Discussion about the Korg PolySix synthesizer

Hey all.  About a year or more ago I was having occasional dropouts on
certain notes, and some notes that I had to push just right, or really
hard to get to sound.

I did some digging and came across the MG Checmicals Keypad Repair
Kit, as recommended by a number of synth dudes.  The link for it is
here, I'm sure many of you have seen this
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/8339.html

I applied the repair and the keys were working great, but after a six
month or more break from using the synth I'm having the problem again,
where some keys have to be pushed just right to trigger. I blew the
area out with some compressed air, that didn't help anything.  

I'm wondering if anyone has applied a keypad repair solution of any
sort, and then had to fix it *again* with any results?  And also if
anyone has any tips on what to do from here.  It seems that applying
another coat might not be the best idea, and I wonder if there might
be some solution to remove the coat and start over?  Or something else
entirely.  

And of course, my band has a show tonight, it's our record release
show/party.  I've already completely sampled the patches I cannot
emulate in any way with my other synths, and am playing them on my
Triton.  But do you realize how much synth-nerd cred I'm losing here
by playing a sampled version?  What if someone notices?  Then I'm done
for!!!  :)  Just kidding on that.

The only repair that I've ever used was the good-old pencil eraser to
get rid of the oxidation covering the contacts.  good luck!

On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 7:37 AM, hoggybogger <yanbu@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Hey all.  About a year or more ago I was having occasional dropouts on
> certain notes, and some notes that I had to push just right, or really
> hard to get to sound.
>
> I did some digging and came across the MG Checmicals Keypad Repair
> Kit, as recommended by a number of synth dudes.  The link for it is
> here, I'm sure many of you have seen this
> http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/8339.html
>
> I applied the repair and the keys were working great, but after a six
> month or more break from using the synth I'm having the problem again,
> where some keys have to be pushed just right to trigger. I blew the
> area out with some compressed air, that didn't help anything.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has applied a keypad repair solution of any
> sort, and then had to fix it *again* with any results?  And also if
> anyone has any tips on what to do from here.  It seems that applying
> another coat might not be the best idea, and I wonder if there might
> be some solution to remove the coat and start over?  Or something else
> entirely.
>
> And of course, my band has a show tonight, it's our record release
> show/party.  I've already completely sampled the patches I cannot
> emulate in any way with my other synths, and am playing them on my
> Triton.  But do you realize how much synth-nerd cred I'm losing here
> by playing a sampled version?  What if someone notices?  Then I'm done
> for!!!  :)  Just kidding on that.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> PolySix "Digiest" Page: http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/Poly6Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>



-- 
.sig
-Chromatest J. Pantsmaker
http://www.chromatest.net

Hi,

Well I have to tell you that I cleaned my keyboard switch contacts 
with good old fashioned isopropyl and a q-tip and I never had any 
more problems after that. Three things that I guess you should 
observe when servicing this part of the P6, based on my experience:

1. Make sure all traces of fluff and dust are removed. My weapon of 
choice is a small, soft paint brush, but don't press down too hard.

2. Make sure the gold contacts on the pcb are all cleaned with 
isopropyl and shiny

3. Make sure the black contacts on attached to the rubber membrane 
appear uniform and mat black after careful cleaning. A poor contact 
will have a 'mirror image' of the gold contact visible in bright 
light.

Hope this helps and good luck with the gig!

Cheers,
Andy


--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "hoggybogger" <yanbu@...> wrote:
>
> 
> Hey all.  About a year or more ago I was having occasional dropouts 
on
> certain notes, and some notes that I had to push just right, or 
really
> hard to get to sound.
> 
> I did some digging and came across the MG Checmicals Keypad Repair
> Kit, as recommended by a number of synth dudes.  The link for it is
> here, I'm sure many of you have seen this
> http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/8339.html
> 
> I applied the repair and the keys were working great, but after a 
six
> month or more break from using the synth I'm having the problem 
again,
> where some keys have to be pushed just right to trigger. I blew the
> area out with some compressed air, that didn't help anything.  
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has applied a keypad repair solution of any
> sort, and then had to fix it *again* with any results?  And also if
> anyone has any tips on what to do from here.  It seems that applying
> another coat might not be the best idea, and I wonder if there might
> be some solution to remove the coat and start over?  Or something 
else
> entirely.  
> 
> And of course, my band has a show tonight, it's our record release
> show/party.  I've already completely sampled the patches I cannot
> emulate in any way with my other synths, and am playing them on my
> Triton.  But do you realize how much synth-nerd cred I'm losing here
> by playing a sampled version?  What if someone notices?  Then I'm 
done
> for!!!  :)  Just kidding on that.
>

I have successfully used a different method. I used it on the Polysix,
which still works all keys, and on several VCR [..] remote controls.
Go to the message archive of the list
(http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolySix/)
and search for "keyboard repair". You find a description in some of my
posts (the original post is no. 305).

Johannes

hoggybogger wrote:

> Hey all.  About a year or more ago I was having occasional dropouts on
> certain notes, and some notes that I had to push just right, or really
> hard to get to sound.
> 
> I did some digging and came across the MG Checmicals Keypad Repair
> Kit, as recommended by a number of synth dudes.  The link for it is
> here, I'm sure many of you have seen this
> http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/8339.html
> 
> I applied the repair and the keys were working great, but after a six
> month or more break from using the synth I'm having the problem again,
> where some keys have to be pushed just right to trigger. I blew the
> area out with some compressed air, that didn't help anything.  
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has applied a keypad repair solution of any
> sort, and then had to fix it *again* with any results?  And also if
> anyone has any tips on what to do from here.  It seems that applying
> another coat might not be the best idea, and I wonder if there might
> be some solution to remove the coat and start over?  Or something else
> entirely.  
> 
> And of course, my band has a show tonight, it's our record release
> show/party.  I've already completely sampled the patches I cannot
> emulate in any way with my other synths, and am playing them on my
> Triton.  But do you realize how much synth-nerd cred I'm losing here
> by playing a sampled version?  What if someone notices?  Then I'm done
> for!!!  :)  Just kidding on that.
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> PolySix "Digiest" Page: http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/Poly6Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
>

Now there is something I can believe in!  I will try your repair 
Johannes this weekend and post my results.  I will also try an eraser 
to remove the coating from pads (not the PCB side but the black parts 
on the rubber nubbies (I need to learn the correct terminology 
here :) )) 

And then clean them with alcohol, luckily I have some 99% isopropyl 
around and some lint free wipes, should be good for the PCB and the 
nubbies.  Alright I'll post my results after I do it, thanks.



--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, Johannes Hausensteiner <johau@...> 
wrote:
>
> I have successfully used a different method. I used it on the 
Polysix,
> which still works all keys, and on several VCR [..] remote controls.
> Go to the message archive of the list
> (http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolySix/)
> and search for "keyboard repair". You find a description in some of 
my
> posts (the original post is no. 305).
> 
> Johannes
> 
> hoggybogger wrote:
> > Hey all.  About a year or more ago I was having occasional 
dropouts on
> > certain notes, and some notes that I had to push just right, or 
really
> > hard to get to sound.
> > 
> > I did some digging and came across the MG Checmicals Keypad Repair
> > Kit, as recommended by a number of synth dudes.  The link for it 
is
> > here, I'm sure many of you have seen this
> > http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/8339.html
> > 
> > I applied the repair and the keys were working great, but after a 
six
> > month or more break from using the synth I'm having the problem 
again,
> > where some keys have to be pushed just right to trigger. I blew 
the
> > area out with some compressed air, that didn't help anything.  
> > 
> > I'm wondering if anyone has applied a keypad repair solution of 
any
> > sort, and then had to fix it *again* with any results?  And also 
if
> > anyone has any tips on what to do from here.  It seems that 
applying
> > another coat might not be the best idea, and I wonder if there 
might
> > be some solution to remove the coat and start over?  Or something 
else
> > entirely.  
> > 
> > And of course, my band has a show tonight, it's our record release
> > show/party.  I've already completely sampled the patches I cannot
> > emulate in any way with my other synths, and am playing them on my
> > Triton.  But do you realize how much synth-nerd cred I'm losing 
here
> > by playing a sampled version?  What if someone notices?  Then I'm 
done
> > for!!!  :)  Just kidding on that.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ------------------------------------
> > 
> > PolySix "Digiest" Page: http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/Poly6Yahoo! 
Groups Links

> > 
> > 
> >
>

The cause of the problem is that the conductive rubber looses its
conductivity by drying out. You can improve a little by cleaning,
but it will soon be back to errornous behaviour. So the only real
fix is to make the rubber surface conductive again. There may
exist several methods for that - I found the aluminium foil method
is cheap and working well.

hoggybogger wrote:

> Now there is something I can believe in!  I will try your repair 
> Johannes this weekend and post my results.  I will also try an eraser 
> to remove the coating from pads (not the PCB side but the black parts 
> on the rubber nubbies (I need to learn the correct terminology 
> here :) )) 
> 
> And then clean them with alcohol, luckily I have some 99% isopropyl 
> around and some lint free wipes, should be good for the PCB and the 
> nubbies.  Alright I'll post my results after I do it, thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, Johannes Hausensteiner <johau@...> 
> wrote:
>> I have successfully used a different method. I used it on the 
> Polysix,
>> which still works all keys, and on several VCR [..] remote controls.
>> Go to the message archive of the list
>> (http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolySix/)
>> and search for "keyboard repair". You find a description in some of 
> my
>> posts (the original post is no. 305).
>>
>> Johannes
>>
>> hoggybogger wrote:
>>> Hey all.  About a year or more ago I was having occasional 
> dropouts on
>>> certain notes, and some notes that I had to push just right, or 
> really
>>> hard to get to sound.
>>>
>>> I did some digging and came across the MG Checmicals Keypad Repair
>>> Kit, as recommended by a number of synth dudes.  The link for it 
> is
>>> here, I'm sure many of you have seen this
>>> http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/8339.html
>>>
>>> I applied the repair and the keys were working great, but after a 
> six
>>> month or more break from using the synth I'm having the problem 
> again,
>>> where some keys have to be pushed just right to trigger. I blew 
> the
>>> area out with some compressed air, that didn't help anything.  
>>>
>>> I'm wondering if anyone has applied a keypad repair solution of 
> any
>>> sort, and then had to fix it *again* with any results?  And also 
> if
>>> anyone has any tips on what to do from here.  It seems that 
> applying
>>> another coat might not be the best idea, and I wonder if there 
> might
>>> be some solution to remove the coat and start over?  Or something 
> else
>>> entirely.  
>>>
>>> And of course, my band has a show tonight, it's our record release
>>> show/party.  I've already completely sampled the patches I cannot
>>> emulate in any way with my other synths, and am playing them on my
>>> Triton.  But do you realize how much synth-nerd cred I'm losing 
> here
>>> by playing a sampled version?  What if someone notices?  Then I'm 
> done
>>> for!!!  :)  Just kidding on that.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------
>>>
>>> PolySix "Digiest" Page: http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/Poly6Yahoo! 
> Groups Links
>>>
>>>
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> PolySix "Digiest" Page: http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/Poly6Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
>