News Check out all the latest news here on my 'News' page. Would Nebula Reduce Crosstalk5 October 2022Today I received an e-mail with a rather interesting question; a MKS-70 owner, uses upper and lower voices as two separate instruments and suffers with crosstalk. He asked, would Nebula reduce crosstalk. Here’s my answer: Coming off each MKS-70 voice-board, there are four wires; left audio / earth and right audio / earth. There’s nothing connecting the two voice-board audio paths at this point. The two set of connections (eight wires all together) come on to the original jack-board. Here, Roland implemented an ingenious passive switching system which automatically directs appropriate signals depending on which jack sockets are accessed. The four audio signals are combined passively on the original jack-board, to provide a stereo headphone output and a mono output. This passive mixing network is where there is potential for crosstalk. For balanced operation, the jack sockets on Nebula are of course, 3-pole and not 2-pole as per the original jack-board. These sockets don't have internal switching like the 2-pole equivalents and so I simply wasn’t able to emulate Roland’s clever automatic output selection system. Using active components and taking advantage of the original level-selector switch cut-out in the rear of the MKS-70 chassis, the outputs of Nebula are switched manually from stereo to individual operation. On top of that, the signals from each voice-board are tapped and fed into active components prior to being delivered to the stereo headphone output and mono output. Nebula's active design specifically at the headphone mixing stage, therefore delivers a hidden benefit; crosstalk resulting from a passive switching mechanism and passive combining of signals is eliminated! I should mention that the left and right signals after the headphone stage of Nebula, are passively mixed for the mono output, in the same way as on the original Roland board. As such, there may be some crosstalk between left and right channels in the headphones. Nebula uses dual op-amp devices so theoretically, crosstalk won’t actually be zero. With only one stage in each signal path however, it'll be very negligible. You’re probably aware that twin op-amps are used extensively in audio electronics. Each of the four outputs on Nebula are driven by separate balanced line drivers. These devices are single-channel and other than power and earth, there is no connection between them. Hence, there won’t be any crosstalk introduced at that stage. As mentioned, signal switching between stereo and separate output modes on Nebula is done manually. The output mode is selected via a switch on the rear of the MKS-70 that previously occupied the output level selector switch. This switch in turn, operates a pair of relays, the isolated copper contacts of which, means that there won’t be any crosstalk here, either. So to answer the questions; would Nebula reduce crosstalk when using upper and lower voices on the MKS-70 as two separate instruments? YES, I think it would. Service notes for the Roland MKS-70 can be obtained here: https://www.synthxl.com/mks-70/ but PLEASE leave a donation.... Microphone Capsule Cleaning15 September 2022Occasionally, even the best large diaphragm studio condenser microphones might start playing up and with so little in these transducers that are at the very heart of our music, you may be puzzled as to why this happens. Well if you think about, you shouldn't be! Despite best efforts such as use and storage in a smoke, pet and dust free environment and the use of pop shields, being exposed to what comes out of people's mouths (!), what's behind that grill, inevitably gets dirty and so microphone capsule cleaning is required. Anything electronic generates noise but the noise generated by microphones obviously should be a bare minimum. If however, you start to notice an increase in background noise, random pops, crackles, whistles or even explosions, if the sound of your microphone has changed and perhaps you're experiencing a loss of sensitivity and if you've checked all your connections and pre-amps and perhaps even changed the valve in your microphone if applicable, then there's a good chance that your capsule needs some attention. Here's a recording I made of the microphone I've got here today. Apart from being littered with artefacts, some of which are quite dramatic, the microphone sounds dull. An acute loss of character and a compromised frequency response render this device quite unusable. 🙁 Before going anywhere near the capsule, I checked the electronics and changed the valve twice but there was no difference in the performance. The only option now was to look at the capsule, the component that actually captures pressure waves (sound) and converts them into an electric signal. The first issue is getting to the capsule itself and some microphones are more difficult to dismantle than others. The well-known Rode NT2 (original version) for example, requires that the switches at the top of the microphone, be gently pushed in, so as to separate the internal top PCB from the top-grill, thereby exposing the capsule. I haven't found a way to avoid this and it's really a very worrying thing to do! Thankfully, the capsule on today's microphone is much easier to access. Once exposed, there should be either two or three wires coming off the the capsule which go into the microphone's on-board electronics. The capsule is normally secured in a cradle with a couple of screws, sometimes these screws are old-fashioned slot screws... yuk!!!! You really don't want to slip when removing them. BUT WAIT!!!! It's not always necessary to remove the capsule. The objective here is to clean the capsule so on this occasion, it'll be staying in the cradle. YAY!!! Microphone capsule cleaning is a daunting task, even for someone experienced like myself. It requires patience and great care. The surfaces of the capsule for example, shouldn't be touched although sometimes contact simply isn't avoidable. I'll elaborate later. When handling delicate electronics, I always wear gloves, either lint-free antique document / photograph handling type gloves or rubber laboratory type gloves. I have to admit that I prefer the former when working with microphones. A close inspection of the gold sprayed diaphragms (both sides of the capsule), reveals a considerable amount of dust and other contaminants. Difficult to photograph, experience tells me that the surface isn't at all shiny as I'd expect and has a layer of 'greyness' over it. The other side of the capsule looks even worse, quite bad in fact. I hope those black marks aren't fungus! Yes, I've seen that one before. That shouldn't come as a surprise. As I said in the first paragraph, microphones are exposed to everything that comes out of our mouths. That includes bacteria and even viruses!!!!! 😷 😷 😷 Now I need to try blowing off that dust and dirt. NO, NOT WITH MY MOUTH!!!!! I use either a can of compressed air or my mini compressor which has a blowgun attachment. I prefer the latter as it delivers a consistent stream and is a little more controllable than a can. The air stream is directed at an angle as opposed to perpendicularly to the diaphragm. So this time around, the compressed air got rid of most of the dust but I could still see dirt on both side of the capsule and those worrying black marks were still there. So now the tricky bit... The next stage of the process requires that I make contact with the diaphragms and for this, I'll be using pharmaceutical wipes, Kimtech Kimwipes to be precise. A specific technique needs to be employed. The knack is to bunch up a corner of a wipe and stroke it gently and with minimal pressure, over each surface of the capsule. It's almost instinctive to put your finger behind the wipe as you would if you were polishing something but that's a seriously bad idea. Instead, I guess the technique is more akin to using it more like a cotton bud. The Kimwipe clean had the desired effect and loosened up much of the debris allowing another gentle application of compressed air, to detach it from the capsule's surfaces. Okay, so the capsule looks a lot better now, like A LOT better! You can actually make out the highly reflective gold layer. Now let's reassemble this mic' and check it out... WOW!!!!! Not only have the pops, crackles, bangs, whistles and 'explosions' gone but the microphone actually sounds fantastic. It's amazingly more sensitive and there's so much more detail. Here's what the microphone sounds like now... Oh boy, doesn't that sound different? I know you've been curious so now I'm going to tell you; the microphone I've been working on, is a customer's Lauten LT-386, an absolute stunner of a transducer. I have to admit that I really like the sound of Lauten microphones; sensitive, detailed, solid and crisp. Much of the character and nuance of any microphone is of course, subjective but the Lauten sound is right up my street! My own LT-381 goes into a SPL Gold Mike Mk II and with the 'Flair' function switched on, as well as cutting through, the results are just beautiful. Despite the fact that this particular microphone has been stored well and used with respect by its current owner, the fact that it was purchased second-hand means that there's no guarantee of how it was used prior to entering the current owner's possession. Okay, now the give-away... I can't take all the credit for this one and many (MANY) thanks are due to Andy at Lauten Audio for his help. With Andy's words of advice and guidance, I'm delighted to have helped out one of my customers and particularly delighted to have given this beautiful microphone, a new lease of life. 😎 I hope I've got the message across by now; microphone capsule cleaning requires patience and care. The gold on the diaphragms is only a few microns thick and it's very easy to damage that so important layer. You definitely don't want to breathe directly on to the super-delicate diaphragms or touch them with your skin. Even putting the open microphone down on my workbench, needs to done mindfully. Basically, contact between the capsule and anything must be strictly avoided! And finally... Lauten Audio has a reputation for appreciating its customers and is a very 'human' company to deal with. I've had long exchanges with Brian in the past and it's most reassuring to have such friendly, patient and helpful people behind these gorgeous microphones. With such a specialist task in hand however, Andy's in-depth help was only offered due to the fact that Plasma Music Limited, has considerable experience of servicing albeit, mainly microphones of well-known European origin (yes, I've done some Audio Technica microphones, too). Plasma also has a long association with Synthax Audio UK, the local distributor. It should go without saying that manufacturers such as Lauten Audio do NOT recommend end-users carry out such procedures as described in this post and that only qualified and experienced technicians perform this type of dismantling and specialised cleaning. UPDATE - 30th September 2022 Can you believe it? Someone contacted me yesterday, asking if I could help with a Neumann U87 that had gone noisy! Not nearly as bad as the Lauten LT-386, this U87 was suffering from considerable self-generated noise and low-level artefacts, in particular a kind of rumble. The diaphragms on the capsule were shiny. They looked nothing like the images above and just seemed a little dusty. In fact, I was quite surprised that this capsule was playing up. Then using one of my magnifying systems, I noticed what might have been causing the problem. There was a little spec of something had got stuck between one of the diaphragms and the inside of the ring of the capsule. This would require a skilfully directed burst of compressed air. If I get this wrong, I could push that particle further underneath the ring. My microphone collection includes a U87 so once I had tested the customer's example, I was curious to compare it with my own. Yep, they sound pretty much the same!... DIY Acoustic Panels14 September 2022I've decided to document my exploits into making my own DIY acoustic panels in the hope that it helps other people who hate DIY as much as I do! I wanted to take August off so that I could finish the studio and the rest of the new place but I had such a busy month. The 'busyness' continues so I have no option other than to squeeze finishing off things, in between repairs, service and mod' building. I only have the lounge, two cloakrooms and the hallway to do but with people wanting to record here, I urgently need to finish off the studio part of the new house. Everything's in place, wired up and working great. I just love the sound of well, everything! 🙂 I do however, have to acoustically treat three rooms; the mic room, the keyboard room and the control room. My intention is to mount three 2m x 0.7m panels on the wall pictured above and three 1.7m x 0.7 meters on the wall opposite. After doing some tests and experimenting, I know I'm going to need some smaller in-fill panels . There also a 'spring' sound coming off that laminate floor. Anyway, I'm going to get the main six panels in place and take things from there. I was going to do the 'lazy' thing and just glue foam tiles to the walls but I've always been envious of studios with those lovely looking acoustic panels. The new place looks fantastic and I feel that I should at least try to do it justice when it comes to acoustic treatment. Hence, I decided to do something stupid and build my own acoustic panels. The wall behind the basses is going to get either three vertically mounted panels or two horizontally mounted panels. Once they're in place, I'll need to see if the area above the keyboards will need treatment. I think it might. 🙁 You'll recall from previous (DIY) posts, that I have a severe aversion to DIY but as has also been mentioned in those posts, "sometimes a man's got to do what a man's got to do..." Well, I didn't put it quite like that. So, as you do now-a-days, I went on-line and found this excellent You Tube video which described in sufficient detail, how to make your own DIY acoustic panels. I thought it was great and it seemed that at last I'd found a resource which suggested that a DIY phobic like me, could actually do this. I studied it carefully and ended up implementing a few tweaks of my own. To prevent the cross pieces from twisting for example, I glued them as well as screwing them. NOTE: After pricing up all the materials, I found that the unit price is nearer 60 GBP than the 25 USD mentioned in the video. Not a real surprise as prices of everything have shot up here in the UK, over the past few months. On top of that, I've priced up for slightly larger panels. After deciding on placement, I measured up the three rooms and settled on two panel sizes; 2m x 0.7m and 1.7m x 0.7m. As suggested in the video, I'll be using Camira Cara acoustic cloth which is quite substantial so the final dimensions of the panels will be slightly larger than the frame sizes. The reason I've got two different panel lengths, is that the 1.7m panels will offer a good gap on walls which have power outlets just above the skirting boards. I started this post today and here's my first frame of twelve. This frame is for one of the 2m panels. Oh boy! What am I doing? The wood is 44mm wide so I used M5 x 70mm countersunk wood screws and pre-drilled with a 2.5mm x 160mm drill-bit. Of course I didn't drill all the way to 160mm but that length seemed to be a standard. A WORD OF CAUTION... That's a long, thin and BRITLE piece of metal, so be careful! The reason I used a long drill bit like this, is because it has to go through 44mm of wood and then some more into the other piece of wood. There's no point in pre-drilling if you don't remove the wood so you need to extract the drill bit a couple of times when you're doing this but PLEASE take it easy. Don't push the drill bit. Let it find its own path. The panels should of course, be at the same level when hung and I wasn't sure how I could guarantee that, implementing the picture wire and eyelets in between the upright struts method, as featured in the video. Varying tension of the wire would surely mean that some panels would 'sag' more than others. I'm guessing that if I use longer eyelets, I can screw them further into the wood to increase the tension of the picture wire. Hmm... I guess I should get to the end of this and find out how much one of my bigger panels weighs. I can then suss out appropriate fixing hardware. Anyway, if things go according to plan (yeah, right), I'll be adding to this post over the next few days. If your interested in making your own DIY acoustic panels, please stay tuned. I'm in the UK and have bought all the materials locally. UPDATE - 16th September 2022 Originally I was going to cut all the wood for my DIY acoustic panels, make all the frames in one go, staple the backing on all twelve panels, etc, etc. Keen to see results as soon as possible, I then decided that I'd make these panels in batches of three. Unfortunately, there's been a hold-up with the foam and I have a few days wait, so I might as well go back to plan A. Having said all that, I thought I'd suss out stapling the weed membrane on to the frames so pictured below is a frame with just ordinary weed membrane stapled on to what's going to be the inside of one of the 2m panels. Keeping the membrane as taught as possible whilst stapling was a little challenging. NOTE: I said 'ordinary weed membrane' but it's not as simple as that! There are several types of membrane which can be put into one of two categories; a very plasticky type and another that's more like a fabric textile. The former while cheaper, is more difficult to work with, frays quite a bit and I doubt that it has any suitable acoustic qualities. After trimming, you'll have a lot of plastic bits to clean up. The slightly more expensive fabric type (that's shown in the video) is easy to work with and gives a super smart finish. Hey, I haven't finished yet! You then need to look at the 'gsm' specification or 'grams per square meter' which should be between 80 and 90. You can get membrane which is like 50 gsm but you can pull it apart in your hands which is useless. The first reel of membrane I bought was Gardman WeedStop Performance 75617. This was the last roll that the local Hillier Garden Centre had so I then went to B & Q and bought a 30m reel of Verve Performance Weed Control Fabric. At this stage, I'm reluctant to buy the hardboard for the external perimeter as I want to lie the foam on top of a panel to check the height of the hardboard. The foam supplier is short of 40mm foam in the density I've bought and has offered me 50mm instead, for the same price. The thickness of the wooden frame is 17mm, so the hardboard will theoretically be either 57mm or 67mm (theoretically). Another wait. Grr... I've now made the frames for the six main panels for the mic. room; three 2m x 0.7m and three 1.7m x 0.7m. At the end of the day, I contacted the foam supplier and told them that I've decided to go with their offer of the thicker 50mm foam. I've still got a few days wait before it arrives. Time to get on with a few repairs, I guess. UPDATE - 22nd September 2022 Six days, yes SIX days since my last post and the foam has finally arrived. It's a lot heavier than I expected! Remember earlier that I mentioned I'll wait until I can place a foam slab on to a panel frame so that I can determine the correct height of the hardboard? Well, the theoretical height with 50mm foam and 17mm planed wood is obviously 67mm. 2mm can easily be absorbed so I'm going to get the hardboard cut at 65mm. Selco cut as many 65mm strips as they could, out of a single 2.4m x 1.2m sheet of 3.2mm standard hardboard and I trimmed them down to size when I got back to the studio. I should mention that I had to hammer some of the staples in as the staple gun didn't always punch them all the way in. Both the staple gun and the 14mm staples were made by Stanley which is a name I've always trusted. I don't think this is a particularly difficult job so I was quite disappointed, to be honest. Although the least dense available from the retailer, the foam I'm using is actually very dense for the job in hand. It's quite difficult to see in the above image but the foam sags in between the centre cross struts. This kind of pissed me off but then I realised that the panel won't be lying like this. It'll be mounted vertically on one of its edges. When I took the panel off the workbench and stood it up, the foam was fine (phew). A WORD OF CAUTION... The foam stinks! I attached the hardboard perimeters to the three 2m panels quiet quickly and then called it a day. When I came back the next morning, the downstairs of the house stank. I opened all the boxes in which the foam was packed, took out the foam and left it to air for a few days. If the smell doesn't disperse, I might try an odour-killer. I'll keep you posted. Now I need to get some more membrane prior to the front layer of acoustic material going on. UPDATE - 23rd September 2022 I couldn't find Gardman WeedStop Perfromance anywhere locally so I bought 30m of Verve 80 gsm from B & Q. Here's one of the large panels with the front membrane covering. You want to do the neatest job you can but remember that this layer doesn't have to be cosmetically perfect! The Camira Cara acoustic cloth is going over the front membrane. In fact, putting this on is great practice for applying the final layer. On the other hand, Camira Cara acoustic cloth is very expensive so if you're not too fussy about looks, a little practice getting this bit right and you could get away with just the membrane covering. Perhaps try applying a second layer? Of course, colour options aren't as diverse and with the weed membranes I've specified, you'll be stuck with either dark brown or black. 🙁 I have to say that this weed membrane is great to work with. I covered all six panels quite quickly and couldn't wait to get an average weight of the three larger 2m panels. Oh dear! These things are coming in at like just over 8kg, much more than I anticipated and I still have the acoustic cloth to go on. I mentioned earlier that once I established weight, I could begin looking for fixing hardware which is what I'll be doing over the weekend. MISTAKE... So it just occurred to me; my panels are 70cm wide and 7cm thick. The Camira Cara cloth is 1.7m wide. Hmm... I won't be able to cut the width of the cloth in half as 85cm (half of 1.7m) isn't going to stretch over the width of a panel and over the sides to leave enough to tuck in around the back. Oh BUM!!!! Even if the panels were 60cm wide, that would only leave 5.5cm on each side, to go around the back. The wood is only 4.4cm wide, leaving a centimetre to play with but it's still too close for comfort, especially for a DIY phobic like me. 🙁 See you soon... UPDATE - 25th September 2022 I bought some Febreze Fabric Freshener today and I have to say that the awful smell of the foam doesn't seem so bad after applying this stuff. I'll buy another couple of bottles and see how it goes. Also, remember I said that the weight of the foam was making a 'dip' in the middle of the panels in between the cross braces but after standing a panel upright on its end, the foam falls forward slightly so I didn't think it would be a problem? Well, it was really, really bugging me (like some things do) so I've put in a centre piece of wood on the back of each panel frame so that the foam now sits flat. UPDATE - 29th September 2022 - CAN'T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES While I'm waiting for the Camira Cara cloth to arrive, I've been giving some thought to how I'm going to hang these panels. My wife Julie isn't musical at all and doesn't know much about the detail of what I do but... she's a great listener and brilliant for bouncing ideas off. The other day I showed her what I'd been up to and while describing the issue of hanging the panels, it came to me... Remember those cross braces on the back of the panels? Well, they're very straight, 530cm and dead parallel to the shortest edge. If I just fix two screws per panel into the walls, then I might be able to simply hang the panels on the screws. Any height differences would be easy to fix. With a little packing on those cross braces, I can quickly and simply adjust the height of a panel, or straighten it if it doesn't quite look square. The solution to hanging my DIY acoustic panels was right in front of me all the time. It didn't take long to measure up, drill a few holes and try out my idea. In the brick wall, I used rawlplugs and in the stud wall, I used hollow wall bolts. All screws were M5 x 80mm, providing a good length of screw in the wall with between 20mm and 30mm sticking out, on which to hang the panels. Two screws per panel is not only secure but offers an excellent degree of flexibility. The cross braces on the panel frames are 53cm down from the shortest edge. The screws are mounted 62.5cm from the bottom of the coving. This leaves about 7cm clear, at the top bottom of the panels. So, although the panels are waiting for a final layer of acoustic cloth, they're in a sufficient enough state to hang and allow me to conduct further tests of the mic. room. It's one thing clapping your hands and listening but a proper test requires a microphone to be switched on and headphones to be worn. I'm still getting that springy type of reflection and putting some rugs down on to the floor confirms that the floor is indeed the issue. Once I'm happy that the walls are quiet, I'll address the floor. I already have some ideas. Although faint, I'm now left with a very tight bounce in the high-mids. When I say 'tight', I mean that the delay of the reflections is extremely short, more akin to a flanger with the modulation turned off, than anything else. This is actually quite common in smaller spaces with hard opposing walls. Anyway, I have an idea where this is coming from and a little foam propped up against certain parts of the window wall and the door wall (opposite), quickly kill it. I now have an almost quiet room and more importantly, I know for sure that I'm going to have to make four or five smaller in-fill panels. 50mm foam would be excessive for these so I'll be using 30mm foam.... Point of Sale Now Available at Plasma Music2 September 2022It's been a while but I now have Point of Sale facilities at Plasma Music. Things have moved on since Plasma Music was based on the local industrial estate and although great at the time, by today's standards, my old PayPal Here just doesn't cut it. The vast majority of my customers pay on-line but my new Zettle account and hardware will hopefully make things a little easier for those who just decide to drop in.... A Little Appreciation Is Always Welcome7 August 2022Every once in a while, I receive an e-mail from a very happy customer and it just makes my day. For anyone doing the kind of work that I do, a little appreciation is always welcome. On this occasion, I've decided to post James' e-mail and the picture he included. James sent me his Roland MKS-70, a few months back and wanted all the MKS-70 upgrades installed. It wasn't until the unit was in transit from sunny Washington state, USA that he told me there was an issue with the unit. To cut a long story short, it all got fixed and Guy Wilkinson's P0004 power supply and GU280 VFD module, Fred Vecoven's digital PWM kit, Flash ROM upgrade and my own Nebula balanced outputs board and Live-Forever battery upgrade were all installed. James also asked if I could change the battery in the M-64C memory cartridge that he included with the unit. In fact, I used this M-64C as a test sample for my M-64C labels. 🙂 Anyway, here's the e-mail that I received from James: "Hi Alex, Just wanted to thank you for all your hard work and not giving up when problems arose! What you sent back is just simply incredible! Thanks for the extra patches as well! I also bought the MPG-70 programmer you talked about to even make my unit that more awesome! It's nice to know there are such good people in this world. James" James even put a comment on Google Reviews, my very first Google review!!!! As I said, a little appreciation is always welcome. 🙂 I don't like taking chances and so James followed my packaging instructions implicitly. In fact his packaging was so substantial, I was fully confident to reuse it to return his beloved synth module. Sending your favourite synth module half way around the planet is a daunting prospect but I actually receive a lot of gear from the USA, Canada and even Australia and Japan. If you feel inclined to send me your gear, please begin by liaising via e-mail. This can be initiated here. I'll recommend proper packaging, etc. My DHL account allows me arrange collection, if it's easier for you.... Drone Photographic and Video Services Now Available23 July 2022I've been meaning to do this for several years now but tonight I finally got my CAA Flyer ID. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been making a little time to sort out all the requirements so that I can 'drone legally'. After getting a CAA Operator ID for Plasma Music Limited, I then had to sort out a Flyer ID for myself. This involved an on-line test. Then of course there's insurance, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I'm delighted to announce that everything is sorted and I can now expand my photographic and video services to the sky! 🙂... Power Supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk122 July 2022I'm so lucky to have met some lovely people over the years and got to know many customers on a personal level. One of them is Alex Simler. Alex is... well, kind of a bit geeky, eccentric, loves old gear and recently commissioned me to build a power supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1. Being a simple 6V ac supply, this wasn't a particularly challenging or even difficult project. Alex lent me his MachineDrum Mk1 as he was off to New Zealand for a couple of weeks and this would be an opportunity for me to knock something together. After a couple of days and in-between my regular stuff, I WhatsApped Alex a picture of the finished product. Yeah, okay, it's a bit more fancy than your average wall-wart but that's just me. While the power cable is integral, the low-voltage cable is detachable. Hey let's face it, these cables get mashed, right? Having a detachable cable means that when your cable does get müllered, you can just buy another one or even just have some spares. It's a standard 5.5mm x 2.5mm DC cable and available for a couple of quid, bucks, Euros or whatever from Amazon. The MachineDrum Mk1 pulls about 1.6A from a 6V a.c. supply. This means that the current supplied from the mains into the primary of the transformer is about 42mA when used on a 230V supply. Here's how you work that out: 0.042A is 42mA and so a standard 63mA fuse is fitted internally, which gives sufficient margin for things like switch-on spikes, without compromising safety. Since power is the product of voltage and current, if the supply voltage is halved from 230V to 115V, you have to double the current to maintain the same power. Hence the fuse rating on a 115V supply, is 120mA (about 2 x 63mA). Hope that all makes sense. This power supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1 is offered with either a 3-pin UK plug with the PSU configured to operate on 230V. a 2-pin European plug with the PSU configured to operate on 230V. a 2-pin US plug with the PSU configured to operate on 115V. Anyway, the main thing was that Alex returned from his New Zealand adventures and loved his new power supply! Incidentally, this power supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1 which I've christened 'PSU-MDMK1' (well I had to call it something), can also be used on the Elektron MonoMachine Mk1. You can buy this power supply here... And if you need something a little special, just contact me. 🙂 And finally... THIS POWER SUPPLY IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE ELEKTRON MACHINEDRUM MK2... New IEC C14 Connectors for Plasma Music Power Supplies8 July 2022I try hard to keep my prices as low as possible but quality is equally if not more, important and my philosophy is that there is no point in me doing all of this, if the quality of what I make is not the best I can deliver. I’ve never wanted to be involved with making or selling cheap crap so I've spent quite a lot of time recently, looking into new IEC C14 connectors for Plasma Music power supplies. Over the years, I’ve used a variety of IEC C14 connectors but for the power supplies I design and supply specifically for vintage synthesisers, space behind the power inlet socket is often limited. Connectors with 6.3mm (1/4") spade terminals for example, are often quite impractical and so I try to source C14 connectors with shorter solder tags only. Unfortunately, there's not too many to choose from. Despite changing my soldering iron tip to something a little more heavy duty, I’ve got a bit fed up with just how difficult it can be sometimes, to get solder to adhere to the solder lugs. Quite honestly, if I find it challenging, then I'm concerned for my customers! I’ve therefore, recently changed the make of the chassis mounting C14 connector that I include in my earth bonding kit and that I fit in-place of the now obsolete C10 2-pin IEC connector. Some may consider that the visual difference between the old and new connectors is perhaps substantial with the newer C14s have a more modern feel about them. More importantly however, they're a better fit for the cut-outs on vintage gear. Hey don't worry, the mounting holes are still 40mm apart! 🙂 Replacement power supplies like Guy Wilkinson's P0004 for the Roland Super JX, my Aurora for the Roland MKS-80 and my Supernova for the Roland Juno-106, all have reduced exposure to mains, making them much safer than Roland's original power supplies. To keep things as safe as possible from the power point of entry, I always fit a boot over the rear of the new C14 chassis mounting socket. This boot is also included with my earth bonding kit. 99% of the time, the new IEC socket needs to be wired in sitchu, as it's often soldered to existing live and neutral wires within the machine in question. As such, the easiest, quickest and most reliable solder tags are necessary. Cheaper C14 sockets tend to have heavily plated and quite thick tags which require a lot of heat so as to allow solder to adhere properly. With a body made of budget plastic, the danger of applying excessive heat, is that connection pins (which are the other side of the solder tags) will simply become loose. That's seriously not good! 🙁 A trick I use to reduce the risk of that, is to plug in a C13 connector into the C14 and then lock the whole thing into a vice. I'm confident that my choice of new IEC C14 Connectors for Plasma Music power supplies will make life easier for my customers but I always welcome feedback so please don't hesitate to contact me with any comments or opinions.... Label for the Roland M-64C Memory Cartridge5 July 2022In my post of 24th June in which I discuss changing the battery on the Roland M-64C, I mentioned how sometimes it seems necessary to destroy the label to open the cartridge. I also mentioned that to help out a few people, I thought I'd design a replacement label for the Roland M-64C memory cartridge. This post elaborates on the design that I've come up with. Roland printed the original on a super-thin metalized medium. That was difficult for me to do but my printer did manage to produce a thin, self-adhesive, vinyl label. Diverse Print & Design advised me to include a bleed layer and a cut layer on the file. The test print of version 3, was pretty good! So as it happens, I've just repaired and modified a MKS-70 to full 'mod spec' and it's ready to ship back to Washington, USA. The customer asked me to change the battery in the M-64C that he included with his machine and this was the ideal opportunity to design a replacement label for the Roland M-64C memory cartridge. I'm now thinking that I'm just going to give these away when I get eighties Roland gear in for repair, service or modifying. If you want to have a go at printing these yourself, you can download the Adobe Acrobat file here. Either you or your printer will need Adobe Illustrator to isolate the bleed and cut layers. So I posted on Facebook and of course someone came back saying that they have a couple of M-16C cartridges. 😂🤣Here you go!... V01b Mounting Bracket for MKS-70 VFD Module26 June 2022After fitting a couple of Guy Wilkinson's VFD modules and realising that the controller PCB needs to be mounted to the rear of the MKS-70 front panel by drilling holes and using hex-spacers, I figured on trying to re-purpose my old V01 bracket. By adding three more holes, the V01b mounting bracket for the MKS-70 VFD module was suddenly born! 🙂 When I was installing a lot of Fred Vecoven's original PWM kits, I designed a bracket to make things easier. The V01 could only be fitted to MKS-70s that had Guy Wilkinson's P0004 power supply as it occupied the space previously taken up by the transformer. My original V01 however, removed the necessity to drill holes into the voice-boards to mount Fred's PWM daughter-boards. Fred Vecoven then released his fabulous digital PWM upgrade which easily mounts to the MKS-70 voice-boards in place of the original MKS-70 counter chips. My V01 wasn't necessary anymore. Guy Wilkinson's VFD module for the Super-JX is amazingly popular and rightfully so. Retaining a good degree of visual familiarity when compared to the original display, it's a great bit of tech and a super upgrade for these old machines. The GU-280 comprises two components; the actual VFD (display) and the controller-board. The installation requires holes to be drilled into the MKS-70 display-board (to mount the VFD) and according to Guy's installation instructions, the front-chassis, facilitating the mounting of the controller-board to the rear of the front-chassis. While the former can't be avoided, the latter isn't exactly a prospect that everyone will relish. Using my V01b however, means that at least you won't have to drill holes into your MKS-70 metalwork! IMPORTANT: I know I've already mentioned this but I feel I need to be quite clear that the V01b bracket occupies the space taken up by the MKS-70 transformer. Hence, it can ONLY be used if you have a P0004 power supply installed. When mounting the controller-board to the back of the front-chassis, only the top two screw points on the PCB can be used, as the front-panel ribbon cable running along the back of the front-chassis, prevents drilling of holes lower down. With the V01b, all four screw points are utilised, making for a more secure fixing. The VFD controller-board isn't going anywhere! By the way, if you don't know about this, then you're missing out! Hey, you can read all about Guy Wilkinson's GU-280 VFD module for the Super-JX here. My V01b mounting bracket for the MKS-70 VFD module will be available in my on-line store soon. I just need to get a few V01s drilled out! Don't hesitate to contact me if you're interested, though.... Roland M-64C Battery Change24 June 2022The humble Roland M-64C memory cartridge which was used to store data on soooo many Roland synths, drum machines and other gear, back in the day. The problem is, that just like the memory inside your favourite eighties synth, the memory in the M-64C is retained using a small battery. These cartridges have stored our patches for decades but the internal battery won't last forever. Here's a little post on the Roland M-64C battery change procedure. Yes, I know there's quite a lot of clever people out there, who have made some awesome replacements which have huge memory storage and no battery but many of us still have M-64Cs and if all you have to do is change a battery once every couple of decades, then why not? The case of the M-64C is held together with only two screws but... you'll have to remove the label to open it. YouTube videos suggest that the label is cut but actually, that's not necessary. The original Roland label is printed on to a type of self-adhesive metalized medium and NOT anything that's paper based. Hence, if you're careful, you can peel it off and there's no need to destroy it. The customer who supplied the example pictured in this post, unfortunately didn't know that! 🙁 Once open, make a note of the orientation of the battery. The positive terminal is facing the top of the cartridge, furthest away from the edge-connector. The battery is a CR-1/3N which is (still) readily) available although it might be challenging to find one with solder tags. Yes, that's right. The CR-1/3N normally turns up WITHOUT solder tags and if you're like me, then the idea of soldering directly to a battery, isn't particularly appealing. Okay so I need to own up! 🙄 I thought I'd try something. Your average CR-1/3N has a capacity of about 160mAh. The CR2032 however, has a capacity of about 210mAh and so I thought I'd give it go, LOL. There was just NO WAY I could get the CR2032 to fit inside the M-64C case, LOL. There goes that idea! Performing a Roland M-64C battery change isn't as difficult as you might think and as mentioned, the CR-1/3N battery is still available. The annoyance however, is that you might have to scrap the label. Hey but don't worry. Half-an-hour with a ruler and a little Adobe Illustrator magic and.... I'm currently designing a replacement self-adhesive label for the M-64C which I will make available soon. If your M-64C label is a bit tatty, then watch this space. 😎 UPDATE - 5th July 2022 I got these back from the printer today!!! 😀... Big Red Button Remote Talkback Switch23 June 2022Remote Back in October 2019, I published a post discussing how I took advantage of the Yamaha GPI protocol on my DM2000 and which I use to remotely switch equipment on and off in my studio, from the mixing desk. Unfortunately, my new premises isn’t quite as large as what I had before, so ergonomics have been sacrificed slightly and one of the compromises is the position of my mixing desk. Situated away from my DAW desktop, I had to build myself a remote switch for talkback; The Big Red Button remote talkback switch! My Big Red Button remote talkback switch is a little more versatile than the switch on the DM2000 itself as it actually comprises two switches; a momentary push button switch and a miniature toggle switch. I decided to implement the latter to give me the option to ‘lock’ talkback in the ON position, just in case I needed both hands free, while talking to an artist in the vocal booth or the my keyboard room. The challenge with the project was finding a suitable momentary push switch, ideally a very quiet DPST. After trying several, I settled on a particular product by Apem which although ridiculously expensive for a bloody switch does the job perfectly. The toggle switch didn’t impose such problems. On top of the box, there's a status indicator in the form of an ultra-low current LED. If I just had the push button momentary switch, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with this but it does act as reminder, just in case you leave the toggle switch on. It's difficult to get a sense of scale so the picture below is where my Big Red Button normally sits. My overhead condenser microphone is on the right hand side of the monitor. My Big Red Button remote talkback switch, is way to expensive to release as a commercial product. Just the push button switch alone, is 25 GBP. As the example shown is not a production item however, I can tailor things to suite your specific requirements. Hence, if you have a Yamaha GPI mixing desk and would like one of these or something similar, please don’t hesitate to get in contact. I can make several variations to accommodate varying requirements. Below is an example of a more basic version with no status LED or talkback lock ON switch. Small Red Button, perhaps? 😂 ... Digital PWM Kit for the Roland Super-JX19 June 2022He's done it again! Fred was talking about this for quite some time but a few months ago, his talk became reality. Fred Vecoven's new digital PWM kit for the Roland Super-JX is just amazing. Simple, elegant and delivering great PWM for this much loved classic, this is a must have for every JX-10 or MKS-70 owner. Anyone familiar with installing Fred's original PWM upgrade, will be aware of just how involved it was. Without my V02 mounting bracket, the daughter-boards needed to be secured to the Super-JX's voice-boards which meant drilling holes! 🙁 Then there's the wiring... and there's a lot of it. As its predecessor, the new digital PWM kit for the Roland Super-JX, still requires the changing of the 8031 processors on the Super-JX's voice-boards but the new daughter-boards only need to be fitted to the holes left after removing the 82C54s counters (IC19 - IC22) . Although straight-forward, it's still a very time consuming task. The daughter-boards generate square and PWM waveforms and as a side benefit, they consume less power than the original 82C54 counters, which isn't a bad thing. As mentioned, installing Fred's new PWM kit for the Roland Super-JX is much more straight-forward than the original version. The simplicity of the installation also means that the likelihood of error is also greatly reduced . Extreme care however, needs to be taken when removing all those ICs! My supply and installation service for the new PWM kit is therefore much cheaper than what I was charging for the original kit. Fred is full of surprises and indeed things seem to be continually happening around the Roland JX-10 and MKS-70 and in the Super-JX community. To make fault diagnostics easier if anything ever goes wrong, is another reason why I put sockets in-place of the counters, thereby allowing Fred's digital PWM daughter-boards, to be snapped in and out (if necessary), from the voice-boards. Here's a link to Fred's page: http://www.vecoven.com/superjx/styled/pwm.html... P0004 WEEKEND10 June 2022I'm wondering just how many MKS-70s Roland made! While I've been building P0004 power supplies for a while now, recently things have gone nuts and this weekend looks like it's going to be a P0004 weekend. I've had so many orders that yet again, I had to ask my friend Guy Wilkinson to send me more PCBs, which all turned up this morning (THANKS Guy). 🙂 If you don't already know about this, you're seriously missing out, or rather your synth is missing out! Guy's P0004 power supply for the Roland MKS-70, uses AC / DC converters and some very clever (and beautiful) filtering, providing nice and steady supply rails to the Roland JX-10, MKS-70 and the JX-9P. Read more about Guy Wilkinson's P0004 power supply for the Roland Super-JX here.... rtpMIDI Adventures9 May 2022A year ago, I posted an article explaining the relatively new concept of the ‘USB host’. With so many modern MIDI controllers sporting a USB type B socket in place of a conventional 5-pin DIN socket (or sockets) for MIDI, the only way to address a lot of vintage equipment without having to switch on your computer, is through a USB host. Anyway, I'm now going a step further and here I'm going to tell you about my recent rtpMIDI adventures Over the past twelve months, I’ve been working on my new premises (a lot of decorating, painting and stuff, which I hate) and a few weeks ago, I made the bold decision to move in my office and my studio. My lab went over a few months ago. Well, of course it wasn’t that simple and several weeks were taken up with planning equipment placement, multi-cores, routings, etc. I’d already started building 19-inch rack enclosures, so I obviously had a rough idea of equipment placement and which rooms were going to be used for what. To be honest, the set up wasn’t going to be too different from my previous studio, just a bit scaled down, really. Hey, perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. Indeed, the biggest change was going to be how I get MIDI into my computers (yes, I have two). Due to the fact that I had to have a separate keyboard room (a bit weird when you consider that I’m a guitarist), I took another look at the iConnectivity mio XL and rtpMIDI. Hey, you know what, this kind of seems fairly straight-forward. The iConnectivity mio XL can support twenty-two MIDI ports, comprising eight pairs of DIN inputs / outputs, two additional DIN outputs and ten USB hosted ports, with lots of insane configuration options. So if I buy a few class compliant single MIDI interfaces, I’d have more than enough connections to go around, right? Wow! This sounded great! After a couple weeks, everything was in place. My Mac and my PC were ready to fire up. It took a couple of days to get comfortable with the computers as I had a new single (shared) desktop between the two computers and a new Asus 43-inch 3840 x 1200 curved monitor. Anyway, things went relatively smoothly and it was time to look at my new rtpMIDI network. Suddenly I hit quicksand and everything slowed down…. Page 2 of the iConnectivity mio XL user manual, states that the minimum system requirement for OS X is 10.11 and above. Well, this wasn’t quite right, for a start. iConnectivity’s website states that Auracle-X, the software used to conveniently configure the mio XL (and others like the mio XM, for example), will only work on 10.12 up. Disappointed, I persevered and found another iConnectivity application called iConfig. Great! I’ll grab that instead. Err… NO!!!!! iConfig doesn’t support the XL series interfaces. Seriously?!?!!? So, you guys have got a bit a of a gap here. Hmm…. By now I was communicating with iConnectivity customer support and indeed the misinformation was acknowledged straight-away, with a huge apology. A couple of weeks later and the misinformation remains. Okaaay!!!! I was lucky though. I’ve also got another computer alongside my Mac running Windows 11 Pro and I was able to address my two mio XLs via Auracle-X, using Windows. I could do this easily on my new rtpMIDI network, without having to squeeze behind racks or crawl under desks to change connections. rtpMIDI needs Apple Bonjour. A standard background service in OS X, you'll need to install it if you're running Windows. Bonjour basically allows devices on a netowrk to resolve names without the need for a Dynamic Name Server, or DNS. This makes setting up of things like rtpMIDI a breeze as you don't have to bother with configuring a DHCP server like on a router, for example or mess around with IP addresses. Plug in your rtpMIDI gear and Apple Bonjour makes sure that everything can see and talk with everything else. 🙂 It took a while (see later) but once the mio XLs were configured, setting up rtpMIDI in OS X was straight-forward enough. After checking, double-checking and triple-checking, I switched on some gear to test the network. Oh! What a disappointment. Lots of stuff just didn’t work! Items were showing up in the rtpMIDI configuration window and in Auracle-X but MIDI wasn't getting through to everything. So let’s start with my Nektar Impact LX61+ MIDI controller keyboard. Firstly, the LX61+ isn’t just a keyboard. Like many similar, modern keyboard controllers, it has a load of conveniently placed transport controls that interface with the DAW. These controls are usually on a separate virtual MIDI port which you need to assign appropriately in the mio XL and rtpMIDI and in the same way as if the keyboard was connected directly to your computer via USB. You have one physical connection but two virtual MIDI ports. This however, wasn’t the problem. The problem was that when I selected the rtpMIDI port assigned to the LX61+ transport controls in the remote section of Cubase, nothing happened. The process of fault-finding led me to capture MIDI data generated from the transport controls on the LX61+, with a utility like SendSX. This proved that MIDI from the transport controls on my Nektar Impact, was coming into my computer. It was just that my DAW wasn’t responding to it. After a few days of waiting for a reply from Nektar, I was told that the LX61+ transport controls will only work with a direct USB connection to the computer. The actual explanation was a little more involved but I won’t bore you with that suffice to say that the Nektar Impact LX61+ seems to be a class compliant MIDI device that err... does its own thing. Yeah, right. I'm starting to see a lot of this recently. I've checked out a couple of other MIDI keyboard controllers and of course, many use standard protocols like HUI and / or Mackie, to interface with DAW transports. Some even use MIDI Machine Control (MMC), so I guess I'll be looking to change my Nektar Impact LX61+ to something a little more standard. Such a shame. 🙁 The next issue I had was that while at this moment in time, I wasn’t able to test any of my synth controllers like my Retroaktiv machines and my Roland MPG-80, addressing my synth modules from my LX61+ keyboard, through the mio XL just wasn’t working reliably. As previously mentioned, gear was showing up. It was just that MIDI wasn't getting through the system. Now this was a major problem. You’ll recall me mentioning earlier that I bought a few class compliant MIDI interfaces. The device I settled on was the ESI MidiMate EX. Well, I used these to connect eight of the USB host ports on my first mio XL, to my synth modules and programmer / editors. On the second mio XL in my keyboard room, I only needed one of the USB host ports, connected to the PC (programming) port on my old Nord Micro Modular. The connections to my Korg EX-8000 and my Roland JV-1080, seemed to work okay but a lot of my gear didn't respond and was quite dead. That included machines like my Roland MKS-70, Roland MKS-80 and Roland D-550. So I’m using class compliant interfaces which show up in iConnectivity Auracle-X. I can route them and assign them in rtpMIDI but… they're not talking to my gear. Grr… Side stepping for a moment, I’m still amazed that after twenty-three years, the software editor for my Nord Micro, still works! Running under Windows 11, this app’ is brilliant but in my new set-up, the software just couldn’t lock on to the hardware. Every few minutes the Nord editor would acknowledge the Nord Micro hardware and then after a few seconds, it would lose the connection. You know what’s coming; GRR… I went downstairs to the lab and pulled out an old M-Audio Uno and an Alesis USB-MIDI cable. I use these devices to back up memory on customers’ equipment, when it comes in for repair and they’ve been working for years. With the mio XL however, the M-Audio Uno didn’t work at all but the Alesis interface did. I tried the Alesis USB-MIDI cable in-between my first mio XL and the synth modules that didn’t work with the ESI MidiMates and suddenly there was MIDI life! Oh wow, this is exciting. I then connected the PC ports on my Nord Micro Modular to the second mio XL using the Alesis USB-MIDI cable. YAY!!!! That all worked too. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever known the Nord Micro editor to pick up the hardware so quickly. I immediately pulled all the ESI MidiMate EXs and although it would seem that I’ve wasted like 200 GBP on these things, it would also seem that I have at least found a potential solution. After removing the ESI devices, I noticed something weird; everything seemed a little faster, a little snappier. Hey, perhaps it was just my imagination. Before buying a load of these Alesis interfaces, I had a thought; somewhere in a cupboard, I had an old ESI M8U XL 8 x 8 MIDI interface which I used on my Windows box many years ago and if I remember correctly, it didn’t need any drivers. A quick look on-line and ESI indeed states that the M8U XL was class compliant. If I could plug this into one of the USB host ports on the mio XL, perhaps I could get eight MIDI inputs / outputs with just one USB connection. To cut a long story short, it didn’t work. In fact, the M8U XL didn’t even show up in Auracle-X. That was a big shame but the concept is worth considering for anyone else thinking about buying this MIDI monster. Plugging in a class compliant, multi-port USB MIDI interface into the mio XL, should allow you to reserve MIDI ports corresponding to those on the USB interface, to the USB host ports on the mio XL, a bit like the virtual ports on the LX61+ that I mentioned earlier. Well, that’s the theory, anyway. So back to the humble Alesis USB-MIDI cable which I soon discovered has long since been obsolete. Indeed, many websites that came up in my search, showed ‘Out of stock’, ‘Discontinued’ or ‘End of life’, blah, blah, blah. That wasn’t surprising, really but then one popped up suggesting that this particular company did have stock. I called them and not only did they have stock but they had lots and were also prepared to give me a 10% discount when I told them that I wanted to buy ten! The company in question was The DJ Shop in Southampton (UK). The next day was a Saturday. The weather seemed like summer had finally arrived. I have friends and family in and around Bournmouth, Poole and Christchurch (a few miles to the west of Southampton), so Julie and I decided on a mini south-coast tour for the day, starting at The DJ Shop in Southampton! Julie and I had an awesome day hanging out with my sis' and later on, with some lovely Brazilian friends of ours who we hadn't seen for several years. In fact, we didn't get back ‘till early Sunday morning. Well, I couldn’t wait to get my rtpMIDI network up and running. While unpacking my Alesis USB MIDI cables and connecting them to my gear, it dawned on me how amazingly ironic it was, that I could only get one of the newest, most powerful and most radical MIDI interfaces to work properly, with some USB interfaces that had been discontinued many years ago. Of course, other than the ESI MidiMate EX, I hadn’t tried any newer brands. Perhaps it’s something I can do over the next few weeks. A WORD ABOUT AURACLE-X I have to say that my personal experience with the mio XL editor, Auracle-X was terrible. I’ve already made reference to the software editor for the Nord Micro which after more than a couple of decades, still works great under Windows 11, so what on earth is going on with the iConnectivity editor? Auracle-X was intermittently clunky. Sometimes it would slow right down. Initiating a command via a mouse click for example, often resulted in a painful wait of several seconds before anything happened on the screen. This behaviour would last for a whole session and rebooting the mio XL or quitting and relaunching the editor didn’t fix the problem. Don't get me wrong, sometimes Auracle-X fired up and worked just fine... but not all the time. Auracle-X was unreliable. The option to reserve MIDI devices against USB host ports is a great feature… if it worked properly. Selecting a device wouldn’t always select that device! When I was configuring the Alesis USB MIDI cables for example, I’d often get a device reserved, the name of which was a weird mixture between the Alesis device and the now completely disconnected ESI devices. Sometimes it was an abbreviated version of what actually appeared in the dropdown selection and sometimes it would get it right! It was as if some cache somewhere, was having issues. Auracle-X would intermittently not connect to the hardware. Yes, that’s right. I had a couple of occasions when my mio XLs didn’t even show up in Auracle-X. I new the mio XLs were there, as all the ports were visible in rtpMIDI and random tests showed that many were working in my DAW. Oh boy… This was seriously testing my patience. One minor GUI issue with Auracle-X, is that the program doesn't remember the window size when it was last closed. I have a 3840 x 1200 monitor and as you can see from the image above, Auracle-X opens up with a BIIIIIG window.... every time. Come on iConenctivity. That's an easy fix, guys. I've already mentioned that the ability to 'reserve' specific USB MIDI devices against USB host ports on the mio XL, is just great. A problem arises however, when several of the same USB MIDI device are used. Trying to select specific USB MIDI devices becomes difficult as you just have a list of the same device in the reserve drop-down menu. This caused me lots of problems. While I kind of get why this is (like the name is embedded in the USB MIDI interface), surely there must be a way of 'bluffing' the system. Perhaps iConnectivity could consider another window which allows USB MIDI interfaces to be 'renamed', just for the user and in Auracle-X. Just an idea. So, I really didn’t like this software, well not on Windows anyway and I couldn't run it under my version of OS X. 🙁 Luckily however, you only really need Auracle-X to initially configure your mio XL and if you wish, back up / load mio XL pre-sets to / from your computer or write / recall pre-sets to / from memory locations within the mio XL. I have to admit that I didn’t have any issues saving and loading pre-sets. The good news is that once everything’s set up on the mio XL, rtpMIDI runs in the background on your computer and you don’t have to cross paths with Auracle-X ever again. I tried to research rtpMIDI and the components I intended to buy, to make my rtpMIDI network, as best as I could but there was so little information out there. That's why I decided to write this post; a small attempt to potentially help anyone who’s considering going down the same path. I guess that before you decide going rtpMIDI, you should ask yourself why. What are the advantages of rtpMIDI and is it worth it? In my situation, the layout of the studio at the new premises, meant that my previous USB MIDI patch bays would potentially be some distance from my computers. rtpMIDI offered a solution. As it turned out, the distance between interfaces and computers wasn’t as much as I thought it would be. By the time I realised that however, I was already committed. Alternatives to the iConnectivity series of rtpMIDI MIDI interfaces, are very thin on the ground. In fact, at the time of writing, I could only find the Bombe BombeBox, the MIDI2TR and CM-MIDI2 by KissBox and the Cinara MidiGateway. All these products are frightfully expensive and simply don’t have the port count of the iConnectivity mio XM, let alone the mio XL. One last comment about the iConnectivity mio XM and mio XL is that they can both be connected to your computer, via USB. In fact, firmware updates can ONLY be done via the USB connection. Unfortunately, the USB B socket on both machines, is on the front panel. Guys, I get it, like you’ve got a lot of stuff going on ‘round the back, so not much space but it’s really inconvenient! Be warned however, if using the USB to computer connection, then the MIDI port count is reduced simply due to the bandwidth of USB 2.0. For me, I was specifically looking for a rtpMIDI solution so a USB connection was irrelevant. So to conclude, here are some point s to consider, if you’re looking at rtpMIDI: Do you need it? Think carefully. MIDI is a simple, serial data protocol. Due you really want to potentially complicate things? I installed separate network cards in my computers and used a separate switch for my rtpMIDI network but retrospectively, that really wasn't necessary. If you’re going to take advantage of USB host ports on something like the iConenctivity mio XM or mio XL, then make sure that your USB / MIDI interfaces are PROPERLY, ACTUALLY, DEFINATELY class compliant. Borrow, beg or steel and test them with your MIDI gear, if you can!!! Keep things simple and don’t even consider elaborate USB MIDI interfaces. Some modern interfaces auto-configure input and output by detecting the direction of the MIDI data stream on each connection, for example. While class compliant, the ‘MIDI’ (DIN) end of some interfaces, won’t work with a lot of equipment. I have a feeling that this is why the ESI MidiMate EX didn’t work. I'm also aware that some USB MIDI interfaces don't even comply with the MIDI hardware standard by omitting the opto-isolator on the MIDI IN port. Hang on a second; if the ports on a MIDI interface are auto-configuring, then there can't be an opto-isolator on the input circuit... because either DIN connector can be MIDI IN. So again, just make sure you do a little research and if you can, try before you buy! rtpMIDI is part of OS X but you’ll need to download it for Windows here. I learnt the hard way but although you can have one device like a keyboard, connected to the ‘IN’ port of a pair of DIN MIDI ports and another device connected to the ‘OUT’ port of the same pair of ports, at the moment, rtpMIDI doesn’t allow you to name them separately. rtpMIDI only allows you to assign one name per pair of DIN ports.Take a close look at DIN ports 4 and 6 on my mio XL #2, in the diagram above. I have a Studio Logic SL-990 88-note keyboard going into the input of DIN 4 and a Kurzweil Micro Piano connected to the output of DIN 4. Similarly, I have an Evolution MK-149 49-note keyboard connected to the input port of DIN 6 and a Roland SH-101 connected (via a Kenton Solo) to the output port of DIN 6. I have had to name DIN 4 ‘SL-990 / Piano’ and DIN 6, ‘MK-149 / SH-101’. Yeah, I know, not too much of a big deal but annoying, non-the-less. Everything works just fine of course but it would have been tidy to be able to separate the input and output devices. One really handy feature of the iConnectivity mio XL specifically, is the easy-to-use pre-sets. So why on earth would you need pre-sets in a MIDI patch bay / interface? As an example and on my system specifically, I have one pre-set when using my DAW and another when I need to play devices from keyboards without switching on computers. You remember? For a bit of fun! Back in 1996, my very first MIDI computer interface was an Opcode 2-port box which seamlessly connected to my Apple Power Mac 9500, via the serial port. Several years prior (back in the eighties), I had boxes like the Roland A-880 but that was a MIDI patch-bay and not a computer interface. Anyway, eventually, I saved up enough to buy the huge (at the time) Mark of the Unicorn Midi Time Piece A/V USB. By then, my DAW hardware had changed to an Apple G4 and I recall having big problems with using MIDI over USB. The intermittent connection between the computer and the MTP A/V resulted in Apple giving me another computer. That didn't help of course and in the end, I connected my MYP A/V via serial by installed a G-Spot serial interface in place of the modem port in my G4. It wasn't until I bought a G5, that USB MIDI started to work properly. In fact, my recent rtpMIDI adventures reminded me very much, of those early days. How things have moved on... 😀 I'm quite aware that this post might appear to be rather critical of the mio XL but in my opinion, if you can accept the minor failings as I've mentioned here in this post and which I like to think that iConnectivity will address, this is one of the best MIDI interfaces out there (at the time of writing). Also note that some of my observations concern rtpMIDI itself and NOT the mio XL. I've also highlighted the apparent lack of compliance to the MIDI standard by many manufacturers, like what does class compliant mean and how can self-configuring ports adhere to the MIDI hardware standard? CONCLUSION: In my humble opinion, the iConnectivity mio XL proves that rtpMIDI works sufficiently well to pull a reasonably large MIDI studio together. HOWEVER.... With silly omissions and mistakes and what seems like less than stringent adherence to standards, people may be forgiven to think that the iConnectivity mio feels like it's been designed by kids and built to last a fashion-trend. iConenctivity however, has started something with it's series of rtpIMIDI interfaces and I very much hope that other manufacturers will follow suite. If that happens, hopefully rtpMIDI will evolve to iron out its niggling issues. For larger studios, rtpMIDI is the way to go and for the time-being, I'll be keeping my iConnectivity mio XLs.... Phone Line Is Back On!11 April 2022After almost eighteen months, I'm delighted to announce that my phone line is now back up 'n' running! 🙂 This afternoon, BT came out to my new premises to reconnect my telecoms. Broadband and telephone again, at last. If you're too far away to call me or haven't got the time, don't forget that you can always message me here. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.... Finger On The Button26 February 2022Over the past couple of decades, close friends and relatives will be familiar with my half-joking, self-reference as a “Cold War Child”. Born in 1958, I was 4 years old when the Cuban missile crisis occurred. In the sixties and seventies, images of the war in Vietnam were sadly commonplace as 'we' fought the threat of communism spreading throughout southeast Asia. Many will remember the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Many will remember the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. My industrial training was linked closely to defence and many of us leaving university in the eighties, simply took it for granted that we'd do our stint in the defence industry. Why? Because I was brought up not to trust the Chinese and the Russians. Of course I refer to respective regimes and not people! Like the rest of the world, I rejoiced when the Berlin wall came down. It was a new dawn. People of the world could finally get on with their lives. I'm saddened to admit however, that decades later, buried under hope, promise and optimism, that mistrust still sits deep down in my soul. Unfortunately, we have a situation whereby the leader of one of those old adversaries (Russia) is also a cold war child but unlike me, he’s able to act on his programming of mistrust and hate and bring fear and misery to millions of people. Over thirty years (almost half of my lifetime) have passed since the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact alliance and many people across the world simply have no idea of the environment my (pre) generation grew up in. I remember the ‘Protect & Survive’ training at school. Living a stone’s throw away from the NATO Allied Maritime Command base in Northwood, even as a child, the idea of painting the dining room table white and hiding underneath it, when the four-minute warning went off, seemed positively stupid and futile. Despite the potential for fear, no one imagined M.A.D. (mutually assured destruction) would actually happen and so we just got on with our lives. In fact we had a great time! Like millions of people around the world, I am shocked at the events of the past few days and pray that sanctions, which will adversely affect the new generation of Russian millionaires and billionaires, will help them somehow get rid of Putin and his cronies. Sadly, Russia seems to have lost its opportunity for democracy and Putin has plunged his country back into the dark ages of communist dictatorship, threatening his own people with arrest and imprisonment if they voice objection. This crazy man now has his finger on the button. 🙁 Ukraine, we are with you. ... Marshall JMP-1 Input Voltage Selection6 February 2022I regularly receive two questions from those interested in my PML-TX01. Both are about the Marshall JMP-1 input voltage selection: Is the PML-TX01 replacement transformer for the Marshall JMP-1, 240V or 120V? Are the voltage selector components diodes, ferrite beads or just fancy wire links? The answer to the first question is, just like the original TXMA-00014, my PML-TX01 has two separate primary windings, each rated at 115V. So… EUOPEAN / UK VOLTAGE SELECTION. Wired in series, the primary becomes a single 230V winding. To wire in series, connect ONLY LK2. USA / CANADA / JAPAN VOLTAGE SELECTION. Wired in parallel, the primary becomes a single 115V winding. To wire in parallel, connect LK1 and LK3. The Marshall JMP-1 input voltage selection is quite easy to change. The JMP-1 can make it look complicated, especially with the use of those eighties style wire links but the original links were JUST WIRE LINKS and nothing else, so you can use wire. SIDE NOTE One might ask why the two individual primary windings are put in parallel for 115V. Why not just use one winding? Well, a system uses a certain amount of power. Power is the product of voltage and current: P = V x I. You can probably see now that if you half the voltage, you'll need twice the current to deliver the same amount of power. Placing the two primaries in parallel does just that, it doubles the current going into the system. 🙂 Check out my PML-TX01 low heat and low noise replacement transformer for the Marshall JMP-1 here.... Plasma Affected by Global Component Shortages1 February 2022It’s amazingly reassuring that MKS-70 and MKS-80 owners are so interested in the stuff that Guy Wilkinson and I have designed and built. Indeed, it's been a busy few days. Pictured are three of Guy’s P0004 power supplies for the MKS-70, one of my Aurora power supplies for the MKS-80 and one of my Nebula output boards which gives the MKS-70 balanced outputs and upgraded MIDI hardware. You may notice that there are a few components missing! Except for the nebula, the power supplies are currently unfinished! It seems that it’s not just the likes of Mercedes Benz and Jaguar that are victims of the global component shortage. A few months ago, it was reported that Jaguar delivery times have increased by three or four months, due to issues precuring processors. Well, it seems that even passive components can be difficult to get hold of, at the moment. The Y2 safety capacitors that I use on the power supplies have become really quite thin on the ground. When looking for alternatives to those originally specified, it’s not just the electrical characteristics that must match. The physical dimensions are also crucial as anything that’s a different size, would require a change of the board lay-out. Well, I’m pleased to tell people that they are finally on order, in stock and I’m expecting them any day. 😊 The keen-eyed will also notice a lack of one specific AC / DC converter. Well spotted! These are also on order and I’m hopeful that they’ll also be here shortly. I still have a load of stuff to build for a MKS-70 that's just arrived from California and I'm in the middle of building and installing Fred Vecoven's PWM kit into another MKS-70. I'm also arranging to meet a customer from Holland who's bringing over this slightly ill MKS-80.... RIP Fred Mead 1940-202218 January 2022 Today I received the sad news that my old boss from my days at Roland (UK) Limited in the late eighties, had passed away. A real character, kind, generous and trusting, Fred was quite simply, a lovely person. I only have fond memories of those magic days. Everyone who worked at Roland or was involved with the company, will have at least one hilarious story involving Mr. Fred Mead. Here's what one of my old Roland colleagues Alan Greensall put up on Facebook: Fred Mead, one of the key figures behind the establishment of Roland UK as perhaps the most dynamic British MI company of the 1980s, has died just five days short of his 81st birthday, following a long illness. Though destined to become Roland UK's sales director and buyer, Fred Mead originally trained as an engineer and cut his MI teeth working for Tom Jennings' Vox company, in Kent. Later, he went on to become buyer and then factory manager for Dallas Arbiter, then one of the largest companies in the industry. It was at Dallas Arbiter that Mead was to meet Brian Nunney, the firm's export director. Following the collapse of Dallas Arbiter in 1974, Nunney was approached by the Danish Roland and Hammond distributor, Brodr-Jorgensen to start a UK division, a challenge he readily accepted. Looking for people with MI experience to help get the fledgling business off the ground, Nunney turned to Fred Mead, as he recalls: "The man who had been most helpful and supportive to me in the Dallas organisation was the factory manager, Fred Mead, so I rang Fred and we met - on two adjoining deckchairs in Hyde Park, of all places." Though, by his own admission never having sold anything in his life, Fred was immediately given the entire South of England to handle and was summarily "thrown in at the deep end" as he later recalled. "I’d never sold before and I was terrified, but in February 1975 we started the company. After a week or two, Brian finally said it was time for me to go out and sell and that the first person he wanted me to go and see was Lou Dean, who ran an organ shop in Hammersmith. So I went down, looked in this enormous shop, terrified by what I had to do. I think I smoked about six cigarettes, while walking up and down outside the shop and in the end I plucked-up the courage to go in. There was dear old Lou behind the counter with a great big cigar in his mouth. I took him through the products we had, the SH 3A, the SH1000, some Boss pedals and rhythm boxes and he looked at me and started to laugh." I asked him why and he said: "I’ve been sitting here watching you walk up and down outside the shop all this time. How many cigarettes have you smoked?" Then he said: "Get you order pad out. I’ll tell you now, Brian Nunney had already told me you were on your way down here, so I was looking out for you." Fred continues... "We developed the company quite well until 1980, when Jorgensen in Denmark went into receivership. But despite the problems in Denmark, we were flying in the UK so, in effect, we took the company over on 9th January 1981 and created Roland UK, which was a 50/50 venture between Brian, Ken Stoddart, financial director, and myself on the one hand and Roland, Japan." Based in what had previously been the Smiths Crisps factory in Brentford, west London, Mead and Nunney formed a tightly knit team, which was to become one of the most potent in the industry. Key figures in the Roland UK of that era included Dave Marshall (today managing director at Sound Technology), Alan Greensall (later at Sound Technology and then Line 6 before forming his own Synergy Distribution), Chas Smith (who went on to run Avid in the USA) and Jed Allen, later with DiGiDesign. "I was very pleased to have Fred on board." Brian Nunney recalls. "I could not have operated without him and we did everything together. If I went to Japan, which I did once a year, Fred came with me and likewise we went to Frankfurt, which everybody in the industry did every year. It would take a book to cover the adventures we had!" he laughs. Sadly, Roland UK was destined to run into trouble, following the company's move to custom-built premises in Fleet, Hampshire in 1991 and a controversial expansion into warehousing and office facilities in Swansea. "In my opinion it was a very bad move." Fred later recalled. "The logistics were bad and we over-stretched ourselves financially by doing it - well, not only by doing that, but by building Fleet as well. All this strain on the company’s finances coincided with a change in the economic climate of the whole country. Doing the Swansea thing altered all our lives completely. It was a mistake. I think that if we hadn’t moved there, we would have survived the financial turmoil of the company at the time. We had already been through one downturn in the economy without even noticing it, because our overheads were low at that time. But as soon as we did the Fleet/Swansea exercise, we reversed the situation." Fred Mead retired from Roland UK in 1996, following Brian Nunney's retirement but the relationship endured. Nunney, following a battle with cancer, retired to the South of France and says: "Fred and I remained firm friends and he visited me once a year for the last 25 years. Fred was the only one who visited me when I was in hospital following my cancer operation. I woke up and there he was sitting in an armchair in the room, completely unannounced, waiting for me to wake up, which was a really nice gesture and typical of Fred." Fred Mead was predeceased by his wife Jean, and is survived by two sons, Richard and Gary. Today I've been working on the new place and have been thinking a lot about Fred, the wonderful time I had at Roland and all the fantastic people I have been privileged to know, many of which I'm pleased to say, are still friends today. Reflecting, I'm quite spooked at the crossroads I now see in my past. The choices I and perhaps others made for me, have all contributed to who and what I am today and the people I know now and those who I have known. Going to that interview with Fred, being offered the post of Group Technical Manager UK by him and accepting it, were three of those crossroads. My time at Roland was exciting, even magical and will never be repeated.... The DIY Continues18 January 2022In between repairs and fulfilling orders for peripherals for vintage gear, I’m frantically working to get the downstairs of Plasma’s new premises finished as I have a load of office furniture arriving at the end of the month. Eeek!!! If that's not enough to keep me busy, I’m also building a couple of rack systems to go into the studio upstairs. I REALLY don’t like DIY but as I’ve said before, sometimes there’s no choice. You just gotta do it! This 33U rack enclosure will be home to my guitar and bass processors. Yep, after many, many years, I’m ditching my trusted EMS rack cases and wanted my new rack enclosures to fit in more with the décor of the new place. Making what is essentially a box, isn’t particularly difficult. It’s the finish that makes the real difference. Today I fitted the front and rear (not shown) rack rails, just to line them up. They’ll come off shortly, so that I can start applying top coat. I also have to make the base-board. At 1.5m high, 400mm deep and standing as is, this enclosure would be quite unstable, so I’ve made a base using 18mm plywood, which extends beyond the front and rear of the unit and which will be fitted with castors. As a songwriter / producer, I never thought I’d be doing this kind of work! In some ways, it’s been quite therapeutic and I’ve been forced to apply a patience I never knew I had, LOL. 😀 As mentioned, I'm busy trying to get all the stuff done in what's now the kitchenette and office area. While the boys from Bonell Property Renovation Limited really accelerated things, there's still a lot of work to do. One really annoying job, is smashing out the light switch backbox cavities which are only like 10mm deep or rather an imperial version of that, going by the age of the house. The new switches are very modern and stylish but require a (standard) 25mm. I figured while I'm doing this, I might as well get as much space as I can for potential smart switches which might be installed at a later date and so I bought 35mm backboxes. Bashing out the backbox cavities in breeze block walls isn't particularly difficult but it's really messy. Stuff goes everywhere and the process generates a lot of dust. This space was originally the kitchen and dining area and when I moved in, I immediately ripped out the old kitchen intending to install a kitchenette. I don't need an oven, hob or a large amount of worktop and on top of that, I wanted as much space as possible, for the office, which I figured would occupy the old dining area. The area had been badly wallpapered with cheap lining paper. A few weeks ago, Julie my wife and Tsunami my youngest daughter, stripped it. Painted over many times, while the paper had started to lift in several places, In others, it seemed like it had been stuck on with superglue! 🙁 As the paper came off, it became clear just why the area had been papered in the first place; the walls were just bloody awful with bad filling and many damaged areas. It was now obvious that the archway had been added long after the house had been built and the installation although solid, hadn't been finished properly. The concrete around the structure hadn't been smoothed out to the surface of the original walls. What a mess! I need to get this space sorted as soon as possible but the prospect of filling and sanding the walls and generally making good of such a large space was daunting, to say the least but eventually I started... just a week ago. After the first day, my hands were really sore and after the second day, I couldn't access my mobile phone. After cleaning the fingerprint scanner, rebooting and looking for solutions on line, I discovered that my fingerprints had disappeared! WTF?!?!? Seriously? Today things are finally ready for the top coat! Rolling the walls is boring but easy. In my opinion, the end result however, is determined by the quality of the cutting-in and I'm going to take my time doing this.... New Premises Update 13th December 202113 December 2021It's been five months since I began work on what's going to be Plasma Music's new home. Not as big as what I had before but a reasonably sized detached property and just down the road, it's going to be an awesome base for my creativity and from which to run my technical services. Redecorating upstairs is done and I'm now moving equipment in. I've still got a way to go before the studio is operational, like I'm designing some rack cabinets and waiting for others to arrive and of course, the cabling. 🙁 Downstairs, the lounge is waiting to be painted and the lab is not just done but totally up and running, making work soooo much easier. I eventually decided to get in some professional help to finish off the kitchen, what's going to be the office and the hallway. My friend Adam, put me in touch with David of Bonell Property Renovation Limited. I sent David an illustrated brief of what was required. Matthew his carpenter popped around a couple of days later, to check some details and take some more pictures. A favourable quote soon arrived in my inbox. I paid a deposit and at 8:00 this morning, a bunch of lads turned up to begin work. Tidy, efficient, polite, considerate and really fast, I popped over a couple of hours later, just to check on progress and see if they needed anything. Well, I was gobsmacked at what had been done, just in that space of time. I think these guys are going to get five stars from me! 😀 Things are finally starting to take shape. I can see light at the end of the tunnel and I'm really very excited, now. UPDATE - 14th December 2021 I popped down to drop off some components that arrived for a couple of builds and was blown away with the progress, just twenty-four hours later. Forget the five stars, I'm just totally impressed! There were two areas in the porch where plastering had come away from the wall. It wasn't too bad, to be honest but while I had a professional team in, I thought I'd put it on the list. That's also all sorted, now. UPDATE - 23rd December 2021 In just ten days, the boys had finished all the jobs that were on my list. What a transformation! 😀 I agreed with the builder, that I would do all the decorating. I therefore asked the lads, not to put the doors back, as I'll be re-painting them. The wall opposite that in the picture above (which was re-plastered), isn't very smooth. The whole of this section of the house was papered with thick lining paper which my wife Julie and my daughter Tsunami, removed. I'll have to go over all the walls, filling and sanding, prior to painting. I only have four weeks to finish the whole lot, before the furniture arrives. 🙁 UPDATE - 26th January 2022 Bonell Property Renovation Limited is busy! That's because they're good! 🙂 so I didn't mind them coming back a couple of weeks later, to tidy up a couple of things. Pictured below is an example of two things; attention to detail and their fantastic level of craftsmanship. The original kitchen had a worktop bar thing and instead of placing it two inches away from the window sill, the original fitters cut the bloody window sill to make it all fit. WTH????!?!? This morning, Josh did an awesome Job fixing this. I hope I can do him justice with my decorating! 🙁... I Hate DIY!!!!30 November 2021I’m not good at it and I absolutely hate DIY! On the other hand, there are occasions when you just have to do it. The lab at the new place has been built into the downstairs bedroom which used to be a garage. In 2018, the gas meter was moved, leaving a little hatch in a section of ‘boxed in’ nothingness. Wanting as much space as possible in the new lab, I decided that the way forward, would be to make a shelf unit, the idea being that I smash out a cavity and (theoretically) slide in the shelf unit... that I'll err... have to make. Did I mention that I hate DIY? 🙁 After finalising the dimensions, I roughly cut out the studwork, with a floorboard saw. There were a couple of redundant gas pipes (not shown in the pictures below), that were cut down with an angle grinder. Ideally, I’d have liked to take out the whole thing but that would have meant redoing the laminate floor. Did I mention that I hate DIY? 🙁 I then designed the shelf unit and originally was going to use conti board but changed my mind in favour of MDF. I picked a 'cut-to-order' supplier that I found on-line and submitted my requirements. There are loads of companies that offer this kind of service but I'm pleased I settled on MDF Direct. The perfectly cut 18mm MDF arrived the next day and was very well packaged, with plastic caps protecting the otherwise vulnerable corners. The beautifully cut MDF arrived the next day but it all stayed wrapped up for a week or so while I mustered the courage to get going on this project. Stupid really as I'd already carved out the bloody wall, duh!!! Then one evening after finishing some repairs, I thought “what the hell?” I unwrapped the MDF and a few hours later, my shelf unit was glued and screwed together and suddenly taking shape. Oh my God! I’ve actually done it... and it looks and feels bomb-proof!!! As I had in my previous lab, I wanted a charging station so since there was electricity in the cavity, I made a couple of cut-outs in the shelf unit, to take two double-gang power outlets with integrated USB charging. I had to hunt around for cavity backboxes (otherwise known as dry lining backboxes) that would fit into 18mm, though. My wife Julie, gave me a hand to lift the shelf unit into place and slide it in on the supports I had made at the bottom of the cavity. I marked four screw points on the wall and then we pulled out the unit. After drilling and then sinking in four rawl plugs, we lifted the unit and slid it back into place again. While Julie supported the shelf unit, I quickly secured it to the wall with some chunky screws. Wow! It’s actually in! Over the next few days, I primed and painted the cabinet, finishing off with an eggshell version of the matt emulsion that the rest of the room was painted with. I would have normally used a satin paint but figured that the eggshell would be a little more robust. I had a lot of touching up to do which included filling and sanding, specifically between the top of the unit and the ceiling. When I originally smashed out the cavity, there was a piece of wood at the top which tried my patience and well, I kind of damaged the plasterboard trying to get it out. Anyway, I took my time finishing off and making good. To be honest, I’ve stunned myself with the results. They say that success breeds success but I have to say… I still hate DIY!!!!... Marshall JMP-1 Replacement Power Switch Button17 October 2021Every since I launched my replacement knob and bezel sets for the JMP-1, people have asked if I can supply either the original or a Marshall JMP-1 replacement power switch button. Well the original button isn't available anymore but relating to JMP-1 fans' desperation, I persevered, looking for a suitable alternative. A few days ago, I think I found one! Three or four millimetres shorter than the original, it does actually fit but when depressed, sits a little closer to the front panel facia than the original. Apart from that, it looks good and works. 🙂 As such, my Marshall JMP-1 replacement power switch button has now been added to both my performance and studio knob and bezel sets. You can check them out here. Many will know that I have a thing going with the Marshall JMP-1. Despite having a small collection of vintage Marshalls, I keep mon coming back to this little box only too often. I know the Marshall JMP-1 inside out and do what I can to keep those that are still breathing, going a little longer. 🙂 I've designed a couple of things for this special little box like my Eclipse bounce eliminator which stops the data entry knob from jumping or skipping. Then there's my recently released PML-TX01 replacement transformer which runs a lot cooler than the original, thanks to the use of a higher quality material for the laminates. Unable to convert the outputs to balanced, due to a severe lack of space and appropriate PCB connections, I promote my Transformer Coupled Interface Type 1, as the perfect interface to connect your JMP-1 to your desk or DAW. I regularly keep an eye out for developments in the world of JMP-1 and sometimes come across little jems like this cool editor: http://jmp-editor.mattzick.com/ And of course if you just need your JMP-1 looked at, don't hesitate to contact me.... PML-TX01 Upgraded Transformer for the Marshall JMP-121 September 2021This project has taken months but after tracking down Graham Sopp, the guy who designed the original TXMA-00014 JMP-1 transformer, I'm delighted to announce that my PML-TX01 upgraded transformer for the Marshall JMP-1 is now available, featuring laminates made with a higher quality material. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to notice that the original transformer in the JMP-1 is not particularly stressed. Just take a peek at the regulators and you'll notice an obvious lack of heatsinks suggesting that the current draw from the supply lines is far from excessive. Measuring the input voltages to the regulators indicates that the voltage drop across them is not too much and of course we all know that the valves take very little current. So why then, does the JMP-1 transformer get so hot? Well, it's due to the fact that the transformer's laminates oscillate. That's right. They oscillate so much that apart from the hum, a considerable amount of heat is also produced. THERMAL MELTDOWN IMMINENT I've heard of people trying to dampen the vibrations by putting sponge or foam between the top of the transformer and the inside of the JMP-1's lid. DO NOT DO THIS!!! I've just mentioned that the oscillating laminates produce a huge amount of excess heat. If you 'insulate' the top of the transformer, you're in danger of burning it out. 🙁 I spent a lot of time looking at the mystery of the Marshall JMP-1 humming transformer, refusing to acknowledge any issue with the laminates as I just didn't want to believe it. Once the penny dropped though, it all made sense. It took a while but my first batch of PML-TX01 transformers is now here. With considerably less hum and heat than the original Marshall TXMA-00014, I thoroughly recommend that you consider this upgrade. MARSHALL JMP-1 VOLTAGE SELECTION I regularly receive two questions from those interested in my PML-TX01: Is the PML-TX01 replacement transformer for the Marshall JMP-1, 240V or 120V? Are the voltage selector components diodes, ferrite beads or just fancy wire links? The answer to the first question is, just like the original TXMA-00014, my PML-TX01 has two separate primary windings, each rated at 115V. So… EUOPEAN / UK VOLTAGE SELECTION. Wired in series, the primary becomes a single 230V winding. To wire in series, connect ONLY LK2. USA / CANADA / JAPAN VOLTAGE SELECTION. Wired in parallel, the primary becomes a single 115V winding. To wire in parallel, connect LK1 and LK3. The original links were JUST WIRE LINKS, so you can use wire. SIDE NOTE One might ask why the two individual primary windings are put in parallel for 115V. Why not just use one winding? Well, a system uses a certain amount of power. Power is the product of voltage and current: P = V x I. You can probably see now that if you half the voltage, you'll need twice the current to deliver the same amount of power. Placing the two primaries in parallel does just that, it doubles the current going into the system. 🙂 A WORD OF CAUTION The transformer is soldered to the now very old, double-sided main board in the JMP-1. Please take care when removing the original transformer. It's a relatively heavy device and the through-hole plating isn't exactly the best quality. The last thing you want to do is strip it! IMPORTANT My PML-TX01 upgraded transformer for the Marshall JMP-1 is a high specification replacement for the original TXMA-00014 only. It is NOT suitable for other pre-amps such as the Marshall 9001. If you have any questions about my PML-TX01, please don't hesitate to contact me or you can just... Nebula Balanced Outputs for the Roland MKS-7017 August 2021Shortly after Christmas 2020, Guy Wilkinson and I were having one of our long and deep chats on the phone. I mentioned an idea to him which he seemed to like. Since then, I’ve been developing my idea and after working in my spare time for seven months, I’m delighted to announce Nebula – balanced outputs for the Roland MKS-70. Above, are my two MKS-70s. The bottom one is heavily modified with one of Guy’s OLED display modules, his P0004 power supply, Fred Vecoven’s PWM and his Super-JX flash upgrade. The other MKS-70 is unmodified but…. it does hide a secret. The top MKS-70 is running Nebula which means it has a revised, up-to-date MIDI circuit and… balanced outputs! SERIOUSLY????? Yes... SERIOUSLY!!!! 😀 SO WHY BOTHER? There’s a big advantage to running balanced signals from your sources to your mixing desk or DAW audio interface and that is, an increased immunity to noise. Environmental noise exists everywhere all the time. There’s human generated environmental noise such as radio signals, noise generated from switching circuits and so on but there’s also a considerable amount of natural background noise. To screen signal carrying conductors from noise, cabling comprises a shield which is attached at one end, to the chassis of the source device and at the other, to the chassis of the destination device, thereby ‘extending’ the chassis of each device. The problem is that screening isn’t 100% effective. We want our cables to be flexible and it’s impossible to achieve a 100% screen, while maintaining a good degree of flexibility. NOTE for all the would-be rocket scientists out there. YES, I'm quite aware that the output waveform doesn't actually look like that but unfortunately packages like Adobe Illustrator aren't able to display a Fourier combination of what they see as a pair of vector traces. That's why I've blatantly written 'CRUDE REPRESENTATION'. In addition, I personally think this representation makes it easier to 'see' what's going on, particularly for the uninitiated. So where were we? Ah, yes... Another approach is that of the balanced line… Instead of sending a single signal, we send two signals; one being a copy but 180° out-of-phase with the first and then at the receiving end, we put things back to a single in-phase signal. Noise is in-phase, everywhere. Nothing is producing a 180° out-of-phase load of noise, right? This means that noise is affecting both the in-phase and out-of-phase signals in exactly the same way. With me so far? Good. At our receiving end, the (differential) input stage rejects all signals that appear the same on both the in-phase and out-of-phase lines, this being… noise and ‘passes’ everything that is 180° out-of-phase… our signal. So how cool is that? I get asked this a lot but after reading the above, I hope you now understand that balancing the outputs of your equipment will NOT get rid of noise generated by your equipment. It’ll only reduce noise that's picked up between your source and destination devices. A figure known as the Common Mode Rejection Ratio (or CMRR) is the measurement in decibels, of how much signal that's common to both phases is filtered out by a device. I don't like reinventing the wheel but since the jack-board not only has the MIDI sockets on it but also the MIDI interface hardware, I figured this might be an opportunity to review this thirty-five year old circuit. So anyway, there were a couple of initial design challenges. For example, the sockets on Nebula had to line up perfectly with the existing holes in the MKS-70 rear chassis. Well luckily, a non-switching, 3-pole version of the original jack sockets still seems available. A bonus is that they’re the same size as the original 2-pole sockets. A version of the triple 5-pin DIN array is also still available. This was all really a big deal. If I couldn't get hold of those sockets, Nebula might not have happened because other 3-pole sockets are much wider than the original 2-pole (unbalanced) versions. Then the obvious problem; there isn't exactly a lot of room to play with at the back of the MKS-70. How am I going to get a whole load of chips in such a small space? Even if I use SMDs, there's not a lot of room here. It seems like "the only way is up" and so I made the decision to build a double-decker (stacked PCBs) system. Getting Nebula's PCB to fit, ended up being quite expensive. Everything had to line up properly and with four internal screw posts, six sockets and a switch, I must confess that it took me four attempts to get it all right. That's a lot of prototype PCBs! 🙁 Back in the eighties, part of Roland’s design philosophy was to always support live music and believe it or not, even huge machines like the MKS-70, were designed with a mono-mix output, which could be fed straight into an amp, thereby allowing musicians to take their equipment down the pub for the odd gig. Madness, I know but you have to hand it to Roland for putting performing musicians first. I’ve respected that philosophy and so the mono-mix output remains unbalanced. Roland handled the switching of the outputs from stereo to individual, rather cleverly, by using switched, 2-pole jack sockets and a simple but effective array of resistors. Depending on which jacks were used, the MKS-70, either output a stereo pair or four individual outputs; Voice-board A left, voice-board A right and voice-board B left and voice-board B right. To do the same with 3-pole jacks was impossible as switched, 3-pole jack sockets are just too wide and would not have fitted or lined up with the holes in the rear chassis of the MKS-70. I therefore elected to use a manual mechanism to switch between stereo and individual outputs. Accessible through the rectangular hole originally used for the output level selector switch, Nebula’s original design used a DIP switch to engage a pair of relays that changed the output configuration from stereo to individual. While this worked just fine, I then realised that if I used the original output level selector switch to do this job, the back of the MKS-70 would look unchanged. Pretty cool but that meant that Nebula would no longer be ‘plug-and-play’. Hang on a minute… why don’t I provide for both? So, the final version of Nebula has provision for either a DIP switch (Nebula DS) or use of the original output level selector switch (Nebula OS). It's such a shame that the Alps SSP12240A, original output level selector switch isn't available anymore. If you decide to go for the OS version of Nebula, you'll need to remove the output level selector switch from the original jack-board and install it on to Nebula's jack-board. While the switch is quite robust, please do take care! This component cannot be replaced. To keep things simple, I opted for a fixed output level of the mono-mix output and set it to 'high'. Hey come on. Does anyone even use that? The first revision of Nebula used 0805 and even 0603 SMD passive components and SMD chips. It took a long time to build the prototype and it was apparent that if I was going to be making a few of these, doing things like this wouldn’t be practical or cost-effective. I therefore redesigned everything with 1210 package SMDs and full-sized DIP ICs. Amazingly, I still managed to get everything to fit on my two PCBs and so the version 2 was born. I guess I should also mention that version 1 had dual stereo outputs when switched to 'STEREO'. A neat idea but I decided to ditch that one as I needed to be mindful of current consumption. Nebula's current draw from the +5V supply is a little less than the original jack-board as I'm using a SN74HC14 instead of the SN74LS04. More about that later. Apart from the headphone amp, Nebula ended up with an additional eight devices; four op-amps and four balanced line drivers, all pulling an additional +/- 40mA. In separate output mode, the relays kick in to switch routing, increasing current consumption from the +15V line by another 8mA. Even with upgrades like Fred Vecoven's PWM kit however, this won't be a problem but the dual stereo configuration might have been pushing things and I wasn't prepared to take the risk. Choosing the op-amps and balanced line output drivers was only a minor challenge as I kind of knew what I was going to use. In fact, I like to think that I got a good balance (pardon the pun) between quality and cost. The fact that the ICs are DIP format means that I could now socket them and this got me to think that people could potentially try their own selection of chips. This was an unexpected bonus to using old-fashioned, full-size DIP ICs, LOL. 😀 The first Nebula had a gain-stage in-between the high impedance input buffers and the balanced line drivers. Like the dual stereo output idea, this also got scrapped but for different reasons; as the balanced outputs yield 6dB over the unbalanced versions, more gain wasn’t necessary. The other reason was that apart from the headphone amp and hence, the mono-mix output, the outputs on the original jack-board are basically driven from the last op-amp (you guessed it, a M5218) on the respective voice-board. This means that the jack-board itself, doesn’t generate and hence, pass on any noise on to the outputs. As such, any replacement jack-board would have to compete with something that’s dead quiet. Version 2 therefore, had a simple array of unity gain, non-inverting voltage-followers offering a high impedance to the outputs of the voice-boards and lots of drive for the inputs of the balanced line drivers. I’ve always used dedicated balanced line drivers such as the SSM-2142 and the THAT-1646, in preference to messing around with various configurations of op-amps. The results are ALWAYS better. This time around, I settled on the Texas Instruments DRV-134. Specification-wise, all these chips are pretty much the same. With the SSM device being long obsolete however, the choice was narrowed down to two. Designing and manufacturing components for vintage equipment doesn’t make for a good business plan. In fact, I dare not tell my bank manager that I do this kind of work. By definition, your market is technically shrinking as some machines sadly die and are beyond repair. The quantities of respective systems that I’m able to make isn’t exactly earth-shattering which means components are purchased in relatively small batches and so I'm unable to take advantage of quantity discounts. The point I’m making is that I do everything I can to keep the price of my designs as low as possible but without sacrificing performance or quality. With negligible technical differences between the THAT-1646 and the TI DRV-134, I'm not ashamed to admit that the decision to use the latter, was based solely on cost. Having said that, if for whatever reason, you want to swap out the DRV-134s for the THAT-1646s, or even SSM-2142s if you still have some, you’re more than welcome to do so. The devices are all pin-for-pin compatible. Balanced line driver ICs are NOT op-amps! Indeed it should be noted that one of the crucial differences is their input impedance which in the case of the DRV-134, is a mere 50kΩ, much, much lower than an op-amp. The other devices I mentioned have even lower input impedances. Dealing with low input impedance devices, was another reason I was reluctant to design a passive array (similar to what Roland did) and hence, implemented the previously mentioned unity gain, non-inverting voltage-followers, to go in between the outputs of the voice-boards and DRV-134s. Like all the stuff I design, Nebula includes a few extras and so the design incorporates the following refinements: diodes on all output phases to protect against high capacitance loads and phantom power (we’ve all done it), ferrite bead / capacitor filter network on each phase of each output to reduce the effects of RFI / EMI. Capacitors on ‘SENS’ outputs of balanced line drivers to mitigate effects of dc offsets on outputs. Some will argue the point of implementing the above in favour of cost but to be honest, I just wouldn’t have been happy had I missed all of that out. Nebula retains a driver IC for the front-panel headphone output but it’s been upgraded from the original M5218L, to one of my favourite ICs for headphone amp applications, the NJM-4556AD. Like the NJM-2068D that I used for the buffers, the 4556 is a well spec’d dual op-amp but, it’s also particularly good at driving high-reactance loads… like headphones. Having worked for Simmons and Roland back in the eighties and having designed a lot of audio equipment over the decades, I didn’t doubt that Nebula’s audio and MIDI wouldn’t work. I was however concerned about how the MKS-70’s CPU would respond to the revised MIDI circuit. Roland used the TLP-552 CMOS opto-isolator in the MKS-70's MIDI circuit, which was much faster than devices like the very popular Sharp PC-900 which also had a Darlington output. I looked carefully at a variety of modern equivalents and came back to my favourite MIDI opto-isolator; the 6N137. I don’t really know why its successor, the 6N138 is so popular for MIDI, as the 6N137 is a far superior device, especially if you’re looking to do something like Nebula. Quite simply, the 6N137 is faster, more accurate and has better output drive meaning that for an ol’ girl like the MKS-70, it’s absolutely ideal. Similarly, I substituted the SN74LS04 hex inverter, with a 74HC14. Apart from being a low-power device (HC), the 74HC14 has Schmitt trigger inputs, meaning that the output of each stage, only switches between states (0V and 5V or logic '0' and logic '1'), when the inputs cross a specific threshold. Theoretically, this makes the MIDI circuit less likely to pass spurious voltages on to the processor. Well, I’m pleased to confirm that after extensive testing, Nebula’s MIDI circuit works just perfectly, supplying a much ‘cleaner’ MIDI signal to the CPU. In fact, your MKS-70 will love it! 😊 Oh, by the way, since MIDI OUT also passes through two inverters of the 74HC14, the advantage works both ways, meaning that the MIDI data stream leaving your MKS-70 will be, well... squarer! As per the original circuit, All MIDI lines are fitted with ferrite beads, again to reduce the effects of RFI / EMI. Nebula comprises two PCBs; the top (audio) PCB has the main audio components on it and the bottom (jack) PCB has the headphone amp, audio jacks, MIDI sockets, selector switch and MIDI circuitry. A couple of otherwise redundant inverter stages on the 74HC14, are used to drive a conveniently placed LED, thereby providing a MIDI status indicator. This means that with the lid off your MKS-70, you can easily check to see if MIDI data is coming into the unit. Please note that ALL MIDI data will trigger the LED, including clock and active sensing as there's no filtering here, it's just raw MIDI data. If you find it distracting, a jumper close to the MIDI indicator LED, allows you to turn off this function. The DIP switch (DS) version of Nebula is plug-and-play and if you really want to keep the back of your MKS-70 looking factory, then transplanting the output level selector switch makes Nebula virtually plug-and-play. The positions of the headers connecting the original jack-board to the rest of the MKS-70, have been respected and it’s only the audio connection from the MKS-70 voice-boards that is slightly different, being on the top (audio) board. This means that there's no need to mess with Roland's impeccable wiring loom! 🙂 To ensure the best visibility and accessibility, I thoroughly recommend that the MKS-70 voice-boards be removed prior to fitting Nebula. I should also point out that there's only a couple of millimetres clearance between the voice-boards and Nebula's double-decker PCBs, so trying to fit Nebula with the voice-boards in place... well, Nah! Nebula is supplied assembled and the top and bottom boards need to be separated prior to installation. With a gentle pull, Nebula’s boards easily come apart, allowing the jack-board to be lined up and secured as per the original. I personally found that after removing the metal jack socket retention plate from the original jack-board and fitting it to Nebula’s jack-board, lining up the sockets with the holes in the MKS-70 rear panel and then loosely screwing the jack-board to the four internal posts using the supplied 30mm PSB spacers, followed by gently securing the external screws, was the most reliable method of installing Nebula. One last point on assembly; unless you have plans to send your MKS-70 on a deep space mission out of the solar system, please, please, please DON'T OVER-TIGHTEN the screws! The multi-pin connections between Nebula’s boards are soldered with the boards in place and should therefore line up nicely, after the 30mm PCB spacers are fitted to the jack-board. Once secured, just make a final check to see that all twelve pins of CN7 and all three pins of CN8 are properly mated with CN5 and CN6, respectfully, prior to securing the audio-board with the four screws. So, once I finally got things to fit properly, I was actually really excited about Nebula balanced outputs jack-board for the MKS-70 and to be honest, I found it a bit difficult to keep quiet. In fact, I couldn’t help myself and let slip to some of my regular customers. Oh boy… I couldn’t believe the response and although Nebula hadn’t even been built, let alone properly tested, suddenly I had a small backlog of orders. Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys but seriously?!!?! Although I have recently found new premises for Plasma, following last year’s flood, I’m still working at home with limited access to my ‘usual’ equipment and so the development of Nebula balanced outputs for the Roland MKS-70 had other, indirect challenges. It was however, a fun little project and I’m so pleased that it all worked. Yes, I wasted a little time and money on getting things to line up and fit properly but I knew what I was letting myself in for. Once the version 2 prototype with DIP package ICs was built however, it was truly rewarding to see it all come to life. I have now installed Nebula in both of my MKS-70s and at the time of writing, Nebula is also working perfectly in two customer units (thanks Jason and Chris). One more installation and that’s my first batch gone! 😊 Unlike some vintage synth upgrades, Nebula isn’t exactly a “Must Have”. On the other hand, I’ve always thought it odd that hot, unbalanced signals need to be attenuated via a DI box and then re-amplified, so as to get balanced signals. It just seems such a waste. Nebula fixes that and also gives the MKS-70 a most welcome MIDI boost. Although incredibly simple to install, I still feel obliged to write installation instructions which will take a while. In the meantime however, if you’ve got any questions about Nebula balanced outputs for the Roland MKS-70, please don’t hesitate to get in contact. If you're convinced, you can just buy it. UPDATE - 19th August 2021 I'm always reluctant to just post my stuff (like Nebula) on social media groups as I respect the rules which often include restricting self promotion and sales, for example. I will therefore endeavour to contact one of the administrators to ask their permission to do so. On this occasion, however, I feel rather humbled that Keith Meiere, admin' of the Roland JX-10 and MKS-70 Synthesizers Facebook group, put up a post featuring Nebula, before I'd even approached him. Thank you so much, Keith. People have commented on the idea of a version of Nebula for the JX-10. Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Of course designing something like Nebula, you kind of think that you're doing so for two machines; the MKS-70 and... the JX-10. The problem is that the JX-10's jack-board is really quite different to that in the MKS-70. Being a performance keyboard, it has a load more sockets than it's rack-mount cousin. On top of that I don't have a JX-10! 🙁 but... let me think about it... UPDATE - 17th October 2021 Firstly, I'm pleased to announce that detailed and illustrated installation instructions for Nebula are available for download on purchase. Many thanks to Chad Kainz for his lovely write-up, detailing his Nebula installation. You can read all about his ex-Thomas Dolby MKS-70, how he did it and check out his brilliant photos, here. Thanks Chad. 'Makes me feel very humble. I'm deeply concerned about the environment and the exploitation of labour and so I always use local manufacturers in preference to the Far East, with the following in mind: I can be confident that workers are treated fairly and earn a proper wage. I can be confident of the standard of quality of each item that is delivered to me. Communication is important and using local manufacturers, all correspondence is quick and understandable. I believe in supporting the local economy. I can be confident that the disposal of manufacturing waste is managed properly and in accordance with national and EU law. Using local manufacturers isn’t the cheapest option but the above points are important to me. I hope that they’re important to you too.... Birthday 20215 August 2021Yesterday, 4th August, was my birthday. My youngest daughter Tsunami has moved back home after finishing university and my eldest daughter Katana, kindly came down from Manchester for a few days. Got up in the morning and on the coffee table amongst the cards, was what appeared to be a picture all wrapped up. I opened it and got the chock of my life! My wife Julie had commissioned my good friend and excellent artist to paint this: It's a million times more amazing in the flesh and I'd just like to thank Tony and Julie for getting together and delivering this magnificent piece of art. As if that wasn't enough, half way through the morning, the girls disappeared only to call me to the house that will be the location of the new studio. Seriously?!?!?!? A frigin' Marshall fridge!!!! The kitchen has been ripped out and the kitchen / diner has been prepared for something a little more efficient, let's say. Now I can't wait to get things finished so I can install my new appliance. 🙂 Thank you Julie, Katana and Tsunami for making this the best birthday ever! 🙂 UPDATE - 17th February 2022 The kitchen was completed in the New Year and the fridge, which is now full of Becks and Pepsi, looks like it just belongs.... New Premises for Plasma Music24 June 202112th August 2020 and if the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t bad enough, my studio flooded. A torrential downpour overwhelmed the badly maintained drainage system in the road leading to my studio and within ten minutes, the basement was under 25cm of dirty road-water. You can read all about that here. A devastating experience, I was in no state of mind to begin looking for new premises for Plasma Music. The road drainage system is of course, not the responsibility of my landlords, so despite having been at my previous premises for ten years, I was concerned that the same thing might happen again and reluctantly, made the decision to leave. 20th November 2020 was my last day. On the evening of the 19th, my wife Julie and my good friend Tony, made one last trip to the old studio. It was a little emotional, to say the least. As I said, we'd been there for almost ten years. All three of us took a sigh and were very aware of what we were individually feeling. I designed the whole place and Tony paid for a lot of the build. ‘Area 51’ had a lot of good memories, not just for us but many friends and customers. A final goodbye, Tony and Julie reminded me that it was time to move on. Since then, my wife and I have been carefully negotiating the huge stacks of equipment that accommodate every corner of our home. Of course I haven’t been able to do anything music-wise but I have tried to carry on with repairs, service and design and manufacturing. It’s been a real struggle. Trying to dig out tools, equipment and parts has sometimes been like looking for a needle in a haystack. People comment on how my stuff looks like I bought it yesterday. That's because I look after it! Stuff had to be stacked and stored carefully and properly. I also had a lot of customer repairs in progress. Their status needed to logged, parts kept in place and of course, looked after like my own gear. Anyway, seven months later and it seems that I have new premises for Plasma Music. It’s a large detached house which is going to need a lot of work before I even consider moving my stuff in. Last week I ripped out the kitchen which is going to be replaced with something a little scaled down. Upstairs isn’t too bad and basically just needs redecorating. Apart from the kitchen, downstairs also needs a lot of the flooring replaced and a little damp sorting out. I’d just like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to my lovely family, my awesome friends and my kind neighbours. My youngest daughter, Tsunami was actually responsible to motivate me (kick my arse) to make a start. She’s just graduated with a 1st but has put her dad first, too! My wife Julie, has been incredibly patient over the past few months, what with our home seemingly disappearing under a deluge of amplifiers, keyboards, mixing desks, guitars and a lot more. Julie has also been helping with stripping wallpaper and organising skips, etc. Then there’s my neighbour Mike Graves who pulled up the damaged flooring and has already made a start on preparing for the new galley-style kitchen. Mike knows a lot more than I do about building and has been so helpful sorting out lots of bits ‘n’ pieces. While focusing on the inside of the house, another neighbour, Joe Scibetta, has done an awesome job on the gardens. Joe worked tirelessly to get the lawns into a half decent state. He ripped down the old shed and removed a tree that was growing out of control. He even put up a new fence panel which apart from looking awesome, has improved security from the front aspect of the property. I reckon it’s going to take a few months before I consider moving stuff over but I quite honestly, can’ wait.... Transformer Coupled Interface Type 1 Unbalanced to Balanced Converter23 June 2021I've been building these things for years and after so many customers suggested that I should release my TCIs commercially, I decided to take the plunge. So here's my Transformer Coupled Interface Type 1 which is a 2-channel, passive, unbalanced to balanced converter. TCI started as a problem solver in my own studio. Before long, friends asked me to build TCIs for them and then they got the attention of musicians, engineers, producers and even audiophiles, further afield. With a proven track record, there are already hundreds of these boxes all around the world, some of which may be over twenty years old! Out of all the things I've built over the years, people seem to love my humble TCI. Making a commercial product is a great opportunity to offer a truly high-specification device, to a wider audience and I'm very proud to have squeezed all of this in: The title says it all and you've just read the specifications but there's even more information about my Transformer Coupled Interface Type 1 unbalanced to balanced converter in my post, here. Yes, I know; what about the 'Type 2'. Well, the Type 2 is (you guessed it) a passive 2-channel balanced to unbalanced converter. Indeed I've also built a few of these. I'm going to see how the Type 1 does before I consider releasing the Type 2. There's also a Type 3. That however, is for another time... and another post! 🙂... RE-MPG-80 Rack Ears for the Roland MPG-805 May 2021This has been a long and frustrating wait as ever since I launched my RE-MKS-70 and RE-MKS-80 replacement rack ears, I’ve had enquiries to make similar kits for other products, so I’m pleased to announce my RE-MPG-80 rack ears for the Roland MPG-80. I bought my MKS-80 off my employer, Roland (UK), in 1989. Even with staff discount, this thing was quite expensive and when you consider that I’m actually a guitarist, the purchase was even more questionable. Ah well… Prior to computer editors, let alone third-party controllers like the Retroaktiv MPG-8X, why on earth then, didn’t I also purchase a MPG-80 at the same time? Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll? Who knows? So, thirty-two years later, a lovely customer of mine who recently acquired a Retroaktiv MPG-8X, put up his Roland MPG-80 for sale. I made Dan an offer which he conditionally accepted, the condition being that I service his latest acquisition; a Roland SH-101. Well, I said I'd have to think about it... for like five seconds, LOL and then we shook hands. 🙂 You can read all about Dan's SH-101 service, here. Dan’s MPG-80 was pristine and had been serviced before he bought it. Hence my keenness to grab this particular example. I now have a hardware controller for my beloved MKS-80 but… more importantly, I have rack ears! YAY!!!! I can now design a pair of rack ears for this box and keep some of my customers happy. Just like the originals, my RE-MPG-80 rack ears for the Roland MPG-80, are made of 2mm mild steel and are powder coated with a lush, matt black finish. They fit perfectly and look great. I’m really happy with what Lenton Engineering has produced. Supplied with black M5 machine screws, all you need is a pozidrive screwdriver, to get these fitted to your own MPG-80 in a couple of minutes. The number of MPG-80s and indeed MKS-80s, on the planet is shrinking, so the market for custom replacement parts and upgrades is inclined to follow a similar path. I therefore only get things like the RE-MPG-80 rack ears, made in small batches. I'm deeply concerned about the environment and the exploitation of labour and so I always use local manufacturers in preference to the Far East, with the following in mind: I can be confident that workers are treated fairly and earn a proper wage. I can be confident of the standard of quality of each item that is delivered to me. Communication is important and using local manufacturers, all correspondence is quick and understandable. I believe in supporting the local economy. I can be confident that the disposal of manufacturing waste is managed properly and in accordance with national and EU law. Using local manufacturers isn’t the cheapest option but the above points are important to me. I hope that they’re important to you too.... V06 Roland MKS-80 Broken Data Cartridge Slot Fix23 April 2021Over recent years, I’ve seen quite a few Roland MKS-80s and many have a broken data cartridge slot. At last, there’s a solution; my V06 Roland MKS-80 Broken Data Cartridge slot fix! After more than three decades, the hard plastic from which the enclosure is made, has become very brittle and it doesn’t take much to break the screw pillars that secure the enclosure to the front metal chassis. The data cartridge slot assembly comprises two halves. The back half has a female contact strip which mates with the male contract strip in the cartridge. It’s soldered to a small PCB. Long screws attach this section to the front half which has the flap. The front half in turn, is secured to the metal front chassis via two M3 screws (one on top right and one at bottom left) that go through two small plastic flanges which are part of the front cartridge slot assembly. The problem is that when inserting a data cartridge, you’re pushing the cartridge slot away from the front chassis and the small plastic flanges through which the screws pass that secure the front half of the slot assembly to the front panel, are stressed. The most obvious fix is to use a type of cyanoacrylate (super-glue) or epoxy adhesive to repair the broken flanges. Only thing is, those flanges often break into several pieces. It’s a nightmare! If your data cartridge slot is intact, then you really (REALLY) want to avoid this ever happening. Back in 1984, Roland should have designed the assembly such that it is properly supported from the rear. Well, my V06 bracket continues where Roland left off and does just that! Designed to sit neatly on top of my Aurora Board B (or Board Bx), the V06 provides a physical resistance behind the data cartridge slot, thereby reducing the force on the front slot assembly screw flanges, the only things that are holding the whole data cartridge slot in place. The very front of the data cartridge assembly, is designed such that it 'rests' on the MKS-80 front panel slot cut-out. This means that so long as there's something solid behind the assembly (like the V06), it's not going to move from side-to-side, let alone backwards and forwards. If the data cartridge slot in your MKS-80 is just fine and you’re interested in Aurora, then you really should consider fitting the V06 bracket. Instead of relying solely on the enclosure’s two screws and the integrity of the screw flanges, the V06 will provide substantial protection against breakage. The V06 bracket has a convenient cut-out which allows access to the voltage measuring pads for the Aurora Board Bx’s on-board Live Forever battery. That’s right, you don’t have to remove the V06 to check the battery voltage on the Aurora Board Bx! Hey, you don’t even have to remove the V06 if you need to ever change the Aurora Board Bx’s CR123! How cool is that? I wish I thought of the V06 when I designed Aurora but all this stuff is kind of an evolutionary process. The Aurora Board Bx for example, didn’t happen until several months after Aurora was released. The two power supplies I’ve subsequently designed for other vintage synths however, both included my on-board Live Forever battery mod, from conception. When I did come up with the idea of V06, I wanted something that could be retrofitted, a solution which existing Aurora customers could purchase and easily install themselves. V06 is just so easy to fit: Just peel off the sticky tape protectors and attach the two rubber strips to the back of your data cartridge slot PCB (as shown below), in the two areas free of solder joints. Replace the four M3 nuts that secure Aurora Board B or Board Bx, with the 20mm M3 stand-offs supplied with the V06. With one hand, line up the data cartridge slot with the slot in the MKS-80 front panel and then with the other hand, slide the V06 plate on to the four stand-offs. Push the V06 plate forwards towards the data cartridge slot and use the M3 nuts you just removed, to secure the plate. Job done! With just a M3 (5.5mm) nut-runner and no disconnecting of internal headers or soldering, once your MKS-80 is open, V06 can be installed in a couple of minutes. So now, Aurora offers the following long-term solutions for the Roland MKS-80: Reliable, smooth, quiet power supply. Live Forever memory back-up battery. V06 Roland MKS-80 broken data cartridge slot fix. Now that’s cool! 😀 NOTE: V06 can only be installed into a Roland MKS-80 that’s fitted with Aurora. V06 is supplied with all fixing hardware. All you need is a M3 (5.5mm) nut-runner. If you have already bought Aurora and would like a V06, please just get in touch. UPDATE - 4th May 2021 Back in the eighties, Jed Allen and I used to work together at Roland (UK), so imagine my surprise when he called asking if I could fit an Aurora into his MKS-80! Jed's machine was in really good condition apart from the data cartridge slot which was very broken. In fact Jed told me that it had been bust for decades and that no one could fix it. Hmm... So while I was installing his Aurora, a little deep thought and I came up with the idea of the V06 bracket. Jed kindly agreed to me keeping his machine for a few more days while I designed and had made the V06 (hey, what are friends for) and of course he became my very first V06 customer. Apart from the pictures of the intact data cartridge slot assembly, all the other pictures are of Jed's MKS-80 and the V06 that went into it. And YES, that's Jed's Roland Juno-60 in the background, which I serviced at the same time. 🙂 If you already have an Aurora board fitted and would like to protect the data cartridge slot assembly in your MKS-80, you can buy V06 now...... Roland SH-101 Service3 April 2021Recently, one of my regular customers put his Roland MPG-80 up for sale, having acquired a Retrtoaktiv MPG-8X. I’ve always, always wanted a MPG-80 to (obviously) go with my MKS-80 but I’ve never seen one in the kind of condition I’d like. Dan’s MPG-80 however, was pristine so I made him an offer which he conditionally accepted, the condition being that I provide him with a Roland SH-101 service. Dan told me that he’d picked it up at a knock-down price but although cosmetically things seemed okay, some sliders weren’t working properly, some keys were intermittent as well as similar problems with power. Hmm… Okay, let’s have a look. Well, when I took this thing apart, I was shocked to see the dust and grime within. On top of that, it had sustained fluid damage and from what I could tell, twice! This SH-101 was completely full of crap! It was clear that this poor ol’ gal had been kept in a smoker’s environment. The pads that cover the switches, just crumbled. That’s right. Tobacco smoke doesn’t just discolour, it reacts with certain materials, making them stiff and brittle. It was no surprise then, to suss out why some keys were intermittent and why some sliders had quite poor performance. Dan, this is a little more than a standard Roland SH-101 service, mate! I stripped the whole machine so as to wash the knobs, buttons, slider caps, keys and even the plastic top-case. With the afore mentioned exposure to smoke, I was very concerned that the keyboard contact strips would break as I removed them but I got lucky. There were a few dry joints which were to be expected and some of the sliders couldn’t be cleaned and therefore required replacement. While I was at, I also cleaned the sockets hoping that they would be okay. Dan supplied me with a power switch which I fitted but I also changed the DC input jack as the original seemed lose and let’s face it, after thirty-something years, why not? After a gruelling seven hours, Dan’s SH-101 was back together again, so time to fire up. The machine switched on first time. Playing around the the DC input, power now was stable. Although I had sound, the HOLD function was stuck on. This is a relatively common problem and is often caused by the HOLD jack socket being stuck open. I’d already checked the sockets and quickly traced the source of the issue to a dry-joint that I had missed. After an extensive testing of all functions, it was time to flip the machine over and recalibrate. As it turned out, things were quite good and I ended up not doing too much at all. It’s unfortunate that the plastic pillars used to secure the metal bottom-case to the top-case, are so fragile. During my thirty years of fixing SH-101s, I haven’t yet found a way to cost-effectively and reliably repair these. Fortunately, so long the majority of them are intact, it’s not too much of a problem. One of the pillars that secures the metal bottom case to the keyboard chassis was missing and the other had an incorrect self-tapping screw rammed into it at some point in its life, which has completely ruined it. The original pillars are very hard to come by and with a couple of the internal plastic pillars broken, it was important to ensure that the bottom-case is properly secured. I therefore fitted brand new M3 PCB spacers to the keyboard chassis, in place of the original pillars. Of course, I also had to dig out a couple of nice, shiny black M3 machine screws. It all ended up very secure and looking very tidy. Kept near a heat source at some time, the battery compartment cover had warped slightly. The deformation was subtle but resulted in the cover sitting ever so slightly proud of the top of the top-case. Not too big a deal, in fact it’s hardly noticeable. I was tempted to gently heat the cover to see if I could make it straight again but these things are so fragile, I decided against it. There’s a lot of talk on-line about the infamous Roland SH-101 discolouring. The SH-101 was released in three colours; red, blue and grey. ALL versions discolour and no one really knows why. Exposure to ultraviolet (sun) light seems to be the most common opinion but my own SH-101 has been kept in an artificially lit, smoke-free environment for most of its life and is now more pink than red! I can understand why people blame UV, however. Removing the battery compartment cover reveals the ‘original’ colour of your SH-101 suggesting that everywhere else which is of course exposed, will be discoloured by ambient UV. Oh well, just one of those weird mysteries of life, eh! Another slightly annoying issue with the SH-101 is that it's very GROOVY!!!!! Yes, that's right. Those nicely aesthetic lines cut into the top-case add to the SH-101's cool look but they also gather all sorts of dust and crap over the years. Even if kept in a nice, clean environment, the grooves in the SH-101's top case do get dirty and getting it out can make a Roland SH-101 service a little longer than anticipated. 🙁 The brittle plastic, the weird decolourisation and the dirt gathering grooves in the top case don't of course detract from the SH-101's attributes. That classic analogue, mono-synth sound and the pure ease with which it can be manipulated, are what the SH-101 is really all about and perhaps decades after its launch, the niggles now simply add to its cute character. Anyway, at long last, this Roland SH-101 now looks, feels and sounds fantastic. Nice and shiny, smooth and responsive controls and a solid keyboard, it's almost like new! It's always really exciting for me, when customers come over to collect their gear and I know Dan's busting to check out his refurbished Roland SH-101. 🙂 Launched in 1983, the humble but amazingly well-known and popular Roland SH-101 is pre-MIDI not that many seem to care! Being equipped with CV however, means that the SH-101 can be controlled by another source and as many of my customers will know, my favourite MIDI gadget / upgrade manufacturer, Kenton Electronics, offers a couple of options to to get your SH-101 controllable via MIDI. The SH-101 MIDI CV kit for example, is installed into your SH-101 and although requiring holes to be cut into the case for MIDI sockets, it does mean that you won't have another box floating around. Kenton also makes a range of stand-alone CV / MIDI converters like the USB Solo, Pro Solo Mk 3 and Pro 2000 Mk 2. These gadgets are very fast and accurate and don't require any modifications to your synth's case. I've already mentioned that I've always been a big fan of Kenton's products, so if you do want to get your SH-101 connected, then I strongly suggest you check out their MIDI / CV converters, here. As well as owning a SH-101 myself, I've worked on hundreds of them over the years and know this Roland classic, inside-out, so if you've got one that's in need of a service or if it just needs a little TLC, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 🙂 Read more about the Roland SH-101 here: Vintage Synth Explorer - Roland SH-101 Roland Icon Series - SH-101 "Hang on a minute. What happened to the MPG-80?" I hear you ask. Well I'm lovin' it but... I now had a template for my RE-MPG-80 replacement rack ears. YAY!!!! You can read about them here.... Hiwatt Amps Found in Pyramid1 April 2021A couple of months ago, one of my regular customers called me in a blinding panic telling me all about these Hiwatt amps that had been found in a pyramid excavation and how he’d acquired them. For a civilisation that didn’t invent the nail, this was truly a remarkable find. Adrian explained that the tomb in which the amps were found, was that of the previously unknown Pharaoh Rokatiti. Having been targeted by tomb raiders at some point, archaeologists believe that the amps remained untouched for the simple reason that no one knew what they were. The amps in question were DR-103s and Adrian couldn’t think of anyone better qualified and experienced to have a look at them, before they were switched on. We arranged a COVID friendly drop-off and a couple of weeks later, after making some space in my schedule, I was able to check out these beautiful amps. As expected, both of them were full of sand, like SERIOUSLY FULL OF SAND. One had been modified and had holes drilled in the front panel and in the serial number plate on the rear panel. Most unfortunate but there didn’t seem to be too much wrong with either of them, at least not on initial inspection. Having been dormant for almost three thousand years, the first thing I did after cleaning them up, was to check the ON / OFF and STANDBY switches. The switches on one of the amps looked particularly bad and although I wanted to keep things as original as possible, I also wanted these amps to actually work... and safely. As I proceeded, some hardware just crumbed and I had to replace a lot of screws, all of which were understandably but annoyingly imperial and not metric. The fuses in both amps were intact suggesting that things were okay last time they were used. My main concern was the output transformers. A couple of resistors had to be replaced as they either broke or crumbled, too. That led me to check other components, just for integrity. I also ripped out the bad mods on the ‘second’ amp. Famously, the wiring of Hiwatts is an engineer’s dream and these amps typify the attention to detail with which Hiwatt did things. Everything looks so precise. Everything looks just so tidy. Compared to a Marshall, a Fender or even a Mesa Boogie, these things are just beautiful inside. This kind of precision arrangement surely contributed towards the well-known, superior signal-to-noise ratio associated with those old Hiwatt amps. Remains of several shark-fin guitars were also found with the amps and in other chambers, prompting expedition artist Tony Burlinson to knock up an impression showing Pharaoh Rokatiti doing his thing in the desert. Archaeologists didn't find any evidence of a band and speculate that Rokatiti was a solo act. Perhaps he was ahead of his time. Perhaps like the nail, ancient Egyptians didn't conceive the idea of a rock band. Perhaps we'll never know... Anyway, once the chassis had been cleaned and I had checked the amps were safe, I moved on to the cabinets and spent several days getting the boxes to look like they might have, a couple of thousand years ago. While I was doing that, I ordered valves and capacitors from my good friend, Derek Rocco at Watford Valves. Derek has been supplying me with valves and caps for decades and I've had the privilege of seeing his digital test / calibration equipment in action. My customers expect the best, so I simply won't source these vital components from anywhere else. Co-designed by Marshall and the Shugaung factory in China, the EL34B is an evolution of the famous ‘Winged C’ EL34 which, by 2007, Svetlana was having problems supplying. Today the Shugaung EL34B is used by all the big valve amp manufacturers including Hiwatt. Here's what Derek Rocco says: "What I have found with the EL34B, is that in clean mode the valve remains cleaner at higher volume but when driven, it breaks up easily with plenty of rich harmonics." Replacing the valves was straight-forward enough but the large power supply capacitors were going to be a bit more challenging. It would have been easy enough to rip out the old caps and drop in the new ones but I wanted to retain that lovely Hiwatt wiring. Although roughly the same size, the terminals on the new capacitors were orientated differently and they had a different pitch, to the originals. The difference was enough to make things a bit tricky, even after I'd carefully disconnected the old caps. It took a while and a lot of patience and careful thought to the arrangement. In fact I treated the replacement of each of the five capacitors, as a separate operation... and of course after having done one amp, I had to do it all over again. As mentioned, amp 2 had three mods; one provided a feed off the speaker outputs which was poorly buffered. Another provided a feed off the master volume and the third, which had been partially disconnected, looked like a line input, bypassing the first couple of valve stages. Perhaps Rokatiti wanted to connect his amps somehow. Hmm... If that was the case, I would have expected to see similar mods on the other amp. Anyway, wanting to put these amps as close to factory as possible, I ripped all of them out . I'd run out of plastic 11mm hole plugs so I had a couple of frustrating days' wait until my reorder arrived in the post. One of the holes in the rear panel, had been drilled straight through the serial number plate and although the serial number itself was still quite legible, it just seems such a shame. I did try to contact Hiwatt asking if I could get a replacement serial number plate but disappointingly, I'm still waiting for a response. 🙁 After a couple of days, the job was done and I plugged in the first amp into my custom-built dummy load which has a feed that allows convenient connection to my oscilloscope. Power on... No big bang, just that gentle hum that we associate with valves amps. Wait a minute for the valves to warm up and then.. Standby, off... I set my signal generator to chuck out 1kHz at -20dBm and slowly wound up the input gain on the Normal channel. Then I inched up the master volume. Yes, that's right. The DR-103 was a master volume amp and was a little ahead of it's competitors. The oscilloscope displayed a perfect sinewave. Well that's a good start. I tested the amp at several frequencies allowing me to check the functionality of the tone controls. Wow! Very smooth, no drop-outs or sudden bursts. Okay, now I need to plug this into a cab and check it out with a guitar. I chose not to use a power soak and was prepared to crank this. Following the flood at my studio last August, I'm still working from home, so this all happened in my kitchen! Boy, is this thing loud! I was so taken back that I forgot all about the fact that the amp actually worked. I played for about half-an-hour, loving every second and everything remained solid. The second amp was next and performed exactly the same as the first. Amazing. After a couple of thousand years, these things still frigin' rock!!!! 🙂 "Hiwatt Amps Found In Pyramid" Well, not quite but it is April fools' day, LOL. 😀 For those interested, the serial numbers on Adrian's amps indicated that one was made in 1971 and the other in 1972. Although a challenge, restoring these Custom Hiwatt 100s has been a real pleasure. Showing their age but after a full refurb, they're actually in remarkably good condition and despite a couple of new fittings, are pretty original, too. More importantly, they just sound amazing! If you're lucky enough to have found a couple of Hiwatt amps in a pyramid, or perhaps at the back of your attic, please do contact me. I'd love to know about them! These Hiwatt DR-103 amplifiers are a unique link to a bygone age. I’m not talking about a time when thermionic valves ruled, or Pete Townsend of The Who or Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd, were household names. I’m talking about a time when the likes of Jim Marshall and David Reeves (founder of Hiwatt Amplification), actually cared about their products, the craftsmen who made them and their customers. I was and always have been a Marshall man but the truth is Marshall, Hiwatt, Fender, it didn’t matter. As a budding rock star, owning one of these amps made you feel like you’d just joined an elite club and that stardom was now somehow, guaranteed. That big black box wasn't just an amp. It was a thing of magic. In fact, back in 1980, when I got my very first Marshall, it sat on my parents’ dining room table for a couple of days, with me err... just staring at it. I fondly recall the front cover of the Electric Warrior album by T. Rex which pictured a silhouette type image of Mark Bolan playing his famous Les Paul, in front of one of those old stacks. Oh wow! That image was just so inspiring and now I was the owner of a real Marshall amp and there was suddenly a connection between me and Mark Bolan. I felt like someone special and I just knew that all I needed to do now was to record that hit song. Well, none of that ever happened but I was definitely sold the dream! Indeed, the dream-maker package disappeared a long time ago. Digital processing, modelling and IR technology means that you can now dial up a patch to sound ‘like’ whatever or even whoever. Rock was the sound of anarchy and loud, overdriven, low-slung electric guitar, was the symbol of a non-conformist youth. I remember bunking off school to play guitar. Today kids go to school to learn to play rock. Seriously?!?!!? "Well now-a-days, it's all about the music." I hear people say. Hmm... I remember a time when it was (all) about a whole "lotta" love, I mean more... ... MCK-70 Memory Checker for the Roland MKS-7017 February 2021Introducing a fantastic utility, MCK-70 is a memory checker for the Roland MKS-70 and JX-10, developed by non-other than Guy Wilkinson. A few weeks ago, I received a Roland MKS-70 from a customer in Canada. He’d just had it upgraded with Guy Wilkinson’s fabulous VFD module and Fred Vecoven’s PWM mod but then weird things started to happen. This machine was then sent a couple of thousand miles across the Atlantic to see what I could do with it. The first thing was to fix the power supply. It was totally shot. Signs of heat damage and all regulated outputs showing zero volts except the -15V line which was reading -21.5V, wasn’t a good start. Oh dear. Anyway, I got that going temporarily as the customer agreed to have Guy Wilkinson’s P0004 switched-mode power supply installed. The next issue was that some voices weren’t playing. After going over the voice-boards and confirming that they were both okay, I decided to look at the assigner (CPU) board. To keep things simple, I disconnected the Vecoven PWM mod and I also installed the original Roland firmware. This meant that I had to have the voice-boards connected which is a bit of a pain. After a lot of testing, chatting with Fred Vecoven and Guy Wilkinson, it seemed clear that the machine had a memory issue. Guy told me that he’d developed a little bit of software to test the RAM in the Super-JX and we agreed that this would be a perfect opportunity to actually check it out. Guy e-mailed me the bin file, I promptly burnt a ROM, installed it into the MKS-70’s Assigner-board and switched on. Oh wow! This is so cool! Running in the processor's on-board memory and thereby leaving all other memory free, MCK-70 systematically checks not only the main RAM but also the gate-array RAM, writing all zeros as it sweeps. After a few seconds, you end up with an ultra-clean slate, a Super-JX that's cleaner than factory! I then loaded some factory stuff into the MKS-70. Wow! All looking good so far. Programming a very simple tone and patch confirmed that everything was working and that the issues that were present before, were all gone. Guy, you’re a genius! THANK YOU, my friend. 🙂 It was obvious that MCK-70 would be really useful to others and so Guy and I decided to make MCK-70 Memory Checker for the Roland MKS-70 and JX-10, available to purchase in my on-line store. A great tool for anyone who may have similar MKS-70 or indeed JX-10 memory corruption problems, MCK-70 will save you a lot of hassle and money. Removing the TC5564 RAM chip requires removal of the assigner-board and unlike the voice-boards, the assigner-board has a couple of delicate membrane cables connecting it to the display board and the cartridge board. You really want to avoid disturbing these, if you can. On top of that, the TC5564PL-15 isn’t at all easy to get hold of and hey, why on earth would you want to change the RAM chip in your Super-JX if you could know that all that’s happened, is that the memory’s got a little… well, bent? IMPORTANT When purchasing, you can select your preferred format; a downloadable .bin file or a physical ROM. If you buy the former, you'll need a ROM burner to put the program on to a 27C256 ROM. If you buy the physical ROM version, that'll be sent out to you. This will totally delete the memory in your machine. Don't mess with it unless you actually have an issue or your machine's memory is backed up. Although I've used a real case study involving a customer's MKS-70, MCK-70 will work in the Roland JX-10!... Cheetah MS6 Power Supply27 January 2021Just before Christmas 2020, I got sent a SoundLab SST-19 guitar pre-amp and a Cheetah MS6 synth module. Both needed power supplies. The SST-19 was immaculate and the customer was confident that it was working (when it had a power supply, of course). You can read all about that here soon. The MS6 however, was a different story all together. The customer told me that one day it just went bang. In fact, it tripped the electricity supply to his house! After a brief conversation via e-mails, he sent me his machine requesting a complete Cheetah MS6 power supply build. I was told that the machine was working prior to the bang but of course I had no idea if the unit had been damaged by the fault. It was a gamble and there weren't too many resources available for this thing, either. Here’s a list of useful stuff that I did find: http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/ms6.php http://www.maad.net/ms6/ http://www.butoba.net/homepage/ms6.html Readable schematics were also thin on the ground and when I did find a copy that was reasonably okay, that’s all it was, a schematic with very little other technical reference. SIDE NOTE To speed things up in the long run, I spent a couple of hours cleaning up and organising the best schematics I could find. Hoping that my efforts will be helpful to someone else and my small contribution to the the Cheetah MS6 community, my reorganised (and readable) schematics can be downloaded here. 🙂 So, where were we? Oh yes... The unit turned up and I took off the lid. Ah! So, someone’s been in here before. Three of the four regulators had been replaced. They’d been attached to a thin aluminium strip which had then been glued to the inside of the case and I'm sorry but the soldering was atrocious! After taking the board out, it was obvious that this box had sustained fluid damage at some point in its life. Hmm… looked like I had my work cut out. Oh and the original firmware had been swapped out for the Maad KM 3.0 custom version. Sceptical at first, after some research, I have to confess that I've only heard good things about this new code. 🙂 Anyone who’s familiar with the Cheetah MS6 will be aware that the power supply is well, bloody awful. It’s not uncommon for example, for the case to go live. Yes, you read correctly. The transformers (yes, there two) apart from being underrated are quite unreliable and the original heatsinking is totally inadequate. My initial approach to the project was to build an external box which would house two uprated transformers and then provide a suitable connection from the box to the MS6. The latter part would require a hole or two to be drilled into the rear case of the MS6. There are four regulators supplying +/-5V and +/-12V. The backend was such that I could remove the original transformers and drop connections to the main PCB where the secondaries of those transformers come on to the board. Since the supplies were complimentary, each utilised a centre-tap. I found a suitable enclosure all-be-it, a little larger than I initially had in mind and began plans for the metalwork company. While that was going on, I cleaned up the PCB, getting rid of as much sign of the fluid damage as I could. Next was the post transformer part of the power supply which as I’ve already mentioned, was a real mess. The PCB seemed quite fragile around the rectifier diodes, capacitors, etc so I had to be careful. While I was in design mode, I knocked up a drawing for a proper heatsink. Well, I took the stripped-out case, the enclosure for the external power supply and my drawings to Lenton Engineering in Watford and a couple of weeks later, I got the call informing me that everything was ready to collect. The transformers, switches and connectors all fitted into my external enclosure, perfectly so if nothing else, I would end up with a groovy dual-voltage AC power supply. 🙂 The heatsink also fitted perfectly. It took me a minute when measuring, to realise that the distance between the TO-220 mounting holes was an imperial half-inch and NOT 12mm or 13mm! I’d already made the cable that would connect the external box to the MS6 so all that was left to do was to drop in the actual connector and then wire it to the main PCB. So, all was done pretty quickly and it was test time. As usual, I cleared a big space, just in case it all went bang... again. Well, it didn’t. In fact, nothing happened at all for a few seconds. While the unit was still on, I quickly measured voltages and all looked good; +/-5V and +/-12V. Then characters appeared in the display but not as expected. All that was shown was ‘FE’ which was flashing and every now-and-then, some random stuff. I had read on-line that this could be an initial boot routine. Indeed, there was no voltage on the memory back-up battery. The other issue was that the buttons on the front-panel were totally unresponsive. After a few minutes of being powered up, I noticed that one of the multiplexers was seriously hot, so I switched off. I replaced the CD74AC138E and tried again. Wow! It all fired up! It still seemed to go through some kind of initialisation sequence after displaying 'FE' again but this time, only for a couple of seconds. I hooked up a MIDI keyboard and attached the output to my mixer. Hey, I’ve got sound. More than that, all the voices were working. This was all quite relief. While I had the opportunity, I decided to implement my Live Forever battery mod. This required a slight modification to the battery back-up circuitry as the original battery was a rechargeable Ni-MH. I was dropping in a lithium battery which I really didn’t want the MS6 to charge when it was powered on! Once that was done, I tried again. You know what? This thing doesn’t sound too bad. Of course there's better but you have to bear in mind the price bracket of this box when it first came out. The power supply in these machines is notoriously bad. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say “it’s not a matter of if but when it'll blow”. On top of that and as has been proved by the customer of this unit, they don't need to fail 'quietly'. This is a real shame as the synth is actually really quite good with six analogue voices and even multitimbrality. It’s also a shame that the MS6 has an old-style Ni-MH battery. If not charged regularly, there’s a significant chance of this leaking… all over your main PCB! So, if you have a Cheetah MS6 that you love dearly, please don’t hesitate to contact me regarding an external power supply, my Live Forever memory back-up battery mod In my humble opinion, I think it's worth it but please do something before it blows up... and trips your house electrics! UPDATE - 10th May 2022 I've now built quite a few of these power supplies for customers who just love their Cheetah MS6 and have managed to work out a price which although a lot, does take into account the following: Reverse engineering the power supply. Reverse engineering the battery back-up facility. Designing the external enclosure. Designing the cut-out required in the MS6 chassis. Designing the heatsink. Selecting reliable components. Getting all the metal work made. And of course, fitting the whole package together and then testing it. To do the whole job (excluding metal work, of course), easily takes a couple of days and I simply can’t charge for all of that. If I did, this MS6 power supply would cost more than the MS6 itself! So after a bit of arithmetic, I’ve decided that although it’s more than many (including me) would like, 430 GBP sounds fair. It covers my costs and leaves me a little for the labour involved in assembly and final testing. Please remember that Plasma Music Limited is VAT registered so that price in the UK is ex. VAT. 🙁 Since posting this article however, I'm truly humbled by the number of enquiries I've received and how many of those enquiries have turned into customers trusting me with their units. In fact, after having done two or three, I decided to design a label for the power supply. Today, I've received another MS6 with the customer wanting the works. This prompted me to update this post. I'm delighted that MS6 owners are finding this page and responding to my advice to do something before it's too late. These are really lovely machines with a classic eighties sound. Don't let them die!... Marshall JMP-1 Knobs Nuts and Bezels21 January 2021At the moment I have three of my favourite MIDI valve pre-amps in for service and two of the customers have asked if I offer replacements for Marshall JMP-1 knobs, nuts and bezels. Well too be honest, it wasn't easy. You see the knobs although cosmetically the same, have different shaft fittings. The volume pot knob for example fits a 6mm spline shaft and the data encoder knob fits a ¼-inch D-shaft. Trying to find a knob that has the same diameter as the original, preferably a similar height and colour-wise would look good on the front panel of a JMP-1 is a tall order. Of course if that knob isn't available in versions that fit the two types of shaft, it's useless. Anyway, I persevered and came up to a couple of options. Having said that, one of them needs to be modified so as to fit the data encoder shaft. The PERFORMACE knob set looks very similar to the original and also has a similar rubber feel. It has a white position indicator instead of the grey line on the original. I personally think it's just easier to see. The STUDIO knob set is a little more posh and resembles knobs found on equipment like high-end mixing desks. It too has a white position indicator. Not as wide as that on the Performance knobs, the white position indicator on the Studio knobs, is a little more subtle. Made of hard plastic, it's got quite a different, clean feel when compared to the original. Unlike the Performance knobs, it's not a simple push-fit but requires securing via a recessed allen screw. Very posh, indeed! 🙂 In 1992, Marshall used a slightly non-standard input socket and headphone output socket on the front panel of the JMP-1. When I say 'non-standard', of course they're both ¼-inch but the threading at the front isn't quite the same as many other similar style ¼-inch jack sockets and so 'normal' nuts don't fit properly. How annoying! Again, I have managed to precure a bunch of these things. Available in two options, the first is a single high-quality moulding, in which the bezel is integral with the nut. Two of these are included in my Performance set. The second option has a separate bezel and nut. While the nut has a matt finish, the bezel is very slightly glossy. The combination looks pretty cool, in my humble opinion. These nuts and bezels are included in my Studio set. So if your JMP-1 is looking a bit sad 🙁 , please do check out my on-line store for my Performance and Studio replacement Marshall JMP-1 knobs, nuts and bezels. Update - 22nd January 2021 Wow! I've only just put up this post and I've already received e-mails from visitors asking why the top JMP-1 in the picture at the top of this post, is a different shade of gold, to the other two. Not a trick of the light, it is indeed much darker, perhaps a golden gold as opposed to a white gold. This unit is much older than the other two and I'm guessing that Marshall changed the company that did the plating on the facias, some time after the first few production runs. Pure speculation but what else can I say? Looks good, though! UPDATE - 17th October 2021 YES, YES, YES!!!!!! 😀 After many requests, I'm delighted to announce that I have finally found what I believe to be a suitable replacement for the Marshall JMP-1 power switch button. This item is now included in both the Performance and Studio kits. On the back of the button is a square receptacle that mates with the front of the ON / OFF switch. To fit, all you have to do is line up the orientation of the button so that the receptacle is square to the JMP-1's front panel and then gently push, clicking the button on to the switch.... Extend Memory Back-Up Battery Life21 January 2021My Live Forever back-up battery mod does more than just extend memory back-up battery life. It's not rocket science. It's not even particularly clever but an incredibly simple upgrade to many synthesisers, sound modules and effects processors, this upgrade offers the following advantages: Reduced risk of battery leakage. Reduced risk of damage to sensitive electronics as a result of battery leakage. Easier replacement of memory back-up battery. Easier measurement of memory back-up battery voltage. Higher capacity battery means that it'll probably outlive you! So just about all digital equipment has some sort of mechanism to provide memory retention. Your equipment has patches, right? So those patches are 'remembered' by your gear after power is removed, with the use of a memory back-up battery. Newer equipment doesn't always have a memory back-up battery. Instead, memory is held within what is known as non-volatile RAM. Anyway, older stuff does have a memory back-up battery and if left unchecked, the consequences can be devastating. I recently did a post on a gorgeous Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 Rev 2 that hadn't been touched for over thirty years. During that time, the back-up battery had degraded and had in fact leaked all over the CPU board. It's going to take me months to sort out the mess and that's going to be expensive! My Live Forever battery mod doesn't just involved replacing the original battery with a larger type. If possible, I try to mount the holder for the new battery, usually a lithium CR123, directly on to the chassis and off any PCB. In the event that the battery does leak, then it won't damage any circuitry. Of course mounting the new battery on to the chassis isn't always possible. The Marshall JMP-1 is a good example. There are two versions of the JMP-1. One has a case with a little room to allow for a CR123 battery holder to be mounted to the metal. The other and more popular version doesn't. In situations where the battery can't be mounted off-PCB, I simply have to find the best place to put it. MEMORY BACK-UP BATTERY TYPES Most vintage equipment that uses a memory back-up battery does so with something like a CR2030, CR2032 or similar type 'coin' battery that's soldered to a PCB and located close to the RAM (memory chip). This isn't always the case, though. The Roland MKS-80 for example, used a CR-1/3N battery as pictured below. My Live Forever battery mod involves replacing the original battery with a much higher capacity CR123 type cell which is also small enough to fit into many situations. The default battery chemistry is lithium or rather lithium manganese dioxide (LiMnO2). They're cheap, readily available and very reliable. Lithium CR123s however, aren't the only option that can be used for replacing the original memory back-up battery. While sticking with the CR123 form-factor, I'm a big fan of Lithium thionyl chloride batteries (LiSOCl2), for example. Designed specifically for very low-current, very long-life applications, they're ideal for the job. They are however, more expensive and more difficult to procure. Finally, a long time ago, I experimented with clip-on retainers that fit over the CR123 battery holder, thereby offering more physical security to the actual battery. Well, apart from having installed my Live Forever battery mod into countless machines over the years, all of my own gear is fitted with my mod. In over thirty years, I have NEVER experienced a battery being dislodged from the battery holder and feel that any impact that would be strong enough to do that, would most likely seriously damage the machine that it's fitted to! The main reason I don't supply the retention clip however, is that they have a very (VERY) tight fit. I'm concerned that if the battery ever does need to be removed, damage to the unit may occur while simply trying to remove the clip! 🙁 Anyway, my Live Forever memory back-up battery mod is available for just about any synthesiser, sound module or effects processor so don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Don't forget, it does more than just extend the memory back-up battery life in your favourite vintage gear. It'll give you peace of mind too! In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about lithium manganese dioxide and Lithium thionyl chloride batteries, please check out these links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes#Lithium_cells https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-volatile-memory-and-non-volatile-memory/ http://www.tadiranbat.com/compare-lithium-cells.html... Eclipse Marshall JMP-1 Skipping Data Encoder Fix21 January 2021I regularly receive Marshall JMP-1s for service and customers often complain about the skipping or jumping of the data entry control. Cleaning (yeah, right) or even replacing the data encoder, doesn’t always resolve the problem. Hence, I designed the Eclipse Marshall JMP-1 skipping data encoder fix. Unlike a potentiometer which comprises a wiper that's in constant contact with a resistive track, a data encoder is basically a series of switch contacts with the wiper moving from one contact to the other, as the encoder is turned. As you may have guessed, this means that there’s a gap between each switch contact (correct) and as the wiper moves, there’s a region of zero contact between the wiper and any switch contact. When the wiper leaves or comes on to a switch contact, the electrical signal can be quite transient and messy, similar to an electrical mains spike that sometimes occurs when switching lights on and off but obviously not as big. This is called contact bounce and if the data from the encoder is going directly into a processor, then it should come as no surprise that the processor just wouldn’t know what to make of it. All it wants to see is noughts and ones at nice regular intervals (a pulse). Modern data encoders are optical and so there's no physical contact between a wiper and a track and hence, no bouncing. To overcome the problem of bounce on mechanical data encoders, a bounce eliminator (or bounce filter, as it's sometimes referred to) is required to remove the spike, thereby making the signal look more like the regular pulse it's supposed to. What the processor wants to see is kind of ‘underneath’ the spike. For some crazy reason, Marshall, didn’t incorporate a hardware debounce circuit in the design of the JMP-1. Debouncing can be done in software but generally, designers aren’t keen on this approach. I have no idea if the firmware of the JMP-1 includes debouncing suffice to say that if it does, then it doesn’t work! A hardware solution is always preferred. One hardware approach is to use passive filters, a combination of resistors and capacitors but due to the unpredictable nature of bounce, this approach can also be unreliable and so Eclipse uses the preferred third option which is to delay the reading of the signals coming off the encoder, thereby missing the bounce. This is achieved using what are called Schmitt triggers. Fundamentally, Eclipse Marshall JMP-1 skipping data encoder fix, is an active bounce eliminator which can be easily fitted between the JMP-1's data encoder and the main PCB and hence, the inputs to the 8031 processor. The data encoder in the JMP-1 is attached to the motherboard via a 3-way Molex connector. Unplugging this connector and plugging it into Eclipse and then plugging Eclipse into the socket where the encoder was originally connected, only leaves one wire to be soldered to a filtered +5V supply point and you're done! You don't have to remove the main board and as mentioned, there's only one solder point to make. Unless you intend to change the rotary data encoder at the same time, you don't even have to remove the front panel. Simple, eh?!? 🙂 I always seem to have a couple of JMP-1s in for service but just before Christmas 2020, I had one that was of particular interest. The customer mentioned that amongst other things, the data entry control on his JMP-1 was skipping, making it difficult to manually select patches and change parameters. I told him that finding a suitable replacement isn't easy and it sometimes doesn't fix the problem anyway, as the problem isn't actually the encoder but the lack of filtering between the encoder and the processor. Stuart volunteered his JMP-1 to be the guinea pig for Eclipse. I wanted Eclipse to be easily installable by anyone with a little technical competence but I also wanted it to be as small as possible. In fact Eclipse was originally designed using surface mount devices (SMD) but the build-time was ridiculously long making it just too expensive. With a little ingenuity however, I was able to get full-size components on to the original board size! So with Eclipse measuring only 37mm x 24mm and weighing just a few grams, I could use self-adhesive nylon PCB spacers, allowing for end-user easy mounting close to where the data encoder connects to the main PCB. The prototype Eclipse was soak tested in Stuart's JMP-1 all over Christmas 2020 as I put it through its paces, suffice to say, that it all worked like a charm! I'm really happy with this little upgrade. "Simple but brilliant, Mr. Bond". Eclipse actually worked better than I intended as it . doesn't just solve the data knob skipping problem. It makes the whole thing feel smooth, responsive and accurate, how it should have been in 1992! Although not as open as a potentiometer, the data encoder isn't hermetically sealed meaning that contaminants can get inside the encoder casing. The ingress of dust and dirt and more importantly, years of wear, won't do you any favours when it comes to skipping and like all electronic components, these data encoders have a limited shelf-life. THE BAD NEWS The data encoder that Marshall used in the JMP-1 was discontinued by Bourns, the manufacturer, in 2012 due to the lack of RoHS compliancy and is really difficult to find, now. Bourns did release a RoHS compliant version and I'm not sure why even this is hard to track down. THE GOOD NEWS Sometime ago, I did manage to find a bunch of original data encoders as used in the JMP-1 and while I try to source an equivalent part, I'm making Eclipse available with the option to buy a replacement encoder. I strongly suggest that you snap one up while I still have some. I have pre-wired the data encoders with a 3-way Molex connector so that you don't have to fuff around taking the wires off the original encoder and attaching them to the new one. My wired connections are a little longer than the original, thereby giving you a bit more leeway when it comes to the placement of Eclipse. MASSIVE TIP If your data encoder isn't too bad, if it's just started skipping or jumping, please still consider buying Eclipse WITH a replacement data encoder! Just fit the Eclipse board and keep the data encoder that you bought with Eclipse, in the supplied ESD bag, somewhere safe. As I've already said, these things have a limited shelf-life so it will wear. Even if your JMP-1 is in a super clean environment, the contacts will degrade. Eclipse will help reduce the effects of wear of your encoder but a point will be reached when it's just going to have to be replaced. These data encoders are getting increasingly more difficult to procure but hey, now you've got a spare! 🙂 Each Eclipse is hand built by me and fully tested on... you guessed it, a Marshall JMP-1, before it gets sent out. If you're getting really frustrated because your data entry knob is skipping and if you have a little technical competence, then the Eclipse Marshall JMP-1 skipping data encoder fix, should be of interest to you. Please don’t hesitate to contact me to learn more or alternatively, you can just... There's not too much out there resource-wise about the JMP-1 but these links might be of interest: http://www.waxer.nl/index.php/2015/12/marshall-jmp-1-preamp/ https://www.facebook.com/themarshalljmp1 UPDATE - 7th May 2021 It's coming up to three months (where has the time gone) since I launched Eclipse and I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all those who have bought it and specifically for all the very kind-worded e-mails that I've received. Designing a product to resolve an issue on a vintage piece of equipment is a challenge. For a start, the market you are aiming for, is constantly shrinking as there are of course, no more JMP-1s being made. So, you're not doing it for the money, right? In fact the reasons you do it are because you love what you do and have empathy for owners of the equipment. Once designed and once tested, you then have to get an installation manual together and again, THANK YOU so much for all the compliments I've received regarding that bit of hard work. I'm so glad that everyone has found the installation manual comprehensive and easy to follow, making Eclipse a breeze to install. 🙂 Here's a heads-up, everyone; I have two more products coming out for the Marshall JMP-1, some time over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!!!! HINT: If you have a dead Marshall JMP-1 with a blown transformer, DO NOT THROW IT AWAY. 😀 UPDATE - 23rd June 2021 So here's the first product which will help you squeeze the best out of your Marshall JMP-1; it's my Transformer Coupled Interface (TCI for short) Type 1. TCI Type 1 is a passive 2-channel line-level unbalanced to balanced converter which will allow you to properly interface your JMP-1 with your recording set-up. Just plug in whatever outputs you use from your JMP-1 (direct or speaker emulated) using short jack-to-jacks and then plug the XLRs into your mixing desk or DAW recording interface. Oh and don't forget to set the output level switches on the back of the JMP-1 to +4dBm! You can read all about my TCI Type 1, here or you can check it out in my on-line store, here. UPDATE - 21st September 2021 At last!!!! 😀 My PML TX-01 replacement and upgraded transformer for the Marshall JMP-1 is finally here! I'm deeply concerned about the environment and the exploitation of labour and so I always use local manufacturers in preference to the Far East, with the following in mind: I can be confident that workers are treated fairly and earn a proper wage. I can be confident of the standard of quality of each item that is delivered to me. Communication is important and using local manufacturers, all correspondence is quick and understandable. I believe in supporting the local economy. I can be confident that the disposal of manufacturing waste is managed properly and in accordance with national and EU law. Using local manufacturers isn’t the cheapest option but the above points are important to me. I hope that they’re important to you too.... Supernova Power Supply for the Roland Juno-1061 January 2021Following on from last summer’s Aurora project (read more about that here), I thought I’d have another look inside one of my favourite keyboard synths and see if I could do something similar. Well, it took me about a week to design the basics of what was very quickly to become the Supernova switched-mode power supply for the Roland Juno-106. Being a guitarist, my selection of keyboard synthesisers is quite modest but I consistently find it amusing that many musicians walking into my studio, inevitably make a bee-line for my humble Juno-106. I have always loved this machine! It’s just so easy to ‘draw’ a sound using the top-panel controls and it always delivers. Lush, phase coherent and warm with no mistaking that classic Roland chorus, the Juno-106 has played a big part in my own musical history. Intended as a budget synthesiser, the Juno-106 was released in 1984, the same year as the MKS-80 and the JX-8P. It’s lack of velocity sensitivity and simple voice architecture didn’t seem to inhibit this monster-sounding machine’s popularity. Indeed, the Juno-106 is probably one of the best-selling synthesisers of all time. Today many named artists still use this fab synth and variations like the Juno-106S and HS-60 (or Synth Plus 60) both with built-in speakers, still sit in many a lounge or music room. After more than three decades however, time is taking its toll. Many will be familiar with the failing 80017A VCA / VCO devices, for example. Fortunately, Analogue Renaissance offers a replacement, the AR80017A. My Juno-106 is doing alright at the moment so I haven’t had the opportunity to try these yet. Having said that, I’ve only heard good things about the AR chips and I salute Jeroen Allaert of Cask Strength Electronics for such excellent work. On top of that, they look really, really cool! KiwiTechnics has always been a name you can trust when it comes to synth repairs and upgrades and after a couple of years in development, the guys recently launched a seriously powerful hardware / firmware combination for the Juno-106. Known as the Kiwi-106, this is a significant upgrade offering a huge array of fantastic and modern features that well, change everything! In fact one of the reasons Super Nova is red is to match the Kiwi-106 so I strongly suggest that you check out kiwitechnics.com to find out more! All these people doing this great stuff for the Roland Juno-106 and I couldn’t find anyone making a replacement power supply. Perhaps it's because we all know that Roland power supplies are really quite robust and have stood the test of time. An interesting feature and unlike many synthesisers of that era, the transformer in the Juno-106 is multi-tapped meaning that by moving a wire from one post to another (and changing the fuse), you can use the synth on virtually any domestic voltage supply across the world. The thing is, power supplies do fail. If the transformer packs up for example or starts humming, then that’s it. That’s why I designed Super Nova. Not just a replacement power supply, Supernova is a modern, switched-mode power supply for the Roland Juno-106, meaning that for a start, it generates considerably less heat than the original linear power supply. There’s NO mains hum either and since Supernova's filters are based on my good friend, Guy Wilkinson's design, Super Nova is also super quiet. And of course, being a switched-mode design, you can still plug your Juno-106 into any electricity supply around the world but this time... without having to open it up and change the transformer tap! Individually coloured LEDs for each supply including the 5V reference voltage, means that you can very quickly check line status with a glance. If you really want to know what's going on, conveniently located test points make measurements a breeze. The 5V reference voltage is set when each Supernova is made, using regularly calibrated test equipment. A multi-turn pre-set however, allows for fine adjustment which may be necessary after several years, due to component value drift. One of my most popular upgrades to many machines I receive from customers, is my Live Forever battery mod’ and so like Aurora, Super Nova includes a provision to replace the memory back-up battery in the Juno-106 and take it off the CPU board. This has several advantages: A much larger back-up battery can be installed meaning that you probably won’t have to change it in your lifetime! In the unlikely event that the battery leaks, your precious CPU board is safe and won’t be damaged by battery fluids. Battery voltage can be easily checked without fuffing around with the CPU board. Just in case you do have to change the battery, it’s so much easier and doesn't require any soldering. The battery connects directly to the original battery points on the CPU board so all components associated with the back-up battery continue to function as as normal. Like several synthesisers of its day, the Roland Juno-106 is built on a plywood base. Heavy items like the keyboard assembly and power transformer, are attached to the base using machine-type screws that secure into corresponding steel lugs which are sunk into the plywood. The much lighter PCBs however, simply use wood screws to secure them (via spacers) to the wooden base. When you consider that the plywood base in less than 10mm thick, that sounds a little risky. On the other hand, there's no history of 'stuff' coming lose! I wanted Supernova to be super secure so although the PCB could have actually been smaller, I chose to extend it, thereby taking advantage of the otherwise redundant M4 lugs that were previously used to hold down the transformer. Mounted on an aluminium plate, both PCB and plate are very securely anchored to the base of the Juno-106. The plate is further held in place with four wood screws. Supernova fits perfectly into the Juno-106 and is relatively easy to install by anyone with some technical competence. It's very efficient, can be plugged into just about any power outlet in the world and has on-board Live-Forever battery mod. UPDATE - 6th January 2021 Supernova has now been fully tested and me and my Juno-106 are lovin' it! I've completed detailed and fully illustrated, step-by-step installation instructions so, if you have a Roland Juno-106 with a bad power supply and are considering a replacement or if you have any questions, please just contact me. Or you could just... I'm deeply concerned about the environment and the exploitation of labour and so I always use local manufacturers in preference to the Far East, with the following in mind: I can be confident that workers are treated fairly and earn a proper wage. I can be confident of the standard of quality of each item that is delivered to me. Communication is important and using local manufacturers, all correspondence is quick and understandable. I believe in supporting the local economy. I can be confident that the disposal of manufacturing waste is managed properly and in accordance with national and EU law. Supernova was designed by me and every Supernova is hand-built and tested by me, here in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The aluminium mounting plate is made by Lenton Engineering which is based just up the road in Watford and the printed circuit boards are manufactured by Minnitron Limited in Ramsgate, Kent. At the heart of Super Nova are four high-performance Vigortronix AC / DC converters which are made in Witney, Oxfordshire. Using local manufacturers isn’t always the cheapest option but the above points are important to me. I hope that they’re important to you too.... Click here for NEWS 2019 - 2020
