Sequential Six Trak Problem

Link58155 · Post by **Link58155** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 1:19 am

Hi-

I had purchased a Six Trak on Ebay, guaranteed to be in working order. When it arrived, voice number two, of the six, was not working even though the LED would light up. I would just get silence. I'd imagine, that this voice is dead. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.

If the voice is indeed dead, should I order the tech manual and a new chip from winecountry and try to repair the synth myself (i'm a complete novice, so i dont know whether or not this process is hard), or should i bite the bullet and send the synth back (already paying $80+ in shipping).

I really like the sounds of this synth, so i'd like to keep it. I just can't have a defective instrument.

I hope I made sense, thanks in advance.

frazzledphoey · Post by **frazzledphoey** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:45 am

Out of respect for the synthesizer, I would say have it repaired by a qualified technician. There are only so many of these left going around. They will never be made anymore. Trust me I botched up a synth thinking I could fix it easily and I was chief engineer for a radio station. I feel bad every day. =( It will be cheaper in the long run. I've had some synths repaired... I had a juno 106 that needed all 6 voice chips replaced and recalibrated. The tech was able to do it for $250. I used Alpha Kenetics in Ft. Lauderdale Florida... excellent work. I had a TR-606 drum machine that had bad voices and he was able to fix it for $150.
Best of luck

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:31 pm

i suspect youve just had a "typical ebay vintage synth experience" - broken c**p advertised as working that needs repair

please post a link to the auction. theres a possibility something - a chip or pins from a connector - could have come loose, but beyond reseating stuff, i wouldnt recommend trying to fix it yourself. you may have luck, or you may mess it up more. what did you pay for it and how much more do you want to sink into it?
mini

magicact · Post by **magicact** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:37 am

Owned by former SCI tech. Can fix all SCI gear. In San Jose, CA. (408) 297-7532.
PS no I don't work for him.

memo · Post by **memo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:39 am

Replacing a chip on a Six-Trak is really easy. Opening the case, popping out the IC, and replacing the voice should take all of 5 minutes at the most. You can get IC pullers from Radio Shack if you don't have one already (you don't necessarily need one, but it's the safest way to do it without bending the pins).

On a scale of 1-10 on synth repair skill, I rate myself around a 2 or 3. But I feel completely comfortable replacing ICs.

Altitude · Post by **Altitude** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 1:41 pm

Chances are that it is a bad CEM3394 which is a the all in one voice chip and it is very easy to replace, it is socketed and clearly marked. If you can replace computer memory, then you can replace this

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:38 pm

its not as easy as computer memory because the pins are very fragile and bend easily. theyre also quite sharp and can stab you pretty "good".
just be careful if you decide to do it yourself.

memo · Post by **memo** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:04 pm

minime123 wrote:its not as easy as computer memory because the pins are very fragile and bend easily. theyre also quite sharp and can stab you pretty "good".
just be careful if you decide to do it yourself.

That's why you spend the $9.99 for a IC puller from RadioShack.

And you do everything slowly and carefully.

That being said, it still shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.

Sequential Six Trak Problem

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