The following is from
David Kronemyer (Sentience Studio). Note this pertains to
Doepfer rack enclosures and not cases like those provided by
Monorocket which support both Doepfer and ASys style power connectors. Feel free to comment.
"There’s a semi-not-obvious issue with the now-popular Eurorack format, which is that while the modules may be economically-priced, the racks are expensive. And while they are amazing, many of the newer modules no longer are so economically priced. Doepfer’s dealer in the U.S. is
Analogue Haven/Shawn Cleary. Shawn sells Doepfer Euroracks for $530 + shipping (approximately $35) + California’s confiscatory 9.75% sales tax (if you live in California, at least). This pushes to $620 per rack. If one has 10 modules in a rack (which seems to be about the average width), this adds an extra $62 to the cost of each module. Compare: a set of MOTM rails, which will accommodate 10 single-width modules, is $54 + shipping; a set of synthesizers.com rails, which will accommodate eight single-width modules, is $65 + shipping; and a set of Blacet (frac rack) rails, which will accommodate five double-width modules, is $79 + shipping. Even if you double these to reach the same average module density as a Eurorack, you’re still at about 25% of the cost.
Please understand I’m not bagging on Shawn or saying the Eurorack isn’t worth it. In fact we have about a dozen of them! It’s a highly specialized business and I’m sure Shawn’s margins are really thin. I’m just making an observation about relative cost. Also, there are less expensive alternatives. For example, Monorocket (also available through Analogue Haven) makes a portable case for $350 (though it’s not a rack mount).
There’s another problem with Euroracks, which is the power supply. While the buss board offers +5 VDC, all Doepfer power supplies now are +12/–12 VDC. If you want +5 VDC – a necessity for many modules from Analogue Solutions, for example – you’re out of luck. Doepfer makes a little thingy that converts +12VDC to +5VDC. While we’ve never tried it, the picture on Doepfer’s site makes it look not all that sturdy, capable of handling one or two modules at most. On top of that the Doepfer power supply is 1200 mA, which leaves little head-room. Doepfer used to make a power supply with only half that much! As a general principle, the more head-room, the better the sound.
We are very careful with module count, correct polarity, etc. However, mysteriously, the –12 VDC on one of our Doepfer power supplies recently disappeared. The +12 VDC was just fine, as were the buss boards. We realized we were exhausted by this tomfoolery and decided to install our own power supply, which also would provide +5 VDC. Power One makes a high-quality linear power supply, sold by DigiKey (Part No. 179-2317-ND). It gives +12 VDC, –12 VDC and +5 VDC, all in one convenient unit. So we removed the now-deceased Doepfer power supply and installed this one instead.
This power supply is way overkill for the rack. As you can see the Alcatel connectors also are ludicrously huge for this application. The only reason why we used them, and the heavy-gauge wire, is because we had them lying around from a previous project. It was a happy moment to see all of the LEDs on the Doepfer buss rail light up. We are eyeing our other Doepfer racks guardedly.
WARNING – do not try this at home unless you know what you’re doing!"
Update: two shots of
David Kronemyer's Sentience Studio.
Be sure to see the comments of this post for further discussion.
The following is from David Kronemyer (Sentience Studio). Note this pertains to Doepfer rack enclosures and not cases like those provided by Monorocket which support both Doepfer and ASys style power connectors. Feel free to comment.
Please understand I’m not bagging on Shawn or saying the Eurorack isn’t worth it. In fact we have about a dozen of them! It’s a highly specialized business and I’m sure Shawn’s margins are really thin. I’m just making an observation about relative cost. Also, there are less expensive alternatives. For example, Monorocket (also available through Analogue Haven) makes a portable case for $350 (though it’s not a rack mount).
We are very careful with module count, correct polarity, etc. However, mysteriously, the –12 VDC on one of our Doepfer power supplies recently disappeared. The +12 VDC was just fine, as were the buss boards. We realized we were exhausted by this tomfoolery and decided to install our own power supply, which also would provide +5 VDC. Power One makes a high-quality linear power supply, sold by DigiKey (Part No. 179-2317-ND). It gives +12 VDC, –12 VDC and +5 VDC, all in one convenient unit. So we removed the now-deceased Doepfer power supply and installed this one instead.
"I've recently noticed that there are a lot of interesting new FX for guitars, and wondered if they could be repurposed for modular synthesis. I got busy over the holidays racking some of them up, and here's the result. The answer is "yes" and they add considerable tonal variety and coloration. Mainly they can be inserted at the end of the signal chain, however, I discovered that you could provoke interesting outcomes elsewhere, e.g. modulating filters and LFOs. There is an impedance mismatch between the guitar FX and the modular synthesizer, but it turned out to be not a big deal - it can be accommodated simply by adjusting gain at strategic points in the circuit. In one or two cases I used a 10/4 box to optimize levels. My intention is to continue onwards with this project. I posted some more pix on Pinterest under Sentience Studio - Modular Synthesizers."
"We fully support repurposing guitar FX pedals for use with synths. For example, it now is common to find Eventides next to Moog 32's, and manufacturers like ZVex are transplanting their devices to Eurorack format. This makes sense, because there are a lot of additional colors and features they introduce, versus regular Eurorack FX modules. Impedance matching typically isn't a problem, and if it is, there are a lot of boxes to resolve it. Some time ago we took an assortment of ZVex, LGAL and other pedals we had that basically just were sitting around, and converted them for synth use. All of the inputs and outputs come up on the 1/4" patch bay at the bottom of each rack. Batteries have been removed, and all of the power connectors wired together for consistent, hum-free operation. We use combinations of these all the time in our various projects."
via Sentience Studio
