37 replies to this topic

[TK.]

Ooops - He did it again!

Based on experiences with his sensational 2 x MIDIbox LC design ([url]http://www.midibox.o...;num=1050012551[/url]),
Axel redesigned his MIDIbox completely to a 24 motorfader device
(1 master LC, 2 slave LCs).
Hope that he will find the time to answer all your questions! :-)











http://www.midibox.o...xel_lc24_11.jpg
http://www.midibox.o...xel_lc24_12.jpg

[d2k]

now that is summin! Congrats...again!!!

Axel, I see XLR's and a monitor/mix section - could u pls provide details on this analog i/o...

stunned...

D

[pay_c]

O M G!!

Did it again, huh?

Manmanman, my MBSeq Design is going under beneath this one! And I thought my design was great, but that´s just astounding! The LCDs are *CEWL*!!! (and pretty expensive I´m sure)

[Steven_C]

Axel, have you entered your [glow=red,2,300]Midibox[/glow] logo into the competition?  ;)

Are those vertical ledrings next to the knobs?

Narrower spaces between the faders this time... those look like 25x2 character displays!

Nice work! Modular design looks easy to work on.

[Captain_Hastings]

Mighty impressive!  

[Axel]

Thanks for your comments!

I build this box mainly because i sold my Soundcraft console which served as the housing for my old (now dead...) midibox. As it would have cost about 450 Euros to get the complete panels with all holes etc. made at Schaeffer, i decided to make a hybrid construction with the Schaeffer panels only providing frames for the selfmade modules. Beside the reduced costs this has the advantage that i can modify the modules in a relative easy way in the future (new features, colours, buttons...) without spending money on a new panel.

I used 2x24 displays because i wanted the box to be compact and to reduce the overall costs, i.e. i got the blue displays at autronic-melchers for about 15 Euros each (ok, the other day i got 5 2x40 at ebay for 10 Euro alltogether...). Because of the smaller spacing i couldn´t use ledrings, so i just put 9 leds in a line. I could live completely without them as i´m always looking at the display parameters. If you use any other number of leds than eleven you have to change the ledring patterns, which is a little tricky...

In order to have some analog controls for recording and monitoring, i added a simple passive volume pot (a quite expensive one from Alps) and a talkback unit based on a simple mic preamp from Conrad. There is also a switch to listen to the artists monitoring signal. I have provided some more I/Os for other things, but they are not used right now cause i first have to find a solution for a switching logic. Perhaps someone can help me out on this?

The jog/shuttle control above the cursor buttons is a ShuttleXpress (www.contourdesign.com) which i put completely into the box. Configured to horizontal and vertical zoom it provides a much more comfortable way to navigate in the arrange than the original LC buttons do. It also has 5 free assignable buttons for functions the LC protocol lacks.

I also put a complete midisport 4x4 into the box, so there are only two USB ports going out.

The power supply shown in the pictures has been changed to stronger one. It´s important to provide at least 1.5 A for each set of 8 motorfaders to get a stable function.

If i´d have to build this again i would definitely spent some time to make a complete set of pcb´s integrating buttons, encoders and leds with a simple and solderless connector system. That´s because i spent most of the time getting the vectorboards cabled and connected which is not really the funniest part of the job...


Best regards, Axel

[d2k]

Hey Axel...

Nice one with the intergrated shuttlexpress ;) but where are the 5 buttons it has? Have u rewired them to sumwhere else?

The analog i/o - I'm too planning a much bigger LC and thought an intergrated passive summin mixer would be ideal

Also, the meterbridge u have there - what i/o is that monitoring?

Still stunned...

D

[Axel]

Hi Dan,

of the 5 possible ShuttleXpress Buttons i use only two at the moment (´mute selected object´ and ´set locators to selection´), they are sitting in one row with the LC controls directly above the transport.  Maybe i reconfigure some buttons later, i.e. i never use nudge mode, so this will be a potential free button. More than this it´s one of the advantages of the modular concept that it´s possible to make i.e. a complete new transport section in an easy way.

As i have a small mixer beside the box i don´t need any mixing features in my box, i just want to switch between some inputs (DAW master, cd, monitor, mixer...) by pressing a button. At the moment i think about a high quality rotary switch, i think this would be the best way to maintain the integrity of the analog signal (i once build a switching circuit with FlipFlops and CD 4066 CMOS switches for my guitar setup, but that sounded quite crappy).

The meters are the standard LC meters implemented by Thorsten. They are useful for saying ´Hey, there is a weak/strong signal´, but they have quite a big latency, so they won´t compete with a K-System Meter...  ;). Despite of this they are looking really cool providing a touch of a real mixing console...

Axel

[Axel]

Hi vdKroon,

the modules are made of a material called `Hartschaumplatte`, which is very easy to work with, i.e. you can make the fader slots with a cutting knife. The grafics are printed with an ink-jet using HQ foto paper, cutted out and glued to the base material. The problem is to get the button holes into the paper. I´ve done this using a stand drill, but that´s definitely not the ultimate solution...

Maybe i will make some aluminum modules with professional printing in the future...

Here some pics:  www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_029.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_027.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_035.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_037.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_046.jpg

Axel

[jeroddumas]

where did you get6 the material "Hartschaumplatte" from or what is the english equivalent?   Are those alps motorfaders?

Jerod

[Axel]

I got the Hartschaumplatte from a building store called Hornbach, but i think it´s available at other diy stores too. It´s similar to ABS (but softer) or Forex (but not so soft)... i hope these names are the same in english...

The faders are from alps.


Axel

[smashtv]

Hartschaumplatte=Expanded PVC

Best!

SmashTV

[jeroddumas]

where in the US can I find this material Smash?

[smashtv]

where in the US can I find this material Smash?

Good question!  I'm about to start looking into that myself.
I know budget robotics http://www.budgetrobotics.com sells 12" x 12" sheets of it, but I'm sure it can be found cheaper.
I'm wondering if it's a hardware store item.

If you dig any up let me know please!

Best

SmashTV

[kris]

wow what an amazing box
im not making anything so big but would like to include
jog shuttle controlers is the one inyour box multi function

[Rene]

I've seen this unit and I must say, "VERY GOOD JOB".
I think it's now possible to use somthing else then the Digidesign consoles, this one is more beautiful then the Digi.
SO, if it's possible can you mail or post the schematic (block) of the unit?

[Rene]

Hello Axel,

You put in a midisport, so is this that you use for every core mudule a midi port, or is the chain of cores connected to 1 midi i/o?

Is it even possible to use 1 midi i/o for each core?
Less latency?

René

[TK.]

See also http://www.midibox.o...;num=1086450431

Addendum: MIDIbox LC is an exception, because the host application (Logic/Cubase/etc...) requires to connect each core to a seperate MIDI IO!

Note that this limitation is only valid for the Logic Control or Mackie Control emulation --- with a common MIDIbox you can chain the modules ("MIDIbox Link")

Best Regards, Thorsten.