my rogue is slightly out of tune and there is no one in my area that works on old synths. so i plan to attempt tuning it myself. i have the manual, and it mentions briefly how to do it. i imagine i’ll just make very slight adjustments through the port holes in the back panel and check the tuning as i go.
i know next to nothing about electronics.
do i need to be worried about damaging something while doing this?
any input would be appreciated!
Hi,
If it’s anything like the Prodigy it’s a piece of cake. Turn down the output of the ‘other’ oscillator so you can only hear the one you’re going to tune. I can’t remember the terminology used but one trimmer adjusts the span ie the octave spread and the other is the actual pitch. It takes a bit of trial and error and I usually start at bottom ‘C’. adjust the pitch using an electronic tuner (my ears aren’t good enough to detect perfect concert pitch), then play top ‘C’ and adjust it’s pitch using the other trimmer. Do this a few times until all is well, test across the whole keyboard, then repeat for the other oscillator.
I’ll probably get shot down in flames for this, but that’s how I do it anyway, seems to work fine!
Hi Keith,
you will find the service manual here:
http://www.synthesizerarchiv.de/
(Schaltplane → Moog)
Have fun,
Rudi
hey, thanks for the reply’s, i have the service manual… and most of it is greek to me. but i do have a cromatic tuner here and as long as i don’t have to worry about doing perminant damage, i’m confident i can calibrate the tuning via trial and error… i imagine it’s something not unlike correcting intonation on a guitar neck… something i’m familiar with.
i just want to run it by the forum here first in case i’m completely wrong and i’m minutes away from ruining my moog.
thanks!
well,
i calibrated the rogue… it was easier than i thought.
i even had the nerve to open her up and replace a couple broke keys.
but now i have a whole new appreciation for how unstable these things really are.
as i’m trying to get the octaves in tune with each other i notice that it goes out of tune depending on where and how i’m standing in relation to it.
in other words, if i’m standing directly behind it (as if i were playing it) it can be completely in tune, but if i hold my hand out over the switches and knobs, it drops almost a quarter step in pitch. wtf?
so it’s incredibly frustrating to try and get perfect pitch since every time i raise my hand to turn the screwdriver it changes.
and it’s really sensative… depending on how my weight is shifted as i stand next to it effects whether or not it’s in tune.
does anyone else have this problem?
i never noticed it until just now.
could i have done something when i opened it up to make it act this way?
so,
upon further toying around with it. i can see that it’s oscillator 2 that keeps fluctuating in and out of tune when i move my hand over it. oscillator 1 is rock solid.
when i opened it up i cleaned out some of the dust, and noticed the main circuit board was really loose. so when it was being played you could see it hanging down if you looked between the keys and the top where all the knobs are.
so i tightened it up pretty good. i wouldn’t think this should effect things negaitively, but now i’m wondering if that’s what’s making the 2nd oscillator so sensitive.
i’m kind of shooting in the dark here. any input would help!
You know those earth straps that hang down from the rear ends of cars? Try hanging one from your rear end!
Seriously, that sounds like a bad soldered joint on one of the pots affecting the pitch of that oscillator. Have you had a close look for dry/cracked soldered joints?
i didn’t look at the soldered joints… i really know next to nothing about electronics etc… so i’m not sure if i would know what a dry cracked one would look like.
also, just to clarify, it goes out of tune without me even touching the knob… all i have to do is hold my hand over it and it goes slightly flat. pull my hand away and it goes back to normal.
is that weird?
i guess i’ll have to learn how to solder.
thanks!
It’s not really a Rogue… it’s a Theremin 
i was thinking the same thing.
it want’s to be a theremin so bad.
if only it sounded cool… unfortunately it doesn’t.