Just thought I’d share my thoughts on my adventure so far in Buchla.
A little background, I got sick of eurorack for various reasons. I decided to sell the majority of it (I had a lot) and focus on building things from a single manufacturer. I started with a 208c and as I sold more I put together a nice little 12u 200 series system.
Maybe this isn’t new to Buchla veterans but maybe it’ll help someone wanting to get into buchla.
So far Pros:
-The sound is obviously so unique and tough to replicate. LPG hype is real. I thought "organic" was a buzzword to describe the sound but its exactly how I'd describe it.
-Stripped down workflow. I love that I’m inspired to work within my system and really dig the functionality out. In Euro, every month there’s a new module and it was tough not to think “I could do what I wanted if I had that new Spazmographic Transmogulator”. Usually I am using every single module in my patches and it feels like i'm working with a band where each member contributes a special thing to the patch.
-4U, as has been mentioned many times here, is a real pleasure to work with when it comes to ergonomics.
-Overall it feels way more "playable" than when i was doing stuff with eurorack. Not sure if that's the design of the modules or the size of them or both.
Cons so far-
-Price. It can be sort of worked around by buying used, especially used clones. That being said, the only way I was able to get into this with any level of speed was by selling off the massive amount of euro that I’d been collecting since Obama was president.
-I can’t put my finger on it but there is a certain jankyness to Buchla. Things don’t always seem to work as you’d expect or as they should. I know a lot of it is replicating vintage circuits but, for example, I was in for a real surprise when I found out the quad low pass gate bleeds and doesn’t close down all the way. For the price, it can be frustrating.
-I can’t think of much else but I guess you could say the flip side of 4u being so ergonomic and spaced out is that it is way less portable. May matter to you, may not. I don’t see myself Packing my 208c on a vacation.
-Not a fan of the “separation of concerns” using two different type of cables.
-A personal problem but my GAS transferred from buying modules to buying guitar pedals. Eesh.
Overall I am glad I switched. I always want to try new things but I think it would be tough to go back to 3u now after playing with this stuff.
Edit for additional thoughts
A little background, I got sick of eurorack for various reasons. I decided to sell the majority of it (I had a lot) and focus on building things from a single manufacturer. I started with a 208c and as I sold more I put together a nice little 12u 200 series system.
Maybe this isn’t new to Buchla veterans but maybe it’ll help someone wanting to get into buchla.
So far Pros:
-The sound is obviously so unique and tough to replicate. LPG hype is real. I thought "organic" was a buzzword to describe the sound but its exactly how I'd describe it.
-Stripped down workflow. I love that I’m inspired to work within my system and really dig the functionality out. In Euro, every month there’s a new module and it was tough not to think “I could do what I wanted if I had that new Spazmographic Transmogulator”. Usually I am using every single module in my patches and it feels like i'm working with a band where each member contributes a special thing to the patch.
-4U, as has been mentioned many times here, is a real pleasure to work with when it comes to ergonomics.
-Overall it feels way more "playable" than when i was doing stuff with eurorack. Not sure if that's the design of the modules or the size of them or both.
Cons so far-
-Price. It can be sort of worked around by buying used, especially used clones. That being said, the only way I was able to get into this with any level of speed was by selling off the massive amount of euro that I’d been collecting since Obama was president.
-I can’t put my finger on it but there is a certain jankyness to Buchla. Things don’t always seem to work as you’d expect or as they should. I know a lot of it is replicating vintage circuits but, for example, I was in for a real surprise when I found out the quad low pass gate bleeds and doesn’t close down all the way. For the price, it can be frustrating.
-I can’t think of much else but I guess you could say the flip side of 4u being so ergonomic and spaced out is that it is way less portable. May matter to you, may not. I don’t see myself Packing my 208c on a vacation.
-Not a fan of the “separation of concerns” using two different type of cables.
-A personal problem but my GAS transferred from buying modules to buying guitar pedals. Eesh.
Overall I am glad I switched. I always want to try new things but I think it would be tough to go back to 3u now after playing with this stuff.
Edit for additional thoughts
Statistics: Posted by smartanimal — Fri May 24, 2024 10:58 am — Replies 16 — Views 471