I came across some 21in x 12in vinyl covered sheetmetal and some small pieces of aluminum recently and decided to build a multieffects enclosure for my brother. It's not finished but I thought I'd share...
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/fxrack.png)
Here's a bottom shot of the easyvibe mounted on one of the 3x5 aluminum faces. I used metal spacers and some epoxy to hold the board on. More than enough room to mount it above the 3pdt switch. You can see one of the spacers popped off the sheet. The sheets are really smooth so I need to rough up spots before I apply the epoxy.
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/fxrack_single.png)
Bravo, Mikey. That's a great way to make a really tight pedal board. Any ideas for 'end caps'?
VERY nice. :icon_biggrin: Good work. The format permits a lot of flexibility in patching (those short patch cables are sweet!), and seems to accommodate a wide array of boards. You could probably even adapt Dano pedals in there if you felt like it.
I suppose the biggest challenge is providing pristine power to the whole thing. Another challenge (though less daunting) will be keeping the signal in adjacent boards under the cover plate from "bleeding" into each other. Keep in mind that when you normally stick a chorus pedal after your fuzz, the clock in the chorus is shielded from straying into the fuzz gain path by not one but two metal chassis. Here, there may be shielded above and below, but not necessarily beside. In which case some strategic thinking and neat layout is called for. Judging from what you've shown here, though, you're obviously up to the task.
As well, the delightful modularity of it calls out for quick and easy substitution of modules, much like those old Yamaha and Korg systems. In which case a socket or header for power connections will be essential.
Just as an aside, Dean Hazelwanter might have something for you (or rather, your brother). Tell him I sent you. :icon_wink:
Mikey, you do really, really good work! That's beautiful!
Quote from: Dave_BAny ideas for 'end caps'?
One thing that works really well is to take a piece of wood and cut it so it sticks inside the "C" rail bottom by about 1/4", making one for each end. Then take two larger pieces of appearance wood larger than the ends. Glue or screw the inside piece into the outside, appearance piece so that the appearance piece is entirely visible at the end. Finish the appearance pieces nicely, and run screws through the C rail into the inside pieces.
Like this, with glue between them.
QuoteInside piece --> =================
Appearance piece --> ===================
Thanks.
Quote from: Dave_B on June 23, 2006, 10:55:25 AM
Any ideas for 'end caps'?
Yeah I'm not sure yet how to handle the ends. I had planned on cutting some wood to a soft contour of the box but larger in the back to slope the enclosure a bit and use some 90° angle brackets rivetted to the inside bottom of the enclosure and screwed into the sidepieces. I think it would be sturdy enough but if not I'll do like R.G. said and shape some wood along the inside for extra support. Some 1/4" ply bound to 3/4" pine would probably do the trick I'll attach a thin piece of sheetmetal or some aluminum tape to the inside of ends too and block as much rf as i can.
Quote from: Mark Hammer on June 23, 2006, 11:00:09 AM
I suppose the biggest challenge is providing pristine power to the whole thing
I have a 12.6v 1.5A transformer wired to a LM317 at 9.1v ready to be boxed for power. I originally planned to use the first aluminum face to hold the PS but it caused way too much noise that close to the circuits. I plan on wiring a 2.1mm jack negative to the chassis and the positive in a neighbor style chain where each effect would have a male and female socket of some kind on the wire for +9v. The male would plug into the female of the effect to its left leaving its own female socket open to power an effect installed to the right. Makes for easy (re)moving. I dont know if they'll be any noise or power issues from that setup but we'll see.
Quote from: Mark Hammer on June 23, 2006, 11:00:09 AM
Another challenge (though less daunting) will be keeping the signal in adjacent boards under the cover plate from "bleeding" into each other
Hmm ... I had considered that briefly but I didnt think it would be an issue. I figured on putting a f0XX Tone Machine next to a CE-2 in the chain so that gives me a good oportunity to test.
One solution to the noise bleed challenge is maybe to just use a piece of shim bent at right angles to form a kind of U-channel that forms a "wall" between adjacent modules. The shim is thin enough that it can simply be held up against the face plate by the pots, jacks, etc. I use copper shim stock for internal shielding in these nice plastic Pac-Tec boxes I use (because I get them for $2 surplus locally and they're a good size and machine easily) in a similar fashion. The nice thing about the shim stock is that you can usually just poke the appropriate-sized holes in them with a hand-held paperpunch - the very same you use for putting pages in a binder. Also nice is the fact you can cut it to size with ordinary scissors.
:o :icon_cool: :icon_cool: :icon_cool:
Beautiful work!
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/almost_complete.png)
From right to left...
Ross Compressor->Tube Screamer->Thunderchief->f0XX Tone Machine->Eazyvibe->Chorrral Chorus->???
I'm undecided what the last pedal should be. I wouldnt mind some suggestions actually.
I had some ticking from the 'vibe coming through the FTM and thunderchief. At first I thought it was bleeding from the lack of shielding between pedals but it turns out it was coming through the power chain so I made a filter board with a 100r / 100uF / .01uF filter for each pedal and the problem was solved.
Now I'm having an interesting issue with the chorus. I get a clock tick if every pedal is bypassed or the chorus is the only pedal engaged but if any other pedal is engaged the ticking goes away ... I just dont get it.
There was some serious tone sucking but after some debugging I found out it was a pair of patch cables. After I finished each one I ran a diode test to check for shorts but I didnt do an ohm test... big mistake. After redoing a few plugs I had my treble back.
I still haven't made sides but they're not far down on a very short list of things left to do. They should be done by next week.
I guess the logical thing would be a delay pedal on the end there
The final pedal wouldnt necessarily have to be the last in the chain. I can move them around easily enough. I had thought about putting a rebote 2.5 on the end but I decided on building a PT-80 which is 18v and something I'd want in a separate box. Let me see if I can narrow down what I want... I'd like another distortion or fuzz that has a good contrast to what's already on the board. Another ROG circuit wouldnt be a bad thing. Maybe the english channel.
Wow, thats totally cool. I've been thinking about RG's article, its so inspiring to see someone put in the time to make it happen. Such a good idea, especially for performers, its much more compact and robust than a pedalboard. You obviously have a good amount of skill, so you may have thought of some of these or decided against some of them, but I thought I'd throw some ideas I had out there, just because you got me excited about this fx rack notion.
I'm pretty sure the clock noise thing is crosstalk from everything being true bypass, and the high impedance guitar signal cumulatively going through a bunch of unshielded wire (to go through the switching for each effect) in the same box with the chorus. The same thing came up in this thread (http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=46157.0). I would fix it by, rather than using shielded cable for every wire that could potentially carry the unbuffered guitar signal, making a simple buffer for the input (the GGG JFET buffer sounds very nice to my ears), this would have the benefit of driving all the cables and connections in your rack (and a long cable to the amp if everything is bypassed) better without any treble loss from cable capacitance, getting rid of the clock noise, or any other less obvious crosstalk from the other bypassed effects. If it were my thing, I'd put the buffer in the Ross Comp module, between the input jack and the bypass switch, and have it on all the time (my Ross has this, because its alway first in line, and mine sounds brighter with the buffer in front).
You may actually be able to just get away with using a shielded wire for the input to the chorus, and maybe a copper "hood" for that effect like Mark suggested, but the buffer may improve sound in other respects.
Some other ideas:
how about a handle, for carrying around with one hand?
For the module that is undecided, how about a true bypass loop, to bypass everything in the box in one click? If you like both the buffer idea and the loop, you could incorporate the buffer in the loop module.
Your cables look good for this purpose, and your project is looking pretty done, but if anyone else tries this, one could make a default routing of the effects by using normaled jacks, and some kind of connector for internally hooking them together, but still preserving the modularity.
For power, if you wanted to be done with it and weren't averse to buying something, the 1spot switching adapter from visual sound might work well, it has a real long (10') heavy cord, and can put out 1700mA. For distributing power, a daisy chain might be better than 2 jacks for each effect. You could even make your own (mouser has some cheap cables with 2.1 on one end, and bare wires on the other), and rather than a daisy chain, tie all the ends together at the power supply, for star grounding.
Once again, inspiring work!
OR, the spare module could be just a simple channel switcher for the amp, if your bro has one that uses a footswitch.
Quote from: Processaurus on July 17, 2006, 09:32:10 PM
I'm pretty sure the clock noise thing is crosstalk from everything being true bypass, and the high impedance guitar signal cumulatively going through a bunch of unshielded wire (to go through the switching for each effect) in the same box with the chorus. The same thing came up in this thread (http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=46157.0). I would fix it by, rather than using shielded cable for every wire that could potentially carry the unbuffered guitar signal, making a simple buffer for the input (the GGG JFET buffer sounds very nice to my ears), this would have the benefit of driving all the cables and connections in your rack (and a long cable to the amp if everything is bypassed) better without any treble loss from cable capacitance, getting rid of the clock noise, or any other less obvious crosstalk from the other bypassed effects. If it were my thing, I'd put the buffer in the Ross Comp module, between the input jack and the bypass switch, and have it on all the time (my Ross has this, because its alway first in line, and mine sounds brighter with the buffer in front).
A standalone buffer on the first pedal is an excellent idea even if there wasn't a crosstalk problem (all that reading at the Cornish site and it completely slipped my mind!). The whole thing is so compact it's easy to forget how much wire there actually is between the guitar In and amp Out.
Quote from: Processaurus on July 17, 2006, 09:32:10 PMhow about a handle, for carrying around with one hand?
I was checking out the keystone instrument handles at mouser a while back. Thought about mounting one on each end of the enclosure, more for looks than function. I dont see this one doing much travelling but for anyone who builds something similar and gigs with it, an amp style handle on the back would be nice to have. It's so light though you could carry it around by one of the patch cable loops with one finger.
Quote from: Processaurus on July 17, 2006, 11:54:55 PM
For distributing power, a daisy chain might be better than 2 jacks for each effect. You could even make your own (mouser has some cheap cables with 2.1 on one end, and bare wires on the other), and rather than a daisy chain, tie all the ends together at the power supply, for star grounding.
The way I have it now is a standard 2.1mm kobiconn jack in the back grounds to the chassis and +9v goes into a filter board with separate filters for each effect. Then wires go out from the filter board and connect up to each effect via an insulated crimp on male/female pair. All effects ground from the chassis through their IN jack.
Quote from: Processaurus on July 17, 2006, 11:54:55 PM
OR, the spare module could be just a simple channel switcher for the amp, if your bro has one that uses a footswitch.
That's a clever idea. I dont think his amp has a footswitch though.
Quote from: mikey on July 18, 2006, 02:53:50 AM
That's a clever idea. I dont think his amp has a footswitch though.
Does it have multiple inputs (like a Bassman)? If it does, you could run a cable to each input and switch between them.
Quote from: Dave_B on July 18, 2006, 12:13:48 PM
Quote from: mikey on July 18, 2006, 02:53:50 AM
That's a clever idea. I dont think his amp has a footswitch though.
Does it have multiple inputs (like a Bassman)? If it does, you could run a cable to each input and switch between them.
It's an old junky Crate. I'm going to set the condition that he cant have the effects until he gets a better amp.
Finished!
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/DSC00553.png)
power filter & distro
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/DSC00551.png)
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/DSC00549.png)
leds
(http://fidnet.com/~biolsi/effects/DSC00559.png)
Well this thing is about as finished as it's going to get.
From right to left: Ross comp->Tube Screamer->Thunderchief->f0XX Tone Machine->Green BMP->Chorrral Chorus(CE-2)->EasyVibe
You cant really see in the pics, but the sides tilt the whole thing forward a bit and lift the chassis off the floor enough to fit cable under so it's easy to patch in other effects in front of the board.
I still need to add an input buffer and labels but I gotta say this thing is sweet. All my concerns about building so many effects into a small enclosure have been laid to rest. I dont hesitate to build another. Gonna be hard to part with but luckily I have enough of the same materials used in this one to make a few more! ;D
Big thanks to GEO, Tonepad, GGG, Fuzz Central and ROG for the layouts.
Fantastic !! really nice job :D
MM
Real nice pro looking job.
Good work mikey.
pyrop ;D
A thing of beauty. The power-distribution is lovely.
Now, are you ready for the "Do you think you could build me one?" requests when you trot it out publically? :icon_wink:
great work man!just 2 questions
1: how did you bend the aluminium and took the right measures?
2: Why didn't you usa a daisy chain for the pedals?what's that pcb (connected to the dc jack)useful for?
Quote from: Mark Hammer on August 03, 2006, 08:41:05 AM
Now, are you ready for the "Do you think you could build me one?" requests when you trot it out publically? :icon_wink:
Ugh I know what you mean all too well. It's the bane of DIY'ers.
Quote from: Nashtir on August 03, 2006, 09:47:10 AM
great work man!just 2 questions
1: how did you bend the aluminium and took the right measures?
2: Why didn't you usa a daisy chain for the pedals?what's that pcb (connected to the dc jack)useful for?
1: I painstakingly bent the chassis by hand using some boards to help get a straighter edge, a method I wouldn't recommend (not the way I did it anyway). I had 12" of sheetmetal width to work with so I did the math on what lengths between bends would give me about 2" of height and 1/2" of overhang to mount the faces and came up with what you see. I dont have exact numbers.
2: My original plan was to daisychain the power but I had some interference between pedals coming through the power chain so I made a simple PCB with a filter for each pedal and distributed the +9v from there.
I myself am wondering what the PCB connected to the power jack does.
Inspiring. I felt good about myself after deciding to do 2 effects in 1 box and realizing I thought I could pull it off. Now this. Just amazing! I wonder how many wish they were your brother. :)
That is really beautiful work... Congratulations!
Kudos! Really beautiful and clean functionally and aesthetically. Love it!!
If I'm seeing it right, that PCB is a power filter.
This is so cool. This may be the definitive solution for diyers wanting to get Cornish-like, but are always trying new stuff. There are so many good design ideas in here.
I found it very inspiring. Very nice project that you did there.
I have some aluminium that I was wondering how to use. You gave me the idea to cut it in panels that I will use as front panels for a console as you did.
Gilles
Wow. Absolutely amazing. Inspiring, even!
Those pitctures got my brain working. Ok, say you've got that black bottomplate thing... does each "module" so to speak slide into place, or are they a pain in the rear to get in there? If they slide, you could use a detatchable 2 conductor cord coming from the power filter board to each individual board (as it appears you did). Then, you could slide effects in and out as you needed/wanted them, and all you'd need to detatch from a module would be the 9V and ground cables.
It's just beautiful man....
Quote from: joelap on August 03, 2006, 08:12:50 PM
Wow. Absolutely amazing. Inspiring, even!
Those pitctures got my brain working. Ok, say you've got that black bottomplate thing... does each "module" so to speak slide into place, or are they a pain in the rear to get in there? If they slide, you could use a detatchable 2 conductor cord coming from the power filter board to each individual board (as it appears you did). Then, you could slide effects in and out as you needed/wanted them, and all you'd need to detatch from a module would be the 9V and ground cables.
Just remove the 4 screws holding any one plate to the chassis, unplug the power cord and they pop right out. I only needed a single conductor for the power since the chassis provides the ground which I tap through the faceplates to the sleeve of the input or output jacks. A person wanting to swap effects could do so in a matter of seconds. I had even considered using some type of clamping system instead of screws to hold the faceplates on for quick changes but I opted for the simpler screw mounts.
Some other ideas I had and decided against because of my material limitations or otherwise:
- Mounting the footswitch and in/out jacks(rear) to the chassis and using a modular plug with in/out/+9v conductors to connect the effects
- Routing the signal path internally but switching to the external jacks automatically when a plug was inserted
- Installing a transformer inside the chassis and using AC power
- Mounting aluminum plates vertically inside the chassis to separate each effect into it's own compartment for maximum shielding
[/list]
I'm really loving this. I have some heavy aluminum channel from the scrapyard that I drilled and tapped holes into every 1/2" (or something) with the idea of doing something like this. Never got around to finishing it, and that was a couple years ago. Now I'm inspired, and really have to have a go at it! You did a great job.
The aluminum you used for the top panels - what gauge did you go with? I've got something like a 4 inch unsupported spread between the "lips" of my channel, and I'm worried about getting too much flex - I guess I'll just have to experiment, but I'd be interested in hearing what you went with.
But, yeah, this is looking great!
Quote from: sfr on August 04, 2006, 07:57:43 PM
The aluminum you used for the top panels - what gauge did you go with? I've got something like a 4 inch unsupported spread between the "lips" of my channel, and I'm worried about getting too much flex - I guess I'll just have to experiment, but I'd be interested in hearing what you went with.
I measured my plates at 1.8mm. If my math and the charts I'm looking at are right, that puts it at about 13ga. It's more than thick enough for the job and you could certainly get away with a lighter gauge. How much lighter depends on the abuse it's going to take. I get zero flex when I engage a pedal normally and it takes significantly more weight to cause even slight flex than to activate the footswitch.
I had about that same 4" spread. My plates were 3"x5" and the lip was 1/4" - 1/2" on each side.
QuoteI've got something like a 4 inch unsupported spread between the "lips" of my channel, and I'm worried about getting too much flex
A couple of simple mechanical details will take care of that.
First - put the footswitch as near the lip of the rack as you can get it and still have everything still fit. The lip then reinforces the faceplate and you'd have to bend both the lip and the rack at the same time - not likely!
Second - if you must put mechanical stress on the center of the faceplate, you can either (a) bend the sides of the faceplate down to form a reinforcing lip inside the rack on each side if you have access to a sheet metal brake or (b) epoxy, JB Weld, or screw a 1/2" by 1/2" angle on each side of the faceplate from the bottom. This also reinforces the faceplate across the opening.
Thanks!
R.G. - like those re-inforcing ideas as well. Hadn't thought of those before.
My last DIY box had a little too much flex for me, I ended up cutting a length of plastic piping the height of the interior of the chassis to fit around the 3PDT stomp, with a hole in the middle to feed the outgoing wires through. R.G.'s ideas sound easier to implement and a little more elegant.
Quote from: sfr on August 05, 2006, 04:39:39 PM
Thanks!
R.G. - like those re-inforcing ideas as well. Hadn't thought of those before.
My last DIY box had a little too much flex for me, I ended up cutting a length of plastic piping the height of the interior of the chassis to fit around the 3PDT stomp, with a hole in the middle to feed the outgoing wires through. R.G.'s ideas sound easier to implement and a little more elegant.
BAH to elegance! If it's inside, no one will know but you :P we'll just call it our dirty little secret.
Of course, inelegance is the reason my wiring never works.
Quote from: sfr on August 05, 2006, 04:39:39 PM
Thanks!
R.G. - like those re-inforcing ideas as well. Hadn't thought of those before.
My last DIY box had a little too much flex for me, I ended up cutting a length of plastic piping the height of the interior of the chassis to fit around the 3PDT stomp, with a hole in the middle to feed the outgoing wires through. R.G.'s ideas sound easier to implement and a little more elegant.
If you had enough material you could make the sides big enough to extend all the way to the bottom of the chassis providing additional support and shielding between pedals.
QuoteBAH to elegance! If it's inside, no one will know but you we'll just call it our dirty little secret.
That's true. Back in my checkered past, I wound up taking an adult beginner ballet class. As one of the instructors explained, in class, you work for perfection, whether you can actually bend that way or not. You try to do it with perfect form. In a performance, no matter whether your leg will go that high with perfect form or not, it goes that high. That's what costumes are for. Elegance is what we try to do in private so we know how close to elegant we can get in public.
QuoteIf you had enough material you could make the sides big enough to extend all the way to the bottom of the chassis providing additional support and shielding between pedals.
That works. It also works to make either wooden or metal partitions to sit at the joints and hold those onto the bottom rack. These then support the faceplates on the sides and it's not as much work as fabbing fancy faceplates. You drill holes in the partitions to pass wiring.
I personally always had the idea that I'd put an EA-2 relay on each effect board and switch the relays remotely with a footswitch rack, but putting the footswitch with the effects works well too.
In terms of finding materials, I had the need to find som more steel stud material and called a local building supplier. They still stock the stuff. A channel 10' long with a cross section of 1.875" by 5.875 with 1/2" lips (that is, the size of a 2x6 piece of lumber) in 18 gauge steel is $12 and one that's 1.875" x 7.75" is $14, same length. Either of these has enough material for about six footpedal racks if you cut between the perforations, more if you just ignore the perforations on the bottom and cover them up with something.
Of course, that's still more expensive than the first one I got ...free... because it was slightly bent.
Great!!!! Congratulations.
That sure looks good. Nice detail.
Thanks for sharing it.
Chuck
Very nice work. I've seen enough of these lately that I've decided I really outta build one- only problem is I haven't found a pedal I love as much as the Tim (my only boutique pedal I use) and I don't want to take the time out and rewire it into a multi-fx setup...maybe I'll just use patch cables to patch it in. Very nice looking work! You should change the LEDs from all blue to all the colors of the rainbow :icon_mrgreen:
I had some alumium plates that I decided to cut, based on this pedalboard project, and I began to cut them today.
I cut them at 3.5" x 5" instead of the 3" x 5" used here. I decided that I needed the extra space...
I still have to find how I will build the frame with wood, but I think I will wire an effect with the footswitch and all before I start the frame. I will have a better idea of what I need to do based on how I wire my effects.
So I just wanted to say thanks again for the pictures of the project. It was very very inspiring.
Oh, and I also cut some plates at 9"W x 4.75"H for the bigger projects. The original plates I had were 4.75" x over 12" with a couple of hole always at the same place from plate to plate. So I had to find a way to get the maximum with what I had.
Gilles
Quote from: R.G. on August 06, 2006, 08:50:45 AM
In terms of finding materials, I had the need to find som more steel stud material and called a local building supplier. They still stock the stuff. A channel 10' long with a cross section of 1.875" by 5.875 with 1/2" lips (that is, the size of a 2x6 piece of lumber) in 18 gauge steel is $12 and one that's 1.875" x 7.75" is $14, same length. Either of these has enough material for about six footpedal racks if you cut between the perforations, more if you just ignore the perforations on the bottom and cover them up with something.
I had originally planned to use steel stud but I couldnt find any locally, then these vinyl covered pieces fell in my lap. My chassis ended up being almost the same dimensions of the smaller stud you mention. If I cant find a reasonably priced brake soon ( I really dont want to bend another chassis by hand ) I'll have to continue my search for steel stud.
Quote from: newbie builder on August 08, 2006, 08:41:09 PM
Very nice work. I've seen enough of these lately that I've decided I really outta build one- only problem is I haven't found a pedal I love as much as the Tim (my only boutique pedal I use) and I don't want to take the time out and rewire it into a multi-fx setup...maybe I'll just use patch cables to patch it in. Very nice looking work! You should change the LEDs from all blue to all the colors of the rainbow :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: Gilles C on August 09, 2006, 09:26:58 PM
I had some alumium plates that I decided to cut, based on this pedalboard project, and I began to cut them today.
I cut them at 3.5" x 5" instead of the 3" x 5" used here. I decided that I needed the extra space...
I still have to find how I will build the frame with wood, but I think I will wire an effect with the footswitch and all before I start the frame. I will have a better idea of what I need to do based on how I wire my effects.
So I just wanted to say thanks again for the pictures of the project. It was very very inspiring.
Oh, and I also cut some plates at 9"W x 4.75"H for the bigger projects. The original plates I had were 4.75" x over 12" with a couple of hole always at the same place from plate to plate. So I had to find a way to get the maximum with what I had.
Gilles
Good luck with your builds! Keep us posted. I'm putting off building another for myself until I get a sheetmetal brake and I'm very interested to see what changes/improvements you make in yours.
A sheetmetal brake is indeed the best tool to cut these plates. The place I work work is closing its doors slowly but surely, and I won't have acces to the hydraulic sheetmetal brake we have in the following months or weeks. That's why I decided to cut all the plates I could cut for all my future needs.
Btw this morning, I woke up with an idea. I check the dimensions of the Hammond 1590BB boxes and when I realised it was 3.7" x 4.7" , I decided to cut the rest of the plates to a width of 3.75", the other size being already 4.75", which means more front plates for my effects from the same pieces of aluminium I have. We have to go with what we have.
I'll post my experiments in a new thread when I'm done.
Gilles
A few ideas to add:
I've used standard electrical box tops to build up all of the prototype pedals. (see page #2 of the 'pictures' thread http://mojotronics.com/images/DCP_1555_small.JPG (http://mojotronics.com/images/DCP_1555_small.JPG)) And, I really like standardizing on something like those as I can use standard templates for 2 to 6 knob top panels (electrical box tops) and drill out 10 at a time when I run low on 'enclosures'.
Some here have given me the idea to make a rack using the electrical box tops as the faceplates - they are more than sturdy and have enough room. And, if I want one, or a few, to be singles - like if I just wanted to pop out a booster, throw it into the back of a combo and head off to a 'one-pedal' gig - I just drop it into an electrical box-bottom and paint the bottom with truck bedliner - which works really well.
What I was going to do was to also use a standard steel 'erector-set' angle pieces as the overhang and use those clip-on-nuts on the overhang so there would be no drilling and I could move things around - also I could cut a 4x? piece for effects with more knobs or big PCBs. So, when I want to build up more racks, all I have to do is drive to HomeDepot and buy a new hacksaw blade. I think the only issue with this approach is that it would not be screaming 'DIY' - but what the heck - that's me: And, I think so far my electrical boxes look fairly good.
I really like the 1-connector power distribution idea - I thought that computer floppy quick connect connectors could also eliminate/standardize the in/out jacks if one wanted to go that far.
When I get something constructed I will post some pics. For now - these are just some ideas from a guy that hates the cost of Hammonds.
Mikey, absolutely fantastic project!!
It's very inspiring, to me as it has been to a lot of other guys here as well, no doubt. I can see all of them sitting at their workbench, planning their own modular multi-effects (as am I at the moment).
A couple of practical questions:
- What are the connectors you used for the power cords? Where did you get these?
- How do the faceplates screw to the chassis? Did you have to tap the threads?
Quote from: WildMountain on August 14, 2006, 01:49:10 PM
- What are the connectors you used for the power cords? Where did you get these?
http://www.mouser.com/search/productdetail.aspx?R=2-520184-2virtualkey57100000
http://www.mouser.com/search/productdetail.aspx?R=2-520103-2virtualkey57100000
I chose these because the male-female pair were fully insulated. If one came loose it wouldnt short out on the chassis.
Quote from: WildMountain on August 14, 2006, 01:49:10 PM
- How do the faceplates screw to the chassis? Did you have to tap the threads?
I drilled 1/8" holes in the faceplates which were slightly larger than the sheetmetal screws I had and used a small bit to get holes started in the chassis to drive the screws through. Nothing fancy.
Quote from: mojotron on August 10, 2006, 11:12:01 AM
A few ideas to add:
I've used standard electrical box tops to build up all of the prototype pedals. (see page #2 of the 'pictures' thread http://mojotronics.com/images/DCP_1555_small.JPG (http://mojotronics.com/images/DCP_1555_small.JPG)) And, I really like standardizing on something like those as I can use standard templates for 2 to 6 knob top panels (electrical box tops) and drill out 10 at a time when I run low on 'enclosures'.
Some here have given me the idea to make a rack using the electrical box tops as the faceplates - they are more than sturdy and have enough room. And, if I want one, or a few, to be singles - like if I just wanted to pop out a booster, throw it into the back of a combo and head off to a 'one-pedal' gig - I just drop it into an electrical box-bottom and paint the bottom with truck bedliner - which works really well.
What I was going to do was to also use a standard steel 'erector-set' angle pieces as the overhang and use those clip-on-nuts on the overhang so there would be no drilling and I could move things around - also I could cut a 4x? piece for effects with more knobs or big PCBs. So, when I want to build up more racks, all I have to do is drive to HomeDepot and buy a new hacksaw blade. I think the only issue with this approach is that it would not be screaming 'DIY' - but what the heck - that's me: And, I think so far my electrical boxes look fairly good.
I really like the 1-connector power distribution idea - I thought that computer floppy quick connect connectors could also eliminate/standardize the in/out jacks if one wanted to go that far.
When I get something constructed I will post some pics. For now - these are just some ideas from a guy that hates the cost of Hammonds.
That sounds like great idea using electrical box faceplates for a build like this. When I was first starting to plan mine out I thought about the possibility of removing a module and having some type of enclosure to mount it in for use as a standalone pedal but I couldnt come up with anything practical. It looks like you could pop the faceplates right off your builds and into a rack or vice versa and have the best of both worlds whenever it suited you. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
What are the dimensions of those outlet faceplates anyway?