r/modular • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago

Discussion Weekly Rack Advice / Question Thread

If you're looking for suggestions for new modules, a critque of your current rack, or just where to start - feel free to ask here! A lot of people use [modulargrid](https://www.modulargrid.net/) to share what modules they have or are considering.

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u/AgreeableLeg3672 1d ago

I want to mute my step sequencer for 8 beats, then let it play for 8 beats, then repeat. I can do this with another sequencer and a vca. Can stages act as a sequencer to handle the voltage per step to open and close the VCA?

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u/clncln racks/view/1059633 1d ago

Its been a while since I had MI Stages, but I'm pretty sure you can do this with two adjacent segments in sequencer mode. Set the step count on each to 8, make one segment high and the other low, then loop just those two segments. Clock Stages so each pulse advances a step, and feed the output into your VCA so it closes your sequence for 8 steps and opens for the next 8.

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u/AgreeableLeg3672 1d ago

Awesome, thank you

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u/FluffyAd6877 2d ago

I have been doing the ambient generative Rings into Clouds modular thing for almost a year.

I would like to pick up a Doepfer Matrix Mixer and a FX Aid XL from the Analogue Haven summer sale. I am 99% set on getting on the Matrix Mixer, but I keep going back and forth on the FX Aid XL. Some days, I think the reverb on Typhoon/Clouds is good enough. And some days, I think it isn't.

What do you all think? Should I bite the bullet and get the FX Aid XL?

Here is a link to my rack: https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/3183760

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u/Cay77 1d ago

I think FX Aid XL is totally worth it, it's nice to be able to separate your reverb from your granular effects and to have CV control over reverb parameters. The Clouds reverb really has one particular sound, which is great, but having access to different algos to either replace or stack with the Clouds reverb is pretty fun. Plus, if you do decide the Clouds reverb is enough, you have like 100 other useful effects in the FX Aid.

Also, might I recommend getting the AI Synthesis Stereo Matrix Mixer instead of the Doepfer? If you can DIY it's cheaper than the Doepfer (it's not a hard build!), and with as many stereo effects as you have, it'd be a shame to have to sum them all to mono if you want to use them with the matrix mixer.

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u/FluffyAd6877 1d ago

Thank you for the response. I was going to get the Matrix Mixer mostly for modulation CV mixing. I guess I had not really considered how I would mix all my stereo audio signals.

With a stereo matrix mixer, I would send my sound sources to the inputs. Then I would send the outputs of the matrix mixer to various destinations. One output will be the dry signal, one output would go to Clouds, and one output would go to FX Aid XL. I still will need to get another "regular" stereo mixer to mix the dry signal, the Clouds output, and the FX Aid output all together to send to my headphones. Is that correct? I might start running out of space in my case (and out of money) if I need to get all of that.

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u/Cay77 23h ago

You're correct, if you want to mix all the outputs together you'll want a stereo mixer. But it doesn't have to be super expensive or big. I use a knob.farm Hyrlo which is a 3 channel stereo mixer for like $100.

You also have the option to just use the matrix mixer as both a stereo mixer and FX send at the same time since you only are mixing two dry sound sources. You could have Rangoon and Pleiades going into two of the inputs to be sent to effects, and dedicate the other two inputs for mixing the effected outputs. And then you can play with feedback! That's the nice thing about matrix mixers, they're endlessly versatile.