Case 5

Even before installing any modules, the plywood adds significantly to the weight of the case and I doubt whether the original handle will be up to the task for long. I have ordered a new (described as) heavy duty leather case from Stagebox Online. They only had black. This should bolt through to the new plywood sidewall.

On the rails question, the problem with installing the (superior in use) aluminium type is locating the bolt holes accurately: a problem which is solved by rack ears but only at the expense of lost HP. It occurred to me this morning that I can use the bolt holes in the rack ears as a template for drilling holes in the plywood. Certainly worth a try, especially as I will be using rail offcuts from Case 4. There's no loss in trying and if it doesn't work I can still revert to wooden rails.

Thursday 7th
Schneiders report the modules are now in stock, so they should be here by the end of next week.

I fiddled with the rack ears but decided in the end to go for wooden rails. I'm hoping to complete the case this weekend (though the rugby will interrupt), including a makeover for the inside of the lid with an extravagant fabric.

The remaining aluminium rails can upgrade cases 2 and 3. I have one more spare Doepfer power unit, so one more case can be made.

A nagging question is the size of the Heisenberg and the RS35 as these will jockey for position in the case to drive the noise. The Heisenberg is 14HP and the RS35 12HP, so no problem swapping.

Friday 8th
On with the wooden rails. The Doepfer Mechanical Details page (click Products - Mechanical) shows module height as 128.5mm with the distance between the centres of the mounting holes as 122.5.

Woodwork complete ahead of schedule. As hoped, there's a small storage space at the top for patch cables. I just need to stain it and reline the lid. I was hoping for a paisley design, but my local haberdasher was asking £67 per metre (most of which would go spare) and so I settled for an offcut of blue velvet for £1 from a nearby charity shop. Fedex have confirmed the modules are on their way from Berlin: it usually takes the best part of a week. The new case handle is here - just the right size and looks pretty sturdy.


Saturday 9th
All done but the lid lining. I'll leave the old handle on until it gives way.

The modules have reached Cologne.

There's an excellent Heisenberg demo here.

Case 5 (Trautonium)

The inside of the case is a bit of a mess (fig. 1) and so I have lined it with plywood (fig. 2).

I would still like the case to be self-contained, i.e. to carry the wall-wart and a small speaker and so have incorporated compartments for those (fig. 3), but not yet as a permanent fixture.

I'll still need to ensure that the essential modules will fit, bearing in mind the rather thick plywood I have available (left over from tiling the bathroom floor) and the inevitable loss of space if I use aluminium rails and rack-ears. Perhaps a rethink (all modules, no storage) will be necessary.

The Doepfer article on the Trautonium, which I have quoted at length here, states

Oskar Sala used for nearly all recordings a freeuncy shifter (made by the German company Telefunken). This is why we included the Frequency Shifter A-126.

and

Another module that could be included is the Spring Reverb A-199. Mr Sala used reverb or delay for almost all recordings.

And this is clearly demonstrated in this video of  a 1991 concert. This made me wonder whether I would regret not incorporating these (FS. delay and/or reverb) into a larger case, however

1.  the FS is significantly deeper, requiring a much larger case;
2. those units are separate in Sala's setup; and
3. I had already bought a case

and so I'll steam ahead and see where it ends up. If necessary I can buy some thinner plywood, use space-saving wooden rails or aluminium rails without the rack-ears.

My probable minimum module set is shown in this Modular Grid  example. Most of the HPs are listed in this post and the Heisenberg is 14HP

Zeus - Heisenberg - 2 * VCOs - sub - noise = 4 + 14 + (2*10) + 26 + 8 = 72 HP

foot - ribbon - vclfo - mixer - filter - lfo - adsr - dvca = 4 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 20 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 72 HP

The space with compartments is about 14½ inches (72HP) without is 17½ inches (87HP). I'll calculate the loss for rack-ears later.

I might not need the second LFO.
The foot controller is included (only 4HP), but there is no space for foot controls.

Other VCOs might make the sound more interesting, but I think the Doepfer is the narrowest I have (ASys RS95E is 12HP).
I would quite like to have an ASys RS35 (see apples and pears) in addition to the Heisenberg, but that's not going to happen with Plan A.
If I accept a separate case of utility modules (FS (deep), delay reverb), I guess this could also house the Heisenberg and RS35 and others which could usefully serve any of the other cases.

I guess the easiest solution is to build v.1 of the case with wooden rails (no loss of HP) and then consider v.2 with aluminium.

Storage for the 60cm ribbon controller also needs consideration. I thought of a snooker cue case (these come up easily and cheaply on ebay). There are also those cylinder art holder things and perhaps plastic tubing could be employed.

Schneiders say two weeks for the out-of-stock modules (104 & 140).