Vintage Synth Repair

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

A scanned  ARP Odyssey Service Manual is at:
 
http://www.physicsenterprises.andrews.edu/diy_archive/manuals/arp/
 
Mike Casino
 
<snip>

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

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