dengel Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Has anyone here had experience with re-wiring exsisting mixers for Midibox use? I have another midi project I am kicking in my head, and for the expense I am considering just using a pre-existing Behringer mixer, for purely economic reasons. What benefits/troubles have you had using this technique? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 The first problem I can think of is that all the pots and faders are likely to be logarythm taper and not linear taper. Log taper is used for audio volume controls, linear taper for MIDIbox controls.Still, at the very least the case, front panel, knobs (ie the actual knobs and not the pots), and maybe the power supply would be useful. If you were into heavy desoldering sessions you might be able to reuse some other loose components like LEDs, but it's a lot of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dengel Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Yeah, I was worried about the possible log aspect. So when people buy these old mixers on ebay, are they basically doing so for the faceplates and boxes only, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 I thought you meant just re-casing the mixer, but keeping it as a mixer... It won't work as AINs or whatever, and the buttons won't work as DINs, they're the wrong type :(Yeh, when custom faceplates cost more than an entire Behringer mixer sometimes the behringer is preferable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dengel Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Yeah, ain't that the truth! The knobs alone on some of the larger behringer DJ mixers are worth about $30.Just thought that it might be a good option to cannibalize one. Too bad though about the rest of the parts, though :(EDIT: What about old control surfaces. like broken DAWs, etc? Do those suffer from the same issues, or are they more suitable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Yeh stuff that was designed for a similar purpose could be more useful... 'course it'll vary... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 I retrofited an Orban DSE7000Which you can see herehttp://www.avishowtech.com/midibox/modules.php?set_albumName=Rowan&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.phpI was alot of work and I had to make pcb's as the holes were already cut in the panel. But It was worth it. unfortunately it's sitting in my parents garage gathering dust on the otherside of the world :(If you can find one the has all the right type of buttons (mometary) and faders (10k lin) it can save ALOT of moneyRowan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dengel Posted May 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Rowan, that looks stunning. Great job. BTW, do you remember what buttons you used on that project and how much they cost? They look like a great style, but if they are RJS then they are just too expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 The buttons are the original ones that came with the control surface, same with the faders and jog wheel. I had to desolder them all from the PCB then make new PCB's............it took ages to do! I didn't have much of a life for a while because of it.Like I said if you can find a second hand control surface it's a good starting point for a MB. Rowan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickw Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 I had thought about this, but most mixers have all the electronics mixed up with the switches and and faders on pcbs to cut down the space and make fabrication more reliable, but making them a nightmare for us to reuse easily -I do wish they would think about that when making something.I did get this on ebay for a quid though and am currently working on midifying it.Regular searches for vision mixers threw it up.It should be fairly easy -it is just the control part of the original system and its so big (about 5 foot long) most the switches pots and t bars are wired onto pcbs that only connect to them, then run ribbon cable to pcbs that work with that, so I mainly just have to decode the layout and routing of that and replace the main logic board with midibox stuff.It won't fit in my backpack though!2b_12_sb.JPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therezin Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 @nickw: That thing's a monster! you got it for a pound? I better look on ebay more often... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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