To preface this, I am an AI pessimist but feel a bit inspired by what I have seen regarding users bringing new life to old synths and samplers via vibe code. With these near-constant updates being distributed, I took a look at my most used gear and saw one of the most glaring pieces that desperately need a QOL update that isn't coming: the Erica Black Sequencer.

I love this sequencer and over the course of my ownership know it front to back. I use it constantly in the studio and for live performance. However, my biggest gripe with it is that you cannot perform MIDI program changes via an external sequencer. This is its Achilles's heel for live performances. If you are clocking it via an external MIDI device, like an octa or MPC, you cannot change patterns when transitioning between sequences or scenes. If your live set includes a full rack of gear and other MIDI synths (like me) this means you have to manually change the pattern when you change the sequence or scene on the external master clock/sequencer.

I have emailed Erica Synths a few times asking if there was a planned update or of they could send a custom firmware with the addition of this feature. It seems straight forward as the sequencer can accept a variety of MIDI messages, just not PC.

I did some googling and it looks like since the firmware is more or less closed source, creating a custom firmware to implement this addition isn't possible. I was curious what r/modular's take on this feasibility of doing something like this and if someone could point me in the right direction.

Being able to have the EBS receive MIDI PC would be a major game changer. Another thoughtful addition would be being able to have song mode be assigned to particular patterns so each of the 16 face encoders could have a pre-set sequential variety. Although, this is secondary to my main want.

I really don't want to part with the EBS as it is amazing, but I may have to sell it to buy to obtain a sequencer that fits this need.

Long time lurker and VST synth fan who has always wanted a modualr setup but just couldn't make it happen, so I made an online version version to play with and teach others (and myself) how it all works.

As the experts, what do you all think? What obvious features are missing from the rig?

I'm working on a MIDI learn feature at the moment so it works with my controllers as a mouse only goes so far.

I'm also toying with the idea of emulating some real life modules under a new "Pro" category like the instruo ochd and some Intellijel modules.

Any and all feedback welcome!

EDIT: Leaving this post up in case it helps anyone else out. Firmware 1.5 notes are here. Huge thanks to u/blackbootgang for solving my problem. Still very curious to hear everyone's favorite tricks and/or gripes with the LXR. This thing fucking rules.

Hey everyone, y'all convinced me to get an LXR to replace my BLK_NOIR and I can't thank the community enough. It fucking rules.

Except!! A couple of times now I'll be editing a kit and a voice will seeingly randomly disactivate. Outta nowhere no signal passes. When I switch to 'perform' mode and press down the 'drum' button, all of the buttons illuminate red except the problem voice (which illuminates when pressed but doesn't pass signal). Changing the kit and/or changing the voice parameters doesn't do shit--only a power cycle seems to resolve it.

I'm hoping it's user error. Any ideas? I also wish there was a simple way to mute voices on the fly... is there? Certainly not in the manual. You'd think like shift+[voice] would mute it in perform mode. Maybe in a future firmware...

Bonus points: I'll send my homies your music if you share your favorite tricks and tips as I get to know this fucking incredible new drum machine. Also interested in any gripes/shortcomings you've noticed. I'll bug ES if y'all don't have a solution.

Many many TIA.

I'm currently fiddling around with modules i have with a new dj mixer I got. I am sending the aux send from the mixer to 4ms io and then going lubadh into monsoon and back to the mixers return/insert.

The first image is what I have set up just to give it a test run, but what i immediately run into is that I can't easily bypass the lubadh If i don't want it present in the effects chain as there is no dry/wet control (I have it on a short loop while monitoring and continuously recording. I can only tell it to stop recording into the loop or erase the loop which is kind of jarring. I don't think I can use lubadh's aux i/o because then i'd lose the stereo signal from the dj mixer.

the second image is the rest of my modules. Perhaps I can do something with the vorticies and/or muxlicer? or am i in need of some other utilities? some sort of matrix mixer?

the stock amyboard synth is "limited" to juno and dx7. i vibecoded firmware from scratch using gemini argon by referencing picovintagesynthesizer d5 engine

this firmware also emulates d50's boss effects

so yes, u can vibecode amyboard firmware from scratch and it can even install it for you

the limit is only our imagination, whether it is synth engine or fx or something else

I always loved the Ultra Pitch shift waves plugin. It wasnt traditional. It had some kind if formant filter that would give reallly warped but cool effects when putting different sounds through.

I know this doesn't exist as a modular option, but I was wondering if there is something similar. An unconventional pitch shifter that gives interesting results.

Befaco and Tesseract have joined forces to make ARK - a sequencer, sample player and synth engine all in one module. ARK is described as a "groovebox" but I wanted to see how well it played with other modules. In this video I build a track from scratch and along the way show a bit about how ARK works. Let me know what you think!

Hi there

as a modular nerd for more than 10 years I started at a time, where cases for euroracknwere still pretty rare, expensive and above all: fkin ugly 😁

So I created DIY cases from the start.

Now that times have passed and the eurorack market has been evolving ever since, a lot of cases came up, even cheaper ones.

but to me 1 point hasn't changed: usually the cases are still fkin ugly.

Now you can get cases for about 50 bucks, from completely useless miniature "1-module" boxes, to aluminium 42hp, to plastic moogstyle 104 ones.

One additional, but really important part is this: if you decide to buy e.g. a 42hp case (lets say endorphin.es aluminium for 49€) or any other, like a behringer 104 skiff:

What do you do when that case is filled up - and your likes and needs require more HPs? how can you ecpand it?

Right: you can't.

You are forced to buy another one.

As my wife gifted me a bambu p2s for birthday, I started developing a case strictly around this point:

A case, that can grow with you and your needs. It's about modular synths - so why not creating anperfect fitting MODULAR case, that can be grown from a small desktop skiff to a maximum fldesktopfilling megacase.

A few additional points I have to mention:

My modularsynth approach was always "creating customized instruments".

I always disliked those big euro-racks, looking like walls, or cubboards, growing vertically.

That might "look cool" for some, but I hate these, as working on those things is a pain in the back and neck (exceptionally not in the ass 😁). They are absolutely un-ergonomical.

Skiffs and desktop devices are what I like.

So I made this modular case system.

The basic module is a 42hp, because I think that this is the lerfect starting point for a modular beginner. everything below 42hp makes no sense at all.

But its on the other hand not thaaaat big, that it takea eons to fill up the case. because nothing sucks more, than empty casespace, does it?

You can expand it horizontally and vertically. I made different sidepanels and additional support panels.

I finally ended up with 2 seriew, with are cross-compatible.

You can build a 3U, or a 6U system and I created a 4U unit, that can be used standalone, or to create this 7U system, that you can see on the picture.

This could even be expanded to a twice, or even fourth as big system, as long asnyour desktop features enough space.

What docyou think?

Sorry for that long text, but I am so excited I made these. lol 😇

Is there a point where you don't have to look at the manual?

Do you eventually reach a point where the sequencer makes sense and using it that way and saving and loading isn't a confusing drag?

Do people actually use the shift input to modulate between chords, and do like an anatolian cadence with random stepped voltages?

I made this little performance a few weeks ago.. quite happy how it turns out!
please tell me what you think !

Hey y'all I have a varigate 8+ and have been loving it. I just found out that it goes even deeper than I thought with things like being able to change the probability of repeats on a step among other things. Do y'all have any tips on using it or more cool features? How do y'all use yours in your racks? I really love the probability per step it's such a cool module in general and I want to get better with it.

Hi!

Am I the only one who finds much more inspiration from these small systems? Just a few modules for one or two parts and go from there.

I am much more productive using this Palette 62 than with the large Performance case. With the big one I spend way too much time tweaking for the perfect sound and the inspiration is gone. With these smaller setups I find a good idea and then everything falls into place rather quickly.

What are your thoughts on this?

Hi

Looking to buy a Pulsar 23. As the turret have gone up in price I am looking at the screw version. Any experience with this, especially if you have tried both. Is it worth the extra eur 800.-?
Also, what is a good compliment to Pulsar 23 for melodic stuff and perhaps fx?

Cheers

I've been using Echophon for some time now, but beginning to find it's output quite grating.

I love how flexible the delay can be- also, huge fan of the pitch shifting capabilities. However, I really dislike how gritty and crushed its character is.

I know Mimeophon is probably a good alternative, but wanted to hear other options available from modules with similar capabilities-... if they even exist.

It's a great module, I love it a lot, but I'm just getting a bit tired of how it sounds.

I already own a few BBD modules- so need something capable of weird, complex, experimental.

...being a longtime fan and abuser of Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's original card set, I turned my notes on tricks and how-tos I'd collected over the years into Oblique Modular Patching Strategies and then added more, following the philosophy and spirit of the original cards, but specifically for modular synths.

From there, it was only a small step to write some code around them and make them accessible on a website. I hope you like them and that they help a bit when you're stuck... enjoy!

https://www.rawmedium.org/oblique/

https://library.vcvrack.com/?brand=AI%20Synthesis

Had some fun experimenting with the Elmyra 2 and Luna today. Ended up with this pretty dark, dystopian little jam full of weird robotic textures and distorted sounds.

Really enjoying how these two complement each other. There's something beautifully chaotic about this combination.

Hope you dig it!

https://github.com/djphazer/O_C-Phazerville/releases/tag/PSv2.0.2

For ORN8 modules or O_C with Teensy 4.0.

Big highlight is USB Gamepad support! Also FrogSeq 🐸 and better envelope applets.

I wanted to emphasize the fact that I do not personally use LLMs to write code. Doing it all by hand is part of the fun, and I've learned so much in the process.

I have reluctantly accepted some vibe-coded contributions, only after intense scrutiny and cleanup. It's messy and I hate it, but if it works well... I'll use it. Anything can be deleted or reverted - I would happily nuke some things in favor of hand-written equivalents.

That being said, this platform has proven to be a great playground for developing custom stuff, whether manually or using agentic tools. I just hope we'll see the emergence of more efficient coding tools that run on local machines, instead of using non-deterministic algorithms running on hardware designed for deterministic computations in unsustainable hyperscaled cloud infrastructure. ⚡

A small jam with a simple Marbles/Rings patch, and a bit of piano harmonics..:-)

A friend of mine passed away recently. He was a fan of homemade electronic music and has a modular set up his wife no longer wants. This is NOT a buy/sale/trade post, I am simply trying to help her find a good home for the gear. Seems a shame to throw it away! It's located in Norfolk in the UK. Any ideas? School projects? Universities? Anyone?