In answer to your questions;
-Are there
replacement sliders available, either new/old stock or
outright
replacement?
replacement?
This is probably the weakest point of
the Odyssey. Most of the ones I see have bad sliders. Sometimes the sliders can
be removed and opened up, cleaned, and re-fitted, but often your best bet may be
to buy a scrap Ody or Brother synth and takes the ones out of that. I don't know
anybody who stocks these, but ocassionally they come up on
Ebay.
-Are the keyboard contacts prone to corrosion or do they just need cleaning?
Almost always it's down to cleaning, unless the synth has
been stored in a damp environment.
-What is the recommended method for servicing the keyboard contacts?
No doubt everyone has their own favourite method; I prefer
to take a cotton bud moistened with Servisol contact cleaner and gently rub the
J-wire and bus bar - surprising how much muck comes off. Don't be tempted to use
anything abrasive - you can destroy the plating.
-Given the age of the unit and that it hadn't been played for 15+ years, how
long should it be allowed to warm up before the oscillators stabilize? Would
other controls stabilize as well if it were allowed to warm up?
Oscillators usually need 15 - 30 minutes, if you still
have problems you may need to fault-find. Start with the PSU voltages and go
from there.
-At a cost about half what they are currently selling for, is it worth
purchasing and having it serviced, ie will it stay together or will it
require constant servicing? The Minimoog is very reliable. I will also
mention that I don't gig, this is strictly for studio use.
Find a good tech who can sort it for you. Once set up
properly, it should run for a couple of years without needing rescaling.
-I have worked on all my keyboards, is the Arp tricky to open/work on or is
everthing laid out nice and simple?
Pretty good layout actually. Turn it over, take the case off, and you can
access the track side of the PCB's. Remove the connecting bus, take the
knob caps off, undo a few screws and the boards come out easy.
Hope that's of use!
Regards,
Keith Kniveton
LucidSound.