Modular Synth Panels

On 1/12/07, > angelzero < <loopcycle@...> wrote:
> question about the new stooge panels...are they
> aluminum like FPE's?

Yes.

> it sounds like you will be texturing them for a motm-style appearance

Yes.

> i know how easy it is to scratch the black from
> FPE panels...but im not sure if thats the fault of the
> aluminum or the FPE color coat (paint or whatever that
> it they use).

I don't have any FPE panels myself, but I think they are anodized,
which is a nice thing to do show off a nice piece of metal.  We
anodize a lot of bicycle parts - it's especially fun to leave stickers
on the metal while they're being anodized - the pattern really looks
nice!  (Sort of like dying an easter egg, if you know what I mean.)
Since anodizing doesn't add anything to a surface like paint would, it
works really well on parts like front shocks, where there is a seal
that slides up and down on the surface of the metal.  I'd compare
anodizing to a coat of dye on the surface of a piece of wood.  Very
nice looking, but not quite as durable as a polyurethane paint.

[OLD TIMER STORY: Several years ago, I was visiting a maker of fine
electric basses in Santa Barbara and he gave me a tour of his shop.
One of the instruments was apart on the bench, and he bragged about
how tough the "hard anodize" finish on the battery panel was.  To
demonstrate, he picked up a flat blade screwdriver and started to rub
it on the panel.  When he tilted the screwdriver at an angle, it left
a HUGE gouge in the panel!  He just stopped and stared at it, then we
moved quickly on to the next room.  Moral, not many finishes can
withstand the corner of a screwdriver!]

> what will be similar or different
> between FPE and the new stooge panels (or for that
> matter, between the old and the new).  were larry's
> panels made from the same material as pauls?  they
> both seem to be relatively heavy.

As I said, I don't have any FPE panels, so I can't truly compare, but
my panels will be like Paul's and Larry's.  I'm using the same metal,
the same paint, and the very same silkscreens that were created for
the original Stooge Panels.

Doug

http://www.stoogepanels.com
http://www.analognotes.com