it has begun... (customizing my alesis ion)

[danialad]

down in the dark scary basement...
the first coat has been lain...

(sorry, it's a picture from my phone)

and here are the new knobs...


if it's permitted, i will edit this post every few days with my progress.
and when it's done i'll post the final result in the "show and tell" sticky.

[Dano]

I'll be curious to see the progress!

[Gianni]

So far, so good. Keep us informed, good luck!

[Yodhan]

Very much looking forward to this. I think that the color scheme is going to rock with the red lights on the Ion. I just got a MS2000R and it is a little damaged from an apparent drop by the previous owner. I am thinking it might be cool to re-paint it something awesome.

[danialad]

I just got a MS2000R and it is a little damaged from an apparent drop by the previous owner. I am thinking it might be cool to re-paint it something awesome.

yes! and it'd be easier with the ms2000r because the rack unit doesn't have the awesome diagram on the top panel... which i would never want to cover up unless i knew i could recreate it easily afterwords.

which reminds me. i'm definitely not looking forward to individually applying each printed waterslide decal, especially since i've yet to find a good font to use!

[veer chasm]

I bet you're gonna play a mean version of "Goodbye Horses" when you're done with that synth in the basement.

[mao]

...hmm... and the knob labels ??? Did you paint over them too?

[monolith]

I bet you're gonna play a mean version of "Goodbye Horses" when you're done with that synth in the basement.

[danialad]

...hmm... and the knob labels ??? Did you paint over them too?

which reminds me. i'm definitely not looking forward to individually applying each printed waterslide decal, especially since i've yet to find a good font to use!

yes. i am going to be redo-ing all of them with clear laserjet water slide decal paper and a c**p ton of fixitif.

[soundxplorer]

Is that orange or red? Or primer?
You know how digital cameras can change the color of things indoors.

[danialad]

Is that orange or red? Or primer?

it's krylon "pumpkin orange" which i have yet to decide if i'm going to keep the top coat glossy, hmm. and yes. it was a quick cell phone picture, i'll take proper dslr wide-angle shots once she's all together!

on a side note... i wonder what the microwave XTK looks like in person? that's not glossy is it?

[Primal Drive]

Danialad - This may sound like a dumb question, but did you strip all the original color off, then primed it before you painted it? I've been tempted to repaint my SH-32 to get rid of that sterile looking white but stripping paint is a PITA.

[Yoozer]

Do yourself another favor and replace the tiny little pushbuttons with the London Public Telephone hooligan-proof kind.

My ideal Ion mod would be something like this:

- black paint job
- garish rainbow colored labels for each part, Jupiter 8 style
- brushed aluminium sidepanels
- a reconstructed case with some tilt on the panel
- aforementioned hooligan-proof pushbuttons.

[balma]

There's no need to put the button and knob labels again if you have been using it for a long time.

My Fizmo does not have them, have barely 2 months with it and I already learned where's everything.

[danialad]

did you strip all the original color off, then primed it before you painted it?

i didn't do anything. i bought goo-gone which i was told would take off the decals, but after a few attempts, no luck at all. so i just went on ahead. i did three light coats, and so far the "alesis/ion" part is the only part that bled through. i really wish i'd at least primed it, but i'm a little too impatient to get projects started. at least i'll be putting the "alesis/ion" part back over it... so i'm not too worried. i am however still going to do at least another 2 coats before i start the decals.

Do yourself another favor and replace the tiny little pushbuttons with the London Public Telephone hooligan-proof kind.

uhhh... far too much work. but i do like the sound of your ideal mod. doing a whole new case would be ... crazy. but after taking her apart, i realize it would be rather "easy" if i had a metal/wood shop at my disposal.

There's no need to put the button and knob labels again if you have been using it for a long time.

i thought about this, but i figure it's best for the future.