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Say Hello to my new / old friend!


mcgoo

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Back around 1979, I was in an all original prog band. I was SURE I was going to be the next Rick Wakeman. It took years for me to be able to admit, "ya know, yer never gonna be able to play like that!". Anyway, we had a sound man / audio geek that owned a Minimoog and he decided to let me use it for the life of that band. We recently found each other thru Facebook & he offered to sell it to me... cheap! I nabbed it before he came to his senses. :laugh: Here 'tis:

 

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa357/mcgooze/20170606_093518_001%20002_zpstbui9o7v.jpg

 

It's going to need some TLC (lots of dirty pots, pitch wheel is unstable & one key is either loose or broken), but it sounds wonderful!

 

One other funny bit. As I was leafing thru the Sound Charts booklet, I found a patch scribbled on the back blank page. Yup, that's my handwriting from 38 years ago. Wow. 'Guess I'll have to see what that sound was...

 

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa357/mcgooze/sound%20charts_zps71syeiob.jpg

 

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

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:2thu:

 

I'm looking forward to the updates!

"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

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you might want to change out the key bushings, which are available.

 

Excuse my ignorance... Would that take care of the way some of the keys "clank"?

 

Yes, it will. I did it to mine a few years ago, and it plays wonderfully now. It isn't as pretty as yours though! Great score, and great story behind it!

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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you might want to change out the key bushings, which are available.

 

Excuse my ignorance... Would that take care of the way some of the keys "clank"?

 

Yes, it will. I did it to mine a few years ago, and it plays wonderfully now. It isn't as pretty as yours though! Great score, and great story behind it!

 

Yup - here's a couple of links for bushing suppliers

 

Arcsound

 

CAE

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you might want to change out the key bushings, which are available.

 

Excuse my ignorance... Would that take care of the way some of the keys "clank"?

 

Yes, it will. I did it to mine a few years ago, and it plays wonderfully now. It isn't as pretty as yours though! Great score, and great story behind it!

 

Yup - here's a couple of links for bushing suppliers

 

Arcsound

 

CAE

awesome, thanks!

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

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You are having my dream!

Now, will you be working out a way to trigger the Mini and the Multimoog from one keyboard?

 

Oh, I'm sure I will. :) Years ago when I also had a micro, I bought a Kenton cv to midi interface. Think I may have to do that again.

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

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It's going to need some TLC (lots of dirty pots, pitch wheel is unstable & one key is either loose or broken), but it sounds wonderful!

 

Nothing like some maintenance to get you to bond with new gear, congratulations it seems like it's in good aesthetic condition

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It's going to need some TLC (lots of dirty pots, pitch wheel is unstable & one key is either loose or broken), but it sounds wonderful!

 

Nothing like some maintenance to get you to bond with new gear, congratulations it seems like it's in good aesthetic condition

 

That's very true, I'm sure, but I don't really trust myself to do any repair. Fortunately I know a great tech I the area.

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

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Congrats. I did a restoration of #11878 in 2011. I don't do major electronics work, but if there's anything I can help you with please holler. Yours is in far better shape than mine was when I got it. I highly recommend Dow Corning 7 Release Compound to lubricate the bushings. I also recommend rebuilding the action as there is nothing currently on the market that compares to a newly-restored Pratt-Read. Nothing. Have several extra springs on hand because they'll get away from you. I got my bushings from Vintage Vibe. I got other parts from the late Kevin Lightner.

 

I use the Moog VX-351 and CP-251 to control the D from my Voyager. It's astounding. I always loved the Multi. That's going to be a fantastic combination.

 

 

 

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Congrats. I did a restoration of #11878 in 2011. I don't do major electronics work, but if there's anything I can help you with please holler. Yours is in far better shape than mine was when I got it. I highly recommend Dow Corning 7 Release Compound to lubricate the bushings. I also recommend rebuilding the action as there is nothing currently on the market that compares to a newly-restored Pratt-Read. Nothing. Have several extra springs on hand because they'll get away from you. I got my bushings from Vintage Vibe. I got other parts from the late Kevin Lightner.

 

I use the Moog VX-351 and CP-251 to control the D from my Voyager. It's astounding. I always loved the Multi. That's going to be a fantastic combination.

 

Thanks. I remember your restoration thread well. I was in awe of the work you did! Thanks for the tips on where to find materials. And yes, the Multi is sweet. It's the first synth I know of with After Touch. It's got quite a few more capabilities than the Mini and IIRC was positioned to be the successor / replacement to the Mini, but the Mini was so successful, the market wouldn't allow it.

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

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  • 2 weeks later...
...here's a couple of links for bushing suppliers

 

Arcsound

 

CAE

 

Just a minor update. I got the bushings ordered from Arc Sound (thanks again Markyboard!). I'm dropping off the Mini to a tech this weekend. I've found lots of little odds & ends that need fixing. Here's the list so far...

 

Osc 1 intermittently goes dead, usually after the synth's been on a while. If I power down & leave it off for a while & turn it back on, it re-appears.

Pitch wheel doesnt return to same pre-bend pitch.

All switches, knobs & keyboard contacts need cleaning.

Keyboard bushings need to be replaced (parts ordered!)

Keyboard tuning needs to be scaled / calibrated / whatever.

A couple keys (lowest D & 2nd highest G) are raised / not level with keyboard. That same D sticks sometimes.

If the Glide amount gets raised above 6 it starts climbing pitch on its own. Weird!

A-440 tuning reference doesnt work.

 

'Hoping none of those is a major bank breaker. If any of you tech gurus recognize some of those (other than the obvious need for cleaning), then I'm all ears!

 

thanks,

 

greg

 

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

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'Hoping none of those is a major bank breaker. If any of you tech gurus recognize some of those (other than the obvious need for cleaning), then I'm all ears!

 

Osc 1 intermittently goes dead, usually after the synth's been on a while. If I power down & leave it off for a while & turn it back on, it re-appears. Need to put a scope on this but shouldn't be to difficult

 

Pitch wheel doesnt return to same pre-bend pitch. There's a standard mod (ECO iirc) that puts what's called "hysteresis" (dead spot) around the center point. Tech should be familiar with this

All switches, knobs & keyboard contacts need cleaning. If any of the gold spring contacts are stretched beyond a certain point they'll need to be replaced. CAE has these - if you can swing it might be best to buy a bag of them although they're kind of pricy. Still more economical this way and always good to have spares IMO.

 

Keyboard bushings need to be replaced (parts ordered!). While he's got the keys off ask him to clean up as much of the "gunk" around the keys and on the keybed/frame

 

Keyboard tuning needs to be scaled / calibrated / whatever. Standard

 

A couple keys (lowest D & 2nd highest G) are raised / not level with keyboard. That same D sticks sometimes. Should be an easy adjustment

 

If the Glide amount gets raised above 6 it starts climbing pitch on its own. Weird!

A-440 tuning reference doesnt work.

Need to scope both of these but again shouldn't be to bad. The glide could be a dirty or bad potentiometer. Hopefully dirty as those pots are non-existent. You can replace them with a lower value for a shorter maximum glide.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks. I'll be copying your replies & sending them to him. :like:
And taking credit for them too, I'll bet. :rolleyes:

 

 

:poke:;)

"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

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