Making it Work #1: Clouds, Disting mk2, FutureRetro Transient

"Making it Work" is a new series that I'm launching. It's new take on the classic "3 module challenge". What I'll be doing is picking three modules at random from my rack and find a way to make a decent sounding patch from them. It's something I'm really looking forward to, and I'm hoping I'll be able to learn more about the capabilities of my modules by doing so.

In this first episode of the series, I make a patch using Mutable Instruments Clouds, Expert Sleepers Disting mk2 and FutureRetro Transient. Here's what I managed to come up with:

Not too bad to be honest! From the start, I knew that I was going to use the Transient to make a beat and have it triggered by a square wave from Disting. But I wanted to use a different mode on Clouds just to make things sound a bit different. Luckily, the Parasite firmware I have on Clouds has a cool resonator mode, which allowed me to turn the beat generated by the Transient into a melody-like sound. Who knew!

Here's the more detailed version of what's going on:

Disting mk2 is in "4-B Clockable LFO" mode. Output A generates a sine wave that modulates the FutureRetro Transient. Output B generates a square wave that acts as a clock source for FutureRetro Transient. Both waves are oscillating at a low frequency (1.5Hz or 90BPM). 

The Transient is set to the "RANDOMeYeS" sample and is being triggered and modulated by Disting. Its output is multed to a mixer and Clouds.

Clouds is in resonator mode; an alternate mode in the Parasite firmware. Position is set to 11 o'clock, Size is set to 12 o'clock, Pitch is set to 10 o'clock, Gain is set to 4 o'clock, Density set to 5 o'clock, Texture set to 12 o'clock and Blend set to just over 9 o'clock. It is outputted to the mixer as well, which now outputs both the raw Transient beat and the "melody" generated by Clouds. 

So I think we can call that a successful first challenge. I'm really looking forward to doing more of these challenges, hopefully they all sound as good as this one!

Happy patching friends,

-Uncle Peter

DIY Eurorack Module Resources

Long before I ever got into Eurorack, or even music for that matter, electronics were a big interest of mine. I'd love taking things apart, looking at the weird circuit boards, and trying to understand what was going on. 

Fast forward many years to learning about Eurorack and all its various modules that can perform pretty much anything. It was only a matter of time before I became curious about how these modules worked; what was going on behind the face plate. After a bit of searching, I found the crazy, but fascinating world that is DIY Euroracking. 

Making DIY Eurorack modules is something that is relatively easy, designing them is a whole different story. With a bit of soldering know-how, you can make some pretty cool things.

My goal here is to consolidate all the information and resources I've acquired about DIY eurorack module-making, with the goal of helping beginners or interested people wanting to give it a try. I'm doing this because, to my knowledge, I don't think anyone has put something together like this. 

So hopefully the information below is helpful. I'll keep updating it as I find new resources:

DIY EURORACK RESOURCES

1) Look Mum No Computer 

Look Mum No Computer is a Youtube channel run by Sam Battle that focuses on DIY synthbuilding and music making. Sam is a creative genius and builds some crazy musical contraptions that sound awesome. He also has a collection of modular synth builds that he has created. What's cool about Sam's designs is that he posts the circuit board layout/bill of materials to his website, but also has a Youtube video about each module he designs. I personally think this is great because you can see what a particular module does/sounds like, before deciding to build it. Also, almost all of Sam's designs are stripboard layouts, which makes building them that much easier, and there is a nice forum on his website to ask questions. Sam himself is also pretty friendly and always answered my emails when I had module questions

I should point out though that Sam's modules are not in the typical Eurorack 128.5mm format (since he prefers larger modules), so a bit of front panel layout/design is required, which I personally find to be pretty fun; you can lay things out how you want. So far I've built the multi-channel mixer, 1V/oct oscillator, envelope generator and low-pass filter. Here is a list of Sam's module designs. 

2) Niklas Ronnberg

Niklas Ronnberg's DIY synth page is another great website I've found with a massive collection of various Eurorack-sized modules. His designs are also in stripboard format and some have instructions and audio samples to go along with them. 

A downside however is that Niklas doesn't provide an explicit bill of materials for his builds, although all the required components can be deduced from the stripboard and schematic layouts (see image). He is also friendly and responds to questions about his builds and required materials. So far I've built the dual VCA and distortion unit. 

3) Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics is a website that sells pretty much every single electrical component you'll ever need for these DIY builds. It's a pretty user-friendly website and what I like in particular is the filtering system they use for the a search query; you can filter down search results in super detail to get the exact component you want/need.

Mouser also has a really cool shipping policy (for Canada at least). For about $20 of shipping or free for orders over $100, you'll get next-day/two-day shipping on your orders; perfect if you are like me and want to get right into building ASAP.

Updated: 03/03/2020

So that's what I've come up with so far. As I said before, I plan to populate this list as I come across more resources. If you have any resources, post them in the comments below and I'll add them to the list. It would be great to see more people getting into this sub-hobby!


Happy patching friends,


-Uncle Peter

A Dual VCA schematic by Niklas Ronnberg