[HN Gopher] Mutable Instruments' Eurorack Modules
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Mutable Instruments' Eurorack Modules
        
       Author : krig
       Score  : 170 points
       Date   : 2020-02-25 13:16 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (github.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
        
       | franky47 wrote:
       | Because they are open-source, those modules have been ported to
       | VCV Rack [1], a virtual instrument aimed at recreating the
       | Eurorack experience in digital audio workstations. Obviously,
       | using a mouse/trackpad is not the same as tweaking real knobs,
       | but it's much cheaper.
       | 
       | [1] https://vcvrack.com/
        
         | chillingeffect wrote:
         | at least a few of them have been ported to Axoloti as well [1]
         | 
         | [1] http://axoloti.com
        
         | filoeleven wrote:
         | > Obviously, using a mouse/trackpad is not the same as tweaking
         | real knobs, but it's much cheaper.
         | 
         | I'm interested to see what the availability of cheap VR does
         | here. With today's room scale VR, using knobs and sliders in a
         | 3D space is feasible. Being able to develop spatial memory,
         | even without tactile feedback, makes for a compelling
         | alternative to using a mouse and screen. Once VR/AR gets
         | tactile feedback like this glove[0], it gets even closer to
         | parity with hardware.
         | 
         | If the module controls in VCV Rack are standard components
         | (button, knob, slider, etc.) then it should be pretty simple to
         | translate them into 3D controls. Though I guess buttons may not
         | work as well as switches, I haven't encountered them in VR yet.
         | Anyway, with those component mappings in place, any VCV module
         | should be displayable in a virtual rack with no extra effort--
         | it's just a procedural UI change, generated from the existing
         | 2D layout, that doesn't impact the audio engine at all.
         | 
         | [0] https://youtu.be/OK2y4Z5IkZ0
        
           | pmoriarty wrote:
           | I'm not as excited to see traditional interfaces cloned in VR
           | space because the lack of tactile feedback in VR really
           | hampers such interfaces (it's really annoying to have to look
           | down at your hands and the knobs you're turning or the
           | switches you're pushing to make sure you've got the right
           | one, etc).
           | 
           | What's much more interesting to me are exploration of
           | innovative interfaces. For example, with full-body tracking
           | you could map body parts to different synth parameters or
           | algorithm parameters and then allow the user to make music by
           | dancing.
           | 
           | The sky is really the limit in terms of what body/head/arm
           | tracking and VR can allow you to do with innovative interface
           | design.
        
             | Nition wrote:
             | One of the better examples of that I've seen was actually
             | back in 2012, done with a couple of Kinects[1]. Although
             | it's still not much more than the equivalent of pressing a
             | few buttons and sliders and it's obviously highly pre-
             | programmed.
             | 
             | There's the Hot Hand[2]; the bassist is using one in [3].
             | There's still a lot more that could be done.
             | 
             | [1] "The V Motion Project" https://vimeo.com/45417241
             | 
             | [2] https://www.sourceaudio.net/hot-hand.html
             | 
             | [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuunY8BTqNs
        
         | fit2rule wrote:
         | VCVRack is one of the all-time greatest pieces of synth
         | software, ever. The sheer number of modules you can install,
         | out of the box, for free, is astonishing.
         | 
         | Its also pretty neat that a lot of hardware manufacturers use
         | VCVRack as both a prototyping system as well as a promotion
         | mechanism. I've introduce a lot of people to Eurorack by way of
         | VCVRack - usually they play with it for a few weeks, and before
         | I know it, they've got a new hardware rig set up in the living
         | room ..
         | 
         | Pretty great time to be a synth nerd. (See also: Behringer.)
        
           | InitialLastName wrote:
           | The longer you ignore Behringer, the longer a thriving
           | community of module builders can exist. Cheap ripoff modules
           | sound great (no pun intended) but provide one more angle to
           | screw the little guy.
        
           | prsy wrote:
           | Classic drug dealer move, the first hit's free. I would have
           | probably passed on a Chronoblob2 before, but damnit now I
           | want one.
        
         | tekstar wrote:
         | They are also at the core of Spectrum Synthesizer bundle for
         | iOS, which is a free set of AUv3 instruments.
         | 
         | https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/spectrum-synthesizer-bundle/id...
         | 
         | (I am the creator of Spectrum)
        
       | mellavora wrote:
       | Been into modular for just over 2 years. If you want to emulate
       | it in software, the csound language is your friend.
       | 
       | https://csound.com/
       | 
       | "Csound is a sound and music computing system which was
       | originally developed by Barry Vercoe in 1985 at MIT Media Lab."
       | 
       | I prefer to do things in hardware rather than software because
       | after staring at a computer monitor all day long professionally,
       | it is the last thing I want to do when I get home. I much prefer
       | twisting knobs and patching cables.
       | 
       | Also, one philosophical interest in Eurorack is as an alternative
       | model of computation. You've totally given up the Von Neumann
       | architecture, but you can still do some amazing computations.
       | Sums, integrals, differentials, chaotic functions, ...
       | 
       | point is, this is another way physical Eurorack is an alternative
       | to "software" (where software seems to assume a Von Neumann
       | system to run it on...)
       | 
       | Cost is an issue. It is hard to be serious about the hobby for
       | less than $1500. You are welcome to dispute that point with me by
       | discussing all the cheaper options available or talking about
       | resale value, but given that most modules cost north of $100 it
       | doesn't take long.
       | 
       | And building modules from scratch (which I've done, just a stash
       | of chips, resistors, and caps and a blank proto board, working
       | off a hand-drawn circuit diagram) can save a few bucks but the
       | time cost gets very high.
        
         | billfruit wrote:
         | Csound looks good, but I find that predefined instruments are
         | hard to find, and not catalogued in a central place in the
         | internet. Also doing drum tracks seems not so easy, none of the
         | example csound music I have heard has drum tracks.
        
       | dimal wrote:
       | Interesting contrast with TipTop, who makes modules which are
       | derivatives of other devices (808 and 909 drum modules), but they
       | patented Stack Cables (even though stackable banana cables were
       | already a thing), and has sued to prevent other companies from
       | also making stackable cables.
        
         | deusofnull wrote:
         | TipTop is a bad actor / goes against the ethos of many others
         | in the eurorack space IMO. I have their mantis case, was my
         | first eurorack case, and while it's good I do dislike that i
         | use theirs.
         | 
         | the modularity and interoperability (and the implied open
         | source culture) of eurorack philosophy should extend to the
         | companies that make these products. so often they dont. makes
         | me think of unix philosophy and how tech companies dont follow
         | that philosophy either.
        
       | jpm_sd wrote:
       | This is so cool!
       | 
       | If, like me, you were wondering "what is this, exactly?" see:
       | 
       | https://mutable-instruments.net/
        
       | fit2rule wrote:
       | Emilie Gillet (founder of MI) has done so much for the modular
       | synthesiser world - she has pushed the state of the art pretty
       | far forward, and now making all the designs available pretty much
       | means that we are going to see some great progress beyond the
       | current scene .. I wonder if there is a F/OSS award that she
       | could be recommended for? Its one thing to release software for
       | free, but to also do it for hardware designs is amazing ..
        
         | tekstar wrote:
         | She released the designs years ago and her influence on the
         | scene has been growing for years. Having a well engineered
         | production example makes all the difference for people learning
         | how to make electronic music devices
        
         | jacquesm wrote:
         | You could recommend her but I would suggest not doing so
         | without her approval.
        
           | Tomte wrote:
           | Don't award committees usually contact potential awardees
           | before announcing the award publically or even before drawing
           | up a shortlist?
           | 
           | I don't know, but it would seem to be wise.
        
       | cousin_it wrote:
       | Magical stuff. There are software versions available for free,
       | usable in VCV Rack which is also free. I've been playing with it
       | on and off for the last year. It blows my mind that 1) someone
       | would just give this stuff away 2) more people aren't jumping on
       | the bandwagon of physically based modular synths. These things
       | can make some of the most pleasant musical sounds I've ever
       | heard. Check out the YouTube channels "Lightbath" or "ann annie"
       | for examples.
       | 
       | Sadly, Emilie Gillet (the person behind Mutable Instruments)
       | recently announced that she's stopping development of new
       | modules, because being a known person who's visibly trans is just
       | too much, and she's looking for the next niche to disappear in.
        
         | 6581 wrote:
         | > more people aren't jumping on the bandwagon of physically
         | based modular synths.
         | 
         | It's expensive, takes a lot of space and does nothing that you
         | can't do in software. The UI/UX of hardware modules might be
         | better, but that's a trade-off I've personally grown to accept.
        
           | InitialLastName wrote:
           | > does nothing that you can't do in software
           | 
           | I can't turn knobs on my computer, and the blinking LEDs are
           | underwhelming.
        
             | kennywinker wrote:
             | I love modular, so don't take this as an attack - but a $50
             | midi controller has a lot of knobs you can turn :)
        
               | absorber wrote:
               | MIDI has the limitation of only having a maximum of 7 bit
               | resolution of continuous control of a parameter.
               | 
               | Not only that, but it's not trivial to combine with DAWs
               | because of jitter.
        
               | rotexo wrote:
               | I've been fantasizing a little about a new modular
               | format, or at least a new category of synth controllers,
               | taking advantage of the higher resolution of MIDI 2.0 for
               | some modulation signals. I could be wrong, but I thought
               | MIDI 2.0 was supposed to potentially be faster/more
               | timing accurate too.
        
               | squarefoot wrote:
               | Agreed, although a midi controller by its generic nature
               | does have to adapt to very different hardware, so that
               | for example the knobs, switches etc. placement doesn't
               | reflect functionally the hardware it is connected to,
               | which sometimes would help immensely to ease the
               | operators work. I wish there was a controller made of
               | pluggable micro modules, that is, say 2x2 cm modules
               | receptacles that could host a potentiometer, a
               | pushbutton, a few leds, a sensor pad etc. where no matter
               | where the module is placed, it will link to the backplane
               | processor getting its identification number and function,
               | then the user can move them around to replicate the
               | functional arrangement of an instrument panel to make
               | programming much easier. It's more or less the same idea
               | I'd like to develop for computer keyboards, where
               | pluggable keys (pots, haptic transducers and sensors
               | etc.) could be moved around still keeping their
               | programmed function. With todays technology it wouldn't
               | be so hard to develop; very likely the most expensive
               | part would be the plugs/receptacles hardware rather than
               | their digital hardware or firmware.
        
               | karlding wrote:
               | This already exists in some form.
               | 
               | There's a Waterloo start-up that spun out of a Fourth
               | Year Design Project, Palette [0]. Their main sell was
               | integrations into various creative tools (ex. Adobe
               | Creative Suite, Ableton). They recently rebranded as
               | Monogram [1][2] after announcing new hardware.
               | 
               | [0] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cchu/palette-a-
               | freeform...
               | 
               | [1] https://fstoppers.com/gear/palette-gear-announces-
               | new-hardwa...
               | 
               | [2] https://monogramcc.com/
        
               | squarefoot wrote:
               | Very interesting product, thanks for the links!
        
               | ovi256 wrote:
               | Yeah, but a MIDI controller has fixed button, knob and
               | display positions.
               | 
               | We need a new form MIDI controller with movable button
               | and knob and LED placement. Then one could make a
               | physical MIDI controller for any MI software instrument
               | by placing the controls and the LEDs on a backplane in
               | the right place.
               | 
               | If it's not already done, I bet it will be in the next 5
               | to 10 years.
        
               | guggle wrote:
               | Thanks, but no thanks, because:
               | 
               | - parameter and pot position mismatch - lack of layout -
               | lack of labels
               | 
               | Basically a 50$ midi controller gives poor UX.
        
               | pmoriarty wrote:
               | MIDI controllers and a computer can definitely have their
               | own advantages and can nicely compliment stand-alone
               | hardware nicely.
               | 
               | But stand-alone hardware has some advantage of its own
               | over a MIDI setup.
               | 
               | Well designed stand-alone hardware modules can turn on
               | instantly, you don't have to keep their software up to
               | date, you don't have to do any performance tuning on them
               | or muck around with latency, they don't have to compete
               | with other software running on your computer as software
               | synths do, I can be pretty sure that barring hardware
               | failure they'll still work exactly the same way 5 or 10
               | years down the line, etc.
               | 
               | In sum, stand-alone hardware offers me a lot of
               | reliability, consistency, convenience, and performance
               | that's often hard to match with a computer and MIDI
               | controllers.
               | 
               | Of course, a computer and MIDI controllers have their own
               | advantages and conveniences, like being able to save
               | settings, having a virtually unlimited amount of
               | functionality by using various software packages or
               | writing your own, allowing the user to change or choose
               | their preferred UI, etc.
               | 
               | So they're really not the same. It's best to have both!
        
           | batmansmk wrote:
           | You interpreted physically based as physical. You can have a
           | software physically based modular synth.
           | 
           | "Physically based" refers to the synthesis method, you model
           | the resonance mechanism. The EaganMatrix, Nord Modular,
           | Kronos... are all examples of this technique, and are also
           | available in 100% software. It is in contrast to subtractive,
           | additive or fm based synths.
        
           | brianobush wrote:
           | A lot of hobbies are expensive and take-up space, so that
           | argument doesn't hold up in reality. If you are into
           | hardware, you choose hardware. Software versions of Eurorack
           | just don't have the same feel. Even VCV seems clunky. My case
           | has around 140 knobs and switches that I can easily tweak,
           | just can't get the same feel in software regardless of how
           | well the UI has been optimized. My 2 cents.
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | blhack wrote:
         | It's because they're so expensive. Luckily though, behringer
         | recently announced a bunch of amazing modules for very cheap
         | (which is basically their MO, and why they are going to end up
         | eating most of the industry)
        
           | rch wrote:
           | For what it's worth, Behringer's penchant for cloning bespoke
           | hardware that is still available from the creators is
           | generating some negative sentiment* which is broadly
           | affecting their reputation.
           | 
           | [*] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22253785
        
             | vibrolax wrote:
             | Cloning exists across every segment of the music making
             | industry: guitars, amps, studio gear, mics, etc. Making a
             | sustainable living as a creator of boutique instruments or
             | equipment is a rare feat.
             | 
             | My own take is that cheap clones allow people to enter a
             | hobby/passion at an affordable price. My experience is that
             | those who find the hobby worthy of continued investment
             | often progress to become buyers of boutique/artisan gear.
        
             | AndrewUnmuted wrote:
             | Behringer already has the reputation of selling very
             | inconsistent and unreliable hardware, some of which are
             | truly amazing values, but most are true heaps of garbage.
             | 
             | This won't bode well for Behringer in the professional and
             | prosumer markets perhaps, but guitar center is going to eat
             | their euro rack modules up. They'll look great on the demo
             | shelf. They'll replace them regularly as they start
             | exhibiting problems on the demo floor. It'll work out just
             | fine for them.
        
               | jacquesm wrote:
               | That's not exclusive to Beheringer in the bargain
               | department. Even so-called quality brand has issues when
               | on display in the stores. Nord for instance has a super
               | good reputation but their products are in fact quite
               | fragile. I've seen more than one broken on display model.
               | And that stuff isn't cheap at all. Things I've seen:
               | virtual drawbars breaking on their organ model, keyboard
               | issues (dead notes, inconsistent volume, knobs missing /
               | broken off. Otoh; brands like Yamaha and Korg seem to
               | hold up quite well at in-store displays.
               | 
               | Even so, most electronic music gear sold in quantity
               | isn't nearly the quality of stuff aimed at the touring
               | musician, and for the price it really couldn't be.
        
             | blhack wrote:
             | Imagine a world where the first inventor of a violin was
             | the only person ever allowed to create a violin. We would
             | not have the musical landscape we have right now.
             | 
             | Behringer's proposition is basically: this stuff doesn't
             | need to be luxury goods. Not that luxury goods shouldn't
             | exist, and when you sell your platinum album, go ahead and
             | buy stuff with a moog or a korg logo. But that said, normal
             | people should have access to this stuff as well.
             | 
             | In fact, to bring this back to a conversation more directly
             | relevant to HN: the market of people willing to pay $500
             | for a synth is MUCH larger than the market of people
             | willing to pay $5000 for a synth, AND the people who are
             | willing to pay $500 for a synth could be converted into
             | people willing to pay $1000 for a synth.
             | 
             | I think there is a really important lesson there about
             | pricing. One that I think that current, bespoke instrument
             | manufacturers are going to have to learn.
             | 
             | Full disclosure: I own behringer synthesizers. My current
             | SaaS product is breaking conventional advise about pricing
             | in the same way that Behringer does (not yet launched).
        
             | TheOtherHobbes wrote:
             | Behringer are anti-Veblens, which annoys people who believe
             | that technology should be an expensive and exclusive wealth
             | signal.
             | 
             | In reality cloning - if not outright theft of designs and
             | ideas - has been rife in the synthesizer industry since the
             | earliest days.
             | 
             | Some Eurorack modules are more or less literal clones of
             | "famous" designs. The only difference is the graphics. So
             | cloning is not exclusively a Behringer issue.
             | 
             | Generally, most of the big name synthesizer companies are
             | lagging far behind the Eurorack market for innovation.
             | Behringer are taking advantage of this by filling that
             | niche.
             | 
             | Given that they also produce original products - like the
             | Wing and the X32 mixers - I expect they'll produce some
             | original synth designs when they've exhausted the clone
             | market.
             | 
             | But synth players are not particularly adventurous, and
             | nostalgia sells, so the clone market is where most of the
             | money is for now.
        
               | metalgearsolid wrote:
               | Being anti-Veblen is not the reason I dislike Behringer.
               | It's not so black and white when it comes to cloning or
               | replicating original designs of the past. It can be done
               | tastefully. Behringer does not do their clones with
               | integrity.
        
               | squeaky-clean wrote:
               | > Some Eurorack modules are more or less literal clones
               | of "famous" designs. The only difference is the graphics.
               | So cloning is not exclusively a Behringer issue.
               | 
               | Typically clones are made for vintage and hard to find
               | gear, which Behringer (and many others) have done for
               | years without issue. The specific recent problem with
               | Behringer and why it's angering many members of the synth
               | community is Behringer is actively cloning and
               | undercutting products being made right now.
               | 
               | In the link above about the TD-3, the "DevilFish" mod is
               | a mod Robin Whittle does for the out-of-production Roland
               | TB-303. Behringer cloned the TB-303 to make their own
               | unit, the TD-3. Not many people are upset about this.
               | 
               | They then contacted Robin Whittle, who created and sells
               | kits for the DevilFish mod, and after being unable to
               | come to an agreement with him, simply used his mod in
               | their synthesizer. This is legal because there are no
               | patents on the mod.... Kind of a dick move though.
               | 
               | Purely speculation, but they feel like the kind of
               | company that would clone a Mutable Instruments module and
               | conveniently ignore the GPL portion of the license when
               | it suits them to.
               | 
               | They also hype product announcements in a way that seems
               | like they're trying to poach customers. They didn't
               | announce their Model D clone until just after Moog put up
               | pre-orders for their re-issue. Then Behringer took over 2
               | years from announcement to sale. They've done similar
               | things with Roland announcements. Releasing a "We're
               | working on something very similar!" image on Facebook the
               | same day as a sale announcement for a new product, and
               | then never releasing the Behringer item.
               | 
               | And Lastly, Uli Behringer is a bad member of the
               | community. He constantly has posts deleted by GearSlutz
               | moderators for having false information. He attempted to
               | sue several members of Dave Smith Music for talking
               | negatively about him on forums outside of their day-jobs.
               | 
               | > I expect they'll produce some original synth designs
               | when they've exhausted the clone market
               | 
               | They already have some lovely original designs like the
               | Neutron or Deep Mind by the way.
        
             | squarefoot wrote:
             | Behringer made cheap knockoffs of famous products a while
             | ago, and most apparently sucked badly. I've heard more
             | recent accounts of newer products being of decent quality
             | however, and a couple teardowns seem to confirm this. They
             | still mostly clone stuff by others though. The problem to
             | me is also due to the very high price the original stuff is
             | sold at. Technology has progressed to a point an electronic
             | instrument or effect can be built at a fraction of what
             | would be the price 30 years ago, still mainstream producers
             | sell at absurd prices. As an example, I can build with 15
             | euros in an evening a fantastic sounding germanium
             | transistor fuzz face clone with mosfet input stage and LDR
             | compressor, place it in a box and make a small profit by
             | selling it at EUR40. If adding a fancy box and famous name
             | will raise its price tag to EUR150 or more, notwithstanding
             | the differences between costs of non mass parts purchases
             | and production, I'd say the famous producer is asking for
             | its products to be cloned.
        
           | recursinging wrote:
           | Eurorack modules are so expensive because they are mostly
           | niche products made by one man shows (like Emilie Gillet).
           | The exotic takes on synthesis and user interfaces are exactly
           | what makes them worth every penny to me. Behringer is using
           | their vertical integration to bring classic and well known
           | synthesis concepts (and UIs) down to attractive price points.
           | I don't think they are in conflict with most of the Eurorack
           | folks (except perhaps Doepfer). I'd be surprised if they
           | start cloning Make Noise modules.
        
             | blhack wrote:
             | I think that Behringer's entry into the modular space
             | actually HELPS these bespoke manufacturers and is going to
             | help them sell more modules (if behringer doesn't just
             | outright buy them, like they've already done with outfits
             | like TC electronic).
             | 
             | I'm not going to drop $5k on a starter modular setup. But I
             | will drop $500 on one! And then $250 on Maths; something I
             | would have never even thought about buying if I didn't have
             | the rest of the modular to support it.
        
               | elihu wrote:
               | I can agree with that. I think the manufacturers who
               | would be threatened by Behringer are the ones who are
               | making oscillators, filters, voltage controlled
               | amplifiers, envelope generators, and other basic modules
               | that you kind of have to have just to have a usable
               | setup. Whereas anything that's a substantial departure
               | from what you'd find in any mainstream subtractive synth
               | may actually become more popular, because the hobby is
               | more accessible.
        
           | pmoriarty wrote:
           | Another more affordable option is to build your own modules.
           | 
           | What's involved could be as simple as merely assembling a
           | purchased kit (which should already save you money over a
           | pre-assembled module) all the way to designing, prototyping,
           | and etching your own PCB's, designing and building the
           | enclosure, finding and ordering all the parts, soldering them
           | all together, testing, etc.
           | 
           | The DIY modular synth community is pretty active.
           | 
           | The "Music Tech DIY" forum on Muffwiggler is a good place to
           | start.
           | 
           | https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17
        
         | _def wrote:
         | It's not a simple "giveaway". It's a contribution to society
        
         | spritecranberry wrote:
         | His name is Olivier.
        
         | mitjak wrote:
         | tech is such a double-edged sword for trans folks. i feel like
         | it both affords opportunity to be recognized for skills but
         | also carries a very heavy potential cost of rejection and
         | ignorance from peers.
        
         | tomphoolery wrote:
         | That kinda makes sense as to why she's open-sourced all the
         | software.
        
           | joemi wrote:
           | Mutable Instruments stuff has been open source long before
           | her coming out as trans. I think they might actually have
           | been open source from the beginning, or thereabouts? (The
           | company originally started by selling DIY kits, IIRC.)
           | Usually (at least with recent modules) she waits to release
           | it openly until after the first production batch of modules
           | has sold.
        
         | ryan-allen wrote:
         | Came here to plug VCV rack!
         | 
         | That is so sad about Emilie, she's a genius and has produced
         | some wonderful stuff. Her physical modules on the second hand
         | market are hard to come by and command a high price, they are
         | so renowned.
        
         | H1Supreme wrote:
         | > more people aren't jumping on the bandwagon of physically
         | based modular synths.
         | 
         | I've been building a (eurorack) modular modular for a little
         | over 10 years now. It's seriously blown up in subsequent years.
         | After not buying anything for 5 years or so, I just recently
         | started my second case. The amount of modules available has
         | probably doubled since then.
         | 
         | I suspect some of the barrier to entry is the price. Especially
         | when you have a lot of options in the $500 and under monosynth
         | category. But, once you eclipse that initial hurdle, the sky's
         | the limit.
        
       | trollied wrote:
       | The PCBs are open source too.
       | 
       | I purchased 6 from https://www.amazingsynth.com and couldn't be
       | happier. It's good fun trying to do surface mount soldering!
        
       | vile_wretch wrote:
       | I've been building MI modules for a while. Emilie is such a boon
       | to the SDIY community. Not only does she design incredible
       | modules and release the entire design for free but she also
       | actively encourages modification and improvements buy offering a
       | complete development VM.
       | 
       | It was pretty much expected whenever a new module was released
       | that people would get right to work designing 'u' versions of the
       | modules that use less space on a rack or in some cases "double"
       | versions of modules.
        
       | monkeynotes wrote:
       | The Plaits oscillator has been ported to the Korg Logue SDK too:
       | https://github.com/peterall/eurorack-prologue
        
         | brianobush wrote:
         | and is available in the Arturia Microfreak.
         | 
         | https://www.arturia.com/products/hardware-synths/microfreak/...
        
       | recursinging wrote:
       | If I might just gush here. The work made available here by Emilie
       | has been just so damn valuable to me over the last few years.
       | From simple but effective circuit design, to very efficient and
       | easy to follow DSP code. I would never have fallen so deep into
       | the eurorack rabbit hole without it. Whatever it is she ends up
       | doing now, I hope she shares it with the world the same way she
       | did with MI!
        
         | sigy wrote:
         | I hope so too. Emilie's work has been my primary inspiration in
         | learning more about digital signal processing. The Mutable
         | Instruments body of work is a tremendous gift. Thank you so
         | much, Emilie!
        
       | squeaky-clean wrote:
       | Using a Mutable Instrument module is a fun way to code your own
       | Eurorack ideas if you're like me and bad at the hardware/DIY
       | part. Everything is open, even the bootloader, and there's a neat
       | process where it converts the compiled program into an audio
       | stream that the module then listens to (when turned on in
       | recovery mode). And it's even easier to go back to stock
       | firmware.
       | 
       | There's also the well-known-ish alternative "Parasite" firmwares
       | by mqtthiqs which is fun to look through and really fun to play
       | with in a module. [0, 1] I don't know if these are available in a
       | software-only form like VCV.
       | 
       | Mutable also isn't the only manufacturer releasing open-source
       | modules. 4ms has a few, the DLD [2] is a delay I've been playing
       | with reprogramming lately (almost 3 minutes of memory! stereo!).
       | Rebel Technology releases their stuff under GPL [3]. I'm sure
       | there's more I'm forgetting. I wish Make Noise would open-source
       | their digital stuff...
       | 
       | [0] https://github.com/mqtthiqs/parasites
       | 
       | [1] https://mqtthiqs.github.io/parasites/clouds.html
       | 
       | [2] https://github.com/4ms/DLD
       | 
       | [3] https://github.com/pingdynasty/CLK
        
       | jdkee wrote:
       | I built a Mutable 6-voice Ambika synthesizer about five years ago
       | with the SMR voice cards. It is a magical synth and an easy
       | build. You can get DIY kits from TubeOhm.
       | 
       | https://www.tubeohm.com/tubika.html
        
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