Behringer Eurorack Module Closeup Look

[@lundsweden]

I just thought I'd add that the original Roland System 100M (1978) also did'nt have the 3.5mm jacks bolted to the face plate. I'm not sure if they were attached at all, look at photos of it, it does'nt appear that they were. They look like a floating design like the Behringer. The original semi-modular System 100 (1975) has the 3.5mm jacks with bolts on the front panel.

[@AmauryJacquot]

they don't seem to clean the flux on their soldering

[@ThePacratz]

Where did you buy the camera/microscope? Great video! I have several of these modules myself.

[@ranzee]

Somewhere on Aliexpress :)

[@TheInterGalacticFederation]

Hey Ranz - great subject for a video. that magnifier would be perfect for doing the volca beats snare mod.

[@ranzee]

Cheers mate. We could do this! I'm thinking it's probably time!

[@TheInterGalacticFederation]

well just to add an extra layer of challenge i've made it a little more complicated but attempting it with a friend helping me and we managed to remove the solder from the patch points so now they are dried and damaged - but there might be other points to insert the capacitor. i still haven't posted the Giga delay so there's no hurry to get any of this done but i would love to send you this stuff just to see what happens. and could make for interesting video... have a great day - i need to order a new speaker cone for MSP7

[@mysynthsandstuff6519]

Nice camera 😀 interesting video. Intrigued to see what your outcome is.

[@ranzee]

Cheers mate - I'm not sure where to go now lol - probably a black hole of electronic geekery which maybe out of my league ;) hehehe

[@TheExtremenarcissist]

I think it relevant to point out that, in Europe at least, the Behringer VCO is less than a third of the price of the Roland. It would be possible to buy two Behringer VCOs and keep one in storage for usage in case of mechanical stress failure of the first. Doing so, one would still save more than a third on buying one of the Roland VCOs! The huge price difference invalidates any direct comparison, in my opinion.

[@ranzee]

This is a great point. We need to be considering everything here - how much things are, what they give us from an economical point of view may far outweigh what the quality of the build is. We actually discussed this over on my live show last Saturday.

[@cresshead]

Q. if any, how many jack socket have failed in the last 2 years use?

[@ranzee]

None. To be fair, at the time this comparison seemed to discover a mechanical issue - however, these sockets have remained sturdy without issue. In comparison, I've had no sockets fail on any modules of any manufacturer. Not a scientific test either.

[@GEOSynths]

Mine isn't much use in terms of Tuning after an Octave or so...I contacted them about it and they sent me the Calibration procedure...Which is a bit over my head and I don't have the Tools. I think they should check them before sending them out. The calibration procedure for the 112 VCO DUAL is as follows: 1) Power the module up and allow the module to warm up to normal operating temperature for 20-30 mins. 2) Set waveform switch to triangular, set RANGE switch to 32’, Set the PITCH knob to 0 on the scale, set the MOD IN 1 attenuator to 10 on the scale (fully clockwise). 3) Connect an accurate frequency meter to the VCO OUT 1 jack. Make sure nothing is connected to any of the MOD IN jacks. 4) Using the PITCH knob set the frequency to 16.35 Hz (±0.2 Hz) which is musical note C0. 5) Apply exactly +4.00 VDC to the MOD IN 1 jack, this should change the VCO output frequency to 261.63 Hz (±1 Hz) which is musical note C4. 6) If this is not the case locate the VCO1 or VCO 2 WIDTH trimmers on the module underside. Adjust the relevant VCO1 or VCO2 WIDTH trimmer to set the volts per octave frequency scaling correctly. If the frequency is 261.63 Hz (±1 Hz) then adjust anti-clockwise. 7) Now disconnect the +4.00 VDC from the MOD IN 1 jack and recheck the frequency has returned to 16.35 Hz (±0.2 Hz) to ensure that the PITCH or MOD IN attenuator knobs were not accidently moved during trimming. If there is an error, then repeat steps 2-6. If all is OK, then proceed to step 8. 8) With the VCO set at 16.35 Hz, observe the position of the PITCH knob, it should be set to 0 on the knob scale. If it is noticeably out of position then set the PITCH knob to exactly 0 on the scale, then locate the relevant VCO1 or VCO2 FREQ trimmer on the module underside and adjust the VCO FREQ trimmer to set the frequency to 16.35 Hz (±0.2 Hz).

[@ranzee]

Thanks for sharing this. Interesting how you got this response from Behringer and I got nothing. I put in a support ticket too! Perhaps they got wiser, as my support request was fairly early days after they first started shipping.

[@GEOSynths]

@@ranzee The guy said he had to go looking for it! I've asked if they can swap it as it's too much for 'normal' people to do, plus have to buy equipment to do it. Will wait and see...

[@ahzootube]

You can maybe use the tuner in Ableton with it.

[@apecityelectronicsoundstudio]

My module was pretty much out of tune when I received it but I followed this tuning procedure earlier today. It took probably 10 minutes tops to do both VCOs after I'd left the module to warm up for a while. I used my Keystep CV pitch out and the tuner utility in Ableton, VCO out straight into my audio interface. Adjusting the trimmers was fairly easy to do and now I'd say the tuning is good on both oscillators from C0 to C5, octave jumping sound great now whereas before it was really dreadful. It is annoying to have to do this when it could have been done in the factory but at least I know they are capable of being tuned correctly! Thanks for sharing the details.

[@GEOSynths]

@@apecityelectronicsoundstudio So which trimmers did what?

[@megamarkd]

Great follow up to the main topic of the stream Saturday night and isn't synth pr0n in the slightest! The difference in build quality can be huge from company to company in the eurorack market even at the same price point. I'm not surprised that Dread Box have the more structurally engineered module, they have been doing it for some time now. Haa you got the Dystopia! I keep skirting around buying it, even though it'll be great for my modular drum synth. Oh yeah I almost forgot to ask, did you get the Nifty Bundle? If so did you swap the Chips face plates? Also have you noticed that the rail taps are ever so slightly out making it hard to mount modules without slotted screw holes?

[@ranzee]

Hey Mark - it may have been intentional ;) lol. However, yes the Dystopia is a great module - albeit quirky - it still offers that difference in my modular setup. I didn't get the Nifty Bundle - just the Nifty Case - but it did come with the face plates (or blanks) - they are just sitting in a drawer now ;) I didn't have that issue with the rail taps ... maybe you might need to point that out on Satuday and we can look at it a bit closer.

[@Pm-qp6tb]

Very interesting 🤔, thanks

[@ranzee]

You're welcome - thanks for watching!

[@saren6538]

Can we modify somehow to add the nuts onto the jack fittings ?

[@ranzee]

You could desolder the 3.5mm sockets and solder in some new ones which have the surface mount nuts. That would be a crazy job on the 173 module lol - but on the Dual VCO it's only go a mere 16 sockets ;)

[@MSS-g7f]

Nice one Ranzee, very informative. Have you had a look at Cool Audio's website? For me the real eye opener is the low cost of the chips (particularly when you consider it is a very low volume industry relative to others) - a dollar for a 4 pole filter sounds good to me :)

[@ranzee]

Hey Fin, yeah they are making (remaking?) some good things. I haven't purchased anything directly yet (except I have indirectly by buying Behringer stuff).

[@thedigitallost]

Great video. Very interesting! It is very telling that Behringer are fine with copying Roland on every single aspect, except the build quality! And even then, on such a tiny thing such as nuts on threaded jacks which, as you say, would cost literally a few cents. And then a relatively tiny company like Dreadbox seems to find a way to wear the miniscule cost of nuts on threaded jacks where a mammoth company like Behringer just can't seem to find a way to make it work...

[@ranzee]

Exactly, it is amazing what we discover when we start to look a little bit closer at things. I guess this also puts a lot more meaning to the phrase "Don't believe the hype!" ... there is a lot of power in those marketing messages, and sometimes taking a step back and having a close look may reveal the truth.