Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Molten Modular 11 – My second row of Eurorack”.
Hello, I’m Robin Vincent and welcome to molten modular and welcome to the second row. Oh yes, now I know what you’re thinking you’re thinking that why on earth do I have a second row when I still can’t fathom out the first one. Well, in many ways, that’s the nature of modular, in that there is no rhyme or reason you just have to have more of it, and so I’ve embraced that, and I have spilled spilled into a second row. I have it now. The first thing I should point out is, of course, that I already had the mother 32, which is a huge amount of this second row.
I already had it so it was inevitable that that was going to fill a large chunk of that space and that that still sort of worries me for straights me just slightly, because the number 32 is awesome. It’S got a fantastic sound is a fantastic synth voice. It’S got a lot of good stuff going for it, but it just takes up all this space. So when you are hoping to expand into their second row – and you want to put in a dozen new modules you come and that’s annoying. However, I had to make a decision as to whether I keep it or whether I sell it on and buy a couple of modules. Instead, it’s just too good.
I have to keep it and I will just struggle with the aesthetic and then look slightly and the room, and what new things that I can do, I’m just gon na have to deal with that and allow my love of the mother 32. Just now, I’ve done a separate video on how to install the mother 32 into thin air rack system, which is much easier than you think. But if that’s something you’d like to do that, you do go and check that out. Otherwise, what you’re listening to is my very first two row patch second row is interesting: it’s very much like that.
Second, album, where yeah you’ve done something brilliant and it inspired and well-received, and then you want to repeat it with the next row, but not just repeat it, but change it become more mature, more creative really find what it is that new direction that you’re looking for In order to complete it’s all about, but anyway here is a little bit of video of me installing this second row and explaining the different modules that I put in here, there’s only a couple, so it shouldn’t take too long. But I hope you find my choices. Interesting now, because this is ain’t mogh case, it fits perfectly with their two-tier mogh bracket. It’S a working system.
It’S supposed to go together and to mount it into the brackets. You just need to undo these screws on the side slot it in and do them back up again. So I’m going to take off these two screws here put on a couple of washers and that will allow it to grab hold of the brackets here. Haha.
That’S looking every bit like, I kind of synthesized a console now that is a lovely thing. So the first thing we need to worry about with our second row is: how do we power it? With my first row, I used a 4 mm s, ro power 40. Here, from which all the flying bus cables come off and they power all the individual modules and then that’s powered with a laptop power supply for my second row, I can do exactly the same and in fact, look at this. I’Ve got a 4 ms ro power. 40 plugged in here as well but 4 ms – have done something rather clever, rather efficient, rather than having to have two individual wall warts to run each row of this they’ve supplied a through option here and here what you can do is get a little cable like This fellow and connect the two to get that one too this one and now I think I can power both rows from the one laptop power supply. Let’S try this out top row bottom rope genius. Now the row power 40 is more than capable of running a couple of rows: 104 HP. It could run much more than that, so the power requirements are not an issue using this sort of power supply.
The pass wire you’re using who knows you’re gon na, have to find out whether it’s got enough power to run two rows or not, or whether it has this kind of capability. It may be. You’Ve got a power supply that you can somehow connect between the two rows. Internally, who knows all I can show you is what I’ve got, which is this 4ms ro power 40, and I really like that.
They are expensive, though, surprisingly expensive, just for the power supply module and it does make me wonder whether I would have been better off buying one, of course, a bigger case. In the first place, it has an integrated power supply. Maybe that’s a better way of going. I kind of like the big ones I’ve seen with a handle on the top. That sort of thing.
However, on my journey, this is what I decided to do. I decided to go with one skiff. I, like the mogh skiff and now I’ve got two and that’s great.
I’Ve been able to expand without having to invest in a big case and big power supply straight off, and that worked for me. Your journey may be very different. So what do I have to fill this second row? Well, people often tell you that you don’t really know what you need until you start doing it once you’ve explored a bit of your rack.
You’Ll then become clear as to which modules you’ll need. Next, I’m not sure that’s altogether, true in my playing with this and experimenting with in and making music with it, I still don’t have a complete idea as to what I’m doing. I have a much better idea now than when I started, but do I know what I need next, not exactly.
However, there are some things that don’t work quite as well as I thought or hoped, and there are certain holes perhaps that I need to fill but we’ll get to that. So what am I going to put in it? Well, first of all, it absolutely has to be the clouds it has to be. I’Ve always wanted one.
I definitely always wanted one do I know what it does exactly you know, of course I don’t. This is me, I’m just flying by the seat of my pants, but it’s a texture synthesizer with this. I believe I can stick stuff in and freeze it and make wonderful ambient sort of soundscapes. So this is a module that I’ve always wanted and it was never gon na fit in my one row. I knew that if I wanted to cover the basics like oscillators filters, envelopes and LFOs that there just was not going to be the room for this particular module in my first row, it was always gon na be a second row choice, and here it is, and I’M really excited to try it out.
I haven’t plugged it in I’m all doing this for real. I haven’t tried it out, so that is gon na sit there. I’M so excited it’s very exciting. The other thing I need space for is my cheering module, which is still at this stage.
It’S still like this, I haven’t got any further than this. It’S this and a bag of bits which I have up here, so this will also fit in my second row. Fabulous and then, lastly, because I don’t have much room for extra modules, I can only fit a couple in this little fella here now. This is called a Rosie. This room make noise and I love make noise stuff. Absolutely I’m completely sold on their idea and approach to the world.
So what’s the Rosie? Well, it’s an output module now. The reason I got this is because I’ve just had difficulty getting the right sort of quality and level of final sound out of the system. At the moment, I’ve always come out of the end of the DSP here. The Pico DSP, which is great, so got everything going to a delay, everything going through a reverb and that’s okay, and then that goes through my K mix, which is over here, which is like a mixer audio interface, which then goes in to my system.
But sometimes it’s distorted, sometimes it doesn’t sound quite right, I’ll, never completely convinced that I’ve got that wired correctly or in the best possible way to get the best quality of sound, and so, in my mind in my you know, twisted basic way of looking at things. I just need confidence, any confidence in the output, and that is going to be given to me by using some kind of mixer or output module, and this is a beautiful one. I love it. It’S going to give me a headphone output, so I can just plug in headphones in place, I’m not having to worry about where else it’s routed to, and it will give me a proper line output, so I can run it through a mixer and know that it’s A line level and then, of course it gives me a volume knob, so I can just turn the thing up and down, which is something which I’ve struggled with once. I’Ve turned this on it’s kind of making noise and I’m having to fiddle with audio interfaces and software mixers in order to adjust the level overall, whereas what I need is just a knob, that’s what the Rosi gives me also gives you a send and return for Effect, so I don’t have to have everything running through the DSP.
I can just use it as a send return on this, which is interesting. It also has two channels, so you can mix between the two, although now, of course, I’ve got potentially one two. Three four.
Five: six: oh it’s really. I’Ve got lots more sound generation possibilities, so this may not be everything that I need. I may yet still need a mixer.
I don’t know. Does that then cast doubt on to this as a solution, because I’m still going to end up having everything going into this, probably from the VCA directly into here? I don’t know you see, I’m just making this up as I go, but it seemed like a good idea and I’m going to plug that in and see what happens with it. And it may be that I just need another mixer module in there somewhere, but where which space? Where is that going to go? I don’t know so.
That’S gon na go in there, so you can see now that I base all my decisions, basically on a whim without really any thought at all. Now I’m left with a little bit of room up this side. So what I’m probably going to do is I’m probably gon na take a DSP at the top here. The Pico DSP stick that next to the Rosie, because I’m going to be sending and returning through it, I’m assuming.
I will probably get a second Pico drums because I like the drums, but it gives you two sounds and really for me for a drum kit. I kinda need four sounds. You need kick snare, then some kind of you know high frequency thing like a symbol or a hi-hat, so I think I will get another one of those which will make up that same space. It just leaves me a little bit with a little bit of shuffling.
I might be able to make enough room for my spurn to tip top envelope generator, possibly so I’m gon na fit in there. If I get rid of the DSP and maybe the molt to the next row. Maybe, who knows I’m gon na have to play with that? I do also have this O’Tool oscilloscope, stuck in the middle, which I was going to use for sort of testing and explanations on different modules. It seems to be taking up a lot of space for something.
That’S just kind of a little bit pretty and potentially helpful in making videos – I I’m just not convinced by it at the moment, so that may well come out and it’ll give you a lot more room for another, more interesting and creative module. So what I’ll do now is plug it all in make sure it makes a noise. So there you go. Will there be a third row? Oh undoubtedly, I don’t doubt that for a second, but not just now, because I’m really feeling that I have put together something quite exquisite here, something that deserves my time deserves playing with, and I finally feel that I’m pulling out of it.
The sort of noises that I’ve always wanted and also that I’ve got more than enough to play with, and I should do that. I should do some serious play. So I hope that’s helpful and I think make some shoes .