I made a simple Excel-tool to document resources and cable patching on my Eurorack Synth.
With a modular synth it can be difficult to recreate a nice cool sound after you changed settings and patching. On my tiny system I already have 114 inputs/outputs and 125 manual controls. Re-creating the manual control settings is difficult enough, and if you are not sure the patching is right, it gets even worse.
You can of cause always take a picture, and that will maybe work for the manual settings, especially if you have nice little pointers on the knobs. But if you like me use homemade black cables, it can be difficult to see how the patching was done. The Excel-tool can in one matrix show all connections.
The tool is also giving a good overview of all the resources available in your system. If you have an idea for a new sound you can plan it first, and before you start patching, you can see if it is at all possible. Many times you will need to make or buy a new module, and that is of cause always nice 🙂
The tool is just a simple matrix with outputs on the x-axis, and inputs on the y-axis. For every connection you write an ‘X’. It is easier to understand when you look at it here:
Note that inputs or outputs indicated with a green background are still available (a few formulas and some conditional formatting does the trick). Further development could be addition of a facility to register the manual (analog) settings and programmed settings of e.g. envelopes. I will also work on how to register the status of internal connections that I can change with dummy jack-plugs (I often use the built-in breaker function on the jack sockets to establish internal connections).
If you do not want to open the spreadsheet, you can see the matrix as .pdf here:
