SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) .. not

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FaschingsPrinz
Posts: 6
Joined: 16:22, 22 May 2010
Location: Vienna, AUSTRIA (Europe)

SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) .. not

Post by FaschingsPrinz »

Dear friends,

when I tried playing my SH-201 today I realised that my button is not working any more; I can only go up the 3 octaves, but not down any more. Meaning I´m stuck in Octave +3.
Afterwards I realised that I can not the tempo in any more.

Therefor I startet the 201-Editor (software) and loaded an older set into the 201.
But this didn´s help either. Still I can only go up the octaves, but not down any more.

So I tried a factory-reset;
holding the and the button while powering up.
But the 201 did start as if I hadn´t pressed the buttons, meaning regular.
No blinking and button appeared.
When powered up and buttons do work as intended (changing from user to preset patches); so these buttons do work, but not in combination during start-up.
So factory reset is not working too ?!?

When I sat down at my 201 today I realised that the 201 was running since almost a week; I forgot to turn it off the last time I used it.
Maybe this started the problem ?

Does anybody have an idea what I could do to get my 201 working propperly again?

Thanx a LOT in advance,

Marcus
nb2000260
Posts: 8
Joined: 06:28, 12 October 2010

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by nb2000260 »

Ahhhhhhh!!!! This just happened to mine a couple days ago. I'm hoping like crazy someone knows what is going on. I treat my synth very well so it makes no sense that this is happening. It's a really terrible situation for me because I gig with it as my bass keyboard, but I'm stuck at three octaves up! And turning it off didn't work, neither did factory reset. The write and cancel buttons don't blink. I didn't try tap tempo but I'm shure if it's like yours it's not working.
ANY BODY HAVE A CLUE?
FaschingsPrinz
Posts: 6
Joined: 16:22, 22 May 2010
Location: Vienna, AUSTRIA (Europe)

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by FaschingsPrinz »

I do still have this problem, and am still not sure what to do.
As a interims solution you can at least start the editor which was supplied with the synth, connect your 201 to your computer/laptop and there you can set the octave-switch back to +/- 0.
But as soon as you touch the octave up/down once, you´re stuck with it again.
So maybe it would be a quick solution to install the program on somebodys laptop (best at a member of your band, or your own; doesn´t metter if it´s an old/used/slow laptop because it is only used as an interface to your synth) and plug it to the 201 via USB shortly before your gig and reset the synth manually via the laptop.
And don´t forget to NOT touch any knobs while you play.

Sorry for having no better solution.

Another method I did test in the meantime is to pull all parallel cables inside the synth, as described somewhere on the net.
This did work on my synth,.. but only for a day.
Afterwards everything was back to ab(!)normal.
So this did not help either.

Seems like I will have to send it to Roland.

Good luck!
FP
FaschingsPrinz
Posts: 6
Joined: 16:22, 22 May 2010
Location: Vienna, AUSTRIA (Europe)

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by FaschingsPrinz »

here you can see what I mean.

http://www.deepsonic.ch/deep/htm/roland_sh-201_editor.php

I think it´s the "octave shift" you will have to reset to "0".
Best way it is to look for something on the editor set to "-3" in your case and set it via the editor back to "0".

By taking a quick look at the pictures in the link above there are two positions where a thing like "octave shift" is located.
Once at "patch common" (as a rotary-dial; once for "lower" and once for "upper") and once again at "system common" (as a pulldown-menu).

I´m nor sure which it is, because I´m not at home and can´t test it, but my guess is, it´s the one at "system common".

Best wishes,
FP
FaschingsPrinz
Posts: 6
Joined: 16:22, 22 May 2010
Location: Vienna, AUSTRIA (Europe)

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by FaschingsPrinz »

.. sorry, you will of course have to look for "+3", because you´re pitched UP
nb2000260
Posts: 8
Joined: 06:28, 12 October 2010

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by nb2000260 »

Yeah, I talked to the guys at sweetwater, and it looks like I will have to bring it in. Luckily I live by sweetwater, and they have a Roland certified technical center which means no shipping involved!
nb2000260
Posts: 8
Joined: 06:28, 12 October 2010

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by nb2000260 »

Soo, Roland is charging $250 for a motherboard replacement, and 270 for labor which means....im going to have to pay just as much to fix as i payed for it new. Doesn't that seem....wrong?
nb2000260
Posts: 8
Joined: 06:28, 12 October 2010

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by nb2000260 »

....and i have only owned it for 3 years...reliable, I think not
Re-Member
Posts: 114
Joined: 02:11, 4 June 2007
Location: Portland, OR

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by Re-Member »

The SELECT button in the arpeggio section stopped working normally on mine today. I have to press it really hard to trigger the contact, which means dust has probably worked it's way underneath or something. No longer under warranty since I've owned it for four years now, so this means either taking it apart and attempting to clean it myself, or annoyingly waiting for a repair guy to fix it when I have gig lined up in three weeks. Damnit. It looks like it's going to be a pain to take apart since all the knobs are above the casing. Anyone have any luck taking them off without breaking?
Re-Member
Posts: 114
Joined: 02:11, 4 June 2007
Location: Portland, OR

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by Re-Member »

So after a few days, the button works normal again and I didn't have to take anything apart. Just pressing the button hard enough and wiggling it anytime I needed to press it eventually pushed some of the dust/dirt underneath that was blocking the contact. Same thing happened to the Overdrive button, which now works again.
nb2000260
Posts: 8
Joined: 06:28, 12 October 2010

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by nb2000260 »

So it looks as though my SH-201 is down and out for good. They finally got the motherboard in and it didn't fix the problem. Roland has successfully discontinued all parts and support for SH-201 keyboards which means I now have a beautifully useless faulty piece of plastic taking up room the studio. Its a real shame because I really loved that keyboard. I treated it well and then it stopped working correctly. It may be useful to someone out there who is either good at fixing these types of things or would like a back up board for parts. If interested shoot me an email at: nickbobay@aol.com
nb2000260
Posts: 8
Joined: 06:28, 12 October 2010

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by nb2000260 »

On a side note: Thanks Roland for being slow and relatively unhelpful in this situation.
BartHerrijgers
Posts: 1
Joined: 16:40, 12 April 2014

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by BartHerrijgers »

I know it's an old topic but I've found the solution for this problem. Mine was having the same issue, I could only drop down octaves but the up button no longer worked. After a factory reset the problem kept occurring.

The problem here is that in these old electronics, when pussed often, the soldering in the connectors will develop hairline fractures in them. Although you can't see it from the outside, the soldering connection and thus it conductivity has become bad. So, all you need to do is take of the back cover, find the connections for the right buttons and solder them again. Just make the tin liquid again and if needed apply a little more.
Don't heat it for too long because that might damage the other components.

If you have a ohm-meter, you can even measure the resistance. When unpressed, there will be a little resistance between the connectors due to the other electronics it is connected to. When you press the button, the resistance must drop all the way.

This trick works for a lot of electronics but apparently it is not common knowledge.
Hope this helps somebody someday.

Kind regards,
Bart
pp10050
Posts: 4
Joined: 10:46, 8 August 2014

Re: SH-201 ... factory reset, OCTAVE DOWN and TAP (tempo) ..

Post by pp10050 »

This sounds like the usual Roland front panel button failure. I've lost count of how many I've replaced on all of the early models, ( D50, W30, etc). The buttons are 5mm Tact switches, you need to know how to solder to replace them but its not a difficult job. You can buy them on E-bay

Paul
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