Saving DW

Fixing a broken DW-8000 synthesizer. An 80's classic, and this one has fallen under some hard times. Watch as I bring it back to life.
0:00 Intro
0:44 Open DW
2:43 Replace Battery
3:53 Fix Power Supply, Replace Caps and Regulators
6:23 Power On Test
8:00 Replace Volume Slider
9:04 Change System ROM
10:00 Replace Button Switches
11:00 Reassemble
11:53 Final Test

[@SpikesStudio3]

Great work johnny. Really enjoy watching you save them. 👍

[@_P_M_]

Really great work getting the DW up and running again. I've replaced some some displays and a few other parts but I'm no expert. Haven't had the courage to tear into a Power supply. Thanks for documenting the repair!

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Thanks! Yes - the PS isn't too difficult - all the parts are really easy to source.

[@33ordie]

The DW 8000 is a Korg Legend tbh way ahead of the curve from when it was released. That and the DSS1 was insanity then.

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

I'm going to do a video on the DW and DSS fo sure. They both soudn incredible.

[@33ordie]

It's a shame they cut half of the features when they made the DSM1, tbh would of been head to head against the S950 @@johnnymorgansynthdreams

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

@@33ordie I know - I actually know of a local DSM-1 for sale, but after reading and watching youtube about it I'm not as interested. The DSS-1 is so much better in many ways. It's more of a synth than the sampler, which is what the DSM-1 is trying to be.

[@corri303]

Good reminder to recap mine asap. great video!

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Probably worth it for sure.

[@anderslarsson6149]

From a time where synths were rated by their Bell sounds. 😝 Mine has equally klonky keys 😉

[@InstantNoddles]

Nice fix!

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Thanks! Not too hard really - the DW-8000 is pretty straightforward.

[@fjfrancois]

Great video dude, I wish I have the talent too, to fix synths 😢

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Most repairs are pretty simple actually. Just need decent soldering skills.

[@Gerald_Daniel]

Congrats for the efforts you've endured to get that underrated one fully working! 🥁🎉

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

It was in rough shape but despite it's cosmetic belmishes, it sounds great!

[@Gerald_Daniel]

@@johnnymorgansynthdreams I know. A friend had one, but threw it to the ground in a fit of anger. Around the millennium, those machines were literally thrown at one. (Does that quote exist in English?) I still remember an offer of that time - unbelievable €13,- for a fully functional DW6000, knowingly without Vel/AT, less waves, but still great sounding with its analog chorus but personally I prefer DW8000/DS8's flexible digital delay/flanger/chorus.

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

@@Gerald_Daniel I know - so crazy, When I was touring we'd regularly trash old Synths on stage. DX7's were so common and nobody wanted them

[@Gerald_Daniel]

@@johnnymorgansynthdreams And now almost any price is increased immeasurably, just by ageing, if age would contain any benefit. To me age mainly means burdens. I can not repair. Vulture Culture occasionally mentions numbers in his live streams. Everytime I hear those prices, it almost gets me pass out 😱. Because I got in touch with many rare ones & especially by that circumstance I even less understand the present value-for-money-ratio. 🤔

[@trevorpfeiffer5375]

glad i seen this,, i have an dw8000.. most likely has the same problem ,,shuts drown with a crack sound i hope the tracks are ok from the battery

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

I'd almost 95% suspect it's the power supply regulators. A very simple fix actually if you're up for it!

[@keyboardkingpin]

You have a lot of patience Johnny. I Suck at repairs. Great content.

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Thanks - I love fixing old synths.

[@enphour7960]

My DW-8000 was stolen years ago… oh I miss it.

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Damn - too bad. They do sound so good. I mean they really cut through a mix and are soooo 80s

[@RaquelFoster]

I don't know what that smell is when you open up old electronics. But I know the smell of a new motherboard is about the same as the smell of unwrapping a clear early-'90s cassette tape. Some kind of nail-polish-adjacent epoxy smell. It's the dusty basement version of that. The DW-8000 board looks awfully green. I don't know if PCBs are like avocados or not, but I imagine it still has the dusty version of the smell. Basically that's all I can think of watching this video. That power supply board looks like an avocado that needs thrown out.

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

Yeah - it definitely had that old musky electronics smell. Like old capacitors and 35 year old dust.

[@systemfan8]

Thanks for this guide! Mine came with faulty aftertouch, that black rubber foam strip is crumbling and leaves crumbs under the keybed. Don’t know what to do, seems I’ll simply remove the aftertouch strip and replace it with felt. Can’t seem to find any spare parts for aftertouch(

[@johnnymorgansynthdreams]

There is an aftermarket company that does sell a new aftertouch strip for roland synths, but it is pretty expensive. I wonder if some way they might work on a DW-8000 - might be worth looking into as I think the technology is basically the same. plasmamusic.com/store/PRODUCTS-c113749796