Analog synthesizer repair, parts, sales, and innovation. I buy broken synthesizers!
Finally our long and tedious restoration is complete, and I walk you through the features and sounds of the ARP Quadra.
0:28 Bass Section
3:37 String Section
5:55 Poly Synth Section
9:20 Lead Synth Section
18:27 Phase Shifter
21:31 ARP Quadra Sounds
24:18 Conclusion
I have ARP Quadras available, please contact me if you are interested in purchasing one.
After doing the general restoration work of the ARP Quadra, we fire it up and I show you the 3 most significant repairs it took to get it up and running.
Totally dead synth repaired at 2:07
Dead lower keys & electric bass all playing the same note repaired at 10:39
Dead lead synth oscillator repaired at 20:38
Today we refurbish the keybed of the ARP Quadra, test & replace the aftertouch sensor, and change out a few panel jacks before we fire it up and see if it works.
Continuing our restoration of the ARP Quadra, we tackle the two large analog boards and the CPU board–changing tons of IC chips and capacitors and refurbishing the sliders.
We made it to Episode 100! Hurray!
Forging ahead on the ARP Quadra restoration, I give you an overview of what the Quadra does and what’s inside of it, and we get started recapping and testing the power supply and several other boards.
It’s finally time for some ARP Quadra restoration videos! I’ve been sitting on some broken Quadras for a while and have finally found a good home for one of them. But, before I can commit to selling this Quadra and get underway restoring it, I need to know if the membrane panel works.
So in this video, I show you how to test out the membrane panel. Important to do if considering buying a broken Quadra, or if you have a Quadra with some bad switches.
Download reference sheet here: ARP Quadra 15 Pin Membrane Panel Interface
Today we repair an Oberheim DSX sequencer that was sparking and smoking when I first turned it on. We clean up nasty battery corrosion, repair a short circuit, rebuild the power supply, replace a broken display, install my battery eliminators to make sure we never have another leaked battery, and we test the sequencer with the diagnostic ROM and with a real OB-Xa synthesizer.
Introducing the Synthchaser battery eliminator for your Oberheim vintage synths and drum machines! Never have to change the battery again, or worry about it leaking and damaging your machine. In this video, I show how to install the battery eliminator in an OB-Xa to save presets without a battery installed in the synth!
Synthchaser Battery Eliminator for Oberheim OB-Xa Synthesizer
Synthchaser Battery Eliminator for Oberheim OB-8 Synthesizer
Synthchaser Battery Eliminator for Oberheim DMX & DX Drum Machines
Vintage synths are cool. But a lot of the time, they’re nasty inside. Dust, spilled beer, rodent piss, even pubes… Everything gets inside. In this video I show you how I wash dirty synthesizer circuit boards in the sink.
Warning! Dirty synthesizer pictures in this video!
In this video we track down a problem that’s causing a range of keys to be dead on this Oberheim OB-Xa. I explain what a switch matrix is and how it’s used by synthesizers to scan the keybed–this is still the way things are done today! And we use our new knowledge of switch matrixes to repair the OB-Xa.
