Artesia

More organic sounding fun... Here's another idea for making the most of the velocity pad data. How about having a function for smoothing out/roughing up the data by having a 'modifyer' which works a little like a quntizer on this data. But instead have it so that the sampled data can be progrssively smoothed by averaging it progressively closer to the preset timing (twisting the knob one way); and then going in the opposite direction, increasing the average difference between the sampled values. This tool would allow slightly sloppy timing to be rounded up until it sounds 'tight enough'. Then of course working in the opposite direction.. itd be possible to make it sound -really- mangled. ...a slight adaptation of the code used in the 'morph tool' should do the trick for this function :)

Given that most sequencers use a flat velocity rate (by default) over the entire length of a pattern; how about having a physical way of entering the velocity level (how hard that virtual drum is hit, etc.); by tapping on a pad rigged to sense how hard it is hit ? To give a idea how this could work; a given pattern would be loaded into the sequencer and played, then you tap on pad, to the beat ...& the resulting velocity values could be sampled on the beat. Also The difference in timing between that of the sequencer & the pad taps could be sampled & used to shift the timing of the sequencer to give a more natural or excentric sense of rhythm. This Could provide a way of making the sequencer sound very organic & could be immense fun ! ...and of course the 'velocity data' adquired could be used to set any other perameter you wish ...mmmm :) On the hardware side of the implimentation i can think of roughly five ways to do this: 1/ Simply sample the velocity value from a velocity sensitive keyboard. 2/ Use a piezo cell as a velocity sensor (analog circuitary might be a pain - but has probably been implimented already for diy drums) 3/ use a flexable steel strip as a 'velocity pad' & and use a variable resistor + leaver assembly (see diagram below). (getting good range of velocity values to sample might be awkward, switch probably needed to give a accurate rhythm reference) 4/ (as in 3) Use a coil & magnet assembly + opamp & charge storage circuit. 5/ (as in 3) use a magnet & hall effect device ? Oh.. and i read somewhere else on the board of 'force sensitive resistors :O :) Also another useful thing to impliment, would be a 'normalize' function; whereby the highest velocity value sampled is raised to the max value & then the other samples are raised with respect to this. What Think to this idea ? :)

Have been looking at the source code for mios, i gotta say TK ..you've done a impressively thorough job of documentation ! :) Have been looking at the source code to see if i stand a chance of contributing any code to mios. I have in the past done a fair bit of coding in c & pascal ..so im not totally new to programming :] With regards to the matter of having a C layer in mios; i think id rather take the effort to learn assembler & have small efficient code. Will finish assembling the mios projects i have here, then take a look at what might be possible from there :) ..got parts in the post i need to finish my video projector today tho, so going to be finishing that first :]

Ive been pondering for a while about how to recall synth perameters (ie: sid) and auxilliary effect unit perameters (ie: reverb, echo/delay, fuzz box) at the same time; and how to store this information in one 'patch' It then occured to me that, mios would do this perfectly :) the perameter settings for all the devices needed could be stored in one 'patch' on a mios device. Thus essentially linking the sepperate components into one monster device :] (ie: sid, and effects units) obviously this has a huge scope for scaling.. could even recall the entire setup for your midi controlled studio at the press of a button (and without a pc !) This could be done as a 'memory matrix' only device, or it could be a 'bolt on' feature to the midibox 64 (for instance); which would give a control surface which could be mapped to stuff wich is not accessable directly from the front pannels of the devices been controlled. Assuming that the basic structure of a midibox 64 is "Control Surface-->Midi Perameter Map-->Midi Out" ...and the presets for different mappings of the control surface to messages are stored in a "Patch Bank" Then itd be possible to expand it to the following: In addition there would be two more memory banks, 1 for a complete list of the tweakable midi perameters on a given midi device (like a emagic sound diver patch); and 2 a memory bank which stores in each patch all the modifyed perameters of the device patches loaded. ..and additionally this 'global' memory bank could remember the control surface config (or the preset number used). Thus allowing u to recall the settings of all midi devices under its control; and also the allocation of the control pannel within the one memory patch. As a econoical way of doing the recall, would be to store in only the preset patch numbers (ie: standard presets on effects unit) for each of the midi devices in the global memory bank. what think to this idea ? :) ill hack togeather a proper diagram tommro, hope this scrawl makes sense for now :)

Here's a possible sollution for providing a reliable 9v source for burnin those PIC's: A little trick i used to use for getting exactly the right voltage out of power supplies for powering equipment with odd voltage requirements; was to 'jack up' the output voltage of a standard voltage regulator using diodes. This is done by exploiting the 0.6v voltage drop across the diode. They are inserted in the regulators 'ground reference', and the voltage drop here corresponds roughly to the same rise in voltage output. Here are two examples of how 9v (9.2v) can be supplied using 7805 or 7808 regulators: The voltage source can be between 12-35v, and could be supplied by a 12v lead acid battery, a wall wart power supply; Or 'cheapest' of all, feed out two wires from your pc from the pc power supply of 12v (between the black & yellow wires). Using regulators like so, will provide a stable voltage power supply ('no' voltage variation), and will give the user a wide range of choices in powering the pic flasher. The values of the capacitors are not critical, and any values not exceeding 220uf should provide the degree of stabalisation th regulator requires. See application notes for the regulators you plan to use for ideal values. Also the type of diode doesnt matter too much, provided that it can handle a little bit of current. Though logic dictates that using signal/zener diodes is not a good idea !

Here's a revised version with 40 pins: ...awaiting approval :-)

Another PC LCD driver software package (this one looks the best so far): http://www.powerlcd.com/ and of course, it does sed1330 :D

[sourced From]:http://www.eio.com/g321dap.htm A 'Tetris' PIC project using the G321D display: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2002/dkl22/index.html {with LCD display driver code on site}: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2002/dkl22/lcd.txt A 'Monopoly' PIC project using the G321D display: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2002/jq13/webpage/476monopoly.html LL-01 Graphing Calculator PIC project using the G321D display: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2001/yl131/default.htm A more comprehensive manual for the G321D: http://www.eio.com/g2446g242cg321d.pdf A more comprehensive (148 page!) manual for the SED1330: http://www.seiko-usa-ecd.com/lcd/products/graphic_mods/pdf/sed1335f.pdf A epe article on using intelligent lcd's - a good read: http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/lcd1.pdfhttp://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/lcd2.pdf Another bit of {linux} pc software which can drive sed1330's and many others: http://lcdproc.omnipotent.net/index.php3?continue=yes some pictures of the 'plain' reflective version of this display in opperation:

This site has a pc program which can drive the sed1330 chipset, yet to look through forum there; however sourcecode for this appears to be available :) http://www.lcdinfo.com/

Some new bits, Got the spares to fix my digi cam before i went away.. so here's some snaps of the aforementioned items. Upper: the VFD display module. Middle: the SEIKO graphical LCD module. Lower: a Standard 16*1 LCD for scale. btw, heres some further url info that might help with the Graphical LCD; will look into this matter myself as well.. : http://www.seiko-usa-ecd.com/lcd/products/graphic_mods/g321dx1r1ac.html http://www.seiko-usa-ecd.com/lcd/products/graphic_mods/pdf/builtin1330.pdf Datasheet seems to suggest horizontal 'refresh'; and mentions that there is a standard 8*8 rom charset & space for 32 custom chars. Also the screen should be addressable pixel by pixel in graphical mode, though that'll put a dent in cpu cycles.. How about a pic dedicated to rendering the graphics ;) ..probably too time consuming to code ..tho who knowz :)

Hi :) Just got back, been away for a little over a week; damn Tired ..one looong train journey. There has been some very good ideas submitted logo wise. It will be quite intresting seeing future artistic excursions of midiboxer's... Keep grafting ! Thanks everyone for voting on the logos :) By the Way... With regards to the pincount on the final logo, there has indeed been a oversight. The original intention was indeed, for the pin count to match that of the pic ...ooops ! ::) A 40 pin version has been prepared, and shall be emailed to TK in a 'vector graphics format'; along with the 36 pin version. I shall Then leave it upto TK & everyone to decide if they would like it in 40 pin or not :) laterz everyone... Sleep to catch up with here.....

Hi :) Just bought some displays at a amateur radio show; 2*40 VFD and some (Korg like) SEIKO 320*200 Pixel LCD's. Am wondering how much hassle it will be to get the SEIKO G321DX1R1AC displays working on MIOS ...they are based around a SED1330 chipset. ? :) Also have some very large VFD displays here too ...they are 12" by 2" ! ...and is based on two OKI c1162 chips + a 80c318h PIC ....darn :] ...hope its compatable with standard (-serial-) protocol ...they were made by telesincro of spain. ...not as fussed about getting these working ..though would look awfully nice in a large form midibox sequencer :) ...is there a possability of getting those SEIKO's on the go ? :) ...can get a ton more of these bligthers soon ..should anyone else want any. They are Cold cathode backlit ...and have a 'white' pixels on black configuration ...will fire one up soon and check out the actual colour :) ..most likely to be blue. Should be able to do them for around £15 if they're of any intrest...:]

Hmmm... Talking of touchscreen graphical lcds, here's some that www.crystalfontz.com do: CFAX12864C-WGH-TS 128x64 STN Positive Gray, Transflective, Wide Temperature, White EL Backlit LCD Module with 4-wire analog resistive touchscreen http://www.crystalfontz.com/products/12864c/index.html#CFAX12864CWGHTS Ultra thin and light TAB construction Very Compact Dimensions: 56.0mm x 42.5mm Module Outline (less tab) 52.0mm x 33.5mm Viewing Area 47.76mm x 30.29mm Active Area 0.35mm x 0.40mm Dot Pitch Available in several variations of backlight and polarizer Available in normal or wide temperature versions Wide viewing angles Built-in controller: Samsung KS0713 (data sheet 850K) Great for hand held instruments, cell phones, PDAs, etc. Ultra low power consumption Printable 1:1 Acrobat template: CFAX12864C_one_to_one.pdf ** $36.09 (USD) ** small enough for some weird fangled 'pocket' size project.. could be a fun one to think up uses for :] {mmm.. how about a pocket midimonitor or basic drum machine 'fruityloops' style sequencer - controlled mostly through touchscreeen ? :)}

.... :o ! ...that does look the business ;D

niiiice price ;) I just bought my first item off ebay ...its a nokia 9110 for spares ...to fix my own one.. Btw heres a fun project for LCD's which you may of heard of. It involves wiring up any 'HD44780' compatable lcd to the parralel port of your pc. This display can then show winamp playlists, time, pc stats (temp etc), weather reports, news tickers ...and so on :) This can be done by using abit of software called 'lcd smartie' ...and can be found here: http://backupteam.gamepoint.net/smartie/

Cheap, high quality & variety LCD supplier Hi :) I recently stumbled across this US based lcd supplier http://www.crystalfontz.com They do quite a range of different LCD's ...and one thing that really caught my eye ...is that they now do the OLED (organic led) displays, which directly replace LCD's ...and have a far superior brightness & contrast ratio ! I'm currently in the process of ordering a 16*2 OLED (inverse & green text) display & a pair of 40*2 displays.. and have queryed them about the possability of getting the 40*2 in other colour options; and indeed ..although not advertised ..they can indeed do afew options :) ...so i will be ordering a pair of 40*2's in inverse blue-green for $29.60 (£16) each :) ...the 16*2 OLED's are $22 (£12) each. And the shipping to the uk ended up at $29 (£16). Not bad in the end... Considering that maplin/rs/farnell usually want around £40 ($75) for a standard 40*2 :) ..If the shipping was just for the two 40*2's then this would mean that -each- display cost in total: $43.50 - £22.33 (all price conversions done relative to current xe.com of £1 = $1.86) Additional Note: They also do Graphical lcds, which could be useful in the MIOS project ...though most useful in the midibox LC. Their largest graphical display is 320x240 ($142 (£76) picture below), and the smallest is a 128*64 ($32 (£17)) 320x240 STN Negative Blue, Transmissive, Wide Temperature LCD with White CCFL Backlight, Built-in Negative Voltage and Temperature Compensation Here's some samples of their displays: 20x2 Negative Transmissive LED Backlit LCD Module 20x2 Positive Transflective LED Backlit LCD Module 20x2 Negative Transmissive Red LED Backlit LCD Module 16x2 PLED / OLED Display Module 20x4 STN Blue, Negative, Transmissive, White Edge LED Backlight Wide Temperature Version 40x2 Positive Transflective Yellow-Green LED Array Backlit LCD Minimum 70 CD/M2 backlight brightness at 130mA backlight current. 8x2 STN Gray Positive Transflective Yellow-Green LCD with Green Array LED Backlight enjoy ! :)

A nice idea conceptually in terms of the points which are conveyed... However unfortunately id have to say i really don't like the design :/ From my point of view it doesn't have the right 'feel', the design needs to be 'neutral' in styling in order to blend into most people's midibox designs. The logo would also benifit greatly from been done in 'two tone' (only solid black lines & white background), Which would make it far easier to reprodce on pcbs & panel stickers (etc) ...also this would make it really stand out, whilst still blending into most people's panel designs (most will feature bold single tone fonts on the control panel). In terms of conveying a geographical netrality, it might be a good idea to go for a sphere made out of longditude & latitude lines ('wire mesh'). also this would provide the lines for the faders to 'sit' on.

As a possable dedicated stand-alone solution to this; maybe customising a mios sequencer core to edit, control & sequence the perameters on a old (cheap) akai sampler might do the trick ? Or possably a more senseable solution would be to have two cores, one dedicated to the task of sequencing & another dedicated to the task of providing a editing surface for the sampler. This could be acheived just by using the two exhisting cores as they already exhist to some extent. ...however it would be extremely handy to capture the states of the sequencer, editor & sampler all in one 'memoryshot' ..in order to allow 'complete' recall of the 3 machines states at once. I figure the reason people would like a 'all in one' hardware solution is because of the stability & reliability it 'can' provide. ...this might do the job.

mmmm :) Nice cases, maplin used to sell some like those... perfect for midibox projects. Btw, can make cases like those with relative ease; at the cost of the raw materials ..and with a sheet metal bending tool which costs not much more than the price of one or two of those boxes.... (useful for those of us who make more than a couple of projects) this post goes into more detail about such tools, if it intrests you..: http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=parts_q;action=display;num=1075914700

Heres a way of quickly and accurately designing & making front panels which i have found to work extremely well... The basic concept is that the stencil for the various cutouts and holes to be drilled is drawn on computer with XARA (in my case). This is then printed to scale on A4 sticky back paper, a large design can be spanned across several sheets. This is then stuck carefully onto the back of the pce of metal being worked. then the panel is drilled carefully from the back through to the front. When all the holes (etc) have been drilled, the sticky sheet can be removed; though it wont matter if it doesnt all come off. In Full, A good 2D cad or drawing program is used to create the drilling/cutting stencil; i would reccomend XARA, as it is cheap, increadibly stable & does pritty much everything you need. The Page layout is set to work in inches (or millimeters), and the size scaling is set to 1:1. It is then a good idea to draw the overall outline of the pannel with the box tool (dimensions can be set precisely by entering them directly into the value boxes). Set the colour of the box fill to white, the boarder to black & the linewidth to 0pt (apply this to small parts drawn on the panel). This box then can be used as a refrence as to where the cutouts & holes shall appear on the panel. Next draw the various cutouts & holes; it is adviseable to draw small (1mm) circles where pilot holes & corner roundings will go. ..this will really help take the guesswork out of drilling ! Also, if the holes are drawn as circles instead of crosshairs (showing the centerpoint), it will be clearly seen if the hole is slightly out ...or has been drilled too small ..etc. Also, you may want to draw the outline of the overlap that a cutout leaves you, before it is visable; which will help alot if a hole does go slightly wrong & you need to improvise by moving its center very slightly... There are two extra tools within Xara (and other programs) which will save alot of time messing around: One is the alignment tool, which allows you to auto arrange shapes/objects on the page relative to eachother in various fashions. ..for instance the pilot hole point can be automatically perfectly centered on the cutout for a rotary knob. The second is the clone array tool, This will take all the work out of drawing & aligning repetitious stuff like the line of knobs on the midibox 64. This works by making and positioning the cutout for the first knob in the row, then copying it to where the row ends. The tool is then used to select the start&end shapes, and the number of clone objects between those points is entered. this will create a evenly spaced array of idential objects 'instantly'. These arrays (button/knob/led banks) can then be copy/pasted to create more lines... etc. When the final design is ready, it will need to be 'mirror imaged', before it can be printed to work as a back surface cutout template. when this is done, it can be printed out onto sticky back paper..... Apply the label carefully to the back of the metal (etc) sheet that you will be working on. Then it is a good idea to put masking tape all round the edge of the metal, holding the edges of the label down; this will save your fingers from a slicing & help keep the label securely in place. Then use a centerpunch and hammer on the marked pilot hole points; this is best done with the sheet on a hard & non abrasive surface (a good solid wood worktop) ...which will help stop the centerpunch from distorting the metal beyond the intended drilling zone. If you centerpunch and pilot hole, you are more likely to get a accurate & tidy end result, though it is possible to drill without them ...though if so, at least use a pillar drill & sharp bits. Drill out the pilot holes & then do the rest of the drilling; the most accurate tool for this is a small workshop pillar drill (screwfix.com £40 ferm), though good results can be had with a handheld drill. You may want to try using titainium coated or cobalt drill bits ..as they cut far more efficiently. When it comes to deburring, there are two tricks to getting the rough edges off the holes; one is picking up a drill bit two sizes larger than the hole & turning it on the hole with a little force to peel the burr away. The next is getting a average set of 10" wood/metal files (often £6-10 for 5), and using the shape of file most like the hole on the inside edge of the hole. ...if these two tricks are used togeather, very good results can be had. As for cutting out the hole for the likes of the lcd panels, this can be done by drilling a line of holes along the innerline of the cutout (dont try joining the holes up, it doesnt work), and then cutting through the remainder with a coping saw + the metal blade (wilkinsons sell them for £3). This will now leave a hole which has a cerrated inner edge, this can be filed patiently down to the corect shape using a 10" flat faced wood/metal file. Use the small circular one to round out the corners if needed. Fine wet&dry sandpaper against a pce of wood can then be used to take the rough appearence out of the filing. One way to get a nice front panel finish with minimum fuss, is to use a belt sander with a medium/fine belt on it, carefully run this over the fixed down (...dont want it in orbit, or your groin!) panel so that a brushed effect appears going in one orientation across the pannel. ..after wiping any metal dust off this can then be laquered over to stop it corroding. In the near future i shall do a properly done webpage article on this & other useful stuff; though right now im kinda busy. Oh ...and the other great thing about working with computer generated stencils; you can print it out as many times as you like, to make as many identical panels as you want without the hassle of redrawing onto the metal each time ! Have fun, and be careful with those powertools :)

Hi, Something people here might not be aware of, is that these guys into Amateur Radio & their Clubs run what is known as Amateur Radio Rallys all over the uk (and the rest of the 'planet' at that). Which are essentially somthing like a electronics fanatics carboot sale; with the stuff typically on tables/stalls in a large hall in a community or sports centre, though one run at Dreyton manor every year completely fills a field outdoors & several marquee tents. So what can you get there ? Well, just about anything you could imagine, though the size & locality of the various venues can affect the variety of stuff that turns up. Stuff you can expect to see at some right bargin prices are: surplus components at a couple of quid for a kilo bag, boxes of switches, variable resistors, leds, transformers, lasers, hookup wire, for a 50th of new price. ...older second hand oscilliscopes, multimeters & other test equipment for next to nothing. then there's all the radio rigs and such (which may not intrest most of you, though intresting enough to look at though). Another notable regular at these shows, is ex equipment sealed lead acid batterys in very good nick (search for yuasa on www.maplin.com) ...at a fraction of their new price. ..Oh and if you're lucky ...might see a old commodore there, which you can nick a SID out of ! ;) One thing you can be sure of, is you will save a bundle going to afew of these shows. So who are Radio Amateurs ? People who have a intrest in buillding & running their own 'radio stations'. Whereby they -talk- to people all over the world in a 'msn messenger' sort of fashion. ..they are often the sorts who work in telecommunications industry, for 'the signals' & RAF. They can sometimes be abit geeky (no more so than those into computers though) ..generally though, they are nice people. If you would like to know more about Amateur Radio, then please goto: www.RSGB.org Where can i find Amateur Radio Rallys ? One good source for the uk i know of is: http://www.pwpublishing.ltd.uk/ At this time unfortunatly the website is undergoing a redesign, so you may not be able to access that section. The number of rallys listed was sparce, however more are likely to appear as the spring rolls on.. As, the site is updated & i find more sources for radio rally listings, i shall add them. How much does it cost to get into a Rally ? Typically no more than £2.50 ...sometimes free. ...oh and the petrol or fare to get there :) Also espcially if travelling far, it might be a good idea to ring up and check the rally i going ahead on the day. Can i take stuff to sell at a Rally ? Yes indeed, They often have 'bring and buy' stalls which will host your items for a small fee ..and will sell them for you on your behalf.. Also you can book a whole stall for a small fee (need to ring up organisers in advance), however its a good idea to attend at least one rally to get a feel for what goes on before trying to sell your old washer there ;)

Hi,     I have sourced some tools & parts which are hard to come by (affordably). People here may find these useful in making cases for midi boxes... The three suppliers mentioned here are www.SCREWFIX.com, www.MACHINEMART.co.uk ...and the well known B&Q.     One thing i will mention before i continue; is that screwfix is extreemly good value for money (particularly if you order online), and very reliable. Thier site is well worth a visit ...as they stock just about everything imagineable for the 'trades'. From www.machinemart.co.uk: 1a/ Clarke 24" Sheet metal bender (bench mounted) £47 inc vat. upto 90 deg bends in 22ga mild steel. 1b/ Clarke 36" Sheet metal bender (floor standing) £177 inc vat. (not so affordable) upto 90 deg bends in 20ga mild steel.     This tool will allow you to create entire cases with neat professional folds, and will allow cases with 'stepped' front pannels to be made with ease. If £47 is abit much for your budget, you could copy the principal of the design (a heavy duty hinge set, afew thick heavy bits of L girder, some long bolts + sturdy assembly); and make your own metal folder.. which wouldnt be too much work to make at that.     Also a tip as for a good source of 'free' sheet metal; a number of computer refurbishers near me frequently throw out tons of old Computer Cases, which have alot of good metal in them ...as well as perfectly good fans, component stock, leds & fixings in them too !     I usually cut up the cases into the flat sections with a 4in angle grinder. ...and take the remainder of the casings to the metal recycling section of the local tip. Talking of which.. www.screwfix.com: 2\ 115mm 710w ferm angle grinder £16 3\ 36 piece 4mm number & letter stamping set £10 Great for adding lettering to metalwork... 4a\ 19pce Titainium coated HSS drill set (1-10mm) £10 Gives a much faster & neater cut than standard HSS bits. 4b\ 7pce 5% Cobalt drill set (1.5-6mm) £8     Even more efficient & longlasting than Titainium coated... The only things to cut through the high grade steel steel some of my flight case catches are made from.     Also, you may want to try cobalt drill bits for fibireglass pcbs, goes through it like butter ...and doesnt take the edge off the bits too quick. 4c\ Job lots of standard HSS drill bits. 1-10mm in packs of 10. Ie: one pack of 10x1mm £1.49.     Great for stocking up on drill bit sizes frequently worn out/broken. 5\ Star, hex & other 'exotic' bolts & screws (screwfix)..     Screwfix seem to specialise in fixings funnily enough.. buying fixings in bulk will save alot btw.     When standard satin finish slothead screws start to look a little tired or boring, there are some very neat (star, hex & etc) dome, countersunk & bolt fixings available. They also sell the driving bits for these fixings as a 33 pce security bit set £10. From B&Q www.diy.com: 6\ B&Q's 'nutool' brand minidrill with 300 (or so) free cutting, milling and grinding bits, with a flexable driveshaft attachement. £20 !     An immensely useful gadget... great for doing fine detailing, cutting & trimming most materials on a small scale. and puts a evil edge on any blade ;)     The small and large cutting discs work great on non ferrious metals ..and useable with caution on aluminum.     The steel cerrated cutting discs do a great job of working wood & will work plastic at low speeds. The sanding discs and small grinding wheels work great on smoothing out rough edges. ...and so on.     Though, getting to the main point on this item; i have thought up a possible way of using the driveshaft attachment & large cutting discs to cut any length linear slots in metal pannels for those darned faders :]     This can be made with the guts out of a old scanner or printer... the metal runners & sliding mounts (which hold the printer head/scanning element) are removed to make the basis of a linear guide for the cutting disc. ...which is lowered into the material from above. ...this gadget will probably look like some of those gilotene style tile cutters often seen about.     I shall make this in the coming months, though right now i dont have the time or the space as i am moving house halfway across the country.. :)     Another (less tidy) way of making fader slots is to make 'I' shaped pannel inserts which are fixed in place between the faders... if cut & trimmed carefully, this could look quite neat. ...and would allow a redesign of the fader section at a later date without remaking the entire fascia.         Btw.. there is one item i would definately advise people not to get. I had one of those rivet guns with the 360 degree swivel heads; for one it was increadably stiff to use ..and secondly the mechanism totally chewed itself to bits after a meer 2000 box of rivets !     I now have a cheapo 'blackspur' style £6 pressed steel rivet gun. ...and it works wonderfully.     Well... thats it for now folks, when im comfortably rehoused ..i will be building one of the new midi sequencers ..and can't wait to get my four sid chips humming ! :)