2013 started brilliantly, let there be no doubt. By April, my newly found obsession with DIY synthesisers reached a peak, and a small pile of worthy project PCBs was collected. Then work took over. For a year.
There were times during that winter of DIY-lessness that I looked forlornly, hopelessly, at the cardboard boxes of fresh components, and the half-built units soaking-up dust on the shelf.
Whilst unable to actually build, dreams of what was possible prevented me from going mad, and I spent my spare moments planning, plotting, scheming for the day I would wield the soldering iron again.
Now that that day has come I can reveal the outcomes of my lengthy pause for cogitation:
The original plan for the 4x4Pole Mission was to house the 4 voices together with a scavenged Fatar keybed. Many panel designs were drawn-up, with this being the final iteration in that direction (click to view).
The problems with this setup soon became obvious:
- Originally I was to cut the 79cm panel in 5mm thick Acrylic, however the panel would likely still flex during use. Not ideal.
- The positioning of the screens and controls was too dispersed. If possible, I wanted to be able to see all screens at once, and I tried grouping them together, but still without satisfactory results.
- Since I was going to all this trouble to mount a keybed, why should I restrict it’s use to just one synth?
In the end, I went for a compromise solution – but one I am very pleased with:
- The keyboard/MKE and UC16 now become a master controller, with in-built MIDIpal, a 3mm anodized aluminium faceplate, and joysticks!
- The 4×4 Pole is racked on a 4U 19″ Aluminium Panel, and with (wait for it…) more joysticks!
The redesign went much faster now that I had a clear idea of the endpoints. The alumium faceplates were quickly designed in FPD and sent to be cut by SchaefferAG.
I was very pleased with the results – with one minor niggle: I only used 2mm Aluminium for the Rack faceplate, meaning that there is some flex. This is fixable, but I should have used 3mm aluminium, similar to the keyboard panel, which has no flex at all. Oh well, you live and you learn.
Must say though, the anodized panels turned-out way sexy-looking. Victory candy included!
No excuses now….and no time to waste….
In my last post – a full 18 months ago! – I ravaged my poor old Evolution UC16 MIDI controller to prepare it for the installation of panel-mounted pots. In the intervening period the assaulted PCB eyelets gave-up hope and fell off, leaving me with a considerable amount of microsurgery to get the board working again.
Not pretty, but perfectly functional. Liberal amounts of hot glue and some PCB varnish should give it a few years of extended life.
Once that was done it was a matter of mounting the boards and wiring-up. Time-consuming but largely trouble-free.
Colourful though….
So, the keyboard components have been tested and all work together. MIDI is internally wired from UC16 > MKE > MIDpal > out. Initial tests show this to be a stunning combo. The MIDIpal rules!
All I need now are the side and back panels. I know what I want, I just can’t afford the additional cost right now (about 70 euro). However, this is no problem because the 4x4pole is quickly coming together. As of last night, all boards were working as expected, the filters have been tuned, and the sound of awesomeness is in the air.
Just the wiring to go…..
in 3 or 4 days I should be there.