ARP Quadra Replacement Membrane Panel & LED Sliders - Synthchaser #132

Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

"Finally! A replacement for the legendarily flaky ARP Quadra membrane panel! Many an otherwise good Quadra have been turned into doorstops or scrap metal due to failed or damaged membrane panels.

In this video I briefly introduce two new goodies for the ARP Quadra. One is a replacement membrane panel, and the other is a set of LED illuminated sliders.

Both of these products, and the ARP Quadra shown in the video are available on my website."

Ex-Jefferson Starship ARP Quadra Synthesizer Serviced w/LED Sliders New Membrane

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Synth Chaser

via this auction

"This ARP Quadra was owned by Pete Sears and toured with Jefferson Starship in the 1980s! It has just been professionally overhauled by Synthchaser, the foremost expert on ARP Quadras! Work done included a new membrane panel, new blue LED sliders, recap of all tantalum and electrolytic capacitors, new touch sensor, keyboard rebuild, dozens of new IC chips, and more!

While many synths are listed as "serviced" or "fully serviced", they are usually devoid of any details of what was actually done. Those that do provide details or service invoices often reveal that the synth was merely superficially serviced, and not genuinely "future-proofed". I have not only serviced this Quadra, I've taken it down to the chassis and overhauled it. Work done included:

New membrane panel - The membrane panel with the switches that enable the various features and pull up the presets is a known weak spot of the ARP Quadra, and many otherwise good Quadras have been turned into expensive doorstops due to failed membrane panels. A brand new (manufactured in 2020!) Synthchaser membrane panel has been installed. It looks just like the original! Have other "future-proofed" Quadras had this part replaced? I think not!

Synthchaser Precision LED slider upgrade. All 35 of the old original sliders have been replaced with new, smooth, high precision LED illuminated sliders. The difference in the way these sliders feel and perform compared to the originals is a huge improvement.

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ARP Omni 2 Keyboard Synthesizer Serviced with LED Sliders

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Uploaded on Jun 5, 2020 Synth Chaser

via this auction

"This synthesizer has just been fully serviced by Synthchaser, the west coast's leading ARP specialist - recapped, new key bushings, new LED sliders, clean, fully functional, calibrated, in tune and sounding great. This keyboard is the sound of Joy Division and is all over The Cars' 'Moving In Stereo', and many other late 70's/early 80's albums. It produces the lush Solina/String Ensemble sounds plus has a polyphonic synthesizer section with a voltage controlled filter, LFO, and ADSR, and a dedicated bass synthesizer section.

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ARP 2600 Sample & Hold Repair - Synthchaser #131

Published on May 21, 2020 Synth Chaser

"In this video we repair a broken sample and hold feature on one of the most iconic vintage synthesizers ever--the ARP 2600!

Parts, service and synthesizers available on my website. I buy broken synthesizers!"

https://synthchaser.com/

ARP Omni 2 Keyboard Synthesizer Serviced with Purple LED Sliders

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Uploaded on May 4, 2020 Synth Chaser

via this auction, also on Reverb

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Repairing LEO's ARP 2600's with Don Lewis - Synthchaser #130

Published on Feb 18, 2020 Synth Chaser

"It was a huge honor and incredibly fun to work on the ARP 2600s from Don Lewis' LEO (Live Electronic Orchestra) with him this weekend. LEO was a groundbreaking historic synthesizer that served as an inspiration for MIDI, having vintage synths from many different manufacturers (ARP, Oberheim, Roland, etc) all connected and working together. In this video, Don talks a bit about LEO, we show the problem with one of the oscillators in the ARP 2600, and then we troubleshoot and repair it.

00:00 Don Lewis Interview
12:03 ARP 2600 Troubleshooting & Repair
19:11 Final test & parting thoughts

There's a new documentary, The Ballad of Don Lewis, which is available for pre-order on Amazon or On Demand from your cable provider that tells Don's amazing story, which goes much deeper than just LEO. LEO will be on display again the the NAMM Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California starting in 2021.

The Ballad Of Don Lewis DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Ballad-Don-Lew...
The Ballad Of Don Lewis Website
Don Lewis repairing LEO videos: [embedded below]

My site: http://www.synthchaser.com

Parts, service and vintage synthesizers are available on my website. I buy broken synthesizers!"

Check out additional posts featuring Don Lewis here.

Repairing LEO's ARP 2600's


"Administrator Comment: Don's not just another handsome musician, this guy is really smart! Follow Don Lewis's journey as he repairs his ARP 2600's that are more than 40 years old."

Also:

Repairing LEO's Roland JP-4

Oberheim OB-XA SN 820505

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via this auction

Pic of the inside below.

"Oberheim OB-Xa in excellent physical condition:

- Latest firmware revision "G" installed and original factory patches uploaded.
- Powers on and fully functional
- All 8 voice boards were recapped with new electrolytics a few years ago.
- Instrument powers on and autotunes voice boards.
- Voice cards recalibrated by Synth Chaser
- Power Supply Capacitor Rebuilt from Synthchaser Kit
- Magnetic RAM upgrade from Electrongate
- Keys manually cleaned (As seen in photo) also serviced by Muckelroy
- New key bushings were also installed a few years ago. Keys are nice and soft when depressed, not clunky.
- Includes StarDust Synth Cover (Originally shipped from Italy)
- No MIDI installed.
- Stored in a climate controlled (air-conditioned) environment.
- Comes with hard case (shown in photos)."

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Oberheim OB-1 Dead Oscillator Repair - Synthchaser #129

Published on Feb 4, 2020 Synth Chaser

http://synthchaser.com/

"We have a little peek inside the Oberheim OB-1, the 1 voice/monophonic predecessor of the mighty OB-X, and track down the problem causing one of its oscillators to be silent.

Parts for DIY repair and restoration of Oberheims are available at my website. I also repair and restore Oberheims and other vintage synths for customers around the world."

Sad ARP Quadra Repair & Restoration - Synthchaser #124

Published on Oct 3, 2019 Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

Vintage ARP Quadra Overhauled by Synthchaser

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Uploaded on Oct 3, 2019 Synth Chaser

via this auction

"This ARP Quadra has just been fully serviced & overhauled by Synthchaser, the west coast's leading ARP specialist - recapped, new key bushings, new touch sensor, sliders disassembled, cleaned and refurbished, clean, fully functional, calibrated, in tune and sounding great. This synth was the final masterpiece of ARP Instruments and added a powerful 2 oscillator lead synthesizer to the bass, poly strings, and poly synth already found in the ARP Omni 2. Add in the lush 14 stage voltage controlled analog phase shifter, a sequencer (more like arpeggiator), assignable aftertouch, 61 key keyboard, and package it all into the coolest looking synth design ever and you have an ARP Quadra!

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Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar Repair - Synthchaser #121

Published on Aug 8, 2019 Synth Chaser

"Have look inside and listen to a rare Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar synth as we make a handful of repairs to it. We'll convert it from 220V to 110V operation, change the power cord, correct the power wiring, clean the pots, replace the leaking battery with a safer solution, eliminate hum in the output, replace missing buttons, replace a sketchy connector, and fix some intermittent issue where the synth jumps back to preset #1.

Parts, service and synthesizers available on my website. I buy broken synthesizers!"

http://www.synthchaser.com

ARP Odyssey 4023 Filter Original vs Clone Challenge

Published on May 25, 2019 Synth Chaser

"I have 2 recently refurbished ARP Odysseys side by side. They're identical model 2800's except one has the original 4023 voltage controlled filter and the other has my clone of the 4023. Which one do you think is the original??

I'll pin the answer Tuesday 5/28."

Synthchaser #119 - ARP Axxe Voltage Controlled Filter Repair

Published on May 11, 2019 Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

"While restoring this ARP Axxe I found that the voltage controlled filter wasn't working right--it wasn't filtering anything! In this video we put the filter into my ARP Filter test fixture and track down the problem using the schematics.

Parts, service and synthesizers available on my website."

Synthchaser #118 - Rhodes Chroma Repair & Restoration Part 3 - MIDI, Programmer & Demo Sounds

Published on Apr 15, 2019 Synth Chaser

"In the last part of this series, we repaired the power supply & recapped this lovely Rhodes Chroma. Today I show you some of the upgrades I made to the Rhodes Chroma, and we have a listen to some of the many sounds the Chroma is capable of.

My usual disclaimer: none of the sample sounds played are intended to be musical, I am not demonstrating my musical ability (or total lack thereof), just showing some of the sounds the Chroma can make.

Parts, repairs, and synthesizers are available on my website."

Synthchaser Rhodes Chroma Repair

Synthchaser #117 - Rhodes Chroma Repair & Restoration Part 2 - Power Supply & Recapping

Published on Apr 9, 2019 Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

"In the last Rhodes Chroma video we figured out why this synthesizer wouldn't work. In this video, we make the repair to the power supply as well as recap the synth and clean up some corrosion on the CPU board."

Synthchaser Rhodes Chroma Repair

Synthchaser #116 - ARP Synthesizer Mains Power Wiring Explanation & 240V Conversion

Published on Mar 31, 2019 Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

"Before this Omni gets shipped off to the UK, I explain the mains wiring and show how to convert an ARP from 120V to 240V operation.

You will learn why the lamp on the power switch is meaningless as a diagnostic indicator, as well as where there is a dangerous wire that is color coded neutral but is actually hot mains level.

I sell, repair, and restore ARPs and other vintage synths for customers around the world."

Excellent ARP Omni 1 Keyboard Synthesizer Restored with LED Sliders

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Uploaded on Mar 30, 2019 Synth Chaser

via this auction, also on Reverb

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Synthchaser #115 - ARP Voltage Controlled Filter Tester

Published on Mar 17, 2019 Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

100% Working Arp Quadra

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Super Rare and Amazing sounding Arp Quadra. 100% working and serviced for sale

Aftertouch replaced and 100% working
Recapped, serviced and tuned for sale
All buttons work great - no pressure needed to activate, work as new.

Included picture of invoices to service synth, plus buy parts from Synth Chaser."

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Synthchaser #114 - Memorymoog Quiet Fan Replacement

Published on Jan 8, 2019 Synth Chaser

http://www.synthchaser.com

"I show you how to replace the original noisy AC fan with a quiet DC fan without adding stress to the power supply of a vintage Memorymoog.

Parts, repairs, and synthesizers are available on my website."