Get the Peaks sample pack for free at Wavparty.

If you got into Eurorack in the mid 2010s, you probably had (or still have!) a Mutable Instruments Peaks in your rack. It’s a small dual channel Swiss Army knife that accepts two triggers and can generate envelopes, tempo-synced LFOs, and 808-inspired kick and snare sounds. You can also expand that functionality with alternative firmware. If you’re starting out with a small system this is incredibly valuable--but as the landscape evolved Peaks began to look like more and more of an anachronism. It has a tricky menu system, knob assignments that you will never memorize, and absolutely no CV control--the audacity!

Get the Mini Shimmery sample pack for free at Wavparty.

The Blue Lantern Mini Shimmery is a quirky hi-hat module that I’ve had in my rack for a while. It’s easy to dial in 808ish hi-hats, but the trio of oscillators can play off of each other in unpredictable ways to create some interesting sounds. I put together this sample pack of 68 Mini Shimmery sounds (some dry, many running through filters):

So you want to write some shitty DSP code (or build a goofy sequencer or wonky LFO) and get it deployed into your Eurorack system? Me too! What are our options? Well I’m just a noob surveying the landscape but let’s take a look:

Get the 2hp Snare sample pack for free at Wavparty.

The 2hp modules are popular because they cram solid functionality into a tiny footprint at a good price. They do a great job of giving you CV/manual control of the most important elements of a given module, but at that size there’s just not a lot or room for many knobs or jacks. I’ve always thought of my 2hp Snare as a nice but basic module to generate a pretty narrow spectrum of x0xish snare sounds--until I started sampling it.

Since I mostly use my Eurorack system as a giant, impractical, and expensive drum machine, Erica Synths’ Sample Drum has quickly become one of my favorite modules. I’m pretty skeptical of any menu-driven modules but navigating around is intuitive and having a nice screen makes everything super easy. The CV inputs, onboard effects, and performance mode give you a ton of flexibility. I’d want a rack full of them!