5 Ways to build a Hybrid Setup / VCV Rack & Eurorack

[@BeniRoseMusic]

How timely for me! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the community as always!

[@OmriCohen-Music]

My pleasure!

[@GianfrancoCecconi]

Great video Omri. I’ve got an ES-9 as well and it’s an important tool but, yes, latency will kill the practicality of it. It’s important that the others who watch this video realise that before spending >500 EUR on it. In my original plan, I practically only wanted the VCOs to be in “physical form” and use VCV for everything else, and gave up on that idea quickly, and now my rack is self-standing with an unused ES-9 in it. The last time I run an experiment, a signal took 45ms to do a roundtrip. Per se not too much, but one things start getting complicated... For the ones running macOS, VCV already works with multiple sound cards - I do it regularly - but it’s officially unsupported. So, if anything doesn’t work, the - otherwise incredibly kind and helpful - community will dismiss you saying that you have too many sound cards.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Yeah, latency is not fun at all... I tired to mention it enough in the video. I have to say though, I quite enjoy mine, sending modulation and audio back and forth directly from the case.

[@mynmyself]

I have been using an ES9 both with ableton and with mirack for almost a year now, and have never noticed any latency. I thought the whole purpose of using audio signals instead of midi was to avoid that

[@Err0r500]

wow 45ms is a very high latency defeating the very purpose of the ES-9 ! do you still have the issue 2 years after ?

[@bobbfett.musiclab]

Great tutorial, thank you. I use the es-9, luv it. I use an iPad, with miRack opened in AUM. It works exactly the same, except you need to use nisthi tunator instead of silent way, and rout it a bit differently in AUM. I have saved calibration profiles for my oscillators.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Yeah, the nysthi module can also work well, but I never really tried it. I'm happy this works also with an iPad, it opens many possibilities.

[@bobbfett.musiclab]

@@OmriCohen-Music yes, it is great, it’s great to be able to pack a 3u with some modules and a iPad for a holly day mini setup. The last updates to miRack brings Multichannel support, and it works great in AUM, and there is a lot of really cheap great auv3 effects available, like Blackhole from eventide etc.

[@nodz007]

you are some kind of genius Omri :)

[@rwbmusic]

Quite, quite, quite cool. Excellent information and instruction technique as well.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Cheers!

[@plumcharlie]

super useful as always. Thank you.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Glad to hear that!

[@dreamdealer]

this is very informative, excellent tutorial.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thank you!

[@moldythoughts4765]

Korg Sq1 works well too for midi to cv... two channels... big up Omri!

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Yeah, that's a great tool to have, totally. Cheers!

[@mobtek]

perfect soundtrack while I'm playing star citizen :)

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Cheers

[@frywolny]

Thanks so much for this vid, Omri! Very helpful. I know that many of 'Modular' guys and girls usually connect to VCV (if in hybrid). But I was wondering if you could make one vid with DAW and for example ES9. What are the possibilities to sync it to a particular event in the arrangement in DAW? Using the 'reset' function or any other way? Also, is there any way to sync VCV with DAW? I know that once there were plans to make VCV as a plugin but I think it's not going to happen anytime soon. .Thanks a lot for your answers. Keep it up and stay safe.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks! I have to be honest, I'm not really using a DAW for production so I'm not so sure I can show enough things... And yes, the VST version of VCV will eventually come out, it needs more time but it will be glorious when it will be ready.

[@GertBoers]

Omri, about that floating ring cable: The 6.3mm (1/4") is called TRS which stands for Tip Ring Sleeve. This one contains the ring. ;) And the ring is missing on the 3.5mm (1/8") cable. Probably that's why it's 'floating'.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks :) Yeah, after a few minutes it came back to me. For some reason I said tip at one point and then I remembered the rest.

[@GeorgeLocke]

On a floating cable, the plug with the ring connects to the ring output on the jack, but then that connection doesn't go anywhere. But if you had a normal mono cable, the ring and the sleeve connections on the jack would both contact the sleeve on the plug, shorting the circuit. compare the mono and stereo jacks (stereo connection same as balanced mono) www.pinterest.com/pin/313000242848830547/

[@gmreynoldsjr]

I did not realize BIA was capable of making that sound.

Awesome video ! I unfortunately can't get my ES-9 to work properly in my daw (using cubase, windows with an rme ufx) I thought it had adat i/o but alas not the case. Trying to find a way to use both the UFX and ES-9 in Cubase but I don't think it's possible.... Has anyone in a similar situation found a solution ? Such a shame since the ES-9 seems like a powerful device although the configuration tool demands a bit of diving in beforehand ;)

[@jasoneskridge6453]

that floater cable has TRS and TS ends, the larger is TipRingSleeve, the smaller only TipSleeve.

[@rmanpojo8485]

and you can easily make this self.

[@GeorgeLocke]

In a nutshell: you block DC by putting the signal through a highpass filter with a cutoff below the audible range. AC coupled connections do this, and DC coupled connections don't.

[@Fabriziomontefiore]

Hi Omri,I have a minibrute 2s and am about to pair it with an fx aid pro. I also wanted to use VCV Rack to interface with eurorack modules. I was looking at the Befaco Midi Thing 2. Do you think it is suitable or should I buy an Es-8 or Es-9? P.S. I am following your course on gumroad and I find it really well done,congratulations. Greetings from Italy

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks so much :) Midi Thing 2 will send Midi, and the ES module will send actual voltage. I think that Midi is easier to work with when using pitch sequences. And, the Midi Thing 2 can also send CV via Midi, and it works quite nicely with VCV. But, if you want audio, though, Midi will not work so well...

[@faruambient]

great video! have you tried doing this with VCV as a plugin inside ableton? I feel like a lot of modules are missing in the 2.0 version on Mac of VCV rack and make it hard to use as standalone with my modular.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks! I'm on Windows, but I think there's something with modules not working on ARM. I know Instruo is one of them, but I'm sure there are more...

[@faruambient]

ah thank makes sense, yes. so time will hopefully bring more modules back.@@OmriCohen-Music

[@kava9379]

Great video! Asking about dc coupled interface usage... Why you said that cable 3.5mm TS -> 6.3mm TRS is safe? I ordered some 3.5 TS -> 6.3 TS (one ring on both side)... Do you think they will work correctly or not? Thanks for all your effort on the channel 🙂

[@OmriCohen-Music]

I'm not so sure... From what I've seen , its safe to use the TS to TRS ones.

[@kava9379]

@@OmriCohen-Music i ordered some 3.5 TS- 6.3 TS cable but for being sure I will cut the 6.3 jack replacing with a TRS leaving ring disconnected... This will be like floating ring cable, I think :-)

[@jamesherndon8066]

Revisiting this because I want to get the VCMC to start using Scion to control not just VCV rack but aslso I want the "random" voltage from it to control settings on some pedals. Thanks for everything you do. One question....How do I get your blank panel!?!?! I have always loved the Amanita muscaria patch cable logo!

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks so much :) I just need to find a place to print more panels...

[@jonkruth4157]

Hello Omri, I have 2 questions for you: Firstly, is it possible to send MIDI to CV or CV to MIDI with the Befaco cvmc. Does it work both ways or just one? Thanks!! Second.... I have a problem with my MOTU: If I send PitchCV ( Sequence or S&H ) to the hardware then everything is fine ( with Floatin Ring cables of course)... But if I send the Pitch CV from the hardware ( Eurorack) to Send VCV then it doesn't work.. The signals arrive but totally distorted and broken.. If I send LFOs and modulation signals to VCV then everything is fine but with pitch info it doesn't work! Everything with F..R..cables.. Do you have an idea why that is? In your example you also send signals from the eurorack to VCV and it works very well.. But not for me.. AND.. how did you calibrate it exactly.. The E.S. I bought the calibration module and it works very well with signals going to the Eurorak from the VCV.. But vice versa, how do you calibrate it?.. Why doesn't it work for me like in your example? OMRI I'M SORRY THAT I WRITE AND ASK YOU SO MUCH.. BUT before I write I'll try 100 times and if nothing works then I'm desperate and you're the only one who can help... really!!! I'M SO FRO WE ALL HAVE YOU!!!! WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE IF YOU WERE NOT THERE!? I DON'T KNOW THAT!! I CANNOT THANK ENOUGH!!! THANKS BRO!!!! CHEERS

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks :) Yeah, the Motu has only DC coupled outputs but not inputs so sending pitch from the hardware will not work. And with VCMC you can only convert CV into Midi but there are other modules that you can use to convert Midi into CV. You can also use a Midi controller that has CV outputs :)

[@jonkruth4157]

@@OmriCohen-Music Thank you Omri , very much !!!!

[@danielmcanulty1562]

Was looking forward to this one, glad you made it! When you said you stay away from sequencing things in your hybrid system from VCV Rack (16:45), does that mean you master clock and sequence from hardware most often? And do you prefer to sync master clock to VCV via ES-9 or midi interface? And you mostly prefer to send audio back and forth rather than CV and clock? Maybe the answer to the above is yes and no and sometimes, if so that's okay. I understand a lot of the tradeoffs and how you might make them differently depending on the situation, just wondering what you find yourself doing most often that feels productive to you.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Yeah, I'm also happy I managed to make this video, it's been on my list for a long time. About your questions, so yes, I stay away from sequencing from VCV because I feel that it's counter productive and sorts of stops my flow, if you know what I mean. I'm using the Keystep Pro for quite some time now and it's a great master device for clock and sequencing. I really enjoy the hands-on control with a hardware sequencer rather than using the mouse or memorizing a Midi controller. About syncing, I don't really have things in sync in VCV. I use VCV for modulation and processing mostly, and also for having a few more voices as well that I just sequence or play via Midi so I don't send a clock, usually, to VCV. I send all of my audio into VCV, and sometimes I will send audio also from VCV out to my system but, usually, I will use VCV for modulation so I will send S&H, LFOs, and also triggers that are coming from various places like EOC of envelopes, gates from comparators and so on. I will do this the other way around as well, like I show in the video, sending triggers and cv from my system into VCV. There's something that's important to remember though, my music is not really beat-driven and, most of the time, the different elements or not even in sync so I don't really bother with syncing clocks and latency. But I do have experience with beat-driven tracks and track where I wanted to have things in sync and it was a pain and not fun at all. As I mention in the video, there are ways around that, but it might be counter productive.

[@ursbasteck]

​@@OmriCohen-Music And that likely also answers my question I've been wanting to ask :) (I'm 95% sure I'll buy a Keystep very soon - mainly for intuitive sequencing - and been wondering just well those functions integrate in VCV)

[@OmriCohen-Music]

I understood you saw the video about it right? It works really well with VCV :)

[@ursbasteck]

@@OmriCohen-Music That settles that then :) Right now, I can either play live or carve it into stone (sample audio) and this feels so limiting. Guess I'll now have to ask my bank account which one it'll be.

[@OmriCohen-Music]

@@ursbasteck It's not perfect, but it's a great tool to have since it can do so much and everything is pretty intuative. It's quite big though so you will need space for it. If you have any specific questions about deal breaking features and such, feel free to ask :)

[@soundwithoutsoundbutwithso7884]

That was a seriously informative video. Really well done. So, if I want to use VCV rack's oscilloscope to see what the modulation in my hardware Eurorack is doing, I'm going to need an interface with DC-coupled inputs. My current audio interface with AC inputs won't work, correct?

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Thanks :) And yes, you will need DC coupled inputs so the modulation will not get filtered out.

[@aluriamusic]

wow man ! insight :)

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Cheers!

[@aluriamusic]

@@OmriCohen-Music omri quick question, I recently got a 7U 104HP from Intellijel, latest version. I bought myself a vpme.de Euclidean Circles V2 to use for my rack. I was wondering being a 5V module would it fry in the intellijel rack? If so how can I get it to run in the rack. I would kindly appreciate any tips :)))

[@aluriamusic]

@@OmriCohen-Music or is there some sort of regulator for 5V modules in the 7U rack

[@OmriCohen-Music]

@@aluriamusic well, it should work just fine. I have the BIA set to 5v, and I had the Nebulae on 5v as well. The 7u can has up to 1500mA on the +5v

[@aluriamusic]

@@OmriCohen-Music running to my rack to install :)))) big thanks omri ! Will send you photo of current setup, means a lot for you to guide me through these first steps hahhaha I watch all of your videos !

[@HerrSaturn]

I used this to plug-in a Yamaha CS1x thru midi and wav, but I got problems getting the CS1x Arpeggio info into VCV Rack.. any ideas?

[@OmriCohen-Music]

I'm not so sure I understand... What did you use exactly? How do you have it set up?

[@goavegas4874]

Hi Omri,was considering to get a Microfreak and using it also to connect software with hardware,if I understand correctly should not be a problem when connecting Eurorack with VCV. Can it be used to syncronise DAW to Eurorack as well ?

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Hi! Well, yes, you can send Midi into it and then use the CV outs for syncing.

[@jakegraves5977]

Hi which Disting algorithm/setting are you using? Can't work it out!

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Hi, that's the G1 and G2, the ES emulations.

[@rmanpojo8485]

great tutorial... I have a "hard" time to calibrate my outgoing cv signal to eurorack. I use vcv and Native instruments Komplete Audio 8 (with dc out and input!). I use a Doepfer amplifier -183-3 and a home made floating ring cable.... I did't work. I dont get a proper 1v/oct. for my eurorack VCO. Does the (not free) Expert Sleepers Voice controller vcv module work with my N.I. Komplete Audio too?

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Oh ok... Well, there's another module from nysthi that can also do the calibration. It's called Tunathor. I didn't try it but it should work. Let me know!

[@rmanpojo8485]

@@OmriCohen-Music Thanks I try and let you know.

[@rmanpojo8485]

It worked with Tunathor. but... very limited 3 octaves and not precise.. The output of de N.I. audio interface :K.A.6 is very limited only 1,6 Vpp. Even with use of the Doepfer amplifier A 183-3... still 3 octaves This module increase the voltage from 1,6Vpp to 6Vpp. bit disappointing....

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Oh ok... That's a shame...

[@stevep6428]

Epic.....

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Cheers!

[@Pulecocz]

So with DC Coupled interface (I have ESI ESP1010, one from compatibility list) I absolutely need to use floating ring cables for: output - from VCV to Eurorack/Synths as well as from Eurorack as well as vice versa input - from Eurorack/Synths to VCV? How about using mono 3,5mm cables with 3,5mm mono socket to 6,3 mono jack?

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Well, it's recommended to use a floating ring cable so I guess it's better not to use other cables. I did send clocks in both direction and it went ok though.

[@jominhas]

Thank you! This -- together with Loopop's video -- has helped me a lot. Re calibration, do you need to send CV into Expert Sleepers' virtual module in order to make it work? How would you do that using an interface which only has DC coupled outputs, but no DC coupled input (i.e. the Motu interface)?

[@OmriCohen-Music]

Hi! Well, the pitch will come out of the Motu so there's no problem with that. You will then need to send the oscillator back into the Motu, but that's audio and not CV so it will not be filtered out.

[@jominhas]

@@OmriCohen-Music I see, thank you!