Moog Music Forum

I'm thinking about those bubbles, if there's no way to eliminate them and bring the panel in original state, maybe with a tricky method.
I'm going to ask around....................
But if you'll get a fine new one it's obsolete..............................

well it turns out that the initial assessment was incorrect. the bubbles WERE the original plastic that had stuck. Chris used a hair dryer to apply heat to it and got it to come off, but underneath was a milky discoloration. He went at that with plastic polish and managed to make it look a LOT better. Still, I decided to use one of Hernán Baldi's new aluminum panels and keep the old one stored somewhere safe (maybe in a haystack?). Here are some more pics:





The keybed is almost finished now, and OptoKey is installed:

Thanks for the progress report and the pics, mrfett.

So we're making progress! The corrosion slowed things down, as there was corrosion on the cards, but everything is looking much better. Still some corrosion on the connectors but they seem to be fine:



The new front panel came (from Argentina) and Chris got it fitted:



She lives!



With the knobs all nice and clean:



I think we're in the home stretch. Not sure if I should replace the chickenfoot knobs (they aren't original or correct) or just leave them. Going to have a center-detent mod done to the pitch wheel and then I think she should be back with me. Pretty cool!

Nice restoration and photos! Thanks for sharing. Always like to see progress on such fun and rewarding projects like this Minimoog.

mrfett wrote:Not sure if I should replace the chickenfoot knobs (they aren't original or correct) or just leave them.

Those would be the correct ones for that year Minimoog. Not sure the dates/serials they were used, but my original late '73 Mini ser#37XX had those same type selector knobs. And my current '74 ser#40XX has them too.


I remember reading somewhere that these were not original/factory. But the person writing this probably did not own a Minimoog in 1974 and would not really know. But if you purchased a newly made Mini in late '73 or early '74, that is what they were using during that time period. I always thought those original type wedge pointer knobs looked strange, but they started using them again on later units. Unknown when they began using the original wedge type again, but have seen them on ser#5XXX and later as Moog used used those type up untill the last units made.
A photo of Bob with the other type ('73-'74) selector knobs on the Minimoog in front of him.


If you want to replace those, I would gladly buy the old set of originals from you. Not that easy to find and usually if one breaks, the only matching set found new would be a set of those original wedge type.

Keep up posted on your progress!

Thanks for the update mrfett !
That Minimoog D looks good indeed !

CZRider, those knobs were, and are still being produced by Cosmo Corporation. You can see them on their current catalog page under "Double bar knobs, Grooved style" the second one from the far left with the aluminum inlay.
The only drawback is the that they only sell in bulk and the minimum order is for 250 knobs. (detailed in a quotation I had received from Cosmo, back in 2012, for the regular ones, the Skirted knobs Fluted Taper Skirt with aluminum inlay, found on a Mini)

http://www.cosmocorp.com/en/kcat-search3.cfm?loc=1&

Thanks for the link. Those are similar but not really the same. More of a "teapot" shape, where the originals have very little taper. My set is good, was just pointing out they are original and not odd replacements. The "teapot" shape may be a redesign as they were said to break easily. I never broke one, but over tightening the setscrew on any knob can split/crack them.
Here is the Cosmo drawing for that new one:

Tough to tell from the web photos, but the photos look different from those old original Moog type. And untill you actually have one, the end product can vary.
Another view of those '73/'74 different style pointers.

It looks like you're right, CZ Rider, they're not quite identical to the originals. But only a fine connoisseur like you would have probably noticed that !

Wow CZ Rider thank you so much for chiming in. Chris and I assumed they weren't original because we were going off what the Lords of the Mini site says about knob history, and because they're different from the other Minis in his shop now. I bought a set of silver inserts to replace the nasty ones on mine from CAE and the inserts they sent for those chickenfoot ones didn't fit, and they swore no one else has had an issue with them so that seemed to corroborate that mine were aftermarket. Thanks for correcting us! So these were only used on some of these "old oscillator" units in '73 and '74 huh (mine was made on 6/6/1974)? Very cool!

Edit: just for the record, i misunderstood Chris. he's had Minis with these knobs in his shop before and suspected they could be stock, but just wasn't positive.

Well, in the end it took a couple of months, but I can finally post that this project ended successfully!





I can't say enough positive things about Chris Hewitt at This Old Synth... what a class act. I've had a miserable time with some other synth techs (and in fact have a Juno-60 that's been at one particularly notorious one for 19 months!), and the times I was satisfied my wallet was miserable, so I was pretty reluctant to ship this thing across the country to some guy I'd never heard of. In the end though, I went with the fact that he was the guy Kevin chose to continue the Opto-Key so I crossed my fingers and sent it on its way. Everything you guys said might happen did: there was a lot of corrosion so it took some time to clean everything, and lots of things needed replacing. I went with the aluminum faceplate and have the original stored safely. Chris did all the work for MUCH less than it would've cost here on the East coast. Shipping ate away some of that savings of course...

But man who cares about all that crap - the SOUND! Whoa it's just incredible, so much fun to play I just can't believe it! I went to tune it and it was dead-on! So anyway, just figured I'd give the conclusion to this story. In the end I wouldn't have bought the thing if I'd known the full price tag (just the shipping back and forth was quite a cost), but I'm really happy I did it. This is an instrument I can say I rescued and brought back to life. I can't believe it's mine!

Looks great, glad you are pleased with the result. Once you hear a Minimoog, it's hard to go back.

sorry, couldn't help myself...

made a little vid of my first patch, since i was scared i wouldn't hear it again lol!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8c5v-XHd-E

Thanks for the update and the pics, and the video demo mrfett. Without the Opto-Key that little demo probably wouldn't have sounded as sharp between notes.

Looks and sounds like a great restauration job by Chris !

BTW, for those small areas of damaged finish, with the original pale wood showing, I've found that a little dab of brown coloring pen (prismacolor number 946 or 947 if I remember right) will mask those, without the need for paint or varnish or other messy job.

Oh cool thanks so much for the tip, and for all the moral support along the way

My pleasure, Sir.



BTW, you might have to try a few different shades before finding the closest one to match your finish, since not all Minimoogs were "tinted" equal...