guys- I too want to make myself a 960-a-like, but not in the way you'd expect....
I am already preparing to buy a little cabinet & some modules, including a q960, from mr arrick, but I also want to build my own sequencers.
the 960 is a very simple device, & it's not difficult to recreate the functionality using a shift-register made from discrete gates; this (compared with using a single-chip counter like a 4022 or whatever) allows one to incorporate the all-important skip switches.
so as long as nobody looks inside at the numbers on the ICs, who cares? the important thing is the outside appearance.
btw, did anyone study the arp 16xx schematics & examine how they implemented skipping? essentially, they just over-clock for a step.... I'd need to check, but I think the stage output is also muted somehow when this happens.
anyhoo..... the sequencer I want to build from scratch is a simple 16-stage device with one controller row for pitches, possibly a second row for an auxiliary CV, & with skip switches. the degree to which I want to make it look authentic extends as far as finding the right knobs (check) & building it on a black panel. the skip switches will be mini toggles, for ease of use. but what I need to find are the lamp holders. I don't want to use LEDs. I've already acquired a number of different incandescent lamp designs, but it'd be nice to get the correct ones. synth.com sell the bulbs themselves, & my design incorporates lamp-driver switchgear already.
what I'm shooting for is the look & feel of a 960, but with 16 stages, & toggles for the skip switches. it's to be standalone or in a custom panel, or possibly built-in to an existing synth, but not a modular system.
I also want to get hold of the lamp-holders for another project; I'm "reskinning" a custom midi step sequencer with the right knobs & push-switches so that it too resembles an overgrown 960. again, the important part here is to get the thing to look similar, NOT an exact clone.
I will ask mr arrick if he's able to supply the lamp-holders to me.... after all, if I'm going to buy one of his systems anyway.....
duncan.