Is it made for eternity?

Hi elektronauts . I ask myself are the elektron gear made for eternity like the old legends (Roland TR909 etc.) wich are 36 years old and still in use :thinking:

Only time will tell, but there are still people rocking SIDstations and MDmk1s made in he late 90s early 00s

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Nobody :slight_smile:
Elektron is only 20 years old

Absolutely NO! Encoders def wear out! Battery replacement! Talking about OB functionality will dissappear unless you still have an old computer. An Elektron can freeze/brick but a TR won’t!
Powersupply can break, for an old md mk1 it’s very difficult to find one, Elektron doesn’t work anymore on mk1 machines!

Just would like to point out that Digitakt, Digitone, Rytm MKII, Four MKII, Octatrack MKII and Heat MKII all use endless potentiometers which has a much, much longer lifespan than encoders. The new button mechanisms are also much longer lasting than the previous generation of machines.

We also do not use internal batteries anymore, except for in the Octatrack MKII. (Which uses a very common CR2450 battery)

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You are using a huge cap to power the memory now, right? How long until that fully discharges when you don’t power the unit up?

wear and tear effects all mechanical components. The upgraded switches and encoders on new models are a huge improvement and I imagine will easily last 2x-3x as long. I used my OT like a maniac in the first 3-4 years and only had one step key (1) and encoder (level) fail after pretty hard use and plenty of gigs and transporting.

If you want your stuff to last super long and stay fresh just midi control all the more frequently used params like filter res amp fx send etc externally.

Okay good to know thx, do you also know is we could replace old MD mk1 encoders with the ones in the newer machines?

No, you cannot. They need to be the same type of encoders. (which is a pretty readily available part)

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Just in case anyone’s in need of one, I recently bought one of these https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32664312910.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&productId=32664312910&productSubject=UpBright-New-AC-AC-Adapter-For-Elektron-Machinedrum-SPS-1-MK1-MKI-MD-SPS1-MKI-MK&spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.1f745576Pbq8YJ 6V AC power supplies for an MD Mk1 that I borrowed from my brother (he lost the original power brick). Took a few weeks to arrive, but works a treat.

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@Ess, do any of the machines use antimony based, Pb free solder?

You can actually still get the power supllies for mkI units direct from the original manufacturer, I asked support a while back and they gave me the companies details, IIRC they are Norwegian based.

As for longevity of Elektron machines I have no reason to believe that people would be unable to fix them in the future, almost every vintage device I have owned, including 808, 909, MC-4b, and tons more have needed repair or sevicing, parts wear out, capacitors dry out or leak, internal batteries can explode or leak, and even some semiconductors can fail, transitors, regulators, diodes, ICs. Etc etc.

Even though they are mostly SMT they can often still be fixed, if you are determined.

Question is will anyone be using them in 30 years aside from a few retro nostalgia fans or old guys?

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There is some mythical ideology that is attached to some of the older systems like the 909. But, while there are vintage synths kicking around, a lot of what’s currently available in the vintage market has likely had various repairs over they years. As someone mentioned earlier, components eventuallyfail over time for various reasons.

That being said elektron gear is generally solid and tank like in my experience. Lasting for eternity, probably not, everything eventually decays.

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Yes they are. True story: After one of the bloodiest days at the Battle of Verdun, the survivors found everything around them shattered to pieces from German artillery, except for a black rectangular box. That box? The Octatrack MKI.

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image
-image copyright @sezare56

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i would say, this only depends on if you get bored of it :roll_eyes:
when it comes to the hardware, from the mechanically viewpoint, definitely NOT. the Encoders and Potis of the rather older Elektron Machines, particularly the Machinedrums and Monomachines, will become wobbly and finaly break and you get pissed of it. i experienced it myself two times with both named units btw. i managed it to repair them, but quite late before selling them^^

Are the DSP chips and everything “off the shelf”? That is, could you, with enough time, take a “stripped” circuit board and buy (from sources other than Elektron) and fit all the parts required to make it work once you flash the firmware on? Or are there some parts which are bespoke to Elektron? I guess this is where it feels like there’s potential for non-fixable failure in future.

sound itself likely won’t last for “eternity” so i’d say that any consumer electronic device won’t last either

Where can we order this encoders? Only from Elektron support? Is there any part Number /Vendor where we could order them? The contact for the “down” key on a friends OT broke (after heavy usage though.)

From support is obviously wisest - but there’s plenty of discussion of going solo with parts that are the equivalent/same

e.g. part referenced here

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