OBERHEIM SYNTH

Hello.  I just joined this forum.  I own an Oberheim ob-8 and dsx
sequencer and a matrix 6.  I just bought what was represented to be a
fully functional ob-sx from ebay. It came with an anvil case. When it
arrived I was shocked to see that black foam in the interior of the
case was rotted and moist and had formed a black dust/paste that
covered the synth controlls, was in and between the keys and has
completed clogged all of the inputs on the back.  Just picture someone
throwing the keyboard in a puddle of mud, and that's what it looks
like.  I really wanted this synth, it was the 56 present version with
the blue stripes. I have a keyboard shop that works on my other
synths. I was going to take it to  them just to clean it before
powering it up (I'd be afraid to do it now for fear of it having an
electrical short).
I'm concerned that even after cleaning up, this thing may be
destroyed. I really don't know who caused this, the shipping company
or the seller. In any event, this synth has all of its sounds in ROM.
If the electronics are damaged and boards or chips have to  be
replaced, is it even possible on this synth? Can original presets
somehow be restored? if so how?  

I'd really like to keep it, even if I have to  invest a little $$$ to
get it up and running but I want to know if it's even possible. If
not, I'll just fight with the seller to give me a complete refund.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Welcome to the group.

Case foam doesn't just rot out based on a short term exposure to the
elements, it takes age and time to make it get all nasty.

Now, that said, I seem to recall this stuff is fairly inert. It shouldn't
cause any big problems all told, so put it in the shop and they can run it
through its paces and get it all cleaned up. They'll also run it through the
tests, and then you can decide if it's worth getting a refund from the
seller on it.

The SX is an interesting beast, because you're never completely sure what
it'll sound like until you hear it. Oberheim did custom chip burns for
people for them, so sometimes you'll find different sounds loaded in it. I
get the impression this was for gigging musicians who had an OB-X at home
and wanted something more stable for the road.

Hopefully it'll be all okay, and there won't be any problem. Of course,
you're going to have to re-do the case lining, and I'd have a discussion
with Anvil and then the seller about that detail if it wasn't disclosed in
the sales literature that there was a case problem. I've never seen a case
go from good to ruined from foam deterioration in one shipping of the
instrument, so it was in rough shape before it was shipped to you. 

-----Original Message-----
From: oberheim@yahoogroups.com [mailto:oberheim@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of lawjcrg
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 1:54 PM
To: oberheim@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [oberheim] need help OB-SX from ebay arrived in damaged condition,
can it be fixed?

Hello. I just joined this forum. I own an Oberheim ob-8 and dsx sequencer
and a matrix 6. I just bought what was represented to be a fully functional
ob-sx from ebay. It came with an anvil case. When it arrived I was shocked
to see that black foam in the interior of the case was rotted and moist and
had formed a black dust/paste that covered the synth controlls, was in and
between the keys and has completed clogged all of the inputs on the back.
Just picture someone throwing the keyboard in a puddle of mud, and that's
what it looks like. I really wanted this synth, it was the 56 present
version with the blue stripes. I have a keyboard shop that works on my other
synths. I was going to take it to them just to clean it before powering it
up (I'd be afraid to do it now for fear of it having an electrical short).
I'm concerned that even after cleaning up, this thing may be destroyed. I
really don't know who caused this, the shipping company or the seller. In
any event, this synth has all of its sounds in ROM.
If the electronics are damaged and boards or chips have to be replaced, is
it even possible on this synth? Can original presets somehow be restored? if
so how? 

I'd really like to keep it, even if I have to invest a little $$$ to get it
up and running but I want to know if it's even possible. If not, I'll just
fight with the seller to give me a complete refund.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Don't despair, the sticky foam isn't impossible to
shift.
It needs an industrial vacuum cleaner, no furry
nozzles on the hose, just the meatal end, and use it
get all the powder off the surface before you do the
solvent thing. Use a fairly stiff brush to aid the
powder out from between the keys, don't push it in,
the stuff forms wads and they're harder to remove.
The next thing is the solvent. Try a few things on the
outside or underneath of the casee where no harm can
be done. I start with white spirit, and progress to
lighter fluid, then isopropyl alcohol, like you clean
tape heads with. Don't push the crud about, just
moisten a piece of kitchen towel or toilet paper and
wipe the crud off. The knobs actually pull off, but
don't dismantle the instrument before you clean it.
No electrical damage will occurr unless you spray
something inside the unit, and then power it up before
you get it off the boards. The boards are cleaned
after they're made, and then dried before power up.
The pots aren't easy to contaminate from the top
surface either. The push switches are the most likely
to suffer , but probably not from the foam, more
likely the careless spraying.
Another point to consider is: usually the foam goes
soft around the same time the battery leaks, that's a
pro job, the corrosive fluid eats the tracks on the
circuit board, so you need to know what was there
before.
--- lawjcrg <lawjcrg@...> wrote:

> Hello.  I just joined this forum.  I own an Oberheim
> ob-8 and dsx
> sequencer and a matrix 6.  I just bought what was
> represented to be a
> fully functional ob-sx from ebay. It came with an
> anvil case. When it
> arrived I was shocked to see that black foam in the
> interior of the
> case was rotted and moist and had formed a black
> dust/paste that
> covered the synth controlls, was in and between the
> keys and has
> completed clogged all of the inputs on the back. 
> Just picture someone
> throwing the keyboard in a puddle of mud, and that's
> what it looks
> like.  I really wanted this synth, it was the 56
> present version with
> the blue stripes. I have a keyboard shop that works
> on my other
> synths. I was going to take it to  them just to
> clean it before
> powering it up (I'd be afraid to do it now for fear
> of it having an
> electrical short).
> I'm concerned that even after cleaning up, this
> thing may be
> destroyed. I really don't know who caused this, the
> shipping company
> or the seller. In any event, this synth has all of
> its sounds in ROM.
> If the electronics are damaged and boards or chips
> have to  be
> replaced, is it even possible on this synth? Can
> original presets
> somehow be restored? if so how?  
> 
> I'd really like to keep it, even if I have to 
> invest a little $$$ to
> get it up and running but I want to know if it's
> even possible. If
> not, I'll just fight with the seller to give me a
> complete refund.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help!!
> 
> 



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I've owned cases long enough to see the foam go bad. The others are right, it's pretty 
harmless, and once you've cleaned and cleared it away, the keyboard will be fine.


--- In oberheim@yahoogroups.com, "lawjcrg" <lawjcrg@...> wrote:

>
> Hello.  I just joined this forum.  I own an Oberheim ob-8 and dsx
> sequencer and a matrix 6.  I just bought what was represented to be a
> fully functional ob-sx from ebay. It came with an anvil case. When it
> arrived I was shocked to see that black foam in the interior of the
> case was rotted and moist and had formed a black dust/paste that
> covered the synth controlls, was in and between the keys and has
> completed clogged all of the inputs on the back.  Just picture someone
> throwing the keyboard in a puddle of mud, and that's what it looks
> like.  I really wanted this synth, it was the 56 present version with
> the blue stripes. I have a keyboard shop that works on my other
> synths. I was going to take it to  them just to clean it before
> powering it up (I'd be afraid to do it now for fear of it having an
> electrical short).
> I'm concerned that even after cleaning up, this thing may be
> destroyed. I really don't know who caused this, the shipping company
> or the seller. In any event, this synth has all of its sounds in ROM.
> If the electronics are damaged and boards or chips have to  be
> replaced, is it even possible on this synth? Can original presets
> somehow be restored? if so how?  
> 
> I'd really like to keep it, even if I have to  invest a little $$$ to
> get it up and running but I want to know if it's even possible. If
> not, I'll just fight with the seller to give me a complete refund.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help!!
>

--- In oberheim@yahoogroups.com, "qtoobi" <oobi@...> wrote:
>
> I've owned cases long enough to see the foam go bad. The others are 
right, it's pretty 
> harmless, and once you've cleaned and cleared it away, the keyboard 
will be fine.
> 
> 
> --- In oberheim@yahoogroups.com, "lawjcrg" <lawjcrg@> wrote:
> >
> > Hello.  I just joined this forum.  I own an Oberheim ob-8 and dsx
> > sequencer and a matrix 6.  I just bought what was represented to 
be a
> > fully functional ob-sx from ebay. It came with an anvil case. 
When it
> > arrived I was shocked to see that black foam in the interior of 
the
> > case was rotted and moist and had formed a black dust/paste that
> > covered the synth controlls, was in and between the keys and has
> > completed clogged all of the inputs on the back.  Just picture 
someone
> > throwing the keyboard in a puddle of mud, and that's what it looks
> > like.  I really wanted this synth, it was the 56 present version 
with
> > the blue stripes. I have a keyboard shop that works on my other
> > synths. I was going to take it to  them just to clean it before
> > powering it up (I'd be afraid to do it now for fear of it having 
an
> > electrical short).
> > I'm concerned that even after cleaning up, this thing may be
> > destroyed. I really don't know who caused this, the shipping 
company
> > or the seller. In any event, this synth has all of its sounds in 
ROM.
> > If the electronics are damaged and boards or chips have to  be
> > replaced, is it even possible on this synth? Can original presets
> > somehow be restored? if so how?  
> > 
> > I'd really like to keep it, even if I have to  invest a little 
$$$ to
> > get it up and running but I want to know if it's even possible. If
> > not, I'll just fight with the seller to give me a complete refund.
> > 
> > Thanks in advance for any help!!
> >
>
To everyone who responded, thanks! My technician, Peter at CAE sounds 
in San Mateo, CA, was able to clean it all up.  After cleaning out 
the foam crud, the synth just needed a tune up and detailed cleaning 
on the inside and --voila!!-- it sounds great! I can't believe how 
good this littlye synth sounds. If it had 61 keys I'd just forgot 
about wanting an ob-xa.  It sounds just like one in my opinion.

That's because it's basically the same architecture. The SX was an OBX
without the programmability. It was designed mainly for road cats who didn't
want their settings getting lost. Oberheim used to custom burn chips for it
for customers so they could have their preferred sounds in it. It fits an
interesting niche in the Oberheim world. 

-----Original Message-----
From: oberheim@yahoogroups.com [mailto:oberheim@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of lawjcrg
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 5:50 PM
To: oberheim@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [oberheim] Re: need help OB-SX from ebay arrived in damaged
condition, can it be fixed?

--- In oberheim@yahoogroups.com <mailto:oberheim%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"qtoobi" <oobi@...> wrote:
>
> I've owned cases long enough to see the foam go bad. The others are
right, it's pretty 
> harmless, and once you've cleaned and cleared it away, the keyboard
will be fine.
> 
> 
> --- In oberheim@yahoogroups.com <mailto:oberheim%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"lawjcrg" <lawjcrg@> wrote:
> >
> > Hello. I just joined this forum. I own an Oberheim ob-8 and dsx 
> > sequencer and a matrix 6. I just bought what was represented to
be a
> > fully functional ob-sx from ebay. It came with an anvil case. 
When it
> > arrived I was shocked to see that black foam in the interior of
the
> > case was rotted and moist and had formed a black dust/paste that 
> > covered the synth controlls, was in and between the keys and has 
> > completed clogged all of the inputs on the back. Just picture
someone
> > throwing the keyboard in a puddle of mud, and that's what it looks 
> > like. I really wanted this synth, it was the 56 present version
with
> > the blue stripes. I have a keyboard shop that works on my other 
> > synths. I was going to take it to them just to clean it before 
> > powering it up (I'd be afraid to do it now for fear of it having
an
> > electrical short).
> > I'm concerned that even after cleaning up, this thing may be 
> > destroyed. I really don't know who caused this, the shipping
company
> > or the seller. In any event, this synth has all of its sounds in
ROM.
> > If the electronics are damaged and boards or chips have to be 
> > replaced, is it even possible on this synth? Can original presets 
> > somehow be restored? if so how?
> > 
> > I'd really like to keep it, even if I have to invest a little
$$$ to
> > get it up and running but I want to know if it's even possible. If 
> > not, I'll just fight with the seller to give me a complete refund.
> > 
> > Thanks in advance for any help!!
> >
>
To everyone who responded, thanks! My technician, Peter at CAE sounds in San
Mateo, CA, was able to clean it all up. After cleaning out the foam crud,
the synth just needed a tune up and detailed cleaning on the inside and
--voila!!-- it sounds great! I can't believe how good this littlye synth
sounds. If it had 61 keys I'd just forgot about wanting an ob-xa. It sounds
just like one in my opinion.