Vintage Simmons Drums (UK) Users Group

> > 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