Recording and Mixing Modular Synth

[@YomYestreen]

Man I love this channel. You and mylarmelodies are really doing great work for the community. Thank you for the tips in this video, I just watched it twice!

[@WhiteNoises]

Thank you so much! Really glad that these videos are useful :)

[@JaseLovesDub]

Nice to see somebody advocating the best of both worlds; modular for music, computer for mastering. Always enjoy your views :)

[@tescomealdeals]

Very true, modular is great for many things but mixing and mastering are DEFINITELY not included in that

[@onemanwent4059]

I’ve just bought a Zoom H5 precisely for recording my synths in a live environment & stumbled upon your channel. Your video was most useful - Thanks 🙏

[@J_Carter]

Incredibly helpful! I've been struggling with taming those outlying sounds that can just ruin the overall stereo mix (like Plaits or Rings banging loudly on that one note you really don't want), and how to better mix a complex modular piece coming thru on just the one audio track. Your use of reverb, compression and limiter was light bulb info for me. Thank you!

[@yaggayaggaya9918]

Thank you so much. I’ve just added this video to a shopping playlist I’m making as I begin my modular journey! Keep up with the amazing videos ✊🏿

[@HousePlant_Ambient]

Haha same here brother.

[@thomas_dries]

1:56 Yes!!! Finally! The deeper I dive into the world of modular synths, the more I am convinced that I am the equivalent of a caveman when it comes to working with audio equipment... I have been looking for a guide/tutorial on how to hookup a modular synth to a speaker for AGES now! There's plenty of tutorials on hooking up to a DAW but none on simply connecting to a speaker. Is it possible to connect to a speaker with just the 3.5mm - 1/4 cable if one of my modules has an output or do I need to buy a module for it like the Micro Jack? Thanks a bunch!

[@jerod-s-rivera]

Great tip on the Fab Filter plug ins! Thanks!

[@Almanacs]

Really good to see that other modular artists also share a similar process with me. Loving your music!

[@multinik4366]

Super useful tips. I like that you don't excess about mixing like so many others do :) Pro tip: If you change the mode of abletons builtin reverb from "eco" to "high" it produces a much more natural and less metallic tone

[@devwxyz]

Thank you! Finally someone who explains in a way my brain understands lol

[@nmfl100]

So, the Zoom H5 can be used for recording both headphone/line out sources, and mic/guitar/synth via the XLR/TRS, right?

[@WhiteNoises]

If I remember correctly, yes -- the XY mic capsule that the H5 comes with has a line in socket, and then you could plug mic/guitar/synth into the XLR/TRS at the bottom.

[@nmfl100]

@@WhiteNoises Thanks - I've since then bought the H5 and confirmed it does all I need. Its quality and features are amazing for the price.

[@wezzuh2482]

those are some beautiful sounds

[@raka9003]

Waves SSL Master Bus Comp!! 🙌🙌🙌

[@davidgoodman6663]

Superb, thank you. I'm currently using the Expert Sleepers es-8 to record four tracks and then eq pan and compress each channel individually as i don't have a hardware mixer.

[@WhiteNoises]

+david goodman Cheers David! I’ve been interested in the ES-8, seems like a good way to make multitrack recordings

[@Max-cz2qp]

Definitely take a look at the es-8 if you haven't. I recently got it and it's in my opinion from a production with modular standpoint the most powerful tool to have. It always for maximum control over your modular with your computer. Things as voice control, syncing your modular with ur daw clock and many more cool things :)

[@watchmeasifly]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@precarious333]

Thanks for sharing! I'm in the process of setting up a studio space for modular recording. I'm shooting for the best of all worlds so multi-track recording with post processing/editing in Ableton. I bought a bunch of modular-to-line level converters but I've found my Mackie 24x8 has no trouble working with modular levels if I just turn the trim down on each channel. I use cables with 1/4 on one end and 1/8 on the other to plug directly from any module to either the mixer or my patchbay (Behringer Ultrapatch Pro) which also handles modular levels without distortion. I set up mixing channels for up to 8 separate elements to record into Ableton through a MOTU UltraLite mk3. This way I can use separate processing/compression/panning to best suit each element. I generally do very little to no editing, but I use a lot of random modulation and have found that looping certain elements in Ableton during what amounts to a chorus within the track is a very effective means of designating delineation within a track. I tend to do a lot of live tweaking rather than sequence changes. As I make each recording I also capture the performance to video to sharing with very little processing. I'll then post the final mix with all editing, additional instrumentation and FXs so viewers can see the process from raw performance to final mix. Just getting started so none to share just yet but here are a few proof of concept test runs of performances, minimal processing, then synced to video. So far so good. Did one test (without video) of full multi-track and it worked as planned. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4SthYWZfbVrr5Y kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIbLn2yQnsR7eZo

[@WhiteNoises]

Thanks for the detailed reply! I'm leaning further towards getting a UltraLite and plugging direct into that so I can mix everything separately. Great job on the videos, particularly Dark Soundtrack! Super atmospheric.

[@indiefilmcomposer]

precarious333 I have a similar set up with motu AVB in my studio trying to figure out best way to get the 3.5 modular outs to TRS motu stereo in or a 10 channel mixer possibly to act as a bus then dump into motu......would you mind confirming for me is your 1/8 mono or stereo and is the 1/4 into motu dual mono TR split from one 3.5 or stereo TRS cables ? ..looking at the intellijel Quadratt as a summing tool it has a 3.5 out....( which sums 4 ea of 3.5 in ) .....

[@precarious333]

+White Noises Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

[@precarious333]

+JVMC I'm going 1/8 (3.5) mono to 1/4 mono into mono mixer channels. When coming out of stereo modules I use 2x 1/8 mono cables panned L/R on the mixer to create stereo. Mixer to the MOTU is the same; mono cables, panned in Ableton or recorded as stereo pair. I sometimes create a stereo array of sounds assigned to a pair of buses on the Mackie then recorded into Ableton in stereo to save MOTU channels. I'm sure you can find whatever kind of cables you'd need for your setup. Just might be a pain to find exactly what you need. Alternately, you may want to look into the Ladik stereo mixers. They're sturdy and cheap. I use the M-174 in one of my portable cases. There are variants with 1/4 outs and they have dedicated attenuation over outs so you can bring it down to line level. ladik.ladik.eu/?page_id=1800 Hope that helps!

[@indiefilmcomposer]

precarious333 got it thanks much....any issue with sound field going 3.5 stereo cable to dual TR ? Most of the cables with a dual TR end are stereo 3.5 not mono 3.5 on the market I see ....I might just get a $200 mackie 12 Chanel mixer and use that as a bus for modular into my DAW. I do need six stereo out of modular

[@Asiosky211]

great video. full of very useful info!

[@DivKid]

nice to see your process, cheers!

[@emotto1808]

This is a great video given the paucity of information about Eurorack recording set ups and techniques. Thanks! I am working out the kinks in my recording set up which is similar to your rundown, but only in the sense that we're both using a Zoom field recorder. The problem I run into is, no matter how I try and adjust the various connections between synth, mixer and recorder, I can't seem to eliminate a noticeable hiss. I run attenuated audio lines from my synth into a mixing board to break out the voices and percussion (sans any output modules), and send that to a Zoom H4 (a little older one so maybe that's the issue?). I've tried the balanced main L/R out from mixer to balanced L/R line in on the H4, RCA L/R out from mixer to XLR input on the H4, unbalanced phones split stereo to line in on H4, and no luck eliminating the hiss. The recording level is usually set between .5 and 1.5 for the best results so far. I'm not sure what exactly is going on...but it all sounds great through speakers or headphones connected to my mixing board. I'm starting to wonder if maybe investing in a newer Zoom H series would be worth it, especially as the H5 and H6 have -20db pads! Has background hiss every been an issue with your H5?

[@AndyVonal]

Just stumbled across this video and really enjoyed it. Clear and simple so that a muppet like me can understand. Excellent. You have a new subscriber and I'm looking forward to checking out more of your content. At some point during this next year I intent to embark on my Modular journey so ( like Robin Vincent suggests) I'm trying to get as much info as possible before taking the plunge. For the uninitiated it's a bit of a scary prospect!

[@WhiteNoises]

Thanks very much! I hope that these videos can help you on your journey. Enjoy the ride!!

[@cyuille]

As a complete beginner with eurorack, is this generally how I should get audio out of the system? Buy a module that has a main mix L/R out and have that at the end of the signal chain? Great video, thanks very much! 👍🏻

[@WhiteNoises]

It's what I'd recommend!

[@rohanjoseph101]

Such a helpful video, thank you for making it and sharing your process! You said you add the Pro-R because you record the modular in mono. Can you elaborate a little? Maybe I’m confused but I thought you started the video by explaining stereo outs on the Intellijel module so I was wondering if there’s something different happening in the zoom?

[@DanThornton828]

Pretty similar approach to me, the less i screw around in logic the better it tends to sound! Would definitely recommend the Valhalla Room reverb as another reverb alternative. Great vid!

[@john0463]

Do you think you could make a video about performing live with modular. I would like to know how you perform something that you can basically only make once.

[@WhiteNoises]

Definitely on my list of videos to make! Cheers

[@john0463]

White Noises Awesome thanks!

[@nodz007]

yes please, that would be awesome

[@iantanner7579]

Great channel, just subscribed. ~ been messing with synthesizers for around 30yrs, just thought i'd mention DI boxes. Personally, I use a pair of Radial JDIs straight into Apogee mic preamps, not only do they balance the signal, they also add much more depth and detail to the sound through the process of transformer saturation, they also have ground lift, very useful for recording large systems, where combined bus noise can latch on to ground loop issues. Love the textures you're getting, i've been neglecting my hardware too much recently, -time to get my ears dirty again I guess.

[@neverfox]

And how they have a stereo version. So how does this work? Do you just send two modular level signals from the end of your rack chain into the DIs with 3.5mm to 1/4" cables and from there to whatever?

[@Bostich]

I have the uJack - works fine to speakers but tons of low static noise when I tried to connect it to me H4n - super disappointing.

[@Riipleyette]

This is really helpful, thanks 🔉🔊

[@richie_jape]

really interesting videos thanks!

[@soma808]

The reason the SSL is making your mix sound better is because all it's doing is boosting it by ~3dB (make-up). Your threshold is really high and your signal is really low, that's also why the meter isn't moving (no gain reduction). Unless I'm mistaken, and I often am.

[@WhiteNoises]

I thought that might be the case at first, but I’ve tested the plugin where I can very clearly hear the compression (massively over-compressing it) but the needle doesn’t move an inch!

[@jacksonueland]

You can solve this by using waves plugins as VSTs and not AUs in ableton. The VSTs will show the GR meter moving

[@WhiteNoises]

Ah amazing, thank you!

[@oskarterlecki5649]

Can I just plug the synth output into the input of any speaker?

[@TheHoinoel]

Great video, thanks! I seem to be getting a lot of noise coming out of my modular if I try to record it. Any ideas why that might be?

[@mookah2696]

I'm having trouble finding that Split Y Cable from link in description. Is there someone with a different link for a similiar one?

[@mookah2696]

@@snow5772 thank you, good sir 🙏

[@snow5772]

@@mookah2696 no problemo

[@stefanavey]

Hi, I am considering using the Zoom F6 with 32bit float to recorded my modular setup, has anybody looked at this? Thanks for the video.

[@amandwato]

I would be really interested in knowing of any mastering process you go through, if any, do you happen to already have a video covering this?

[@WhiteNoises]

Usually I don’t do anything more than what’s in this video, but for my upcoming album I got it professionally mastered :)

[@nickmoran1]

Is it possible to use the H5 as a 4 track recorder including playback & overdubbing without the latency associated with DAW & desktop.

[@HelderMusic107]

Hi! Could you share how you made that initial pad string sound in Joyceville in your Collections II? It is beautiful! I hear clouds there I think, but what is the modulated sound source please? Thanks.

[@WhiteNoises]

I believe it's Rings in sympathetic strings mode processed by Clouds!

[@happyeddy317]

It can work whit not modular shynts?

[@schel8433]

Nice video as always. I'm using the same bose speaker. Is it safe to plug a mono source (modular synth) into the bose soundlink mini (witch is a 2.0 stereo speaker) using a patch cable ? Or does I'll avec issues with the speaker ?

[@WhiteNoises]

Thank you! I wouldn’t do it, because modular synths output sound at a much higher level than other sources (phones, computers) so it might damage the speaker if it’s not properly protected.

[@LouisSerieusement]

thanks ! If I may ask, don't you fell that the VST compressors kinda misrepesent the beauty of your orginal signal ? Each time I tryied a plugin like that,I was under the impression that my synth's sounded a bit like VST's...somehow I felt it took away their souls, if that make sens ; And also, I encourage you to buy a little spring reverb, I have one that I paid 250euros (bos RX100..) and I'm sure you will be satisfy with that kind of toy :) Sorry if, maybe, I talked like an analog purist, no offense attended at all !! it was a great video :) :) :) :) cheers from france :)

[@samaBR333]

hi greg! nice tutorial, but i got a question: how loud do you record your modulars? what dB level do you think is good for leaving some headroom for post production? thx! i love this channel.

[@WhiteNoises]

Thanks very much! I don't have a specific level in mind when I record, but I try to get a healthy level without it distorting. Probably peaking around -12 to -6. If I'm going to send it off to get mastered then I'll mix it so it peaks around -6dB. Hope that helps!

[@samaBR333]

nice! thanks for the reply.

[@tristunalekzander5608]

Is there a way to use modular synths with virtual keyboards? I really like the idea of modular synths but it seems like it will just make music production harder and less flexible. BTW I am a noob.

[@Brittlejoints]

Hi there! Could you tell me what cables you need to connect the H5 Zoom to record with your DSLR? I'm super new to audio recording, and have had trouble pinning down exactly what cables I need. I simply want to use my Canon DSLR and the Zoom H5 together, no preamps or anything else. I know your channel is synth-focused so hoping you don't mind me asking, and thanks!

[@WhiteNoises]

Sure! I just use a minijack / 3.5mm cable, going from the line out of the zoom into the mic input on the camera, making sure to bring the gain down in camera. Alternatively I think I could use the headphone output from the zoom and bring that down instead, but I often monitor on headphones so need that output. Hope that helps!

[@Brittlejoints]

Ah cool that helped a lot, thank you so much!! I also had forgotten you could monitor the sound w/ headphones so that's a good reminder for me too. Thanks again!

[@roboticgirl]

I have a Make Noise Rosie, can I just use this instead of the Intellijel uJack?

[@MrBangen2012]

Using the R+L input jacks I could record through my mixer right?

[@NickHchaos]

Hmm, but don't these all in one mic/audio interface Zoom devices like the H4, H5 etc. have pretty inferior A/D converters compared to devices made more explicitly for those purposes? E.g. RME, UA, Apogee, etc.

[@WhiteNoises]

Not really, I have a Zoom H5 and an Apogee Duet and end up using the Zoom way more because it's much more convenient for me. Both sound great to my ears!

[@NickHchaos]

White Noises hmm odd, that runs counter to the logic and opinions of sound and hardware engineers I've talked to.

[@WhiteNoises]

I take more the approach that “the best camera is the one that’s with you”...but with sound recording if you get what I mean. Having to travel a lot means the H5 is a lot more useful in a smaller package so is better for me in most cases.

[@NickHchaos]

Yeah, I have a Zoom H2n, it's super portable and great for what it is, but my Lewitt condenser mic blows it away. I have an RME Babyface Pro on the way to replace my Steinberg UR44. Partially because it's an upgrade and well lauded, partially because it also seems very transportable!

[@kadenze6176]

Does anyone know if Rosie from Make Noise can be used in the same way as the uJack from Intellijel? I don’t need it to be too portable as I have an audio interface I just want to be able to send a full bus through Rosie and a 3.5mm into my interface...

[@WhiteNoises]

+Pyaro217 yep! The Rosie has one 3.5mm and one 1/4” jack output

[@SuperCheckAvailibili]

What kind of video camera do you use?

[@ScottofOakland]

Why do people say U-Jack, U-Plaits, clouds etc? Its Mu, like the Greek letter.

[@tightIy]

Brilliant... Subbed :-)

[@auctor11]

Amazing videos mate! I just got myself an Endorphin.es shuttle. Let me know what you think of it.

[@WhiteNoises]

Thank you! Would love one of those, they look fantastic. Love the graphic design too!

[@LunarWolf]

Great video :) thank you. Subbed :)

[@Yunsnare]

Nice vid ! I'm also recording with my H4N Pro and levels are really criticals with modular. I'm often a 0.1 for the level of the recording and you ? Best

[@WhiteNoises]

+MrYunsnare Thanks! I usually put the uJack on full and then the Zoom on about 2

[@Yunsnare]

White Noises thanks ! The H4N is a different beast than yours and I'm using a black stereo mixer beside it :)

[@howischris_]

showing the process would really help vs. talking about it .

[@TroyBlackford]

He kind of does show it. Do you mean you want him to tell you all the songs settings he's using on everything? I can understand that. Grateful for all the great KZbin learning resources.

[@Mbart403]

Hmm i probably did something wrong.. my zoom h5 stopped working

[@mau5chords874]

“Why would you put an SSL G-Series compressor on a dance kick? Makes no fugging sense.” - Joel Zimmerman

[@jimmythevoice8716]

I need guidance. And no one will help me thus far, From the company’s I purchased my gear from. I e. Sam lash / craft music / guit- center

[@jimmythevoice8716]

What do I need to hear my mother 32 and DFAM . Once it is in my Rack-brute6u. Above the minibrute2s. Kinda why I bought the minibrute2s with the big rackbrute as to keep them all in same spot next to my Moog Grandmother .