4 ms·

I used to have >$3000 worth of modular and think VCV rack is great. It gets you completely into the modular world. Dipping toes is like saying pigments or vital

I used to have >$3000 worth of modular and think VCV rack is great. It gets you completely into the modular world. Dipping toes is like saying pigments or vital is dipping your toes into synthesis. It's just jumping right into the ocean honestly. Hardware generally slows down my workflow to a crawl. There's no beating the convenience of bouncing digital instruments. Especially for sound design. If you want a new sound with modular hardware and want to reuse your modules, you're getting rid of your existing patch. There's nothing more limiting than feeling like you can't use your gear because the patch it's currently configured for is too good to change. That works for some people but not for me.

papandada 5y ago
So am I correct in concluding that you sold a bunch of your modular hardware and continue to use mainly software now? If so what software do you use besides VCV rack and what if any other (non-modular) hardware do you use
- fredoliveira 5y ago
  Based on their username, I suspect Ableton Live is one such piece of software (it's the main DAW I personally use, and absolutely love it).
- abletonlive 5y ago
  My setup slowly changes as the years progress but things are generally pretty simple. Right now the only hardware I have is a RME Babyface Pro FS, an arturia polybrute, an ableton push2, and Neumann KH310 monitors and the KH750 DSP subwoofer. In the past I've owned the Moog SUB37 CV and an endless list of eurorack hardware. Software most frequently used: All the stuff that comes bundled in with Ableton Live Suite (their plugins are amazing, don't sleep on it - just because it comes w/ your DAW doesn't mean it sucks), Arturia pigments, Vital (also free, better than serum in my opinion), u-he Diva. For compressors I'm really using Ableton's stock compressor and glue compressor mostly but reach for DMG TrackComp a lot. Fabfilter Saturn2 for saturation.
  - papandada 5y ago
    Thanks for this. I'm such a noob I'm a bit surprised you give special attention to compressors, I'll have to look more closely at those.
    - abletonlive 5y ago
      Compressors are super important for character, groove, and general loudness - so that's mostly the reason why there's so much focus on compressors. Also since we are talking about hardware vs software, compressors are generally a hotly debated topic on that front. I highly recommend this video if you're interested in why compression matters so much https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0XGXz6SHco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0XGXz6SHco
      - mortenjorck 5y ago
        I never understood why someone would go out of their way to get a specific compressor until I tried an LA-2A emulation. Once I heard that signature "squash" from the simulated opto-electrical circuit, it clicked.
      - nbulka 5y ago
        Not to mention, the OTT compressor is a big reason why we have EDM as it is.
fredoliveira 5y ago
Definitely a great point. I think for a lot of people, the beauty in modular is in the letting go of the idea of a preset, and creating sound that lives today, but is gone tomorrow. For a long time, most of the music I made was very loop driven (also very quantized and static) — modular fixed that by rewiring my brain to work differently. I don't think I'll ever go hardware only. The flexibility of software is just too good. But modular in general flexes different muscles for me, and I like that a lot. (great username, btw. Been a Live user since version 1)
- abletonlive 5y ago
  Yeah for sure. That's the reason why I got into modular in the first place. Different workflow. It's just that the workflow ended up not working for me personally, but it definitely works for some people. There's also something about for me about being more musical if I have physical knobs to play with that are mapped to every parameter available. This is largely an unsolved problem in virtual instruments. Nobody has really made a digital controller that maps nicely to virtual instruments, and I suspect the reason is it's because the plugin makers refuse to follow a standard to map out their parameters in a consistent way. There's work being done around some of this w/ Omnisphere and its ability to take advantage of your pre-existing hardware to map to all the virtual knobs, but I'd like to have a controller in front of me that consistently controls all of my virtual instruments in a way that makes sense and it mostly can't or doesn't exist.
disease 5y ago
For a beautiful mix of hardware and software, see the Nord Modular G2.

papandada 5y ago

So am I correct in concluding that you sold a bunch of your modular hardware and continue to use mainly software now? If so what software do you use besides VCV rack and what if any other (non-modular) hardware do you use

fredoliveira 5y ago
Based on their username, I suspect Ableton Live is one such piece of software (it's the main DAW I personally use, and absolutely love it).
abletonlive 5y ago
My setup slowly changes as the years progress but things are generally pretty simple. Right now the only hardware I have is a RME Babyface Pro FS, an arturia polybrute, an ableton push2, and Neumann KH310 monitors and the KH750 DSP subwoofer. In the past I've owned the Moog SUB37 CV and an endless list of eurorack hardware. Software most frequently used: All the stuff that comes bundled in with Ableton Live Suite (their plugins are amazing, don't sleep on it - just because it comes w/ your DAW doesn't mean it sucks), Arturia pigments, Vital (also free, better than serum in my opinion), u-he Diva. For compressors I'm really using Ableton's stock compressor and glue compressor mostly but reach for DMG TrackComp a lot. Fabfilter Saturn2 for saturation.
- papandada 5y ago
  Thanks for this. I'm such a noob I'm a bit surprised you give special attention to compressors, I'll have to look more closely at those.
  - abletonlive 5y ago
    Compressors are super important for character, groove, and general loudness - so that's mostly the reason why there's so much focus on compressors. Also since we are talking about hardware vs software, compressors are generally a hotly debated topic on that front. I highly recommend this video if you're interested in why compression matters so much https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0XGXz6SHco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0XGXz6SHco
    - mortenjorck 5y ago
      I never understood why someone would go out of their way to get a specific compressor until I tried an LA-2A emulation. Once I heard that signature "squash" from the simulated opto-electrical circuit, it clicked.
    - nbulka 5y ago
      Not to mention, the OTT compressor is a big reason why we have EDM as it is.

fredoliveira 5y ago

Definitely a great point. I think for a lot of people, the beauty in modular is in the letting go of the idea of a preset, and creating sound that lives today, but is gone tomorrow. For a long time, most of the music I made was very loop driven (also very quantized and static) — modular fixed that by rewiring my brain to work differently. I don't think I'll ever go hardware only. The flexibility of software is just too good. But modular in general flexes different muscles for me, and I like that a lot. (great username, btw. Been a Live user since version 1)

abletonlive 5y ago
Yeah for sure. That's the reason why I got into modular in the first place. Different workflow. It's just that the workflow ended up not working for me personally, but it definitely works for some people. There's also something about for me about being more musical if I have physical knobs to play with that are mapped to every parameter available. This is largely an unsolved problem in virtual instruments. Nobody has really made a digital controller that maps nicely to virtual instruments, and I suspect the reason is it's because the plugin makers refuse to follow a standard to map out their parameters in a consistent way. There's work being done around some of this w/ Omnisphere and its ability to take advantage of your pre-existing hardware to map to all the virtual knobs, but I'd like to have a controller in front of me that consistently controls all of my virtual instruments in a way that makes sense and it mostly can't or doesn't exist.

disease 5y ago

For a beautiful mix of hardware and software, see the Nord Modular G2.