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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » Alesis Andromeda
Scratchy pots
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:17 pm    Post subject: Scratchy pots Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Anybody on here have any experience with cleaning or replacing the pots on an A6?

Sadly, I've been terribly busy lately, and my A6 sat idle for about 2 years. When I sat down to play it tonight, a couple of the pots are a little scratchy, especially the Post Filter Mix Low Pass knob.

Hard to access?

I've certainly replaced pots on other synths before. Before I crack open the lid on my Andy, just curious if there are any 'gotchas'.

Thanks!

Russ

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I think DeOxit faderlube could help to fix that, here's a youtube video of a similar product that shows how to use it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXbFAfct-Xg
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

LamerDeluxe wrote:
I think DeOxit faderlube could help to fix that, here's a youtube video of a similar product that shows how to use it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXbFAfct-Xg


I'm sure FadeLube or DeOxit will do the trick; my question is, how hard is it to get to that pot? I've never opened my A6 before. Just curious if there's a walkthru online somewhere to show how to get to the pots to clean them.

Thanks!

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rh2y



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PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hmm, I did find this, which is helpful:

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-20629.html&postorder=asc

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

The Andromeda isn't really difficult to take apart, I have taken mine apart before. However, according to the video I posted you might be able to reach the pots well enough by just removing their knobs.
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

LamerDeluxe wrote:
However, according to the video I posted you might be able to reach the pots well enough by just removing their knobs.


Gosh, had I actually *watched* the video, I would have seen that!

Embarassed Embarassed Embarassed

Thanks! That certainly looks easy enough to try before opening up the case.

Looks like opening the case isn't too bad, either. I also found the Service Manual online. I'm feeling a good bit better about this now.

I love my A6; just life got in the way for a long period of time and the poor instrument just sat there waiting for someone to play it...

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Very Happy It does seem like an easy thing to try at first, if it doesn't work well enough you could open the Andy up, though I expect it will do the trick.

I know about not being able to use my Andromeda too well. And I really love building patches on it, while losing track of time.
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

LamerDeluxe wrote:
And I really love building patches on it, while losing track of time.


I remember the day mine arrived, back in 2008. I forgot to eat.

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

rh2y wrote:
LamerDeluxe wrote:
And I really love building patches on it, while losing track of time.


I remember the day mine arrived, back in 2008. I forgot to eat.


Smile I lost a lot of sleep the first few months when I got mine, must have been around the same year you got yours.
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

LamerDeluxe wrote:
rh2y wrote:
LamerDeluxe wrote:
And I really love building patches on it, while losing track of time.


I remember the day mine arrived, back in 2008. I forgot to eat.


Smile I lost a lot of sleep the first few months when I got mine, must have been around the same year you got yours.


I'm getting all inspired to spend some serious time with it again, especially now that I have a small modular synth to accompany it. Smile

Also planning to make better use of the ribbon controller on it. I'm curious to experiment with using it to control pitch and see how difficult it is to play accurately. Natively, I'm a violinist, so that seems to make more sense to me than a keyboard.

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

That sounds really interesting, I would love to hear the results.
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

WOOT!

Just as your video showed -- there is enough room beside the pot shaft to sneak the nozzle of the DeOxit bottle down in there to get into the tiny hole in the pot to spray in some DeOxit.

I worked it back and forth a bunch, then shot a little FaderLube in as well, and now, good as new!

One thing I don't like about FaderLube is it tends to over-lube the pots, so they now turn a little TOO freely, but as I recall, that goes away after some evaporation.

Yeee-ha!

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 1:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

That is great! I'm glad it worked out. Still need to do something like this myself, but Deoxit doesn't seem to be available in the Netherlands, they have a website that strangely doesn't have any products.

I might be able to get the stuff from the video somehow.

Enjoy your rejuvenated synthesizer Cool
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rh2y



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PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

LamerDeluxe wrote:
That is great! I'm glad it worked out. Still need to do something like this myself, but Deoxit doesn't seem to be available in the Netherlands, they have a website that strangely doesn't have any products.

I might be able to get the stuff from the video somehow.

Enjoy your rejuvenated synthesizer Cool


Oddly, the stuff in the video was developed by an ex-Alesis employee, if I've read the materials correctly.

I also recently read that DeOxit sometimes attacks certain pots. I've only sprayed one, so if it goes bad, I'll be replacing it, which is what I would have been doing anyway. Doesn't look to be too bad a job. But for now, it's working fine.

I did manage to build a patch where I can use the ribbon controller to control pitch, and with the proper scaling, the notes line up over the keys on the keyboard, which makes for a handy reference. I'll film a video when I've had a little more time to practice. It's tricky, but not impossible. Probably helps that I am a violinist!

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LamerDeluxe



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PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

rh2y wrote:
Oddly, the stuff in the video was developed by an ex-Alesis employee, if I've read the materials correctly.


Cool, I didn't know that, that explains the Andromeda in the video.

Quote:
I also recently read that DeOxit sometimes attacks certain pots. I've only sprayed one, so if it goes bad, I'll be replacing it, which is what I would have been doing anyway. Doesn't look to be too bad a job. But for now, it's working fine.


I didn't expect that, I thought Deoxit was one of the products that didn't cause any harm.

Quote:
I did manage to build a patch where I can use the ribbon controller to control pitch, and with the proper scaling, the notes line up over the keys on the keyboard, which makes for a handy reference. I'll film a video when I've had a little more time to practice. It's tricky, but not impossible. Probably helps that I am a violinist!


That is a really neat idea. I wonder what an Andromeda played like a violin sounds like. I made some patches where the sound morphs when using the ribbon, it's was a great idea of the designers to add this controller.

Any plans to make a violin patch? I've been working on an accoustic piano and an accoustic guitar patch, I saved many iterations. The piano is really hard to get right in both the high and low notes. The guitar patch turned out pretty well.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

LamerDeluxe wrote:
rh2y wrote:
Oddly, the stuff in the video was developed by an ex-Alesis employee, if I've read the materials correctly.

That is a really neat idea. I wonder what an Andromeda played like a violin sounds like. I made some patches where the sound morphs when using the ribbon, it's was a great idea of the designers to add this controller.

Any plans to make a violin patch? I've been working on an accoustic piano and an accoustic guitar patch, I saved many iterations. The piano is really hard to get right in both the high and low notes. The guitar patch turned out pretty well.


The patch right now is just a simple triangle wave whose pitch is controlled by ribbon position (you have to play a key to get it to play at the moment..) Loudness / filter cutoff are controlled by modwheel. That way, you can control pitch and expression separately.

I doubt I'll try to emulate a violin sound; I have a violin for that!

I'm kinda doing this as an experiment to see what it might be like to play a Haken Continuum. I got a chance to play one briefly at NAMM this year, but not long enough to begin to become proficient. I'd like to know that I can teach this old dog a new trick before making such a big splurge.

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