Today I found out that the first person that gave me a chance to work in sound and repairs in any professional manner died from COVID. He dealt with 20 year old know-it-all me. He trusted me to do a lot of things I had no business doing, trained me, and even begrudgingly got me a job at Royer Labs. He started his business with my father back in the 70s, and I named my company after LA Sound Co. That's a photo of their first homebrew Altec sound system. Please heed the warnings- wear a mask and don't gather. RIP Richard β€οΈ 
Current favorite worst. 
At least that's one Juno I don't have to fix. #conjunction 
I knew I'd seen this tape echo somewhere before 
Oooooh doggie these are not fun to work on, but this one is a few final touches away from ππ #synthatthisangle #oberheim #ob1 
Key issue troubleshooting 101- Dead keys do not mean bad/dirty key contacts. Always important to count 0-8 keys apart for patterns for multiple non-functional keys and look for any spill evidence. This Juno-106 was brought in with 3 dead keys. It turns out it was a spill from years ago that rusted out a make line. This generally shows as multiple keys 8 keys apart. Groups of 8 keys is usually a T-line. Don't just buy contacts expecting them to fix a keying issue without doing a little investigation. When doing this, dont pull up the key contacts til you've had a look to make sure you're not risking ripping these hard to find contacts. All fixed now, and no contacts needed π 
JD-800 keybed transplant! This one got an NOS SK-361UR (W-30/D-50/JU-2) keybed installed and it fits perfectly, w working aftertouch. No more red epoxy leak. Also, not plastic Fatar nonsense. I can do this for you, but you have to sacrifice a pretty expensive synth to make another. This one is for sale at @futuremusicstore . DM for infos 
I rarely if ever bragpost about whose gear I work on, but I β€οΈ Big Business, and here's their MG-1 in a case. . . . . @bigbigbiz 
Some wire nuts holding this Jupiter 8's power cable in, nbd. ππ’ 
This REX-50 took a hit on the way over from Circuitbenders UK and snapped 2 secondaries and a primary off the posts of the power transformer, but I managed to get them reattached. If you have a REX-50 that's dead, I suspect this isn't an uncommon issue. Note: It's very hard to hold the phone, the transformer and the tweezers. 
How many acetones does it take to get to the center of an H3000 (Murata AFL89WB) filter module? They're similar in construction to the Juno 106 80017 modules and acetone does remove the alien goo. I'm not sure if this is a fix at all as the sheild is pretty important in these. It doesn't really work in Juno's either, so I'm reluctant to advise anyone to try this. If you do, don't blame me if it causes other issues. βοΈ 
I don't see a whole lot of H3000s, and I've certainly never seen this before. Most have had a laquer or "ceramic" coating that I've seen. Looks like in these versions with these canned modules, the potting material can liquify and run out. It's seemingly slightly conductive (?!?) and also smells sweet when it gets warm. So if you have one of these H3000s, it might be something you wanna watch for cause it's a messy disaster when it happens. It's very obvious as it looks like a pool of goo under these filter cans behind each input and output. 
Flashback to when I thought about remaking Echoplex tape carts. This was a rough 3d printed case prototype with some hand turned poly wheels with bearings inserted. I also made an auto-winding machine for the spools. It all works beautifully, but the idea of splicing a frillion tape loops sucks. Those new ones are cheaper than dirt, so I'll go with those for the foreseeable future. #cantsomebodyelsedoit 
Some JX-3P machines do not work with longer 6P DIN cables for communication with a PG-200. GR-700s and MKS-30s are not succeptable to this . When some guy online sells you a cable longer than 1 Meter tells you it's fine with his machine, and it doesn't work for you, this is why. Or they sold you a crossover cable, but that usually is accompanied by smoke :) #jx3p #enverope 
The one on the right is a real Energizer, and the one on the left is a real ππ£ππ§π° π²π―βα΅£ with a real 2 hour lifespan. Don't buy batteries on eBay or Amazon, you have no way to know what you'll end up with. If they leak into your gear, you'll spend a lot more than the few bucks you save making it work right again. It's battery week here apparently. 
I understand maybe being afraid of battery leaks, but just tape a note on your gear w a date you changed it. On important things, do it every few years. No big whoop. No need to...do...this? Bonus points for natural hemp tho. UPDATE: NOT NATURAL HEMP 
Got my first negative Yelp review! It's pretty inaccurate, but it boils down to a guy texted me at 8:30 am on a Sunday, wanting me to call him to walk him through fixing his synth. π€¦ββοΈ Please don't do that π 
Look at all the cool brown glitter you get when you use old tape in your space echo!! Ooooh pretty! #freeglitter #happy101day 
Happy 303 day, everyone. . . . . . . #303 #ac2 #mz2 
Super stoked to see someone take up the project of making a quality Echoplex tape cart. The Orbitz metal ones were...hmm. The Fulltone ones weren't accessible and if they were, I wouldn't give that company a dime. The new ones found on Reverb from Hartville-Music are 1:1 copies of the originals and have decent splices. The only drag is the tensioner is too rigid and poorly manufactured, so hang on to your old one til it gets sorted out. But I'm happy so far, I'll check in later of there's an issue. If you need a tape, check them out. 
β‘β‘The wall voltage is sagging big-time here in LA and I have had a flurry of messages for dead or out of tune gear. It's getting pretty low in some areas, down to 101V in some places and this is exacerbated if you live in an old home, or an add-on. Best to unplug today and live your dream of learning to master "hot cross buns" on your recorder. Your neighbor will appreciate it. 
I'm not gonna name names of the photo source here, but heed this as as a cautionary tale. Please don't try to install a kit on your expensive synth if you're not very comfortable with the tools. I'm not saying nobody but techs are capable, but I use hole punches and these specialized tools daily. If you're not careful, you can make your "easy no soldering" install into an expensive "oh fuck! " install. Read those install notes before buying, and maybe consult with someone before trying. It's not easy your first few times, no matter how many videos you watch. 
Seized metal fittings (and bender pots) only respond to two things: violence and heat . I β€οΈ Bernzomatic Absolutely do not try this at home. #juno106 @bernzomatic1876 
A lil DIY tip/field fix- if you have a rotary switch or pot that is loose, you can cut a ring of tubing and slide it down to use as a shim. This holds the stem against the top panel and the wobbles are gone. Obviously it's better to replace it, but this can work quite a while as well as prevent damage to non-damaged pots/switches. 
S&H4LYF 
Northern California friends, if you're in need of synth-fixins give Allie at @syntheticdreamscapes a call. A very sweet person, fellow cat weirdo, and as you can see in the above photos, she's not afraid to take on stuff many (me included) shy away from. I vouch for very few shops, but I don't sweat sending anyone her direction. Give her a follow! 
Three things you don't want to put in your TR-909. 1)The battery is supposed to be two 1.5v AA's (not 9v!!). 2)Sockets are ridiculous, decrease reliability and are too tall, making the buttons sink. 3)The V4 ROM is a rarely functional change that doesn't fix the drift old gear has, only the occasional MIDI clock start issues in the first bar. Most of the time the ones sold online don't even function. Don't bother. It will still drift, and the chance of damaging your 909 is substantial. #tr909 #909 
The day after Monday, Tuensday. . . . . . . . #sh101 #roland #synthesizer 
#blackouttuesday 
The 303 sound is all about the sequencer. It can even make a 106 not a yawn factory π *ducks* 
If the tease wasn't enough for you ... 
Pr0n