Vintage Synth Repair

FWIW, I replaced the broken J-wires in the Prophet 5 keyboard with
0.38mm guitar wire(D'Addario PL015, to be specific).  Silver solder
was used.  Seems strong enough.

A white-face Odyssey came in last week for a keyboard overhaul.  The
keyboard module was made by the same outfit as the Prophet's (Allen &
Heath), but seven years earlier.  It is amazing how much better
quality the earlier design is!  I don't know if Allen & Heath had
cheaped out over the years, or if SCI simply wouldn't pay for better
quality -- but I'd sure be interested.  If there is a link to a
history of Allen & Heath, and the various versions of their keyboard
modules, it would make interesting reading.  The extant Allen & Heath
is a British company that makes mixers, http://www.allen-heath.com/. 
Their website gives no corporate history.  Did the old keyboard
modules come out of Britain, or is this a different company?

Th.B. Nast
Seattle

At 20:00 Uhr +0000 19.04.2008, pigeonbreath wrote:
> A white-face Odyssey came in last week for a keyboard overhaul. The
> keyboard module was made by the same outfit as the Prophet's (Allen &
> Heath),

I thought they were built by Pratt-Read?


-- 
Malte Rogacki gacki@...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Don't forget to TURN ON THE SYNTHESIZER. Often this is the reason why you
 get no sound out of it." (ARP 2600 Owner's Manual)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Saturday 19 April 2008 16:00, pigeonbreath wrote:
> A white-face Odyssey came in last week for a keyboard overhaul.  The
> keyboard module was made by the same outfit as the Prophet's (Allen &
> Heath), but seven years earlier.  It is amazing how much better
> quality the earlier design is!  I don't know if Allen & Heath had
> cheaped out over the years, 

Who hasn't?  :-(


-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James 
M Dakin

Pratt-Read.  Right.  I must be losing my mind.  Or wig.  Or something.
 Thanks for the correction.

Th.B. Nast


--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, Malte Rogacki <gacki@...>
wrote:
>
> At 20:00 Uhr +0000 19.04.2008, pigeonbreath wrote:
> > A white-face Odyssey came in last week for a keyboard overhaul. The
> > keyboard module was made by the same outfit as the Prophet's (Allen &
> > Heath),
> 
> I thought they were built by Pratt-Read?
> 
> 
> -- 
> Malte Rogacki gacki@...
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> "Don't forget to TURN ON THE SYNTHESIZER. Often this is the reason
why you
>  get no sound out of it." (ARP 2600 Owner's Manual)
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

Try the link
http://www.allen-heath.com/UK/companyinfo.asp
which give the history of Allen-Heath, and there is also a link on 
thaat page to their old products.

--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, "pigeonbreath" 
<tbnast@...> wrote:
>
> FWIW, I replaced the broken J-wires in the Prophet 5 keyboard with
> 0.38mm guitar wire(D'Addario PL015, to be specific).  Silver solder
> was used.  Seems strong enough.
> 
> A white-face Odyssey came in last week for a keyboard overhaul.  The
> keyboard module was made by the same outfit as the Prophet's (Allen 
&
> Heath), but seven years earlier.  It is amazing how much better
> quality the earlier design is!  I don't know if Allen & Heath had
> cheaped out over the years, or if SCI simply wouldn't pay for better
> quality -- but I'd sure be interested.  If there is a link to a
> history of Allen & Heath, and the various versions of their keyboard
> modules, it would make interesting reading.  The extant Allen & 
Heath
> is a British company that makes mixers, http://www.allen-
heath.com/. 

> Their website gives no corporate history.  Did the old keyboard
> modules come out of Britain, or is this a different company?
> 
> Th.B. Nast
> Seattle
>