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Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-16 by JF Brown

Hi,

I've recently put up a detailed repair log of the Ace Tone PS-1000 mono synth, which I bought a few months ago in non-working condition, and restored to 98% functionality, without schematics or any other documentation.

Here's what I had to fix along the way: Restore power (the synth was completely dead on arrival), fix the dead VCO (the oscillator didn't output anything), repair the noise source (dead also), restore the VCF (75% dead on arrival), fix the portamento (completely messed up) and finally tune the keyboard & octave stretches.

I realize that this isn't a well-known synth, so the information contained in the page might not be directly applicable to any repair project you might have, but if you've ever had trouble repairing any of the above problems, perhaps my detailed repair log may help you in troubleshooting them.

There are also a few small issues left with the synth, and perhaps some of you could help me figure out how to fix them...

You can check out the page here:

http://www.estecho.com/gear/Acetone_PS1000.php

The site also has lots of information (specs, repair info, mods) on analog tape echoes and drum machines.

Thanks!
J.F. at ESTECHO.com

Re: Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-16 by duncan

james- that's a fascinating account, & should be required-reading for anyone attempting repair on an elderly synth, especially if the schematics are not available.

I did a double-take at the first image, as I own an SH3a.... this ace tone is certainly very similar in layout & perhaps concept to the early roland. my SH3a dates from 1974-5. 
roland's first synths were the SH1000 & SH2000; both of these feature the same filter circuit as the original SH3, which got roland into some legal hot water, hence the "a".... but you can read about that elsewhere.

I have three of the SH1000; two working & one with some similar faults to your half-way-fixed ace tone. if they are indeed the product of the same designer, or his proteges, then you may benefit from studying the roland circuits, at least for their principles.

(in the same way as the realistic MG-1 is similar to the moog rogue, though in fact the MG-1 came first).

all three of these early roland SH synths use a high-frequency VCO & divide-down circuitry, an idea that was common practice in electronic organs but (from a moog/arp perspective anyway) rather unusual in synths. this is why the SH synths, & your ace tone, have a single VCO with multiple "taps" in different octaves.

(I bet you can combine the octaves by simply forcing down two or more of those switches....)

these rolands also do some waveform shaping; the SH1000 & SH2000 have some rather interesting interpretations of "real" instruments, conjured by combinations of these octaves & waveforms. all three of them have two LFOs.

I have noticed also that these SH synths track at somewhat more than 1V/octave. it varies... typically 1.2-1.5. I think the problem was in getting the maximum working linear range from a particular selection of components; the tuning procedure for the SH1000 is quite involved, & the carefully chosen transistors are in a metal enclosure for thermal stability. since none of them have cv/gate interfaces as standard, it wasn't an issue at the time. it will be when I hook up my 303 to one of the SH1000s.... :-)

the missing components in your ace tone are almost certainly something to do with the "sample-and-hold" circuit used to register the keyboard voltage & store it for the oscillator. in the roland schematic, I can see matched pairs of FETs, quite an exotic component in the early 70s, & that may be the mystery 7-legged part you're missing. it may have failed. the SH1000 I have with multiple faults has certainly failed here. it also has one dead LFO... 

I think the operating principle of these FETs was to present a high-impedance "barrier" to the capacitor, to prevent it discharging once the voltage was stored. so as long as the CV input of the oscillator itself isn't causing the voltage to wander, you might be able to get this part functional again with a simple switch, operated by the keyboard trigger, that allows key volts onto the capacitor as the key is pressed, then disconnects so that the only place for the capacitor to discharge is the CV input of the VCO, which should take a long time...
if I were you, I'd look at stripping out anything that remains of the circuitry between the keyboard & the VCO, & replacing it with something more "modern", e.g. the design that's used in a rogue or a prodigy. it would work just as well even if the scaling is different, & you would be able to get the components you'd need to build a copy of the moog circuit reasonably easily.
hth-
duncan.

[vintagesynthrepair] Re: Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-16 by Malte Rogacki

I think (as duncan already pointed out) it's very likely that the missing
part in the S/H circuit is a dual FET. The ARP Odyssey used a very similar
construction (as far as I can see).

Get yourself the ARP Odyssey service manual and have a look at the
schematics for board A-I or A-II; the similarity is striking.

-- 
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-18 by Estecho

Hi Duncan,

Many thanks for your comments on my page; I'm glad you found it useful. The Ace Tone PS-1000 is indeed similar in many ways to the early Roland synths of the SH series, but are also different in fundamental design.

> all three of these early roland SH synths use a high-frequency VCO & divide-down circuitry, an idea that was common practice in electronic organs but (from a moog/arp perspective anyway) rather unusual in synths. this is why the SH synths, & your ace tone, have a single VCO with multiple "taps" in different octaves.
> 
> (I bet you can combine the octaves by simply forcing down two or more of those switches....)

The PS-1000 uses a more traditional VCO design than the SH divide-down circuitry, so unfortunately pressing down two switches doesn't give me two octaves. Basically, the octave switches connect to a parallel array of resistors, which alter the control voltage to the various frequency ranges needed for each octave. Pressing down more than one simply combines resistors in parallel, so the Roland SH-1000/2000 and PS-1000 differ in that aspect.

> I have noticed also that these SH synths track at somewhat more than 1V/octave. it varies... typically 1.2-1.5. I think the problem was in getting the maximum working linear range from a particular selection of components; the tuning procedure for the SH1000 is quite involved, & the carefully chosen transistors are in a metal enclosure for thermal stability. since none of them have cv/gate interfaces as standard, it wasn't an issue at the time. it will be when I hook up my 303 to one of the SH1000s.... :-)

My PS-1000 tracks at 3V/octave!! I was a bit surprised when I measured that, even wondering if something was wrong... But it works, and isn't meant for CV/gate, so I guess it's ok!

> I think the operating principle of these FETs was to present a high-impedance "barrier" to the capacitor, to prevent it discharging once the voltage was stored. so as long as the CV input of the oscillator itself isn't causing the voltage to wander, you might be able to get this part functional again with a simple switch, operated by the keyboard trigger, that allows key volts onto the capacitor as the key is pressed, then disconnects so that the only place for the capacitor to discharge is the CV input of the VCO, which should take a long time...
> if I were you, I'd look at stripping out anything that remains of the circuitry between the keyboard & the VCO, & replacing it with something more "modern", e.g. the design that's used in a rogue or a prodigy. it would work just as well even if the scaling is different, & you would be able to get the components you'd need to build a copy of the moog circuit reasonably easily.
> hth-
> duncan.
>

Thanks for your input on the missing components; with your feedback, and others too, I've got a much better idea now of what the circuit was, and how to restore/improve it. Next time I open up the PS-1000, I'll have a few things to try that could very well stabilize the keyboard hold.

J.F.

Re: Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-18 by Estecho

Hi Malte,

Thanks for your tip on the ARP Odyssey circuitry, I just checked it out quickly, and indeed some parts of the circuit are similar. I'll examine it more closely once I open up the PS-1000 again.

J.F.

--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, Malte Rogacki <gacki@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> I think (as duncan already pointed out) it's very likely that the missing
> part in the S/H circuit is a dual FET. The ARP Odyssey used a very similar
> construction (as far as I can see).
> 
> Get yourself the ARP Odyssey service manual and have a look at the
> schematics for board A-I or A-II; the similarity is striking.
> 
> -- 
> 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)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

[vintagesynthrepair] Re: Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-18 by Malte Rogacki

I had another look at your diagram for the s/h circuit. I'm not completely
sure if it's correct.

If I'm not completely mistaken it looks as if the "keyboard chassis shield"
is connected to the output of the opamp and the input of the VCO? Doesn't
sound plausible to me. Could it be that this is just another output for the
keyboard CV (perhaps for the filter) and not the chassis shield?

Other than that the part is practically identical to the circuitry in the
Odyssey, except two minor changes:

1. The Odyssey doesn't use the trimmer.
2. The Odyssey doesn't use the diode.

The remaining stuff is completely identical, including the "loop" around
the input end of the hold capacitor.

Odyssey and Axxe (and perhaps other ARP synths as well) used an IMF3958
(2N3958). It looks like those are mostly available from specialised vendors
(like vintageplanet.nl) and cost around 7 to 9 EUR.

Re: Info page about the Ace Tone PS1000 Analog Monosynth (1975)

2010-09-21 by Estecho

Hi Malke,

Sorry for the late reply, I hope you're still following this thread. The Chassis shield does indeed connect to the output of the opamp. I remember finding it strange also, and trying to disconnect it completely from the circuit, but doing that actually increased the voltage drift...

Of course the circuit has been modified, so I don't know what the original 'design function' of that shield was, but I know I can't just unplug it (unless of course I unplug the whole keyboard assembly, that makes the voltage hold very stable.)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.

J.F.







--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, Malte Rogacki <gacki@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> I had another look at your diagram for the s/h circuit. I'm not completely
> sure if it's correct.
> 
> If I'm not completely mistaken it looks as if the "keyboard chassis shield"
> is connected to the output of the opamp and the input of the VCO? Doesn't
> sound plausible to me. Could it be that this is just another output for the
> keyboard CV (perhaps for the filter) and not the chassis shield?
> 
> Other than that the part is practically identical to the circuitry in the
> Odyssey, except two minor changes:
> 
> 1. The Odyssey doesn't use the trimmer.
> 2. The Odyssey doesn't use the diode.
> 
> The remaining stuff is completely identical, including the "loop" around
> the input end of the hold capacitor.
> 
> Odyssey and Axxe (and perhaps other ARP synths as well) used an IMF3958
> (2N3958). It looks like those are mostly available from specialised vendors
> (like vintageplanet.nl) and cost around 7 to 9 EUR.
>

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