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2008-09-18 by goxflee
I tuned my Polysix about 5 years ago. The other night, trying to tune up to a melodica, which is in correct tuning, I had to turn the tuning knob all the way to the left and even turn the pitch wheel up a bit to get it in standard tuning. Is this to be expected, do I simply have to get in there again and fiddle with the internal tuning posts or do I have a bigger problem? Thanks for the input!
2008-09-18 by Chromatest J. Pantsmaker
I don't know a lot about the tuning circuitry, but if there are electrolytic caps in it, those could be going soft. How long did you let the polysix warm up before you did the tuning? How often do you use it otherwise? I doubt that you have a bigger problem if the unit does auto-tune, even if the auto-tune is off a bit. Did you try tuning it to another known good source, like a guitar tuner or something? On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 8:23 AM, goxflee <goxflee@yahoo.com> wrote: > I tuned my Polysix about 5 years ago. The other night, trying to tune > up to a melodica, which is in correct tuning, I had to turn the tuning > knob all the way to the left and even turn the pitch wheel up a bit to > get it in standard tuning. Is this to be expected, do I simply have to > get in there again and fiddle with the internal tuning posts or do I > have a bigger problem? Thanks for the input! > > > ------------------------------------ > > PolySix "Digiest" Page: http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/Poly6Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > -- .sig -Chromatest J. Pantsmaker http://www.chromatest.net
2008-09-18 by Andrew Jury
Hi, Can you tell the panel of esteemed experts here whether your P6 is uniformly out of tune or are there regions of the keyboard which are worse than other? As CJP says these old analogue circuit are prone to drift when the tollerances of the components start to change over time. If the tuning knob is hard over to either the left or right this certianly is well out of the original design parameters. There are special procedures outlined in the service documentation for recalibrating the P6. Also there are articals ad infinitum in this group which mention tuning faults which can occur to the opto-coupled feedback arrangement on the key assigner board. Cheers, Andy --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "goxflee" <goxflee@...> wrote:
> > I tuned my Polysix about 5 years ago. The other night, trying to tune > up to a melodica, which is in correct tuning, I had to turn the tuning > knob all the way to the left and even turn the pitch wheel up a bit to > get it in standard tuning. Is this to be expected, do I simply have to > get in there again and fiddle with the internal tuning posts or do I > have a bigger problem? Thanks for the input! >
2008-09-19 by goxflee
Thanks for the responses all! I must say, I have not been as involved with my P6 as I should be the past couple years. It's my first analog synth and so it has a special place in my heart :) This is all a disclaimer, becuase I don't know all that much about it. 1) The synth was given adequate time to warm up. I feel like the pitch is too far off for that to be an issue anyway. 2) Like I said, unfortunately, I don't use it as often as I would like to! I've made sure it's in a case with desiccant to prevent humidity problems. 3) The melodica was in tune, as well as a guitar I have which was tuned by a computerized, onboard amp feature. Now, in regards to the tuning, it is universally, across the "board", as it were, out of tune. So, when tuning, rather than it being say, a solid 440Hz it's probably a step and a half below that. I guess the question running through my head last night was, "Jeeez. I just tuned this to a perfect pitch 5 years ago using the guidelines I found here in this forum. Is it possible it went that out of whack and just needs to be tuned or should I be worried about something else?" I know, it's a vague question in all regards and I should really investigate further to provide more details before I post more questions ;) Again, though, thanks to everyone listening to me complain! Before I begin to recalibrate, are there any special precautions I should take? And do you all think that is a good next step to take and that I should just keep an ear on it after that? Much obliged! --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Jury" <andy@...> wrote:
> > Hi, > > Can you tell the panel of esteemed experts here whether your P6 is > uniformly out of tune or are there regions of the keyboard which are > worse than other? > > As CJP says these old analogue circuit are prone to drift when the > tollerances of the components start to change over time. If the tuning > knob is hard over to either the left or right this certianly is well > out of the original design parameters. There are special procedures > outlined in the service documentation for recalibrating the P6. Also > there are articals ad infinitum in this group which mention tuning > faults which can occur to the opto-coupled feedback arrangement on the > key assigner board. > > Cheers, > Andy > > > --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "goxflee" <goxflee@> wrote: > > > > I tuned my Polysix about 5 years ago. The other night, trying to tune > > up to a melodica, which is in correct tuning, I had to turn the tuning > > knob all the way to the left and even turn the pitch wheel up a bit to > > get it in standard tuning. Is this to be expected, do I simply have to > > get in there again and fiddle with the internal tuning posts or do I > > have a bigger problem? Thanks for the input! > > >
2008-09-19 by Dave Garfield
Hi, Polysixers! Funny thing -- The same thing happened with my Polysix! It was in perfect playing condition when I packed it up for moving. Unfortunately, it remained well-sealed for about 2 years while I set up the rest of the house. When I finally brought it out, the tuning was universally sharp. Like you, I've turned the Master Tune control all the way flat, and have to use the Pitch wheel to bring it down to A440. (I checked it against my Roland JD-990, and it's digital accuracy). Haven't delved into it yet, nor even taken a look at the schematic, but like the list is saying, it's probably a leaky cap or loose something-or-other that changed the overall tuning. If/when I get an answer, I'll be glad to let you all know. Likewise, if anyone comes up with a solution, I'd love to know about it. THANKS, guys! Dave Garfield
----- Original Message ----
From: goxflee <goxflee@yahoo.com>
To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2008 7:03:28 PM
Subject: [PolySix] Re: How long does a tuning last?
Thanks for the responses all! I must say, I have not been as involved
with my P6 as I should be the past couple years. It's my first analog
synth and so it has a special place in my heart :) This is all a
disclaimer, becuase I don't know all that much about it.
1) The synth was given adequate time to warm up. I feel like the pitch
is too far off for that to be an issue anyway.
2) Like I said, unfortunately, I don't use it as often as I would like
to! I've made sure it's in a case with desiccant to prevent humidity
problems.
3) The melodica was in tune, as well as a guitar I have which was
tuned by a computerized, onboard amp feature.
Now, in regards to the tuning, it is universally, across the "board",
as it were, out of tune. So, when tuning, rather than it being say, a
solid 440Hz it's probably a step and a half below that.
I guess the question running through my head last night was, "Jeeez. I
just tuned this to a perfect pitch 5 years ago using the guidelines I
found here in this forum. Is it possible it went that out of whack and
just needs to be tuned or should I be worried about something else?" I
know, it's a vague question in all regards and I should really
investigate further to provide more details before I post more
questions ;) Again, though, thanks to everyone listening to me complain!
Before I begin to recalibrate, are there any special precautions I
should take? And do you all think that is a good next step to take and
that I should just keep an ear on it after that?
Much obliged!
--- In PolySix@yahoogroups .com, "Andrew Jury" <andy@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Can you tell the panel of esteemed experts here whether your P6 is
> uniformly out of tune or are there regions of the keyboard which are
> worse than other?
>
> As CJP says these old analogue circuit are prone to drift when the
> tollerances of the components start to change over time. If the tuning
> knob is hard over to either the left or right this certianly is well
> out of the original design parameters. There are special procedures
> outlined in the service documentation for recalibrating the P6. Also
> there are articals ad infinitum in this group which mention tuning
> faults which can occur to the opto-coupled feedback arrangement on the
> key assigner board.
>
> Cheers,
> Andy
>
>
> --- In PolySix@yahoogroups .com, "goxflee" <goxflee@> wrote:
> >
> > I tuned my Polysix about 5 years ago. The other night, trying to tune
> > up to a melodica, which is in correct tuning, I had to turn the tuning
> > knob all the way to the left and even turn the pitch wheel up a bit to
> > get it in standard tuning. Is this to be expected, do I simply have to
> > get in there again and fiddle with the internal tuning posts or do I
> > have a bigger problem? Thanks for the input!
> >
>
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