Sound Machines — Modulor 114
MODULÖR114 Manual (PDF)
Creative Modulör114 Patch Ideas & Synergistic Module Pairings
The soundmachines MODULÖR114 is a uniquely comprehensive all-in-one Eurorack-compatible modular synthesizer. Its combination of both expected and rare modules (quantizer, ribbon controller, MIDI-to-CV, digital logic, FX, dual VCO, S&H, etc.) makes it a powerful Swiss Army knife for classic, experimental, and generative synthesis. Below are ways to stretch its sonic potential further, especially by combining it with external modules.
1. Generative/West Coast Patching
Expand the Internal Randomness!
- Patch: Use the S&H (Sample & Hold) with VCO1’s pink/white noise and external S&H or Turing Machine.
- Expand: Add a Mutable Instruments Marbles or ALM Pamela’s Pro Workout to clock or bias S&H events for evolving random melodies or rhythms. Use the onboard quantizer for musicality.
Feedback Patches & Cross-Modulation
- Patch: Feedback the FX or VCF audio output back to MIX1/MIX2 or an external mixer.
- Expand: Insert an external wavefolder like Intellijel Bifold or Random*Source Serge Wave Multipliers before or after the filter for complex timbre shifts.
- Use the digital logic gates (AND/NAND/XOR) with external clock dividers for unpredictable gates and triggers in generative patches.
2. Hybrid Analog/Digital FX Chains
Layer Effects for Texture
- Patch: Use the onboard FX in parallel with an external FX (e.g., Make Noise Mimeophon or Tiptop Z5000).
- Expand: Split the VCA/VCF output via MULTI, sending one copy to the internal FX and another to an external processor. Mix these FX results with MIX2 or an external Lin/Log mixer.
Animated FX: Voltage-Control the FX Section
- Send CV from external complex modulation sources (Mutable Stages, 4ms PEG, Ladik Random CV) to the onboard FX CV inputs for real-time, evolving parameter changes.
- Use the logic gates or clock divider to gate/tap-tempo the delay/reverb engines in time with other modules.
3. Advanced Sequencing and Polyphony
Supercharge Sequencing with External Sources
- Combine the onboard quantizer with an external sequencer (Make Noise René, Eloquencer) to create complex transposition, quantized random melody, or evolving sequences.
- Patch an external sequence into the quantizer's input while using the ribbon for manual pitch bends/glissando over the quantized output. This combines expressive playing with strict musical scales.
Polyphonic Eurorack System Integration
- Since you have two analog VCOs and the MIDI->CV interface, try routing distinct MIDI channels or external sequencer CVs to each VCO separately for duophonic lines.
- Add further voices with small digital oscillators (MI Plaits, Noise Engineering Basimilus), running these through MODULÖR114's VCF/VCA or external VCAs.
4. Utility Powerhouse & Signal Processing
MODULÖR114 as a Utility Hub in a Bigger Rack
- Use passive MULTIs to distribute clock/reset, gates, or pitch throughout your rack.
- Employ the three onboard mixers (including the 1/3 attenuated MIX3) to combine CV sources, blend audio, or scale/mix envelopes/LFOs for external modules.
- Patch the onboard ADDSUB units for offsetting, inverting, and soft-clipping (great for CV manipulation).
5. Experimental Performance Techniques
Touch-Play & Expressive Control
- The ribbon controller can be routed to almost any destination, not just pitch. Patch to filter, delay rate, or FX parameters for touch-controlled timbral shifts.
- Use external pressure or touch controllers (e.g. Make Noise Pressure Points, Intellijel Tetrapad) to supplement the ribbon for more stages of real-time modulation.
Rhythmically Complex Gate/Trigger Patterns
- Patch the onboard clock divider, logic gates, and manual buttons into drum modules (e.g., ALM Akemie's Taiko, Erica Drum Modules) for intricate, rapidly configurable percussion lines.
- Augment rhythmic structures with external probabilistic or Euclidean generators (Mutable Grids, Euclidean Circles).
6. VCF & VCO Waveshaping Madness
- Utilize external waveshapers/folders or analog bitcrushers (WMD Geiger Counter, Toppobrillo TWF) post-VCF/VCA to further distort and mutate audio.
- Cross-patch outputs of both onboard VCOs through logic gates (e.g., XOR) and into the filter for audio-rate ring-modulation effects.
- Try self-oscillating the VCF and using it as a sine(ish) VCO, driving it with envelope or stepped random voltages for percussion or FM patches—pair well with sequencers or a MI Peaks for envelope/LFO duties.
7. Digital/Analog Hybrid Patches
- Leverage the MIDI-to-CV section as a converter for DAW clock/automation: generate precise clock/transport signals to sync both analog and digital gear.
- Pair with external granular/spectral processors (Mutable Clouds/Beads, 4MS Spectral Multiband Resonator) for processed modular stereo chains.
8. Extra Patch Suggestions
- Stack several buffered MULT modules externally if you want to fan out outputs to a large system.
- Insert external slew limiters, quantizers, and function generators (Make Noise Maths, Doepfer A-171-2) in the middle of MODULÖR114 modulation chains for even more flexible patching.
Generated With Eurorack Processor