I am quite suprised to find no general topic about this.??
So hoping to keep these babies lasting forever. Looking for ways people care for their own babies.
Thinking of:
A.) opening and giving them a good blast of compressed air
B.) want to give the innards a good wipe with something but I remember @Olle mentioning long ago to absolutely NOT do it with a certain chemical. I can’t find the thread now…
Anyone else your tips?
Backup your project(s) frequently. Most important maintenance you can do.
I keep mine covered when they’re not being played and I wipe greasy finger spots off with a nice soft cloth. Certain jams seem to make me greasier than others… so my wiping needs vary. lol
Not exactly the type of maintenance I’m looking for but always a good reminder.
Oh wow. People dont wash their hands before touching their boxes? I have a bottle of sanitizer near by.
Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree…
a bottle of sanitizer nearby is a cool idea.
q-tips to clean around the potentiometers could be of some use?
actually i need to clean the Machinedrum, cheers for the reminder 
Now there’s a good idea.
So you mean take off the caps and run around them with Qtips? Rubbing alcohol too?
three cheers for taking the ball and running with it …
although in fact i was thinking more along the lines of removing dust from the faceplate with a q-tip so the actual act of cleaning doesn’t push the dust underneath the encoder.
after trying to fix a synth’s pitch bend wheel issue that then turned into a mod wheel issue and then a ribbon controller issue, i now keep my maintenance duties to a subdued and humble level.
Got it.
I’ve read removing caps and soaking them does some good.
Pretty sure Elektron uses high-quality sealed encoders that don’t require this level of maintenance.
Their new machines also use switches you normally find in the better mechanical keyboards. Those have been designed to be reliable in messy environments (like people eating at their desks).
Obsessively cleaning your boxes probably does more harm than good. Keeping them covered in a dusty environment while not is use should be sufficient.
Washing your hands before you touch your gear seems silly assuming you do wash your hands after going to the bathroom and after you’ve eaten something messy or greasy.
Using hand sanitizer just before touching your gear seems like an especially bad idea since that stuff contains all kinds of chemicals that can leave marks or that make your rubberized knobs go sticky over time.
Whys that? And is evry 6 months obsessive?
Course.
Not always.
Interesting. I’ll keep it in mind.
Washing hands before touching my gear is a must. As well as no eating/drinking/Smoking Not even in the Same room…
Be very careful with a q-tip or otherwise, I’ve messed up one my AR encoder doing exactly that.
I have an encoder that started getting slightly skippy and I’ve tried cleaning it up using a small paint brush below it: it came out full of a thick oily substance and the encoder’s response got weirder from that moment. This oil is definitely there to keep the encoders sealed and trying to clean them without precisely knowing what you’re doing will likely do more harm than good.
Good advice.
Maybe I’ll holla at Elektron with this question…
@xidnpnlss Please share their response here. Would be good to know what they recommend.