Getting started with VCV Rack [updated 2/28]
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:33 pm
Greetings !
VCV Rack has become a very popular virtual modular synthesizer. It's available for Linux, Mac, and Windows operating systems, and it requires no uncommon resources. However, there are some required dependencies, the most important of which is support for OpenGL 2.0 with the GL_EXT_framebuffer_object extension.
First things first: Read the manual at https://vcvrack.com/manual/index.html, it includes installation instructions for all platforms. It also includes instructions for downloading and installing plugins.
Next, I must emphasize that there's a great difference between working with a CV (control voltage) data path and one made from a MIDI stream. If you come to the Rack with the expectation that it's somehow just another kind of MIDI synth you may be severely disappointed. CV is more subtle, offering much finer granularity in the production and control of your signal paths. If you're brand new to the CV world you might want to brush up your reading skills and look into books like Hal Chamberlin's classic Musical Applications of Microprocessors or the more recent Patch & Tweak by Kim Bjørn and Chris Meyer.
Now for a few more handy definitions. A plugin is a single shared object file (plugin.so) created by its developer to contain any number of modules. A module is a task-specific component such as an oscillator or filter. You'll install plugins in order to access the modules you'll need to make patches in VCV Rack. A patch is a collection of modules connected (patched) in specific ways to create a signal path that eventually outputs an audio stream. Finally, a preset is a file that contains parameter settings for a specific module, e.g. settings to define a small room reverb for a specific reverb module.
The matter of presets reveals a basic aspect of VCV Rack. Unlike a VST plugin, the modules for VCV Rack do not usually appear with any presets at all. As with a hardware modular synthesizer, you are responsible for the sound design of your patches.
There are a lot of plugins available for VCV Rack. Most are free, and most of the free plugins are open-source. However, closed-but-free plugins exist, as do commercially available plugins. The quality of the work varies, and there are modules that repeat functions found in other collections. The following recommendations are strictly personal, though they do represent favorites chosen after a year and a half on the Rack:
Fundamental The essential collection of basic modules, includes VCOs, VCAs, VCFs, and many other synthesis and control modules. This set remains the best starting point for the absolute beginner. Learn how these modules work, and you'll have the keys to the kingdom.
Squinky Labs Refinements of some basic modules from other collections, along with some great original modules for more advanced users.
Vult The best collection of filters for VCV Rack. Very well-designed, with attractive GUIs and excellent audio quality.
NYSTHI The largest collection of modules in a single plugin, and certainly one of the most unique. A great variety of module types can be found in this plugin, including sample playback modules, many interesting control units, emulations of Buchla synthesis and sequencer components, and many others not found elsewhere in the Rack plugin ecology.
ML_Modules Excellent collection of modules for routing, buffering, switching, and otherwise controlling signals.
JW-Modules Inventive sequencer designs, cool display hacks, a handy simple clock, a handy simple quantizer, and more.
Impromptu Sequencers, a great clock, very cool control modules, and much more, with some of the best UI work on the Rack.
ValleyAudio A superb plugin that includes a 1st-class plate reverb, an incredibly detailed 4-operator FM synthesizer, and two ports of the Grids rhythm sequencer from Mutable Instruments. And that's not all.
hetrickCV Boolean math, random trigger/gate creation, unique noise generators. Maybe an advanced set, but one of my favorites.
I know, that's a lot to recommend, so I'll emphasize the importance of starting with small steps. If you're just beginning with modular synthesis, learn to use the Fundamental modules, learn what they do and how they can be connected for common tasks. Make simple patches with only a few modules, without effects processing. Build more complex patches gradually.
Btw, there's a nice collection of VCV Rack patches at patchstorage.com, freely available for studying at your leisure. Some patches are fully developed compositions, some are demonstrations to show off the capabilities of a particular module, and others are tutorial patches for basic and advanced synthesis techniques.
The VCV Rack community is very active. The following list should get you started with your connections. (And yes, I already know that some of you don't like Facebook, so no, you don't need to tell me.)
The Official Users Group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vcvrack/
VCV Rack on github (source code repo)
https://github.com/VCVRack/Rack
The VCV Rack home page
https://vcvrack.com/
Omar Brown's VCV Rack Users Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/702841653234900/
VCV Rack French Users Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2069785583250645/
VCV Rack Italian Users Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vcvitalia/
Official VCV Rack Community Forum
https://community.vcvrack.com/
YouTube hosts some excellent channels for Rack-related music, news, and tutorials. Here are three favorite links, but there are many others:
Omri Cohen's superb tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuWKHS ... VSeNH4gYAg
Artem Leonov's tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc0cXl ... iyW30NQ7Sg
Ben De Groot's original work, tutorials, and live streams
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasNEY ... PoA/videos
But wait, that's not all ! In typical open-source fashion, VCV Rack has spawned a mini-ecology of related work. Jim Tupper has developed a multi-threaded version of VCV Rack 0.6.2b - soon to be obsoleted by the impending VCV Rack v1 release - and developer bsp2 has created VeeSeeVSTRack, an unofficial VST plugin version of the Rack. An official VST version has been announced for Rack v2. In the meanwhile, the unofficial plugin works very well in Linux DAWs such as Ardour and Bitwig.
The current version of VCV Rack is at 0.6.2c, and v1 has been announced for release in a month or so. Version 1 will bring support for multicore CPUs, polyphonic cabling, MPE, CV-to-MIDI output, and much more. But don't wait, there's plenty of fun left in 0.6.2c, and there's no time like the present to get started on the voyage.
Best regards,
Dave Phillips
VCV Rack has become a very popular virtual modular synthesizer. It's available for Linux, Mac, and Windows operating systems, and it requires no uncommon resources. However, there are some required dependencies, the most important of which is support for OpenGL 2.0 with the GL_EXT_framebuffer_object extension.
First things first: Read the manual at https://vcvrack.com/manual/index.html, it includes installation instructions for all platforms. It also includes instructions for downloading and installing plugins.
Next, I must emphasize that there's a great difference between working with a CV (control voltage) data path and one made from a MIDI stream. If you come to the Rack with the expectation that it's somehow just another kind of MIDI synth you may be severely disappointed. CV is more subtle, offering much finer granularity in the production and control of your signal paths. If you're brand new to the CV world you might want to brush up your reading skills and look into books like Hal Chamberlin's classic Musical Applications of Microprocessors or the more recent Patch & Tweak by Kim Bjørn and Chris Meyer.
Now for a few more handy definitions. A plugin is a single shared object file (plugin.so) created by its developer to contain any number of modules. A module is a task-specific component such as an oscillator or filter. You'll install plugins in order to access the modules you'll need to make patches in VCV Rack. A patch is a collection of modules connected (patched) in specific ways to create a signal path that eventually outputs an audio stream. Finally, a preset is a file that contains parameter settings for a specific module, e.g. settings to define a small room reverb for a specific reverb module.
The matter of presets reveals a basic aspect of VCV Rack. Unlike a VST plugin, the modules for VCV Rack do not usually appear with any presets at all. As with a hardware modular synthesizer, you are responsible for the sound design of your patches.
There are a lot of plugins available for VCV Rack. Most are free, and most of the free plugins are open-source. However, closed-but-free plugins exist, as do commercially available plugins. The quality of the work varies, and there are modules that repeat functions found in other collections. The following recommendations are strictly personal, though they do represent favorites chosen after a year and a half on the Rack:
Fundamental The essential collection of basic modules, includes VCOs, VCAs, VCFs, and many other synthesis and control modules. This set remains the best starting point for the absolute beginner. Learn how these modules work, and you'll have the keys to the kingdom.
Squinky Labs Refinements of some basic modules from other collections, along with some great original modules for more advanced users.
Vult The best collection of filters for VCV Rack. Very well-designed, with attractive GUIs and excellent audio quality.
NYSTHI The largest collection of modules in a single plugin, and certainly one of the most unique. A great variety of module types can be found in this plugin, including sample playback modules, many interesting control units, emulations of Buchla synthesis and sequencer components, and many others not found elsewhere in the Rack plugin ecology.
ML_Modules Excellent collection of modules for routing, buffering, switching, and otherwise controlling signals.
JW-Modules Inventive sequencer designs, cool display hacks, a handy simple clock, a handy simple quantizer, and more.
Impromptu Sequencers, a great clock, very cool control modules, and much more, with some of the best UI work on the Rack.
ValleyAudio A superb plugin that includes a 1st-class plate reverb, an incredibly detailed 4-operator FM synthesizer, and two ports of the Grids rhythm sequencer from Mutable Instruments. And that's not all.
hetrickCV Boolean math, random trigger/gate creation, unique noise generators. Maybe an advanced set, but one of my favorites.
I know, that's a lot to recommend, so I'll emphasize the importance of starting with small steps. If you're just beginning with modular synthesis, learn to use the Fundamental modules, learn what they do and how they can be connected for common tasks. Make simple patches with only a few modules, without effects processing. Build more complex patches gradually.
Btw, there's a nice collection of VCV Rack patches at patchstorage.com, freely available for studying at your leisure. Some patches are fully developed compositions, some are demonstrations to show off the capabilities of a particular module, and others are tutorial patches for basic and advanced synthesis techniques.
The VCV Rack community is very active. The following list should get you started with your connections. (And yes, I already know that some of you don't like Facebook, so no, you don't need to tell me.)
The Official Users Group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vcvrack/
VCV Rack on github (source code repo)
https://github.com/VCVRack/Rack
The VCV Rack home page
https://vcvrack.com/
Omar Brown's VCV Rack Users Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/702841653234900/
VCV Rack French Users Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2069785583250645/
VCV Rack Italian Users Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vcvitalia/
Official VCV Rack Community Forum
https://community.vcvrack.com/
YouTube hosts some excellent channels for Rack-related music, news, and tutorials. Here are three favorite links, but there are many others:
Omri Cohen's superb tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuWKHS ... VSeNH4gYAg
Artem Leonov's tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc0cXl ... iyW30NQ7Sg
Ben De Groot's original work, tutorials, and live streams
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasNEY ... PoA/videos
But wait, that's not all ! In typical open-source fashion, VCV Rack has spawned a mini-ecology of related work. Jim Tupper has developed a multi-threaded version of VCV Rack 0.6.2b - soon to be obsoleted by the impending VCV Rack v1 release - and developer bsp2 has created VeeSeeVSTRack, an unofficial VST plugin version of the Rack. An official VST version has been announced for Rack v2. In the meanwhile, the unofficial plugin works very well in Linux DAWs such as Ardour and Bitwig.
The current version of VCV Rack is at 0.6.2c, and v1 has been announced for release in a month or so. Version 1 will bring support for multicore CPUs, polyphonic cabling, MPE, CV-to-MIDI output, and much more. But don't wait, there's plenty of fun left in 0.6.2c, and there's no time like the present to get started on the voyage.
Best regards,
Dave Phillips