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Post by NightMachines on Aug 27, 2018 11:54:31 GMT
I want to get the spring reverb tank in the future and mount the springs inside the case underneath a wide (8U - 10U?) blank panel. Of course, having a dull blank panel taking over half a row isn't cool, so I thought I should add something to it. Using some force sensing resistors I have lying around, I want to plan a little controller module with an additional CV-controlled LED light show  I wired up something for a quick test: http://instagr.am/p/Bm-t0ong81j  Some LEDs, which are controlled by LFOs in this example, a light dependant resistor (LDR) for gestural control and a force sensing resistor (FSR) for pressure control. I'd also want to include attenuator potentiometers, push buttons and toggle switches. All of those controllers would have an input and output socket, so that they can simply be inserted into a patch at any point. For example one could use a toggle switch to switch LFO modulation of a filter cutoff on and off, or use the FSR to gradually introduce the modulation. This is great for live performances and I built a bunch of those "passive" utilities for Eurorack already. The nice thing about those designs is, that they don't have to be deep, so underneath the front panel should still be some space for the springs of the reverb. Here's a quick mockup:  I hope to get this going some time in September and I will update the thread with further results  Some things I have to look up or figure out: - resistor values for LEDs - check how many LEDs I could put in there without drawing too much mA (maybe add a switch to turn off the LED light show) - proper voltage divider circuits for the LDR and FSR (maybe even switchable default states, e.g. off with pressure or on with pressure) - how badly the tapping and turning on the front panel would actually be audible in the spring reverb  of course I'd have to take the springs out of their metal case, in which they are suspended by other springs to uncouple them from the outside ... or I could make a cutout in the blank panel so that one can directly touch and pluck the springs as an effect! |
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Post by NightMachines on Aug 29, 2018 6:17:27 GMT
Looked at some spring reverb tanks at Klangbau Köln yesterday, because I also want a regular "big" one for my other synths.  I don't think the medium-sized Accutronics tank (the black one above) from the AEM's spring reverb bundle will fit inside the case, below a regular blank panel. Even without the tank's case and just the springs alone, it will probably be too tight. I also looked at the Accutronics/intellijel Springverb tank, and this one might actually fit without its case, which is around 30mm tall, with quite a number of Millimeters for the cable connectors, which I could cut off and put somewhere else. I haven't heard it yet, but Willi from Klangbau told me he was surprised that it sounded pretty good for the size. Another plus of this tank would be that I'd only need to spare around 6U for it in my AEM case.   Cologne's Musicstore has them for 15€ incl. shipping to Germany at the moment on eBay: www.ebay.de/itm/Intellijel-Springray-SMALL-TANK-/192602822038 |
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Post by NightMachines on Aug 31, 2018 5:41:06 GMT
The two blue Accutronics / intellijel Springverb tanks I ordered have arrived and of course I immediately opened one up The springs are held in the top part of the enclosure and can't really be removed easily. I cut off the connector protection though and I think the thing might fit under a blank panel indeed, when I also bend the connectors down a bit* and solder the wires directly to them!    EDIT: * DON'T BEND THE PINS! I BROKE TWO REVERB TANKS LIKE THIS! CAREFULLY CLIP THEM OFF INSTEAD. |
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 24, 2018 22:24:51 GMT
 It fits!!!  |
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 26, 2018 7:31:20 GMT
Making some progress!  Cutting an 8U blank panel to 6U and sawing a hole into it so that I can touch the springs:  Mounting the tank to the blank panel using M3 Eurorack screws (had to carefully drill the mounting holes of the tank to make them 0.5 mm bigger):  Next, I'll think about what kind of utilities I want to add to the panel. I also might get a proper laser-cut front panel when I'm done with this. EDIT: Again, don't bend the pins like I did. Carefully clip them off instead!
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 26, 2018 21:28:44 GMT
Uh oh ... I think I was too rough with that tank ... I can hear the springs when I touch them but there's a loose contact on the input side that doesn't look like an easy fix in this glued plastic box. Good thing I bought two
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 27, 2018 12:38:27 GMT
More progress! I added four Force Sensing Resistors (FSRs) and two Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs), using simple voltage divider circuits with 2k resistors between output and ground. Everything fits neatly on a spacious breadboard under the front panel.  I cut out the left thin rectangle for the input and output pin header with the fretsaw again, by drilling a small hole and then sliding a thin, fine blade through it. Sawing the blank panel is really easy when using little pressure and fast saw movement.  Finally I installed the module in the case and added some art with a black fine-liner too  There is an input and output socket for each FSR and LDR, so that I can send any kind of signal through them and use force or light to fade it in and out (no pressure/light = off ... almost  ). There are also three +5V output sockets too, which I can patch to inputs, if I just need a constant control voltage. Unfortunately I broke the second reverb tank's input pin too somehow, even though I was super careful when bending the pins. So right now I can only touch the springs to get the rattling sound from the output. Damnit! I ordered two more tanks and have to troubleshoot a bit before trying to install them again. I'll probably just clip the pins and not try to bend them. |
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 27, 2018 21:32:10 GMT
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Post by locksley on Sept 29, 2018 8:19:29 GMT
Interesting stuff. Reverb-tanks are not as expensive as people seem to think. I got 6 tanks now and just the mix and match this gives rise to is interesting.
Really like your use of touch panels, be one with the music.
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 29, 2018 12:00:00 GMT
Yessss!!! Clipped the reverb tank's input/output pins off, instead of bending them and now it's working and nothing broke. Phew Here's the TRS pinout for connecting a 3.5mm minijack socket, by the way:  http://instagram.com/p/BoTxLUdC6T7 Interesting stuff. Reverb-tanks are not as expensive as people seem to think. I got 6 tanks now and just the mix and match this gives rise to is interesting. Really like your use of touch panels, be one with the music. Thanks! Those small tanks only cost 15€ incl. shipping at the moment, so it really isn't a big investment. |
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 29, 2018 12:42:10 GMT
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Post by knockman on Sept 29, 2018 21:52:26 GMT
Cool! I've got some FSR somewhere I keep meaning to put to use. It would be interesting to feed such controllers into the Sample & Hold module - something else I keep meaning to explore further...
One question: did you reinforce the panel in anyway, or is it rigid enough to apply pressure to the FSR? I see you've mounted them fairly close to the edge and everything looks robust.
Nice 'swinging light' effect in the latest video!
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Post by NightMachines on Sept 29, 2018 23:00:50 GMT
Cool! I've got some FSR somewhere I keep meaning to put to use. It would be interesting to feed such controllers into the Sample & Hold module - something else I keep meaning to explore further... One question: did you reinforce the panel in anyway, or is it rigid enough to apply pressure to the FSR? I see you've mounted them fairly close to the edge and everything looks robust. Nice 'swinging light' effect in the latest video! The blank panel isn't very sturdy by itself, but the reverb tank on four screws and the perfboard on three give it enough stability. I also tested various resistors for the FSR voltage divider circuit and ended up with 2K ones, which allow good pressure sensitivity without needing much actual force. Experiment with that for a bit and see what feels good to you. That swinging light is just an LED bike flashlight in my hand for the LDR control of the filter. A fun thing about the flashlight is that it has a dimmed mode, which uses PWM on the LEDs, i.e. fast flickering. Shining this on the LDRs connected to 5V will create an audible oscillator I will have to test it with those cheap colored LED strips, which flicker like crazy. |
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Post by admin on Sept 30, 2018 1:01:58 GMT
Playing notes and chords Cool, reminds me of Autobahn by Kraftwerk! |
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of course I'd have to take the springs out of their metal case, in which they are suspended by other springs to uncouple them from the outside ... or I could make a cutout in the blank panel so that one can directly touch and pluck the springs as an effect!
). There are also three +5V output sockets too, which I can patch to inputs, if I just need a constant control voltage.
