Bif_ Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 [video:youtube] Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadslayer Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I enjoyed the troubleshooting description, but the sound design and playing was a bit of a letdown IMO. Poly-Six inspired indeed. Quote Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 Agreed. I wonder what the repair bill was. I'd like to know how much in both parts and labor. Gotta believe there's a point where the dollars don't make sense ( no pun intended). I get that with this type of instrument it can move beyond a logical decision. Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I once had a Prophet 10 in my hotel room on the road trying to fix it for somebody. Didn't get very far with just a multimeter. Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markyboard Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Pfft...CEMs. Sounds like crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markyboard Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Thanks for posting this Bif. The steps and problems she encountered match so close to my efforts with the P5 refurb I"m hoping to complete this week. I also enjoyed seeing how Sequential transformed a P5 into a P10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 Pfft...CEMs. Sounds like crap. Mark, figured you have some ideas about my question on repair costs. I'd assume parts could get into the hundreds of $$ easily and labor could be 3-4 times parts. Do repair shops charge in the $100+/hour range? (Seems like that's a ballpark going rate for everything from car repairs to plumbers.) I'm guessing the repair on the Prophet 10 in the video was in the $5K range. Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markyboard Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 I"m not really sure how professional repair shops handle these large jobs- could be just a flat fee but I wouldn"t be surprised if your guesstimate proves correct- especially for 2 P10s. I"ve also read that labor charges are on the order of $125/hr. Mate Stubb probably knows better than me as he"s in the business - or was. Other than Moog factory stuff I haven"t needed to go outside for repair in years. I"ve spent on the order of $600 for the P5 refurb parts but that included a new transformer, gold plated sockets, bushings and 15 new j-wires (Im still waiting on these) along with various ICs, caps etc. Many of these I had on hand. Based on my first attempt to acquire some of these parts I found repair shops typically charge 2-3 times what it cost for the same or equivalent part from Mouser and similar. But it"s time consuming to hunt down the correct parts and requires some electronics knowledge. I don"t blame these repair shops at all for their mark-up - it"s fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 Mark, Appreciate your thoughts on this. Just curious as I'm seeing more repair videos (some by synth wizards, to name one), as people try to keep some legendary synths alive. These have to be a labor of love, and I agree, the repair folks need to make money. (Comparing auto repairs, for example, front brake pads at AutoZone might be around $40, but installed cost at a shop could be $200. They double parts costs too.) Of course what's easy for you as you perform repairs would be impossible for me. I can solder and have fixed a lot of stuff using simple trouble-shooting techniques. Finding and fixing problems at the component level is an impossibility for me. Like the old saying , "It's easy if you know how". Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Pfft...CEMs. Sounds like crap. Well, when I had a Prophet 5 rev2, the basic sound was different and "better" vs the "rev3" version I bought in addition when it was released. But that damn "rev3" was much more reliable at that time. And when you were a musician, working as a "service provider" to make a livin´,- it was all about reliability,- in the studio as also when touring. That said, the "Prophet"s were problematic always when touring and the "rev3" was only somewhat improved over the previous versions. I´d say, most gear from late 70s and 80s was picky on "voltage regulation". I had the case I lost all the patches and got a ~100Hz modulation across all the,- a few minutes before show,- "restored" patches and out of the blue ... Later we´ve found out stage lights "dimmer city" caused the issue because the rig was connected to the same phase. They simply blew the voltage regulators. I stumbled into the same issue w/ Oberheim OB-8 and on another tour, the other (2nd) keyboardist w/ a PPG system incl. Wave, PRK and Waveterm. I really wished to have a Prophet 5 rev 2 in a stable condition at that time, but that was almost impossible to achieve. Today, w/ all the better components, experience and mods available, there´s a much better chance. But,- what´s the win for the costs,- if you´re not a collector ? For the MOST music production, you´ll get these sounds out of modern gear, hardware and/or software, too ... And sometimes, it´s even better. People thinking sonic quality measured in a very few percents makes a "hit" or better production selling MORE are wrong. I still love my Minimoog D and,- surprisingly, my Oberheim Xpander,- which still holds up vs software and even being a CEM chip synth. It holds up against SP OPX-Pro II and Arturia. I got a laugh when comparing specific patches of Arturia M12 (!) and my Xpander. Doesn´t mean the software can´t get the sound right,- it´s only a very few it can´t,- some VCO sync sonds p. ex.. But,- is it really neccessary to restore or replicate/model every single vintage piece of (more or less) electronic crap ? When I sold my 2 Prophet 5,- I never looked back until today. It´s a simple,- but already polyphonic (which was the main attraction !),- voice architecture. Even today´ s DS OB-6 is ... Really,- I appreciate state variable filter, but that´s it. LFOs ??? Where are they ? I prefer Xpander over OBXa, OB-8 and latest "Oberheim"s because of modulation abilities. And everyone, having some skills, is able to get out good music w/ it. I´ d really like to meet the guy reporting he´d had more success when using "the other" synth. A.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markyboard Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 I'm right there with you A.C. I'm not nostalgic for any synth, piano, organ or sound. For me it's all about what cool technology (old or new) I can use to explore and create the sounds I like, but also the experience in playing those sounds. So while there's no nostalgia I still love playing a real B3 through real Leslies because the experience to me is unmatched by anything else, and awesome . At the same time (well maybe not the exact same time) I love pushing B3 clones in my own direction as well as Wurlie and other electro piano type emulators. I'm still glad there are collectors and those that live for the exact sounds of the past. Otherwise I might never have an opportunity to play with all these cool toys - assuming I can fix them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morizzle Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Finally watched the video. I like the top comment "if i send you my parents can you make them into vintage wurlitzers thanks" Quote It's not a clone, it's a Suzuki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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