ER-301 as an Educational Tool

It just struck me that the ER-301 with it’s modular approach and signal scope at every single stage is perfect for learning modular principles.

At the moment I’d even go as far to say as it would make a great first module for anyone used to Reaktor, Audulus etc…

With just a little sample fodder I am quite sure it would be possible to self generate an awful lot of music just using the ER-301 on its own. With just a few previously mentioned connections of units e.g.

  • The Drum Machine rompler - use sin osc to trigger all the voices and one to reset.

  • Noise > S&H > any pitch or other CV destination

  • Sin Osc > Limiter > any clock destination

  • vcoadsr’s synth - simple single cycle waveform synth - or the FM synth example from Neil’s videos etc…

  • Recorded CV files > any CV destination!

  • Effects loop

  • etc…

Pretty much anything is possible and this is only going to become more flexible and comprehensive as the firmware matures and third party development gets going.

A beginners other module choices would be then informed by experience and knowledge. Being able to instantly scope any module pretty much instantly and see what it is actually doing has helped me develop loads, even though I have a proper analogue desk scope sat there I don’t always hook it up, so I think it would also make a really wholesome way to get to learn all your new modules as you get them.

Thoughts?

As an aside, just for fun, this also got me to thinking about how many hp the ER-301 is capable of representing? I guess it would vary a lot on actual application, but somewhere between 1 or 2U of 104hp doesn’t seem silly.

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my system is approaching 4000hp, and honestly if I had been getting into eurorack now - a few ER301’s could probably eliminate a 1/4 or more under complex scenarios!

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4000!! Wow :open_mouth:

Indeed, I admit I’ve already reconfigured my setup. Everything feels super dense in functionality and I’ve gone from needing a whole bunch of connections through physical modules to simply routing modulators into the ER-301 and adjusting the signal to requirements using units. It’s so much cleaner and incredibly easy because I can see what’s happening with the signal.

Theres an immense amount of power in having so many inputs and being able to route and manipulate those incoming signals to multiple destinations and through various modifiers. It really is like having another modular system inside my modular system :smiley:

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@anon83620728 Any chance of you sharing via video’s or patch notes some of your routing and signal work?

Absolutely, I am kinda waiting a bit until the firmware settles down before doing anything involved and making it public, but in due course I am definitely planning on creating and sharing some custom units :slight_smile:

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