New unit - screen debris/scratches

Elektron Gear Monomachine
1

Hey forum,

Just got brand new MnM last night, pretty impressed. Within 30 minutes I thought – this is a keeper, won’t be returning for immediate refund. So I made the commitment and removed the plastic film over the LCD, just like on my other Elektron gear (Octa, A4, had a MD back in the early 2Ks, sold).

There are a surprising number of white dots, some inclusions in the polycarbonate cover, and stuff on the LCD underneath. Most are invisible in use, with the backlight on, but one little feather is very white and right in the view line, visible in normal use, very annoying in a new unit.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36938749@N06/14528802215/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36938749@N06/14342248288/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36938749@N06/14527354794/in/photostream/

It’s a small thing, doesn’t affect anything, except potential resale in future. Has anyone had success removing the display, blowing it out with compressed air or such? My A4 and Octa are pristine, after a year of living in the danger zone (close to Eurorack, where leads can fall and hit things).

Looks like a manufacturing thing - the plastic film was fine, no sign of any scratches. It’s inside the plastic. Would elektron mail a replacment screen cover, like the kind I’ve used with great success on old scratched gameboys? Anyone used a polishing product with success?

Or am I being a big old baby, and anyone on this forum would be OK to find a little debris in the screen of a used MnM? I can live with it, I don’t know if a future purchaser would be unhappy.

Thanks, minphase.

2

My MNM has a little fleck of something in screen too. Very similar to picture #2 of your post. It bugged the hell out of me when I first got it, but over time, as I learned to use the machine better, I didn’t have to stare at that piece of dirt as much or as closely!

If it were me, and you could go back to a store for an immediate replacement, I would. These machines are damn expensive, and it seems like a ‘dust free’ environment would be a given for a company that makes expensive electronics (come on Elektron). To be totally honest, it just seems like sloppy and careless construction. Not the feeling you want when you flip on your $1200 toy.

If you have to send it back via mail and wait for months to receive a new unit, I’d say screw it. You might end up with another unit that has crap in the display (obviously it isn’t a rare problem), and you’d be right back where you are now.

Don’t worry about resale value. Just use the thing for you and plan on having a long and healthy relationship with your new favorite synth!

3

Yeah, I think I just wanted to complain to the universe a bit. Check to see it was within ‘reasonable parameters’ for new. It’s one of those things – you relax a bit after you’ve given your new car its first scratch, but it’s a different feeling when you get a new one in exactly the same state :slight_smile: Thanks for support, FreeFall.

That said, anyone had luck with any of those acrylic or plastic crack fillers, in case the big one happens to be on the top surface? It casts a shadow on the LCD, it’s either in the middle or on one side of the plastic outer cover. Don’t want to use an abrasive, but something that fills in microcracks and prevents the light from scattering so much might work, if it’s on the top.