Quick repair for Dead ARP Omni? - Synthchaser

[@johnhenderson4519]

Thank you for sharing tech methodologies procedures and techniques while you repair these synths. The details matter and are appreciated.

[@unclemick-synths]

Gotta love tants. Used to work for a defib manufacturer back in the 80s. Had one come back from the customer filled with powder extinguishant - a dying tant gave out an amazing amount of smoke so a nurse grabbed an extinguisher and went bananas with it. Several years later an electrolytic expired dramatically in my bass amp but thankfully I managed to persuade my wife that we just had to wait for the smoke to clear!

[@MPPelli]

Excellent stuff, as always. A couple of years ago I was buying an Omni-2, which was supposed to be a fully working one. As the seller demonstrated the instrument to me, it quickly became very clear that it had never been repaired and consequently made no sound. He then pursued to switch it off and on again, several times, like he was booting a computer, all the while explaining: "Sometimes it takes a bit of time for these old instruments to warm up and start working". I thought "Yeah, right", offered him a lot less than he was asking for, and left for home not with a nice working Omni-2, but another restoration project under my arm... 😁

[@cortical1]

Excited about your channel and am a local (to you) vintage synth player/collector hoping to get some repairs done. Thanks for the great content.

[@handmadeindustrial]

Excellent content!!! I wish I had my old axxe back. I traded it for a pair of basket case Wurlitzer 145s. Still have my omni though. Thanks to your kit, it works great!

[@charliea697]

Another excellent video. Thank you.

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

Awesome video!

[@JimAlfredson]

A timely video because I have an Omni 2 that just came in. :)

[@b-music9329]

I had to reapair one of these (version 2) years ago too and - as so often in these old devices - the problem it had was caused by tantalum condensers that went short - which caused hanging notes. So I'm curious if this is the problem here too (haven't watched the video to the end yet)

[@marcusjknight]

Did Patrick Cowley ‘Sylvester’ WMMFMR use the ARP Omni 1 with the EMS?

[@ScottFromCanada]

Another thing I found with slightly newer synths (80s) is that stored patches can become corrupted when the power supply goes. I got a broken Oberheim Matrix 6 and I first had to replace a bunch of components in the PSU. After that the voltages were reading correctly but there was still no sound at all. Eventually I just initialized a patch and suddenly it was fine! So I restored the entire bank and everything worked perfectly.

[@ScottsSynthStuff]

Those old PCB's with the traces laid out by hand (not by computer) are just artistry. Today's multilayer boards where everything is hidden, and the boards are crammed full of surface-mount components just don't give you the sense of craftsmanship that these old boards convey.

[@jerzilla3795]

I think any Arp Omni that’s not in fully working condition can qualify as “Sus” 😂

[@merseyviking]

Is there a good site or forum for finding the current market value of working vintage synths? Ebay prices vary so wildly that I wouldn't trust it, but it would be useful to see if a synth going as spares or repair would be worth the outlay to refurbish. After watching most of your videos it's something I'd like to take up as a hobby, so I wouldn't need to make a living wage.

[@Synthchaser]

Reverb has a price guide for most models, though you still need to click through and look at the individual sold listings, since condition varies widely.

[@alistairfletcher6187]

In my experience, big tasks like this should not be undertaken, unless personal attachment to a articular piece of kit is involved or the item is exceptionally valuable. The manhours + BOM usually doesn't add up. I have spend hundreds of hours and Euros on thing that aren't necessarily worth hundreds of Euros. Would do it again. I record them and they make me smile.

[@westfallian2570]

Got one of these with a similar “powers on but no sound” a local repair shop had begun to replace all of the capacitors, which ended up being the problem. pulled pads. poor soldering connections. be careful if you send these to a local guitar amp repair place. they may not use the care required in keeping the pads and traces in tact.

[@Synthchaser]

Amen! The only thing worse than restoring a broken Omni is restoring one someone has already tried to work on!

[@marcusjknight]

How many ARP Omni 1s where made Nathan? They seem to be the most not working synth to appear on ebay / ever made. I have 2 broken I’d like to get you. Similar condition to this one.

[@Synthchaser]

I've heard it's around 2000, but I'm not totally sure.

[@PWMaarten]

Question: Why do you measure ohms and not continuity?

[@merseyviking]

Because the continuity buzzer won't work over a certain resistance, so if you have a component that has failed partially open circuit or you have a track or wire that is dubious, you won't get a beep but a high resistance reading.

[@PWMaarten]

@@merseyviking But we’re looking for a short. So in this instance the continuity still seems the appropriate measurement to me. Or am I missing something?

[@DollysplitBand]

@@PWMaarten I would also like to know the answer to this. I've mistakenly removed failed components before due to a resistance reading, only to discover they read correctly out of circuit. A misunderstanding on my part, definitely. Haha

[@Synthchaser]

A reading of 100 ohms on one of the power rails wouldn't make the continuity buzzer beep on my meter, but it would still indicate a short on the rail. A continuity measurement is a subset of a resistance measurement, so why not set your meter to give you all the information it's capable of providing?

[@PWMaarten]

​@@Synthchaser Yes. Understood and agreed. Thanks!

[@sawsquaresinetube]

Sus! That’s what my kids would say :)

[@sawsquaresinetube]

Great video Synthchaser! Great 👍 insight as always, thank you for sharing

[@audiodood]

sussy amogus imposter piano

[@jimfischer4703]

This so much.

[@noddyspuncture]

How do you Americans spell "soldered" .... or "sawdered"...? 🙂

[@Synthchaser]

If it bothers you, wait until I put on my gold chains and spray tan for my Jersey Synthchaser video.

[@merseyviking]

Hold on, the neutral from the power socket is white, but comes from the switch as red. The live comes in as black, then comes out as white? Now _there's_ a trap for young players!

[@Synthchaser]

Yeah, it was super dangerous to mislabel the colors of the mains wiring. Creates more demand for factory service when you knock off the independent techs. :)