Modding and rehousing cheap effects

Here's the dealio..

I want to make something of an "ambience" machine with a couple of cheap and nasty behringer effects (the vd400 vintage delay and the rv600 reverb)

the plan is to rehouse them in a single metal enclosure with independent switches and the same knob layout and everything (although if it's possible I woudn't mind true bypassing them)

it's not gonna be a permanent fixture on my board just for when I'm feeling a bit experimental :wink:

I've done a bit of modding in the past but I don't even know where to start with this one

am I wasting my time or what? :smile:

I guess it's only a waste of time if you don't plan enough, or if you aren't ambitious enough to see the project through to some sort of completion.

...Or if you don't know when to pull the plug on it, if you're really getting fed up.

IIRC, true bypass mods for those particular pedals aren't overly difficult, so I guess that it's worth considering while you're rehousing.

But before you buy a new blank enclosure, open up both pedals and try and take some measurements of the internals, and visualize their placement inside a single new box. Even with a really big enclosure, it may take some creativity, and probably some compromise on placement of some of the controls. It might be best to just start with something really big and cheap, just to use as a starting point. As you refine the layout, you can put it into a smaller enclosure. You will probably also get ideas on where to move controls (if necessary) to create a smaller footprint, as well as making everything accessible in a practical way.

I think that if you can find a way to migrate everything in modular steps that it will greatly increase the chances of success. You might even want to start with just putting one of the effects in the new enclosure first, get it up and running, and then graft in the second effect.

Good luck, sounds like fun, no matter what the outcome!