Is anyone here still interested in 1st and 2nd gen LZX modules now that we have gen3 on the way? I’ve noticed some people can’t wait for the new stuff, they want to get into video modular right now. Some of us have video modular systems already, but how many want to add more gen2?
I’m not in a position to buy any more gen2, as I only have clean power for one cabinet and its full. So my only expansion option now will be gen3. I’m selling some of my gen2 modules to pay for this.
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I’m in the UK and selling UK-only for now. I may reconsider in the new year, but international shipping will be unwise at this time. I expect any shipping to be chaotic for the next few months. Otherwise I’d definitely offer you my WoTA. It’s a great module but I just don’t have space for it in my “clean power” cabinet, so I can’t keep it. Of course, if nobody offers you one in the next few months, and mine is still available, then a transaction should be possible!
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Yes, that sounds great!
Personally, probably in more of a wait-and-see mode on both buying the new stuff and buying any older stuff until I have more of a sense of what all the new stuff will be and can do.
Definitely still see some older modules as having appeal as new purchases at the moment. But conversely, yeah, starting to think I may sell some older modules to fund new ones too.
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I’m still collecting/working with Gen2 (and I have a waveform generator) that I love! Still learning all the interactions and getting crazy looking stuff out of it, so I’ll only become more powerful when I get my hands on Gen3.
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I don’t believe we’re gonna see gen.3 modules in the near future.It‘s two years now that i’m waiting for the chromagnon and i predict that it will not be released in fall or in winter.
People have FKG-3s in their racks right now.
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Planning on keeping my VC and Navigator for now to see how they integrate with TBC2. I might be interested in modules like a WOTA or a VWG if they were reasonably priced. That said, I’ve already found solutions to my noise and (vertical) oscillator needs, so I can wait for the Gen3 modules that cover those functions (and probably more) in less hp and for a lower price.
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Yes, I expect WotA will work well with gen3 modules. Will there ever be a gen3 equivalent? Would it be worth waiting for? How long would that wait be? What could you use until then? Why shouldn’t that be a WotA?
However, there may be some other points to consider. While I appreciate the ability to modulate noise parameters at video rates, if that isn’t something you want to use, then a more random source of video noise may do the same job. I.e. an external video source, like a recording of video noise. This can easily be created on a computer, recorded in a file and played back via VC, TBC2 etc. For this reason, TBC2 running on 12v DC in my gen3 cabinet makes more sense than WotA taking up scarce space in my “clean power” cabinet.
WotA might give me more functionality in the noise dimension, but I lose too much in the space dimension. TBC2 plus a simple video player gives me enough of the functionality of WotA while only taking up space in a cabinet which I’m unlikely to fill. Not everyone will have the power/space issues I have, of course.
Perhaps I’m not alone in finding this kind of balance between gen3 and earlier modules. I don’t know many other gen1/gen2 modules I can trade like this. Selling a WotA on its own won’t pay for a TBC2, but the external noise source will only use half a TBC2, so the trade only needs to pay for half the TBC2 cost.
I still have a few gen1 modules in my system. I esp love the old multimode filter module. Nothing like it exists in gen2, but perhaps there could be a gen3 equivalent. Anyway, I use all 3 filter outputs and sometimes the edge detector, but Curtains does tha better. Bandpass is my fav filter response. I love using 3 of those and blending them.
So I think that one will be a keeper, but I’m far less sure about the sequencer/quantizer module. I can’t imagine there being a gen3 equivalent. It’s too weird. I guess it exists in gen1 because Dan Sandin had a similar module. You can see him using it in a video on YouTube, tweaking the levels.
You never know, that might be another keeper.
I reread the entire Gen3 thread a couple of nights ago. What I took away from it was that the following modules would be stuck in NTSC/PAL (I might be forgetting a couple),
Visual Cortex
Fortress
WOTA
Navigator
Escher Sketch
NTSC/PAL encoders and sync generators
Prismatic Ray CAN be synced to an HD source, through the front panel sync input. Same with other oscillators. I think Diver will be able to run at HD sync once the firmware is updated as well.
I don’t have a WOTA, so I can’t speak to it’s functions. I am intrigued by the H and V workflow. Personally, I’m using a Reverselandfill SNOW as my primary noise source. It’s great! I have an SSF Quantum Rainbow that I’ve scaled into 0-1V for different noise textures as well.
I have used the SNOW as a source for a staircase and then used a video rate cv (Fortress DAC for example) for the phase and/or multiply inputs. Doorway compliments that patch really well. Not sure if that is what WOTA does though.
Based on the Gen3 modules that have been announced, I’m sure the new WOTA is going to be way better and less expensive, with a smaller HP footprint. If you prefer to generate noise through your computer, then you save the hp altogether. The only advantage (at the moment) about the physical module is that it’s easier to cross-patch into the rest of your system.
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Yes, I may be making some assumptions about WotA. For HD, you can use WotaA in an SD patch and route your VC output into TBC2 for upscaling. If WotA can work more directly with gen3, even better. I hope you’re right about Diver, as that would be wonderful.
I agree about syncing PR to gen3 modules, e.g. a pulse output from a DWO. PR can also be used at audio and animation rates, of course.
I’m pretty sure the Router in the rotator patch, from the gen3 thread, can be replaced with a Passage. Even at video rates, the sin/cos waveforms should be well within the bandwidth range of gen1/gen2 modules.
For animation rates, I suspect the Doepfer quadrature LFO could be used instead of half a DWO. This has all 4 outputs needed for rotation, saving a Router or Passage for other roles. The LFO outputs would need a little trimming, but that’s trivial. ART can do that itself.
I hope someone tries that and posts some video when they get an ART module. I’d love to see how that looks.
Whoops, that LFO idea is a little off-topic. 
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Syntonie V006 quadrature oscillator might be a better option because it’s already in 0-1v, so you don’t have to burn any hp scaling it into your system. You can even take it up to audio rates.
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Thanks, but this is one of the many options not available to me at this time. No shop in the UK sells Syntonie or BSO modules. Due to unique local circumstances, ordering international is currently unwise.
However, LZX modules are sold here, and ART already has scaling. So I expect that to be available from a UK shop at some point in the future.
Also, the QLFO is cheaper. Well, it would be if it was available. This is why I can’t test this idea. Someone else might, but I’ll have to wait for a UK shop to restock this module.
The Syntonie quad lfo is currently available as a DIY kit at Thonk (UK).
I’ve also had good experiences ordering BSO from the UK.
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With existing system owners, I’m very interested in the topic of which Gen3 modules (currently announced or not) might balance out the needs of your existing systems in ways that complete their function sets in a satisfying way. What have you found lacking with your existing systems and how could we balance this out?
Gen3 doesn’t have to mean starting over – it can mean more access to function blocks that give you control over tuning your existing instrument. My intended/hopeful “ongoing story” for those of you with medium/large Expedition series is that we will find strategic ways to swap a few modules for new options that let you pack more per HP into existing cases, and “finish out” various aspects of exploring your favorite Expedition modules.
Maybe you love Prismatic Ray and vibe with that so much that you have 4, but there’s not much room left in your case. And despite loving the module, you never really know what to do with that many waveshape variations. SMX-3 and FKG3 are perfect for that job.
Or maybe you need the opposite: TONS of VCO sources to feed into your favorite modules like Marble Index + Polar Fringe, to create a marble rally of colorspace craziness, but Prismatic Ray just doesn’t give you enough independent modulators to properly make someone’s eyeballs terrified – swapping it out for a few DWO-3s could work out perfect.
So for what it’s worth, my two cents:
- Modules you love to use in most patches or have developed a strong relationship with, hang onto them. Don’t say goodbye to an old friend presuming there’s going to be a direct replacement you will recognize as the same face. Modules that have always confused you, get used little, are uninspiring, consider swapping those out for some Gen3 modules that will balance the whole system out better.
- Don’t stress about formats too much. BUT maybe consider upgrading to ESG3 or adding one as your primary sync gen / output at some point.
- If I were doing an “HD update” to an Expedition system, I’d swap Visual Cortex for 1x each of
DSG3+ESG3+FKG3. These form a new kind of Visual Cortex without dropping its primary functions (key/fade, sync, ramps/shapes, encoder.) Most Expedition modules should adapt to this as their new HD home base very easily.
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Yes, it would be hard to beat Cortex for variety in HP. If you’re looking for a more minimal system core, ESG3 is a one stop solution at 12HP.
The Automata instruments are meant to be the new generation of Visual Cortexes in a large way – once you have a certain number of features it just makes more sense to make it standalone capable. If Cortex needs to come back as a condensed core, that’s the place to do it (in the Automata series, using the single TBC + encoder + compositor core that Chromagnon uses – Chromagnon is just using it in a very weird, not at all like Cortex way). There’s no rule that Automata instruments have to all be 52HP, either – we can go down to 36HP with the existing design. I had been imagining the next Automata instrument as being more along the lines of an Expanded Cortex / Video Mixer whereas Chromagnon is more Powerful Shape Gen/Processing Module.
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Thanks, but I can’t build DIY modules. Assembled only. I can use nothing from Thonk.
While I’ve had good experience ordering BSO in the past (from AH), my last experience was painfully expensive (2016). Currency conversion remains a show stopper.
Now that Lars is in the thread he might set me straight… but I was under the impression the Gen3 range as it stands are very functional building blocks - not so much direct replacements for Expedition series - and the WOTA texture synth concept was potentially being expanded on as a larger Automata instrument (which I would look forward to!).