MicroRack Demo from Cinematic Laboratory

General
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Howdy! Robert from Cinematic Laboratory was at Dutch Modular Fest and had the team put together a ~400 Euro “Micro Easel” which I really like the concept of.

The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yttgIQU2nI

It shows the modules in their current form as well as some cool little tidbits about the platform. He goes over several of the individual modules without getting into the weeds, which I respect.

First, I want to mention that I really should have grabbed the Eurorack chassis. I’ll be sure to do so once everything arrives. The built-in power makes things really clean and opens up the 10-pin area for more sonic modules.

His first easel (3:40) has the following: 2xPitch (osc) , Stylus, 2x Delay, 2xLPG, AD envelope, Mixer, S&H, Filter, input, output, and 2xJacket. His video says it has the clock/seq module, but it has the stylus in it’s place; the jacket modules go unused in the first Easel configuration.

Top Row: Input, S&H, Envelope, Delay, Filter, Delay, Stylus, Output
Bottom Row: Jacket, OSC, LPG, Mixer, OSC, LPG, Jacket.

He gets a lot of really cool drones out of this one. With some of the other modules out there, I can imagine easily getting into the harsh noise territory.

The second configuration he brings out (all too briefly, in my opinion) is the following:

Top: Esp32 (unused), S&H, OSC, OSC, Filter, Output
Bottom: Seq, Seq, Clock (linked), Envelope, Jacket.

This one might be one of my favorite layouts. Still not utilizing two modules (esp32 & Jacket), but showing how the sequencers and clock can be chained is really nice. I honestly hadn’t considered using jumpers like that.

He does later put the jackets to use and it’s nice to see how it can interact with other synths so easily. He doesn’t show much in the way of percussion sounds, but that’s fine. I’m cool with being the “make drum noises” guy once mine comes in.

I’m posting this to open up the dialogue for what we heard from the modules this late in the game. Still loving what you’re hearing? Want to hear anything more?

Full transparency: I’m just trying to keep the community engagement up and maintain reasonable hype expectations.

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I’m feeling pretty impatient at this point with the updates and them not having shipped yet, but I appreciate what you’re doing here. It’s really cool. Thank you.

Personally I’m primarily a bass/guitar player and this will be my first synth and I’m hoping to incorporate things into my pedalboard setup.

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Historically, I am a guitar player. As I grew away from bands, I didn’t really dig programming multiple instruments in a DAW, so getting hands on with a synth was a great start. In fact, I use a passive AB/Y switch to combine a synth and guitar in my amp’s effects loop. The synth can be bass or drums and I’ll just play over it.

As for the patience… I get it. I backed a bunch of kickstarter projects around the same time and they’re all delivered except for the MicroRack, but where the others fit in a paradigm, the Microrack seems to shift it. I will say that pure modular is like learning in the deep-end. But the community is definitely around to help.

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Yeah, I’ve played around with modding guitar pedal circuits and I’ve done a lot of recording over the years, so I’ve got some of the basics down, but it’s something I just never dove into fully yet. Having something small enough to go on a pedalboard is ideal for me, even though I’m not sure at all it will end up living there.
I also play drums and have been working on building my own triggers for e-drums, so that could be an interesting addition too.