Yamaha SY77, TG77, SY99 LCD replacement

[@bohemiangroove9751]

I would have never survived my SY77’s LCD replacement if it wasn’t for this video! You’re a Godsend, Midera. And I think I bought my screen from the same EBay seller you did. Thank goodness mine was without any visible blemishes. And thank you again for your unabashed apprehensive devotion to this FM legend.

[@MIDERA]

Hey thanks! Glad it was of some use. I was likely not going to post this video cuz I thought it was terrible but went ahead anyway, so I’m glad it’s helpful. Replacing that LCD is literally work for someone in hell. It was awful. Doing it twice was… I can’t even describe it. Then dealing with the seller who was about as much of a garbage person as I could run across on the internet.

[@etherphon]

This was all I really needed to hint me in the right directions, so good work, thanks for the video now I have a nice quiet SY-77 with a bright screen!

[@MIDERA]

Great! Enjoy your SY77 :) glad this horrible video helped 🤣

[@theaudioeng]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to show us all this epic retrofit! I've already done one of my SY99's (white on black LCD) which took my best part of my whole weekend! 🙄... still looks amazing compared to the OEM one from Yam. Love your vids, so keep those up! 😎🎹🎶👍🍻

[@MIDERA]

Thanks - sorry for the late reply. Sometimes I don’t see these messages. Hopefully the video was remotely helpful.

[@theaudioeng]

@@MIDERA T'was!! Many thanks again Midera 😁👍🍻

[@bestiagrama1276]

That blue LCD looks awesome, much more clear. Thanks for posting the tutorial, will be usefull when I have to change mine

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! Did you swap yours out?

[@rg2027x]

thx for the info bro. 1 of these days i need to replace my sy99 display. I still like the sy99 after all these years. found it in a thrift shop for $100 advertised broken. Turned out both battery were dead so it wouldn't hold sounds. also the disk drive belt needed replacement. Not a bad deal I thought. I rebuilt the keybed last year. adding new upper/lower felts (the old ones were basically disintegrated) then cleaned & re-greased all the keys. it made a big difference! in playability since it's a fun synth to play from it's own keyboard. the patches respond well to velocity and dynamics. especially on the more gnarly FM tones.

[@MIDERA]

Yeah, I bought mine for $260 and then spent about $100 on the display - it was for sure a worthwhile upgrade. Definitely a great deal for the SY99 for $100! I too had to regrease the keys. Take care :)

[@theaudioeng]

Wow $100 is a steal!! The BEST FM synth - I've now got 3x '99's + 1x '77(!!!). Also bought MODX which is a more 'modern' FM tone. All brilliant! 😎🎹🎶👍🍻

[@Swanlord05]

I'm gonna do this soon.... Your video scared me stiff for two years straight..... Yamaha should be hung for this design

[@MIDERA]

100% correct. Total assholes. Good luck. Once you’re in there, it’s not so bad, but it did suck.

[@AndrewJohnClive]

Thank you so much! I love the sounds you make with this machine. I too am about to change my screen.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! And good luck. It is not for the weak of heart to change the screen, lol. It's not too bad actually ;)

[@bendecaf]

Thanks for this video. It was awesomely helpful. Switched display and all tactile switches.

[@MIDERA]

That’s great to hear! I was really disappointed with my video, so... yeah, glad to hear it was helpful!

[@wilcandou]

39:20 Did you realise that in this clip you may have missed two screws that attached the rest of the key bed to the subframe underneath the PS circuit board? There are 14 screws that secure the key bed. You may have missed 2. Great video all the same. Well done!

[@MIDERA]

Do you have a time-point for it? It's possible that it was missing some screws already - I don't recall having spares afterwards... but could be wrong.

[@Jojo-be3cf]

Haha, replaced the screen today, everything works fine. But i have 5 screws left over... :( I think i should, disassemble it again and search where i forgot to put them. Thank you for your video, it was very helpful.

[@MIDERA]

It probably isn't worth opening again! There were so many damn screws!!!!

[@Jojo-be3cf]

Yes, maybe :D Took > 4 hours for me to change the display. Got some wires out on the wrong side, and had to disassemble nearly everything again... Also resoldered another contrast knob (different resistance).

[@SearingPoint]

That's 80s over-engineering. You can just throw those out. Yamaha factored that into it just like all other 80s technology companies did with their products. Cars, boomboxes, Casio watches, walkie-talkies, bb guns, etc etc. They all came chock-full of extra screws.

[@lifesynthtance]

Great advice to unplug the old LCD and plug in the new one to test before tearing the unit apart and installing to then find an issue. Replaced the screen in my SY77 a few weeks ago and didn't even think to do that ! Got lucky I guess.

[@MIDERA]

Aw dang, I had posted this months ago but only as a private video... didn’t think people would really appreciate anything in it :(

[@lifesynthtance]

Haha, no worries. People sure will appreciate it man, lots of good advice. Id be sure to test the new screen first if I had to do it again. Its a very satisfying mod to do to the SY77....well worthy of an upgrade.

[@deltekkie7646]

I just replaced the LCD screen on my SY-77 with on I bought at Mouser. (approx $80) I had to do some modifications to the power that supplies the LCD backlight and modify the circuit the adjusts the contrast. When I made the nods I deicded to remove and clean all the keys. It would have gone great except for two things. I did not remove the trigger board as you did, so when I reinstalled the keys I bent about 10 of the trigger contacts. I was very upset. I did fix them but now I have a new problem. Most of the sounds are now messed up. Even the facotry presets. I believe it is something to do with what creates or modifies one of the AWM sound engines. I am still in the process of trying to figure out what I might have done. Grrrrr!!!

[@MIDERA]

Wow, that sucks. I'm sorry that happened. At what point do I remove the trigger board? I am likely to have to enter the SY77 again because my buttons feel weird to press and I may have to clean them out. Maybe they always felt like that and I just don't remember though :/ Good luck on the repair. I think maybe it's worth opening it up and seeing if any cables are not plugged back in properly, I'd just reseat them all and see if that helps. Best case is that's all it is. But also is it possible that the battery is dying?

[@deltekkie7646]

@@MIDERA I have redseated the cables, several times. I checked to see if I might have dropped solder on the board but have not found any. The one thing that I think "might" have something to do with it is the main cable that connects DM1 and DM2 together. When I was disassempling the unit, I didn't realize that cable was soldered onto DM2. I started to pull the cable up and pulled loose the ribbon connector a little. I realized immediately what it was and pressed the cover back on. But there is a small chance that I might not have gotten all the wires completely seated in the connector. When I get over being frustraited with it, I will take it apart...AGAIN, and see if this might be it. If that is not it I have no clue what could have happened. I worked perfectly before >>> I

[@deltekkie7646]

Eureka!!! I was just messing with my keyboard and it was doing the same random junk. When I play the sound "Eutopia" it would not just play the sound. I sort of plays the sound but there is a very strong bouncing sound that is just as loud in the backgound. Tonight I also heard some static with the stound and made me wonder if it was indeed a connection issue. So, while I was holding down one note, I start tapping on different parts of the top of the keyboard and sure enough, several time the souind came back to the normal sound. So I am sure now that I did not get something completely connected when I was working on it. I'll bet it is that ribbon cable. I will let you know how it comes out when I take it apart again. Wish me luck!

[@deltekkie7646]

I got it fixed. I was a dummy. When I was modifying the resistors that control the contrast I accidently dropped a bit od solder on another part of the board. I was trying to be very careful too. It anyrate, it wasn't even on there that strong. I just picked it up with a pair of tweezers. All the wierd sounds are gon now. Soncondly, I got my floppy working again. That has not worked for years. I can not save and load data to the keyboard. BTW. If you would like I have a bunch of data files someone gave me when I got the keyboard I could share, if you also have any you'd like to share. I am a little diappointed. I have one sequnce that I could not get off one of the floppy drives because it was so old. I spent hours working out the sounds and a sequence to the intro to "Jet Airliner" (long version) by Steve Miller. Sad!!

[@pcuimac]

I have schduled this operation for this month. I will have to desolder the display cable though and add my own resistors for display brightness and contrast. I can only hope all works out. I guess I also have to buy 70 new buttons. Would be stupid to do all this work and to not change the buttons and clean the sliders.

[@MIDERA]

That’s a good thought to fix all those tact switches once your in. I didn’t do that… but didn’t really have the capacity to do it back then. Everything needed to be plug and play. Today, it would be different. I replaced all the tact switches in my MC-303 and that only took me about an hour! Good luck! It is quite the task.

[@wilcandou]

Where do you connect the potentiometer? What resistor(s) does it replace so I can get the contrast right on the SY77? Cheers

[@MIDERA]

Hey, sorry, all I know is from my video, it’s been about 5+ years since I did this. I bought a complete kit so I didn’t do anything but plug the things in :/ sorry.

[@wilcandou]

Do you remember where the potentiometer was soldered onto or what resistor did it replace. Thanks

[@MIDERA]

I didn’t replace or remove any potentiometers on the SY77… I do remember removing a connection to stop the whining sound. What we’re you asking about specifically?

[@wilcandou]

Just where the gray lead went to that has the potentiometer hanging off it. You threaded it through the circuit board that sits over the display.

[@wilcandou]

Ahh it was connected to the actual display... just need to find where it was connected. The same guy you got it off in the UK won't help unless I buy another display. (Weird) anyway the version I bought was for a TG77 and I have the instructions for that but it has the potentiometer replacing a resistor. But I need to swap and put it into the SY77 and with your version, the only difference is that the potentiometer is attached direct to the display. Cheers

[@vintagesynthesizers]

Pulling out cables with pliers is a nightmare that I'd like not to see. There are specific tools for this purpose...

[@MIDERA]

👍

[@delobuenomucho3153]

Thank you for sharing !!

[@dixonlopezje]

Hello, I am from Venezuela and I would like to know the name of the screen model that I have to buy, I am from Venezuela and I have to order it from the US but I need the specifications of the screen

[@MIDERA]

Hi - I bought mine from someone in the UK. I'm not sure they're still selling these, and if they were, I don't know that I'd want anyone supporting them. They were awful to work with and I really don't want anyone else to be screwed over by them. If you still want to take a chance, I can see if I can find their information.

[@adroharv9213]

I'm just about to do this on one of mine and I'm not looking forward to. What I am looking forward to is the new mono screen removal of the buzzing sound. Do you still use the SY77? I have rather a lot of work that requires I'm always using the SY77 dating back to 92 so that's why I wanted a new fancy screen at least. Thanks for the helpful tutorial

[@MIDERA]

I love my SY77. Definitely among the top 3 synths I own. Does the old screen cause a buzzing sound? I only had the old screen in mine for a short while before replacing it. It was not fun, and I had to do it TWICE!

[@adroharv9213]

@@MIDERA yeah a constant buzzing. I had a crack tonight at fitting a new one but only got so far as the last board with lcd. It was at that point I realised how deep you have to go and I panicked. Next time I'll take some pictures to make sure I can reference them but I sense it getting easier. The XP50 was certainly easier but it'll be worth it Yeah the SY77 is something I've had from 1990 and realistically as much as I love the beast, I've lots still to finish on the machine.

[@MIDERA]

@@adroharv9213 The nice thing about the cables in the SY77 is that I think there are no two cables that could be accidentally swapped, they're all unique. I think if you take pictures as you go, you will be fine. It does suck though. It absolutely sucks. Make sure to plug in the screen BEFORE you install it though and make sure it works! You can plug it in right when you open the bottom panel while the synth is upside down. That's what I would do. Don't want to get it installed and find it damaged.

[@adroharv9213]

@@MIDERA yeah thanks I'll definitely be doing all that. Going in a second time helps I expect as well because it'll be somewhat familiar. Interesting and helpful about cables being all different. Anyway I'm sure it will be worth it even if it does make you work for that pleasure. All the best with your channel

[@MIDERA]

@@adroharv9213 ​Thanks. I THINK I make the point about the cables somewhere within the video, but honestly, I was pretty dissatisfied with my video and really threw it together last minute without as much thought as I should have put into it. That's the way it goes. I try to do things well, but I tell myself that I'd rather it was done poorly than not done at all, so that's what I'm sticking with.

[@deltekkie7646]

Where did you order the screen from?

[@MIDERA]

Through eBay. The seller was not at all friendly and my recommendation is to not buy through them. However, I don't know of an alternative, unfortunately.

[@deltekkie7646]

@@MIDERA Thanks anyway. I'm going to try to find a raw backlit display and make my own. I've had my SY77 since about 1990. I still like it except that compared to my new MODX8 it is so darn heavy.

[@MIDERA]

The MODX seems better though, no? Very good FM synthesis.

[@deltekkie7646]

@@MIDERA Yes it is. I really like the layering capabilities of the keyboard. What I used to have to use two keyboards to I can now do with just this one. AND should I decide to just use one patch of a layered performance and let an external keyboard control the other one it's like having two MODX's. Very cool. However I am still learning all it can do. It is a bit complicated.

[@MIDERA]

@@deltekkie7646 Why bother keeping the SY77 then, if I can ask.

[@WV591]

Where did you order it from?... i have wasted hours installing back-light on roland D550 and then finding out they don't work.i need to change tg77 screen.

[@MIDERA]

It was made by someone who is no longer an eBay seller - he has changed his name on there. I think he goes by Lux something... If you search ebay for a screen for the SY77, you will quickly come across this fellow.

[@thehimer3903]

This is so helpful...

[@MIDERA]

I’m glad it’s of help!

[@capferrat6058]

Hey man, just got my SY today from Japan. It is unreal the condition that it's in. Literally looks brand new. The screen works fine but I definitely want to do the blue one at some point. The ONLY issue with it is one of the keys sticks just a bit. Any tips on that or have you had experience with that? Also, why did you have to do this twice? LOL.

[@MIDERA]

I had to replace the screen twice because the seller on eBay sold me one that had a flaw on it, which I didn’t see until after I installed it. The second one had a flaw as well, but it was easier to hide. I had some stuck keys too - you have to remove the entire keybed and put something like white lithium grease in the spot where the underside of the keys connect with the plastic - you will have to remove individual keys. I removed all my keys, cleaned them off, and lubed them before placing back on the board. But you have to be careful not to bend the soft metal connectors. It’s not a hard project, but it takes a very long time to do.

[@capferrat6058]

@@MIDERA Awesome thanks man. Thankfully the SY I got is in mint condition so it's just one single key that needs unsticking. What an incredible synth this is. I owned the DX-7 and EX-5 back in the day and loved those as well, but the SY seems on a different level. Also, do you have any recommendations for patch libraries to download until I get better at programming it? Any other tips? I also have a JX3P and MPC-1000 and hope to somehow control both of those synths with the MPC.

[@MIDERA]

The only advice I have is to go here: herbert-janssen.de/sy.html and download the SY programming book he has - on page 17 (or around there) he gets into the specifics of how to create sounds using the SY. I learned everything I know about FM synthesis there and it's geared towards the SY77. I have not used presets so I don't know where to go. You could join the SY77/99 facebook group, who might have some more ideas. Also check out the PL88 by LEWISMIDI who has a ton of patches/banks on his device - plus it has an arpeggiator and loads of other stuff - check out my other videos with the PL88 to see more about it. I've had lots of trouble controlling my SY77 with my sequencers. PC messages get really annoying when the SY77 sends them, changing songs/sounds in my other instruments. I can't turn them off going from the SY77 to my other gear, so that's been a little frustrating.

[@capferrat277]

MIDERA Thanks for all the info man. Love your channel and have been watching for a while now. Love the stuff you did with the EMX as well. Here’s something I recorded earlier with the SY instagram.com/p/BwZv_T6hEDd/?igshid=31bba8itc9mr

[@Swanlord05]

i have to do this also im gonna pull the lcd unit from the front of it ........gonna take out the glass and see if i can replug the cable from the top........gotta be an easier way

[@MIDERA]

Hey Jim - I hope you haven’t done this. That most certainly will not work. The screen does not seat down in the unit that way, it wouldn’t fit in there. Second, I don’t have any idea how you’d plug the cable in OR disconnect the previous one. 100% it is worth the effort of doing it properly. You will break the unit and not accomplish anything in the process.

[@Swanlord05]

@@MIDERA ok

[@MIDERA]

Whew man - you made me very nervous. I know it's a LOT of work to do it right, but doing it wrong would just be an awful experience and you'd have a broken device. The upgrade is worth it 100%.

[@Swanlord05]

I'm gonna do it your way

[@Swanlord05]

The display I bought dosent have the cable..... I was gonna use the original cable.... Is that possible

[@vincentmalcorps7614]

Thanks a lot!!

[@MIDERA]

You’re welcome :)

[@thb-music]

Man... and I thought the RM1X had a ton of screws.

[@MIDERA]

I had to replace that screen TWICE! It was terrible. And my filming of it wasn’t much better.

[@MIDERA]

I wish this type of screen that I replaced on my SY77 was available on the RS7000 - but they're not the same things :/

[@bastiaanw3519]

Fader caps. They're called caps ;-)

[@MIDERA]

What are called fader caps?

[@bastiaanw3519]

MIDERA "...these slider... errr... knobs or the... err... whatever they are. The tops..." @ 46'14

[@MIDERA]

If you watched 46 minutes of this video, I feel sorry for you, lol. You don’t even HAVE an sy77, do you??

[@bastiaanw3519]

MIDERA Haha, no, I didn't watch the whole video, only the first minute to learn what it was about and the last two minutes to see the end result.

[@MIDERA]

Hah - *whew*.

[@Swanlord05]

if the glass breaks ill just replace it with a nice frame it wont be flush on top but who cares

[@MIDERA]

How did this turn out for you?