gutted

[bill]

my favorite synth of all time my roland jupiter6 totally freaked out on me in the studio today.
it is super hot here today record setting heat freakishly hot for here almost 40c.
so anyways i was playing the old beast and she was sounding sweet as always then all of a sudden crazy static and the keys stopped working properly.
at first i thought it was just the keyboard contacts, nope it worse than that.i hooked up a midi keyboard to it and still the same hissing and crackling.
shes hurting but i think it can be fixed but at what cost. i mean this board is getting pretty scarce now and so are parts for her.
it was pretty expensive back when she came out in the early eighties she went for over three grand us.
the synth is just a integral part of what i do and i gotta figure out whats wrong with it or i am lost.
no other synth i have sounds like it and it is really a special beast.

 

[floyd]

that sucks bill! i hope you can get her sorted out man .

 

[Fatdog]

Whatever you do...

SAVE that keyboard! And don't follow that guys advice on Facebook about getting a Korg Triton.

 

[bill]

hahahah. well my facebook bud ken is a good guy but he knows sfa about synths.
tritons are great for guys who want to play piano bits and not have to lug stuff about and around.

i feel a bit more positive about the jupe today. she is old and overall in superb shape. the electronics do need some tending too.
i mean you couldnt replace her with anything new.
the alesis a6 is a pretty wonderful synth but the jupe is just outta this world when she is firing on all fours.
i mean if jimi hendrix played a synth is would be a jp6
tritons are more of a steve winwood kinda thing.
worry not bobby no rompler could outshine my vco beasts.

 

[monchito]

man i hope you get it working

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Sorry to hear Bill, I think my uncle has the same keyboard and it's really sweet. In this case I'm sure you'll find a way to get her back up ASAP.

 

[bill]

hey guys.
off in the studio again today spent the last half hour with the old beast and she was in pretty much top form today. it is a little cooler today but still fairly hot in there. i didnt push it beacause i am thinking the hotter she gets the more crazy her behaviour will be.
well i think its time to bite the bullet and put the money in for a full resto on her internals. i dont think she needs much but i going to get her recapped and all of the sliders and pots replaced even tho they dont need replacing right now. then it is done. i will change the old old old old battery too while i am at it.
master you are right this board is sweet. i often describe it as the synth hendrix would play if jimi played synths its just crazy and such a great board for well so much.
i doubt i will ever gig with her again been there done that and well even tho its nice have such a beauty out for others to see and hear live shes just getting too valuable for me to that with her any more.
i predict by the end of 2010 these boards will be bringing huge coin and even right now the go for over a grand broken quite often.
so i am thinking it was the heat and there is for sure something going on it that was exaserbated by this. she still needs to be fixed but man after reading some of the problems the guys having with theres on the jupiter board i feel way more positve about her today.

 

[analogboi]

Jeezus I could go on all day about synths...

But I'm at work, so I can't.

Look for a faulty 1458 or 4558 op-amp. My Roland Groove Box did exactly what you described and it was that op-amp. Ditto for my Memorymoog.

The CEM chips that load your JP6 are actually fairly stable. But, I would have the CEM3360 VCA(s) checked out to make sure.

Did all voices produce the static?

You're spot on; NONE of the new synths inspire me. Not even the Prophet '08. It got to be vintage!

I'm been considering getting a Korg Poly-six, because I really haven't had enough abuse.

 

[bill]

i am taking her to the doctor next week.
theres nothing in the studio that can scream like the jp6.
well the old microwave not the second version but the first one is pretty killer too but that jupe is my fave.

 

[Superduper]

Before you do, here is a quick check that might help you identify the problem without the need for a full resto. What it sounds like is that you are having heat related failures. Typically, the components that behaves like this is NOT going to be the capacitors so doing a recap will not likely fix that issue. If you aren't having any distortion or audio quality issues, then a recap might not help you.

Semiconductors such as IC's, diodes, transistors and the like are much more likely to suffer from intermittent heat related problems. The simplest thing you can do is wait until it acts up, and sort of feel your way around to see if any of the components are running hotter than they seem. Be careful because an overheating IC or transistor can get very very hot. An even better way to test, and confirm bad components suffering from intermittent heat related failure is with electronic cooling/freeze sprays. Spray components until the device performs normal again. Once you do, you've likely identified the overheating component. Wait until it overheats again and reconfirm with spray. If you do this several times and can duplicate/fix the problem at will, you've identified the defective component.

All you need to do is replace that component and you should be grooving again.