Molten Modular 04 - Choosing a Eurorack case and Power Supply

[@richardjermain4052]

This is the definitive starter's guide. Went to all the same sources and walked away with the same frustration. Thanks for sifting through the nonsense. I was doubting myself for thinking it boiled down to a simple choice.

[@teabreakbeats]

I think I'm watching your videos backwards..."this is my only module.?!" How quickly that changed!)

[@seanspartan2023]

A very informative video. Something you bring up that I feel isn't talked about enough is the DEPTH of different skiffs. I found most skiffs I looked at were too shallow to accommodate all the modules I wanted, especially the Disting modules. In the end, I went with Moog as well. But I rigged two 3 rack Moog rack stands (with one stand inverted and clamped down on the other) making it a 4 tier Moog system with 104hp skiffs.

[@robbiebull92]

This video was EXACTLY what i was looking for. Been researching cases for 2 weeks and couldn't make my mind up. Moog 104hp with the ability to double up with the conversion kit is PERFECT. Thank you!!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

You're welcome! :)

[@EdEditz]

I went with the Behringer Go for my first rack. Not available when you posted this video of course but it has the most space for the least amount of money. 2 x 140hp. I put in threaded rails which added to the price but I'm very happy with it. It was full within half a year :) I bought a NiftyCase so I can make simple systems I can easily take with me.

[@Rothgar777]

I'm loving this series as I'm at about the same point as you are. I have a Mother-32, 0-Coast, SQ-1, and a Microbrute. I'm really enjoying these synths and the desktop semi-modulars and I'm debating whether to buy a case and go the route you've described in this video or maybe continue with these desktop semi-modulars. I'll be watching with much anticipation to see what you've come up with as this is right now the same route I'm leaning towards. Thanks for this series!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Thanks for your kind words. If i wasn't embedded into this journey i would probably happily stick with the desktop stuff. But actually this is making me focus on my music and try new things out which is never a bad thing.

[@modularben7421]

me too, Robin is so nice and humble and love his walk throughs.

[@tatsuhirosato8646]

Synthrotek does cases and power as well. I'm not sure how the shipping would work for you guys on the other side of the ocean, but it's another option. If you're handy with a soldering iron, they do diy kits as well.

[@jas8012]

I greatly appreciate your explanation on this topic. Your knowledge is most valuable to me. Thank you

[@LittleFoilFish]

Thank you so much! I really want to start with something simple but expandable but knowing where to start was complicated. This series is perfect!

[@InvertedPopesMusic]

I know I am late to this series but it is still relevant and fantastic as it will save me hours of time investigating just the case and power supply for instance. As I also own a Mother 32 (actually as of this week x2 now, I know but I just love Moog sounding gear still have my 1978 Mini and it sounds awesome) and as a consequence also liking the angle thing and the look and the label MOOG, I was looking at their eurorack case. Glad I saw your advise and now I am considering going for the 104HP version as my start point.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Never too late to jump down this rabbit hole :)

[@mike.thomas]

Robin, I have to say you are really excellent at this. I'm already well into eurocrack, with almost 9Ux104 filled, and trying to figure out how/whether to expand. Even though that's the case I watched with great interest simply because of your presentation skills and super-organized approach (although I found myself at one point almost yelling "Moog makes a 104hp case!", before you finally burst out with that info :-D.). I think a 3x104 Moog setup would be quite elegant and they do offer the kit for that. The only minor issue (for me) would be the multiple power supplies. Not a major problem, but more of an inconvenience. And there's also the -4hp for the PS panels, right out of the gate. It's all about trade-offs, though. My setup is one Moog 104 as a skiff and a 6U Pittsburgh wooden case, which is very nice. Toying with graduating to their "360" case (craziness). Anyway, I look forward to following your journey. I'll add that IMO you should consider a Turing Machine and a quantizer of some variety sooner than later -- I just built mine a week or so ago, and I've enjoyed it immensely!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Nice one mate :) Yeah i'm already finding the 104hp Moog case too small, so I accidentally bought a second one... or rather didn't cancel the accidental double order. I went for a 4MS power supply in the end that can daisy chain into another row, so you always have that 4hp of power in each row but you only need the one power brick - that's pretty neat i think. I also think i might be selling my Mother 32 sooner than i thought. I have promised myself not to buy any more modules until after Superbooth in Berlin next month - but a Turin is on my immediate list. Such fun.

[@mike.thomas]

Haha, "accidentally on purpose", we say. Don't worry, you'll fill that too. I actually have a MI Elements sitting off to the side that got kicked out by the SynthTech modules I"ve been loving. Can't decide whether to keep myself semi-honest by not growing, or to just admit defeat. The 4ms PS chaining sounds ideal. Hopefully you'll cover that once you're set up. I'm using the uZeus, and have it on the left-hand side, upside-down, because that's where I have power. It's a real tangle of power cables under the modules as you can imagine.

[@colinwright27]

Brilliant video and just what I was looking for. Only just getting back into music hardware after getting rid of all my gear and going software only 15+ yrs ago.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Nice one, thanks!

[@stephenjames4937]

"...and the fact that it's got flippin' Moog printed on the back." That made me laugh!

[@mookie714]

I recently built a semi-modular... thing. it started out with a moog Drummer from another mother that I built in the engineer workshop at moogfest. it's an amazing little machine, but my problem was the tempo is a knob, there's no way to easily control the bpm should you want to use it with a DAW. upon doing research it occurred to me that the best option would be to get a mother 32. not only is it an amazing synth, but it can be used to control the tempo of the DFAM, working as kind of a midi to CV converter. I got the idea to marry the two using moog's 2 tier rack kit, but then I saw that had the empty euro rack case. I changed my plan to use the 3 tier rack kit and use the empty skiff for effects modules. since I'm not building a whole synth out of it, I thought 60 hp would be fine. I even finagled it so that the entire system, the effects, DFAM, and Mother 32 all are powered by the uZeus power supply so now it feels like one cohesive unit.

[@montechristoe]

All of your videos are very informative. Thanks!

[@ifly65]

Thanks for the great info and the quick response to my question. You know what I hate regarding synth videos, including mine? When trolls leave dislikes for no reason. How can you not like this info? F...off trolls.

[@noisebox909]

Thanks for these. I'm taking my first steps into modular and these are super helpful

[@1951split]

For those on a budget, a €25,- MeanWell RT-65b does the job perfectly...

[@mm7wabanamateurradiowomble30]

As someone who simply cannot afford the prices of commercially available modules I have gone down the path of building everything from scratch myself. I was shocked at the price of a small, simple power supply so have been using a converted PC PSU which gives me plenty of power at less than a quarter of the cost of a 'modular case power supply' .. For less than £20 it gives me 5V at 22A and +/-12V at 8A which is more than plenty to power the three racks & 26 modules I have built so far and should easily power a whole bunch more modules with lovely clean, smooth power :-) Anyone that can use a soldering iron can easily convert a 'big box PC' PSU to power a modular system :-) Of course for folks with plenty of dosh you could save enough on the PSU to buy a new module, or two :-) just a thought.. :-)

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Woo hoo, good for you. Nice.

[@HenricWallmark]

A new video like this would be very useful, with behringer’s new lines and all. Cheers

[@MoltenMusicTech]

check out my video on the Behringer 104hp eurorack case

[@Markplaysmusic]

Not a cheap hobby this! Just been looking at the prices of the units that one adds together. Fun though. Possibly a small rack. I'm familiar with Eurorack from Behringer for Audio Mixers and desks I use for recording. I had one, very good - idiot selling it, but c'est la vie. I'm thinking a mix of the modular and Korg Volka and M-Audio keys, I may get something fun. Could I link it to my electric drum kit and get far more exotic sounds? That would be interesting!

[@nosville22]

Intellijel cases are pretty neat.

[@dreamwalkertunes]

Me being the way I am I bought the size case I knew I would end up with for the synth I want to build and the space I have. Just went right to the end result case wise. And I recommend doing so. If I were you I would have just bought 2 104hp racks from moog and stuffed my mother32 in one of them and started there with 148hp to fill. And still prolly wind up with a third row.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Funnily enough that's exactly what I did and i've just got the power supply and bus cables for the second row and i've ordered a Clouds and a Rosie to fill the space :)

[@dreamwalkertunes]

Nice good stuff!

[@barlobarlo303]

Great video! I went through the same process about a year ago and went round and round thinking about power and came to a similar conclusion: buy a well known brand and you'll be fine. I decided on the Make Noise 104hp skiff. The reason is that it comes pre-assembled with "clean" power and it doesn't take up any hp for the on/off switch. I've not had any depth issues although I've seen some modules that could be problems. It took about 3 months until the skiff was full, so I bought another one and built a stand that enables both to be at perfect angles for playing. BUT the total for two was about $500 US. I did wait for holiday sales to buy them (you can save 10% or more). So in retrospect, I might have been better off buying a $500 6U case to start with. Now I'm thinking how can I expand another 3U or should I go 6U....

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Maybe... i think the Make Noise skiff looks great - and you'll never be sure you'd fill up 6U straight away, it's good to build up slowly. However - i know i'm going to be into 3 rows very soon.... yikes!

[@lowdt]

i would mine the ressources to build a resistor man ;D "effort" is life!

[@WHWrooolz]

Very beginner, and I am interested in getting started with euro rack. I have experience in woodworking and cabinet making, and can very easily put together a custom case for myself. However, I know nothing about power modules, bus boards, Or about wiring, and I don’t want to get electrocuted. Can power components/bus boards be sold separately from cases in order for me to Install them to my own case?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Yes. The case I use doesn’t come with power so I added the 4MS Row Power 40 module and bus cable - does the job nicely.

[@jdsc100]

great video. Can you confirm that the Moog case is deep enough for all the modules you have tried? Thanks

[@MoltenMusicTech]

All the modules i have - yes.

[@jackpfarrelly]

Quick question - is it possible to have a single power supply powering the 3 tiered case? Preferably without having to cut holes in the moog cases? Cheers

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Not without cutting holes or passing ribbon cables through the front. The hooking up of three 4ms power 40's is the tidiest way. If you want 3 rows with one power supply then buy a case that is purpose-built for that - there are plenty.

[@jahmark9336]

Great vid dude thanks really helpful and you confirmed a few of my ideas to be good ones! “music is the best!” - Frank Zappa Peace and love from Bristol, England PS is their name a nod to the big muff pedal maybe?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Yes it is

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Please molten, make tests on the new Ryzen 1800x. Are you planning that? Probably the whole audio community wants to know how DAWs perform with the new platform.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Maybe. We'll see.

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Well, I think I'm taking the plunge. I ran my numbers and a 1800x outperforms my 3770k at 4.6Ghz by far, especially with multithreading. I think I can be confident is gonna be a big upgrade in my case. I can report to you if you want. And release a video in collaboration.

[@t1mmy13]

I have a 1700x, how can I help?

[@MmostlyRandom]

4:00 a 19" rack is 84hp I did a similar case thing. although I used Erica synths skiff wood side panels (minus the skiffs)they are only £17 for 6U height (the ones I used) and £24 for 9U and simply screwed my rails into them. total cost including rails and Uzeus was just over £150 for 2 rows of 84hp looks pretty good too. pbs.twimg.com/media/DQdldyaVAAArDdS.jpg:large (I managed to split the wood on the bottom right tho so always drill your holes big enough k,ids :) I have room left for a Maths (lower rail) and a batumi on top rail (which leaves 9hp so no doubt another few pico module as they are fantastic space savers with huge bang for buck, I'll probably get DSP, voice, and logic) your series of modular vids has been very informative and given me some great ideas so thanks for your work. Swan flight have some other pretty cheap solutions that would work. (designed for rack mount mixers but it's all standard rack sizes) www.swanflight.com/dj-flightcases/dj-mixer-flightcase/rack-mount-mixer-flightcases.html I was gonna get the 10u sloped mixer case that would have been 3 rows of 84hp and a 1U row on top the only reason I didn't get one of these myself was the issue of space on my desk but maybe this info is useful for somebody else

[@MrHihowryou]

Does anyone know if the 104hp case fits with the moog rack mounts that fit the 60hp case? Thinking about having the mother on the bottom and adding a104 case, but if like to brace it with moog's 2 rack mount I have now.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Yes, they do

[@MrHihowryou]

@@MoltenMusicTech thank you for the reply. I JUST watched the video where you do the exact same thing I wanted to do! Thank you for putting the time and energy into these videos so we can all benefit.

[@dec-vt100]

if anyone knows of a power supply that i can fit into a 60hp moog case, that does not take HP on the front panel i would be more than grateful. What i'm looking for is basically a setup like the mother32/dfam which i already have that i can add to my 3 tier stand and put a bunch of modules in. I will be using an external power switch powering all 3, so i see no need to occupy space in my already limited case with the power supply module. Thank you!

[@ben-rosfeld]

How do I know what modules won't fit into a skiff?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Go to the manufacturer of your module and work out a way of discovering what the depth could be. They nearly always publish dimensions. Check that against the depth of your skiff - take into account ribbon cables and bus boards etc. ModularGrid.net usually lists module dimensions as well.

[@wesleyleigh4063]

the make noise skiff is/was such a rip off. The new Behringer rack is a third of the price!

[@wescoast]

Check out the amazing cases by Frap (frap.tools/portfolio/uno/) - then look at the prices if you need a laugh!

[@jahmark9336]

PPS - it’s “moog” not “moog”

[@MoltenMusicTech]

no it's "moog"