Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

I think this is a good topic to discuss, as many of us either have or
are in the process of building systems we would like to be able to
move around (for use in other studios, performing live, etc.) that
while tiny compared to many MOTM systems, are still way too big for
an SKB pop-up case.

Some of you might remember I was planning to put my system in a 40U
rack. After I found a good deal on a custom rack, the salesman
flaked out. So I never bought it. As it turns out that, that might
have been a good thing. The more I think about it, a 40U rack case isn't
such a good idea. It's too big to be portable. The Sentinel
theme doesn't work either, as its proportions are 1:4:9. So I'm
thinking two or more smaller rack cases would be better.

If you count all the modules I have now, plus what I have on order,
then toss in the the Encore Freq Shifter, is 50 motm units. That's
25U right there.

Yet, that doesn't leave any room for upcoming MOTM modules such as
the envelope generator, VC pulse divider, OC EG, SEM VCF, pan & fade
VCA, Rhythm Wheel, Nest of Envelopes, etc. or any modules already in
production I might want to add, such another LFO, duplicate filter or
VCA. That's at least another 10U, for a total of 35U.

Then toss in another 5U for an AMT-8, Kenton Pro-4, and a big ass
power supply, and we're back to 40U. Do the math. See, I'm not
crazy :)

Two 20U cases doesn't work. Ergonomically, it's very difficult to
reach modules sitting in the bottom of a rack case. So it only works
for one case, as 5U from the bottom is OK, and the interfaces and PS
rarely need to be touched. Stacking one 20U case on top of the other
seems like a bad idea -- not only could the top cabinet tip over, it
would also be difficult to reach.

The interfaces and PS could even go in a separate 5U case, although
the remaining 35U would not be divisible by two.

Also, I do not want to use too many separate cases for the modules
themselves, as each would require it's own power distribution board.

While I'm sure Larry's cabinets reflect the level of quality we
expect from Stooge Industries, they are not intended to be portable
(is it just me, or does Larry sell more MOTM stuff than Paul?? :)
Besides, I already bought seven sets of rack rails.

Just to give you an idea how I'm organizing things, if you only
count modules already purchased, this is how the "panels" break down
so far:

Mod Sources: 101, 320, 800 (X5), 910
Time Line: 410, 480, 440, 490, 190, 110
Oscillator Bank: 820, 300 (X3), 830
Baroque Bank: 510, 520, 600, 700, 910
Island of Misfit Modules: Oakley MultiMix2, Dual CGS ASR, Blacet MiniWave,
Time Machine, Encore UEG, (Frequency Shifter)

Of course, it's not a modular unless you can swap the modules around :)

Any ideas??