Muff's Modules & More

Kent · Last edited by Kent on Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:53 am; edited 1 time in total

Here is today's project. It is now named "Big Al" in homage to forum member "BigAl" as he sold me the 9rU case in the first place & also the sheer size of the thing!

The goal was to graft an ASys RS15 back panel onto the Schroff case. I'd been holding off on doing so, but decided to pull the trigger on 3 Analogue Systems products at the same time. I already owned the EMS Synthi filter as seen in the photo.

(below) Partial Contents of Package

(below) The Rear Panel. About to be installed in the Schroff

(below) First shot at it. FAIL. Many Doepfer-style cables aren't long enough to reach rear of the Schroff case.

(below) Try #2. Much closer and much better. I had to move the support struts forward. I might hack off the rest of the wasted space in the rear, but it isn't in the way at the moment & protects the power cable.

(below) RS290 & RS295 installed and up & running! This is the current configuration. You'll note that the numbers on the screen are blurred. This is due to the internal LFO sweeping the delay time.

dougcl · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:31 pm Post subject:

I'm annoyed that I missed out on the 9U Schroff cases.

Kent · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:48 pm Post subject:

Did you see my hookup in the 'random ebay' thread?

http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=27029#27029

Not 9u but seriously nice 6u.

D/A A/D · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:08 am Post subject:

DAMN! Nice work dude!

Roycie Roller · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:29 am Post subject:

Nice work Kent. I'd like to hear what your thoughts on the RS-290 are once you've spent some time with it.

Kent · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 2:08 am Post subject:

Thanks, guys!

I'm discovering that the RS290 & RS295 combo is FAR deeper than I had originally thought. It's very cool & I haven't even explored the MIDI side as of yet. A nice thing is that it will lock to to any incoming pulse.

I was in a rush toward the end of posting the pictures when putting the original post together and completely left out some important information.

The hardest & most time-consuming aspect of this project was dealing with the 3 brands of modules that use the keyed Doepfer-style connectors. Red Stripe down? Red Stripe up? Red Stripe up yer ass? For fuck's sake! I had three different ribbon cables in this lot so I resorted to measuring the pins on the RS15's Doepfer connectors in order to get to the root of the issue. Perhaps this will be of use to others:

Doepfer Male Pins:

1) The 2 columns are in parallel
2) Starting from the top down:
Pin 1 = -12v
Pin 5 = +12V
Pin 6 = 5V
All the rest are 0V although I didn't bother to find out which ones are actually tied to ground. It could be that some are floating.

I never realized that the 'Doepfer Standard' was so variable. That is to say 'non-standardized'. Due to the keying of the female part of the header, sometimes the Red Stripe points to the wrong side. What a PITA.

Thankfully, the RS15 is fused and no modules were harmed in the making of this video. I did blow one of the 12V rails though. Popped in a new 1A fuse and was off to the races.

brandon daniel · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 2:22 am Post subject:

I've had plenty of time with my 290/295.

The short of it is that there are some drawbacks (the UI is a bit difficult to intuit, and it's expensive), but it really is the most modular delay you can get your hands on, and it sounds great, syncs to everything. If you've got the cash to burn, I highly recommend it.