Roland Fantom X8 LCD Screen issue and advice needed

[Waynester]

Hi guys!

I bought myself a Yamaha Montage 8 and a Korg Kronos 2 88
Really enjoying using these 2 x boards

I’m still also using my Roland Fantom X8 every weekend in my other band, it’s been serviced and maintained all of its life since I bought it in 2007, new keys, new Keybed, sockets and buttons etc..
However, someat new has happened and I don’t know what to do!
I was playing a show at the weekend, I’ve noticed my LCD screen is getting cloudier looking and it’s like the brightness has been turnt up full! It’s practically illegible! What has caused this? Do i need a new LCD screen? Or is it something else? I believe this is a common issue on the X series? Where can I get a new screen from? Any advice? I also have a master plan if all else fails!

a guy near to me has offered me £465 British for my X8, he knows it’s been well used! I’ve told him about the screen issue and he’s happy to buy it from me….
My plan is for him to buy it, then drive 2 hours from mine to a guy who is selling a Mint Condition X8, it’s never been gigged, it’s as new condition basically… this guy says he has hardly played it, I would obviously test it at his home and make sure it’s working! my question is… buying a keyboard that’s hardly been used and was released 14 + years ago, do things go wrong even if they are not used? I’m talking internally, electronics or dust getting onto the machine (if it’s not been covered) I can get this hardly used X8 for £565!! Thoughts?

[Waynester]

See images of my issue 😰

[rcraven]

Just to check.
It looks a lot like the knob 'LCD Contrast' just to the top right of the screen needs turning.

I hope it is an easy fix like this.

My screen hardly shows at all if I haven't turned it on for a while. Let it warm up and it is fine.

Royce

[Waynester]

Nope… the contrast dial does nothing when I turn it

[lfo]

I think you need to open the machine and re-seat the display cable.
Have a X7 where the display was almost completely black, but the synth worked.
Re-seating the display cable (white small flat cable, about 7 contact lines running in it), cleaning the contact with some IPA, might solve the issue.
I also had to wedge a thin piece of plastic in between the ribbon and the contact, to get a good reliable connection.
After that, the display worked as intended.

Please eject your CF-card from the synth before working on this, especially if you are loading samples from it at bootup.
You might crash your boot ROM if you switch the synth off before the sample load is complete. Ask me how I know...