# Anyone ever use pedals with Eurorack modular synths?



## p_wats (Jul 11, 2020)

I've been toying with starting a DIY modular synth setup, but am still on the fence, as that journey sounds addictive, expensive and never-ending (and I already have pedals on the go).

I'm curious if anyone has any experience adopting pedals for Eurorack. I understand there are circuits/modules available to deal with the signal difference (drop gain on the way in, boost it on the way out, etc.), but I'm also interested in adding some CV control.

I've read about people having some success with a simple vactrol-based circuit to take incoming CV and output resistance that could be used depending on the original pot configuration.

Anyone have any thoughts/experience here?


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## K Pedals (Jul 11, 2020)

p_wats said:


> I've been toying with starting a DIY modular synth setup, but am still on the fence, as that journey sounds addictive, expensive and never-ending (and I already have pedals on the go).
> 
> I'm curious if anyone has any experience adopting pedals for Eurorack. I understand there are circuits/modules available to deal with the signal difference (drop gain on the way in, boost it on the way out, etc.), but I'm also interested in adding some CV control.
> 
> ...


I use this to interface 








						S.B.G. Pedal Interface
					

The ‘S.B.G’ is a compact utility module intended for the interfacing of guitar effect pedals with your Eurorack modular system.




					www.perfectcircuit.com
				



Modular is extremely addictive ??
I’m on my 4th case
And I built my first module the other day ...


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## bifurcation (Jul 11, 2020)

Oh hell yeah, ditto on the addictive. I forget which module I use as a guitar input, but it has a built-in envelope follower, which can be useful. I've done some pretty wild shows with a guitar or bass (and once a homemade instrument) going into modular.

Befaco has a bunch of cool kits that are pretty easy to build.


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## K Pedals (Jul 11, 2020)

bifurcation said:


> Oh hell yeah, ditto on the addictive. I forget which module I use as a guitar input, but it has a built-in envelope follower, which can be useful. I've done some pretty wild shows with a guitar or bass (and once a homemade instrument) going into modular.
> 
> Befaco has a bunch of cool kits that are pretty easy to build.


You talking about the doepfer???








						Doepfer A-119 External Input/Envelope Follower Eurorack Module - Standard Edition
					

8HP External Input/Envelope Follower Module for Eurorack




					www.sweetwater.com


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## bifurcation (Jul 11, 2020)

K Pedals said:


> You talking about the doepfer???
> 
> 
> 
> ...



There it is! Yeah, I love doepfer stuff, cheap_(ish)_ and good quality.


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## K Pedals (Jul 11, 2020)

bifurcation said:


> There it is! Yeah, I love doepfer stuff, cheap_(ish)_ and good quality.


Yeah I love doepfer too
The only bad thing about them are the jacks


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## p_wats (Jul 11, 2020)

Thanks! Has anyone tried to modify pedal designs to accept CV input for extra fun with the rest of the system?


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## bifurcation (Jul 12, 2020)

p_wats said:


> Thanks! Has anyone tried to modify pedal designs to accept CV input for extra fun with the rest of the system?



The simplest way is to build some DIY vactrols (see below.) You'd have to add an attenuator and/or tweak them to fit the range of whatever potentiometer you replace/enhance, but you could replace/enhance pretty much any control on any pedal.


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## p_wats (Jul 12, 2020)

bifurcation said:


> The simplest way is to build some DIY vactrols (see below.) You'd have to add an attenuator and/or tweak them to fit the range of whatever potentiometer you replace/enhance, but you could replace/enhance pretty much any control on any pedal.



Thanks. Yeah, that's what I had seen done before--there are layouts/schematics floating around for this purpose. 

It would be cool to take something like one of the extra Arachnids I have laying around and convert it for modular use---specifically the older version with the regular pot to change between patches, as that strikes me as a cool possibility to change patches via CV for maximum nonsense. 

We'll see if I go down this road at all (trying to resist diving in to modular).


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