Vintage Synth Repair

You can find EVERYTHING on the ARP Odyssey here:

http://www.arpodyssey.com/

Manuals, techs, mods, parts, patches, email contacts, etc.  It's ALL
on that one site.

Rob

--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, Detko.Ralph@i... wrote:
> Hello, I am a new member, and I very much appreciate being accepted
to the
> group. I also belong to the Minimoog group and the Roland samplers
S-Group.
> 
> I own a Minimoog ser# 9990 (late 70's), a PolySix, Electro-Harmonix
> Mini-Synth and a few dig-analog hybrids including a Sequential
MultiTrak, as
> well as Rhodes Suitcase 88 (lovely-sounding stock 1973 model with
accessory
> loop) and a black Hohner D6 Clavinet with a retro-fit noise gate,
which I
> re-tipped recently. I had a mint Pianet but sold it to finance a
> Stratocaster.
> 
> Yesterday I had my first experience with a white-faced Arp Odyssey
owned by
> a gent who has owned it since the early 70's. I think the ser# was
in the
> 26,000 range. He had purchased it from the original owner back in
'72 or so
> when it was still new. He hadn't used it in 20+ years and was
offering it to
> me privately, and at a very reasonable price.
> 
> Cosmetically it was in excellent condition; apart from a few faint
yellow
> smudges on the keyboard everything was clean.
> 
> The sliders were 80% in good shape. However a few were extremely
stiff, and
> two or three were missing the caps and broken stems leading to the
sliders.
> The resonance slider was broken off so that it had to be adjusted with a
> kitchen knife. All controls seemed to work when they were selected or
> adjusted, though some were a little "jumpy", or intermittent.
> 
> It didn't seem to play in tune too well even after being on for an
hour or
> more. For comparison my Minimoog only needs 5 or 10 minutes to warm
up and
> is very stable. VCO1 also seemed to go dead intermittently, after
playing
> with the unit for a few minutes. It would come back after turning
the power
> off then on again. VCO2 also died for a short time.
> 
> The keyboard would not track too well, but I figure the contacts are
dirty
> or corroded. There were however no dead keys. 
> The octave switch was a little fussy as well. 
> 
> Despite all this I could hear the sonic possibilities of the unit. I
have
> worked on all of my keyboards but I have no experience with the
Odyssey so I
> would like to ask a few questions to those who have more experience:
> 
> -Are there replacement sliders available, either new/old stock or
outright
> replacement?
> 
> -Are the keyboard contacts prone to corrosion or do they just need
cleaning?
> 
> -What is the recommended method for servicing the keyboard contacts?
> 
> -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?
> 
> -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.
> 
> -I have worked on all my keyboards, is the Arp tricky to open/work
on or is
> everthing laid out nice and simple?
> 
> -Should I be asking this at the Odyssey group?
> 
> I searched around the net but could not find any info on maintenance
of the
> white-face unit. 
> Any links or other info will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you
> Ralph Detko
> Toronto, Canada