Introducing start of my Midibox SEQ project CHAINREACTOR

[Gridracer]

Hello there,

as a complete newbie I started work on my midibox_seq project last weekend:

Here is the panellayout:

The Button LED Matrix is a must have for me. (singlecolour)

Olthough it means awful lot of soldering.

First I started my search for nice, affordable,

illuminated buttons and found this ones, which are availabel at CONRAD in Germany for 1,83€

http://www.sci.com.tw/PRODUCTS/switch/(R13)%20PUSH%20SWITCH/R13-529.htm

I bought some to test them:

They are NON tactile ones but still feel nice and they close contact after 1mm of travel.

They use white LED;s with a coloured cover (blue, red, yellow, green)

I know that I have to change the Button LED Matrix Circuit.

I have someone who helps me to integrate a darlington array at the cathode lines.

I will post the circuitplan soon but I cant’t help with details as I did not create it myself.

I know that I have to change DEFAULT_SRM_CATHODES_INV_MASK in setup_mbseq_v3.asm

and some other values.

All parts should arrive untill next week, and tonight I have to finish

the frontpanel layout to send it to SCHAEFFER. Will post the .fpd file when ready.

Now starting the coffee machine for a long working night…

[waveformer]

I think for that money you find better buttons. Maybe the MEC buttons?

You can put a LED in the MEC buttons and use a clear cap.

Look better than Panel mounted buttons.

[stryd_one]

Standard MECs are mucho clicky though… But yeh, I agree that for that price, I would be shopping around for a nicer switch.

[Gridracer]

Thanks for your ideas on this.

I took quiet similar ones to the MECs into consideration:

http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/0727/0900766b807274fd.pdf

I also had an eye on this ones, like in the ELKA Synths:

http://www.reichelt.de/?;ACTION=7;LA=6;OPEN=1;INDEX=0;FILENAME=C200%252FDIT1_DTL2%2523ITT.PDF;SID=26qwKbh6wQARoAAHRfiTo6b2ce586a39d2726cb054c0f4774f98b

Regarding the look I like the ones I chose best, they remind me of classic sportscar taillights 

But I had big concerns regarding the “feel”

so I spend one evening with pusing some samples of them connected to my beeping multimeter

untill the cat went mad…

So for my person I can say that i like the feel of this buttons.

And to me they have the advantage of being panel mounted just like the encoders I ordered.

So with mounting the displays directly to the frontpanel I can get along without frontpanel circuitboard.

As i build a desktop design it is easy to mount the module PCBs on the bottom plate, while the frontpanel

carries the buttons, encoders and displays. So I dont have to watch the alignment of the holes in the

panel to any kind of circuitboard.

Frontpanel .fpd file will be finished tonight and ordered tomorrow …

[stryd_one]

So for my person I can say that i like the feel of this buttons.

That, is priority number one!!

[Gridracer]

Frontpanel finished!!! 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3407/3237654035_907792173b.jpg?v=0

now on to SCHAEFFER with it.

need to get some sleep…

[Sasha]

When hotlinking from flickr you have to took out

?v=0

from the end of the link, and by using tags

[img]your image URL[/img]

you can embed the picture. Also, it is good idea if you post link for bigger images or link to your flickr account.

[stryd_one]

Monster

[Sasha]

Even I like how the displays look in center of sequencer, if I was you, I would always position display at top, so you never block the sight with your hands.

[Gridracer]

Also, it is good idea if you post link for bigger images or link to your flickr account.

All pics to be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gridracer/

a lot more to come in the future…

[Gridracer]

I would always position display at top, so you never block the sight with your hands.

That is an issue,

but my thought was that the LED-Button-Matrix is like some sort of instrument

that you play live like shown in the sneakpreview on the SEQ V3 mainpage.

When doing something else than muting + unmuting, your hands are below the display on the encoders

and GP buttons, while you can now view the steppositions of all tracks one the Matrix which is now uncovered.

At least I hope it will work out like that…

I also think that having the displays in the middle provides a nice logical seperation of the different

elements on the panel.

And finaly to me it just looks better.

And that is also a killer argument…

[Sasha]

…I also think that having the displays in the middle provides a nice logical seperation of the different

elements on the panel.

Agree.

And finaly to me it just looks better.

And that is also a killer argument…

That is very valid argument, often prioritized over functionality. What can I say… I left my MBSEQ in final stage after TK released duo-color BLM. I just wanted to have it, more because it looks cool. It is not that I really need it. 

[Max_Romantschuk]

I really like this design.

I think Sasha has a good and rational point about the displays, but then again being creative should call for the interface that inspires you the most!

[bugfight]

having the blm above the displays is no real problem, you don’t really need feedback from the displays while tapping those buttons.  i think that’s kinda the point of having them, aside from the bling…

[Gridracer]

WORK IN PROGRESS: 

MORE:

[Album] CHAINREACTOR

[Twin-X]

This is the best looking seq i have seen to this date.

Excellent done my compliments for the pro looks on this monster!

[Max_Romantschuk]

Gorgeous.

[ultra]

wow i thought it looked cheesy when i saw the first drawing (sorry), but the end result is outstanding.  good work!

[Echopraxia]

Awsome!

How much did the panel, buttons and wood cost?

What type of wood is that called by the way?

Can we see inside?

[stryd_one]

That’s perrrty

I can see the future…  years from now.. a newbie asking “why are there no pics in this thread?”

offsite doco… </broken record>