desk

desk
Originally uploaded by jdfan.

middle of my desk. the hole is where the laptop goes.

my case

case
Originally uploaded by jdfan.

the 2nd fracrak is coming. hinges at top support removeable cover (it's a cube when closed). my first go with water soluble stain and clear coat. turned out pretty reasonable.

the right side of my desk

deskrt
Originally uploaded by jdfan.

inexpensive but reliable multimeter (with cap meter and some other cool functions), drawer full of tools, cme uf-5 keyboard, my stock of spare resistors, etc.

One step forward...

one step not so much. Almost finished with the box that will hold the 2 fracrak boxes and my ms2000. Will post pictures asap.
On the downside, the midi2cv converter is missing parts. I received two front panels for one kit and no panel for another. Started soldering the VCO module and discovered that I'm missing a fair number of resistors. Found some in my supply but two moderately odd values are still missing. Was impressed for a few minutes that the VCO seemed to be entirely transistor based until I noticed the pcb has spaces for ICs... but no ICs in my kit. Sigh. I'm sincerely hoping this is the worst of it. I really, really don't want to go through each kit and do quality control.
On the other hand, it's going to be an amazing noise making box when I'm done :)

My new modular

I ordered a Paia 9700s modular and some Blacet modules. I've wanted a modular for a long time, especially one with unusual signal processing abilities (that's where the Blacet stuff excels). The Paia has arrived, so progress reports (with photos) will appear here. If you're looking for an inexpensive in to the modular analog synth world, the Paia is a great start.

Electronic Musician just did an article about analog modulars synths (PDF) that mentions the Paia-invented FracRak yet neglects the 9700s. Considering the history of Electronic Musician (which started as Polyphony published by Paia), it's a bit curious.