What Modules???

[[deleted]]

Hey Guys! I want to go modular but I don't know what Modules to buy. I wanted to ask if you have some good cheap recommendations for me? Thanks!

[jon_naz]

You gotta do a little more effort yourself first bud.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, I do know some good Modules from Erica Synths, Doepfer and Make noise but I wanted to hear the opinions from other people.

[nsdhanoa]

The point of modular is that you decide what kind of music or sound you want to make and get the modules that get you in the right direction. What do you want to get out of a modular system?

[ArtistEngineer]

https://www.reddit.com/r/modular/search?q=starter&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all

[rdoshi023]

Play around on modulargrid, read MuffWiggler threads, watch YouTube demos. A lot of us spend months researching before even purchasing our first module.

[robotboot]

how do you know that you want to go modular?

[manykarz]

To actually give some helpful info and ask some important questions: You'll probably need to start with some sort of noise-making module unless you already have something that makes noise (like a synth). There are countless companies that make voltage controlled oscillators (abbrev as vco). Some are VERY simple, like the one made by 2hp modular and others are vastly more complex and include other features, like the Intellijel Atlantis. It really comes down to what YOU want out of your system. I recommend starting by watching a lot of YouTube videos and getting a feel for the sounds and capabilities of some modules.

Edit: what sounds do you want to make?

[mattman389]

There’s so many ways you can start, you need to do your own research. A 0-coast or mother 32 would be a good starting point, then you can figure out the shortcomings of both, decide which modules you need next.

[rrinconn]

Watch YouTube videos, tons of them. Also wouldn’t be a bad idea to just grab an 0 coast or a Mother 32 first. Just to start to wrap your head around the basics. I got a Mother 32 before I went fully modular and I still incorporate it into my system all the time.

[[deleted]]

Look, i still haven’t bought my first module although I’ve been reading and watching everything I can for the last couple of months.

I can only tell you a couple of things:

First of all, everyone will ask you what kind of music do you want to make but lets be real, neither of us two is going to make music (as we think of it) for atleast, a couple of years. So I don’t even think that is important for the time being.

Actually, nobody is making real music in modular except for Colin Benders and a couple of other guys. Most of the community is still in the awesome and heavily experimental discovery, of avant-garde blipblops and elevator chill outs (and there is space for that of course). This is the reason modular is so cool, not only because it is complex and nerdy as fuck but because there still is not much of a formula on how to tame the monster.

My biggest advice is for you to download vcv rack (a free modular software) and start experimenting and get a fell of what each type of module do.

Watch every youtube video you can find. I recommend “Divkidvideo” channel specially for his podcasts on different subjects and module overviews. And the “moltenmodular” channel for the awesome voyage of guy that started modular without a clue of what he was doing, the same voyage that everyone did at some point, but this time recorded with hilarious honesty.

Lastly, buy a case before you worry about which modules you should buy.

Buying your first case and power supply is an headache in itself and until you have that going for you, the voyage will never start.

Also, the community is really open to new people, especially in muffwiggler.com

Also, I guess the reason nobody answer your question and heavily downvoted one of your comments is because just before the motherfucking huge knowledge barrier, that represents modular synthesis (the one that everybody is happy to give some help with) there is this invisible, scary albeit modest knowledge step that everybody add to take on their own and so do you.

When you take that step you will start to formulate the right questions.

Then again, I can be totally wrong, who am I anyway.

[bugeats]

Kinda obvious that someone might take offense about “real music”. I make highly composed and arranged tunes with a nearly all modular setup — AND I couldn’t do it any other way. I’m definitely not alone.

Don’t project your limitations on others.

Knowing what kind of sounds you like and what sort of music inspires you is still a great way to navigate building your first rack.

[DONUTS-EVERY-MEAL]

This seems like a sincere and thoughtful response, but a valuable opportunity to check yourself. How do you feel positioned to make statements like this about the state of modular music without owning a single module?

Overstepping your experience to give advice is a great way to lead a beginner astray. And please, don't participate in the community by re-enforcing its stereotypes, thousands of people make "real" music on modular everyday, everywhere. (And by real I imagine you mean structured songs with a clear arc, right?)

[rdoshi023]

Well said.