Update 9/5, one set left.
Hey all. I had a small batch of cheap MB-6582 panels made, and as I only need one set, I thought I would pass the rest on to the community. Before selling them though, I want to make very clear what these panels are, what they aren’t, and how they differ from the standard designs (very slightly).
What these panels are:
- They’re pretty good looking.
- They’re inexpensive.
- They’re made to high precision. The fit on my personal MB-6582 is perfect.
- They’re professionally made. The screen printing on them turned out pretty nice.
- Technically, they’re aluminum PCBs. There are no circuits (there’s not even a copper layer), just soldermask and screen print, but getting them made by a PCB company is why they’re cheap.
What these panels are not:
- They’re not perfect. I really want to stress this. They’re not perfect. If you’re kind of anal about scratches and blemishes, these are not the panels for you. These are the Monets of the panel world: from far away, they’re ok, but up close, it’s a big ol’ mess. Some issues they have: various scuffs, a couple light scratches, some soldermask blemishes. There’s a stray bit of screenprint on all the rear panels, but it is luckily covered up by the PT-10 bezel. Just check out the pictures, I tried to get a good shot of all the different issues.
- They’re not Front Panel Express or -level of quality. The edges aren’t perfectly clean (not messy though), and the screenprint, while nice-looking, isn’t 100% perfect. There is definitely no etching or engraving like you’d see from FPE or Julian. If you’re one of those anal folks I was just talking about, you’re much better off spending the extra money with them to get something really nice.
- They’re not durability-tested. I know other synthDIY folks have used this manufacturer for front panels before, and I have’t heard anyone complain about issues (besides the already-mentioned cosmetic ones), but I can’t guarantee that the screen print will hold up forever.
How these panels are different from the standard designs on the wiki (see photos):
- Added a small “MB?6582” graphic/text to front panel. Just felt weird not to have the name of the synthesizer on there somewhere.
- Added silly psychedelic graphic behind LED matrix.
- Added front panel corner mounting holes (not countersunk).
- Enlarged mix out jack cut-out on rear panel to accommodate 1/4" jack.
- Added “MIX OUT” label to rear panel.
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out. I think my descriptions probably make them sound worse than they are, but I just want to be totally honest about how they look. Again, they aren’t perfect, but they’re much cheaper than any other option short of drilling your own at home. I will be assembling my MB-6582 using these panels with zero hesitation about how they look, and definitely no hesitation with their construction quality. If you have any questions or concerns, definitely contact me. (Edit: I also want to mention, a lot of the scuffs seem to be pretty shallow, and you might be able to buff/polish most of them out if you are careful and have the time. No guarantees, and I wouldn’t try to buff too near the screen-printing, but I thought it worth mentioning.)
I’m thinking $38 shipped inside the US for a set (front and rear). I am happy to ship internationally for $35 plus actual shipping. I only did a small run of five sets, and this is just enough to cover costs. Because of the issues described, I’m treating these like “b-stock”; in other words, consider them “as-is” products with no returns. (Obviously if they show up bent from shipping or otherwise fouled-up in a way I haven’t described or implied here, we can make arrangements for a refund, but I don’t want to hear any complaints about scuffs and blemishes.)
Also, if anyone wants to order their own run of PCB panels (you could get them even cheaper if you have them fabbed from regular PCB material), I’m happy to privately share my Gerbers and/or DipTrace files. It’s pretty easy to do yourself from the already available DXF files, though.
