Hey y’all. I started producing as hobby in spring with FL studio. A week a go I discovered VCVrack while searching modular synth VSTs I could use. VCVrack popped up while trying to find something nice and FL studio hasn’t been opened since this. Being a massive technohead, no matter the subgenre, I’d like to ask which modules are best for techno and why? I have become fond of Erica Synth modules and some ZZC ones (picadrums and octa LFO feat ZZC softclipper ftw!!). Also XFX modules, especially the oscillator and tube distortion… good s**t Also tips for a good rumble bass are very, very welcome.
You can find many techno videos on this (actually mine) channel.
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Mate your content is amazing. One of the first videos about the rack I looked through was yours. The slapback delay one. Helped me a loooot. Especially how clock modules are used… atleast for techno.
Case being, I made a deal with a friend who teached me FL that no tutorial videos ( I got him hooked on rack also 
) Only module manuals and experimenting. Yea I know I basically asked for bass tutorials with this post but it’s somehow the part I’m strugglin most with.
Anyhow still big thanks for the reply and the content you are creating.
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oh, thanks! I got the idea and hopefully will release something about rumbling bass in techno somewhere in the middle of January, stay tuned
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Sweet, I will!
Hi! I have to admit, I’m not really into producing Techno (yet 
), but I had some fun once creating this Tom Hades type rumble kick in VCV. The main thing was sending a copy of the kick to a reverb module, distorting the hell out of it, and then side chaining it to the kick. There were a few more modules in the chain but I guess experimenting is the best way.
Also, the Vult modules are full of spirit and can be a nice place to start with. There are also a few Euclidean sequencers out there like the one from Frozen Wasteland, and also the new one from RJ modules.
Anyway, I would love to hear some sounds from you that you made in VCV
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Which reverb did you use?
I will go through my saved patches later and check what is upload worthy.
And thanks for the reply.
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Here’s a picture of the patch. Some modules may look different since it was with an older version of VCV but it should work the same.
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This was the first patch I built with Rack, just trying to get a feel for the different modules for synthesis and sequencing. It’s quite Techno, in a Basic Channel, electronica style… Dead simple, just a Vult Trummor kick drum, Interzone bass/synth, Hora hi-hat and Geodesics Energy harmony/synth. All crammed through modulated Parametra EQs and a Chronoblob delay. All non-drum sequencing is done with just an LFO > S&H > Scale Quantizer
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this?
Must-haves are less genre specific in modular than in the VST world!
Vult’s free collection is definitely a great place to start - fantastic filters.
You’ll often see patches built using Impromptu Modular’s Clocked as the clock source, it’s just hitting that sweet spot of features vs. ease of use, the built-in dividers with custom pulse width are particularly convenient for simple beats.
Depending on the kinda beats you want, you might love Valley Audio’s Topograph (and µGraph), an implementation of Mutable Instruments’ Grids. It was one of the modules that sold me on the potential of modular.
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Thanks, I’ll check them out.
Will try it later, thanks.
It’s not 100% by any means - I spent a good few hours messing about, swapping filters/reverb etc, looking for that elusive sweet spot. Finding it, losing it, starting from scratch lol
Ive added some sxtras n posted it in my music thread
Feel ya lol. But hey every experiment in VCV teaches you in someway.
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+1
On the synthesis side, the kind of techno that relies on a small set of carefully crafted sounds can reward rich sounding filters. It’s hard to recommend Vult highly enough for that. Vult’s two free envelope modules (Slap and Spank) are also incredible for articulating notes and filters/shapers. (If you end up digging their free collection, I’d highly recommend their paid collections too. My single favorite filter is Ferox (in VultCollection), with its post filter Bite control. That collection also includes Noxious, which is an absolute gem VCO for exploring all manners of evolving analogue chaos and grit - think Pan Sonic. Being able to trigger the chaos section with a rhythmic pulse is a fantastic way to spice up percussion, bass lines, and leads.)
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I don’t do it much now (partially because I’m not that into techno) but i always liked to use Vult Vessek with the two oscillators slightly out of tune. One a couple of cents above and the other a couple of cents below. Actually Vessek is pretty good in lots of contexts. Also the previously mentioned Energy is maybe my favourite single oscillator.
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hora hi-hat (treasure free; hora)
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so finally it’s here