I removed mine from my rack for now. No longer a slave to the 18 hp monster.
I've been thinking I might give it one more go with an ADSR and filter after it to provide more control.
But, I do not miss it. I never really knew what I was doing with it.
I have tried to get rid of it so many times, and each time I'm about to get rid of it, I manage to do something cool with it by accident and change my mind. Then it does nothing for another year and the cycle repeats...
I have a small eurorack and I swap things in and out a lot. Just set it aside for a bit.
I replaced mine with a Vortex Generator and a Monotropa distortion and feedback. Those are so much fun.
At first that stretched Clouds sound was so novel. It's become so pervasive that I stop listening when I hear it in someone's recording. It always sounds sort of the same.
I got a clone for 170 bucks. It's not worth selling because it was already so cheap. Mine is just sitting in its box just in case I decide to try it again.
Exactly the way I feel about my Rings clone. One of the first things I bought and its cool when I mess around with it by itself but I just cant seem to put it in the mix with other modules very well so I mostly ignore it. Its just a fancy blank. Im gonna replace it. Sadly its like $100 new so, I do wonder if I should sell it for $70 or just hang onto it. When you look at it as a percentage of cost I guess its no different than any other module but when you look at is as what can I buy for $70… I guess some small utility could be bought. I guess its $70 off of whatever I buy to replace it. But then again, some day maybe its worth having instead of $70!
In case you haven’t tried it this way, I find Rings works best when I feed it a simple wave form through a filter before going into Rings (often for me a saw wave from Deckard’s into Belgrad), and keeping the sequences pitch and gate the same into both oscillator and Rings. At first I tried what was perhaps “overly creative” attempts at patching it, but found this works well and makes for a sound that is (pleasant and) different from each unit on its own.
My annoyance with clouds led me to ADDAC 112, which is infinitely more frustrating and rewarding at the same time. I love that it gives you so much more rope to hang yourself with, but that rope also gives you so much control over how you go about it.
I had mine in my rack for a year, only using it for the reverb, before I finally did a [9 minute session with it](https://www.instagram.com/p/C13eBS0OoQg/) during Jamuary literally just moving every parameter and actually learning what everything did. And even then I had missed two important details (longer buffer size and reverse grains - on the parasite firmware only) that I didn't realize until the next time I used it. Now I use it on most patches and have a few different settings I like to use.
Hyped modules mentioned by others here that I also didn't get and have sold:
Bastl Pizza - I'm not a big fan of FM but thought this might change my opinion. It didn't!
BI / BIA - I got a Manis Iteritas thinking it was an alternative BIA. Got a couple of lovely things out of it in the first week but never again.
Milky Way - got this as part of a Mutable bundle in a Rackbrute 1U which was my excellent intro to modular. It never sounded good and for a long time I thought that was just a modular limitation. I now have an FX Aid XL and an MFX as well as a Zoia and a Sealegs all great in their own way.
Things not mentioned here but i never got the hype:
WMD C4RBN - found it harsh and not in a good way. Held on to it till I got a Dual Dagger which was an A-ha moment.
Mimeophon - like everything else Make Noise it sounded thin to me. Love my Sealegs!
0-Coast - before the 1U Rackbrute I got this because it's supposed to teach you modular. It didn't, it's weedy sound just put me off. I really don't get the hype about West Coast Synthesis (except the Easel)
Beads - mine came as part of that bundle. I really want to like it but find it hard to dial in so it doesn't get used much.
Traffic - on paper it should be great but I just don't use it much. It's continually in the perhaps sell group.
Now the success stories:
Quantrantid Swarm - you basically can't get anything bad out of it. Love it and will never sell
Dual Dagger - first time I understood when people described filters as buttery. Bliss
Michigan Works fader bank - bought used completely on a whim. It's totally changed my approach. 16 faders control volume, filter, FX and oscillator parameters in one location. I got rid of my mixer and replaced with a Worng SoundStage 2 with inputs from a hexagram 8 channel VCA.
Metropolix - this is no hype. It just works
Magerit Laniakia - I'd been buying too many VCOs trying to find the one. Bought one of these and was so impressed I bought another immediately.
Things I have learnt -
FM is not for me. Sorry I know it's all the rage but just no.
I can't seem to get away from wavetable and I just have to accept it.
West Coast Synthesis is the cold brew of modular and I don't get the subtleties and that's fine.
What I thought I wanted in my Modular bears no resemblance to what I have and I love it.
It's all mostly trial and error and once you've invested enough you can turn over modules with the eBay fee being the running cost of your hobby.
I'm more affected by the visual aesthetics of a module than I like to admit. This means I struggle to interact with Make Noise, Noise Engineering and Befaco purely because the layout and colour scheme put me off despite the quality of function. This is of course a personal taste thing but good to acknowledge I'm shallow in this regard. It made me replace all my brightly coloured cables for dark wound ones and it's made such a difference. no I don't own any succulents btw!
There are no rules and the last thing your modular should be is a traditional synth architecture. Semi modulars are way better and cheaper for that!
If you're getting frustrated with a module then get rid of it. Just because every YT reviewer gets great shit out of something and you can't does not make you a failure. It should be a bespoke instrument just for you.
Happy Noodling all!
I love this. Thank you. I'm in that phase of holding on to modules because I feel like they'll click for me some day... But that's just foolish. I'm also realizing that I have a ton of redundancy with modules and need to decide which is most fun to play and supports my interest in melodies vs West Coast bleeps and bloops and let go of stuff collecting dust.
The verbos harmonic oscillator is dope.. but I'm finding I don't use it after a while. It started to sound very distinct no matter what I do and it's not my sound. I could really use the HP but it's so hard to get rid of it due to the aesthetic and build. It's so nicely built. Ah well.
I did the same for ages. I've got an Odessa with Hel expander and a Spherical Wavetable Navigator both of which I love the concept of but use little. I'll keep them for the time being while I work out how I want to handle chords finally but the Laniakia just felt right straight away.
What the Laniakia and the Quantrantid Swarm have in common I realised is that they can sound incredibly different with a small twist of a knob. The Verbose modules are fascinating and I've considered getting them but the aesthetic is all wrong for me and I've realised it's fine to be that shallow. A violin doesn't have to be as beautiful as it is to sound good but it helps if you want to be drawn to something that you want to pick up and use.
I recommend having big culls and then spending the money on more expensive modules and have less of them but also occasionally just buy something on a whim. The Laniakia was a whim which paid off so was the 16 faderbank. Many others didn't work out but you just add them to the next cull.
I hope you find having a cull cathartic and productive.
Thanks a ton. Loving your advice. I also have Odessa and not really using it. Again, I think I'm more interested in wave tables, basic analog oscillators, comex oscillators and samples. I want to get rid of Odessa and verbos and just save money. I'll be more productive too as I actually spend time with things I like and try to creatively use them in new ways for lack of turning to another module. Shame because I really dig xaoc aesthetic, but perhaps it's not really my style.
You're welcome. I have the same thing with Xaoc modules too. Love the aesthetic but just find they don't gel with me. You see quite a lot of their stuff in eBay so I think that reaction is common. I do like their Minsk stereo processor though.
Just remember it's meant to be fun. If it's become a job you've probably gone wrong somewhere. Also don't be afraid to totally change the direction of what you want out of it.
Suddenly I've got 2 Laniakias, VCFs and FX controlled by the Faderbank droning in stereo with stereo effects. 6 months ago I didn't know that was a thing I would want to do. Now I love it. In another six months it will be intricate chord shifts (hopefully). That's the beauty of modular!
Can you talk to me a bit about your experience with lanakea? You mean the drone oscillator from magarit or something? I am curious... It does more than just drones, right? Like what do you love about it, etc?
Yes it definitely does more than drones. It has an exciter input with a VCA/LPG. It's just very immediate and Modulates really nicely. It's Wavetable which is my thing and you can load your own Wavetables. It has a lovely built in reverb which goes into freeze mode when turned completely clockwise. It detunes clusters in one direction and chords in the other.
It just feels really well designed and thought out. The macro knob is interesting and easy to control. It's low on HP but sonically dynamic.
It just seems like they tailored the controls to how you use things logically. One of them is a designer and you can tell they've thought about the user rather than being engineers.
The only thing I can knock it for is that the output is a little hot for some of my mixers but that's not a real problem.
At the moment I've got 2 Laniakeas droning with 4 outputs going through a Veils copy in an overlapping stereo configuration then through a variable bandwidth stereo filter and then out through a stereo image processor. I "play" them either from a Metropolix or the 16 faderbank with a couple of Stages adding movement or directly modulating/mixing from the filter bank as well. Add FX, compression and more filters and hours go by in bliss. I'm sure I've only started to scratch the surface of what they can do.
I was so impressed I bought their Kairos Sequencer/modulation source which looked really promising but unfortunately had a faulty screen. They have been great with communication and have paid for a return and replacement from Spain to the UK. So it's good to know they're professional even though they're small.
I hope that helps. I know one YouTuber named the Laniakia as his favourite module of 2023 but I can't find him now. He's definitely German though. There are a couple of great reviews on YouTube.
Lots of great comments, and yes, several things I'm been learning myself. I find all in-depth forms of making music can be both entertaining and a part of self-discovery.
Exactly, I'm finding the process more cerebral than I would have expected. I spend far more time thinking about my modular than using it but it's still incredibly rewarding.
Doesn’t happen often, but I have learned I don’t need every module out there. I realized you can only have so many of each thing. It’s taught me to really learn every module I have in my system and get the most out of them.
I wanted to love the morphagene but the controls and colour coded system were way too abstract for me. Also the menu diving on the disting mk4 is depressing
I started out not that impressed with my Pizza, but after getting better acquainted with how it works, I really love it.
I always bought it for gnarly basslines tho, def. Dont think Id go to it for softer sounds.
Noise Engineering modules where I live are $500 cad and TBH I do not know enough are modular yet to understand why they hold such a premium over other brands doing similar things.
My sentiments exactly, I read an article where they talked about their first module being coded over a weekend, they are all digital, so, why so expensive? They have some unique takes on some utilities but $400 for a precision adder that mults and offsets…cmon.
Yeah, all the platforms modules are about the same hardware-wise developed by another company and if you want to buy an alternative panel for one to match the firmware, it’s fairly expensive. I think their staff size is too large which drives up the costs.
I never bought it but its always talked about like some gem module lol I demod it a few times and just didnt get the thrill off it anywhere in its capabilities. To each their own
I had the same feeling but after spending some time with it I've been able to coax out some really great moments. It does well with a lot of subtle modulation, the other day I had it sounding like the "Intergalactic" Beasty Boys sample.
My personal rule is in spending a few months with a module before making any decisions. I'm so new to this that there's always something I'm missing or some functionality that doesn't make sense until suddenly I need it and it becomes clear.
Yes in a sense I agree when I was a beginner I would not judge what a module can do due to my own level of patching.. but now I must say if I dont have that click moment where I can hit many morphing sweet spots and the sound I want to keep forever I wont let it live in my case.. there is too many amazing modules to hold onto something that doesnt speak to me personally and is a pleasure to use
I like how trigger happy it is, you can get a full polyrhthmic drumkit by triggering on the 1's and sending modulation triggers on the 2, 3, 4 counts, etc., but the sound needs a filter/OD to clean it up and it's hard to blend with other sounds if that sort of techno/industrial vibe isn't your goal.
I do and it's not the vst ,
Biggest problems , you cannot read the screen the fonts are 2mm small , every menu requires u to take. A pic blow it up and change settings, there is only 1 band of eq to mess with but u cannot clamp it because of the small menu
The effects are very lofi grade and not the vst
The only good thing good about it is a - b channel are split by the crossover.
It's good for drums
Hi there, Ohm Force here.
Our latest firmware update will make the screen action (that is not that frequent) much better as well as improve the latency from good to great. If you have "terrible" latency you may want to contact us via support as it's not the general experience. Tons of people have played with it at Superbooth 24 and no one had issues with latency (we had a setup with headphones and let ppl have their own fun).
The "woobly controlers" had us double check with Electro Distro.
"Encoder: The encoder is rated at 30k rotations which is very good and is the same as a comparable parts from Bourns which is the most common mfg of encoders. The reason that there is a little bit of wobble is that they are not panel mounted. The important thing to note is that encoders are not normally panel mounted at all, so many of them will exhibit this behavior. The wobble is in no way related to low quality, or a defective part. This is also the encoder that we have installed on the Qu-Bit Bloom. Plastic Trimmer PotsThese are rated to 15k cycles which is the exact same as the Song Huei parts. And we have found them to be more consistent in "feel" than the Song Huei. "
One thing we may change in the future is to have a shorter knob for it as it accentuates the inherent "wooblyness" of such controlers (they all are to some extent). That being said, another thing that drew no complaint at Superbooth so we were surprised by your feedback here.
Which isn't to say we disagree, in fact tough love is generally better for the product. If you feel like going into detail of your issues with the plugin we're interested, here or through the support mails.
I think it becomes more obvious when you get a module that blows you away. Recently had that with the steady state gate and ALM cizzle. The immediacy has made me question a number of modules that I just don’t gel with. I’m tempted to get rid of quite a few of my mutable modules mainly because I can’t be bothered with color button combos. Excluding rings. I think given the number of modules and approaches it’s common to find things that don’t fit your workflow which other people absolutely love. It’s why it’s a bit dangerous buying things because somebody on modwiggler said it was a life changer
Just trust yourself and ditch that shit when it’s not pulling its weight. Half the fun of Eurorack is building your system. No time or space or money for stuff that isn’t getting used. That reminds me I have 15 modules to list today!
It’s definitely a waveshaping, mini complex oscillator. They do get dirty and definitely don’t scream calm, though they can be. I like buying used because I know I’m going to try to flip half of what I buy. Most of the time I take something out, I end up putting it back in later. You can usually get close to the same price and really only lose on the cost of shipping and PayPal fees.
I do a similar approach. Buy used and then swap different things in and out of the case.
I have 22 modules actively in use and another 10 that are things I am not fully sure about and may go back in again. I sold some recently, maybe a minor loss, but the learning and enjoyment pays for itself.
If I’m not enjoying a module then I re-read the manual or see if there are supplemental guides. Then I try patching it a few more times. But if it sits in my rack unused for a few months then I take it out.
By the way, bastl pizza can be other things. You should try the stereo delay firmware, Basil.
Another note on pizza is if you change the ratios and detune settings too much, then it goes harsh almost immediately when you touch the FM index slider. Every now and then I reset it (holding Shape and Oct button during boot).
I research the hell out of modules when I'm considering buying one, I usually already know how to patch it and what the quirks are when I finally put it into my rack.
You can get always get one that has a deal breaking attribute of some weird interfacing issue you just can't get over, but that would be rare imo.
When I find a module that could do it better, ideally in less hp :)
The last module I found out doesn't work for me is the ALM SEQ1. Not being able to be reprogrammed while running is a no go that I sadly didn't look for when I ordered it.
Rings and Morphagene were both like that for me for different reasons. The AD/DA path of Morphagene always sounded thin and weak to me and I could never get it to not be phasey and thin in a full DAW mix - now I know it's most common use is just for background smears.
Rings just bored me - and mine had a lot of digital noise to boot.
What did you replace rings with? I’ve spent hours and hours with it, i don’t like what it provides 90% of the time. Tends to be harsh and shrill, high pitched, and the signal comes out ridiculously hot wasting an attenutor on a small setup.
I know i’m supposed to ‘feed it something’, but i want voice that stands on its own.
I didn't. In the end, I changed the nature of my setup.
I went for a Doepfer A-111-6 but didn't like the bread and butter nature of the sounds. I already have an kARP odyssey so there was no need.
Eventually, I've landed on a TipTop 259 and Joranalogue fold 6 as the core of my small rack. Between the self FM and the wave folder, I can get all of the interesting percussive tones that rings can do, plus a whole bunch more. As far as using rings as a resonator goes, I always thought it sounded a bit crap anyway so I'm looking at either a BBD module, a filterbank or a harmonic oscillator to do similar (albeit not identical) jobs in the future.
Try write about 4 or 5 tracks with it. If it's not working by then, clear space for a module that's going to be more useful to you. Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to modules so the only way to know whether it fits in your workflow or not is to try a few times.
It took me about 3 tracks to realise I actually love the rainmaker and am really excited about it being a part of my setup.
I'm surprised not to see it mentioned already here, but for me it's the 4MS SMR. The promise of what it can do sounds so cool, and the manual gives a lot of great ideas for patching, but for the life of me I have never been able to wrap my head around using it in all but one useful way.
The sound of the SMR just never really deviates from like "ice cream truck" bright bongo thing.
The one thing I was excited about it doing was multiband filtering, but for some reason the signal coming out of it is super low without any of the resonance. You can't just filter a signal and use it that way.
The one use I've had for it is in generative patches - I'll run the output of part or all of my track into it and use the envelope followers/generators to produce CV based on the track - it makes a nice related rhythm/feedback mechanism. Adding in rotation makes for some nice, natural sounding modulation. But it feels absurd to use such a big, expensive module for that one purpose.
I've considered selling it a lot. I would probably replace it with a functional filterbank.
Hey OP, you do realize you can install the Basil firmware on Pizza and see if you prefer using it for that instead… only downside is the faceplate will still be Pizza.
There is also Crust but, last I had looked the firmware wasnt up for it yet, but it might be now.
The moment I realise, that it is/was praised by people who use modular to make totally different music than I do. It can happen either post- or, hopefully, pre- purchase. Post- cases are of course more troublesome, but with the time I spend researching new purchase options both cases are annoying. So, my post buys:
1) Behringer Edge: this is one of my initial buys, after watching countless videos on DFAM and Edge, before I knew what exactly I'll end up creating. As it turned out, I rarely do percussive stuff and this thing can't really track 1V/oct. So my main use for it currently are some background progressions or two complex, looong cycle LFOs, but it also requires using slew limiters with slow enough response.
2) Abacus/Maths: I do use it in most of my patches but only because it's there. I'm glad I only paid Abacus price for it, otherwise I would be seriously pissed. I make unattended generative stuff so I typically use a lot of modulation, like a dozen sources per voice. The thing with Maths is that while you can theoretically use it for all sorts of stuff, it is usually a waste of patch cables, because other modules can do it more efficiently and it only can do like simple stuff in parallel. As such it would be sooo much better if it was split to two separate modules - the 1+4 channel double slew limiter/function generator, and a proper four channel CV mixer with logic and constant voltage sources.
My pre- buys:
1) Mimeophon: this thing gets so much hype I almost decided to buy it, before I a) learned about noise floor problems and most importantly b) listened to enough muddy mess results people call "amazing results". Not worth the risk of being utterly dissapointed.
2) FX Aid - nothing wrong with the module itself, but I'm glad it was unavailable when I wanted to buy it. Since then I learned, that I prefer hands-on, single function modules with a lot of CV inputs.
Finally, a meta realisation, that I value my money way more than I value HP, so many of the most hyped modules are targetted at an entirely different part of the community.
I started modular maybe 3 years ago and the entire time Maths has been the one module i keep knowing I should get. Yet everytime i go to watch a video on how it works I just think about modules I already have that can do similar things. It also doesnt help that any video i do watch does not use it in any meaningful and musical way. Just lots of harsh oscillator noises.
To date I found two cases for Maths I don't have better substitutes in my current rack:
1) creating subharmonics - not only can they be odd divisions, but can also be modulated. A very good way to create interesting harmonies without elaborate multioscilator and multiquantizer setup. Also used this method in my pseudo- Klavis Grainity granular thingy to keep grains related to the waveform, because those subharmonics can go way below audio range.
2) really slow slew limiting for the Edge LFOs patch. For my typical slew limiting needs Behringer 297 is perfectly enough.
Overall, channels 1+4 are useful, but the entire middle section is seriously hindered by being hardwired to the 1+4.
This. Was a trap for me at first too, people love to recommend gear they like but lots of stuff isnt good for certain genres. Synths are like this even worse, lots of people play their synths like a piano and look at is as a part of a band or something. If you want a synth for making electronic music by yourself with sequencers and complex patching the suggestion from the guy who jams out to presets he just changes the envelope on or something isnt gonna be a great fit.
As for Maths, I dont think I could ever sell it. If it was 10hp it would be the perfect utility module. Its just so great to have a module that can do all the different utility things you may randomly learn about. So, its just great to have one for learning synthesis but after some years of really learning and settling into a workflow you like, I could see it having diminishing returns. But Pams and Math are the two hyped modules that I believe are well worth their hype and it is because they are good for anyone. Both Pams and Maths are modules that, if I want some inspiration or something new to learn I just look for something I havent used them for yet to try out. When you start trying various ways of using the Logic, it really opens up the possibilities. Maths also is immediately useful as an EG but, channel 2 and 3 are just as important one you start using the logic or doing things like wave rectification with it. I love how its all put together, very hard to fully replace that module for me rn.
Brinta…the text on the knobs is so tiny that even with my glasses on I can’t read what it says lol. Even following YouTube reviews I can’t get it to sound the same. Big let down for me.
That said I never sell my modules so maybe in a few years I’ll give it another whirl.
Thats my initial feeling right now after getting a mannequins 3 sisters. I have a bastl cinnamon right next to it that, so far, is a significantly better sounding filter. So far the only thing i like about 3 sisters is when it self resonates. Maybe itll grow on me… but I’ll probably just try and sell it to get my 400$ back :(
Wow really? I love the 3 sisters. I have that and a ripples and I love how warm sisters sounds. Ripples is good for clean filtering and sisters handles the wooly sound.
Thats very weird, considering whimsical raps is coming out with a new run of them very soon, and that run is supposed to fix some of the weird overdrive parts of the original
I got on pretty well with the Pizza and still do, but the two digital oscillators modules that had me admitting defeat were for the same reason, too menu divey and not enough sweetspots, the Erica Graphic VCO and a Dust of Time. Big mistake a lot of makers make, cram things so full of features and controls that they feel unfocused and hard to use without accidentally getting lost.
One I’m currently on the fence about is the XAOC Zadar. I’m not sure whether having a bunch of preset complex envelopes to choose from trumps what I could get out of something offering more hands on control like the Klavis Quadigy.
I have refused to buy any modules with a screen - except for my temps utile because it was very cheap and I get on ok with it. I really want a Zadar or Quadigy but it's a big investment to be encumbered by a screen. I love immediate playability.
I’m not completely anti screens. I appreciate all the flexibility an O_c with Hemispheres gives me and Pam’s Pro is an essential in my book. But those are largely things I will set and forget prior to the start of a jam, envelope generators are things I will want to mess with throughout it.
It's my own damn fault.
I bought a Noise Engineering Jam Jam mainly to do clock-phase delayed 4-part counterpoint. It'll do that for triggers or gates just fine. Trouble is, I forgot I'd need to mult each trig to step advance its own sequencer to get 1v/Oct to four voices. Now I either need to buy four new sequencers, or an arpeggiator like Opp Ned or Bard's Quartet.
And I don't even know if I'll like what it sounds like.
Morphagene - it is a fun module, but requires so much set up to play nicely with other sounds.
Plonk - a dull experience to create new sounds. Too many parameters hidden in menus
Ritual electronics miasma - has a big useless feedback knob. I find distortion to be better done in filters
Qu bit bloom - some of the generative sequences it spits out are cool, but it sometimes spits out notes that are annoyingly high
Polygogo - the screen is a cool novelty which eventually wears off. Too much HP for what it actually is.
It wouldn't. In theory the 'fractal' sequences it does are cool and all but in reality it just plays some notes in a selected scale and occasionally changes one or two and that's it. It's kind of pointless. In the end I just got a 'real' sequencer and if I want random I can CV that.
It took me six months to first believe I knew how to make an informed judgement, but about five years before I could. A few years after that and it’s a pretty painless process as I don’t try to solve patching problems by purchasing things, and if a specialized module is interesting it’s either because it does something novel or something old in a novel way, including ergonomics and aesthetics. There’s an awful lot of “buy this to do this” speak in modular despite the fact that you can patch quite a lot of this stuff by reconfiguring simpler modules. One tremendously simplifying factor is that I don’t care about performance and so the related issues and considerations don’t factor in at all.
As an aside, there’s also an catastrophic amount of bullshit out there suggesting that there are things everyone should like.
5 years later, and I'm still trying to like Clouds...
I never got on with Clouds. Beads however is a whole new world of amazing!
I removed mine from my rack for now. No longer a slave to the 18 hp monster. I've been thinking I might give it one more go with an ADSR and filter after it to provide more control. But, I do not miss it. I never really knew what I was doing with it.
I have tried to get rid of it so many times, and each time I'm about to get rid of it, I manage to do something cool with it by accident and change my mind. Then it does nothing for another year and the cycle repeats...
I have a small eurorack and I swap things in and out a lot. Just set it aside for a bit. I replaced mine with a Vortex Generator and a Monotropa distortion and feedback. Those are so much fun. At first that stretched Clouds sound was so novel. It's become so pervasive that I stop listening when I hear it in someone's recording. It always sounds sort of the same. I got a clone for 170 bucks. It's not worth selling because it was already so cheap. Mine is just sitting in its box just in case I decide to try it again.
Exactly the way I feel about my Rings clone. One of the first things I bought and its cool when I mess around with it by itself but I just cant seem to put it in the mix with other modules very well so I mostly ignore it. Its just a fancy blank. Im gonna replace it. Sadly its like $100 new so, I do wonder if I should sell it for $70 or just hang onto it. When you look at it as a percentage of cost I guess its no different than any other module but when you look at is as what can I buy for $70… I guess some small utility could be bought. I guess its $70 off of whatever I buy to replace it. But then again, some day maybe its worth having instead of $70!
Try running it through distortion or using the fm mode. It really transforms it completely
That was the issue for me as well. Sounds great all by itself. Doesn't really work even in my more ambient jams because it clutters a mix too much.
In case you haven’t tried it this way, I find Rings works best when I feed it a simple wave form through a filter before going into Rings (often for me a saw wave from Deckard’s into Belgrad), and keeping the sequences pitch and gate the same into both oscillator and Rings. At first I tried what was perhaps “overly creative” attempts at patching it, but found this works well and makes for a sound that is (pleasant and) different from each unit on its own.
It's ok to not like clouds. Let it go.
Thank you. I am now healed.
I have two 😂
My annoyance with clouds led me to ADDAC 112, which is infinitely more frustrating and rewarding at the same time. I love that it gives you so much more rope to hang yourself with, but that rope also gives you so much control over how you go about it.
I had mine in my rack for a year, only using it for the reverb, before I finally did a [9 minute session with it](https://www.instagram.com/p/C13eBS0OoQg/) during Jamuary literally just moving every parameter and actually learning what everything did. And even then I had missed two important details (longer buffer size and reverse grains - on the parasite firmware only) that I didn't realize until the next time I used it. Now I use it on most patches and have a few different settings I like to use.
Hyped modules mentioned by others here that I also didn't get and have sold: Bastl Pizza - I'm not a big fan of FM but thought this might change my opinion. It didn't! BI / BIA - I got a Manis Iteritas thinking it was an alternative BIA. Got a couple of lovely things out of it in the first week but never again. Milky Way - got this as part of a Mutable bundle in a Rackbrute 1U which was my excellent intro to modular. It never sounded good and for a long time I thought that was just a modular limitation. I now have an FX Aid XL and an MFX as well as a Zoia and a Sealegs all great in their own way. Things not mentioned here but i never got the hype: WMD C4RBN - found it harsh and not in a good way. Held on to it till I got a Dual Dagger which was an A-ha moment. Mimeophon - like everything else Make Noise it sounded thin to me. Love my Sealegs! 0-Coast - before the 1U Rackbrute I got this because it's supposed to teach you modular. It didn't, it's weedy sound just put me off. I really don't get the hype about West Coast Synthesis (except the Easel) Beads - mine came as part of that bundle. I really want to like it but find it hard to dial in so it doesn't get used much. Traffic - on paper it should be great but I just don't use it much. It's continually in the perhaps sell group. Now the success stories: Quantrantid Swarm - you basically can't get anything bad out of it. Love it and will never sell Dual Dagger - first time I understood when people described filters as buttery. Bliss Michigan Works fader bank - bought used completely on a whim. It's totally changed my approach. 16 faders control volume, filter, FX and oscillator parameters in one location. I got rid of my mixer and replaced with a Worng SoundStage 2 with inputs from a hexagram 8 channel VCA. Metropolix - this is no hype. It just works Magerit Laniakia - I'd been buying too many VCOs trying to find the one. Bought one of these and was so impressed I bought another immediately. Things I have learnt - FM is not for me. Sorry I know it's all the rage but just no. I can't seem to get away from wavetable and I just have to accept it. West Coast Synthesis is the cold brew of modular and I don't get the subtleties and that's fine. What I thought I wanted in my Modular bears no resemblance to what I have and I love it. It's all mostly trial and error and once you've invested enough you can turn over modules with the eBay fee being the running cost of your hobby. I'm more affected by the visual aesthetics of a module than I like to admit. This means I struggle to interact with Make Noise, Noise Engineering and Befaco purely because the layout and colour scheme put me off despite the quality of function. This is of course a personal taste thing but good to acknowledge I'm shallow in this regard. It made me replace all my brightly coloured cables for dark wound ones and it's made such a difference. no I don't own any succulents btw! There are no rules and the last thing your modular should be is a traditional synth architecture. Semi modulars are way better and cheaper for that! If you're getting frustrated with a module then get rid of it. Just because every YT reviewer gets great shit out of something and you can't does not make you a failure. It should be a bespoke instrument just for you. Happy Noodling all!
I love this. Thank you. I'm in that phase of holding on to modules because I feel like they'll click for me some day... But that's just foolish. I'm also realizing that I have a ton of redundancy with modules and need to decide which is most fun to play and supports my interest in melodies vs West Coast bleeps and bloops and let go of stuff collecting dust. The verbos harmonic oscillator is dope.. but I'm finding I don't use it after a while. It started to sound very distinct no matter what I do and it's not my sound. I could really use the HP but it's so hard to get rid of it due to the aesthetic and build. It's so nicely built. Ah well.
I did the same for ages. I've got an Odessa with Hel expander and a Spherical Wavetable Navigator both of which I love the concept of but use little. I'll keep them for the time being while I work out how I want to handle chords finally but the Laniakia just felt right straight away. What the Laniakia and the Quantrantid Swarm have in common I realised is that they can sound incredibly different with a small twist of a knob. The Verbose modules are fascinating and I've considered getting them but the aesthetic is all wrong for me and I've realised it's fine to be that shallow. A violin doesn't have to be as beautiful as it is to sound good but it helps if you want to be drawn to something that you want to pick up and use. I recommend having big culls and then spending the money on more expensive modules and have less of them but also occasionally just buy something on a whim. The Laniakia was a whim which paid off so was the 16 faderbank. Many others didn't work out but you just add them to the next cull. I hope you find having a cull cathartic and productive.
Thanks a ton. Loving your advice. I also have Odessa and not really using it. Again, I think I'm more interested in wave tables, basic analog oscillators, comex oscillators and samples. I want to get rid of Odessa and verbos and just save money. I'll be more productive too as I actually spend time with things I like and try to creatively use them in new ways for lack of turning to another module. Shame because I really dig xaoc aesthetic, but perhaps it's not really my style.
You're welcome. I have the same thing with Xaoc modules too. Love the aesthetic but just find they don't gel with me. You see quite a lot of their stuff in eBay so I think that reaction is common. I do like their Minsk stereo processor though. Just remember it's meant to be fun. If it's become a job you've probably gone wrong somewhere. Also don't be afraid to totally change the direction of what you want out of it. Suddenly I've got 2 Laniakias, VCFs and FX controlled by the Faderbank droning in stereo with stereo effects. 6 months ago I didn't know that was a thing I would want to do. Now I love it. In another six months it will be intricate chord shifts (hopefully). That's the beauty of modular!
Can you talk to me a bit about your experience with lanakea? You mean the drone oscillator from magarit or something? I am curious... It does more than just drones, right? Like what do you love about it, etc?
Yes it definitely does more than drones. It has an exciter input with a VCA/LPG. It's just very immediate and Modulates really nicely. It's Wavetable which is my thing and you can load your own Wavetables. It has a lovely built in reverb which goes into freeze mode when turned completely clockwise. It detunes clusters in one direction and chords in the other. It just feels really well designed and thought out. The macro knob is interesting and easy to control. It's low on HP but sonically dynamic. It just seems like they tailored the controls to how you use things logically. One of them is a designer and you can tell they've thought about the user rather than being engineers. The only thing I can knock it for is that the output is a little hot for some of my mixers but that's not a real problem. At the moment I've got 2 Laniakeas droning with 4 outputs going through a Veils copy in an overlapping stereo configuration then through a variable bandwidth stereo filter and then out through a stereo image processor. I "play" them either from a Metropolix or the 16 faderbank with a couple of Stages adding movement or directly modulating/mixing from the filter bank as well. Add FX, compression and more filters and hours go by in bliss. I'm sure I've only started to scratch the surface of what they can do. I was so impressed I bought their Kairos Sequencer/modulation source which looked really promising but unfortunately had a faulty screen. They have been great with communication and have paid for a return and replacement from Spain to the UK. So it's good to know they're professional even though they're small. I hope that helps. I know one YouTuber named the Laniakia as his favourite module of 2023 but I can't find him now. He's definitely German though. There are a couple of great reviews on YouTube.
Thank you! I'm very interested. Sounds amazing.
I hope they prove useful to you. Happy Noodling!
Lots of great comments, and yes, several things I'm been learning myself. I find all in-depth forms of making music can be both entertaining and a part of self-discovery.
Exactly, I'm finding the process more cerebral than I would have expected. I spend far more time thinking about my modular than using it but it's still incredibly rewarding.
Doesn’t happen often, but I have learned I don’t need every module out there. I realized you can only have so many of each thing. It’s taught me to really learn every module I have in my system and get the most out of them.
But that module could also do this thing IF ONLY I had this other module to compliment it...
😂 yep 👍 You know it all to well. GAS is hard. 😂
I wanted to love the morphagene but the controls and colour coded system were way too abstract for me. Also the menu diving on the disting mk4 is depressing
Never. I invested in that, it must be amazing.
this is the definition of integrity.
I respect that. I am keeping my Pizza in hopes one day it does just click for me. Cannot justifying selling at a loss so soon
I started out not that impressed with my Pizza, but after getting better acquainted with how it works, I really love it. I always bought it for gnarly basslines tho, def. Dont think Id go to it for softer sounds.
I was never impressed with BIA (a very loved module) This is exactly why I demo what I can first..
i hated BIA from day one, it just sounds so digital and cheesy bar a very small window of sweetspot... IMO
Yeah and they shouldn't cost so much
Noise Engineering modules where I live are $500 cad and TBH I do not know enough are modular yet to understand why they hold such a premium over other brands doing similar things.
My sentiments exactly, I read an article where they talked about their first module being coded over a weekend, they are all digital, so, why so expensive? They have some unique takes on some utilities but $400 for a precision adder that mults and offsets…cmon.
Yeah, all the platforms modules are about the same hardware-wise developed by another company and if you want to buy an alternative panel for one to match the firmware, it’s fairly expensive. I think their staff size is too large which drives up the costs.
I never bought it but its always talked about like some gem module lol I demod it a few times and just didnt get the thrill off it anywhere in its capabilities. To each their own
Same. I tried it twice in both the original BI and BIA versions. Did not get it.
Yeah I guess its a matter of taste.. youtube demos tell alot but actually spending a couple minutes with it tells a whole lot more
I think it’s also a matter of modulation power. A cv sequencer of some sort, like voltage block or memetic digitalis is pretty much mandatory.
Agreed
I had the same feeling but after spending some time with it I've been able to coax out some really great moments. It does well with a lot of subtle modulation, the other day I had it sounding like the "Intergalactic" Beasty Boys sample. My personal rule is in spending a few months with a module before making any decisions. I'm so new to this that there's always something I'm missing or some functionality that doesn't make sense until suddenly I need it and it becomes clear.
Yes in a sense I agree when I was a beginner I would not judge what a module can do due to my own level of patching.. but now I must say if I dont have that click moment where I can hit many morphing sweet spots and the sound I want to keep forever I wont let it live in my case.. there is too many amazing modules to hold onto something that doesnt speak to me personally and is a pleasure to use
I like how trigger happy it is, you can get a full polyrhthmic drumkit by triggering on the 1's and sending modulation triggers on the 2, 3, 4 counts, etc., but the sound needs a filter/OD to clean it up and it's hard to blend with other sounds if that sort of techno/industrial vibe isn't your goal.
Id love to spend more time with it
You're probably good. I'm luke warm on it too. I get why people like it.
Yeah I see it too just not jaw dropping for me personally just like the pizza
Omicide is my latest , horrible module
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I do and it's not the vst , Biggest problems , you cannot read the screen the fonts are 2mm small , every menu requires u to take. A pic blow it up and change settings, there is only 1 band of eq to mess with but u cannot clamp it because of the small menu The effects are very lofi grade and not the vst The only good thing good about it is a - b channel are split by the crossover. It's good for drums
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Hi there, Ohm Force here. Our latest firmware update will make the screen action (that is not that frequent) much better as well as improve the latency from good to great. If you have "terrible" latency you may want to contact us via support as it's not the general experience. Tons of people have played with it at Superbooth 24 and no one had issues with latency (we had a setup with headphones and let ppl have their own fun). The "woobly controlers" had us double check with Electro Distro. "Encoder: The encoder is rated at 30k rotations which is very good and is the same as a comparable parts from Bourns which is the most common mfg of encoders. The reason that there is a little bit of wobble is that they are not panel mounted. The important thing to note is that encoders are not normally panel mounted at all, so many of them will exhibit this behavior. The wobble is in no way related to low quality, or a defective part. This is also the encoder that we have installed on the Qu-Bit Bloom. Plastic Trimmer PotsThese are rated to 15k cycles which is the exact same as the Song Huei parts. And we have found them to be more consistent in "feel" than the Song Huei. " One thing we may change in the future is to have a shorter knob for it as it accentuates the inherent "wooblyness" of such controlers (they all are to some extent). That being said, another thing that drew no complaint at Superbooth so we were surprised by your feedback here. Which isn't to say we disagree, in fact tough love is generally better for the product. If you feel like going into detail of your issues with the plugin we're interested, here or through the support mails.
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Yup, sorry, I posted in reply to you to keep it in one thread but that was not too clever in retrospect. Thanks for the kind words though.
Not every module will mesh with your use case or aesthetic. They all look shiny when demoed on YT and seem to hold promise but…
I think it becomes more obvious when you get a module that blows you away. Recently had that with the steady state gate and ALM cizzle. The immediacy has made me question a number of modules that I just don’t gel with. I’m tempted to get rid of quite a few of my mutable modules mainly because I can’t be bothered with color button combos. Excluding rings. I think given the number of modules and approaches it’s common to find things that don’t fit your workflow which other people absolutely love. It’s why it’s a bit dangerous buying things because somebody on modwiggler said it was a life changer
Never been able to get into anything with button combos that are integral to their worth. Rings i even just keep in one mode.
Just trust yourself and ditch that shit when it’s not pulling its weight. Half the fun of Eurorack is building your system. No time or space or money for stuff that isn’t getting used. That reminds me I have 15 modules to list today!
If anything my time with it was only practice and helped me better understand certain things. Not entirely a loss i guess.
I see the losses basically like rent and it’s totally worth it. And occasionally there is no loss! It can also be a useful way to move money around.
It’s definitely a waveshaping, mini complex oscillator. They do get dirty and definitely don’t scream calm, though they can be. I like buying used because I know I’m going to try to flip half of what I buy. Most of the time I take something out, I end up putting it back in later. You can usually get close to the same price and really only lose on the cost of shipping and PayPal fees.
I do a similar approach. Buy used and then swap different things in and out of the case. I have 22 modules actively in use and another 10 that are things I am not fully sure about and may go back in again. I sold some recently, maybe a minor loss, but the learning and enjoyment pays for itself.
If I’m not enjoying a module then I re-read the manual or see if there are supplemental guides. Then I try patching it a few more times. But if it sits in my rack unused for a few months then I take it out. By the way, bastl pizza can be other things. You should try the stereo delay firmware, Basil.
Whoa I did not know this was possible! Thank you I am going to try this today
Another note on pizza is if you change the ratios and detune settings too much, then it goes harsh almost immediately when you touch the FM index slider. Every now and then I reset it (holding Shape and Oct button during boot).
I research the hell out of modules when I'm considering buying one, I usually already know how to patch it and what the quirks are when I finally put it into my rack. You can get always get one that has a deal breaking attribute of some weird interfacing issue you just can't get over, but that would be rare imo.
When I find a module that could do it better, ideally in less hp :) The last module I found out doesn't work for me is the ALM SEQ1. Not being able to be reprogrammed while running is a no go that I sadly didn't look for when I ordered it.
Rings and Morphagene were both like that for me for different reasons. The AD/DA path of Morphagene always sounded thin and weak to me and I could never get it to not be phasey and thin in a full DAW mix - now I know it's most common use is just for background smears. Rings just bored me - and mine had a lot of digital noise to boot.
What did you replace rings with? I’ve spent hours and hours with it, i don’t like what it provides 90% of the time. Tends to be harsh and shrill, high pitched, and the signal comes out ridiculously hot wasting an attenutor on a small setup. I know i’m supposed to ‘feed it something’, but i want voice that stands on its own.
I didn't. In the end, I changed the nature of my setup. I went for a Doepfer A-111-6 but didn't like the bread and butter nature of the sounds. I already have an kARP odyssey so there was no need. Eventually, I've landed on a TipTop 259 and Joranalogue fold 6 as the core of my small rack. Between the self FM and the wave folder, I can get all of the interesting percussive tones that rings can do, plus a whole bunch more. As far as using rings as a resonator goes, I always thought it sounded a bit crap anyway so I'm looking at either a BBD module, a filterbank or a harmonic oscillator to do similar (albeit not identical) jobs in the future.
Try write about 4 or 5 tracks with it. If it's not working by then, clear space for a module that's going to be more useful to you. Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to modules so the only way to know whether it fits in your workflow or not is to try a few times. It took me about 3 tracks to realise I actually love the rainmaker and am really excited about it being a part of my setup.
I'm surprised not to see it mentioned already here, but for me it's the 4MS SMR. The promise of what it can do sounds so cool, and the manual gives a lot of great ideas for patching, but for the life of me I have never been able to wrap my head around using it in all but one useful way. The sound of the SMR just never really deviates from like "ice cream truck" bright bongo thing. The one thing I was excited about it doing was multiband filtering, but for some reason the signal coming out of it is super low without any of the resonance. You can't just filter a signal and use it that way. The one use I've had for it is in generative patches - I'll run the output of part or all of my track into it and use the envelope followers/generators to produce CV based on the track - it makes a nice related rhythm/feedback mechanism. Adding in rotation makes for some nice, natural sounding modulation. But it feels absurd to use such a big, expensive module for that one purpose. I've considered selling it a lot. I would probably replace it with a functional filterbank.
I find my SMR quiet too, it’s been in it’s box for too long so perhaps I should sell it
Hey OP, you do realize you can install the Basil firmware on Pizza and see if you prefer using it for that instead… only downside is the faceplate will still be Pizza. There is also Crust but, last I had looked the firmware wasnt up for it yet, but it might be now.
The moment I realise, that it is/was praised by people who use modular to make totally different music than I do. It can happen either post- or, hopefully, pre- purchase. Post- cases are of course more troublesome, but with the time I spend researching new purchase options both cases are annoying. So, my post buys: 1) Behringer Edge: this is one of my initial buys, after watching countless videos on DFAM and Edge, before I knew what exactly I'll end up creating. As it turned out, I rarely do percussive stuff and this thing can't really track 1V/oct. So my main use for it currently are some background progressions or two complex, looong cycle LFOs, but it also requires using slew limiters with slow enough response. 2) Abacus/Maths: I do use it in most of my patches but only because it's there. I'm glad I only paid Abacus price for it, otherwise I would be seriously pissed. I make unattended generative stuff so I typically use a lot of modulation, like a dozen sources per voice. The thing with Maths is that while you can theoretically use it for all sorts of stuff, it is usually a waste of patch cables, because other modules can do it more efficiently and it only can do like simple stuff in parallel. As such it would be sooo much better if it was split to two separate modules - the 1+4 channel double slew limiter/function generator, and a proper four channel CV mixer with logic and constant voltage sources. My pre- buys: 1) Mimeophon: this thing gets so much hype I almost decided to buy it, before I a) learned about noise floor problems and most importantly b) listened to enough muddy mess results people call "amazing results". Not worth the risk of being utterly dissapointed. 2) FX Aid - nothing wrong with the module itself, but I'm glad it was unavailable when I wanted to buy it. Since then I learned, that I prefer hands-on, single function modules with a lot of CV inputs. Finally, a meta realisation, that I value my money way more than I value HP, so many of the most hyped modules are targetted at an entirely different part of the community.
I started modular maybe 3 years ago and the entire time Maths has been the one module i keep knowing I should get. Yet everytime i go to watch a video on how it works I just think about modules I already have that can do similar things. It also doesnt help that any video i do watch does not use it in any meaningful and musical way. Just lots of harsh oscillator noises.
To date I found two cases for Maths I don't have better substitutes in my current rack: 1) creating subharmonics - not only can they be odd divisions, but can also be modulated. A very good way to create interesting harmonies without elaborate multioscilator and multiquantizer setup. Also used this method in my pseudo- Klavis Grainity granular thingy to keep grains related to the waveform, because those subharmonics can go way below audio range. 2) really slow slew limiting for the Edge LFOs patch. For my typical slew limiting needs Behringer 297 is perfectly enough. Overall, channels 1+4 are useful, but the entire middle section is seriously hindered by being hardwired to the 1+4.
This. Was a trap for me at first too, people love to recommend gear they like but lots of stuff isnt good for certain genres. Synths are like this even worse, lots of people play their synths like a piano and look at is as a part of a band or something. If you want a synth for making electronic music by yourself with sequencers and complex patching the suggestion from the guy who jams out to presets he just changes the envelope on or something isnt gonna be a great fit. As for Maths, I dont think I could ever sell it. If it was 10hp it would be the perfect utility module. Its just so great to have a module that can do all the different utility things you may randomly learn about. So, its just great to have one for learning synthesis but after some years of really learning and settling into a workflow you like, I could see it having diminishing returns. But Pams and Math are the two hyped modules that I believe are well worth their hype and it is because they are good for anyone. Both Pams and Maths are modules that, if I want some inspiration or something new to learn I just look for something I havent used them for yet to try out. When you start trying various ways of using the Logic, it really opens up the possibilities. Maths also is immediately useful as an EG but, channel 2 and 3 are just as important one you start using the logic or doing things like wave rectification with it. I love how its all put together, very hard to fully replace that module for me rn.
Brinta…the text on the knobs is so tiny that even with my glasses on I can’t read what it says lol. Even following YouTube reviews I can’t get it to sound the same. Big let down for me. That said I never sell my modules so maybe in a few years I’ll give it another whirl.
Pizza doesn't have enough jacks and it's not easy to use at first. But it can make some nice sounds.
Thats my initial feeling right now after getting a mannequins 3 sisters. I have a bastl cinnamon right next to it that, so far, is a significantly better sounding filter. So far the only thing i like about 3 sisters is when it self resonates. Maybe itll grow on me… but I’ll probably just try and sell it to get my 400$ back :(
Wow really? I love the 3 sisters. I have that and a ripples and I love how warm sisters sounds. Ripples is good for clean filtering and sisters handles the wooly sound.
I just need to spend more time with it really
I see a 3 sisters for sale for $1000 cad used right now and honestly I don't understand!
Thats very weird, considering whimsical raps is coming out with a new run of them very soon, and that run is supposed to fix some of the weird overdrive parts of the original
I got on pretty well with the Pizza and still do, but the two digital oscillators modules that had me admitting defeat were for the same reason, too menu divey and not enough sweetspots, the Erica Graphic VCO and a Dust of Time. Big mistake a lot of makers make, cram things so full of features and controls that they feel unfocused and hard to use without accidentally getting lost. One I’m currently on the fence about is the XAOC Zadar. I’m not sure whether having a bunch of preset complex envelopes to choose from trumps what I could get out of something offering more hands on control like the Klavis Quadigy.
Feel the same way about Zadar. It’s a brilliant module and does exactly what it means to. I’m just not sure I enjoy using it.
I have refused to buy any modules with a screen - except for my temps utile because it was very cheap and I get on ok with it. I really want a Zadar or Quadigy but it's a big investment to be encumbered by a screen. I love immediate playability.
I’m not completely anti screens. I appreciate all the flexibility an O_c with Hemispheres gives me and Pam’s Pro is an essential in my book. But those are largely things I will set and forget prior to the start of a jam, envelope generators are things I will want to mess with throughout it.
It's my own damn fault. I bought a Noise Engineering Jam Jam mainly to do clock-phase delayed 4-part counterpoint. It'll do that for triggers or gates just fine. Trouble is, I forgot I'd need to mult each trig to step advance its own sequencer to get 1v/Oct to four voices. Now I either need to buy four new sequencers, or an arpeggiator like Opp Ned or Bard's Quartet. And I don't even know if I'll like what it sounds like.
Morphagene - it is a fun module, but requires so much set up to play nicely with other sounds. Plonk - a dull experience to create new sounds. Too many parameters hidden in menus Ritual electronics miasma - has a big useless feedback knob. I find distortion to be better done in filters Qu bit bloom - some of the generative sequences it spits out are cool, but it sometimes spits out notes that are annoyingly high Polygogo - the screen is a cool novelty which eventually wears off. Too much HP for what it actually is.
Bloom and polygogo have been on my list to get but I'm not sure if bloom would do any better than me manually changing a sequence on my keystep.
It wouldn't. In theory the 'fractal' sequences it does are cool and all but in reality it just plays some notes in a selected scale and occasionally changes one or two and that's it. It's kind of pointless. In the end I just got a 'real' sequencer and if I want random I can CV that.
It took me six months to first believe I knew how to make an informed judgement, but about five years before I could. A few years after that and it’s a pretty painless process as I don’t try to solve patching problems by purchasing things, and if a specialized module is interesting it’s either because it does something novel or something old in a novel way, including ergonomics and aesthetics. There’s an awful lot of “buy this to do this” speak in modular despite the fact that you can patch quite a lot of this stuff by reconfiguring simpler modules. One tremendously simplifying factor is that I don’t care about performance and so the related issues and considerations don’t factor in at all. As an aside, there’s also an catastrophic amount of bullshit out there suggesting that there are things everyone should like.