Rack Improvements

As already mentioned in my Going Modular! post my modular synth lives in a standard 19" rack. In addition to eurorack modules I also have other gear installed into the same rack. My first rack was just two 16 unit high rack rails attached to a Yamaha TX81Z rack synthesizer. It was dirt cheap but not very stable and it was practically impossible to move it anywhere. Something had to be done. I'm not really a carpenter and also didn't feel like spending big pile of money on ready-made studio furniture.

I had an unused wooden shelf laying around. One day I thought it actually looks like a side panel for a studio rack. After some measurements I realized it's exactly 18 rack units high! So I went to Clas Ohlson and bought another one and ordered 18 unit rack rails. After that it was pretty easy to build a better rack.

Clas Ohlson sells wooden panels exactly 18 rack units high! How convenient!

This is the level of carpentry I'm comfortable with!

I re-used the old shorter rack rails in the backside. The rack is much more stable with some panels attached to the backside.

Looking good! Also more space for new equipment! I might even fit in another 84hp eurorack enclosure if I move the power sockets to the backside.

Done! The lamp is there to help with my electronics work. I should move it elsewhere...

I'm pretty happy with this rack. I have also successfully transported the synth to our bands rehearsal studio for a synth-jam so it's definitely stable enough! It's not a mobile setup but can be moved if needed. I'm not a gigging techno musician anyway... Yet!

Comments

Waldorf Blofeld Encoder Fix

Waldorf Blofeld is amazing little digital synth with almost endless possibilities. Unfortunately the rotary encoders seem to start skipping and failing sooner or later. After couple of years of light use my unit started failing too and it became very annoying to use. First Try I first tried to open one encoder and clean it from inside. It worked ok but these components aren't really meant to be opened and closed again and I never managed to put it back together properly. Encoder shaft was loose and wobbly and it would have failed again soon because the encoder wasn't tightly closed. Proper Fix Luckily it's possible to fix it properly as long as you know how to solder. Current price for the full set of encoders is less than 7 euros. I ordered new Bourns encoders from Mouser: 1 pcs of https://www.mouser.fi/ProductDetail/652-PEC16-4220FN0024 for the main encoder, this one has detents so it "clicks" when you turn it. 6 pcs of https://www.mouser.fi/ProductDetail/65...

Sunday Soldering: Akai Rhythm Wolf Drum Machine modifications

Sunday Soldering: Akai Rhythm Wolf Drum Machine modifications Akai Rhythm wolf is a cheap analog drum machine. It has a nice old school lo-fi sound but unfortunately Akai left out some quite useful features from the standard setup. Today I decided to modify my unit to better suit my needs. Here are the added mods: Added a resistor to the outer legs of the 'Howl' pot to make the range more useful. By default it's pretty much a switch between clean and a completely destroyed signal. I used 33k. Probably even smaller value would do. Added 3.5mm individual output jacks for all drums. The PCB has nicely marked spots where the individual signals are available but it's actually easier to take them from the volume potentiometers directly. The middle leg gives the signal after the potentiometer so volume also affects the individual outputs. It might have been a better idea to take it before the pot so that it would be possible to silence the signal from the main ...

Uraltone Mixer and Spring Reverb (and some synth literature...)

DIY kits and literature Bjooks and DIY kits Every now and then I had seen pictures of the beautiful and super interesting Push Turn Move book by Kim Bjørn: https://www.pushturnmove.com/ . Unfortunately it's not available as an eBook and the price has been too high for me because of the shipping costs. Some time ago Bjørn launched the Kickstarter campaign for his third book Pedal Crush . All the buzz it generated in social media led me once again to the Push Turn Move web page. This time I was delighted to find our local DIY music electronics store Uraltone in the reseller list. Of course I had to buy both of the already published "Bjooks" immediately and while at it I decided to buy some Uraltone eurorack DIY kits too. I have wanted a spring reverb since the days I got my first electric guitar and another mixer in my eurorack wouldn't harm. After a short bike ride to Uraltone I had my back bag full of reading and soldering! Support your local! Uralkit Spring...

noise embedded.

Search This Blog