Physical damage to inputs/outputs

Elektron Gear Machinedrum
#1

A while back I snapped an encoder on my Machinedrum Mk I and after finally getting spares and taking it in for repair, now this happens! I was unplugging some leads from the inputs and the little jack-bolt-cover-things just popped off. The plastic that connects them to the internals appears to have snapped.

I’ve emailed the tech that did the previous repair to see if he can shed any light on the matter, and I’ll probably get in touch with Elektron support in the coming days. Do spares for this even exist? I use the inputs frequently, and I’ve noticed that “E” output is very loose though I never use that one. The main outs feel fine.

Has anyone ever had this issue before?

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#2

A thought and a story.

Many times, I have considered using a patch panel with my Elektrons. I’ll bet I change cables and configs once or twice every day and have always wondered if this was a possibility.

The story is this: In another life I used to play guitar on the street for eating money. There was a guy in town who would occasionally join me. One day he was just getting so into it that he broke three strings at once. Enthusiasm!

#3

Don’t stress it is repairable… Tech will have to unsolder jacks and reinstall new ones…

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#4

Allerian…I really promote the use of a patchbay.
The 1/4" ones are really cheap (some like the Neutrik or the Behringer)

Also, do you know Mr.Patchbay? Better quality for some real nice prices.
He has a lot of options!

A patchbay let you make easy reconfiguration and preserves the life of the internal pins of the weak 1/4" jack connection.
After long use they can get loose and resulting in a bad electrical connection.

Sorry to see those popped out jacks Freund…can you still use the inputs?

#5

Thanks for your help guys. A lead does stay in on its own without the jack cover but it kind of hangs there loosely so I wouldn’t want to use it like it is.

Good to know it can be fixed without too much difficulty but it’s a pain when I only got it back from repair the other week.

#6

I know this is probably a dead thread… I sympathise with you greatly, my Machinedrum is about to suffer the same fate.
Would love to know what you ended up doing to fix them in the end?

#7

I emailed Elektron and they allowed me to purchase spare jacks. They were $5.50 (USD) each at the time. I haven’t actually had them replaced yet (I still have the parts in a box) so can’t comment on that process or what their quality/performance is like. Hope this is helpful.

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#8

Thanks for getting back to me! Thats good to hear, I imagine it’s a fairly straightforward fix then. I haven’t seen or heard anyone else with this issue so it’s good to have some insight.
Strange how it’s inputs A B on my one as well, I guess they must of messed up in the production somehow

#9

Out of curiosity what did the tech guys respond with when you contacted them about it?

#10

I use the inputs quite a lot so it didn’t seem too odd to me that they broke, however disappointing. I can’t find my correspondence with Elektron support. From memory I just asked if there were spares available and then they arranged an order for me, I don’t think we went into the reason behind the jack failure.

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