We are all familiar with rescue dogs: shelter dogs that were abandoned, mistreated, or need special TLC to get back on their feet. Well the same is true for some vintage synths. Recently, Lecturer at IUPUI Ricardo Laranja sold me an old Juno-106 that had been damaged and collecting dust in his garage for sometime. I figured I could take a look at it, clean it up, replace some parts, and make the late 80s album I've always dreamed of.
Upon first inspection the Juno 106 appeared to have some missing keys (almost an octave in the bass) and some cosmetic wear.
I was able to order the missing keys on Ebay From North Music Ltd. Fast delivery and good prices. I think each key, and spring, was about 4 pounds/6 bucks US. They also have tons of other items which I assume I will need a few of as I delve further into the Juno Rehab.
London based synthesizer repairs & supplier of music equipment & vintage spare parts: Roland, Korg, Yamaha, Casio, Akai, Alesis, Clavia, E-mu, Ensoniq, Kawai, Moog, Oberheim & Sequential. www.northmusic.co.uk richard@northmusic.co.uk
The Juno was really dirty; like "miner black-lung" dirty. I knew when opening it up there would be a lot of dust, dirt, and perhaps even a family of squirrels. It's recommended not to use anything that will get the circuitry damp/wet, but I found one video of some guy giving his Arp Odyseey a complete bath (minus the rubber ducky). I bought some compressed air, q-tips, rubbing alcohol, and a sponge/soapy water. I can only imagine what I'll find. I figured giving it a good cleaning will be the first step. Perhaps some of the "crackling" pots and scratchy slider/knobs just need to be cleaned.
Every major USA city has its great architecture, what's interesting about the Circle City (Indianapolis) is how linear and geometric the layout and many of its buildings are downtown. It has a very modernist feel. Admittedly, I took no pictures of the downtown "circle", but on another starless night the mood may strike me. I'm getting better at dealing with low light and longer shutter times, but as I told my dad, " I take about a hundred, and only keep about 10."
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