Good point.
I, too, have always loved the TONTO / Star Trek idea of having the arching
cabinets. A while ago I set up my equipment in that kind of rough
configuration just by bracing it in place, and while it looked really cool,
I was less than happy with it for working, and it didn't last.
The patchcord drooping is a problem, as you've mentioned. I moved my
rack-mount effects devices to the top to get rid of that kind of thing. But
I still learned something about the way I work by using that setup---I don't
stay seated! The curved control panel idea is great for a Gemini space
capsule where you're strapped into a chair and want the control surfaces to
remain a uniform distance from your shoulder. But in my studio I'm always
hopping up and down and rolling my chair from one end of the room to the
other. And quite frankly, I'm not always the only person using the equipment
at the same time, as I do a lot of work with a partner. So for my own new
MOTM cabinets I'm probably going to keep with a flat vertical surface with
maybe one 70-degree 'break' for the low modules and the option of an upper,
slight break as well. (I need to post some sketches), depending on how high
it gets.
Still, I'm the first person to admit that part of the joy of a modular is
that it looks more impressive than any other instrument short of a pipe
organ, and the "C"-shaped consoles sure add to that!! What's needed I guess
is a standard case made of metal with pivots that allow you to adjust the
bend to taste! Now THERE's an industrial design project for somebody!
Or how about the reverse---mounting your modules to the outside of a large
sphere that's on a pivot, like a globe! You could spin it around to see the
other modules... that way the convexity doesn't cramp the control surfaces.
Jest kidding.
-----Original Message-----
From:
elhardt@... [mailto:
elhardt@...]
Sent:Wednesday, 21 February, 2001 1:48 AM
To:
motm@yahoogroups.comSubject:Re: [motm] Rack Rails -> "C" shaped cases
jwbarlow@... writes:
>>Of all the designs I've seen or heard about, I have to admit (as
humiliating as it is to do) I like Bradley's the best. I've always preferred
that "C" shape to a standard straight or sloped cabinet.<<
"C" shaped cases can look impressive. It makes you feel like your piloting
a
spaceship. But you have to be careful about too much of a C shape.
Otherwise you get cables dangling down like spagetti too far infront of the
synth and cable piling up on the bottom modules, and also possibly nudging
knobs. It's not neccessarily as practical as it seems.
-Elhardt