I am building my 1st rack w/ as little money as possible. Can I mount regular rackmount rails horizontally in place of z-rails? If so, then all I need is a micro zeus. I can cut my own panels/boards for the actual case. I'm looking at 84HP, either 4U or 7U.
Thank you!!
not unless you can find adapters - regular 19" rails usually take adapters for m5 screws - eurorack usually uses m3 screws
even then the holes won't be in the correct places and you'll have gaps everywhere
imo if you want to save money - dump the 1u row - and just go for 3u - there's nothing in 1u that isn't available in 3u and will take up less space
another way to save money is just to use wood and screw modules directly into the wood - but then you can't use the uZeus as it needs the rails for a heat sink - maybe consider a befaco excalibus, which also doesn't have a hp stealing rack wart!
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities
Honestly, I don't think you'll save a lot. If you buy the rails themselves with a threaded strip on a site like Schneidersladen, you'll pay between €14-15 for a 19" (so €28-30 for top and bottom). If, on the other hand, you buy 12U rack strips for 19", it will set you back €12 but you will still need to figure out how to mount your modules in it. For that €15, just go for real Eurorack rails and threaded strips.
I think Jim is onto something when he says to skip the 1U. I have one but it has only 2 multis and a VCA in it. Choice is much more limited. If you want to limit expense, go for 6U so you get sufficient space with just 4 rack rails.
Modular playlist on SoundCloud
Thanks Jim. Is there any reason I shouldn't use the Lunch Bus, in place of the Excalibus? The Lunch Bus is a bit cheaper than the Excal, but I notice that the power specs are a little different. But there are some YT videos of some DIY cases that used the Lunch Bus...
why do I recommend the excalibus??? because I have 4 - all DIY ones (lunchbus doesn't come DIY afaik) - simple, if tedious builds - there's 26? * 16 solder joints just for the headers - and they are great - quiet enough for video modules (no noticeable ripple up intot he MHz) - and they have a lot of headers and are low profile
if the lunchbus will work for you I'm pretty sure it's the same - but idk - which is why I recommend the excalibus - because I do know!
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities
The main difference is that the Lunch Bus's power converter (the little MeanWell block) is half the power of the one on the Excalibus - if that still covers your needs, go for it! (In theory, the footprints are the same, so could put the 30W MeanWell on a LunchBus but as Jim says i've never seen one DIY...)
I also have several Excalibus, and apart from getting a little warm because I really need one more of them, they're great! I opted to add some cheap little heatsinks on the converters to help them out a little bit, but the datasheet also says that they're supposed to run a little toasty, so it's probably not really necessary.
alright! I have the info I need... Thank you guys for your help!!
