SP606 button repair coming soon

[ZipSnipe]

Just wanted to let anyone who has a problems with a sp606 or maybe any other groovebox buttons that have stopped working. On the sp606 uses this http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... erprise=12 for its buttons. The actual plastic button that you press with your finger is hinged inside the groovebox and it hits the lil red button when you press it.

So on the sp606 after removing many many screws you get to the board that contains these. If you run a ohm meter across the button leads, it should lite up the meter, if not the button is toast(it's made by Panasonic what would you expect). You will have to know how to remove solder and how to solder which is really not that hard. And its all about patience. I have ordered the parts and from Roland I have went ahead and ordered the pad membrane($20), might as well replace it since I have it opened, the pads were not feeling very responsive.

This is a sp606 that I purchased of Ebay knowing that 3 pads were not working. The additional 5 buttons I didn't know they were not working until I received the unit.

I will post a video of the procedure once all the parts are in(roughly 2 weeks)

[ZipSnipe]

Just wanted to add that Roland was going to charge me $4 per button compared to Digikey at $0.23 per button.

I am in the glass business and I know about marking up prices but that is freakin ridiculous.

So all parts are on order and in about a week or two we should have a video of it all going into the sp606.

[ZipSnipe]

Sorry no video , got all excited forgot to set the video cam up so I took a few pics

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All the parts came in, and I ordered enough buttons to replace all. The tool above is very much needed to remove the old solder.

I replaced the 5 broken ones and then several more that I figured get used alot. New pad membrane even though I don't think the old one was bad.

Who ever had this before had no clue how to sample properly, all the samples of poor quality and some have proper volumes while others you can barely hear. Nothing was looped correctly so I just wiped everything off the card, previous owner had already wiped the factory sounds so I will be starting fresh.

I will say this the sp606 and sp808 operate completely different. The sp808 I get around pretty easily in it while the 606 takes me awhile, but to be fair I have only operated the 606 for just a few hours.

Anyway when taking the sp606 apart, make sure you pay attention to what screws go where, there are 3 or 4 fine machine thread ones that you need to really mark where they go.

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In the pic with the circles the yellow circles are the actually plastic button that your finger touches on the sp606 surface, the pic shows how they are attached to the circuit board, simply squeeze them so the plastic button can be removed off the circuit board. PAY attention as some buttons are doubles or attached to another button, so you will need to pinch two. The red circle shows a button unsoldered.

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Also when installing the new buttons make sure you press them into their holes and while using one finger to press the button down use the other hand to bend the leads so that it holds the button tight to the circuit board. The pic above shows the leads bent and ready to be soldered. The pic below shows the actual button that you will be replacing.

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[ZipSnipe]

wanted to mention that the blue colored tool is used to suck up the old solder. To use it heat up your soldering gun and then place it on the solder joint and place the tip of the sucker tool right there next to the joint and hit the button and the spring loaded tool will suck up the solder, might need to do it a second time.

Then I used a ice pic tool to get the old lead loose, but pay attention that you don't tear up the solder joint pad which is thin copper that lines the solder joint hole. If its hard to get the old lead loose just place the solder gun on it and then use the ice pic tool.

Just take your time and you will end up a happy camper like me, I have been sampling away with the 606. But I have an sp808 and sample wise I prefer it, but the pads on the sp606 are pretty robust and not too bad for drumming. I wish they were a lil more sensitive.