yes i know, my comment was addressed to people who say they wash their hands maybe more then i do . i am washing my hands 5-6 times a day and i still had to order new buttons and pay for them after 2 years of owning mk2 rytm with protective cover, thats why i said “even if”, but maybe i was lost in translation because my English is not good enough.
anyhow, i would like to see elektron address this issue and upgrade (or downgrade ) mk2 buttons to plastic used on mk1 machines, my a4 is 10 years old now and buttons are still like new.
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This is exciting news. I have always felt like the “planned obsolescence” aspect of rubberized coated was at odds with their environmentally sustainable+anti-consumerist ethos of substantial software updates and user support
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yes, its real.
this is from 10 days ago
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they still keep the coated ones as default. uncoated ones just as replacements.
It would be extremely painful to change all the buttons on the A4mk2, both in terms of time and wallet, 78 buttons in total if I counted correctly.
I know I’m a broken record on this - but I’m sure they’re superstitious about moving away from the rubber because the company started to become relatively successful after it was introduced. Fair enough. But many years later, old devices are gunking up at an extreme rate and it’s going to have the opposite of intended effect on their brand perception as sticky mk1 digis flood the resale market. I’m just glad they are going to offer an alternative fate for these premium instruments without aftermarket parts. Next, I hope they focus on premium synthesis engines and implementing the next generation of “slide” functionality 
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my Elektrons in cases shown this December early signs of button cover degradation, but the one that has a deck saver did not.
I think light and oxygen also play a role on the rubber degradation.
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Sunlight definitely plays a role.
edit: As much as I dislike decksavers (more consumer plastics that will never biodegrade), it seems like this is another big benefit of using them.
Just to clarify … this is about buttons and not encoders ?
yes I think, but in my limited experience, the one with light exposure shows no rubber degradation, while the one in the EVA case does shown… but maybe also, deck savers seems lo let the equipments “breathe/exchange air”, EVA cases are more air tight… and if there is some humidity (Rio de Janeiro) that humid air get’s trapped inside the case. this is weird…
I will start to “sand” out the rubber with a piece of cloth a lots of patience later today…
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In my case, yes.
I live in a high-humidity area and the coating on my Digitakt’s buttons are starting to degrade, but not the knobs.
Yeah I was wondering if a decksaver might actually encourage degradation because it traps (possibly humid or stagnant) air against the buttons. You figure air flow would be good and still air would be bad, over time.
I use a felt cover, not a decksaver, so I wouldn’t know. My buttons are degraded but I also tend to peck at them with the back of a pen/pencil a lot when I’m composing so some of that is physical damage and my own fault.
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It’s hit and miss…
I had a Syntakt that was all good with the buttons, then I did not use it for several good months (6+) and during that time it was with Decksaver on and without direct sunlight and guess what - after using it again I discovered that a couple of buttons (some random ones from 1-16 trigs) became sticky… not horribly sticky but still
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it was exactly the same for me. one thing that accelerates the decay is maybe when there is no aircirculation. that some stuff accumulates in the air
edit: i overread this one
I had it randomly start to happen out of nowhere. I assumed it was because of humidity
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It is indeed a costly proposition to replace all of the buttons and encoder knobs, which is frustrating for anyone, but this seems like a positive step to me as it gives a more permanent option if someone does have to pay for replacements and also because many people still within the warranty period have also experienced premature aging of the soft plastics and it shows that at least some effort is being made and that the voices of those here are not just going unheard.
To me it represents progress and that is something.
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I’m not sure how much sunlight is a factor. I’ve had other pieces of consumer gear that have been in cupboards and boxes and on retrieving them years later they had turned into a sticky mess.
Either way, the fault is on the manufacturer who keeps using that coating knowing that it develops an issue. This material has been used for years on consumer electronics which had already gone bad long before Elektron made the switch over.
The knobs feel like silicone and not coated, but i could be wrong…
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I think anyone within a warranty period should be given a free replacement. Period.
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The encoder knobs are overmoulded / two-shot plastic and proper rubber, no TPU in sight (thankfully).
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Yes, as per the thread title - buttons.
Not knob caps.
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