Hey, y’all!

I’m building my first rack inside of a 40ms 60hp Pod. I’ve mapped out a few of the modules I’d like to use, and have 6hp of space I’m unsure about.

Modules I’ve planned so far:
Mutable Yarns
4ms Spherical Waveform Navigator
MakeNoise Rosie

I’m wondering if there’s anything I’m forgetting to be able to perform this thing. If there isn’t, what kind of module could I throw in there that could give me the ability to modulate things differently, or generally get the most use of the space with the features already available? Maybe some extra effects or a VCA for the Audio Out of the 4ms Spherical Waveform Nav? I thought maybe some utilities, like 2hp Mult, 2hp Mixer, and a 2hp inverter, to be able to modify control voltages from the LFOs, wavetable, & Yarns.

The 60hp Pod is only 34mm deep, so modules such as the Expert Sleepers Dister & 2hp products are not compatible.

Any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

You're going to need more than 6 hp of free space, for starters. What's happened here is that you're trying to cram too much function into too small a case. It might seem cheaper...but when you arrive at a basically-unworkable result like this, you start to see how things get unnecessarily expensive or annoyingly tiny...or both.

If this is still a MG build, scrap it and start over in something that has a more practical amount of room. Things like the Pods really exist to house "orphan" modules alongside other rigs; they're not a nice solution to making a small modular.

I agree with Lugia,
What you have there with those 4 modules is a way to create notes and gates, letting you play the SWN - which is a beast to use as a normal musical oscillator, going into clouds, which - unless you have some more modulation sources, is going to give you some grain effect and reverb on the stereo signal coming out of SWN, and then Rosie to output it to headphones/line out. This is not a good start to modular synths. You can make some pretty fantastic drones (I have SWN and Clouds), but not much else - without some good external LFOs/Envelopes, A FILTER, and some VCAs that aren't the ones inside SWN. If your starting with modular, and keeping under 34mm deep in 60HP (as an example), start with:
- Two oscillators: Mutable Plaits (for variety) and a Make Noise STO (analog! FM source, second/third voice - as Plaits has two),
- Mutable Ripples (a VCF - that even has a VCA),
- a multi-purpose VCA (mutable Veils - 4 channels, use it as a mixer too - you can never have too many VCAs),
- an envelope generator - Xaoc ZADAR has 4 that can do some LFO-like tasks,
- and Rosie for output
All that would fit in 58HP and has a max depth of 30mm.
You can do something with 60HP, sure - but SWN and Clouds are great textural add-ons to a collection of modules that already covers the basics.
What I gave as an example comes up to $1320 on MG - where your original plan is $1412. And I guarantee you will have a lot more fun with those two oscillators, the VCF and ZADAR. So many patching possibilities, so many modulation and cross modulation sources and destinations, FM, AM... so much versatility there!
I'd even drop Rosie if you don't need headphone outs - and get Make Noise X-Pan - then you can do some wild stereo panning effects.

Thanks a lot for your detailed responses! I think I overestimated the capabilities of the SWN. I’ll definitely go back to the drawing board then post here in a bit.

One more for the pile-on.

Creating a small-rack requires a lot of knowledge of Eurorack; more so than creating one that's a total of 208HP for example. Cramming everything that you need into such a small space means knowing exactly what the capabilities of your modules are and having confidence in your set-up to do everything you specifically want.

It's the difference between building a grandfather clock a pocket-watch. The finer details matter a LOT more.

Build a "complete" system, get familiar with Eurorack, then if you want to build a small rack it'll be less of an issue. Building a small rack from the get-go without intimate knowledge of Eurorack is going to mean a lot of wasted money and time.

Yeah, that's the feeling that I'm getting. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed trying to plan out this mini-rack, and it's taught me a bit about planning a rack in general. I took another shot at it running with Jeff's suggestion with just a few minor alterations: https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1037736.jpg?1572473320s

How's that look?

I think these modules give me the added benefit of being able to test them (or similar modules) out in VCV Rack and see what the capabilities would be.

I'm gonna plan out a larger 104hp rack later on and compare costs.

Woops! The mixer/attenuator/inverter was too deep. Swapped it out in this one.

Well, your second attempt to build a synth will work. But it's a very limited build.

I would suggest one of Intellijel's cases with the 1U row.

Your Cascade module is $100US and offers 3 attenuverters. An Intellijel 1U Quadrat will give you the same functionality with FOUR attenuverters for $80. You can use your Cascade to address 3 CV signals, three audio signals or a combination of both. You'll use them up quickly.

Peaks is a jack-of-all-trades module... but breaks down pretty quickly if you need more than one type of function. For instance if you want TWO envelopes you can only directly control the attack and decay. It's not bad... but it's very limited.

Basically, what you've built is a two oscillator synth that's pretty plain. You'd be better off buying a synth voice module (a module that contains everything you need to produce a basic synth sound). You could even start with a semi modular synth and then add a rack of stuff to it.

Spend some more time in VCV and up your budget. I'd really see if you can find a semi-modular that's compatible with Eurorack as your entry point into Eurorack. You'll have less heartache and start with a complete synth, MIDI interface, etc.

Gotcha, makes sense. I think you’re right. I’ve considered a few synth voice modules (with OSC/VCA/FILTER) paired with some other oscilators, effects, and utilities modules, but couldn’t land on one. Any suggestions?

Hi Marcel Riccelli,

I started with a Behringer Neutron before I went into Eurorack and the Neutron thought me a lot, it allows some basic patching and has everything to get started. Budget-wise the Neutron is very reasonable, in Europe it's at about Euro 299. Or you can consider the Behringer Model-D, I don't have experience with that one yet but it's on my wish list. I think to start with, the Neutron is really not a bad choice.

Once you know the Neutron in and out and you are happy with patching it, then, and only then, you should consider to move to Eurorack. Start then with planning a new rack with the buildup experience you got from the Neutron and keep checking this forum of course :-) Please also follow up the advice of Ronin1973 to practice in VCV as well before spending tons of money into Eurorack ;-)

Good luck and kind regards,

Garfield Modular.

I think I underestimated the limitations of such a small set up. I’ll keep going in VCV for sure; I’ve been having a ton of fun learning and building performative ensembles in there without limitation, but I’m definitely wanting to begin taking steps towards building a eurorack. I feel confident enough to start by buying a larger (maybe 104hp) skiff, a full synth voice, and few other supporting modules to modulate and modify then build slowly from there.

Thanks again for the help, y’all. This page has been an invaluable resource.

Before I start... everyone has their own opinions. So take this with a salt-lick grain of salt.

If it were my money and I was starting over again, I would go with the Intellijel Atlantis. It's based on the Roland MS101. It's a complete synth in Eurorack.

The other option is a Behringer Neutron. It's less expensive and doesn't require being mounted in Eurorack and comes with USB and DIN MIDI.

If you outgrow either the Atlantis or the Neutron, the resell value on them is decent.

Love the Atlantis! I’ve mapped out a few new 104 hp racks, one with the Atlantis and another with an attempt for quadraphony for a 4 voice piece I’m composing in school.

Quad Osc:


I’m going to try to replicate them both in VCV and play around to find out the best way to use the extra space to modulate signals coming through these modules.

Hey Marcel,

When you're posting your racks. A link to the rack itself should embed it in this thread. When you're asking for recommendations, being able to click on the modules is pretty helpful as no one can be familiar with every module.

Here's your Synth Voice rack. I added quotes and put a space between each slash so it wouldn't end up linking.
"https: //www.modulargrid.net /e /racks /view /1039061"
It looks good for a starter. There's the Disting, which is GREAT as a sampler pack of different functionality you might want to add dedicated modules for. An extra VCA is nice. But I would order it in the second round of purchases as well as your effects.

When you're ready, I'd add a second oscillator and small mixer. A two oscillator synth is much more powerful than one. The Intellijel Dixie II+ would pair well. It also functions as an LFO if you so wish. The Atlantis has a sync input. Sync sounds are always fun. Again... all with a grain of salt because your journey will be about what you wish to explore.

ModularGrid Rack

Noted, I'll be sure to do that in the future.

Sweet, I'm glad we finally arrived at something. I'll definitely take your advice on which pieces to buy first. Time to start (slowly) gathering and building. Thanks again for taking the time to help a newbie!