aturia you can change the clock out of your beatstep pro to be Korg clock. This way you can sync up your volca's (and believe also your SQ-1) with the Beatstep pro's clock using the clock out.
Hi! Many thanks for this super clear tutorial. I have a question: I Owe a MI Marbles and was wondering if a clock source (+dividers) and additional quantizers could help our are redundant for generative music? Thx.
Hi Omega, glad to hear you liked it, you're welcome! The end of your question confuses me a bit, so Im not sure. A clock source, dividers and quantizer are intersting for generative music for sure, I mention some functions in the video. The MI Marbles is great as well, can also generate melodies and random voltages, I don't think it can divide, but I have no experience with that module. I think it can do more than the basic modules!
Thank you for sharing. This made my week and will be my entire weekend! I am quite excited to experiment with all of this. Do you recommend any particular books that discuss concepts like these for further learning? Thanks again!
You're most welcome! Glad to hear it adds something, have a great weekend! "Patch and Tweak" is an often recommended book, but about modular in general, not just generative music. Also muffwiggler is an excelent source for things, but to be fair I have read neather. www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31698&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Hmm, not completely sure, but by the sound I'd say I used on of my favorite easy tricks: Running a simple saw wave oscillator through a delay with very short delay times, slightly modulated. Cheers!
Awesome stuff! One question: did you design those patch animations yourself or did you use a tool for it? Looks kinda nice to document patches and ideas..
I'd be happy to, but really like to be able to demo the theory with a module and don't actually have on yet ;) I plan to get or borrow few doepfer modules to explain some more interesting basics.
I would love a generative modular setup. Or any eurorack setup at all. Lol 😆 Damn is this shit expensive to get into. Not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge
Yeah, unfortunately it really is. I always recommend having a look at the Behringer Neutron, It still offers a lot of patching fun and sounds for a price tag I think is worth it. Or of course have a look at VCV rack. It's a free and actually really good digital modular plugin :) Lot's of fun to be had there, you can easily experiment with great gererative setups! vcvrack.com/
@@MonotrailTechTalk I already have a moog grandmother,.. just bought a Eurorack case tonight because I couldn't resist lol. It only 88hp but hoping to fill it with things to compliment the grandmother and do simple generative stuff with it.
If anyone could point me to a shopping list to get started with generative music id appreciate it :) I have a minilogue xd and an MPC One + but i would love to know what i need to "generate" music . my next purchase will be a moog studio 3 :)
Hi there! Sounds like you're already set on your next purchase, and the studio 3 is more than plenty to enjoy lot's of generative patches. It has all you need, sound, sequencing, and patches to explore. Enjoy!
Hi there! Sorry about that! Maybe should have said modular beginners, I do assume quite some general synth knowledge :) If you have wishes, or ideas about what you would consider or like to see as a beginner, feel free to let me know! Cheers :)
Support my project on Patreon: www.patreon.com/monotrail
Or shop through my affiliate links:
US: link.perfectcircuit.com/t/v1/8-12626-267461-9759
EU: www.thomann.de/de/index.html?partner_id=32555
with you i understand the lesson...with divkid,he is too fast....here its clearly explained.Thanks a lot!
this video was great! you have a new patron (i.e. me!)
@@wackenthaljef You're welcome!
@@MatKelcey0 So happy to hear it, thank you!
Thank you thank you thank you. I really appreciate the clear and diagram-filled way you present this
You're very welcome! Glad you liked :)
I have browsed so much of the eurorack space on RUclips, and it's hard to find a channel that will dive into technical explanations complex patching techniques as opposed to showing off more and more gear that a newbie like me feels like they need due to lacking knowledge on how to make patches with the stuff they already have. Thank you so much for these videos and those clean diagrams you show in them.
Hey, thanks for your thoughts! That's exactly the reason I started making these videos. Have to admit along the way I got tempted to work with some new and fancy stuff, but this year I am back on my old goals, making more content without any of the newest and latest. I feel that is an endless stream! Enjoy your journey, and thanks for watching!
I agree. Definitely need more fundamentals like this. This is truly outstandingly interesting material!
@@aviolentpurple9925 Glad you guys like it! I'm working on a 'how to generative' mini series as we speak :) Cheers!
I finally understand the basic principle behind the self-generative music, you have made the best tutorial ever! Subscribed.
Thank you so much! Im glad to ear it :) All the best!
Love the focus on technique and transferable skills over brand name modules. Great, actionable advice!
Glad you liked it!
Those visual song design graphics 👌
Thanks!
I just found your channel. And, my friend, you're a champ. I absolutely love your schematic diagrams for modulation ideas -- of all the videos I've watched, yours is the first that builds these ideas incrementally and clearly. Looking forward to exploring your other videos.
Awesome, thank you! This one is a bit older already, hope you get some use out of some new ones as well! :)
Great video!
I think generative patches are probably of the most mesmerizing thing to do when playing with modular synths.
I agree, making a patch that slowly comes to life is really rewarding!
I really love the way you teach, man. Such a great source of information. I owe all of my modular skills to you!
Wow, thanks! Happy to have that effect though, and thanks for letting me know :) All the the best!
I wish you had made your videos 3 yrs ago when I first got into modular! Really great thank you.
Haha, me to actually, sorry ;) But thanks!
This series is extremely informative, thanks for taking the time to produce and share.
You're welcome, glad to hear you like it!
want to second this! really amazing and I thought the way he brings it all together at the end with the visuals was beautiful.
An excellent video creatively done. This is a topic in Modular
Synthesis which I knew nothing at all about....so thank you, as now I've learned something new! Also, I can go back to your video when I get frustrated trying to create this type of patch. This series you are doing is perfect for those of us who are new to Modular Synthesis.🎵☀🐾
Glad to hear I could add some knowledge :)
Very interesting approach especially concerning the last part: I loved it!
Glad you enjoyed it, cheers!
Thank you for the inspiration, i use my modular to make sound effects for my movies. never did imagine this....
You're welcome! Sound great actually, have fun!
Thanks for making this. These are so well made. I really appreciate all the time you must put into creating the animations. Amazing work!
Thanks for letting me know! It takes some efford indeed, but I hope this channel wil grow a bit over time, and it's really motivating to read these positive messages! :)
This video really helped me get my head around some stuff I’d been struggling with. Thank you!
Hey, thanks for letting m know! Getting positive feedback like this makes it worth it :) Cheers!
With this video I learned more in 15 minutes than in 15 hours of other generative tutorials watched. Brilliant, thanks!
Haha, thanks! There's some good things out there, but glad to hear thiswas what you were looking for!
@@MonotrailTechTalk With subtractive synthesis one often focuses on what happens after the VCO, filters, envelopes, FX etc. Your video opened my eyes for what one can do with CV before it even gets to the oscillator. The animated patch graphics, I print screened all of them and printed them on paper for future reference. Thanks for all your efforts!
Your videos are great! The explanations are thorough and concise. And like somebody else said, the graphics are really well-made and very easy to understand.
Thank you so much! It's so nice to hear people appreciating these videos, ill definitely keep going :)
Man this is the best modular RUclips chanel. You also explain very good all topics, at least for me Haha.
So thank you lad.
Cheers
Thank you! These kind of lovely comments is what makes it worth it! Happy to hear it, and all the best!
Mate....I need to watch the video again and take notes. These tips are great, looking forward to try some of them!! Thank you!!!
Thanks for letting me know, getting comments like these make it worth it! Cheers!
Самый крутой канал по модульным синтезаторам. Всё доходчиво и профессионально.
Hi there! Had to use google translate for this, if it's right, thanks a lot! Glad to hear you like it :)
Absolutely excellent explanation of the content! This helped me connect a lot of dots. Thanks so much!
Nice! This is already a bit of an older video production wise, but glad to hear people still watch it :)
Re-watching this. Great explanations!
Glad it was helpful!
I'm new to modular synthesis and this is exactly how I want it to be explained! Very clear. Thanks so much for this 🙏
Happy to hear it helped! It's great to see the modular community grow, and I'm aiming to make these fairly beginner friendly, while still offering depth. Cheers!
@@MonotrailTechTalk 🤙🤙
Very interesting!! Thank you for taking the time to break this topic down in such a nice and simple way. Keep it up!
Hey, thanks! Glad to hear you liked it, and I have been! This vid is 3years old, making vids twice a month, and going strong! Cheers :)
this is a fantastic look at how to put module concepts together
Thanks, glad to hear you liked it!
First - thank you! Subbed and will visit Patreon. Second just wanted to chime in about the 4ms 4 channel clock div/mult -- there is an expansion that adds trigger outputs that can be shaped as well and I have found that really useful, especially the mode where I get a trigger at the beginning and end of a gate/clock output cycle.
Awesome, thank you! And that sounds interesting! Was just thinking the other day about how most modules don't offer the option to output gates or triggers, and you just have to deal with that :)
Awesome tutorials. Brilliantly explained. Keep going - love your content!
Thank you so much! Positive comments are really motivating! And I will, still have a lot to share :)
Your videos are amazing, thank you so much for producing these. I am very new to synthesised music and rather than buying modules I’m building them from scratch. This adds even more complexity because not only am I learning how to make these circuits, but I don’t always even know why I need them in the first place. It’s a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation where I need the finished modules to try out so I know what to build. Or… well that’s where your videos come in.
My brain often hurts at the end, but in a good way. You pack in so much useful information and so clearly. Incredible. Thanks again :)
Hello James! Thanks for your comment, so nice to read these kind of messages. I did a few very simple 9v circuits at some point, just because I wanted to get a little bit more feeling of what was going on inside of modules. But also quickly decided it is very complex, and would take me to much time to make anything with quality. But I for sure understand the attraction to building yourself! Im glad you get some value out of these videos, I'm happy to make them, and plan to do a lot more! All the best :)
@@MonotrailTechTalk That's cool you played around with some circuits too. It can be good to get an understanding and appreciation of where the sound comes from and how it can be influenced, but for sure it shouldn't get in the way of creating music if that's your main interest. Great to hear you have plans to do a lot more, I look forward to it. Thanks again and all the best.
This is one of the best value Patreon packages out there- a bunch of clear, concise, informative videos, with patch sheets. Added value? The use of Doepfer modules. Who hasn’t watched a video, thought “I could make good use of that module”, only to find that it costs £250+…
Whoa. That was super informative. So many great patching ideas. TY.
Glad it was helpful! All the best :)
Awesome! playing the mixer knobs to control the melody! that gave me lots of great ideas, I’ve been so static lately with my modular.
Glad to hear you got something out of it, hope it helps! :)
Veeery valuable 15min on youtube.. Thx mate! 🙏
Thank you, glad to hear you got some value out of it! Cheers :)
Really enjoying all of these tutorials, keep them coming!
Thanks Matt! I had a bit of a rough start into the year but I have a lot of plans, so i will :)
Hi Monotrail, thank you for making the effort to make this Video. I find it super informative. I‘m probably going to watch it several times. I have an Ae Modular system for a year now and your explanations and ideas in this tutorial help me to get a better unterstanding of modular synthesis and more out of my system.
✌️🥸
Thanks for letting me know! That Ae system looks so good, it's an awesome system, enjoy!
@@MonotrailTechTalk I do :)
Hopefully more 3rd Party manufacturers will develope modules for this format in the future to make it even more interesting. :)
I’m inspired by the parts where you use a mixer to blend cv’s to make random melodies with some control over repetition!
Glad you liked it! It's still a trick I use a lot, often in combination with sequenced voices :)
unique style of video, i like it. 11:05 - incredible tip - off to try that out right now!
Hey, glad to hear you got something out of it, cheers!
There is so much crap out there when it comes to modular videos, this is not crap :) Great work, I’ll check out the rest of your content!
Thank you!
Really interesting videos, as I’m just getting slowly into modular world, this is what I was looking for (and it’s quite difficult to find something relevant out there for people who are just starting to discover all of this). Anyway thanks for the amazing work here! Take care!
Hey, thank you, that is good to hear! I still consider making a true Modular 101 course. If all goes well I might start that this year. Thanks for the positive comment! And all the best :)
@@MonotrailTechTalk looking forward to it! Take care!
Would love to watch a video of yours on logic modules / concepts!
Hi there! I've been busy with some work and healt problems lately, but will get back to videos really soon. My Patrons have been the best and the extra money from that gives me a chance to buy/exchange some modules to talk about. High on the list is the Doepfer a166 logic!
This is really excellent- clear and understandable explanations and super-useful content. Thanks!
Thanks a lot, always nice to hear that people get value out of these :)
Totally brilliant. Great visualisations, great explanations of useful concepts. Thanks
Thank you so much! Really motivates me to recieve positive reactions :)
Incredibly informative! I've been enjoying your videos. My only suggestion would be to include even more "hands-on" / live sound examples so we can hear the differences between the different schematics you describe. Also would love to hear more performances on your channel so we can hear your sound but I understand if you want to keep it more educational.
Thank you! Glad to hear it :) And I agree, the sounddemos are one of the most time consuming parts of the videos, though, and unfortunately I have to limit the amount of time I spend on these. I hope the amount of time I can spend on these will grow allong with my Patreon next year ;)
Indeed I split up the music and tech talk videos on purpose, so people can find/subscribe to what they like. if you like to hear my music, please visit my main channel! Five years worth of modular jams ;)
ruclips.net/user/monotrailmusic
Thank you! This was really useful. Kept doing the same stuff.. This gave new ideas.
Nice, glad to hear it! Cheers :)
Good info. Easy to understand.
Glad to hear it, thanks!
11:10 beautiful!
Thanks!
Fantastic content well executed. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers :)
Thanks, this was very enjoyable and interesting
Glad you enjoyed it, cheers!
You're a great teacher, I'll be subscribing to your Patreon, keep up the awesome work!
Thank you very much, thats lovely to hear!
Thank you, that was really informative and helpful. I realized how I under-use some of my modules!
Glad it was helpful! Enjoy some new experiments :)
Great tricks! Thanks a lot for this.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching :)
Thanks for these great educational videos!
Thanks for watching! Glad to hear people like these :)
Thank you very much, great video.
You're welcome, all the best!
cool video, it's always a good topic and something I myself like to spend a lot of time on, divisions and gate/clock signals. thanks
Glad to hear you like it! All the best in your explorations! :)
Very informative. Thanks man.
Glad it was helpful, and you're welcome!
Super video. Many thx.
Glad to hear it, and you're welcome! Happy to make them :)
Great video, thanks.
Glad you liked it! Cheers :)
awesome explination. ty!
Glad it was helpful!
Man this is sooooo helpful and well done. Thank you!
Thank you so much, cheers!
This video really helped me to make a better patch
Glad to hear it, cheers!
Realy nice review. Nice work. Tx
Thanks for watching!
Really good, again! I’m going to have to try out some these patch ideas...thx!
Thanks! Hope it brings you some new patches :)
blows my mind modular got this far that quick
It's been around for a bit, but sure think the community is growing a lot!
Really Love your video's! Great information and ways to use and combine modules in different way. Thanks so much!
You're welcome! Glad to hear you find them useful :)
Superb infomration but I still have a hard time deciding on which modules to buy. This will probably be a project that goes on over years.
Thanks! And that's alright :) Indeed I think it's a good idea to take some time to research what you like and how you want to approach things!
For the past weeks my goals have changed a few times already, but the outcome is always about 5k Euro spent. Per plan lol.
Start with a few modules that seem like an exciting playground. Your plans will change for sure, and noticing what is missing when you start using it will change your plans for sure as well!
When I start an empty rack on ModularGrid I just end up with a decently filled one before it looks satisfying and the price tag is always near 5k lol. It is not easy to find a half rack idea that works.
Honestly I was surprised when I saw the 700:1 like ratio but I understood why when I started watching. This is really high quality content and I'd love to see more stuff like this. Also I've been playing around with VCV Rack recently which is great for certain things but it's crazy how much better hardware sounds compared to digital when it comes to basic oscillators and subtractive synthesis in general...
(although I'd highly suggest you to consider upgrading your camera and mic if you really wanna get "serious" about this in the future)
Dear General Kenobi, nice to see you around these parts! Glad to hear you got some value out of it, and I for sure plan to keep doing this for some time. VCV rack is a great playground. Might even do some video about that in the future as well. Also already moved to a new studio and upgraded my camera since this video. Microphone is next on the list! For example in this more recent vid: ruclips.net/video/DZX-yNUOc0Y/видео.html
All the best!
@@MonotrailTechTalk hehe niceee. Looking forward to the VCV video if you do end up making one. Cheers
Thank you!!!!
You're welcome!
Great video. The two Doepfer clock dividers are fundamentally different, no? One is a binary divider, the newer one is a musical divider. I don't have either but it'd be cool to see a comparison of both.
Thanks! There are two Doepfer dividers the a160-1, and the a160-2. Both are simple dividers that output gates instead of triggers. The a160-1 only has divide by 2/4/8 etc. The a160-2 also offers divide by 2/3/4/5 etc, and prime number divisions, so its more flexible. However, then theres also the Doepfer a161, wich is not a divider at all, it just takes a clock and then cycles a single high output through 8 steps. The a161 only works when fysically linked to the a160-1 though, and not with the a161-2. Nice and confusing, hope that is what you ment!
What a great explanation! Thanks a lot! Can you suggest some modules for a newbie "generative drummer system"? I just want a small system with "whom" I can jam. As having your own mad drummer. Someone/something you do not have to program.
Hi there, and thanks :) Hmm, drum module wise id say have a look at the Basimilu Iteritas Alter. A digital very flexible drum voice. But my personal favorite is to work with a sample player. You can load all sortsof sounds into it, single hits, loops, etc, and will keep you sounding goof for decades. When it comes to not programming, or jamming, maybe look into modules that can provide random votlages and triggers :)
If you say "mad drummer" to jam with I think a buot a video I made a while ago, just using the 4ms stereo triggered sampler. One side with 10 drum samples, and one side with a merimba kind of sample. Then just used the Korg SQ-1 to sequence both parts: ruclips.net/video/KfWquEL8hnU/видео.html
Thanks@@MonotrailTechTalk I will have a look at the module you mentioned. I know a sampler might do the job. However, I don't want anything prerecorded, since I want to create everything on the spot. Have a nice day. :)
Really really good video! Thanks man alot! 👊
Glad to hear it! You're welcome :)
Good info. What can you do with a modular synth that you can not do with an Arturia Polybrute, Novation Summit, Korg Prologue, Korg Kronos...etc.? Thanks.
Those synths you mention are all poly synths, which is something the modular is bad at. But to me a modular is a customizable toolbox. There are a lot of things those synths can't do. Many most people wont miss, like having fun with custom patched sequencers, switches, quantizers etc. For me the big thing. I can do a full performance with multiple voices, percussion, mixing, FX etc, all in a portable case smaller than any of those synths.
Thanks for the video! How do you synchronize the SQ-1 with the Beatstep Pro? I tried to connect the "In sync" of the SQ-1 to a "drum gate" of the Beatstep pro, and I keep having "ghost" triggers.
Yes unfortunately the Korg (also the volca series) respond to a gate / trigger 'off' signal as well as the 'on' signal, thats pretty anoying if you ask me. I I often use a attack decay envelope in between. If you tweek the decay time, you can get a propper sync.
@@MonotrailTechTalk If you use the midi center from Aturia you can change the clock out of your beatstep pro to be Korg clock. This way you can sync up your volca's (and believe also your SQ-1) with the Beatstep pro's clock using the clock out.
Hi! Many thanks for this super clear tutorial. I have a question: I Owe a MI Marbles and was wondering if a clock source (+dividers) and additional quantizers could help our are redundant for generative music?
Thx.
Hi Omega, glad to hear you liked it, you're welcome! The end of your question confuses me a bit, so Im not sure. A clock source, dividers and quantizer are intersting for generative music for sure, I mention some functions in the video. The MI Marbles is great as well, can also generate melodies and random voltages, I don't think it can divide, but I have no experience with that module. I think it can do more than the basic modules!
Thank you for sharing. This made my week and will be my entire weekend! I am quite excited to experiment with all of this. Do you recommend any particular books that discuss concepts like these for further learning? Thanks again!
You're most welcome! Glad to hear it adds something, have a great weekend! "Patch and Tweak" is an often recommended book, but about modular in general, not just generative music. Also muffwiggler is an excelent source for things, but to be fair I have read neather.
www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31698&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
awesome
Thanks for watching!
At 7:30 what is the Osc ?
Sounds gnarly !!!
Hmm, not completely sure, but by the sound I'd say I used on of my favorite easy tricks: Running a simple saw wave oscillator through a delay with very short delay times, slightly modulated. Cheers!
what modules do you use in this video as triggers sources?
Hi there, all explained in the Clock/trigger/gate chapter :)
Awesome stuff! One question: did you design those patch animations yourself or did you use a tool for it? Looks kinda nice to document patches and ideas..
Glad to hear you like it! And indeed, design and animate the flow charts myself in Adobe illustrator/animate.
@@MonotrailTechTalk nice work dude
Please do the logic video! :-)
I'd be happy to, but really like to be able to demo the theory with a module and don't actually have on yet ;) I plan to get or borrow few doepfer modules to explain some more interesting basics.
@@MonotrailTechTalk looking forward to it.
I would love a generative modular setup. Or any eurorack setup at all. Lol 😆
Damn is this shit expensive to get into. Not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge
Yeah, unfortunately it really is. I always recommend having a look at the Behringer Neutron, It still offers a lot of patching fun and sounds for a price tag I think is worth it. Or of course have a look at VCV rack. It's a free and actually really good digital modular plugin :) Lot's of fun to be had there, you can easily experiment with great gererative setups! vcvrack.com/
@@MonotrailTechTalk I already have a moog grandmother,.. just bought a Eurorack case tonight because I couldn't resist lol. It only 88hp but hoping to fill it with things to compliment the grandmother and do simple generative stuff with it.
@@visisydandthevoid A great, grandmother is a beatufil device, and the perfect setup to add some interesting modular to it. Enjoy!
👏👏👏😸
:)
If anyone could point me to a shopping list to get started with generative music id appreciate it :) I have a minilogue xd and an MPC One + but i would love to know what i need to "generate" music . my next purchase will be a moog studio 3 :)
Hi there! Sounds like you're already set on your next purchase, and the studio 3 is more than plenty to enjoy lot's of generative patches. It has all you need, sound, sequencing, and patches to explore. Enjoy!
This is not for beginners. 😂
Hi there! Sorry about that! Maybe should have said modular beginners, I do assume quite some general synth knowledge :) If you have wishes, or ideas about what you would consider or like to see as a beginner, feel free to let me know! Cheers :)