Little Phatty Tribute - replacement wheels/tuning issues

[Synchrasasia]

I have some issues with my Little Phatty Tribute edition.

The first is tuning. It seems that if the unit is not powered up for a while (eg a number of weeks) I need to recalibrate everything all over again as the tuning across the range of the keyboard is out. This has been happening for years.

I've followed the instructions on this forum and in the manual carefully when doing the calibration, so I know the right order to do it in, and I know about letting it warm up enough first. To be clear, it does work each time and the tuning is good, but if I don't use it for a while it is annoying to have to do this as it takes hours before I can use it again.

The second issue is the wheels. For some reason (sweat?) both wheels have degraded surfaces - the rubber has become sticky to the touch and no longer smooth. I've tried cleaning it but I it's too late for that. I've looked into replacement wheels and found a site with what I think is the right part, but they are out of stock. https://www.instrumentalparts.com/enc-20-000-0063.html I have emailed them but not sure if the unavailability is due to them being discontinued now.

Lastly the pitch wheel moves about in its mount, side to side. I'm wondering if this could be causing tuning issues, since I read somewhere that the PW and tuning are closely related.

Any suggestions?

[Synchrasasia]

I heard back from Instrumental Parts - as I thought the wheel replacement part is not available due to it being discontinued.

[Synchrasasia]

Guess not then...

[stiiiiiiive]

(Late) welcome to the forum!!

About sticky wheels, you can search on this forum for similar problems, they’ve been covered several times. Sides of the Stage edition are made of the same material: sticky sides may help you as key words.

About the calibration, I’m not sure to know whether your unit is working properly or not, but if I were in your shoes, I would switch it on a bit longer before I want to play the Moog.
In case it helps somehow, I play the Little Phatty on a weekly basis and perform one or two calibrations a year.

[Synchrasasia]

Thanks - I have searched based on your suggestion and found a solution. It does involve an alcohol based cleaner though, which I would have thought could be risky. Might try a small area first.

Regarding warming up I allow longer than the recommended time and it doesn't seem to make any difference at all. I think if I was using it once a week it would probably be fine but that's not the reality. I really use it more heavily when recording an album, but not really when composing etc.

Great sounding synth, it has to be said (when it's in tune). Unfortunately it seems like the wobbly pitch wheel is not going to be easy to replace. I might see if it can be repaired.