Roland HS-60 Modifications

YouTube Uploaded by rolandsh1000 on Apr 5, 2011

"This very short video shows two of the modifications made to a Roland HS-60...well, 3 if you count the chop job!

The first is a 2-octave transpose switch, which allows you to transpose the shorter keyboard over the entire 61-key range of the original keyboard.

The second is a 1/4" jack that allows you to patch external signals through the famous Juno chorus. Sorry that the sound is slightly out of sync and doesn't really highlight the differences when the chorus is activated - trust me, it really changes the sound!

This video was made to accompany an ebay auction in April 2011"

Also see the Junior-106.

Roland HS-60 on eBay

Update:

via this auction

pics of the inside below.

"Up for bid is a highly modified Roland HS-60. Ok, this certainly qualifies as rare: I know of only 6 units that have been chopped down this way and I’ve done two of them. You are unlikely to find another like this anytime soon.


Anyway, if you are looking at this, you probably know already that the HS-60 was the consumer version of the Juno-106, except that it had a built-in amplifier and speakers. Those have been removed from this keyboard in order to make the size more compact. So this is now effectively a Juno-106 a few useful modifications:

Most obviously, the unit has been chopped down to 3-octaves. This reduces the weight of the unit (HS-60’s are fairly heavy synths) and the footprint. To allow for access to the entire keyboard range, I added circuitry and a switch to let the user transpose the keyboard by 2 octaves.

There is now a ‘Chorus In’ jack on the back, wired to one of the original inputs. I think this is an improvement over the HS-60, since now you can run external signals through the famous Roland chorus, and have some amplitude control over that signal using the onboard output VCA.

All voice chips have been reconditioned. That is, the factory resin coating which causes these voice chips to fail has been removed. After resin removal, all voice chips were reinstalled using Millmax sockets. To verify operation, the unit was left on continuously for days and all voices worked perfectly.

The 2-prong power plug has been replaced with a more standard 3-prong IEC power cable, which is now the electronic equipment standard.

The original memory battery has been replaced with a CR2032 in a clip holder to make future battery replacements easy. The CR2032 actually has a greater capacity and the one there now (dated Jan2011) should last many many years.

The unit was calibrated per the factory service manual, so it’s now running within specifications."