I modulated too hard... :(

Forum for AX series synths and keytars and all things for those who love that "on the shoulder" look.
captaincowhouse
Posts: 21
Joined: 19:30, 8 December 2010
Location: Brighton, UK

I modulated too hard... :(

Post by captaincowhouse »

This actually happened quite a while ago, and in some ways has worked out for the better.

I basically went a bit overboard on modulating whilst playing, and ended up snapping the modulation bar inside the body. It still worked as it should, but instead, when you turned it on, if you took your hand away, it wouldn't spring back to the off position.

So, I took the plunge and did some open keytar surgery. :s As it goes, the modulation bar is attached by two screws, and has a spring at the back. The plastic bits by the screws, is quite thin and flimsy (so that it can bend when you modulate). I tried to fix it with some superglue and duck-tape, and that worked for a short while, but inevitably, the problem re-occured.

I'm basically saying this a warning to those that like to modulate. Although it does sound like a fatal accident, it actually hasn't been so bad. Sometimes it's nice to be able to flick on the modulation and not have to worry about keeping it pressed down. However at other times it's not so great, like when you're pitch-bending all over the shop, and go to move your hand quickly to a patch change, and it's modulating like nothing!

So yes, be aware that you shouldn't just modulate with reckless abandon, caress that bar!
Raccoon_
Posts: 28
Joined: 15:26, 6 September 2010

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Raccoon_ »

I had same problem while recording this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQzteRIbVTQ
:)

Modulation bar collapsed and I have to go to repair. And they've made it. But still it works a little bit strange. I have to put a piece of paper between bar and cover. And it works quite well.
TheBigE
Posts: 14
Joined: 18:46, 23 September 2010

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by TheBigE »

I dropped my Lucina (actually the strap came off and it fell) and the impact broke the mod bar on that in the same way. I expect they are very similar based on your description. This is where mine broke (the bar should be connected to the two posts screwed to the circuit board):

Image

I called Roland and ordered the part from them, four bucks or so plus SIX for shipping. Hilarious. Even better....there was a two month or so wait until they got spares. I was not happy. I contacted everyone I could find at Roland and told them so, and finally got someone in customer liaison or something. Anyway they went into the warehouse, took one apart and shipped it me for free (never did refund my money though!). Still, they stepped up when they needed to so I am not complaining.

Since then I've learned how to pick the Lucina up so that it does not drop if the strap comes off, I also invested in a couple of the simple Dunlop strap locks, better than nothing.
captaincowhouse
Posts: 21
Joined: 19:30, 8 December 2010
Location: Brighton, UK

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by captaincowhouse »

Yeh, It's weird; I opened up and fixed the mod bar with some super-glue and fire, and I actually miss the broken one! It was indeed broken in the same way as yours, and I miss being able to just wack it on when i'm playing organ and not have to keep my hand on it. Might have to open up again and break it again!
5thElement
Posts: 99
Joined: 16:37, 16 April 2005
Location: Chester, UK

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by 5thElement »

captaincowhouse wrote:Yeh, It's weird; I opened up and fixed the mod bar with some super-glue and fire, and I actually miss the broken one! It was indeed broken in the same way as yours, and I miss being able to just wack it on when i'm playing organ and not have to keep my hand on it. Might have to open up again and break it again!
Yep, strangely, this is exactly what I need on my Lucina! I always want organs with full modulation but there is no way to set up mod control to do this it seems. Using a control pedal doesn't seem to work properly either.

Using it MIDIed to my Juno Stage atm where I can set up everything on the Stage easily plus overlay patches etc. The song player (on the Stage) is also hell of a lot easier to use when you have more than 3 characters to read on the display!

Might go for a Sonic Cell as a small live rig with the Lucina - although the Korg Microstation is a lot of bang for buck as a sound module - and the Korg sound set is superb.
captaincowhouse
Posts: 21
Joined: 19:30, 8 December 2010
Location: Brighton, UK

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by captaincowhouse »

As luck would have it, my fix kinda failed and it sticks down when I press it. I so much prefer that. I think it's a learning process though. I remember doing solos for instance in jump on the oberheim sound, and then rushing my left hand round to play a bass note, and accidentally flicking the switch on ruining the start of the next section, but I don't have that problem any more.

I just wish there was the option in the editor to assign it to turn on modulation when you flick it, and turn off when you flick it again.

That microstaion looks pretty awesome, although the mini keys. Reminds me of my old microkorg XL and that was finnicky to play.
DaMaul
Posts: 12
Joined: 12:30, 16 April 2011

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by DaMaul »

I feel like I'm about to get this problem as well.

In the last week, my mod bar has started "clicking" out of place if I push it on the left hand side, and I can feel it scratching against the plastic somewhere. If I push it from the right hand side, it clicks back into place and is smooth again, but it's impossible to stop this happening while playing.

Could one of you guys who have taken your Ax-synth apart give some instructions on how to open it up? I want to see if I can fix it but I don't want to risk totally breaking the thing!!
TheBigE
Posts: 14
Joined: 18:46, 23 September 2010

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by TheBigE »

Undercoverman
Posts: 69
Joined: 01:06, 17 August 2008

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Undercoverman »

Guess what? Me too.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/17 ... 04487.jpg/

And...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/80 ... 11614.jpg/

I was having the same problem as others in this thread - the mod bar was sticking towards one corner. I've set up Electri6ity to do palm mutes on the mod bar, so I absolutely needed it to be responsive.

This evening, I spent far too long taking apart the Lucina, reaching the mod bar and finally discovering the problem. Although I've dropped the Lucina a few times, as far as I can tell the problem is simply one of wear and tear - I can't see how the flimsy piece of PLASTIC, of all things, is meant to withstand consistent mod bar use. It's just not built for it! I've had the Lucina for a couple of months now and I don't consider myself to be particularly heavy handed. I'm going to try getting in touch with Roland for a replacement part, but I can anticipate having this problem again at some point in the future.
Imobilizer
Posts: 3
Joined: 14:12, 15 June 2011

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Imobilizer »

I am having the same problem too.. I was playing some songs last week on my ax synth, and suddenly I heard some cracking noise from the mod bar.. and it looked like one of the 2 screws holding it broke, so it was lose on one side.. When pushing down the mod bar it held down.. So I opened up my synth and tried to take a look and fix it, but I don't dare to take the mod bar piece out of the body.. So obviously the problem ain't solved, and I have to live with pressing the mod bar up again after pressing it down..
Undercoverman
Posts: 69
Joined: 01:06, 17 August 2008

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Undercoverman »

An update!

I contacted Roland UK for a replacement. It took about two and half weeks to be delivered and it arrived this morning. After I identified the part number with the help of a Roland engineer and the AX-09 service manual, his colleague informed me that they had received a sufficient amount of complaints about the modbar that it had necessitated a redesign and that they would be shipping me the new version of the modbar.

Turns out that the modbar that came with my Lucina (and is probably within most of Lucinas currently available to buy) is defective in that it cannot stand up to regular use. Cynical as I am, I assumed that Roland would just ship me another modbar identical to the broken one and expect me not to notice. I actually ordered two replacement modbars from them assuming this to be the case.

Well, imagine my surprise when receiving the replacement this morning and it actually IS different! Here's a comparison. This first image is the original modbar, the one that shipped inside my Lucina and broke absurdly quickly.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/19 ... rver1.jpg/

This is after I had attempted to bodge a solution with super glue several times, although it is quite obvious that the flimsy little plastic hinge connecting the blocks with screwholes to the right of the modbar was never going to be strong enough. Here's the new version...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/84 ... rver2.jpg/

What you'll notice straight away is that not only is the hinge longer, but it's thicker. It genuinely is a new design. How long it'll last remains to be seen, but that picture is the second of the two I ordered. The first is already inside my Lucina and it's now working perfectly. I'd already opened up and poked around inside my Lucina about ten times now, trying to get to the modbar after it originally broke, so it was quite straight forward.

One thing you have to be mindful of is the fact that there are two soft rubber feet embedded in the back of your modbar that don't come with the replacement, so you have to take these off the broken one and put them into the new modbar. There's also a small metal strip that HAS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE BROKEN MODBAR AND THEN PLACED ON THE NEW MODBAR FOR THE REPLACEMENT TO WORK. It's on the underside of the modbar, so you might miss it.

If your modbar is broken - get the new replacement version. Don't try and glue it back together. The part is defective and you'll need the new version. Get in touch with Roland customer services ASAP as it'll probably take a while to arrive. It's quite straightforward to replace.
captaincowhouse
Posts: 21
Joined: 19:30, 8 December 2010
Location: Brighton, UK

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by captaincowhouse »

Thanks for the info! It certainly does look a lot more sturdy. That said, i'm gonna leave mine the way it is, I much prefer it to be like an on/off switch.
Interzona
Posts: 1
Joined: 19:41, 9 July 2013

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Interzona »

I got Lucina AX-09 last November and was pretty much satisfied with the instrument up until about 10 days ago, when the modulation bar just cracked and refused to go back up during the rehearsal (I neither dropped the synth nor applied any unusual pressure -- I was simply playing it in my normal fashion the moment when it happened). I googled "ax-09 modulation bar" and found this forum. Using the link to ltlfrari's instructions provided by TheBigE, I safely opened my synth and found the source of problem -- my modulation bar broke in exactly the same way as TheBigE's. Thanks to Undercoverman's update, I learned that Roland came up with the new sturdier design of the modulation bar in replacement of the original poorly designed one (which definitely gave me some leverage when persuading Roland to send me the piece for free). It took an extra email or two (it wasn't about money -- the new part is only $4.60 + shipping, but I knew that I was still under "limited 1 year parts warranty", so it was worth a shot). Anyway, I got the new modulation bar (for free) and was able to safely replace it. My synth works perfectly fine now. Very special thanks to TheBigE for sharing the photo and instructions, ltlfrari' for the instructions themselves, and Undercoverman for the update and the info about that tiny metal strip and soft rubber feet on the back of the mod bar. And, of course, thanks to captaincowhouse for writing the original post! Thanks to all of you guys, it took less than 2 weeks from the moment the mod bar broke to the instrument being back in perfect working condition! God Bless internet! :) And btw, the NEW modulation bar part number is K214812801 -- use it when contacting Roland.
Markim617
Posts: 2
Joined: 21:27, 1 March 2014

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Markim617 »

I also had this problem. I did the super glue fix which worked for awhile. Even after I felt the bar break inside again, it was still functioning alright. I've had the replacement part for months, waiting for the inspiration to take my Ax apart again. Tonight was the night. Unfortunately after replacing the modulation bar and putting the Ax back together again, I get no modulation at all. The pitch ribbon still works perfectly, as does everything else (I think). Any idea why I'm not getting modulation? It appears to be strictly a mechanical issue as I don't see any wires or connections to the modulation bar other than the two screws and spring.
Markim617
Posts: 2
Joined: 21:27, 1 March 2014

Re: I modulated too hard... :(

Post by Markim617 »

OK, I figured out what cause "no modulation" for me. After inspecting the old modulation bar more closely, I noticed there is a tiny metal plate and two rubber bumpers on the bottom. When I transferred these to the new modulation bar, everything worked perfectly.
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