Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

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amv
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Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by amv » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:06 am

I recently made one of my bucket list synth purchases: a beautiful JX-3P with PG-200 in overall excellent condition. The honeymoon phase has been a bit marred, however, by the discovery that this otherwise gorgeous instrument, all plastic and metal, has repulsive plywood as a base with a lame black paint job. WTF.

First of all, from what I can gather, this was a surprisingly common move for Roland in the 80's. The JX-8P appears to to have a wooden base as well, along with the Juno series (6, 60, 106). Can any owners of these confirm this? It makes me feel a LITTLE better to know my beloved JX-3P isn't the only one.

More importantly, I'm thinking of mod ideas to improve the situation. If wood absolutely must be part of this synth, I'd at least prefer it to be well chosen and nicely finished. Imagine a sleek base with pretty grain patterns and a deep black stain instead of a lame rattle can paint job. Or a deep, rich rosewood, or something like that. I know it won't be visible, but I'll feel so much better knowing it's there. And on stage it WILL be visible once it's up on the stand. :)

Anyone ever done this? It doesn't sound like the world's hardest job, but I'd like to see some examples if possible before embarking.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by ApolloBoy » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:21 am

Both the JX-8P and JX-10 are built the same way actually, they just have a plywood base painted black with some shielding tape on the inside.
Last edited by ApolloBoy on Sat Mar 05, 2016 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by DesolationBlvd » Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:04 am

If I remember right, my Juno-60 has a plywood base. Not even painted.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by Hybrid88 » Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:37 am

OSCar too, and the Minimoog has a chipboard one... your 3p is in good company ;)
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by garranimal » Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:01 am

Check out syntegrator/Kiwi-mods upgrade.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by synthroom » Sat Mar 05, 2016 6:33 am

Waterproof Baltic birch base!! And I wonder why he made the BT logo only 1 inch thick? Maybe 3 or 5 inches thick would have had more distinction...

But nicely done overall, despite my nit-picking.

The entire keyboard housing for my Fairlight IIx is particle board.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by Dr. Phibes » Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:26 am

Who cares about the base? It's just going to bashed around and scratched to buggery anyway.

Just repaint it.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by madtheory » Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:07 pm

Dr. Phibes wrote:Who cares about the base? It's just going to bashed around and scratched to buggery anyway.

Just repaint it.
Agreed. It does nothing for the sound or usability. A lot of synths were made this way. Yamaha CS10 is another.
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by synthroom » Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:27 pm

Dr. Phibes wrote:Who cares about the base? It's just going to bashed around and scratched to buggery anyway.

Just repaint it.
Perhaps fine, Corinthian leather would wear well in this application?
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by Hybrid88 » Sun Mar 06, 2016 1:45 pm

Doesn't the CS-80 have plywood all over it including the front panel?
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by HideawayStudio » Sun Mar 06, 2016 2:32 pm

Half the world is built of plywood!.. :D I'm not sure what the problem is - the underside of most synths have such a hard time on their stands that plywood was actually a pretty good choice of material.

Some of the most desirable synths ever made are of similar construction.
Hybrid88 wrote:Doesn't the CS-80 have plywood all over it including the front panel?
Yup correct... under all that metallic paint is indeed a wooden panel as is the CS-50 which is why its never a good idea to scrub too hard whilst cleaning them as I once learnt to my detriment! :?
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Re: Replacing the ungodly plywood on my JX-3P.

Post by adamstan » Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:20 pm

Plywood is OK. Poly61 is made of chipboard...
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