This is part of a series of guest-post tutorials from Noise Engineering users showing off various tips for NE modules, modular use in general, or how they integrate modular into their workflow.

Have someone you think would be great to write a guest post? Have a modular tip you want to submit for us to create a video around? Let us know!

This time around, Kris chatted with our Instagram pal TL3SS. We noticed him a while back when he started posting these dark, deep, NE-based songs that Kris was instantly obsessed with. We also just dug his aesthetic.

TL3SS got ahold of the new Terci Ruina and we were really excited to see what he would do with it. We talked with him about the TR, distortion in general, and how he likes to use it with a variety of other effects.

Kris: Tell us who you are.

TL3SS: I release music under TL3SS. I have another project, IDIOT HAND that hasn't had any releases yet, but plan to release some material under that name later this year.

KK: ooooh. Looking forward to that! Is it modular-based, too?

T: TL3SS is more about experimentation and "anything goes". Idiot Hand is more focused and consistent. While there are a lot of similarities in tone and sonic profiles, I'd say Idiot Hand is the darker project, with more structure and will have more vocals. It's a much more personal project to me.

KK: How did you get into modular synthesis?

T: I've been working on electronic music for a decade or two, and have played/produced music under a few different names. I’ve spent a lot of time with various hardware and software synthesizers. While I don’t make music for a living, it’s definitely something I’m passionate about and I enjoy learning as much as I can.

I recently started getting back into music production after a long hiatus, and that's around the same time my journey into the Eurorack realm started. In this modern world, so much of our time is spent staring at a screen and either using a mouse or some kind of touchscreen interface. This is one of many reasons I quit making music. During my hiatus, hardware/modular blew up, I think partly as a reaction to this trend. When I started getting an urge to create music again I started researching some hands-on, hardware options and it became clear pretty quickly that modular was the direction for me.

KK: It’s definitely a direction you’ve done well with. I really enjoy the things you’ve been posting. Tell me about what you’ve put together here.

T: I’ll preface with this.

I love distortion. By my count I currently have about 20 different modules/pedals that provide distortion in some form or another. I thought I would focus my blog post on some techniques I use to bring multiple distortion types into a single track.

One of the reasons I find distortion so compelling is that I love the variety of tones and sounds you can create - it’s always fun to experiment. While you can have a general idea of what something will sound like after you send it through some distortion, there are always unexpected things that happen. I highly recommend experimenting with signal flow and where you put the distortion. For example, putting distortion pre-filter gives an entirely different result than putting it post-filter. Same with VCA’s and LPG’s. There are a huge variety of distortions available, with different types of distortion circuits, vacuum tubes and feature sets. Picking the ones you want is an extremely personal and there is no “correct” choice. I typically pick based on how it sounds first, and then based on the feature set.

KK: Definitely. We agree — we tend to go with how they sound first when we design them, and try to choose a feature set that complements the sound, as well as the lineup we’re working on. Let’s see what you’ve put together!

T: In this first example, I'm using all three distortion circuits in the Terci Ruina to distort a kick/bassline from the Basimilus Iteritas Alter. I'm still digging into the Terci Ruina, but the first thing I thought of when it was announced was taking each of the three circuits and using panning to create a varied, warm bed of distortion.