CR-78 Restoration

Okay, no new synthesizer modules, as i'm on holiday and just was at home today with a new toy - a CR-78 from a friend which needed a repair/restoration.
Just a short test video here, the full restoration story follows soon, for now, there is just a bunch of photos created during the day:
http://www.mik-music.org/tiki/gallery48

DISCLAIMER: because of legal reasons and very limited spare time, i can't help you with your electronics problems, so just don't ask - your questions are likely to be ignored.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• beatbox
• DIY
• drum
• music
• repair
• restoration
• roland
• synthesizer

[Ni5ei]

MusicMik, it's not wise to tell people to just take out the battery. When diode 109 is missing it'll ruin the memory when you turn on the power when there's no battery connected.

[MusicMiK]

@Ni5ei You're absulutely right. This was from the time i had no service manual for the machine yet. Meanwhile, i always tell people to pull the RAMs and put them in a safe place while working on the machine. And as the RAMs even tend to die in the newer versions that don't rely on the battery, i made a RAM replacemehr board.

[1200killer]

I would like to buy a CR-78.

Please help.

[MusicMiK]

I don't have one for sale, i don't even have an own unit. Check eBay or so.

[GNeuman]

THE Gary Numan beatbox of 1979-81!!

Thanks for demo, they're a real cult instrument now....... :-)

Can they be synced up using a MIDI convertor box?

[MusicMiK]

As the start/stop isn't a run input, but toggles run for every pulse, it could make trouble with starting/stopping in some situations, but the clock synchronization is no problem.

I had a CR-78 synced with my Cubase a while ago, just as a proof-of-concept, you just need one microcontroller and some parts around it. Or a ready-to-go solution like the MSY2 from Doepfer.

[MrSidMan]

Savior Synth! I wonder how many gems like this one got trashed because the owners didn't know how to fix it. Great demo, loved the old sound.  Wish these vintage synths and groove boxes were more abundant! Thanks to you they are going in that direction.

[firstmusic00]

Nice work keeping the old machinery alive!

Cheers...from the USA.

[fabulous23s]

the cr78 kick is great, i wish i could alter the pitch and decay of it, that would rock the room!