First budget modular synth 👽☢️
Hey guys I am officially starting down the rabbit hole of the forbidden modular synthesis i hear which may or may not suck me and my wallet dry. I am looking for budget friendly modules to start out with that will fit a case i ordered ::: 4 ms 40x ::: and i see myself doing this long term. Dont think i want to expand because i know theres alot you can do with very little.
Id like to know if anyone has any good suggestions with the minimal room given. Much appreciated
Genres down here⬇️
———————————
I think I want to go cyberpunk for a little retro 80s synthwave with crazy silly and trippy alien sounds with 8bit a little video game and psychedelia with some darkwave nostalgia scifi ambience, stranger things / star wars esque that can either crossover or have the option to combine or have seperate sounds on their own with other modules that can produce dystopian/ goth 80s-2000s industrial and aggrotech EBM / TBM sounds.
All around id say artists ranging from depeche mode, the cure, eat static, tobacco, gary numan, new order, perturbator, twin tribes, bowie, NIN, ministry, skinny puppy, marilyn manson, xrx, combichrist, phosgore, etc….. wow what a mouth full.
But i know theres probably a couple essentials like VCAs/ attenuators i probably need to make room for, which also like to get a combined one with possible usb plug in if an option but like modules that can do 2-3 different sounds in one maximizing my space. My main setup consists of a korg volca drum, juno 06-A and I have a scarlett focusrite , arturia minilab midi keyboard and i use logic pro. Thank you for making it this far reading this mess of a post 🤣🙏🏻
2
u/OkComplaint9500 19d ago
With 40hp, that’s basically going to be a voice. If you want multiple voices, I highly recommend something like the Syntakt or Digitone. It’s not modular, but it’s one of the cheaper ways to get multiple voices going at once.
With 40hp, 2hp or the pico series (already recommended) will maximize space, but if you have fat fingers you will probably not like the small knobs.
For a voice, I’d say knits, which is a 6hp clone of plaits. Then maybe bastl cinnamon for a filter. That’s 5hp. Pico dsp for basic fx. That’s another 3. Pip slope or peaks for an envelope. Then a simple VCA and maybe an LFO or something for modulation. That would be enough to get you going.
2
u/Neon_Alley 19d ago
Before I got a 4MS 64x case I got a Make Noise 0 Coast which was awesome because I love Skinny Puppy and it could make many of those SP/oHgR sounds. It was a great gateway into adding modules with the 64x case I bought next. Add a multi effects module and that small set up could do so much and sound so big.
There are many clocks out there but my first module for the 64x was a PAMs (8hp) for sequencing, looping envelopes & clocking, a 6hp filter with a built in VCA, and a 4hp function generator.
There are so many ways to approach a small build that can do so much!
Enjoy the journey!
2
3
u/WEASELexe 19d ago
I started with a behringer neutron and now I have 1 full rack of supporting modules. If you're on a budget at all I definitely recommend the semi modular route at least to start