Year: 2016

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Oberheim OB-X Repair Video

Exploded Tantalum Capacitor
Exploded Tantalum Capacitor In the Oberheim OB-X

I started rolling the video camera when I repaired a very sick Oberheim OB-X.  Turns out it suffered some damage from the corrosive effects of mouse urine.  We also see the dangers of leaving the old tantalum capacitors in synthesizers.  I track down a memory retention issue causing the synth not to store patches correctly.  I also show how to rebuild the OB-X power supply and change the battery.

Look for a full set of products in the shop to get your OB-X running smoothly and safely for years to come.

 

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Easier Catalog Navigation

At last I finally improved the catalog navigation.  Now you can easily browse products for different synthesizers using the dropdown “Shop” menu and it’s categorized submenus.  You can also search the catalog (e.g. “slider” or “OB-Xa”).

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Now available! ARP Slider Kits

Synthchaser is happy to announce that we are stocking replacement slider kits for most ARP synthesizers!  Newly manufactured to the same specifications as the original CTS sliders, and priced more competitively than other replacement sliders on the market, a kit from Synthchaser is a no-brainer!

Precision LED kits are coming soon for more synthesizers and we will be stocking Moog sliders soon as well.

Shop now:

http://synthchaser.com/?s=slider+kit&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search&post_type=product

 

 

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ARP Omni 1 Restoration Video Series

Join me as I restore a broken ARP Omni 1.

In this first part, we evaluate the state of this Omni 1, and I discuss a little bit about what’s under the hood and my plan of attack for restoring it.

In the second part, we replace the aged tantalum capacitors in the synthesizer and visually inspect the boards for other signs of damage.

In this third part, we repair the power supply which had a few components go up in smoke, and we correct shoddy wiring left by the last person who worked on this.

In this final part we do a lot.  We replace the old and gross sliders with blindingly bright blue LED sliders, perform an enhancement on the voltage controlled filter (VCF), replace some faulty switches.  We also repair the strings not sounding stringy with a fix to the Phaser board.

Restored Omni synthesizers, parts, and repair service are available through my website.  I’m also happy to answer any questions you may have about fixing your own synth.

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Yet Another ARP Omni 2 Repair Video

Jeff had done a great job of recapping and replacing ICs in his ARP Omni 2, his soldering skills looked like a pro, but there were a few persistent issues that I fix in this video.  The Violin, Cello, 4′ Synthesizer, and 8′ Synthesizer Bass voices weren’t working, and the release for the string was always long, regardless of the position of the release slider.

Join me in my favorite late night game of “Find The Short”.  Seems like I get to play this game with every ARP I meet.

 

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Funky ARP Pro/DGX (Pro Soloist) Repair Video

I repair an early ARP Pro/DGX for a funk music legend.  Long neglected and cannibalized for parts, this seemingly hopeless Pro/DGX returns from the dead and flexes its analog awesomeness once again.  I wade my way through missing parts and damaged traces, cracked joints, and components that were seemingly randomly cut by the last tech.

 

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ARP Omni 2 Repair Video – Shorted Tantalum Capacitors & Bad Top Octave Generator

In my latest video, I finish a recap of an ARP Omni 2 for a customer, and find some burned up parts resulting from shorted tantalum capacitors.  Getting the tantalum capacitors out of your ARP synths should be considered mandatory maintenance, and can save you from expensive, out-of-production chips getting damaged, like the top octave generator in this video.

Capacitor kit available at:
http://synthchaser.com/product/arp-omni-2-capacitor-replacement-kit-with-4075-vcf-rebuild-kit/