Different types of enclosures

[notneb]

Anyone know anything about this outfit?
http://www.rixenpedals.com/store.html
Pretty much what I'm looking for, but way pricey. Is anyone in the U.S. doing these?

[armdnrdy]

Punch on the "store" link.

This guy is High!

"Basic bare aluminium enclosure kit with NO switch
Buyer must ensure the switch they wish to use is suitable for the enclosure. Rixen takes no responsibility for the operation of switches which Rixen does not supply. Check pedal travel on specifications page. The classic blue 3PDT footswitch seems to work fine."

$30.95!!!!! for the bare bones model.


"Price per enclosure. If buying more than one enclosure, please add more shipping. ie: for 3 enclosures please buy 3 lots of shipping."
(so much for combined shipping!)

$15.00!!!! per enclosure!!!!

These enclosures are kind of cool.......but not that cool!

[smallbearelec]

Is anyone in the U.S. doing these?

Not AFAIK. I think the guy who does the one you like is in NZedd. It's nice work. His mistake(s), IMO, was/were not getting it done in Taiwan/China, and not investing enough to get made a large-enough lot to permit a market-clearing price. I may eventually get my tool costs back on the Bare Box #1; I think it Very unlikely that this guy will. It's too bad, and some business lessons have to be learned the hard way. Regarding the marketing of this kind of enclosure, I should add that I grossly overestimated the willingness of small producers to:

--alter existing designs to fit a new enclosure, even though the new enclosure might offer significant advantages;

--have their enclosures look anything like BOSS/Ibanez/Digitech.

[Mark Hammer]

The Bare Box IS a well-planned system for building pedals.  It is a mistake to think of it as "just a box".  Will everything fit inside it?  Nah, but the only way EHX and Boss can get things to fit inside their standard chassis is to use surface mount and miniaturize as much as possible; something that tends not to apply to us DIY-ers who rely primarily on thru-hole parts.

I'd like to see more board designers incorporate the dimensions and system of the Bare Box into their board layouts.  Yes, I suppose that is biased on my part, but then folks already do their layouts so as to fit neatly inside of Hammond boxes, using Neutrik jacks, and 3PDT stompswitches, so I can't see where this crosses any line in terms of favoring a manufacturer unfairly.

Every year, folks start threads here about "how do you mount your boards?".  Well, the Bare Box arrives with a plan in place, and the mounting standoffs to place your board, with plenty of clearance for a 3PDT, and space to mount a bunch of controls without having them short out against components on the board (remember all those "It worked before I boxed it up" threads?).

So next time you're working on a layout, give a thought towards laying it out to fitting inside a Bare Box.  You'll be glad you did.

[digi2t]

Shame about the price, it looks like a really nice enclosure. Well thought out. But, compared to Steve's Bare Box system, which offers goodies like the 5 pot board, and board connectors, I couldn't justify the extra cost. Steve's got a significant edge on this one.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I like the look and design behind Steve's Bear Box! However, two things I would like to mention...

- Until Steve's alternative Bear Box can price compare with the commonly used Hammond or Hammond-clone boxes.. it wont catch fire 

- Personally, I would like to see an optical or electronic switching option for the Bare Box. Something along the lines of Boss or DOD but with the popular H11F1-type switching or micro switch. Perhaps an optional spring loaded rigid plastic or aluminum stomp cover.

[Mark Hammer]

It actually does allow for use of a momentary switch, albeit without a treadle.  One would simple use a stomp-like actuator ( http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=320 ) or a soft-touch momentary SPST.  I can see where some folks would prefer a treadle to assist their aim (pointy boots?), but you can't have everything, I suppose.

[digi2t]

I can see where some folks would prefer a treadle to assist their aim (pointy boots?), but you can't have everything, I suppose.

HA HA!!! I can see it now! Pink Jimi Photon presents....

THE GEISHA FUZZ!

OK... I'll shut up now. 

[electrosonic]

Why does he use 4PDT switches? It states the life of the switch is > 50 000 operations. A Cliff 3PDT is rated for 20 000 operations. Curious that a switch with more moving parts is rated for more operations.

(On the other hand a Carling SPST is rated for > 100 000 operations.

[mth5044]

Might as well get a used boss enclosure and use that.

[Mark Hammer]

Might as well get a used boss enclosure and use that.

My thoughts exactly.  Any idea just how many busted DS-1s are out there, that were bought for $40 or less?

[Mustachio]

I'm really surprised the Bare Box at small bear isn't a bigger hit. It's one of the nicest enclosures I've ever used ! It has plenty of space inside for designing or fitting existing designs in. It's a nice change up from the common rectangle boxes.

It's really not that expensive especially for what you get, and I'm a broke cheap skate!

[smallbearelec]

I'm really surprised the Bare Box at small bear isn't a bigger hit.

I have been discussing with VP Operations (Wife) and Therapist/Business Consultant (Dr. M. Hammer) just why this is and what I might do about it that I have not already tried. On the commercial side, I've noted the issues that the established boutiques have with the platform. However, new companies do start occasionally, and one may yet adopt it. On the DIY side, I think one of the issues (other than cost) is that you can't go to the Layouts area here and come up with a pattern for an Orange Squeezer, for example, that is set up on a 60mm x 60 mm perfboard and labeled specifically for the Bare Box.

So why don't I design a Bare Box-compatible EA Trem, for example? I don't want to give my time to doing layouts or PCBs for the off-the-rack/50-most-popular builds out there! First, I'd be competing with some of my customers and, second, I have always wanted to follow my own muse, build things that I find interesting.

I'm going to continue to think this out "with a little help from my friends."

SD

[digi2t]

I'm really surprised the Bare Box at small bear isn't a bigger hit.

I have been discussing with VP Operations (Wife) and Therapist/Business Consultant (Dr. M. Hammer) just why this is and what I might do about it that I have not already tried. On the commercial side, I've noted the issues that the established boutiques have with the platform. However, new companies do start occasionally, and one may yet adopt it. On the DIY side, I think one of the issues (other than cost) is that you can't go to the Layouts area here and come up with a pattern for an Orange Squeezer, for example, that is set up on a 60mm x 60 mm perfboard and labeled specifically for the Bare Box.

So why don't I design a Bare Box-compatible EA Trem, for example? I don't want to give my time to doing layouts or PCBs for the off-the-rack/50-most-popular builds out there! First, I'd be competing with some of my customers and, second, I have always wanted to follow my own muse, build things that I find interesting.

I'm going to continue to think this out "with a little help from my friends."

SD

Could it be that, as a design in itself, it just too much of a radical departure for most diy'ers? Let me elaborate; I've been doing this pedal building thing for about 5 years now. When I started out, I started with a kit or two, to get my feet wet. What kind of enclosures do kits normally come with. Riiiiiight. When the first timer starts scouring the net for building instruction, what is the most common enclosure that is burned into his psyche. Riiiiiight. Now that we've got the Hammond (or clone thereof) thing going, and humans naturally being creatures of habit, that's pretty hard to break. Personally, going to the big Multicomp enclosures for the Ludwig, Infinitphase, et al. was not a choice, but a necessity due to the increased capacity needed to the larger project. The other angle might well be pedalboard esthetics as well. If someone has been populating their pedalboard with Hammond's, how tempting would be to switch to a different style mid-stream? For most (remember that "creature of habit"?), I would hazard to say, pretty tough.

I'm not knocking your product Steve, no effin' way. I know a smart thing when I see it. Lots of people do. But, to convert enough of the unwashed masses to the point that these things are flying off the shelves like hot cakes, will probably be a bit of a slog. After all, Mark emphasized a clear point where an old Boss enclosures are concerned. I see them used occasionally for diy projects, but I can't say that they are taking the world by storm. 125's, and 1590's, still seem to have a stranglehold on that.

Now.... if you could get some fancy geetar slinger to come out publicly and say, "My name is (insert name of fav twanger here), and I endorse this product!", maybe then, enough panties will get wet, and you'll be moving more stock. At this point, sadly, folks would consider it "a necessity".

Just my two bits.

[amptramp]

I think a well-done example of a pedal using the bear box shown in the pictures thread might spark some interest.  A lot of us read the pictures thread faithfully.  If all we see is Hammond and we never see a bear box, they get the business.  A good bear box project would be something that would get a few people thinking.  Or just send a box to slade and have it show up on the etched box thread.  Until a lot of people see it, you won't move many of them.

[digi2t]

Maybe we should have a new contest then.

THE BARE BOX SHOOTOUT!

A no holds barred, slam down, knock out, free for all, pedal slammer of a contest. Only one rule; all entries must be enclosed in a Smallbear Bare Box.

There you go. My contribution to the Smallbear marketing campaign.

[Mark Hammer]

One thing I suspect might increase demand (and my goal here is not to push people to switch over from Hammond boxes, but to make the box sustainable so that it remains available to folks over the long term as a choice, so Steve has to make back his tooling costs as a first step) is powder-coating.  As terrific of a design as it is, I have to say that prepping one for painting is not quite as easy as prepping a 1590BB or 125C.  Being able to skip that step makes them more appealing as an option.

I think it may also be the case that avoiding stepping on the controls when one goes to hit a stompswitch with your size 12 Doc Maartens, is less of a concern for folks who have 2 or 3 knobs on their boxes, and can situate the controls and stompswitch a safe distance away from each other.  Those folks are likely justified in remaining content with their 1590A/B/BB boxes.  If I have a bunch of small pots and toggles, though, THEN I start to worry about what my foot may do to them in the heat of the moment, and that's where the Bare Box starts to shine.  Visual Sound has the riser behind the knobs to protect them, and Small Bear ducks the controls safely out of the way by putting them below the surface where your foot hits.  Different approach but the same general strategy.

So if the way to increase both awareness and interest in this alternate chassis system is a layout contest, I'll suggest that something more complex than a 2-knob fuzz is probably the way to go so that folks see an advantage.

The current availability of teeny pots, whether the ones with the black plastic shafts, or the ones with metal shafts you can screw knobs onto, is also a nice fit with the Bare Box, especially the little 5-control board one can install with Molex connectors.  Again, that's not going to have much appeal to the 2-kob fuzz builder.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Maybe we should have a new contest then.

THE BARE BOX SHOOTOUT!

A no holds barred, slam down, knock out, free for all, pedal slammer of a contest. Only one rule; all entries must be enclosed in a Smallbear Bare Box.

       

Hmmmmmmm............