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The Golden Gate(s, CV and audio) Bridge (a.k.a. GGB) is DIY eurorack project in Intellijel 1U (14HP) that passively bridges two set-ups over ethernet. It was created for modular enthusiasts, but just as handy for electronic musicians trying to build efficiency into the music set-ups. Each module is passive (i.e. requires no power) and easy to put together, even for beginners.
With each GGB pair you can route 8 channels of inputs/outputs of gates, CVs or audio over ethernet.
I built the GGB as it was taking me 30 mins every show to plug audio from my modular to my mixer and CV and gates from my external MIDI to CV converter. It also made making music on my modular difficult as I either had to commit to it being set up and taking up space on my desk, or leave my equipment packed up.
Ethernet ports can also be added to your own DIY equipment, if so inclined. I've used these panel mount RJ45 connectors with a sacrificial CAT6A cable in the enclosure spliced to all the connection points. More info on this below.
If you don't want to build something like this yourself, then I highly suggest looking at Intellijel's Octalink 1U or Doepfer's A-180-9 Multicore. I haven't tested, but the GGB is likely compatible with the Octalink and the A-180-9 Multicore. The sequence of the ins/outs may be different.
The PCB has been made so that it can also fit inside the popular Hammond 1590A pedal enclosure. This opens up a whole lot more opportunities besides simply linking two eurorack cases. For example, I've created two sets of pedal enclosure bridges so I can quickly re-patch my modular from my (1) live mixer set-up to my (2) studio recording interface. This way I can re-patch to multi-track recording without much effort if inspiration has struck.
As per a suggestion from u/el_ri on r/synthdiy, I created a PCB panel faceplate to attach to the black of a 1590A enclosure. This give those the option make 1590A versions without the need to drill out an enclosure.
An Octopart BOM can be found here.
I've included additional options to source parts in the notes of the BOM from Tayda, who don't show up in the Octoparts' suppliers.
Some notes on the parts:
Depending on sourcing of parts, pricing can differ. A pair of GGBs costs around AUD$22.50 as of Feb 2025 (excluding postage).
Zip folders containing the gerber files to order your own PCBs are provided here. What is here should suit all PCB manufacturers, but these designs have only been tested with PCBWay.
Notes on PCB specs:
Files have been provided to edit the designs as you wish. Feel free to do as you wish within the license. e.g redesign as a standard 3U module or change labelling to something custom for your set up. Please note: if you're updating the labelling, be sure to update the F.Cu AND the F.Mask layers. You might notice that I made this mistake in the modules pictured where the numbers are in "stealth mode". This has been updated in the files provided. Below is an example of what this looks like. Note: This is before I rotated the RJ45 connector 90 degrees.
Before soldering:
Notes for 1590A version builders who will build with the PCB panel:
Notes for 1590A version builders who intend to drill the enclosure:
Design files for customisation provided as a .zip of an archived Kicad project. Created in Kicad version 9.0.0. Earlier versions of Kicad may have issues opening the project. See here.
If you decide to add a panel-mount RJ45 connector to your own equipment as described above, the following cable colour and pin numbering should work. Always confirm with a multimeter.
| Channel/Pin | Wire color |
|---|---|
| 1 | White and red |
| 2 | Red |
| 3 | White and green |
| 4 | Blue |
| 5 | White and blue |
| 6 | Green |
| 7 | White and brown |
| 8 | Brown |
Update 26/04/25 – As suggested in r/synthdiy, I've created a panel to attach to the back of a 1590A enclosure instead of needing to drill out the enclosure. The .kicad_pcb file has been added to the repository under /pcbs. This design is untested. I'll add gerber files to the repository once this design is confirmed. Update 19/05/25 - The design for the PCB faceplate on a 1590A enclosure came out great. I've include gerbers to this repository and updated this README.
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