initial front panel layout

At an early stage, I started laying out the front panel of this amp, in order to decide which controls I want and how I want to lay them out.  The panel layouts are written by me, directly in Postscript: this is my preferred "graphics program" for things like this.  It is easy to change elements of the layout, such as the placement of controls or the choice of text for labels.  The original Postscript files (as well as PDF versions of the same) will be made freely available when this design is finished, as it is my intent to give away every aspect of this design as fully as possible.  I include a JPEG rendering of the layout here, to give a general sense of where the design stands, but don't depend on this image too much, many things are likely to change before anything actually gets built.

Each module is fashioned from 1+1/2" extruded aluminum "U" channel.  For convenience, I've made sure that no individual panel is longer than can fit on a regular sheet of 8+1/2"x11" paper.  Thus, DIY-ers can simply print the panel layouts and affix them to the extruded aluminum panels.  There's a whole procedure for doing this, in a way that results in a nice-looking and long-lasting panel; I'll detail the procedure somewhere down the road, when I start actually doing it for this project.  But the executive summary is: cut the paper to fit; spray a coat of white spraypaint on the panel; while the paint is still wet, carefully place the paper and let the paint adhere it to the panel (there's no chance for a re-do, so make zero mistakes if possible); press it down flat, taking care to work out any air bubbles; after a thorough drying period of at least 24 hours, cover with plenty of thin coats of clear-coat (clear spray enamel or polyurethane), allowing proper drying in between.  Probably the best time to cut the holes through the paper to match the holes which should already be drilled in the aluminum, would be after the white paint has dried but before the clear-coating begins.  If you're patient enough, this procedure can produce quite good, "near storebought quality", results (remember "NLQ" printers?).  (Thanks to the great Philip Williams for inventing this procedure.)