My Console Project almost complete

[M. Qualley]

Jeffery,

MDA would love to post your organ on our Hauptwerk Facebook page after V is released. It is beautiful.

No pressure. I would want to give you credit of course.

Let me know.

Thanks,
Michelle

I noticed in one photo your Launchpad has a custom skin on it. Very nice. I like the logo and the well defined functions. Can you share how you did that? Launchpad labeling as been a passing topic in the past.

Oh, nice job on your console. The burled wood blank piston rails look sharp!

I see by the response below...that you have discovered one of the methods below. I wish I had a Cricut it would have made the process so easy.

I used Vinyl from Brilliant Vinyl company https://www.brilliantvinyl.com along with a clear acrylic cover. It is just for inkjet printers but the results are very good. Alas, I had to cut mine out one-by-one by hand. I did the graphic work on CorelDraw®. I made the caps on the buttons slightly smaller than 0.5" so there is a border - just to show off the flashiness. The skin also done on CorelDraw®. This looks to be quite permanent as you can purchase "permanent" vinyl. I may have to redo several covers because being outside in the garage during Wisconsin weather three have become "unsticky" and you have to compensate for the tactile "dimples or jewels" which apparently helps one "orient" your hand as in playing the Accordian or typing on a keyboard.

I did originally want clear but I cannot see them out of the corner of my eye.

Jeffery,
MDA would love to post your organ on our Hauptwerk Facebook page after V is released. It is beautiful.
No pressure. I would want to give you credit of course.
Let me know.
Thanks,
Michelle

First of all Welcome Aboard!

Thank you for your compliment and yes you can use my console for FB - I should have most of the computer finished this week, just waiting for better CPU fans and Case Fans to arrive - perhaps today? Then it would only be a couple of days before everything gets put together for a "glam shot".

Jeffery

[M. Qualley]

Great! No rush!

Thanks,
Michelle

[quote="magnaton"
Danny,
Since you talked me into messing with the Launchpad Mini, I've discovered that I can use my wifes Cricut machine to do such skins and labels. I worry about the longevity of the adhesive to those rubbery buttons, though. Maybe a touch of glue?

I wouldn't use any glue at all. The keys are made of Silicon and unless you used a Silicon specific product you could end up damaging the keys permanently.
I purchased "permanent" Vinyl and with the clear covering it seems pretty durable. Like I had said...I never really used a combination system before so it is not like I'll be stabbing aimlessly at random buttons!

Oh BTW - I cannot believe how flawless Hauptwerk was with finding the device and in about 4 minutes flat, I had it programmed! Insane! Thanks Martin, Brett and the Novation people!

Agree, considering what that box can do as well as how easy it is to set up, Aside from issue of labeling the keys, it's really neat.

I've used those labels I mentioned above for over one year with no problems.

Rgds,
Ed

I have just added some final pictures - The Computer (which I just successfully completed).

I have been working since November 17th, on building and loading the computer. It went fairly smooth but there were several hours of anguish mostly with Windows 10 PRO and the Focusrite - Saffire. I had to purchase a different Firewire card - this one from IOCrest. 1394a and 1394b Combo Interface. Then it took two days of fighting with Windows to set the compatability mode to Windows 8.

In the mean-time, I had procured a motherboard exactly like mine and purchased one more processor that matches the Xeon.

Problem was the entire North Bridge would not light up - in fact when I placed the processor in the CPU well, Zero post, zero boot. After taking everything apart I discovered that the North CPU well had what looked like spitball paper embedded in the pins. I gingerly cleaned out what I could with one of my oil paint "Erasing Brushes". I got it cleaned up without damaging any pins but I could not get the residual debris out of the well. I did attempt to load everything again with just the CPU's Connected. This time it booted but would not post.

Thankfully someone in Oregon had just decommissioned a server with an exact match to my motherboard. It took me one whole day to disassemble and put the board in my computer case.

I was totally amazed. Everything lit up - so now I have 8 Cores, 16 processors, 160GB RAM with two more Sticks on the way.

Now to get the computer installed in my console. I have several more Grommet holes to drill in order to accommodate all of the cabling and cords.

I have just added some final pictures -

Where are they?

Rgds,
Ed

https://flic.kr/p/2hY6gki

Small Update...

I finally got replacement reed switches from MIDI Boutique - thanks! It took nearly 3 months for the delivery and I had to go to the place where the local mail is sorted and stored. They never were going to deliver it but failed x3 for notifications.

I managed to crush nearly all of the little glass tubes when I moved the console into the house.

Second, I removed the Alpha keyboard and mouse and will replace it with new design. In theory it would have worked because I had to suspend the device anyway to clear two steel frame pieces. It actually came out just enough from the bottom manual but...it hit my knees! The new one will appear just below the bottom manual with matching flute-work. There will be plenny of room for the mouse and the keyboard with some room to spare. The old one is going under my work desk - always thinking ahead am I.

The third thing is by some alignment of the starts and planetary bodies I got two of my LCD indicators to work - unfortunately in tandem but every time I boot up the system I put another configuration into the software for the device and then configure the Advanced MIDI choices from Hauptwerk.

Well...I finally got all three LED's to work but it took about 6 hours of trying every port, MIDI channel and Hauptwerk MIDI configuration. And once it is set up, a no-brainer to configure with instruments. It also is not readily apparent or at least somewhat intuitive.

Working for the point-of-sale company came in handy as I used to try and "break" the software and Hardware, trying to figure out what could possibly happen with our clients and the primary software which was very much diverse and applicable for pretty much any point-of-sale situation from Country Clubs - internal charges, Bars and Night Clubs with plenty of sticky viscous liquids, fast food restaurants with all sorts of greasy fingers on touch-screens (this was in the DOS era) Ay-yai-yai. The period of when windows came into the picture was particularly dicey. Our primary network guru patched together dumb terminals booting to a 5.5" or regular floppy disk to the network.
The touch screens were all connected and Hardwired to a large circuit board with 2 MB of RAM handling the Front of the House and 2 MB of RAM handling the Back of the House/Credit Cards/Corporate remote inquiries.

Finally some good console shots during the day!
Captured after figuring out the top secret sauce for adding MINI LED's

But...It is not over yet..

I have toe studs and a new system for this time Hall Effect Switches for the pedalboard, replace the ill-conceived Alpha-keyboard drawer.

Very nice work!! I see somebody else likes to work with their hands as much as I do!

Thanks for sharing!

Mark

Well, due to the current halting of pretty much everything - I decided to update some of the console.

Pedalboard from Haygren Organ - is being restored. Refinishing of all the woodwork. Installing new felt and leather gasket for the front guides. New Hall Effect Switches for the contacts from MIDI Boutique. This is a full sized pedalboard and is nearly 90 pounds!

Addition of 11 toe studs (Allen) and 20 lighted thumb pistons (Allen) - a MIDI Boutique processor board to handle all of the processes of Pistons.

Addition of 1 new LED double 10 point bar graph for Great or Solo Expression.

Three Midi Boutique hwlcd screens - White on Blue for interpretation of Hauptwerk status for Combinations, Frame Generals, Organ and Tuning.

All of which means a new bolster above the keyboards.

Reconfiguration of the Alpha - keyboard/mouse drawer to be immediately under the bottom manual. Thumb Pistons are integrated into the drawer front.

Restoring installation and implementation of the original Haygren Expression/Crescendo pedal. the Yamaha FC7's behave erratically and unusually and it is difficult to judge the actual Expression pedal status even with the bar graphs. It apparently is all or nothing. The software status is in sync with the pedal but the "shades" are at different status' than the indicators. In any event - I am hooking the Haygren pedals up with the original Miscellaneous potentiometers from the Samson Keyboards only with more wire!

That should keep me busy for awhile! Will post pics as things get completed.

I am about half-way finished with the upgrades to my console.

Here are some links to the new stuff.

Included are:
New Side and Back Panels
Restoration of the Haygren full-sized pedalboard
Restoration of the Haygren Expression Shoes
New Toe Studs and Lighted Thumb Pistons

Here is a link to all of the photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/184727126@N07/collections/72157714775287517/