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natrixgli wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 12:07 pm
I would like to say Disting Mk4 but I honestly hardly use it. When I do it often gets relegated to the handful of algorithms I know by heart just because I don't want to crack out the manual. It does most everything well and I love it, but the dense UI makes it just something I don't go to that often.
+1 on this.
my choice would be MI Stages, because it does so many things and is incredible flexible.
Yes, it's not an inexpensive module, but it's endlessly flexible, and handles multiple functions simultaneously. Indispensable for sample management, looping, granular processing, and essentially designing your own module when you need it. I built a quad spatializer with over 40 VCA's--how else could i do that in my rack? Four parallel loopers--each with their own processing chain--no problem. Last show, I used it as a sampler, mixer, and processor.
ok i didnt say what i thought yet but i absolutely love my alyseum ms-812 and al-88c, i have multiples of both. they let me incorporate any noisemaker in my studio with a minimum of hassle into my software/hardware environment/workflow and even though they are dead products they are amazing imho. and cheap for what they do. copperlan is so minimal with its use of regular ethernet technology, i dont need to crowd my usb busses or have some outdated data connection standard like pcmcia (although my xp tablets are populated with used rme goodness and run xp sp3... copperlan runs on almost anything. it also allows you management of any midi hardware at all that is present on your system. you can even connect 2 computers with only an ethernet cable and away you go!
another contender might be the audiodamage odio, which is the only usb sound interface for euro + xp that im aware of and was cheap. its actually perfect for sampling into soundforge or recycle for editing and then spitting over scsi to emu/ensoniq/akai for midi manipulation from any sequencer in my copperlan network... and the beat goes ooooonnnnn... and the beat goes ooooonnnnn
oh, the addac vc transitions is dopeness for cheap too
im actually trying to whittle down my mods to only dopeness + utility
autopoiesis wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 5:01 am
I have my Expert Sleepers FH-2 doing a LOT simultaneously, [...] outputting envelopes with long release times instead of gates so that I can scale their amplitude with MIDI velocity and mult those to scale the amplitude of the actual Euro envelopes I use.
That's clever, thanks.
The FH-2 (plus FHX-1 expander) is still quite new in my rack but it's quickly taken over all those "set and forget" jobs, I feel dedicated modules are kind of wasted on. The Intellijel Quad VCA is one of only a small handful of modules that survived a "getting rid of all modular" phase last year and it's always doing something.
Ornament and Crime. I get a lot of use out of the different modes. I can always find a place to use it in a patch. There are so many modes and options it’s always good for an inspirational boost.
It is
- a 2x2 or 1x4 mixer,
- a dual bipolar VCA with offset and 200% amplification
- a dual ring modulator (which sounds great)
- a quad CV source with a +/-10v range
My only qualm is it's hard to get exactly 0v from it, because of the bipolar nature of every pot.
It's 6hp, and it's about 150E. I've got 4 of them. They cover most of my VCA/mixer needs.
Last edited by fredke on Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:44 am, edited 5 times in total.
natrixgli wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 12:07 pm
I would like to say Disting Mk4 but I honestly hardly use it. When I do it often gets relegated to the handful of algorithms I know by heart just because I don't want to crack out the manual. It does most everything well and I love it, but the dense UI makes it just something I don't go to that often.
+1 on this.
my choice would be MI Stages, because it does so many things and is incredible flexible.
I had the Disting MK3 (which is admittedly harder to use than the MK4). It was the most powerful and best value module I ever owned... and I hated it. I tried so hard to make it usable, using favourites, cheat-sheets, memorising, practicing, etc, but it was a total pain and I started to avoid using it. I honestly feel a sense of relief that it's now gone, even though I have lost a lot of functionality.
If Expert Sleepers released a new version which was a bit bigger and had a more usable interface, it would be straight back into my rack.
wiperactive wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 8:26 pm
Just belatedly discovered Expert Sleepers Disting (Mk 4) after years of not bothering to find out what those funny little 'stick' modules where all about.
As soon as the penny dropped - it just took a moment - I immediately bought one... cheap (more so if you buy an earlier version) and multi-functional... you could build a whole modular system out of these little shape-shifters!
One is quite enough for me, a whole system of not being sure what a module is doing visually would be hell!
windchill wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:21 am
I had the Disting MK3 (which is admittedly harder to use than the MK4). It was the most powerful and best value module I ever owned... and I hated it. I tried so hard to make it usable, using favourites, cheat-sheets, memorising, practicing, etc, but it was a total pain and I started to avoid using it. I honestly feel a sense of relief that it's now gone, even though I have lost a lot of functionality.
If Expert Sleepers released a new version which was a bit bigger and had a more usable interface, it would be straight back into my rack.
I feel you. I've kept away from the disting because I fear exactly that, and I too would consider it with a more extensive interface.
If I go beyond oscillators there are tons of modules of great value. Klavis Mixwitch is the greatest though. I have three of them and I wouldn’t say no to another one.
Buttons ARE toys wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 10:03 am
Without a doubt my Happy Nerding 3x VCA. Having 3 VCA's with onboard bias control and bipolar CV attenuation in 6hp is ridiculous.
Cheap too. Great module.
New track! Our first release in a year and a half. Mostly based on the TINRS Fenix IV.
I'd have to vote for the Happy Nerding 3xMIA. A simple and inexpensive module (about $100 US) that is a triple and each section can either be an attenuverter/offset or a 2-input mixer, and the outputs can be merged so it can be a 4 or 6 input mixer as well. In 6HP
windchill wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:21 am
I had the Disting MK3 (which is admittedly harder to use than the MK4). It was the most powerful and best value module I ever owned... and I hated it. I tried so hard to make it usable, using favourites, cheat-sheets, memorising, practicing, etc, but it was a total pain and I started to avoid using it. I honestly feel a sense of relief that it's now gone, even though I have lost a lot of functionality.
If Expert Sleepers released a new version which was a bit bigger and had a more usable interface, it would be straight back into my rack.
I'm right there with you. I had a Disting mk3 and absolutely hated using it. The binary LED system was utterly confounding. Talking to Os, it's apparently elementary for a genius like him. Sucked for me, though.
I upgraded to a MK4 and am MUCH happier with it. Night and day difference, IMO. That said, I've echoed your sentiments to some other folks I know. I'd definitely be interested in a 6 or 8hp Disting MK5 with an OLED screen similar to uO_c or what have you. Something that can display more information, perhaps with an additional control knob and more inputs/outputs if they fit, too.
God I love Optomix right now. It's so versatile and I love the sound of pinging low pass gates - especially when modulating the tonal characteristics of the inputs.
I recently bought an Ears from Mutable / Music Thing, and i'm blown away by how usefull it is for just about 80 euros second hand. I rediscovered the joy of playing bass guitar by putting it into the modulars, I can play percussion on my case, and simply use it a distortion in the system when I don't need the contact mic.
wiperactive wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 8:26 pm
Just belatedly discovered Expert Sleepers Disting (Mk 4) after years of not bothering to find out what those funny little 'stick' modules where all about.
As soon as the penny dropped - it just took a moment - I immediately bought one... cheap (more so if you buy an earlier version) and multi-functional... you could build a whole modular system out of these little shape-shifters!
One is quite enough for me, a whole system of not being sure what a module is doing visually would be hell!
But function wise they are stunning value
Ha ha, well I agree wholeheartedly with you. Maybe I should've inserted "not that I would want to, but theoretically" before that last line.
Had mine a few weeks now and a Disting cheat sheet is a near necessity for my ageing, increasingly forgetful, brain. I've got just the one too, principally to plug the occasional function gap that may arise in my still relatively nascent system.
Sucked for me, though.
