Sorry to hear this, you could at least name and shame the scammer?
I was offered a Matrix 12 recently from Germany...when I asked questions about sending photos of test screens he went dead on me...
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-- In xpantastic@..., "mursupeppe" <petri.alanko@...> wrote:
Hi there,
I'm probably _NOT_ the only one in desperate need, but I'd really, really like to find one or two CEM3374 chips for my Matrix-12 project. I bought from a German guy, insisting everything in it is all right, but it turned out it had "quite a few" problems, among which:
- dead left output
- Midi Out and Thru terminals are quite badly corroded (!)
- at least one CEM3374 is gone, the second one is being tested today
- two CEM3372s are dead
- 13 push buttons are totally dead
- 4 of the rotary encoders are what I call beyond dead
All this with a "yez it'z a perffecktly funkzionink" Matrix-12. :-D Ok, it was relatively cheap and I could turn it into a 6-voice thingy, but that would destroy the profound essence of its beauty. But still I find it very tempting to drive a few kilometers and visit the guy with some ugly motorist friends of mine.
(I know. Violence is _not_ an answer, an aggressive lawyer is. If anyone knows a good German-speaking lawyer, let me know. ;-D Thank goodness I saved all the seller's emails where he was insisting it was a perfectly good, like new.)
Also, I've noticed it has sometimes "a bit" trouble tuning itself, so I'm afraid there are quite a few logic chips malfunctioning as well. How, dear Xpantastic acquaintances, should I start troubleshooting my Matrix - other than doing chip-swapping, which is being done as we spe... write.
-Peter
|
Re: An easy way to dump patches please
--- In xpantastic@..., Tony Cappellini <cappy2112@...> wrote:
There's a "Send All" button on the Sysex page in the Xpander.
You can use Midiox (www.midiox.com) to save the patches to a bank file on
the PC.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 1:31 PM, swisstony123456789 <repoman123@...
wrote:
Hi all I was wondering if someone could help me. Im away from my main pc at
the moment so I cant check for sure but I'm using a piece of software called
midi sx(I think?!?!) to load patches...well I can load patchs fine but I
cant seem to dump could someone please explain simply how to do this using a
free software if possible... as I'm pretty broke....if It's different from
my current software
could someone please explain how to upload aswell...very sorry if this a
real simple question I've been trying to dump them via midi for ages and
cannot seem to get it to work..I actually gave up months ago but after
writing over a couple of patchs I really needed to keep and also going back
to the Xpander this week for work it'd be really really helpful to know.
Anyway thanks for any help in
advance
Sean
P.S. I'm using a PC
Thanks for your reply..I finally sorted the problem I had to change what midi inputs I was using. Also I must have a slightly older firmware as my xpander doesn't offer the option to dump all it just goes to 00. Anyway Thanks again. Sean
|
--- In xpantastic@..., "mursupeppe" <petri.alanko@...> wrote:
Hi there,
I'm probably _NOT_ the only one in desperate need, but I'd really, really like to find one or two CEM3374 chips for my Matrix-12 project. I bought from a German guy, insisting everything in it is all right, but it turned out it had "quite a few" problems, among which:
- dead left output
- Midi Out and Thru terminals are quite badly corroded (!)
- at least one CEM3374 is gone, the second one is being tested today
- two CEM3372s are dead
- 13 push buttons are totally dead
- 4 of the rotary encoders are what I call beyond dead
All this with a "yez it'z a perffecktly funkzionink" Matrix-12. :-D Ok, it was relatively cheap and I could turn it into a 6-voice thingy, but that would destroy the profound essence of its beauty. But still I find it very tempting to drive a few kilometers and visit the guy with some ugly motorist friends of mine.
(I know. Violence is _not_ an answer, an aggressive lawyer is. If anyone knows a good German-speaking lawyer, let me know. ;-D Thank goodness I saved all the seller's emails where he was insisting it was a perfectly good, like new.)
Also, I've noticed it has sometimes "a bit" trouble tuning itself, so I'm afraid there are quite a few logic chips malfunctioning as well. How, dear Xpantastic acquaintances, should I start troubleshooting my Matrix - other than doing chip-swapping, which is being done as we spe... write.
-Peter
Ah yes I feel your anger I two am looking for voice chips, my xpander dropped a voice and is now only running on five. Luckily I got my seller to stump up the cash to fix it. I've always had trouble with big synths and always payed a bit too much...I did want a 12 originally but ended up with the Xpander?!?! Though I do love it. Also think power supply needs re-capping as its getting noisey?! Anyway after swapping chips and finding out which ones faulty by process of elimination I would contact a synth repairer, I realise it can be pricey but will usually avoid any major headaches..things like left output could be a simple dry joint and just need a new bit of solder, a real possibilty if its suffering from a bit of rust around the midi ports, they also are relitively simple to replace. I don't think I've ever heard of that many buttons being dead, could it possibly be a problem with the board or are the 13 dotted about all over the place?!? That could be better than replace all those buttons, also the rotarys would be time consuming. Things like these seem like they'll be easy to replace but can end up being a nightmare I had a simple pot to replace on a Prophet 5 and the nut had fused itself to the pot which meant if I had forced it I would have ripped it off the board. There are a few guys in the UK that deal with Oberheims and parts but...I know that most of them are fully booked for a while, they nearly always are. Wherabouts are you? Sorry I'm not of much help I'm sure someone else will chime in eventually!! Sean
|
Hi there,
I'm probably _NOT_ the only one in desperate need, but I'd really, really like to find one or two CEM3374 chips for my Matrix-12 project. I bought from a German guy, insisting everything in it is all right, but it turned out it had "quite a few" problems, among which:
- dead left output
- Midi Out and Thru terminals are quite badly corroded (!)
- at least one CEM3374 is gone, the second one is being tested today
- two CEM3372s are dead
- 13 push buttons are totally dead
- 4 of the rotary encoders are what I call beyond dead
All this with a "yez it'z a perffecktly funkzionink" Matrix-12. :-D Ok, it was relatively cheap and I could turn it into a 6-voice thingy, but that would destroy the profound essence of its beauty. But still I find it very tempting to drive a few kilometers and visit the guy with some ugly motorist friends of mine.
(I know. Violence is _not_ an answer, an aggressive lawyer is. If anyone knows a good German-speaking lawyer, let me know. ;-D Thank goodness I saved all the seller's emails where he was insisting it was a perfectly good, like new.)
Also, I've noticed it has sometimes "a bit" trouble tuning itself, so I'm afraid there are quite a few logic chips malfunctioning as well. How, dear Xpantastic acquaintances, should I start troubleshooting my Matrix - other than doing chip-swapping, which is being done as we spe... write.
-Peter
|
Re: An easy way to dump patches please
There's a "Send All" button on the Sysex page in the Xpander. You can use Midiox () to save the patches to a bank file on the PC.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 1:31 PM, swisstony123456789 <repoman123@...> wrote:
?
Hi all I was wondering if someone could help me. Im away from my main pc at the moment so I cant check for sure but I'm using a piece of software called midi sx(I think?!?!) to load patches...well I can load patchs fine but I cant seem to dump could someone please explain simply how to do this using a free software if possible... as I'm pretty broke....if It's different from my current software
could someone please explain how to upload aswell...very sorry if this a real simple question I've been trying to dump them via midi for ages and cannot seem to get it to work..I actually gave up months ago but after writing over a couple of patchs I really needed to keep and also going back to the Xpander this week for work it'd be really really helpful to know. Anyway thanks for any help in
advance
Sean
P.S. I'm using a PC
|
An easy way to dump patches please
Hi all I was wondering if someone could help me. Im away from my main pc at the moment so I cant check for sure but I'm using a piece of software called midi sx(I think?!?!) to load patches...well I can load patchs fine but I cant seem to dump could someone please explain simply how to do this using a free software if possible... as I'm pretty broke....if It's different from my current software
could someone please explain how to upload aswell...very sorry if this a real simple question I've been trying to dump them via midi for ages and cannot seem to get it to work..I actually gave up months ago but after writing over a couple of patchs I really needed to keep and also going back to the Xpander this week for work it'd be really really helpful to know. Anyway thanks for any help in
advance
Sean
P.S. I'm using a PC
|
Re: Full FM-how accurate should I expect?
Thanks Karl,
The voices are consistently slightly out of tune on one key, so I am wondering if it's a chip thing-when no FM is employed but the rez is all the way up, you can hear the SLIGHTEST vartiation, but I only notice those particular voices because using FM accentuates the irregularities more so.
The movement factor would certainly indicate something might be loose (though rotating it further forward doesn't rectify anything unfortunately!)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
--- In xpantastic@..., "shire03@..." <shire03@...> wrote:
Hello Matt,
When using the FM on an Xpander / M12 you should expect the tuning to
remain consistant between each of the voices. However because of the
very slight drift of the analog VCO's you may find the tone will change
as you play in different ranges of the keyboard. In other words,
If you play the same note repetedly ( with an arppigiator for example)
the tuning should be consistant as you rotate through the voices, but
playing notes at different ranges of the keyboard the tone will change.
B.T.W. The (DAC) control element used for the FM is very precise
compared to the (VCA) control elements used in other parts of the synth.
There are many things that could cause this, but a bad solder connection
or slight oxidation/corrosion between an IC pin and the IC socket, seems
most likly, because you report moving the synth changes it's
performance.
- Karl
--- In xpantastic@..., "mattvrazo" <vrazomatt@> wrote:
I had posted some time ago on here about uneven resonances on my
xpander-bizarrely, it corrected itself when I re-mounted the unit on my
stand and the resonances are perfectly in tune.
However, I noticed when cranking up the FM last night that despite my
best efforts to untune and then retune, I could not get the FM
consistent across the voices. They are not wildly different, but
different enough to make chromatic playing difficult.
There is no consistency between which voices are more in tune with
each other either, so I can't immediately say it's chip related.
So I guess my question is-should I expect the voices to be identical
when full FM (on filter) is used? I seem to recall this being possible
when I first got my unit, but I don't actually use FM that often.
|
Re: Full FM-how accurate should I expect?
Hello Matt, When using the FM on an Xpander / M12 you should expect the tuning to remain consistant between each of the voices. However because of the very slight drift of the analog VCO's you may find the tone will change as you play in different ranges of the keyboard. In other words, If you play the same note repetedly ( with an arppigiator for example) the tuning should be consistant as you rotate through the voices, but playing notes at different ranges of the keyboard the tone will change. B.T.W. The (DAC) control element used for the FM is very precise compared to the (VCA) control elements used in other parts of the synth. There are many things that could cause this, but a bad solder connection or slight oxidation/corrosion between an IC pin and the IC socket, seems most likly, because you report moving the synth changes it's performance. - Karl --- In xpantastic@..., "mattvrazo" <vrazomatt@...> wrote:
I had posted some time ago on here about uneven resonances on my
xpander-bizarrely, it corrected itself when I re-mounted the unit on my stand and the resonances are perfectly in tune.
However, I noticed when cranking up the FM last night that despite my
best efforts to untune and then retune, I could not get the FM consistent across the voices. They are not wildly different, but different enough to make chromatic playing difficult.
There is no consistency between which voices are more in tune with
each other either, so I can't immediately say it's chip related.
So I guess my question is-should I expect the voices to be identical
when full FM (on filter) is used? I seem to recall this being possible when I first got my unit, but I don't actually use FM that often.
|
Full FM-how accurate should I expect?
I had posted some time ago on here about uneven resonances on my xpander-bizarrely, it corrected itself when I re-mounted the unit on my stand and the resonances are perfectly in tune.
However, I noticed when cranking up the FM last night that despite my best efforts to untune and then retune, I could not get the FM consistent across the voices. They are not wildly different, but different enough to make chromatic playing difficult.
There is no consistency between which voices are more in tune with each other either, so I can't immediately say it's chip related.
So I guess my question is-should I expect the voices to be identical when full FM (on filter) is used? I seem to recall this being possible when I first got my unit, but I don't actually use FM that often.
|
Re: Xpander power supply rev.2 problems
Hi Sergio and Greg,
That xpander.geek.nz site is mine; unfortunately it hasn't turned into
the rhodeschroma.com-like site I wanted it to be, but I'm happy to add
new information to it so that Google can find it easily.
Sergio, if you would like to send me your schematic I'll add it to the
site. I'm pretty sure my Xpander's PSU is American, so the capacitor
values might not be much use to you.
I would think that these days it should be pretty straightforward to
just replace the whole PSU with a new one, don't you think? I don't
think there are any really weird voltages in there.
Anyway, all the best with sorting it out.
Cheers,
John :^P
--
John Pallister
john@...
john@...
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 6:52 PM, baumont987<geebeex@...> wrote:
Hi,
maybe this can help you:
regards,
/greg.
--- In xpantastic@..., "kovalmoog67" <synthoma@...> wrote:
Hi to all members...
I'm Sergio Koval, from Barcelona, Spain.
A friend of mine gaves me his Oberheim Xpander that has a very big problem
on its Power Supply, and I can't be able to find any info about it. It is
the second version of the Xpander, manufactured in Japan, and the Power
Supply is completely different from the service manual's one.
I have released my own schematic of it, taken from the PCB I have, but
there are some missing components (mainly resistors and capacitors) and I
don't have any idea about their values.
If any user of that version of Xpander could take a detailed photo of its
Power Supply board, it would be very useful to me. I could get the values
from that image.
I have been told that version of Xpander was sold in Japan and Australia.
My friend's one came from Australia.
Any help or suggestion will be very welcome.
Thanks in advance
Sergio
|
Re: Xpander power supply rev.2 problems
Hi,
maybe this can help you:
regards,
/greg.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
--- In xpantastic@..., "kovalmoog67" <synthoma@...> wrote:
Hi to all members...
I'm Sergio Koval, from Barcelona, Spain.
A friend of mine gaves me his Oberheim Xpander that has a very big problem on its Power Supply, and I can't be able to find any info about it. It is the second version of the Xpander, manufactured in Japan, and the Power Supply is completely different from the service manual's one.
I have released my own schematic of it, taken from the PCB I have, but there are some missing components (mainly resistors and capacitors) and I don't have any idea about their values.
If any user of that version of Xpander could take a detailed photo of its Power Supply board, it would be very useful to me. I could get the values from that image.
I have been told that version of Xpander was sold in Japan and Australia. My friend's one came from Australia.
Any help or suggestion will be very welcome.
Thanks in advance
Sergio
|
Xpander power supply rev.2 problems
Hi to all members...
I'm Sergio Koval, from Barcelona, Spain.
A friend of mine gaves me his Oberheim Xpander that has a very big problem on its Power Supply, and I can't be able to find any info about it. It is the second version of the Xpander, manufactured in Japan, and the Power Supply is completely different from the service manual's one.
I have released my own schematic of it, taken from the PCB I have, but there are some missing components (mainly resistors and capacitors) and I don't have any idea about their values.
If any user of that version of Xpander could take a detailed photo of its Power Supply board, it would be very useful to me. I could get the values from that image.
I have been told that version of Xpander was sold in Japan and Australia. My friend's one came from Australia.
Any help or suggestion will be very welcome.
Thanks in advance
Sergio
|
3 NOS HS3140-C 14 bits DAC for Xpander
Hi all,
FYI, someone is selling 3 new old stock 14 bits DAC for Xpander on Ebay:
/greg
|
Poll results for xpantastic
The following xpantastic poll is now closed. Here are the
final results:
POLL QUESTION: Let's do some market research: So, how many spare Xpander/M12 displays would You buy, if they would be made available?
This is ofcourse not anything binding information, but just a poll.
CHOICES AND RESULTS
- 0, 3 votes, 8.11%
- 1, 5 votes, 13.51%
- 2, 1 votes, 2.70%
- 3, 16 votes, 43.24%
- 4, 4 votes, 10.81%
- 5, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 6, 3 votes, 8.11%
- 7, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 8, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 9, 2 votes, 5.41%
- 10-15, 2 votes, 5.41%
- 15-20, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 20-25, 1 votes, 2.70%
- 25-30, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 30-40, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 40-50, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 50-60, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 60-70, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 70-100, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 100-200, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 200-300, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 300-400, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 400-500, 0 votes, 0.00%
- 500-600, 0 votes, 0.00%
- > 600, 0 votes, 0.00%
INDIVIDUAL VOTES
- 0
- drmabuce@...
- xpander@...
- cremoni@...
- 1
- maf@...
- synthesizeuhr@...
- geebeex@...
- cappy2112@...
- dedonatis@...
- 2
- mbeck@...
- 3
- jbond007@...
- josue@...
- repoman123@...
- matrixsynth@...
- publik@...
- shire03@...
- caractere@...
- waveterm@...
- chad_kettering@...
- tomas_peterka@...
- plus_321@...
- jeremy@...
- james@...
- ha-pewe@...
- antoniotuzzi@...
- Rookwood1@...
- 4
- john@...
- k.tomasson@...
- wdw.synths@...
- mariano@...
- 5
- 6
- cikira@...
- steeve_sos@...
- dalimaster2004@...
- 7
- 8
- 9
- vco3@...
- thanksmalc@...
- 10-15
- akva@...
- rwillis@...
- 15-20
- 20-25
- chenedward69@...
- 25-30
- 30-40
- 40-50
- 50-60
- 60-70
- 70-100
- 100-200
- 200-300
- 300-400
- 400-500
- 500-600
- > 600
For more information about this group, please visit
For help with Yahoo! Groups, please visit
|
Hmmm, sounds weird, you cannot change the midi controllers assigned to
the "pedal /switch" entrys.
Have you ever checked your eprom versions ?
There were some restrictions and bugs in earlier eprom versions
regarding midi.
The Xpander expects physical pedals/switches at it?s pedal/switch
inputs only , if? "pedal1" and "pedal 2" is been set to "pedal 1" and
"pedal 2" in the bottom row too,- otherwise it expects midi controllers
only (or a mix of both).
If you?d have the Ped. 1 and 2 settings in both the displays, it
doesn?t mean it works with the patches at all.
You?d have to set up the "modulation-destinations" for the "pedals"
(midi controllers) in each of the single-patches separately.
There is no global setup for the controllers which affects all the
patches the same way.
My top display shows: Lever 1? Lever 2? Pedal 1? Pedal 2? Pressr
My bottom display is : Bender?????? 1??????????? 7?????????
64?????? Pressr
VCA 2 is always controlled by ENV2 in my Xpander single patches and the
AMP of ENV2 is controlled by VELOCITY being set at different values
depending on the patches / midi-keyboard combination.
VCA 1 is always controlled by PEDAL 1 ( value +63) and PEDAL 1 is
assigned to midi CC #7 (volume)
PEDAL 2, assigned to midi-controller #64 (sustain) controls the
ENV-release times ( at different values and depending on the use of
patches) of the ENVELOPES which control VCF ( by env-amount ) and VCA 2.
Make a test patch using the function "INIT VOICE ( or PATCH,- I forgot
...),- this comes up w/ a simple basic/standard analogue synth patch
and assign everything as described above. This must work.
If not,- you have a prob w/ your Xpander.
Your settings in the bottom display is wrong anyway,- both LEVERs been
set to CC#0 and both the Pedals been set to 1 makes no sense. It could
be:
Bender / 1 / Pedal 1 / Pedal 2 / Pressr? ( with orig. Oberheim CV-Pedal
connected to the Pedal 1 input and a open/close momentary switch
connected to Pedal 2 ) or...
the settings in bottom display mentioned above for the most
common midi controllers.
hope this helps
PeWe
playthefivetones schrieb:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hey Takis,
Thanks so much for your help, but i'm afraid the problem persists.
i went to the menu you specified, set pedals 1 and 2 to '0' and vca2 is
still 'stuck on'.
The top display has:
lever 1 lever 2 pedal1 pedal2 pressr
(i can't change those)
i set the bottom display to:
1 1 0 0 pressr
still 'stuck vca2'. maybe i did it wrong?
what sort of pedal is that input expecting? a keyboard sustain pedal?
should i slap one in there and see if it can turn off vca2?
thanks so much for your help
s
|
Hey Takis,
Thanks so much for your help, but i'm afraid the problem persists.
i went to the menu you specified, set pedals 1 and 2 to '0' and vca2 is still 'stuck on'.
The top display has:
lever 1 lever 2 pedal1 pedal2 pressr
(i can't change those)
i set the bottom display to:
1 1 0 0 pressr
still 'stuck vca2'. maybe i did it wrong?
what sort of pedal is that input expecting? a keyboard sustain pedal? should i slap one in there and see if it can turn off vca2?
thanks so much for your help
s
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
--- In xpantastic@..., "takisdamaschis" <takisdamaschis@...> wrote:
Hi s!
there is nothing wrong with your xpander!
Simply the sustain pedal jack switch is stuck in the on position!
The remedies are:
1.Open the xpander and repair/replace the pedal 1 jack or
2.dissable in the software the functionallity of pedal 1!
Go to MASTER PAGE/MIDI/CNTRS/PEDAL 1 and use the rotary under pedal1 to assign any other CC value other than PEDAL 1, say 0 for example!
This will take care of it without the need to repair the input jack!
Best regards,Takis.
--- In xpantastic@..., Simon G <playthefivetones@>
wrote:
that was a lot of really great information, Karl, thank you. presumably those capacitors are easy to find?
do you think the problem below could be a capacitor issue?
does anybody else had/ have a problem where VCA 2 is 'stuck on' some old notes...almost like a midi note is stuck on.i've tried the boot reset, all midi notes off (i'm quite convinced it's not midi related at this point), still there. always get a? tuning pass across the board, except one time where VCF failed (still sounded fine). i have not been able to duplicate that. doesn't seem to be isolated to one voice.? plays fine, sounds great (amazing), just have to leave vca2 at 0 which in most patches seems to make little difference.
also i've been using the stuck VCA2 to make easy drones which i quite like.
i searched for the problem everywhere and found someone else who had posted with it? and got a couple of responses...one saying it was common on Jupiters (iirc) but no real solutions.
can it be tuned out with a good calibration? considering everything else works should i just leave it alone? could i be making it worse by using it like this?
thanks
s
--- On Thu, 2/26/09, Karl <shire03@> wrote:
From: Karl <shire03@>
Subject: [xpantastic] Re: xpander dac
To: xpantastic@...
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009, 4:43 AM
Hey Everyone,
I have been helping folks fix their Xpanders / Matrix 12s for awhile
here. I can tell you that by far the most failed component is
electrolytic capacitors. A 2.2 uF @ 50V coupling capacitor is used
through out the analog voice boards. This capacitor will fail and
cause numerous voice problems from failed auto-tune to no sound. The
next part would be the encoders. Usually a good cleaning fixes this.
Next would be the VFD displays which are very hard to find. Steve
Lanham is working on an upgrade for this one.
see:
. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=steve@ bendentech. co.uk
There have been a few cases of VCO ( 3374 ) and VCF filter chips (
3372 ) failing. Not impossible to find, but expensive.
The DAC issue from Takis is the first I've seen of that part failing.
Many times things can be fixed by simply re seating ( pulling out and
putting back in ) the chips. This is easy on the Xpander because
every integrated circuit is in a socket. Finally, many problems are
caused by cold solder joints. Simply re flowing the solder around the
suspect part can fix this. I always recommend doing this first
before replacing parts.
I personally have fixed my matrix 12 (owned since 1987) several times
This included cleaning the key contacts (typical of any keyboard)
Several of the before mentioned capacitors. An analog switch chip
which had it's pin folded under at the factory. And finally, several
74HC14 Schmidt trigger chips which debounce the encoders.
Soon ( when time permits ) I would like to make a better list along
with part numbers etc. that we could all use to trouble shoot these
wonderful machines. I have been collecting capacitors/ battary etc.
to recap mine.
BTW If you have any software issues/questions Tony C. is the man to
talk to, and PeWe is the best expert on sound design / functionality
( on nearly any synth ) I have ever talked to. Actually, all the
folks in this group are sharp characters ( they own xpanders :-)
Best Regards
Karl
--- In xpantastic@yahoogro ups.com, Tony Cappellini <cappy2112@ ..>
wrote:
Not really, but my gear is very under-used compared to most. One voice is a little squirrly (occasionally) . Karl was nice enough to
point me to which cap typically goes bad that causes my symptoms. Karl
is very knowledgable about the Xpander. I've wanted to recap my voice circuits, but haven't found someone I will trust my Xpander with. For a long time that voice failed auto-tune now & then, but I coulnd't
hear anything bad. Now I can hear it ;-) I bought a bunch of spare parts a long time ago when they were easy to find.
On 2/25/09, Simon G <playthefivetones@ ...> wrote:
thanks for the info. if you don't mind me asking, has anything
failed on your xpander?
|
OB-VFD Replacement display board - March update
Hi,
My apologies for the lack of updates regarding the OB-VFD display upgrade recently. Despite this, please be assured that the upgrade is still being actively worked on and is close to being ready for production.
The only issue which has been encountered during the beta programme is that some instruments have very noisy power supplies and this noise can couple into the display circuitry. I have to be confident that the upgrades will work with ALL instruments out there, so am currently adding extra filtering and improving the PCB tracking to remove the interference.
The Xpander on which all the original development work was done had just been completely recapped, so was much less noisy and did not reveal the problem!
Other than that, there have been no problems with fit or function, so I hope to be able to post again shortly to say that all is ready. Many thanks for all the expressions of interest - I appreciate them, and it is good to know that the product is needed.
Best regards,
Steve
Steve Lenham
Benden Sound Technology
www.bendensound.co.uk
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Hi s! there is nothing wrong with your xpander! Simply the sustain pedal jack switch is stuck in the on position! The remedies are: 1.Open the xpander and repair/replace the pedal 1 jack or 2.dissable in the software the functionallity of pedal 1! Go to MASTER PAGE/MIDI/CNTRS/PEDAL 1 and use the rotary under pedal1 to assign any other CC value other than PEDAL 1, say 0 for example! This will take care of it without the need to repair the input jack! Best regards,Takis. --- In xpantastic@..., Simon G <playthefivetones@...> wrote:
that was a lot of really great information, Karl, thank you. presumably those capacitors are easy to find?
do you think the problem below could be a capacitor issue?
does anybody else had/ have a problem where VCA 2 is 'stuck on' some old notes...almost like a midi note is stuck on.i've tried the boot reset, all midi notes off (i'm quite convinced it's not midi related at this point), still there. always get a? tuning pass across the board, except one time where VCF failed (still sounded fine). i have not been able to duplicate that. doesn't seem to be isolated to one voice.? plays fine, sounds great (amazing), just have to leave vca2 at 0 which in most patches seems to make little difference.
also i've been using the stuck VCA2 to make easy drones which i quite like.
i searched for the problem everywhere and found someone else who had posted with it? and got a couple of responses...one saying it was common on Jupiters (iirc) but no real solutions.
can it be tuned out with a good calibration? considering everything else works should i just leave it alone? could i be making it worse by using it like this?
thanks
s
--- On Thu, 2/26/09, Karl <shire03@...> wrote:
From: Karl <shire03@...>
Subject: [xpantastic] Re: xpander dac
To: xpantastic@...
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009, 4:43 AM
Hey Everyone,
I have been helping folks fix their Xpanders / Matrix 12s for awhile
here. I can tell you that by far the most failed component is
electrolytic capacitors. A 2.2 uF @ 50V coupling capacitor is used
through out the analog voice boards. This capacitor will fail and
cause numerous voice problems from failed auto-tune to no sound. The
next part would be the encoders. Usually a good cleaning fixes this.
Next would be the VFD displays which are very hard to find. Steve
Lanham is working on an upgrade for this one.
see:
. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=steve@ bendentech. co.uk
There have been a few cases of VCO ( 3374 ) and VCF filter chips (
3372 ) failing. Not impossible to find, but expensive.
The DAC issue from Takis is the first I've seen of that part failing.
Many times things can be fixed by simply re seating ( pulling out and
putting back in ) the chips. This is easy on the Xpander because
every integrated circuit is in a socket. Finally, many problems are
caused by cold solder joints. Simply re flowing the solder around the
suspect part can fix this. I always recommend doing this first
before replacing parts.
I personally have fixed my matrix 12 (owned since 1987) several times
This included cleaning the key contacts (typical of any keyboard)
Several of the before mentioned capacitors. An analog switch chip
which had it's pin folded under at the factory. And finally, several
74HC14 Schmidt trigger chips which debounce the encoders.
Soon ( when time permits ) I would like to make a better list along
with part numbers etc. that we could all use to trouble shoot these
wonderful machines. I have been collecting capacitors/ battary etc.
to recap mine.
BTW If you have any software issues/questions Tony C. is the man to
talk to, and PeWe is the best expert on sound design / functionality
( on nearly any synth ) I have ever talked to. Actually, all the
folks in this group are sharp characters ( they own xpanders :-)
Best Regards
Karl
--- In xpantastic@yahoogro ups.com, Tony Cappellini <cappy2112@ ..>
wrote:
Not really, but my gear is very under-used compared to most. One voice is a little squirrly (occasionally) . Karl was nice enough to
point me to which cap typically goes bad that causes my symptoms. Karl
is very knowledgable about the Xpander. I've wanted to recap my voice circuits, but haven't found someone I will trust my Xpander with. For a long time that voice failed auto-tune now & then, but I coulnd't
hear anything bad. Now I can hear it ;-) I bought a bunch of spare parts a long time ago when they were easy to find.
On 2/25/09, Simon G <playthefivetones@ ...> wrote:
thanks for the info. if you don't mind me asking, has anything
failed on your xpander?
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Re: Power switch flickering - problem/question
huh, interesting vid. Though he seems to be saying the reverse-i.e. don't keep them on their side! (and maybe the chroma in particular). I guess it depends on whether there are individual voice cards that could bend against their sockets. My Xpander is always "horizontal", just at varying degrees depending on whether it's on a stand, or sitting flat. --- In xpantastic@..., Simon G <playthefivetones@ ...> wrote:
funny you should mention the vertical vs. horizontal placement of the synth...watched a video interview of the guy from goldfrapp (it's quite good i thought ) and he says old synths store better on their sides. he doesn't seem to know why but i'd imagine he's dealt with a lot of synth repair and synth repair folks over the years.
--- On Fri, 2/27/09, mattvrazo <vrazomatt@...> wrote:
From: mattvrazo <vrazomatt@...>
Subject: [xpantastic] Power switch flickering - problem/question
To: xpantastic@...
Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 2:13 AM
I thought I better start a new post instead of 'jack the DAC thread.
I noticed recently that depending on the angle of my xpander i.e.
flat, versus angled on a rack where it normally sits, there is
flickering in the power switch light. There is more flickering the
more horizintal it is, and none at all when it is vertical.
I don't know if it's coincidence that it seemed the only trouble I
ever had with tuning (the filters, not the voices), was when it was
flat. All the filters passed, but the they were never completely when
self-oscillating (they are when it's more vertical). They kept being
out of tune on two voices in particular, so I thought it might have
been a filter chip issue, but then I put it back on the rack and had
no problem.
More than anything, I am worried the flickering is indication that
something is somehow "moving" around... something power supply related:/
I plan to have the whole thing pre-emptively serviced (recapped) soon
anyways, but does anyone have any clue what the flicker might be a
sign or, or the result of?
|
Hi Simon,
?
Yeah, the capacitors are easy to find and cheap. Ibought 200 for around $20.00 USD.
The part is a 2.2 uF @ 50VDC. Try to get the newest ones you can find.?
?
On your current question. I am a little unclear here.?AFAIK The VCA2 is usually set to ?0
and a modulator?( envelope or lfo ) is used to change it's?setting. If you turn VCA2 up it will
continuously sound.?Is this whats going on, or something different?
?
Best Regards
?
- Karl
?
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--- On Fri, 3/6/09, Simon G wrote:
From: Simon G
Subject: Re: [xpantastic] Re: xpander dac
To: xpantastic@...
Date: Friday, March 6, 2009, 7:52 AM
that was a lot of really great information, Karl, thank you. presumably those capacitors are easy to find?
do you think the problem below could be a capacitor issue?
does anybody else had/ have a problem where VCA 2 is 'stuck on' some old notes...almost like a midi note is stuck on.i've tried the boot reset, all midi notes off (i'm quite convinced it's not midi related at this point), still there. always get a? tuning pass across the board, except one time where VCF failed (still sounded fine). i have not been able to duplicate that. doesn't seem to be isolated to one voice.? plays fine, sounds great (amazing), just have to leave vca2 at 0 which in most patches seems to make little difference.
also i've been using the stuck VCA2 to make easy drones which i quite like.
i searched for the problem everywhere and found someone else who had posted with it? and got a couple of responses... one saying
it was common on Jupiters (iirc) but no real solutions.
can it be tuned out with a good calibration? considering everything else works should i just leave it alone? could i be making it worse by using it like this?
thanks
s
--- On Thu, 2/26/09, Karl wrote:
From: Karl
Subject: [xpantastic] Re: xpander dac
To: xpantastic@yahoogro ups.com
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009, 4:43 AM
Hey Everyone, I have been helping folks fix their Xpanders / Matrix 12s for awhile here. I can tell you that by far the most failed component is electrolytic capacitors. A 2.2 uF @ 50V coupling capacitor is used through out the analog voice boards. This capacitor will fail and cause numerous voice problems from failed auto-tune to no sound. The next part would be the encoders. Usually a good cleaning fixes this. Next would be the VFD displays which are very hard to find. Steve Lanham is working on an upgrade for this one. see: There have been a few cases of VCO ( 3374 ) and VCF filter chips ( 3372 ) failing. Not impossible to find, but expensive. The DAC issue from Takis is the first I've seen of that part
failing. Many times things can be fixed by simply re seating ( pulling out and putting back in ) the chips. This is easy on the Xpander because every integrated circuit is in a socket. Finally, many problems are caused by cold solder joints. Simply re flowing the solder around the suspect part can fix this. I always recommend doing this first before replacing parts. I personally have fixed my matrix 12 (owned since 1987) several times This included cleaning the key contacts (typical of any keyboard) Several of the before mentioned capacitors. An analog switch chip which had it's pin folded under at the factory. And finally, several 74HC14 Schmidt trigger chips which debounce the encoders. Soon ( when time permits ) I would like to make a better list along with part numbers etc. that we could all use to trouble shoot these wonderful machines. I have been collecting capacitors/ battary
etc. to recap mine. BTW If you have any software issues/questions Tony C. is the man to talk to, and PeWe is the best expert on sound design / functionality ( on nearly any synth ) I have ever talked to. Actually, all the folks in this group are sharp characters ( they own xpanders :-) Best Regards Karl --- In xpantastic@yahoogro ups.com, Tony Cappellini wrote: > > Not really, but my gear is very under-used compared to most. > One voice is a little squirrly (occasionally) . Karl was nice enough to > point me to which cap typically goes bad that causes my symptoms. Karl > is very knowledgable about the Xpander. > > I've wanted to recap my voice circuits, but haven't found someone I > will trust my Xpander with. > > For a long time that voice failed auto-tune now & then, but I
coulnd't > hear anything bad. Now I can hear it ;-) > I bought a bunch of spare parts a long time ago when they were easy to find. > > > On 2/25/09, Simon G wrote: > > > > > > thanks for the info. if you don't mind me asking, has anything failed on your xpander? > > >
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