What are the differences between attaching multiple patch cables from an output (a single LFO, for example) and sending those to various destinations, and using a single Mult module attached to that output, with the additional outward bound cables patched into Mult?
VCV makes it very easy to “load up” almost any port with lots of cables – but I’m sure that Mult exists for a reason, and I want to know if there are differences to be appreciated.
So I tried a simple test using Scope and wasn’t sure how to interpret what I saw.
a pair of VCO’s
VCO A: 4 cables from Sine out from one to the Scope In 1
traces are duplicated – by which I mean that they all overlay on top of each other
VCO B: 1 cable from sine out to Mult
4 outs from Mult to Scope In 2
traces duplicate, but appear to get larger – by which I mean that the max / min values increase, not the span of time they consume.
lol, the mult is a bit of a joke. With the cable stacking, it serves mostly as a super short delay, approx 1 sample. You may have heard that cables introduce a 1 sample delay between modules, and this simple module has a similar delay, plus the cable you use to connect it. I know some people like the visual aspect of having one cable feed many inputs by using a mult in line. Omri uses it a lot because of clarity in demonstration.
what you observe in the scope is the multiple patching from sine to scope are ignored and only one is observed, the 4 coming from mult are actually added together at the input port
All questions are welcome here. Always nice to meet a new patcher.
I mostly agree. But the mult modules actually can serve an additional purpose, making it easier to develop Eurorack patching skills that can transfer directly to hardware.
Most hardware outputs cannot be patched to multiple destinations without voltage drops, etc, which is why Eurorack has buffered mults. They allow a single output to effectively be patched to multiple destinations without any unwanted artifacts. VCV doesn’t suffer this problem, so yes, technically the mults are not needed. But if you are trying to use VCV to learn Eurorack, then you can opt to not use stacked outputs, in which case the mults then become required.
However, I suspect most people (me included) take advantage of VCV stacked outputs and forego the mults.
These days there are no differences to the signal, whether they are multed or output cables are stacked, other than introducing a 1 sample delay.
My memory is failing me a bit here, but I think that in the very earliest versions of Rack you could not stack cables on output ports, and therefor you had to use mults.
But these days the only real, minor usage is organization, and I sometimes use it for that when building up a patch. If you have 5 output cables from a port, and you want to change the source, it’s more hassle dragging 5 cables to another source than 1 cable. Although Rack later introduced dragging all cables on the right-click menu it’s still one click more And then, as Dave points out, if you want to practice patching Eurorack using Rack, then you have to use mults.
So, no big usage and if all mults disappeared over night from Rack, everything would work just fine.
In VCV Rack there is no difference resulting from the use of a Mult module as opposed to just connecting multiple cables to the same port. In hardware, this is not possible without special stackable plugs, and even that is limited.
The various Mult modules are a holdover from the hardware world and unnecessary in virtual modular. I find myself using them however, because they are neater (IMHO).
The first Mult modules were in the Moog modular system and they were different to what we see in VCV Rack. They had 4 ports, any of which could be the input, leaving the other 3 ports as the output. A small detail but one that I find oddly charming.
Yes, I hear that for sure. And it actually recalls a notion I had yesterday: a “cable holder” module that you can use when you just need a cable to move long enough to change another one before moving the first one back into place. I’ve been using adjacent ports as temporary abiding places (as long as there’s an open one) but that has the potential to get… a bit sporty.
I guess that the point here is that one might not often direct more than one out from mult to the same target – the point being to share that source out to other places… (at least… MOST of the time? )
And then, as Dave points out, if you want to practice patching Eurorack using Rack, then you have to use mults.
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