Which modules instantly hooked you with their workflow? Best intuitive and good UX modules?

[aaronshaver]

I click with some modules that just make sense and since they're fun and intuitive to use, I want to use them more. Looking for more like that.

[mdoudoroff]

What hooks me might not hook you, because of personal considerations: we may be in different alignment over the respective design bias of any given module.

A few that stand out for me:
- Euclidean Circles
- Just Friends
- Batumi
- Metamorph
- Planar (version 1)
- Basimilus Iteritas Alter
- Sinfonion

Of course, I’m leaving out tons of modules that are very simple in nature, such as Optomix.

[Boodaleechees]

Mimeophon and Varigate 4+ come to mind. Those two will never leave my possession.

[EPTC]

From early days, Moog CP-251 - My first voltage processor/generator. Explained everything to me with such clarity it didn't even feel like learning. Still use it every day.

[Monofunk]

vpme Euclidean Circles

[NeolithicElectrophones]

I'd say MI Elements, Horstronic waveslicer and Timo Rozendal's SDSV+.

[forestcaver]

Anything (older) by Doepfer

[Monofunk]

Mutable Instruments modules have a tendency to hook me quickly even though not everything is immediately obvious. They offer a nice balance between usability and complexity.

[starthief]

Tyme Sefari mk2. I know it doesn't gel with some people, but I love the way it works (if not so much the low maximum sample rate or needing the expander to use its second channel).

[xcc]

For potentially complex modules, the Basimilus Iteritas Alter, Echophon made sense quickly. Also the Morphagene (minus the button combos) and Erica Sample Drum are intuitive for my particular soft human brain. Also Pam’s is crazy logical.

[Underwood]

Mutable Instruments modules have a tendency to hook me quickly even though not everything is immediately obvious. They offer a nice balance between usability and complexity.

I can't rellay distinguish two of the three led modes in marbles so yeah. Otherwise i do like the interface but that makes it kinda hard to know which mode i'm in.

[Shledge]

Best:
- MI Stages. Very very well laid out, rarely needed any manual diving at all.
- MI Frames - same reason as Stages.
- Doepfer modules are pretty straightforward.
- Livestock electronic Felix. Very useful and very well laid out.
- Nerdseq. It's very easy to pick up the basics, very fast to use due to tracker layout. Can get quite deep and complex, but none of it feels like a chore to learn. Obviously not as accessible as a typical analogue sequencer, but it's easily one of the friendliest digital CV sequencer modules out there in eurorack.

Worst:
- Optomix. The wanky fonts and labelling forces me to jump into the manual from time to time, when in reality it should not be necessary due to the fact it's technically quite simple in functionality.
- MI Warps. Suffers a similar issue to Plaits - vague icons that you have to memorise, certain aspects don't come immediately obvious to me. It's still a good module, but not one I've felt compelled to explore more often due to said issues.
- O&C. Just put hemisphere firmware on it and be done with it, makes it 1000% more useful. Not trying to knock the original firmware, quite rewarding when you dig into it... but be prepared to constantly read the manual and be frustrated in the beginning.
- Disting. I really like this module, but I'm putting it here. When you keep it on one specific mode, it's completely fine and easy to use. The MK4 version makes it easier to use due to LED screen. But it's still a module that needs a cheat sheet or manual nearby just to change between modes, simply because there are so many of them. It would do well if it were 8hp and had a proper LCD screen to explain exactly what each mode is.
- MI Plaits. I actually prefer Braids over Plaits in terms of UI/UX. Plaits gives you vague icons that are tiny and you'll instantly forget, while Braids actually tells you what mode you're on. Everything is clear and menu diving is minimal. It's still not the best granted, but I personally don't understand how Plaits improves upon it.

[starthief]

Best:
- MI Frames...

Worst:
- MI Plaits...

Interesting. I found Plaits very easy to work with overall, despite the tiny icons. My eyesight is poor, and a concept like "simulation of filtered waveforms by windowed sine waves" is really hard to convey in something the size of an ordinary indicator LED... but instead I thought of the modes as "green 4" or "red 7" or whatever. And the sound itself is generally enough to tell what mode you're in, once you get to know it.

Conversely, I always liked the concept of Frames more than the execution. I thought a display would make editing, selecting interpolation curves etc. far easier to work with and convert the confusing button combos to shallow menus. A bar graph or a ring of LEDs around the big knob (similar to Odessa) would be another alternative, showing levels, current timeline position etc. albeit in a less precise way.

Agree about Stages though. There are a couple things to remember, but it all makes logical sense and it's easy to use overall, given how broad and deep you can go with it. Of course with any potentially complex modulation source, I find putting it on a scope is helpful.

[Neo]

Moog Model 15
I know it's not eurorack, but that's the point. As soon as I started patching it I realised what I was missing in eurorack. There's a fluidity to patching the Model 15 that I've never experienced in eurorack, where the extra CV inputs, handy mixer, multiples and the overall layout invite experimentation that would require a bit of head scratching in euro. Unless of course you'd already set up a similarly well designed system, which most of us tend not to do with our multi-vendor minimal-hp frankensynths. Or maybe that's just me.

[bgribble]

So like single function modules aren’t eligible, IMO, since there’s basically 1 way to do the 1 thing they do. My favorites are the complex modules that just work unexpectedly well.

Nerdseq. I’m not a tracker person but it just makes sense. So powerful.

ER-301. Yes it’s deep, a whole programming language basically, but there are so many things about it that just make you go aaaaah yes that’s the way that should work.

Trigger Man. This is a such a great and under-appreciated trigger sequencer. The two-knob UI can create great patterns really easily, and a lot of them! The “expert level” UI (chaining patterns, etc) always makes me look at the printed manual I keep handy but the basic 8-step pattern gen is :chef-kiss:

Brain Seed. The thing basically has no UI, just 1 button (reseed) in practice. But it’s an endless source of repeating random patterns in my system (especially paired with its best friends Triatt and a quantizer)

[fruitsnake]

Folktek Motion sequencer from the Mescaline system.

It's the only module that I have two of, even though it's huge. That's actually one of the things I love about it - nice and easy to see what's going on and to tweak, and soooo many pretty flashing lights. Plus when you have two of them, you get clock divisions down to 1/256, and each sequencer can generate the sequence on the other simultaneously. And of course vactrol sequencing is boss.

[vailsy]

qubit nebulae
instruo modules (arbhar and lubadh)
harvestman/ime modules (argos bleak, mk3 modules)
modcan

[Graffie]

Braids
Pamela’s new workout
Sinfonion
Graphic vco

Altho the display hugely contribute to why the modules instantly clicked. I also have modules with displays that took a pretty long time to get used to (looking at you shapeshifter).

[FatKingTubby]

Klavis Twin Waves - I'm not really a fan of shared knobs on digital modules but the Twin Waves implements this between its two oscillators in a very fluid and ergonomic manner. The symbols it uses for each waveform algorithm are also quite well designed; they're all pretty self-explanatory but after a single read through of the manual to be sure of the specifics I was good to go.

Frap Tools Falistri - On first glance this one looks super confusing with the color scheme and symbol shorthand that Frap Tools uses across their modules, but after a few minutes of playing around with it it becomes second nature.

SSF Entities - Some people complain about having to find sweet spots on these, but I find them incredibly playable in every musical situation I use them.

WMD Arpitecht - Super easy to create melodies and arpeggios all due to the quickly discernible visual feedback.

[franman69]

Euclidian Circles was an instant CLICK for me!... quick, intuitive, visual and so much fun to play with.

[BLogic12]

Magneto. Great interface, begs to be played hands on, feels like an instrument in its own.

[dvdmllr]

Frap Tools Falistri - On first glance this one looks super confusing with the color scheme and symbol shorthand that Frap Tools uses across their modules, but after a few minutes of playing around with it it becomes second nature.

I was also going to mention the Falistri! It takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you are everything about the Falistri just feels right.

[Monofunk]

All of the Orthogonal Devices modules are dense but rewarding. Lots of depth which makes the workflow and experience worth coming back to.

[Whelm]

Befaco Rampage is the most playable module I've owned. I really love it. Befaco parts are a real pain to source but those sliders, mwah.

Most of my modules are very simple functionally. 1 knob per function, with the exception of a disting which...is a disting.

[rew_]

ALM Squid Salmple, which is a module that has a lot of potentially complex uses but whose base UI is simple as pie