Sasha

It started like this quite long ago. And, after months of regular juggling and struggling here is the result.. More details, bigger view and mouse over notes at my flickr page: All comments and suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Yes, I`m talking about money. ;) I see people charging fortune for panels or cases. I am trying to make an offer for inexpensive but good looking case, and as machining in Serbia is cheaper than in western countries it is plausible. As I dont have intention to hunt a good, reliable carpenter (i don`t know any) >:( We can maybe try to coordinate our works so people can use panel I make locally with the rest you make. What materials you can cut/offer? It is good to know Well, I don`t believe somebody who wants wooden sides would like to have it made out of MDF. I think aluminum or steal is preferable compared to MDF, and it can cost the same to make.

I know you don`t afraid, but still, don`t advise it as it is very boring...cutting, measuring, trimming, filing, edges... :P Great, that is the reason I always use multiple sub panels. I think Cimo have problem with encoder knob, not construction. Construction is sturdy enough as I know. About wobbling you cannot do much. Few Albs jog knobs that I tried with regular encoder wobbles. The best is to use big Alps 10 step jog encoder with Albs knob. It is pretty good... smoother and much less force it take to turn, so much less pressure is applied so no wobble (almost). I hate wobbling myself, so I decided to make optical encoder for jog for upcoming project. It really pays off to put some effort in making it as it is probably most fragile part in every design. I don`t say it will broke, but it become more and more wobbly after extensive usage. HDD spinner motor is nice and sturdy platform for DIY optical jog. It is not so difficult to make it. If you can`t find a way to make coded disk It is still good idea to use motor for gluing the jog knob on top and attaching the encoder with some elastic attachment at the bottom. That is what I did on Junkbox. It is really indestructible as it transfer just torque onto encoder and not a side force. Hope you understand what I`m trying to say.

I dont have intention to spoil your business Doug, but when I read the noumbers for 808 cases I was more than surprised how high it is. I don`t know was it you offering it, so please don`t feel I have anything about you... just it crossed my mind. I believe I can make good deal locally and save some bux shipping it along with PCB. Anyway, it would be the best if you offer your case and prices and I will see what can I do here so people could chose what they like best or what they can afford. What do you think? What is the status of your casing? I saw some fat wooden sides xox case long time ago, but I think it was just photoshopped pic, not prototype, but I might be wrong.

NO, I`ll call on more bad luck if I do it now. ...I`ll wait it to become bit more warmer. There is nothing like warm glass of beer after hard day at work. ;)

I know that too, but just wanted to make sure can I count on you, just in case. ;) I`m not in a hurry about these myself.

I know that, but both distributors charge too much for shipping to Europe so I thought to join you when you be ordering these if it is not a problem.

I`ve received an email from PCB company ...they sent the PCBs. I am expecting it tomorrow morning.

Nice. Tell me, are those encoder shafts of longer series? As they are metal I don`t believe you have cutting in mind. :-\ How much clearance you have left from the surface of panel to the bottom of knob? If you told me, I could cut you one more small sub-panel just for holding the encoders so they can go 3-4mm further behind. I did that for my Endorphin. It was good and easy solution at the end and gave more sturdiness to the construction.

You copycat ;D How you gonna get those optrex? As you probably seen I am going to use those on my Sequoia http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,10022.msg74380.html#msg74380. Maybe we can make some deal and order it together. Too bad. Those looked nice, even it takes much more effort to realize. I am planing to use those rings on every design, but eventually I give up probably for same reason as yours.

Looking very good by far. And it could look only better with all the knobs on. I see the jog wheel is in level with the panel on one picture and seams not on the other... I really like how it looks in same level. Keep on with good work.

Until I built my first synth, SEQ was not very high on my "to build" list, but now it is highly prioritized. I really wanna play without using a PC, and as I`m not keyboardist SEQ is a must. Besides pure need for one, it is one great sequencer. As Sequoia needs pretty much time (and money) to make it look the way I want to, I am probably going to build one "ordinary" SEQ so I can play with.

I tr I tried mouser online help myself, and I had similar experience. The help operator specifically wanted me to ship it using express services. The worst thing is that you cannot know exactly how much the shipping would cost. They charge you more "just in case" and refund it once they know how much it really cost. I talked to few people and they said it is pretty safe to ship from mouser using USPS, and they said they never lose the parcel. But, there is always a risk of losing the parcel, and mouser wan`t cover it. As your order from mouser worth $25 it better option to lose that money than paying $60 for express services.

Well, he have 56" monitor If I`m right. Bastard. ;) Have you seen his desktop screenshot stryd? :P

Nils, I like the Arp start stop button. :) I already told you I like how it looks. Keep on. I`l be watching you. @akumulator Welcome aboard! ;)

So you let the pros to make you PCBs. How much did it cost you, and which service is it? Looking good.

OK, just ask what you like. I`m glad if I can help somehow. About 50€ for shipping... well,that sounds pretty unreasonable especially for regular postage. My and your country was bordering countries not so long ago. I`ll get those displays somehow but don`t wanna pay fortune just for shipping.

tilted, I think your solution make sense except 2 things that matters to me. First RGB LEDs are more expensive than Duo LEDs, especially when you need much of it. For good button illumination you need higher brightness, 120 deg. LEDs so they surely cannot be cheap. Another thing is the white light colour. I don`t know how to translate "icky" (icky * adj (mainly US) (=sentimental)) but white surely isn`t as white as we know from single white LEDs. I have complex solution with additional PCB for SMD LEDs but if I do it I want have any project finished any time soon. I found the red/white LED here: http://www.lsdiodes.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=60 Not cheap... 48$ just for matrix and the angle is just 30 Deg. Ganchen, or as you prefer Ganchan, I`m looking forward for your info even I`m so not in hurry as I`m very much broke. :-\

Thank you Therezin. I doubt flashback is the problem or they wouldn`t do it. But they do it, so I guess there are some kind of replaceable protective screen or something like that. Anyway, I don`t care as long as they cut what I want. It reminds me of the local supermarket excuses... Some of them use and some refuse to use circular delicatessen machine to cut cheese. They say it makes cutting disk lose sharpness quicker than when used just for cutting salami. Funny. Machines are made to work as much as they can to make money and not to last forever, and look like they just exit the factory. I get an impression often that some people like their machine be clean rather than be busy. Don`t get me wrong, I take care of my tools.

Exactly. 1mm is enough for biggest panels you want to make, and for smaller ones it is super strong. One times I couldn`t afford to have another 3mm top panel as I already had 3mm acrylic subpanel so my fader shafts didn`t stick out enough. Lasercut steal would be perfect but I didn`t know about the service in that time. I had so much trouble doing it right. I`m no sure what you mean when say flashbacks. I actually never seen laser machine for metal in work as service is not in my home town, but according to material they sent me I see no problems. Line isn`t completely smooth as CNC milled but it is still very good. I bet it could be much smoother if they adjust the speed and power better. I love lasers... made my life much easier and keep my hands in good condition!

It will look nice with that white buttons and big knob.

Superb quality panel! I need to say 1mm lasercut steel isn`t so heavy you might think, especially if you take into account strength it got with just 1mm thickness or even less. It is also way much cheaper than aluminum and can be painted using normal car paints. So, my advise for you that have some laser service at hand... try steal, and you want be disappointed. ;)

I`ll try to. But I`wouldn`t count on that. Thanks for the info. ;)

I would be interested in "a" since it is cheap, and I`d be very, very interested in "b" as I designed whole look of my Sequoia around those beautiful B/W Optrex. :) I sacrifice alot, so other colors (LEDs mostly) match white character LCD. I want to use only 3 colours on it, and we`ll see will I manage to do it, especially because there is no duoLED with red/white combination so I have to improvise even there is not much space for improvisation :-\. KokiPsiho seams interested in B/G as well so I think you already have 4 pcs for Serbia.

Where did you found 3mm flat tops?