Looking for tips for getting started with VCV Rack

Hello. This is my first post here.

I made this video when I first used a Korg little bit synth kit.

I am looking to do this same thing but on a computer. I just downloaded VCV and I don’t know what to do next with it. Do you have to have a plug in to get started? Are there any free plugins to get started with?

Thanks all. I am looking forward to this adventure into sound.

start VCV on your computer and click the “manage plugins” tabs, that take you to the plugins
directory on the vcvrack.com site. There can you choose which you want to install on your system, most of the plugins are free, some really good ones are not free but imho affordable and worth every penny e.g. Vult modules
you can also go directly to the website and the plugin directory and select the ones you want to install and then start VCV on you computer and hit the “update plugins” tab

there are also a few free plugins around the web, that are not in the directory

If you’re just starting out, I’d suggest exploring the Fundamental modules first.

https://vcvrack.com/Fundamental.html

I’m really struggling to give good advice on which plugins to choose after you’ve tried the Fundamental ones. There are so many that it’s a little overwhelming. Maybe look at some tutorials and see what everyone else uses. Though you should also remember that people often use different modules to achieve the same aims. There’s a great degree of personal taste and familiarity at play.
But get Valley first. Basically everyone used Plateau as their reverb.
Good luck.

2 Likes
  • Befaco
  • Audible Instruments (for Kinks/Utilities mostly)
  • Impromptu Modular

Those three are fairly well documented on paper and in videos, cover a lot of ground (sequencers, reverb, you can make panners with the rectifier from audible and fundamental lfos.)

There’s others that are good, but those three + Fundamental cover a lot of ground in the smallest number of plugins. (Sure cf has modular mixers, mscHack and koralfx [mixerovnik] are “better” than Fundamental’s mixer for stereo, but that’s for after you’ve learned to work the baby mixers.)

1 Like

Just watch some basic tutorials on youtube and don’t forget about Omri Cohen’s channel. His tips and overall knowledge were a lifesaver for me when i started.

1 Like

A lot of people get into VCV just to mess with the Audible stuff. I didn’t know much about modular but I knew I wanted to know what Clouds actually sounded like. Yes, that is a good selection but I bet everyone, if they had to name 3 would name a different 3. That’s the thing. I know that I’d select Valley (as I said) and I’d probably swap that out for Befaco (which I almost never use). Okay, limited to 3:

  • Valley
  • Audible
  • Bogaudio But that still doesn’t solve the problem which is the opaqness of both the plugin database and even the function of some plugins. There are some whole types of module where it’s not really clear what on earth you would ever do with them, sample & hold being one example.

Replacing Impromptu with Bog, fair enough. It will work fine going the puzzle route with all the extra utilities, and you could technically live off the SEQ-3.

Valley…

  • Dexter and Interzone are effectively fuses of a fuller patch of FM-OPs or Fundamental parts. I would recommend learning with the FM-OP to a new person before diving in to fused DX7 style things.
  • Plateau is very knobby and requires understanding the internals of a plate reverb. Sounds great in the right hands (Omri videos help here), easily destroys your soundscape when a newbie is fliipping random knobs around.
  • Spring on the other hand is simply a mix knob and amount knobs; if it starts sounding bad you turn them back down.

I might say Valley is a good module to graduate in to. Pivot some early wins with a simpler reverb to understand what its for in general, then learn the more powerful reverbs when you know what you’re trying to do. (As a total newbie I hated ex. loading up Freeverb and trying to guess what “room size” and “damping” meant without any help or context.)

If you have any familiarity with hardware eurorack, this spreadsheet could come in handy -

VCV Rack Module Clones & Emulations

As a bonus, anything that’s a clone or emulation is likely to have extra documentation/support/videos built in - just look up tutorial vids for the hardware equivalent, for example, to learn what you need. Or the manufacturer’s manual, which is almost always available online. It’s all directly transferrable to VCV.

1 Like

Glad you like the spreadsheet :wink:

1 Like