MATRIXSYNTH: A Word of Warning When DIYing from The Analog Lab


Monday, July 25, 2011

A Word of Warning When DIYing from The Analog Lab

via The Analog Lab which is running a course on synth repair (see this post).

"Harlan (your favorite webmaster) plugged in the MS-20 and placed his hand on the chassis to steady said unit while plugging in a 1/4″ cable.

Unbeknownst to Harlan, someone had done a very peculiar mod on this lovely little synth… THE POWER TRANSFORMER HAD BEEN REMOVED. So, this means that there was no step-down transformer to turn the 110V from the wall into a more comfortable +/- 15V and the ground wire (which was grounded to the chassis, mind you) was soldered right into the AC.

What does that mean? It means Harlan had 110V shot directly into his hand."

Update: added a pic of Harlan and his electro fist.

4 comments:

  1. Oh man, only on MATRIXSYNTH. That was pretty funny. I'm guessing Harlan is OK of course. But yes, keep your synths safe folks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lets just say its going to be sitting on the shelf for awhile...

    ReplyDelete
  3. more volts equals a fatter sound, right?!

    ReplyDelete

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