And with all pots shaft being plastic and surface mounted components, I’m wondering how much more repairable this would be than, say, a Behringer K-2 (which I’ve got 2 of, already).
In my recent purchases I’ve favored products that weren’t designed to fail shortly (so, no rubberized plastics…) and were repairable overall (having a good score on ifixit and such). No trace of synths there, so this topic could also serve as a discussion if it is of any interest.
The link you posted is interesting. To me the components don’t look smaller on the K-2, maybe a little more cramped, but that doesn’t seem to hinder modification (hence, repairability?). But I’m no electrician so I don’t know really.
when do you want it to be repairable, 2034 or 2124? for the former, it’s going to be pretty cheap to buy a new one or bits of a broken one that’s differently broken to your own. in 2124 i wonder if fabrication tech is going to be very different anyway? hello if you’re reading this thread from 2124 btw.
I think a good realistic goal for a synth without any patch memory would be 30 years (before first failure).
10 years is nothing. My Sub37 is almost 10 years old and still good as new (despite the mod wheels that crapped out because of the rubberized plastic).
Yeah, these are mass produced and potentiometers I would find the least worry about maintainability. With a few exceptions like potentiometer selection on certain “boutique” clones (specific 303s like the Avalon come to mind…)
What’s the most custom, unique element in whatever build? How tight is whatever tolerances? How’s your soldering? Do you have a relationship with any local shops?
I guess it’s figuring out what your biggest worries are, figuring out what is realistic in the design, and trying to figure out how you may be preemptively over-optimizing.
Not strictly necessary, but it’s handy to develop a relationship and to have actually had stuff to repair for you. Small to large.
Gives a separate perspective based on their advice, and it’s been helpful for my model to know what a respectable shop with lifetimes of collective experience wants to know from me, what they don’t want to take on, the mistakes I’ve made by pumping money into repairs for old gear that doesn’t match the “mojo”.
Or having experienced friends offer to look at things, then leave me to interface with the engineer when there’s no official schematics and I have to have them draw out a napkin flow of how the circuit works.
Basically I don’t repair all my things, but I can still glean a little of the difficulties by working on smaller DIY projects and failing at them, by practicing desoldering and component replacement on bricked devices. I’ve got some prior experience with repair facilities and design manufacturers with computer OEMs, but so far as repairability goes engaging with repairing things new and old can help a good deal, but learning through mistakes has its own costs. At least unlike GAS these can make you more self-sufficient!
FWIW, I’ve got a Korg 2600m and a Mk1 K2. The K2 seems to be slightly better built than the 2600m, but both are more than good enough for gentle home studio use.
Also, if you have a decent (~$100) soldering iron with the proper tips, flux, etc. replacing SMD passives is much easier than thru-hole. Heat both ends with a bifrucated iron tip and pull away with tweezers. It takes a lot more care to get thru-hole components out without lifting traces.
SMD chips are another story, particularly if they are BGA or otherwise require techniques and tools beyond a hand iron.
Edit: the main thing to look out for is batteries. Room for AA batteries is fine, but anything with an internal battery is a ticking time bomb. Don’t buy gear with internal batteries unless you plan to use it a lot in the next 2-5 years and then discard.
Do you have a relationship with any local shops?