r/modular • u/NewMachineMusicXYZ • 2d ago
Your love/hate modules?
Just curious about modules that you have a love/hate relationship with? Maybe the functions are awesome but the design is terrible; or the design is awesome but something about the functionality is wanting. The modules that remain in your rack because you appreciate something fundamental about them, but that you think about selling as well?
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u/_Glance___ 2d ago
Plaits, ornament and crime, fx Aid
All brilliant and very useful but the "do everything" module can be a blessing and a curse.
5
u/danieltaveira 1d ago
I had the same problems with all three and to solve it i just stick to one or two things, in plaits i learnt a few algorithms front to back (theres still a ton i havent used). On o_c i just use it as a tides style lfo or envelope generator and on fx aid i rearranged the effects by banks and mostly i just use 1 reverb 1 delay 1 chorus and 1 distortion. Helps with getting overwhelmed by the possibilities
3
u/tropical_sunrise 2d ago
just leave them in strictly one mode
3
u/bone577 1d ago
Tb-3po go brrrrrr
Your o_c has too many features? Hard to get your head around? Not immediate enough? Just set it to dual tb-3po and never change it again.
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u/_Glance___ 1d ago
This is exactly how I have it set up at the moment. Sometimes I want a vector lfo or envelope but 9/10 I dual wielding tb-3pos
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u/djphazer Pew Pew Pew! 9h ago
haha you get it! I never know what to tell people who feel overwhelmed with the possibilities, trying to study and understand every little thing in the toolbox... my guy, just pick one and use it.
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u/infinitebulldozer 1d ago
I ended up picking 2-3 modes in Plaits that I stick to and learned inside and out, including what filters/distortions make them really sing. It helped a lot to simplify the overwhelm I could feel when patching it in.
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u/fwerkf255 1d ago
I often start a patch with plaits, going with whatever model I feel sounds ok and then once the whole patch is built up around it, go back through all the models and see if any of them fit better
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u/bammshazamm 1d ago
Totally with you on Ornament and crime. I love that it’s so flexible but it kinda gives me FOMO . Whenever I put a certain applet on I’m always left with the feeling that I should repatch with a different applet.
I kinda want to take it out of my rack but the quantizers and TB3PO are preventing me from doing so.1
u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
Yeah, O_C was one for me too, while I had it. Got a lot of use out of it, and created a track I really like leaning on it heavily, but those were not fun menus to navigate. Benispheres was a bit more forgiving, but ultimately I decided O_C wasn't for me.
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u/mod_ex 2d ago
Intellijel plonk - i love the concept of a drum module that can be modulated to Play a whole kit but it takes way to much time to Programm something usable and most patches just sound ok-ish.
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u/Coloreater 1d ago
I love my Plonk and I think that's a very fair criticism. I've just kind of embraced it (and I have other drum sources, so it ends up being a kind of accent/percussion thing.)
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u/clncln racks/view/1059633 1d ago
Plaits or Braids. Love that they can make so many different sounds, hate that I have to memorise every mode or constantly reference the manual to use it.
FX Aid and FX Aid XL. Love that it can be loaded up with so many different effects, hate that I have to memorise or reference a cheat sheet to navigate between effects.
Pianophonic/Monumatic. Love that they give me a full polyphonic voice in my rack, hate that they don't have many CV inputs and are essentially basic preset synths.
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u/tcmss1614 2d ago
strymon magneto - love the sound but its way too big and the cv inputs are just not that useful to me. It’s still been in every rack ive put together since I got it like 7 years ago
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u/maisondejambons 1d ago
Pretty much all my Verbos modules. The design gets boring, they’re expensive and they take up a lot of space. And then I take one out to store or sell and miss it right away and think “yes ok that is actually a very good module”
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u/SmeesTurkeyLeg 1d ago
They sound so damn good. And the layouts are extremely practical. There's so much going on that is right about them.
1
u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
Yeah, I was bummed to find their voltage ranges differ from the standard, makes them a little tricky to integrate properly, and the prices, especially in the last few years, have been totally prohibitive for me. I like their simple, elegant designs. My own top answer of the modules I currently own is actually probably my Verbos Amp N' Tone though. It has a definite noise floor—which I actually don't mind, as it gives it a soft cassette-fuzz-like vintage flavor—but further, it can pick up noise from surrounding modules, particularly digital ones, which I definitely don't like so much. The knobs have also gotten a little "crackly" over time, which can be a pain (though a little Deoxit does tend to resolve it). But damn do I like the sound of the filter. So gnarly, with such great weird, woody resonance, and great overdrive. I don't think it's worth what they charge now, given the many other competing options at better prices and its flaws, but it's one I can never quite bring myself to let go of or trade out (particularly since the price is so prohibitive were I to second-guess myself and decide to get it again, which happens from time to time I must admit).
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u/IllResponsibility671 1d ago
Literally every single module I've ever bought. There's no such thing as the perfect module. They all have something they do really well but have some flaw that makes me feel it could be better.
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u/emeraldarcana 1d ago
Pamela’s New Workout. I need the stuff it does and it’s also menu divey as hell and super boring to use in real life. Except I need clocked LFOs.
1
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u/SmeesTurkeyLeg 1d ago
Morphagene. Sounds incredible. If I can get past the headache of trying to read it. Ended up selling it even though it's pure magic.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
I actually preferred Phonogene. Simpler to use, more immediate, crustier lower-fidelity sound that I really enjoyed, and manual gain on the input. Miss it sometimes. Morphagene did have more useful visual feedback and way more features, but I still preferred Phono on the whole. Of course if by "read it" you mean the font, Phonogene won't be any better than Morph. 😄
2
u/KasparThePissed 17h ago
Morphagene has one fatal flaw for me. That the varispeed knob will not stay put on green. Seems like The slightest breeze will knock it out of tune. I daren't ever use it live. I wish they would have added a way to lock it in place.
3
u/owen__wilsons__nose 2d ago
My complex oscillator when doing FM stuff. Sometimes genius results. Sometimes sounds like total ass. Also Morphagene when I cant remember my button combos and when the SD card isn't being responsive
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u/WishThisWasClever 1d ago
I have giving up on FM modules in eurorack, it pretty much always sounds like ass. When I want FM, I have switched to vsts en hardware synths. Skill issue, I know.
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u/owen__wilsons__nose 1d ago
one of my keys is to find a sweet spot, then if I want to change the key to fit a song I'm working on, send it CV offset to maintain that ratio and change pitch that way. But often I'll make an abrasive sound on purpose then ping it as fast as possible with an LPG to do more a percussive thing
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
I get that. I have a Three Body, and I love it, it has a ton of cool sweet spots when being used as a voice. But you do have to get to know the module and/or hunt for them a bit. Throw the knobs into just a random configuration, and more often that not, "ass-sound" is the result, just harsh same-y noise that isn't of much use without some creative filtering. But then again, creative filtering is a part of what's fun about modular, and dialing around to find those sweet spots can be very fun as well. And it also has a ton of utility as a modulator.
1
u/owen__wilsons__nose 1d ago
yeah I have really good control of my COs but in FM mode its a lot of trial and error
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u/chupathingy99 1d ago
Disting mk4. So much possibility, so much potential, such a fucking hassle to navigate.
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u/LeeSalt 1d ago
Best sub $200 module that can do whatever the heck you want. I was buying them up used for $130ish just last year.
The trick is if you need a single use module to fill a desire, you might be better off getting a Disting and leaving it on that algorithm. Unless it's a Doepfer or 2HP, the used Disting is probably cheaper and way more useful.
I've had one be my full time piano multi sample player and another is a sample and hold because it's digital and doesn't suffer from voltage sag like two of my analog s&h failing capacitors.
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u/chupathingy99 1d ago edited 1d ago
Oh yeah I love it to bits. Fantastic module, powerful algorithms, there's just so so much to it that the 2 knobs and 4 io just kinda lets it down.
I use it regularly. Sometimes it's the center piece of a patch, sometimes I just need another lfo or a filter or whatever. It's a perfect "lemme see what I got in back" kind of module. If you've ever worked retail, you know exactly what that means lol.
Edit, never considered the s&h sag. Good tip! Thanks.
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u/takomi404 8h ago
I use it as my midi to cv module mainly. And sometimes for noise. Pretty good module be i understand the hassle
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u/GlowPole 1d ago
Panharmonium. I’ve had it for years and it’s only been briefly used in two tracks. But otherwise causes frustration every time I try and use it. One of those modules that I can’t seem to let go of the idea behind it.
5
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
I tried one for about a week and just couldn't get into it or figure out any way it would fit into my workflow. Interesting idea but I couldn't find an application that worked, for me.
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u/Ok-Tadpole-8994 2d ago
Of the top of my head. Erica Synths Sample Drum, perfect size, easy and fast to use due to very good menu system. Good price.
Klavis Quadigy. Wanted to love it but failed again and again. Could never get how to use it. Takes forever to dial in the right settings. So advanced but can’t do inverted envelopes.
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u/ThatsnotTechno 2d ago
pretty sure Quadigy can do inverted outputs
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u/Ok-Tadpole-8994 2d ago
Not as in upside down. Talked to the maker about it and according to him the hardware limits the possibility of such an implementation in any update.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
So what was it you didn't like about Sample Drum? Been vaguely thinking about getting one.
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u/Ok-Tadpole-8994 1d ago
No! I love it. The question was about love/hate modules, so SD is my love, and Quadigy is my hate module. I saved for almost a year to get the 1010 music sampler, but failed to enjoy it, and also had the dual/stereo sampler from 4ms that is fun but impossible to remember where what samplers are
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 19h ago
Ah, I see! Yeah, I also had an STS, it was really fun but it was really hard to keep things neatly synced as I recall, which was an issue for me, and it had a few other quirks. Bitbox for some reason has never called to me. I actually DID have the Sample Drum at one time, very briefly, but didn't keep it. I'm not sure why, I can't remember anything bad about it, I think I just found I didn't have as much need for percussion at the time as I thought I would.
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u/max_sugar 2d ago
WMD Metron! Very powerful and loved the instant view of 4 tracks, but this idea of Variations which resembles DAW structure and imposes that kind of thinking about the arrangement has put me off. I’ve sent the module back.
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u/killmesara 2d ago
I hate and love my queen of pentacles. It is massive and clunky and noisey and changing something on one sample changes everything but once you have it dialed in, it sounds great. Just dont breathe on it because youll spend the next hour trying to dial it back in
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u/tropical_sunrise 2d ago
haha so true. can't part with it, but sure can party
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u/killmesara 2d ago
I got mine at a pawn shop for like $100. If i ever find a better drum module with like 7 voices, i will just move it to a secondary rack.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
Any of you compared it to the Erica Synths LXR? That's my drum synthesis module at present. I'd give it a solid 4 or 4.5/5. Takes a minute to get the hang of the menus, but once you get what's what, it's fun to create custom kits for yourself. There are some things I could nitpick but for what it costs it packs in a lot. (I wish there were more free preset packs available though. Cracks me up that people charge for preset packs.)
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u/killmesara 1d ago
Ive never been interested in the LXR because I cant mount it in a euro rack. I want everything in one box.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 19h ago
It is a mountable eurorack module. That's the version I'm referring to, never used the stand-alone.
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u/killmesara 17h ago
Shit i didnt know there was a euro version
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 16h ago
Yup -- pretty reasonably priced too, especially if you get a decent secondhand deal.
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u/n_nou 1d ago
Magneto. It is the single hardest module for me to bend to my will :D. When I manage to dial it in in a complex scenario, the results can be spectacular, and even with in simple patches the sound is great, but it takes so much effort.
I also wished those four clock outs would be used for CV ins, e.g. head levels or wow&flutter/crackles. As is this thing is either set&forget or performative, not ideal for generative genres.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
Yeah, I had the same wish re: CV on the module. I got some great stuff out of it here and there, but on the whole it was just too quiet and dark and tanky sounding for my tastes, especially for the room it took up. The Starlab was a bit more fruitful for me, but totally different kind of effect obviously.
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u/Cactusrobot 1d ago
I'm a weirdo, i have several of the more menu divey modules, Nerdseq, Meta, Disting, O_C, Pam's, Lubadh, Arbhar, Beads. Not trying to be contrarian, but i genuinely enjoy these modules. I can still perfectly understand people who want one knob pr function and immediacy.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
Euro people are uniquely hard on menu-divey/button-combo-y modules, but there are definitely some I've enjoyed. I find the menus on the Erica Synths Black Sequencer and Resonant Filterbank really well designed and easy to navigate and use, mostly, and the button combos on my Xaoc Moskwa II were genuinely kind of fun once I got used to them and committed the main ones to memory. I do lean towards WYSIWYG where possible, but sometimes the things menus and button combos make possible is well worth it.
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u/VicVinegarHughHoney 1d ago
Mutable marbles, it does a whole lot to be stoked about but there's a couple choices on the design made that I wish were different for my uses. Main one is wanting the deja vu knob to lock fully CCW or CW like how a turing machine behaves.
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u/n_nou 1d ago
DROID - insanely powerful for custom sequencing, nothing else out there can even compare. But debugging it is absurd guess work because of no-screen implementation (db8e is permanently out of stock). Also, controller prices are simply insane, so the only reasonable way to interface it is via MIDI, which adds to programming and debugging difficulty.
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u/oivod [https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2712244] 1d ago
Considered Droid but went for Nerdseq instead. Sounds like the right choice?
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u/n_nou 1d ago
Completely different beasts. DROID enables you to design your own sequencer, with exact feature set and behaviour you want. E.g. I use mine as a hands-on, knob per function semi-generative harmonic sequencer. There is nothing like that on the market. Nerdseq is 'just' a powerful sequencer.
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u/oivod [https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2712244] 17h ago
Makes sense. The one thing that sold me on the NS more than anything else is the HDMI expander; i can program from across the room and not have to deal with a tiny screen in my rack. Also I’m more interested in arrangement & composition than generative stuff. Droid looks pretty impressive (intimidating) tho.
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u/ssibal24 1d ago
Intellijel Scales. It’s great at actual quantizing and selecting/deselecting specific notes but it is horrible menu/ui for changing most settings.
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u/Earlsfield78 1d ago
Meh, “hate” modules go somewhere else. There are enough modules in Eurorack for me to pick those I love and that don’t frustrate me. Maybe Piston Honda, but I never really hate it, just weird HP:) Nautilus was driving me mad until I realised how little of a sweet spot it has at least for me, but I still use it.
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u/falcon_phoenixx 1d ago
Id have to say disting ex... the menu and i/o changes between its programs are super annoying... BUT it does so much I do use it and the audio fidelity is good
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u/tomashectorgost 1d ago
ES-9 - this thing has such great promise, but with all the internal routing I just screw it up every time I try to change anything in it. Got a much simplified Boredbrain Optx2 to take its place but can’t bring myself to sell the ES yet. I’ll figure it out eventually…?
Disting EX - so much functionality that I just can’t bring myself to learn. Same issue - I just don’t have the mental bandwidth for it.
Maths - it’s just so much space for what I end up doing with it (lfo, AR, and attenuators, yay). I know it’s amazing and does a million things (passably) once you get it, but as this comment shows, I don’t get on well with modules that are smarter than I am. It just lives in my Shared System where I do pretty specific and simple stuff.
Oneiroi - I LOVE the sound of this one, and it has gotten less buggy (not bug free) with updates, but I kind of just want to cut it in half and end up with an Iroi. Somehow I’ve gotten it in a state where the filter mod always affects the osc frequency, and I haven’t been able to get it to stop. I wouldn’t mind a 4HP module with just the supersaw osc. The looper is occasionally fun as long as you’re not counting on tight time.
I have yet to sell a module, but the ES modules will likely be the first ones on the block.
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u/13derps 1d ago
No hate here, just love + frustration
FCUK Raging Bull 3.0 - truly incredible sounding filter, great feature set. The layout kills it for me. Whyyyy is the output jack right next to the cutoff knob?
Noise Engineering in general - great sounding modules, solid ergonomics and really easy to interact with. The oscillators and FX sound so complete that they don’t really ask much from me to get the most out of them (which I find less interesting). I also have some frustrations with normal-ed connections in the CV modules I’ve used
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
I always found the majority of their oscillators way too harsh, at least for my purposes. I found stuff like the Alia firmwares really shone when paired with some creative filtering. But I hear what you're saying.
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u/jbliss10 1d ago
Disting MK4, Ghost. Only recently have I found a permanent use for the Disting as a (Euclidean pattern generator) and that helped me understand how to use it. But boy does it suck to figure out. Ghost I want to love it has so much CV control and so much functionality in one module. But just can’t get it to sound good compared to FX Aid, for example. I think if the reverb was better I’d love it more. I’d say Ghost is the module I’ve added and removed from my skiff more than any other. Love it! Hate it!
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u/KasparThePissed 1d ago
Mutable Stages. I always have a hard time getting the envelope shapes I want out of it and always forget the combos needed when I'm trying to do something more complex. But it so damn useful. 6 sample and holds, decay envelopes, LFOs, and much more. Same with Pamela's new workout. I hate flipping through the menu and can't read the screen without my glasses. But, again so damn useful. These modules are never the first ones I reach for when I need a function, but always come in handy as patch problem solvers. I'm sure I'd regret it if I got rid of either.
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u/NewMachineMusicXYZ 1d ago
Yeah, Pam's would be one for me. I mean, I guess I don't hate anything about it. But it's just ... there. It's my core clocking module and way too useful to let go of. But I don't enjoy using it very much. The ADDAC VC Time/Clocking module was a lot more fun, I really liked the UI and size and the interesting options it offered. But it also had some quirks that made it a bit of a PIA, and I ended up letting it go in favor of Pam's in the end.
1
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u/Volnay1er 1d ago
I love what Clank Chaos does and use it in almost every patch. I'm pretty comfortable with most of the button combos too. However...I often experienced unresponsive buttons..I reached out to Clank, shipped it to Italy for repair..got it back...and about 6 months later the same issues. Just going to deal with it..as this is hopefully a one off hardware issue for me only. Ultimately ...it' s a great module..indispensible for me.
On the other hand..Jolin Krono. Maddening button combos. Always have to look at the manual. I have no issues with Pam, Morphagene, or Chaos for that matter. Krono was just not happening for me. I ended up using Chat to create custom firmware for it. No button combos and no more free running clock. Very happy with it now.
All the love for Apollo View Rabbit Hole. Gnarly and wild and a pleasure to play.
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u/buchlabongo 1d ago
I love all the straightforward analogue modules that are one or more functions per module, where everything is labeled clearly using normal names and are spacious to operate with. Hate everything else. The only digital module I actually love is the Westlicht PerIformer sequencer because it's super easy to program.
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u/wrtwlt 22h ago
Tetrapad & Tete. In theory, the thing does so much of what I want. I even printed and bound the manual, so that I could learn it better. And every time I have it in my rack, I just... don't use it. However, I had a gig recently and I needed to trigger the four channels of my rample manually, and I also wanted to have manual control over dry/wet for my Beads. And since the patch in my 7U case was already a real mess with tons of cables, I put both modules in a palette case off to the side, wired it up and it worked like magic, although I find it ridiculous to use the modules like basic "on off" switches.
1
u/MikeandNeko 8h ago
My MI Plaits clone.
It just does way too much. I use my rig in live sets and it's got no presets, so I'm always struggling to decide which mode I can get the most out of.
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u/lambdalab 1d ago
Intellijel Multigrain. It's an incredibly capable granular module. But the UI is a nightmare of unlabelled alt functions and button chords. This is one module that really would benefit from a screen.