From ground loops and live sessions Key answers from:

I have a ground loop when I connect my keyboard controller to the PC/Mac and the Eurorack system. How do I get rid of it?

Jürgen / The cause can be many things, but it is always handy to have small tools with you to quickly fix possible ground loops and co. To solve exactly this problem, the Arturia KeyLab MKII controllers come with an anti-ground loop adapter. The adapter is simply put between the USB MIDI keyboard and the computer and separates the power supply from the data line. Thus a ground loop is suppressed.

What do the designations HP and U mean?

Jürgen / U is the height unit 3U = 5.06 inches / 128.5mm. HP stands for horizontal pitch. One HP = 0.2 inch, i.e. 5.08 mm.

How do I get my sounds and backing tracks into my modular system?

Jürgen / The 1010 Music Bitbox mk2 and Bitbox Micro are good ideas for this. They can stream samples and tracks up to a size of 4 GB from the SD card, so you can play your own multisamples and drum sounds or fire off whole tracks as clips like in Ableton. Bonus: the two modules can also sample themselves and even a granular synth is on board.

How do I connect my Eurorack system to my DAW easily and intuitively?

Jürgen / On the market you can find a lot of so called „Inferface Modules“which offer you an interface between your DAW and your Eurorack. If you are looking for an allround solution the Arturia Keystep Pro is recommended, which offers you a lot of possibilities. Besides its 37 keys, there are 4 CV/Gate/Mod outputs, 8 drum gate outputs as well as MIDI and also USB MIDI.

Which case is suitable for beginners?

Jürgen / Arturia‘s RackBrutes are a good solution to start with one row (3U with 88HP) or two rows (6U with 176HP) for modules, thanks to the builtin PSU and the sophisticated Arturia Link system for flexible setup and transport.

How does tuning work in a live situation?

Jürgen / There are very sophisticated digital oscillators, but if you want to work purely analog, you can‘t get around regular retuning. There are some aids like the ADDAC 207 Intuitive Quantizer. The French company Norand offers an analog Complex VCO Morphos, which can not only store tunings, but both built-in oscillators can store a total of 48 presets. The highlight is that it is possible to morph between the presets, actively via Fnger on the 4D Touch Strips, via CV or with the module‘s internal LFOs or the Ping Envelope.

Do I have to start with real modules to learn modular?

Jürgen / No, there are many ways to learn the basics: Software like the Arp 2600 V (Semi Modular), Modular V by Arturia but also the free VCV Rack give you the chance to build great patches on your computer and see if this way of working is something for you. But also with semi-modular hardware synths like the MiniBrute 2 you have a great starting platform to understand what CV/Gate or an Attenuator actually do. With the bonus: you can connect the MiniBrute 2 and 2S directly to the RackBrutes via the Arturia Link system.