#643

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An older system photo.

I wanted to take a few minutes to share some thoughts on the Arturia RackBrutes. I’m switching to a new smaller rig, and I wanted to share some thoughts about them, as I think people overlook it as a choice, and they really shouldn’t!

Firstly the mounting system is really nice. It’s extremely sturdy (the entire chasis is metal, there are just MDF endcaps with a nice looking faux wood veneer). If you use two or mount it to one of the other compatible 'brutes, you can close them ontop of one another and they fit nicely into a bag they make. The clearance isn’t huge, but with short cables or tendrils, it’s workable. The hinge/handle is great. The spacer works well. It’s nice in any of the suggested configurations. I’ve also used it at some odd angles, and it’s always been comfortable.

The power supply isn’t super robust (providing about 1280 mA of ±12V, but the 5hp powersupply module and busboard are well engineered (As a tip, it uses a 6 pin ATX style clip-in cable by default, but if you plug in 16 pin cables in its stead, you can easily move the power module wherever you want). Additionally, the 3u version uses the same power supply as the 6u (although the bus board is smaller, so to take full advantage you’d want to plug in a flying bus cable as well).

Another weird quirk: The case is actually 89 HP wide. So the row with the power supply is a full 84hp.

Anyways, it’s been a real pleasure to use them, and final point: They’re quite affordable! Don’t let the price fool you, you’re getting a lot of bang for the buck.

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#644

That is beautiful! Nice work.

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#645

Due to a minor change in circumstances, I’m considering picking up a portable Eurorack cases to augment the stack of Doepfer LCs I have.

In particular an Intellijel 7U 104hp.

Does anyone have any experience swapping the threaded strips for sliding nuts in them?

#646

I’ve done this and it’s really simple. Just unscrew the side panel, remove the threaded strip, add your nuts, and rescrew the panel. One catch is that the two middle rails are not welded in, but rather held in by the side panel screws, so use a module (or preferably a blank panel) to make sure your rails are even before tightening everything.

Another problem is that the nuts tend to stick in place, but a quick solution for that is to place a nail on the nut and give it a light tap with a screwdriver or whatever to realign it.

Edit: Oh yeah, the little internal stand leg might pop out, but it’s pretty easy to figure out how it should be in there.

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#647

I tried to lend a friend my Reflex Liveloop this weekend, but we found it wouldn’t fit in his TipTop Mantis. Not that it was too deep, but the PCB was too tall to fit between the rails, which is really odd because I’ve racked it in three separate cases and never had an issue. Has anyone here had trouble fitting other modules into a Mantis?

#648

Yeah, I have a 4ms VCA Matrix that absolutely won’t fit because of a tall PCB and a plastic washer protecting a solder pad from a screwhead on the back. Fits fine in my Doepfer LC 9U. Several other modules are a tight squeeze and I often have to loosen the rails when moving stuff around. Honestly probably my only complaint about this case.

#649

Yes this exact thing happened to me with a qmmg

#650

I’ve read posts on MW of people fitting modules that are deeper than Mantis’s reported max depth because parts of it are deeper than others. It seems like a pretty counter-intuitive rack in that regard.

#651

Thanks @ceedotgeedot

How is everyone finding the ergonomics of the Intellijel cases? Do the kick stands work well? And is it usable standing up vertically?

I’ve also got the trivial dilemma of what colour to get… the black one appeals, does it weather the inevitable scratches well?

#652

The Intellijel 7U kick stands are sturdy and work well if you like either of the two preset angles. The shallower angle is too shallow for me, but the ~45 degrees is ok. I generally use a guitar stand to hold it at a steeper angle, about 75 degrees. It wobbles a bit but it works and I like the angle better. I use this K&M guitar stand that I’m pretty sure I discovered earlier in this thread.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KM17580B--k-and-m-17580-heli-2-acoustic-guitar-stand-black

I have the black case. No scratches yet but it’s only been out of the studio once.

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#653

I agree with this but would only add that the two preset angles really work well if you’re standing when playing. Otherwise, I too use a guitar stand to angle it a bit more sharply to play it while seated.

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#654

YMMV, but I was disappointed by my Intellijel 7U case.

– it will not stand up vertically safely
– because it’s aluminium, it’s got an inherent flexibility which meant that I had to twist the case to get the kickstands level and keep the case from wobbling
– the kickstands were ‘sticky’; I had to really force one of them out when it was stowed away
– it was too heavy when filled with modules to meet carry-on requirements, and just slightly too large for carry-on when stowed in its gig bag

It’s a beautiful design, and I really enjoy seeing photos of these cases, but for the premium price it felt a little flimsy (though I understand that’s part and parcel of using aluminium). Most importantly for me it did not meet international airline carry-on requirements. So I sold it and have gone back to Doepfer suitcases.

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#655

I like my 6U Rackbrute and find the stand works well - at the moment I’ve got a Minibrute 2S down below, but I expect I’ll replace that with another Rackbrute eventually.

I’d like it more if the PSU was integrated into the case - if you’ve got the rack upright, you have to deal with a dangling power cable somehow and, while this isn’t a major inconvenience, it is a slight inconvenience.

But in terms of construction and value for money, I think it’s a great piece of gear - the best I’ve used yet, in my limited experience. I’ve got a 6U Doepfer LCU, which has a tendency to go through fuses, and a 3U Eowave powered skiff, which feels a little flimsy (in fairness I guess it’s lightweight) and has an annoying power button that’s small and flush to the surface when switched on, and therefore a bit fiddly to operate (but the PSU is at least integrated).

I have a v1 Rene, and I think the Doepfer handles the touch elements of that most reliably, though the Rackbrute seems to do better if it has a dedicated power outlet. Whether that’s just sweet placebo talk I’m not sure…

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#656

Thanks for the replies @morgulbee, @SwainVoorman & @DemiJon.

The airline stuff is less of a concern for me, and I think I’d seen that complaint elsewhere. The flexibility issues are definitely good to know about in advance though, even if it’s just a case of managing one’s expectations.

I’m more concerned about the sticky kickstands, part of the appeal of Intellijel 7U was that it seems easy to ‘put away’ when not in use, I’m not sure I want to be fighting with the kickstands each time.

My other problem is that I’m not sure I really know whether I’m going to use it on a table or on the floor (or a bit of both). Here is someone else’s solution to the table angle issue (on MW).

The only other case that I know of that has the ‘lid with your cables still plugged in’ thing going on is the Make Noise 7U, but the CV bus doesn’t really appeal…

#657

The legs on my 7u 104hp ij case are definitely not sticky in any way. My only complaint is similar to others in that because it’s an aluminum case there is some flex which can make putting on the lid a bit of a hassle sometimes. I can also say that if you plan on moving it around while patched that having lower profile cables like the ones from control is the way to go. I had a bunch of braided style cables like the ones from mutable, but sold them because I didn’t like how tight the fit was when putting on the lid with a big patch.

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#658

Yeah, no joke. It’s just a poorly designed lid in general. Alignment relies on getting two very thin lips aligned just so while wrestling with the buckles. With patch cables pushing up on the lid it’s even trickier and I feel like I am risking scratching up my modules every time I do it. Honestly I travel to gigs with the case unlidded in its gig bag since my cables are so dense and stiff that the lid won’t close… maybe I should get some Tendrils?

Except for the lid, I am very pleased with my IJ 104HP 7U. I miss my old CV bus but the Make Noise PSU was just too small for a case full of digital monsters. And the utility of the 1U row with audio I/O slightly beats out the (admittedly delightful) ergonomics of the CV bus row.

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#659

Does anyone have experience with domestic United States air travel with an IJ 104hp case and gig bag?

#660

I’ve had 3 IJ performance cases at one point and none of them had sticky kickstands.

the lid is tricky sometimes to get on.

i’ve been flying with my 84hp 7u case in a gigbag as my handluggage, without any problems - but 104hp, might be more risky to get on board?

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#661

looking for a one row 3U 60hp ‘pod’-like case, albeit with at least 50mm depth. tempted to just try and make one out of cardboard or something, but wanted to see if there was something relatively cheap available? the makenoise ‘skiff’ is too many hp. mainly just need something for a touch controller and a few other utilities, so it’d have to be something that can sit flat.

#662

Doepfer makes both 48 and 32hp cases that are very deep (their site claims the 48hp case is 110mm), which might be close enough.