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Jrayk Roze · Post by **Jrayk Roze** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:35 pm

Lucky for me, the gunk on my front panel switches went away with some simple fingernail application. They seem to get smoother over time, too.

Has anyone else noticed that you have to wear-in the knobs?

When I first got my OS, I was disappointed with the weak resistance. After a couple of months of tweaking, they got much better and stronger, though. Is it because dust has to compile behind them?

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:23 am

Some of the knobs are looser than others....and NOT ones that would get alot of action like the wave or the cilter cutoff....im talking like the VCA decay or something like that that I really don' tyuse often is weaker than the cutoff.

But I think the weakest one by far is the Freq knob on my Ringmod.

I have always wondered if the pots wear down from continued tweaking...but then continued tweaking KEEPS dust and static from getting inside right?'

And some pots are sealed really tight right?

Eric

cl516 · Post by **cl516** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:26 am

mine was a select series maple and blue
and indeed it was absolutely perfect and remains that way. my treasure.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:40 am

I've got a Little Phatty, and the knobs have been consistently loose. Nature of the beast, and I don't mind because they are stiffer than the DSI products.

The Moogerfoogers, on the other hand, have not been loose...except for the Mixer knobs on the CP-251. those HAVE tightened up with use. So I dunno what the dealyo is with that.

alainhubert · Post by **alainhubert** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:38 pm

The knobs on my OS are all reasonably stiff, and consistently from one to the other. They're not the sealed types (like the Allen Bradley type used in the original Minimoog) but they're of the Alpha brand (made in U.S.A.) with an expected life cycle of 10000+ turns!

Of course with time, the silicone gel in the bushing of the shafts that makes the stiffness will dilute somewhat and the most tweaked knobs will eventually get easier to turn than others (then again maybe not!

) . Also, with higher temperatures that stuff becomes more more liquid.

Jrayk Roze · Post by **Jrayk Roze** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:44 pm

All my Old School knobs got stronger over time. even the one knob I never touch (fine tune).

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:59 pm

only 10k turns? Man you imagine how many times the Freq knob on the ringmod gets messed with or the filter cutoff? Thats not a lot of turns lol

Eric

coniglius · Post by **coniglius** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:22 pm

My Old School was less than perfect when I received it, brand new. Four adjacent keys (I can't remember which ones) made a loud clacking sound and you could feel them hitting the metal part of the chassis when you played them. The aftertouch on the last two keys barely did anything and the legato mode on/off stopped working about a day after I got it. Also, the pitchwheel would "stick" at its lowest note position. I just sent it back to musiciansfriend for a replacement. Unfortunately, the one they replaced it with was obviously someone else's "Return" as it had the Moog sticker already stuck on it and when I tried to register it online it said the product was already registered. That being said, it was in better physical working order than the previous one and it didn't really show any signs of having been used before so I kept it since it's really an unbelievable pain in the ass to move these things around and ship them. In either case, I would not consider either of the Old School's that I got to be "calibrated" right from the factory, which I'm kind of pissed about because it is a big deal to calibrate these. I don't see the point in sending it back to Moog to do the job they supposedly had already done at the factory. I'm just going to do it on my own. Heh, all that aside, I'm pretty happy with the Old School. I gotta say though, if you're not already comfortable spending a couple of grand on one piece of gear, then don't let this be the first one you buy, unless you've physically gotten to inspect and seriously try out the exact unit you're buying, there's a very good chance the one you get isn't going to be perfect. It's a very well built synth, no doubt, but ~$2K doesn't really go that far on a piece of electronic/mechanical gear this complex, so it's not the quality equivalent of buying a ~$2K guitar, it's more like the quality equivalent of an ~$800 guitar.

Analog! · Post by **Analog!** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 5:44 pm

wow con, that is some nasty luck with the old school. i am wondering if there is any relation to less quality on the higher serial numbers. mine is 0024 so maybe it was under greater scrutiny.

coniglius · Post by **coniglius** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 6:15 pm

Yeah it was a bummer... I don't remember my serial # off-hand, I think it was 160-something. Heh, I thought I had posted in under the OS serial number thread but I don't see it.

Analog! · Post by **Analog!** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:12 pm

now that you had mentioned there was a moog sticker on the back of yours, i realized that i have one on the back of mine as well. just a standard black and white one. i am not a fan of stickers, but it does look like it is supposed to be there. not really sure on that though

coniglius · Post by **coniglius** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:24 pm

Hmm... Well the first one I initially got had no sticker applied; the sticker was "new" and inside the packaging for the user to stick wherever they wanted. The second one I got didn't come with any new sticker, and the sticker that was already on the unit looked like it was haphazardly applied. Heh, if you're saying yours came with the sticker, then maybe some of them did (If you're looking straight at the Moog as though playing it, the sticker is in the back on the left side) but if that's the case, heh then they need some QA with their sticker applications 'cause the one on mine is really sloppily applied.

Heh, now that you remind me I've been meaning to take that off...

Analog! · Post by **Analog!** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:41 pm

yeah, the sticker on mine is in that exact spot. i am terrible at removing stickers. so i will just let it ride.

alainhubert · Post by **alainhubert** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:33 am

Hmmmm. From reading the last few posts, I'm beginning to wonder if there are more "returned" Old School out there than really brand new units? It wouldn't be surprising to find out that a lot of people bought it, then realized that they needed MIDI and returned the synth in exchange for a regular Voyager...

As for the sticker issue, mine also had it already in the same place as a few others have mentioned. And it was put there correctly. So maybe some of them were put there at the factory?

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:40 am

I would have preferred to see a badge there, like something screwed onto the back panel, or screen printed on there rather than a sticker. But min is on there perfectly straight and thats good enough for me.

Just not a badge thats breakable like the fender rhodes badges.

Hell, I wish they woudl sell badges so I coudl put one on my car lol.

Eric

Moog Music Forum

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Was your brand new Voyager absolutely perfect when you got it?