A McLeod III Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 This is for the keyboard tech savvy amongst us. (I thought that was me but........) I have a 1999 XP-80 that still get's a lot of usage. I've got a bunch of synths..some used in my studio along with various sound modules and then there are the ones like the XP that get used for live performances. Anyway, the weird problem. Everything works as it always did, Boots up properly. Disc loads up all sequences and sounds stored on them. But.............periodically, it will not stay in tune. It literally drops pitch as if I moved the bender! This problem is much worse when playing on the bass end of the keyboard. If I hit the bottom the XP "kinda' hard", It clears up. I can take the bottom off the synth and tighten up a few screws that seem to work loose, reassemble the synth and it plays fine for awhile. Give it a little time and voila'......starts the silliness all over again. I know this board is old and a lot of players have put them out to pasture but I kind of have a fondness for this board (not as much as the JV-1000 that it was supposed to have retired nor my ESQ-1 Ensoniq that can still produce timbres I can't find anywhere else) and I want to keep it working. Before I contact Roland (who has some awful customer support-depending on what you contact them about and how many $$$$$$ it's gonna' cost), I just wanted to poll this forum and see if anyone else has had similar problems with theirs and how they fixed it. Ironically enough, I have a Fantom that I absolutely hate.......A/B it against the XP and the cool expansion boards I collected over the years, the Fantom's sound resolution pales in comparison. Sounds way too digital for me. "Life Is Just A Game And They're Many Ways To Play...All You Do Is Choose." SC 1976 Fantom, XP 80, DX7 IIFD w/"E", Ensoniq ESQ 1, Roland Alpha Juno 2, Roland S 10, Korg Triton LE with EXB, GEM RP2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 It could be that the pitch is susceptible to thumps because the bender spring has weakened. Typically if the bender needs recalibration, bending to the left and releasing (to spring back to center) should result in a different pitch than bending to the right and releasing. If it is the bender follow the directions here to recalibrate ... http://www.d-flame.cx/~samon/jv_xpfaq.html#2.9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Could also be a bad or dirty bender pot. Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 BTW, you should program a sound with bender range == 0. Next time it goes out of tune, switch to that program. If that cures it, that's your problem. Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I completely forget where I have read about this before, but it is a problem that has happened to many XP80 owners, exactly what you describe. Google it and I am sure you will find others. IIRC its some kind of board that needs to get replaced... We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Read the comments here for others who have similar problems We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A McLeod III Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Thanks everyone for the input.........I will first check the physical........there is a small pc board on the trem itself held on with some screws. I'm gonna look at that first then try some of the other remedies. "Life Is Just A Game And They're Many Ways To Play...All You Do Is Choose." SC 1976 Fantom, XP 80, DX7 IIFD w/"E", Ensoniq ESQ 1, Roland Alpha Juno 2, Roland S 10, Korg Triton LE with EXB, GEM RP2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Keep us posted, I would like to know how you resolve this in case it ever happens to mine. We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A McLeod III Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Sure will Mike. Of all the boards I've owned from early Korgs to DX7's, Ensoniqs, several SC Prophets (nothing was more sensitive than those), this is the first I've ever had this problem with and could not find an "obvious" cause for the problem. She's on the bench disassembled right now.......stay tuned "Life Is Just A Game And They're Many Ways To Play...All You Do Is Choose." SC 1976 Fantom, XP 80, DX7 IIFD w/"E", Ensoniq ESQ 1, Roland Alpha Juno 2, Roland S 10, Korg Triton LE with EXB, GEM RP2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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