Nu2Keys Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I got to the gig, set up like normal, but no sound from the Korg. It powers up and everything lights up, but no sound except clicking when the key clip knob is turned up. I took it apart yesterday and there is nothing that visually looks wrong. I used my ohmmeter to check connections, outputs, etc. and there is nothing shorted in the output. There is a fuse and it looks okay and its soldered to the power supply, and since I have power I assume its not the fuse. Does anyone repair old KB's or is it just time to upgrade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I would guess that if you're not getting sound at all, then one of the voltages from your power supply is not right. Again, that's a guess. With a schematic, it could be an easy fix for a repair facility. I wouldn't trash the CX-3 without at least trying to get it repaired. Good luck! Tom "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 First thing I would try is seeing if a) controlling it via MIDI (does it have MIDI?) makes it sound, and then 2) if it sends MIDI to another unit. That can narrow down a lot. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I would check to make sure all the ribbon connectors are secure as well. It can be very hard to get rid of an old friend, as I can attest when my N364 died. I did what I had to do to get it back working again. You have to ask yourself if it's worth it to you to keep it going, or if it's time for retirement. I almost retired mine, but in the end it was worth it to me to get it repaired. "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmp Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Those units were pre MIDI. The shop manual can be had here for $30. Good luck. --wmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Pretty much any long-term Korg dealer with a service area can deal with this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Grave_of_Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor.jpg No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Wow, Dave... how very ... Delirium-esque of you. Would it be out of line for me to mention that common sense would dictate contacting an authorized Korg service center? If it's one that's been around for long enough, they likely have serviced a number of analog CX3's and would have no problem taking care of this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 The CX3 first went on sale in 1979. It's almost 30. I think it's time to bury it and move on. I did give a proper funeral. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Hell, you had it lying in state! Probably more pomp and circumstance than it deserves, if I may be so blunt... However, with gas prices shocking those of us in N.America (no sympathy from Europe/U.K. I know, who have always had significantly higher prices), a lot of folks are finding funds for gear buying to be drying up (or, more accurately, burning up). I can respect that, for folks that don't do this for a living and who aren't taking advantage of tax breaks for capital expenditures and the like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT156 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Quote by Sven Golly: "a lot of folks are finding funds for gear buying to be drying up" The local dealers don't want to.....deal, pardon the Pun. The last time I went to one of the Local/Yokals, they charged me LIST Price for a mic stand and boom attachment. $49.95! I had a gig that night and couldn't drive to my favorite regional dealer, who is 45 miles away. With gas prices it costs me $22 to $24 to go there and back. Needless to say the dealer that charged me list price wasn't trying real hard to win my business by charging me that price. That's the last time I ever set foot in his store. Another local dealer charged me $20.00 for a decent quality 15 foot shielded cable. What a bargain. Mike T. Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 After reading the positive user's reviews on that other forum, KLONK, I think I would consider getting the CX-3 repaired. Although there are some here who say that because of its age, it's ready for the trash, I think that if it sounds good to you and you were currently making money gigging with it, it's surely worth it to have a technician look at it. If the minimum charge for a guy to open it up and check out the power supply is $75 - $100 or so, that's a lot less than the price of a replacement, right? Unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, look into the cost of getting it repaired and hold onto that money you would have spent. Tom "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmp Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 It'd be down right silly to trash a perfectly good instrument if it's a cheap fix. Yeah, it's 30 years old, the Leslie sim sucks and the keyclick is lame, but I remember putting a CX-3 on top of my B3 in 1979 and plugging it into my line input and being totally blown away by how it sounded through my Leslie. Considering how good this axe was 30 years ago and how good the Dynacord Leslie simulator was almost 20 years ago, we've waited a bloody long time to get our current selection of attractive clones. Sven's probably right about that Korg authorized service stuff. This could be cheap and easy. If not, death should be pronounced by a qualified technician. --wmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 To the OP, I have no idea where you're at in the USA, but can commend CAE Sound in San Mateo (town I grew up in). Peter Miller and his shop have been handling repairs, custom work and warranty work for many of the major Bay Area bands for decades. Their site is www.caesound.com, might be worth contacting them first for an initial discussion. Hope you get the axe fixed. Tim .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vail Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 It's been a few years since I last confirmed this company is still doing business, but check with 'em: Resurrection Electronics Bob O Overton 7907 Lowdes Dr. Austin, TX 78745 512-451-5900 bob-o@austin.rr.com Replacement circuit board for SM304 key processor chips for Korg CX-3 & BX-3 organs. Purchases, refurbishes, & resells CX-3s & BX-3s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richwhite9 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 the Leslie sim sucks and the keyclick is lame, but I remember putting a CX-3 on top of my B3 in 1979 and plugging it into my line input and being totally blown away by how it sounded through my Leslie. Instant j geils and Uriah Heep. Forget the Phase Shifter Leslie and Vibrato/Chorus. Even w/ solid state leslies it was decent for rock. Couldn't do the Jimmy Smith tubular percussion but could do the short clipped percussion of 'Musta Got Lost' quite well and had great analog distortion. Three Dog Night's 'Live at the Forum' sounds, you name it, it sounded pretty good in its day. Getting that 'Evil Ways' percussion was always the big drawback. It wasn't until the Voces and XB-2 and VK-7 that things got better in the 90s and this century is just plain awesome. The Korg vintage sound: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 After reading the positive user's reviews on that other forum, KLONK, I think I would consider getting the CX-3 repaired. Sehnior GAS: The CX-3 that the harmony central hordes are waxing rhapsodic about is not the CX-3 being discussed here. The original CX-3 produced in the late 70's by Korg was an analogue device, and while absolutely state of the art for its time, doesn't hold a candle to the CX-3 currently being made, which is all digital. While the original was a marvel of its time, and was absolutely beautiful once you peeled the nasty KORG vinyl letters off the back, it's been surpassed in every way. Here's the original: http://www.urbanmusic.com/CX-3.jpg Now the newer model: http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/reckb/cabinet/brand_k/k8_cx3_1.jpg Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Hmmmm... it's interesting that we've all assumed that the O.P. has an analog CX3, but he never said as much. He said he has an 'old' CX3, and as we all know, one person's 'old' is another person's 'recent'. Might be interesting to confirm exactly which CX3 he has... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 He said he has an 'old' CX3, and as we all know, one person's 'old' is another person's 'recent'. Might be interesting to confirm exactly which CX3 he has... Why, you are right! My guess is that all of us who assumed it was the analogue one are old farts who actually owned one at some point. Here's mine: http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/gallery/overhead.jpg Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 He said he has an 'old' CX3, and as we all know, one person's 'old' is another person's 'recent'. Might be interesting to confirm exactly which CX3 he has... Why, you are right! My guess is that all of us who assumed it was the analogue one are old farts who actually owned one at some point. True. I was responding to the fact that the OP said that his keyboard died at the gig. Therefore, if it was good enough to be used at a current gig, then it was probably worth repairing. We've come a long way with this technology. But sometimes it seems as though we should be a lot further along. Maybe it's just me and I'm being impatient. Naaaaaaaaaaah. "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewImprov Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 He said he has an 'old' CX3, and as we all know, one person's 'old' is another person's 'recent'. Might be interesting to confirm exactly which CX3 he has... Why, you are right! My guess is that all of us who assumed it was the analogue one are old farts who actually owned one at some point. Here's mine: http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/gallery/overhead.jpg Now that's what I call a keyboard setup! Turn up the speaker Hop, flop, squawk It's a keeper -Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/gallery/overhead.jpg Hey Moe, did you get that BX-3 to scavenge parts for the CX-3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Hey Moe, did you get that BX-3 to scavenge parts for the CX-3? Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Coury Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 He said he has an 'old' CX3, and as we all know, one person's 'old' is another person's 'recent'. Might be interesting to confirm exactly which CX3 he has... Why, you are right! My guess is that all of us who assumed it was the analogue one are old farts who actually owned one at some point. Here's mine: http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/gallery/overhead.jpg Man, Moe has had some pretty sweet rigs over the years! "Oh yeah, I've got two hands here." (Viv Savage) "Mr. Blu... Mr. Blutarsky: Zero POINT zero." (Dean Vernon Wormer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Man, Moe has had some pretty sweet rigs over the years! Not hard to see why I am 6 inches shorter than I used to be, is it? Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nu2Keys Posted August 12, 2008 Author Share Posted August 12, 2008 I should have been more clear. It is one of the original analog CX-3's. BTW there are no ribbon connectors, all wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 It's been a few years since I last confirmed this company is still doing business, but check with 'em: Resurrection Electronics Bob O Overton 7907 Lowdes Dr. Austin, TX 78745 512-451-5900 bob-o@austin.rr.com Replacement circuit board for SM304 key processor chips for Korg CX-3 & BX-3 organs. Purchases, refurbishes, & resells CX-3s & BX-3s. I had the analog CX3 for several years and used to talk with Bob O quite a bit (this was pre-email days). He has been out of this business for quite awhile and don't believe he has any parts left. I had him do some work on my CX3 back in the late '80s or very early '90s before I swapped up to the Hammond XB2. There is another source for the old CX and BX circuit boards. Check this link. http://www.parastream.com/hardware/RP-SM304A.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I had an original CX-3 that did that too. Mine was just some signal wires that had come loose after pounding it for 15 years. Tech soldered some signal wires and placed some foil under the knob/control area and I was good to go. I eventually sold it on ebay and bought the next gen CX3. (YES I still regret selling). The old cx3 was modeled after an L100 (no foldback on upper registers?) and while it was warm and gooey, it lacked the ability to SCREAM in the upper registers. Next gen CX3 was completely opposite - screamed, but not quite the same 'analog warmth' from the old one. FYI, I sold my next gen cx3 last year. I juat use an electro currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrissey Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Resurrecting this ancient thread. I just landed a killer deal on an analog Korg CX3 but it is a project -- not all drawbars work, needs lots of cleaning, etc. I searched the forum and the web for repair/parts info. This thread was my favorite discussion on KC about fixing the CX3, and I thought it'd be helpful to annotate it with a few other resources it took me a bit of web-searching to find. First, as noted, Parastream appears to be the best (only?) source for replacement parts: http://www.parastream.com/repair/vintage_korg_bx3/ Second, someone who appears to be affiliated with Parastream (the owner?) has an awesome, old school html website with tons of great info about diagnosing and repairing these old CX3s and BX3s: http://robertweatherford.com/bx3/index.htm Finally, here is a great 2012 thread from the "Stomp Box Zone" forum by a guy in Germany who uses the thread as a journal as he makes substantial repairs to a BX3 and a CX3: http://www.stompboxzone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1031 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Resurrecting this ancient thread. and I thought it'd be helpful to annotate it with a few other resources it took me a bit of web-searching to find. That's a great addition to the thread, thanks for doing this. Of course, the jaded part of me would suggest that only 1 in 1,000 people would actually search for this info before just posting... but I do appreciate the effort! Oh, and the other jaded part of me is going to predict at least THREE people post onto this thread answering the OP, not even realizing it's a decade-old thread. Let's watch, shall we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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