Synthesizer Dust Cover

While the days remaining for this year might be drawing towards the end, what there’s left around the christmas holiday season come packed with heaps of spare time. As in, a welcome bonus hours to tinker this and that around the house :)

One DIY skill that’s been on my “to try” list for quite some time is sewing. And if there’s one add-on I’d really like to have for my synthesizers, that would be tailor made dust covers. Add up these two, and it sounds just like a fun project for the holidays. Perhaps recycle some worn-out clothes while at it.

Long story to follow, here’s what I ended up with:

Yay it’s a custom dust cover for my x0xb0x.

x0x, finishing touches

Time to wrap up this project on the blog end too!

I’ve had the x0x complete and in use from around fall 2011 (first live at Dekadence Dataparty 2011), but finishing this text has gotten pushed aside.. Prioritizing masses of this and that over writing, as usual. This delay however has also a little in common with the “extra” I wanted to do for this project..  I give you ‘Jam the x0x’:

Not by far the first take I did of this song,  but a one-go live recording without additional editing anyway! Besides x0x I’m using XBase09 for drums, MC-202 routed through a MX-200 effects unit and x0x through Filterbank 2.

On to the build..

x0x, gearp0rn?

If gearporn exists, does this count as foreplay?

..

I’ll get me coat.

x0x, enclosure

Switching to aluminium, more pictures less talk! :)

The milled top panel sheet ready for shaping.

x0x, enclosure mockup

Finishing the enclosure for my x0xb0x has been pushed aside for quite some while, or moreover somewhat forgotten. But things are about to change on that front! ;)

Wasting way too much time with undecisive pondering about what approach to take with the enclosure, I eventually decided to challenge myself by doing the “stepped” version and use CNC milling. If you haven’t been following my earlier x0x posts, this version has a small angled step between the keyboard and the potentiometers on the top surface of the enclosure. I’ve also decided to change the material from 2mm acrylic to 1mm aluminium, as I have some of this available and shaving off half of the height helps a lot with the slide switches. Thing is, it turned out that their shafts are just too short to remain usable with the 2mm sheet. Heck, even the 1mm sheet is problematic for one mod switch, so I still have to figure out what to do with it. The switch type I’ve used elsewhere on the synth isn’t available in the pole configuration needed for this one mod and I thus had to use a alternate type (shorter shaft).