> > The snare seems reasonbly okay although doesn't sound a lot like the
> > classic Simmons snare I was expecting. I can't seem to get that sharp
> > Kraftwerk-esque sound I want. Sounds more like a tom sound with resonance.
>
> Have you got any noise whatsoever? Otherwise it might be this circuit.
> Without noise it's suppose to sound resonant and strange.
>
That's what I'm getting. I've tried it with the "noise / tone" pot turned fully to "noise", and it sounds like the tone without any resonance.
> > Tom 2 is a little strange. The Decay pot doesn't seem to have any impact
> > on the length of the sound being produced. It's constantly a short sharp
> > sound. In fact this channel seems to produce sounds which sound far more
> > like a kick drum than the bass channel does!
>
> Sounds like it's just the decay pot or maybe the circuitry connected to it.
>
> > And finally the output I get from the Headphone socket is a little
> > noisy, compared to the individual outs and the stereo / mix outs on the
> > back of the box.
>
> As I recall this is a factory flaw. Others might be able to confirm this...
>
Ah, a "feature"!
> I'm no wiz but I'd start with the decay pot. If that gets solved you get
> energy to attack the next issue. :)
>
Okay, so remembering I'm a total newbie, what advice do you have in terms of replacing the components? I seem to remember that Simmons built their machines using pretty common components (apart from the Curtis chips I guess). Do you guys go anywhere in particular for replacement parts? I like the idea of fixing this myself if I can...
Are there any schematics available for this model that I can refer to?
> Otherwise we have a few skilled techs here on the list. If it cannot be
> solved via the list it might be worth having it serviced.
.... but yes I'm also willing to send this to somebody who knows what they are doing!
> Good luck!
Thanks, I hope I don't need too much of it...
Aaron