I'm not a Moderator but I certainly would welcome a list of fixes. I plan to keep my Xpander going for as long as possible and I'm a firm believer that it's not all doom and gloom when it comes to fixing these things. I really think its worth trying everything to fix before stripping a machine or cannibalising another. They are starting to get rare and it's a responsibility you take on when you buy these machines to keep them going I feel (thats the way I felt)...obviously thats not the case in reality, but I didn't buy a cs-80 when I could have because I didn't think I could keep up the maintenance costs if something did go wrong. There are plenty of people out there who have more than a passing interest in these machines and I think there will always be someone out there who's far more technically minded than me that will work out a fix and thank god for them.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
--- In xpantastic@..., "shire03@..." <shire03@...> wrote:
Hi All,
That Rotory Encoader Up/Grade fix sounds really interesting.
Yes, Please post all the gory details. Also please do post any
Failure / Fix you come across. I am constantly keeping a list of
Fixes. I compile them and post it from time to time.
If it's OK with the moderator I'll put it in the database.
- Karl
--- In xpantastic@..., "mursupeppe" <petri.alanko@> wrote:
Hi and thanks for the links.
I happen to know the deep mud I'm in and so I just recently bought two Xpanders (one beyond repairs, the other should be fine), just to find out whether there's anything worth scavenging. Again, I'll let you know if and what.
Up to now, I never had a blown 3374 in my Xpander,- but I?m on the
waitlist for 3374 @vintage planet for years and like many others are.
CEM3372 are much easier to find.
I've heard people tell this about their 3374s, but after cross-checking I really have to admit that one of them is really broken. The other one's outputting triangle wave minor third higher than expected, so I cannot count that as "gone", not yet, at least. Something else could be wrong as well, but we're still doing testing and concentrating on the physical issues.
The case:
Buying vintage gear @ebay, you always buy "private" and because of being
"vintage" w/ no warranty and no return.
You agree on this if you bid !
It didn't go like that.
I first asked a few questions very carefully, as I wasn't on the holy pony for the first time. I've owned quite a few analog synths in my past and know what they can be like. Finding a pristine - mint, whatever - thing is about as rare as waking up in Mars. Nag nag, yadda yadda, boo hoo... (cont'd)
If someone is doing this, he should be prepared for issues unless it?s
made evident the item is in working condition electronically (!!!).
(cont'd)...which is what I was _told_, literally: "in 100% working condition".
But there?s no guarantee w/ vintage gear, (tack)-switches and pots will
be without issues or the unit won?t blow up the next time you power it
up after arrival.
I've got a few analog modulars that are about as moody as a difficult teenager after two beers. I have a faint feeling the behaviour you just described is remotely familiar. I just wouldn't sell any of those as "trouble-free" or "perfectly functioning". :-D
I'm not too keen on opening the case any more than this. What's my problem shouldn't poison the rest of you, even though I was the cat that brought the carcass in. Sorry for bad feelings, everyone, but I'll keep the lid on from now on.
Refurbishing a Xpander or a Matrix-12 means a big time investment in
search for all the available parts, investing money for the parts and
doing all the work yourself if you have the technical skills and own the
tools necessary.
Well, I'm relatively good at troubleshooting, the other guys do the dirty work since I'm about as handy as a paralyzed baboon could ever be. I'm pretty confident we'll sort this out with some amount of time. And money. Argh. :-/
The goal is no longer to refurbish, but reconstruct and improve, I'd say. See (x) below.
Noone can expect to buy a piece of gear which cost over 10.000.- bucks
in the past for 2.000 - 3.000 $ now and it?s like new,- that?s stupid.
That wasn't the price I paid, not even close, I happened to pay quite a lot more. Obviously, though, you're talking "in general" and not probably referring to this case, but I'll agree with you completely.
The manufacturing of dyno-synths like Matrix-12 and Prophet 10 / T-8
killed small companies like Oberheim and Sequential in the past because
of the costs and the sales.
I'd say we could blame DX7 and D50 at least partially for that. Them and the evolution of pop taste.
These are the CEM3374, the rotarys and the displays.
Also, I?m not sure about the switches and numeric key pad.
Actually, I doubt the display replacement of Steve Lenham will appear
near future.
(x) Newsflash! The keyboard tech replaced every rotary pot with a similar part and all he had to do was reverse the connection as the spare parts weren't identical to originals. The result: they all work now. If anyone needs further info, let me know and I'll ask dirty details. The feel is similar, but a bit quieter. No more "tr.. tr.. rrr... RRRrrr" whilst editing. The bonus: the pots have a switch built-in, so one could override the push buttons under the display as well if wanted and replace them with a nice led thingy or... never mind. :-)
He was also pretty confident he could replace the displays with an updated part of sorts, but it would lose the "Xpander/Matrix" style. Instead, it would be and LCD (if I remember correctly) and black/white. Again, don't blame me for not asking details before writing.
(Waiting for a FrankenMatrix to resurrect.)
Switches and rotarys as well as displays are 2nd row IMO,- the
workaround is to use bankloader and editing software to use a
electronically working machine in the studio.
I agree, my approach is because of my personal preferences: I like to "feel" the synth.
b.t.w.,- if someone needs processors for Xpander/Matrix-12,- you?ll find
?em in Matrix-1000s (and eventually Matrix-6,- I?m not sure).
As far as I know, there are six CEM3396 IC chips inside. I don't remember Xpander using those - is there something I should know?
