Sheep is an alternative software for Mutable Instruments Tides.  I decided to flash my Tides with Sheep to make it into a full time wave table oscillator.  I found I had been using Tides mostly as an oscillator or LFO.  I tried Tides Parasite too, but decided to opt for simplicity by going with Sheep.  To complete my commitment to Sheep I got an alternate panel from Magpie Modular.  I chose the White Gloss, Sandblasted Iso design.  It might not always be available.  I also decided to swap the original green knobs with white ones for the Frequency and FM pots.

So how difficult could it be to swap a panel and some knobs?  More difficult that I’d hoped.

The Knobs

You can order Rogan knobs similar to those used by Mutable Instruments on Synthcube.  The trick was guessing the sizes to order.  I chose 2PS medium skirted d-shaft and 3PS large skirted d-shaft knobs, ordering two of each.  Whoops.  I should have ordered 1PS small skirted d-shaft instead of the 2PS medium.  Turns out that the 2PS are taller and match pretty closely to those used on Braids and Clouds.  The 3PS was the correct size as the original for the Frequency, but when placed next to a 2PS medium on the FM they were too close together.  So I used both of the 2PS medium knobs on those pots, which are on the top.  The bottom ones were already white on the original.

The Panel

Look at the original panel for Tides, front and back.  Take notice of the size of the holes for the pots.  They are just right to fit around the pot bushings.  Next surprise:  The back of the panel has two milled grooves just below the pot holes.  These accommodate the alignment tabs on the front of the pots, allowing the panel to lie flush against the front of the pots.  The back of the Magpie panel is just flat.  Now compare the photo of the Magpie panel before putting washers and nuts on the pots.  The holes are sized for 3/8 inch bushings.

My Solution

First I had to cut the alignment tabs off of the pots, so that the Magpie panel could lie flat over the pots.  The next problem was that without the tabs supporting the panel, there was some flex on the top portion of the panel.  Not good.

I found some small Alpha pots in my parts bin with the same size bushings as these pots and scavenged 10 washers from them.  Putting one one of these small washers over the bushing, before mounting the panel, made everything flush and presented a distribution of force over the front of the pot.  A second washer in front covered the big hole, also distributing force.  Important, because the nuts hold the panel to the pots and board, in addition to the jack nuts.

Finally finished

Those round jack nuts!

Many Eurorack modules use round jack nuts and so do Mutable Instruments.  The other style is a hex nut.  I had looked for a long time to find a wrench for the round nuts that would protect the panel surface.  I found it!  Not only that, but a set of nut wrenches that also handle the hex nuts and two larger sizes of each.  These came from Exploding Shed.