My small techno performance case & patch explained

Over the last months I have build a small modular Techno performance case. It’s designed to be portable and enough for compact improvisations, mostly pretty dark and gritty. In this video I go over the case and patch in detail. Talk about all the modules involved and how I used them. And as always, I share the full patch in an easy-to-follow flowchart along the way.
Patreon: / monotrail
Affiliate links:
Perfect Circuit - bit.ly/3Yn0Gll
Follow my channel ‪@Monotrailmusic‬ if you are interested in my music!
Timetable:
00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Case & overview
03:27 - Percussion
09:21 - Voices
14:42 - Flowchart & thoughts
Special thanks to Legendary & Crazy Patrons:
Michael Rutchik
Wayne Cowan
Steve Williams
Glnds
Kickroot
Christoph von der Heyden
Giorgio Festa
Sebastijan Semiz
James thompson
Let’s connect!:
Instagram: / monotrail
Facebook: / monotrailmusic
Soundcloud: / monotrailmusic
Bandcamp: monotrail.bandcamp.com
KZbin: / monotrailmusic
#monotrail #livetechno #modulartechno

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Hello everyone! This video is a breakdown of my techno patch. I tried a few different sounds and examples to demonstrate. If you are interested in hearing more Techno sounds, have a look at the video I did on the Kickain using this exact case: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ3HZHutn7eoaZo

[@southernmainesonicexperime3438]

Great video! Love the format. Very thorough explanation on your thought process which is very useful for those of us trying to learn and expand our own horizons

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Glad it was helpful! That's my main goal, share insights on building setups or patches for people looking to do something similar. Thanks for watching!

[@mit136speichenumdiewelt]

One of the best video 2023 right now!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Haha, well, there's a lot more to come on KZbin I guess. But that's nice to hear :)

[@caydilemma3309]

Always appreciate hearing the reasons behind someone’s rack design choices. I’m hoping to make some Eurorack videos this year, and you’re the gold standard!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Hey, glad to hear it! And go for it :)

[@henryb6009]

Thanks for sharing. Very clever patch and live system.

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Glad you like it!

[@josemariaestellerfuentes3176]

Really soo inspirational video.. this and more of the other ones on the channel.. are big useful. Thanks for it

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Thanks for letting me know! Positive comments like this makes it worth doing this. All the best!

[@sensorycircuits1338]

Awesome explanation, not just for this particular patch but as a methodology for designing a rack with a specific purpose in mind.

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Glad it was helpful! I enjoy this setup a lot, although I have to admit I combined this techno case with my other live case to create an all-purpose setup. Easier for myself , and future video plans. The case still has the same idea though, a few compact synth voices, combined with percussive elements :)

[@vertigev]

This was an awesome video, thank you!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Thanks, glad you liked it! :)

[@damarucases]

Thats a great video, very well done, epic explanation. thanks

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Glad you liked it! Cheers :)

[@robvbeats]

always inspiring!! 🤖

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Glad to hear it, thanks for watching!

[@ResAffolterSoundproductions]

Nice and small. Awesome and big thanks to share this with us 🙏🏻🕊✌🏻✨🌈🔥🍀

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Very happy to be able to make these! Thanks for watching :)

[@bodoelsel]

Great video. An in-depth video for building that case would be awesome 😊

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Ah yeah, I'm a bit annoyed by my self I didn't record a video about that when making it! :/

[@dietervoser4425]

Ein sehr schöner Koffer !🙂 und sehr elegant.

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Danke! :)

[@bastian5304]

Please more insides about the case! Looks great

[@nebpublic]

Hi Monotrail Great stuff as ever. The new case looks great. Real food for thought. I religiously follow your content (and get the flowcharts on patreon). Really learnt a lot. The thing that is still magic to me though is your approach to transitions. For example I really love your Jam 215 which I believe uses mainly the patch you described in your three video patch series a couple of years back, but I still don’t understand how you manage the transitions. The new sounds appear from the same voices almost as if from thin air. I’d dearly love to see a video explaining your approach to transitions. How you get the new character from the same voices in real time and how you manage to transition those changes without interrupting the flow. So really the big picture of how you reuse voices across a composition. I can see with the new case you have a deep plan for that! Thanks for the videos. Really the best content out there for explaining how to make a modular system into a playable instrument.

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Hello! That's lovely to hear, and thank you so much for the Patreon support! At the beginning of the year I asked what kind of videos people like to see from me (with a short list) and videos on making / performing music with a modular was picked a lot! I plan my videos months ahead these days, so there are for a lot of things on my to do list still. But you will see me making more videos about writing and performing this year. I hope they do well, that would open up a lot of possibilities! For starters, I will make a video with this Techno case. A part 1 in making a 1hr set with it. I just promised to do another performance, so that's a good incentive I guess! Thanks again, and all the best!

[@studiobrootle]

thanks for this :) got a few semi modulars and weighing up the move to full on eurorack.

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Glad I could help! Think semi-modular is a fantastic way to go, so much options and bang-for your buck these days. That allows to be more specific with modular features. Enjoy the journey!

[@nielshulgard3722]

Great video! Really well presented and exciting. I would love to follow your progress with this case towards the mark of a 1 hour improvised set with distinctive parts/tracks and hear your thoughts on transitions, 'track' structure, set progression and so forth. Will be keeping an eye out for more videos with this case!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Hey, that's good to hear! Because that's exactly the idea. I will work on more videos about wiring/performing with a modular. Happy to share my procecs in learning and working with this case! All the best :)

[@nielshulgard3722]

@@MonotrailTechTalk amazing, that just made my day! Best of luck with the process and looking forward to following it!

[@ChristopherOrth]

Nice rig!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Thanks! :)

[@dillipphunbar7924]

Sonically rich palate you have there. That Droid system is very powerful.

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Thank you! And indeed. Was really an eye opener for me working with it. So much more can be done than I do here, but great as a control surface :)

[@tracyharms3548]

One hour of improvisation using under 200hp sounds ambitious, but you already know that!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

True! But sounds like a good goal to me :) Think it's very possible, although those improvisations will not be so different from each other I guess,

[@channelite]

Hope to see a jam video with this case

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Me to! I plan to get to it, share the process here, and upload some sessions on my other channel :)

[@anastasia0zardonova]

This is exactly the content that i need! Played my first mini modular live show a week ago and i definitely want to do more. My case Idea is a little different but especially the concept of having few but very flexible modulation sources to repatch during the performance instead of cramming alot of static ones in there might be a way to keep things from getting to repetitive. I swelled into the same things multiple times during the show, which was kinda worrying... Also, i do not see any FX in your case. I have an Aurora and a Versio in my case Both used for Reverb/Delay type sounds and i am constantly worrying about how to use and dial them in... I am a little lost with this subject and would love to see a video on live FX usage in general. (Drums->Rings(with v/O sequence)->Aurora Reverb, and my Bassline switched 2 Octaves up to use as melody -> Versio as delay).

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Ha, congrats on the live show! For sure, I wouldn't recommend building this exact setup to anyone. Just take the parts or things you think would work for you! As for FX I come from doing performances with an outboard mixer on the side. This was and still is perfect to me. I'd take different signals from the modular to the outboard mixer, and then just use the AUX send 1 & 2 with a reverb and delay pedal. Works great, and that's still how I use it in my studio. For this case indeed I like to see if I could include at least a simple stereo reverb into the case, so nothing else is needed. But I would still go for a FX send setup. Your setups sound solid. So just a matter of finding the right balance between dry/wet signal. You could always try to use those FX as sends. So listen to the clean signal of each voice, and use a multiple or stackable cable to send a copy into a 100%wet effect. Then mix again within the modular, or with outboard mixer.

[@anastasia0zardonova]

@@MonotrailTechTalk The sends are an amazing Idea! I never thought about such a simple thing... thats why modular is awesome. Id imagine, i could get away with just one space effect if i can just mix everything into it. Also my mix would probably be cleaner and i wont have to be as careful with loosing my dry volume tweaking the dry/wet on stage. Ill try as soon as possible, thanks alot!

[@nielshulgard3722]

@@anastasia0zardonova if you dont want an external mixer but instead want mixer with sends in eurorack and use eurorack effects, I can really recommend the ST modular Stereo SUM system. It has a main module with 2 stereo sends and returns, main out and headphone out. And then you add individual mono and stereo channels as you need which conenct on the backside to the main module so it saves on cabling. Each channel has mute, a pretty brutal one knob eq (hi pass/lo pass with boost), switch for a/b send, level control, send level control and headphone/main out mix knob. So basically just a modular outboard mixer in eyrorack format. Only important thing to note is that there is no gain on the channels, the level control is just an attenuator, so it expects modular level. I was a tad disappointed witht this as I have to add somethig like the bubblesound booater stage for my external synths, but it is a minor nuissance. If you only have two mono channels and are fine with one stereo fx chain which it seems like from your comment, the make noise rosie is also a nice output mixer module with send/return. Since it is a bit old you could probably find it quite cheap second hand. Just some ideas if you are determined to keep everything in your case.

[@tekhnopranaexploratoryelec1445]

Amazing! Due to financial issues, I'd like to do it on Ableton using my Push 1...would that be possible? Again, amazing sound machine!

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

I'm gonna go ahead and say yes :) And thanks!

[@tekhnopranaexploratoryelec1445]

@@MonotrailTechTalk Thank you! Will study the subject!

[@eriksmeets9254]

great video! also got the case on modulargrid?

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Thank you! And yes, you can find all my cases in (most of the time) current state here: www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/command_center/46250

[@44MV]

I just bougth my first module 😅 and getting started , you have some suggestions for a noob like me 😊

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Nice! Congrats on making the jump! It's a slippery slope, and very a very personal journey. First advice is just to take your time exploring each module and your ideas!

[@44MV]

ok tx for your time @@MonotrailTechTalk

[@blindianajones]

With all that Droid control, how do you remember all that is going on? And when it comes to the programming, Im guessing that system only goes as well as one's knowledge of cv and how you want to use it? The second question is really about how do you program if you're not sure what a particular cv result creates?

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Hi there! It's quite some things to remember indeed, but the whole modular is a bit like that. At the end a patch on DROID is something I end up fine tuning an using a lot. Nothing different from remembering how my Beatstep Pro or any other sequencer works. The programming is a lot of fun in my opinion, using the interface designed for it is great, and doesn't require any difficult coding at all. But for sure, it requires some creativity and a curious mind. If the whole idea doesn't make you smile its best to maybe try out the software (its free) and click around a bit. to see if it is for you. And finally, if you made something and it doesn't have the desired result, just adjust it! That's the beauty of DROID :)

[@blindianajones]

@@MonotrailTechTalk That all makes sense technically and philosophically. I dont know if droid would end up being a reduction in hp and make my engagement more fun and easier. Id want to replace my trigger riot, vector five12, divkid ochd, ne lapsus ox and 2 cosmo delta v.

[@effiksmusic]

Do you have the DROID patch somewhere? Can you post it in the DROID Discord?

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Hey, I do! Might clean it up a bit and share tomorrow. Will place it on my Patreon, as well as Modwiggler. Will also try Discord again, but my laptop had some issues with that. Will let you know if it's up!

[@effiksmusic]

@@MonotrailTechTalk cool

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

@@effiksmusic Hello! I posted the the .ini fie of the DROID patch used in this video, along with a picture with all knob controls on Modwiggler to download: modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3894584#p3894584

[@effiksmusic]

@@MonotrailTechTalk Thanks, I will study it.

[@filthyeight]

Racks with Sample-Players aren't impressive tbh

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

I don't care about how 'impressive' a rack is. I care about the music it makes, and the fun I have performing with it.

[@smartassrecords]

Awesome

[@MonotrailTechTalk]

Thanks! :)