I found a blue Akai MPC1000 for cheap and i am in the process of restoring it.
The blue, old style MPC1000 has a few issues: old style pads behave erratically and the encoder has just seen better days.
The old encoder vs new encoder: the old plastic body one is impossible to find, and the new metal encoder requires you to modthe pcb to be usable.
I have installed JJOSXL on my Akai MPC1000.
The form factor differs slightly in these two encoders.. more on that later
Disassemble the Akai MPC.
Right side, front PCB. Here be most of the control buttons and encoder.Encoder solder side-bottom of PCBUsing a desoldering braid or pump, suck the solder and remove the encoder
Solder in the new one, using great care
Make sure the new encoder is flush on the pcb (slight physical difference with the old plastic one).
The pins will look like this.Make sure the encoder’s body is being pushed all the way down on all sides when soldering it in. Like so. Flush on the board.Turn the board around and CUT these tracks. There has to be no connection between the two ends. Check using your multimeter set to the buzz function.
Now using some solid core wire, make these connections:
Check if the bridges have been successfully implemented using the buzz feature on your multimeter, then reassemble.
Switch your Akai MPC on, and press MODE+the OTHER pad.
Ok so lately my DR202 has been giving me headaches.. playing drums while i was playing the bass part.
The bass was VERY low in the mix too.
I tried resetting the machine but to no avail..
BOSS DR202 reset (hard/ soft) procedure:
Power on while holding MUTE and ROLL.
Use the VALUE dial to select the settings you wish to have reset:
“ALL” = All internal settings restored to original
factory conditions.
“SongPattern” = Songs and patterns are restored
to their original conditions
(The contents of all User patterns and User songs will be erased).
“Kit” = The Kit is restored to its original
conditions.
“UtilityMIDI” = The Utility and MIDI settings are
restored to their original conditions.
3) When you have selected the settings to be reset, press TAP/ENTER twice.
The issue cold be dictated by a low internal battery issue: time to replace it
Remove knobs and alpha wheel, unscrew back cover screwsRemove the Alpha wheel encoder’s metal nutVery nice shieldingRemove internal screws and here’s the offender
Use a flat headed screwsriver to push the battery out
The RS7000 suffers from SMD caps issues: they have to be replaced on the main board.
Sometimes they blow, sometimes they fall off, sometimes they leak and sometimes they just wont work anymore-it’s a well known issue.
An RS7000 that will not boot at startup, or that only boots after some “heating up” wait is a clear sign of caps failure. I invented a word for it: twilight mode- when the green screen switches on but there are no life signs. Sometimes it just hangs at the Yamaha caption. Green screen syndrome. Twilight mode.
Here is a quick video tutorial on how to go about replacing the SMD caps from the mainboard. Just screw the back panel off and you are faced with the mainboard. Since they are surface mount caps, you can just remove them and solder some new ones in.
I would recommend using small form factor Nichicon Gold 16v caps.. replace ALL the SMD electrolytics, big and small ones.
Disclaimer: please carry out this repair only if you have electronic skills such as soldering, desoldering, handling pcbs and know how to handle electronics. Remove the mains plug on the RS7000 and use care. Do not touch the power supply components. I shall not be held responsible if you hurt yourself or other people or the machine in the process.
IMPORTANT: discharge any static you may have on you or use an antistatic vest (thats what i use) before/while doing this. Dont use wool sweaters, and take EXTRA antistatic care. Some of the electrolytics are uncomfortably close to the main ICs and processors-static can kill their functionality.
Video: how to remove electrolytic caps from the Yamaha RS7000 from their pads-recapping tutorial
Akai S1000 and its successor, S1100, are the best Akai samplers ever. They deliver a nice and punchy sound with a pronounced mid range, making drum sounds (for instance..) sit preminently in a mix.
I am using them a lot these days, making beats-based music, preferring them over the S612 and S900 for the more focused character. I decided to install a ZuluSCSI SCSI hard disk simulator so that files are handled more easily than using floppy disks..
ZuluSCSI SD card installed and ready to go
Zulu SCSI: GETTING THE SD CARD READY
WHAT SD CARD to use in the ZuluSCSI? Easy. ANY new hi speed sd card. I purchased a 32 Giga Sandisk.
Super helpful and connected seller, cheapest EU price and he’s got a direct shop that sells ZuluSCSI, accessories for the Zulu, quality LCD screens, new Meanwell power supplies for the Akai and other samplers here:
It is very important you get the dedicated flat cable from him too-this way you will not blow your Zulu if you plugged it reversed (there are reports online of similar horror stories!). On the Zulu there’s an indication for the two pins 1 and 2. On the Akai SCSI card inside the samplers theres no indication at all.. by the way the top two pins on the vertical mounted Akai card are 1 and 2.. still the connector has a nose that has to be fitting correctly to the receptacle to make a solid connection so you better take the right cable from the seller.
The ZuluSCSI gets power from the flat cable-you dont need any extra wiring. Although there is a micro usb and a male crimpconnector, you dont need them for your Akai. Leave them alone. Just the flat cable is needed.
Red stripe=pin 1Pins 1 and 2 are silkscreened on the ZuluSCSI RP2040 (top right)Thats your SCSI connector inside the Akai.. plug the flat cable in. Pins 1and 2 are the top ones.
Switch on the old behemoth and he will duly see the new SCSI hard disk.
Press FORM to format the virtual hard diskThe hard disk will then check for bad tracks. Just SKIP-it’s a waste of time.
All done.. you can now use your virtual hard disk. You will notice saves are LIGHTNING FAST. So there are a few pros to living in this horribly commercial music junk era.
I placed the Zulu vertically just to the right of the floppy disk drive using a couple of plastic self adhesive spacers-but they also sell covers to lodge it in the floppy drive’s place: they are cute and they have a receptacle to switch out sd cards easily.
POWER SUPPLY REPLACEMENT FOR THE AKAI S1100
These units have been used extensively and intensively in pro studios so the power supply of my second hand sampler was in urgent need of replacement. Ok, i decided to change the power supply for a new, more efficient one.
WARNING/DISCLAIMER: in this article i am going to describe operations that involve working with high mains voltage that could be LETHAL. It could KILL YOU. Let a professional do this kind of service for you. This is not a guide for the unexperienced. A focused state of mind when I undertook any of the actions described herein has been vital, as well as mandatory precautions such as wearing an antistatic vest, working on the sampler only when switched off and with the mains cord disconnected as well as procedures like having myself physically static discharged were followed strictly, so please do not undertake replacing the power supply if you are not used to work with mains voltage electricity. Remember: IT CAN KILL YOU. I shall not be held responsible for any damage of your sampler or any death/ wounds/ hurt to people using this article as a walkthrough to repair/service their sampler. This is just how i did it, it’s a blog post, so DO NOT USE this article as a guide.
The S1100 uses three separate voltages: 12v for the analog section, and for the digital section 12v and 5v. This article shows how i went about replacing the digital section power supply using a new transformer going from mains voltage (220v via the iec three pronged terminal) to 12 and 5 volts: the Meanwell RD-85A.
First of all, i switched off the sampler, disconnected the mains plug, and watched inside.
I highlighted the parts that i was going to use to wire the new power supply in: on top, the two mains INPUT; the lower header of four wires are the OUTPUT voltages going from the power supply to the boards
Mains disconnected and unplugged it was time to remove the old power supply.
I unscrewed the bottom and the two left hand side of the chassis screws to let the old power supply and its tray free and removed it carefully without touching the bottom of the pcb or the capacitors.The old psu.. had to go.
Next, it was time to get down to the actual business.
These go from the mains voltage to the power supply input.. CAREFUL!Push the tab underside to free the header to dislodge the mains input
I decided to use the wires already on board, so i marked them with stickers for reference of what goes where..
OUTPUT wires from the Meanwell to the boards. For colourblind people: on top, the red is the 5v, the lower, orange wire goes to 12v.Mains voltage INPUT: N is white, L is red.Reference pic indicating the actual terminals on the Meanwell.. DO NOT mix the input mains voltage red wire L with the output 5v wire.I snapped the wires as close to the crimped header as possible and put some terminal friendly lugs, insulated with heatshrinking tubes.I screwed the wires to the terminals.
All grounds are to be linked, bridged together, and they all go to the chassis ground. Since the main chassis ground is a secure, glued screw whose nut is unmovable, i decided to use a metal spacer and couple of screws to create another chassis ground, and checked for continuity with the the other stubborn dude using the multimeter’s buzz feature.
Alternate chassis ground, checked for continuity with the official one, that sits at the bottom of the machine in parallel with the IEC mains terminal, bolted to a nut.Blurry pic of the main chassis ground point.. note the green glue.
Because the power supply needs a minimum load to operate correctly, two resistors are needed across the voltage and ground of 5v and 12v, as mentioned in this tread on Gearslutz 👎🏻
These resistors are put one each between voltage and ground at the 5v and 12v terminals. Please note how i bridged the leftmost COM to the main GND on the Meanwell: all grounds are in common.
Massive looking 50 Ohms 50W resistors: USELESS
For my first test, i used a couple of 33 Ohms 10W to apply a minimum load as suggested on Gearslutz but one of them was BURNING HOT; i tried 50 Ohms 50W too and still one was overheating, so i replaced both with a 47k 5W (you will see the picture down below): MUCH BETTER!
FIRST CHECK: voltages. Without connecting the outputs, i had to see how the psu was working.. Now i had the resistors in place, i checked for continuity between all grounds and the chassis grounds, and plugged the mains, turned the power on (the IEC is connected to the sampler on off switch) and took some readings of the psu, loaded only with two resistors across the output voltages.
Checking the 5v output: nevermind the 33R resistor, read aboveNot too badChecking the 12v outputLooking good..
The trimmer on the right hand side of the Meanwell terminals can be used to adjust the two voltages (5v and 12v).. it’s a give and take science between the two outputs but in the end i had some good results.. 12v measured 12,6v and 5v measured 4,6v-the sampler works great with no overheating resistors inside!
A final test had to be carried out with the outputs in place. The moment of truth. I connected the 12v and 5v outputs to the Akai.
Thats it.. the whole shebang.
Upon switching the Akai on, all went well with some minor adjustment to be done using the trimmer: the load had changed the voltage readings sensibly, but thanks to the two resistors all went down as expected.
Next it was time to switch everything off, unplug the mains and find a way to fit the new power supply in the case.. i used the power supply original tray to hold it in place using the same screws on the bottom and side of the unit, and some wire holders, wrapped between the psu grille and some of the tray holes.
You can just about see the wire holders (green) at the bottom there.
Adding an encoder to any GOTEK unit is easy and can be very useful, especially when using the floppy drive emulator with a sampler.
I fit a GOTEK in my Ensoniq Mirage, whose drive was k.o.-lately a member of the Ensoniq Operators Facebook page has offered some cases purposedly made to fit in the Mirage-and it came with predrilled holes for screen and encoder.
To make things easier, i bought some dedicated Retro Clinic pcbs ~here~ and a couple encoders ~here~.
4 wires from the pcb to the main boardFirst solder these this wayWhite at JK, black one hole downGreen and blue like so (you can make things neater using Arduini jumper cable etc
Config file: on the Mirage usb you must let the system know there’s an ecoder-add the entry encoder=full to the configuration file (use notepad)
I am using a Flashfloppy GOTEK to read and write S612 samples onto USB.
But first, it is mandatory to send the QD drive to retirement, in great condition.
To replace the QD drive belt, you will need an appropriate belt, with a square profile
Then we will flash a GOTEK SFR1M44 using Flashfloppy.
Once done, download the latest version of Flashfloppy-you will need to copy the configuration file (FF_QD.CFG) that you will find in the /alt folder onto the USB pendrive that you are going to use with the Akai. Rename it FF.CFG and place it on the root directory of the pendrive.
We would also need a QD to Shugart interface-JazzCat sells these. Watch this:
It is mandatory to have an OLED screen to use this GOTEK setup
Connect the wires like so to the new oled screenConnect the new screen (must be less than 2” big) according to this pinout
I just got an Ensoniq Mirage.. the drive would not read my OS disk, so i dug out a blank, cheapo Gotek and flashed Flashfloppy to be my drive.
GOTEK has to be model SFRM72‑FU‑DL AKA the 720k model
After i got all my files together, i added these jumpers that allowed me to flash the Gotek
Please remember that once the flashing procedure is over, you’ll have to desolder these jumpers to use the Gotek
After the flash procedure has finished, leave only a single jumper at SO
Connect to the board, according to this picture (please note red stripe position..)
Mount using the screws located underneath the Mirage like so (they are a bit narrow for the Mirage screws so make sure you slack the gotek holes a bit)
The Fender Dimension IV is a unit that has been manufactured for about a year (1968-1969) by the CBS acquired guitar staple (along with other musical devices) in an effort to break the pedals/effects market.
It is a slapback+vibrato box, cometically similar to a mini amplifier, tolex covered, the metal front panel fashioned to suggest a motion effect. At the back, 4 RCA male plugs allow to connect the device to the spring reverb loop of a guitar amplifier.
Front plate
Facing the front plate, we find an on/off switch with dedicated pilot lamp, and a commuter to choose either the vibrato effect or the amplifier’s own spring reverb. Inside, there is a 2 Megs pot that sets the effect strenght over the dry signal.
The unit uses an oil can as its core “memory” device-this fascinating electro/mechanical invention was created by Tel Ray (later Morley) and licensed to a few other brands, used internally in organs and amps, as well as guitar pedals.
How does it sound? Like a very haunting, fast revolving Leslie. my guitar playing friend told me it’s very surf-y, another guy who’s into electric blues told me hit sounds eerie-like something out of a Halloween kids’ record!
How does it work? Let’s break it down very easily: inside a can theres a spinning disc that gets “written” by means of a special oil, and three (sometimes four) heads read and cancel the data stored.
As you can tell from the very simple schematic above, the electronic components are very few, basically just a resistor and a lamp to take care of any input overload (the lamp is described as a generic, 120v neon lamp) but the mechanical side can be tricky to restore: the disc is irreplaceable, and it can get damaged if it spins or moves in a dry can. Shipping these units is not recommended.
How much oil should you put in the oil can? Two teaspoonfuls of the special oil are needed (it’s called Ucon LB-65) to make it work. 15-20 ml to be exact.
In my case, there was some oil residue that looked brown! I drained the bad oil using a syringe, and using a clean cotton rag i wiped the can dry-in a slow and very careful manner to avoid touching the disc.
Mine had issues, as it arrived can dry and needing help from a seller in South Carolina that assumed, it would be working with a bit of oil.. good grief.. The motor was running but the small spindle and the larger wheel’s treads were a bit greasy, a common fault considering most of these units are stored upside down or sideways up-a position that can potentially damage the innards by oil spill.. mine had a saggy, worn rubber belt so traction was sloppy-i used cotton tips and toothpaste to restore the grip of these metal parts.
I swapped the rubber belt with a 7cm one i found on one of those assorted diameters Amaz*n tape rubber belt packs-all i had to do was to carefully remove one side of the pulling spring, slide the new rubber belt in, and screw the spring back in, keeping in mind its correct angle.
The 22K resistor was way off so i soldered a new one in.
Since i dont have a Fender Reverb amp handy, i used the preamp of my Fisher Space Expander to drive the Dimension IV..
It’s a great effect, i can only suspect Fender came too late in the game-this wet, surf guitar effect must have sounded a bit passé by 1968!
Sometime ago i bought Roland’s first ever synthesizer, for about a quarter of what it goes for these days-it was in dire condition, mind you. The control panel rusty and battered, the silkscreen on a couple of spots barely readable.
I always believed mint condition items belong to museums, not being fit for use, abuse and misuse.. i feel the same way about vinyl records-people who wrap them in polypropylene covers from day one and treat them as if they’re going to break anyday soon.. good grief
I must say that although i truly love the instrument- i also fit the Kenton cv/gate control board a year ago, i rarely ever used it.
The other day i took it out for a spin and the tuning was way off, it was drifting. It wouldnt even span an octave-it was that bad.
Time to recap, i thought, and pulled out the Elnas, the Nichicons and the soldering iron-i figured i’d refresh the power filtering section, part of what the service notes call the “Pulse Sheet Assembly”..
BeforeI also upgraded the caps from 35v tolerance to 50v
Just a note for the caps lovers: although the unit was in working condition, even if out of tune, most of the 1uF caps on this board were way off their nominal capacitance-the 2.2 uF cap measuring a whooping 8.5 uF! Of the big 1000 uF caps, two were measuring 1200something uF, whereas the other two were still closer to the 1000 mark-and they all showed low ESR (40+ year old caps!). The three tantalum capacitors on this board were still working great, their value as per specs.
I fired the synth after recapping this board-the sound was a bit more definite, but the tuning was still off.
I decided to check the VCO board, pictured above. But, alas, no electrolytics there to substitute. I checked very carefully the board-and there it was, staring at me: A BROKEN DIODE.
Diode: negative polarity at solder pad
The diode+resistor combination to the upper far right of the board: the diode was broken in two!
The schematic calls for diode, 1S2473.. i checked a few diodes I had, and landed on a 1N4148 as a fitting substitute!
And.. yes now it IS tuned! The snipped diode was the issue!
Assorted pics of the wiring at the back of the oscillator board
Masuto's 