Roland MC-50 midi in not working

[melaena]

Okay, this isn't a synth or a sampler, but it's not that far off, and I couldn't find a vintage sequencer explorer forum... I just got an MC-50 and can't get it to respond to midi at all. The midi source is working fine, and the MC-50 is set to receive on all channels, but nothing happens. When I check the midi section of the track monitor, it shows no signs of input whatsoever. Could I be overlooking something, or does it sound like it's just broken?
If there are any MC-50 experts out there, I'd be really grateful for some advice. Cheers

[Altitude]

There are only several (~6) components in a midi in circuit so you should be able to diagnose it fairly easily, my guess would be oxidized terminals in the DIN connector

[cornutt]

There are only several (~6) components in a midi in circuit so you should be able to diagnose it fairly easily, my guess would be oxidized terminals in the DIN connector

I was thinking it might be the optoisolator. But the ones used in MIDI circuits don't usually fail. So yeah, check the connector first.

[pricklyrobot]

I just fixed an MC-50 MIDI jack (it still worked but was very wobbly) after it fell off a stand with a MIDI cable plugged into it.

When you open it up you see that there is a sort of metal frame around the jacks, but they're not actually bolted or otherwise attached to it; the soldering to the PCB is really what's holding them in place. In my case I just had to put a little new solder on the cracked joints and everything was fine. So, I'd says start by having a look inside, if the MIDI jack is securely connected to the board, you might then be looking at needing a new jack.

It's a great easy-to-use sequencer, and worth a little work to get it running properly. I use it mainly as a MIDI recorder to consolidate sequences generated on other gear, then when I have a song's worth, send it all back out.

[melaena]

Thanks very much everyone. I really appreciate your help. I'll let you know how it goes