MENTAT

O CTO B E R 2 , 2 0 1 8 BY A D M I N

How to rack mount a Make Noise 0 Coast in a

eurorack case

The Make Noise 0 Coast is a great stand-alone synth, but once it has sent you down the modular
rabbit hole lots of people want to know how to rack mount it. I mounted mine in my eurorack case to
save some of my limited studio space, powering it the case. Here I’ll explain in detail how to do that.

While you are reading, take a listen to my latest release. A melodic techno atmosphere out now on
Traum Schallplatten. The bass from this track was entirely Make Noise 0 Coast.

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Pros of rack mounting

For me this saves some limited studio space. It also makes my small modular setup all self contained
in a TipTop Mantis case, and therefore more portable. There’s something nice about having the
modular gear all integrated, and patching things in and out of the 0 Coast as part of the whole
system rather than a separate box. In my case it’s also powered by the case, meaning just one power
supply cable.

Cons of rack mounting

With eurorack power and cases costing what they do, it’s a bit wasteful to use valuable rack space
on something that already has its own case and power. The 0 Coast doesn’t fit all cases well (see
below) and so requires some work arounds. It also isn’t designed for powering from a eurorack case,
which has implications for the rack space it uses and how you power it. Also, you’ll likely void your
warranty by taking it apart.
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 Right now, it works for me. I like having everything together as a single case. However, I’m pretty
open to the fact I’ll probably put it back in it’s own case and reclaim the rack space at some stage
when I want more modules. If it’s right for you, then below is how to do it. Although Make Noise have
commented on some forum posts giving some information on doing this, it’s safe to assume it will
void your warranty. That’s your responsibility so proceed at your own risk.

Options for mounting & power

There are a few choices to be made on how you secure your 0 Coast and how you power it. Securing
depends on whether your rack has sliding nuts or threaded strips (see below). If you have threaded
strips you might want to replace them so you can screw it in securely.

For power, you can choose from several options:

1. Use the supplied power adaptor which means you need to leave empty space next to it and plug the
0 Coast directly into the wall. This is the easiest and safest approach.
2. Make a power adaptor to convert a eurorack power connector to the DC jack the 0 Coast uses. You
still need space next to the 0 Coast but you can cover with a blanking plate.
3. Solder a eurorack power adaptor directly to the back of the 0 Coast. The 0 Coast can sit right next to
other modules this way.

I used method 1 for a while, but moved on to method 2 to keep things better organised and ditch the
extra power adaptor. Method 3 goes beyond the level I wanted to mess with my 0 Coast, so you’ll
need to check out the thread on Muff Wiggler for advice on this.

Preparing your eurorack case

You are going to need around 45hp of space in your rack for the 0 Coast itself. I would also
recommend another 6hp for the power input if you use the 0 Coast’s wall wart, and 4hp if you make
your own eurorack power cable. If you have a full rack, use ModularGrid to figure out where it will fit.

The 0 Coast has holes on the front panel that accomodate the screws for its own case and these
can be used to screw it into eurorack rails. However, they are not horizontally spaced using the
standard ‘horizontal pitch’. If your case has threaded strips then they won’t line up. I just about lined
up one of the top holes and the opposite bottom hole, and some people have used cable ties
through the holes to secure the 0 Coast into the rack. If you really want it to be secure and flush with
other modules you need to have sliding nuts that can be re-positioned. I took the rails out of my
Mantis case, removed the threaded strips from the bottom row, and replaced them with some M3
nuts (like these) for securing my modules. You can then adjust all 4 nuts to securely screw the 0
Coast into the rack.

Sliding nut in my case.

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Disassembling the 0 Coast
First you need to remove all the knobs from the front panel. Pull them straight upwards and they
come off. Some were quite stiff, but they do all pull off.

Then remove all of the nuts that sit around the jack sockets, and the washers beneath them. I used a
small pair of pliers, but be careful not to slip and scratch the front panel. Put them somewhere safe,
like a plastic container or a bowl.

Unscrew the four screws on the front panel, put them somewhere safe.

Remove the front panel, lift it off or turn the unit upside down so it comes away from the case.

The circuit board is fixed to the case with 7 screws. Remove all of these and put them somewhere
safe. I screwed them back to the mounting points on the case where they came from so I didn’t lose
them.

0 Coast circuit board

Now you need to put the front panel and circuit board back together so the 0 Coast resembles a
eurorack module. Line the jack sockets and pots up with the front panel, then fix the washers and
nuts back onto the jacks to hold it all together. Make sure you tighten these as they are what holds
the whole thing together now. Finally you can put the knobs back onto the pots and your 0 Coast is
effectively a eurorack module.

0 Coast ‘module’

Rack mounting the 0 Coast

The module should now just slide into your rack. Depending on how you set up the rack secure it
either with screws or with some cable ties through the holes in your threaded strips and those in the
front panel.

If you don’t mind having a power adaptor for your case and another for the 0 Coast you can just plug
in the power supply it came with and away you go. Some people with wooden cases have drilled a
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If you’d rather power from the case then read on.

0 Coast with case power

Powering from a eurorack case supply

Up to this point this process is relatively easy and not that risky. Get the power wrong though and
you can damage or destroy your 0 Coast so proceed with caution. I highly recommend watching
Mylar Melodies’ eurorack power 101 video before proceeding as eurorack power standards can
differ.

The 0 Coast can be powered from a eurorack power supply, but it needs the right cable and enough
capacity on your supply. Tony Rolando from Make Noise said in this thread that the power supply in
the 0 Coast can run off eurorack voltages but the consumption might spike considerably on power
up. I’ve got it plugged into a power bus on my Mantis case that is not feeding anything else, and I’m
way under the maximum power draw for all my modules. Make sure you have plenty of spare
capacity on yours. What is ‘plenty’? I’m afraid I’m not sure, but make sure you’re not close to the full
draw on your power supply. If you’re not sure, set up your modules on ModularGrid and it will tell you
the total power consumption – compare this to the specs for your supply.

Edit: Rob Tavolaro let me know there’s a company in Australia supplying ready made power cables
for this application, there may be others so do search if you don’t have tools/experience to make the
cable. It’s an easy process but there is a risk of damage if you connect the cables the wrong way
round.

To make the right lead you’ll need a soldering iron and a multimeter to measure continuity and
voltages. I’ll point you to what I measured, but your supply may differ and I’d encourage you to take
the measurements yourself.

You’re going to need to make a cable that has a eurorack connector on one end and the DC jack the
0 Coast has on the other. I recommend starting with a standard 16 to 10 pin eurorack power cable
and cutting the 10 pin connector off, leaving the 16 pin connector that connects to the power supply.
You can buy a DC power jack for the other end from Mouser or similar, but I just found an old DC
power supply in my drawer of old cables (we all have one, right?) and cut the jack off. I’d recommend
using a right angled one to use up less horizontal space.

The 0 Coast needs a positive voltage and a ground. The positive voltage needs to go to the centre of
the DC connector, and the ground needs to be connected to the shaft of it. Strip the wires on the DC
connector (or use the terminals if you’ve bought a new one) and test them with a continuity tester so
you know which connects to the centre and which to the shaft.

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 16 pin to 10 pin eurorack cable

The eurorack cable (usually) has -12v connection labelled by a red stripe, which means the wire at
the opposite end (on a 10 pin cable) is +12v (see diagram here). The next one is unused, and the next
one is ground. Don’t take my word for this – strip the cable, connect it to your eurorack power supply
and test the voltage with a multimeter. Locate the wires in the cable that are +12v and ground.

My connections between eurorack and DC power

cables.

Solder the +12v to the centre of the DC connector you identified before, and the ground to the shaft.
If you’ve assembled this from existing cables like me then make sure the connections are insulated
from each other with electrical tape. In any case, make sure that the unused wires are not exposed
so they don’t short or touch anything else inside the case.

My finished eurorack to DC power cable.

Plug the cable you’ve made into your eurorack power supply and test the DC connector is getting
+12v in the centre and is connected to ground at the shaft. Be sure – you could damage your 0 Coast
if this is wrong. If it’s wrong go back and check, if it’s working as expected turn the power off and
connect your 0 Coast to the DC jack. It should power up with the case fine. If anything seems odd,
such as LEDs not lighting or other modules not powering up properly, then turn it off immediately
and check.

Apparently it is possible to solder the eurorack connector straight to the back of the 0 Coast. I
assume you could just trace the centre and the shield of the jack to the points they connect on the
circuitboard with a multimeter or continuity tester and solder the eurorack power cable straight to
these contacts. I didn’t want to go that far so you’ll have to look elsewhere for more advice on this.
This thread is a good place to start.

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Make some music

Your 0 Coast is now ready to go. I bought a 4hp Make Noise blank panel to cover the connection and
complete my rack. The row of the rack it’s on has just a touch of extra space due to the odd size of
the 0 Coast, so there are a few very small gaps between some of the modules. Apart from that it fits
well and now I’ve got everything all running from a single case.

That is until the inevitable day when I decide I want to use the rack space for new modules and put
the 0 Coast back in it’s own case…

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G E A R & S T U D I O TA L K

0 C OAST , D I Y , E U RO RAC K , H OW TO , M A K E N O I S E , M O D U LA R , M O D U LA R SY N T H , RAC K

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