replacement jacks?

Mother-32, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Grandmother, Matriarch
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ello
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:44 pm

replacement jacks?

Post by ello » Thu Jan 26, 2017 6:20 am

hi there, are those jacks (https://www.thonk.co.uk/shop/3-5mm-jacks/) suitable to replace a broken vca-out jack of the mother?

kind regadrs,
ello

Stevie Ray
Posts: 254
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:25 pm

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by Stevie Ray » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:34 pm

Possibly, but the jack shouldn't break in the first place.

If your Mother 32 is under warranty (and it should be) then just return it to Moog to get it fixed.

How did the jack socket break? I've seen a few instances now on the Mother 32 of over-tightening the panel nut which causes the threaded metal part of the socket to break away from the moulded plastic body of the socket.

I should add that these are hardly the best quality sockets in town (no Switchcraft here). Poor manufacture of the socket, or poor assembly practices (over-tightening) is the probable cause.

Send it back to Moog before you consider replacing it yourself.

ello
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:44 pm

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by ello » Sun Jan 29, 2017 2:02 pm

thank you, i already asked at the reseller. no answer yet. i just wanted to know in case that they tell me it's users fault if those break.
definately they shouldn't in the first place when just removing a patch cable and having the whole metal part still on that cable...

Stevie Ray
Posts: 254
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:25 pm

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by Stevie Ray » Tue Jan 31, 2017 3:12 pm

ello wrote:thank you, i already asked at the reseller. no answer yet. i just wanted to know in case that they tell me it's users fault if those break.
definately they shouldn't in the first place when just removing a patch cable and having the whole metal part still on that cable...
No, it's not your fault if the socket fails in normal usage. It's a problem with poor quality sockets and/or over-tightening of the panel nut during assembly. The metal threaded collar of the socket can fracture and pull away from the moulded socket body. I've seen this problem many times with cheap 3.5mm jack sockets.

It's a warranty repair for sure.

I should add that if you go the DIY route, replacing a socket on the Mother 32 is not going to be a straightforward operation. You'll need to undo a hell of a lot of of panel nuts to detach the front board from the panel. I'm used to fixing synths but I would rather send the unit back that put myself though that nightmare.

^^^ edited to remove some incorrect information regarding M32 boards
Last edited by Stevie Ray on Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

potts1970
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2015 2:17 am

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by potts1970 » Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:23 pm

I had this problem very shortly after purchasing 2 Mothers. Moog will take it back and replace the jack. It was over tightened during production which left the guts hanging by a thread. It worked but the cable could move back and forth when plugged in. Plugging and unplugging a few times pulled the parts completely off the PC board. Don't mess with it yourself and void a warranty

Stevie Ray
Posts: 254
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:25 pm

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by Stevie Ray » Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:12 pm

potts1970 wrote:I had this problem very shortly after purchasing 2 Mothers. Moog will take it back and replace the jack. It was over tightened during production which left the guts hanging by a thread. It worked but the cable could move back and forth when plugged in. Plugging and unplugging a few times pulled the parts completely off the PC board. Don't mess with it yourself and void a warranty
Yeah, it's frankly disappointing. This is not the construction quality we expect from Moog - at least not since the infamous Norlin days.

potts1970
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2015 2:17 am

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by potts1970 » Sat Feb 18, 2017 3:03 am

Well, the surface mount boards were the only option to keep this in its price range. It's a compromise. I always pull straight out to avoid any angled patch pulling.

Stevie Ray
Posts: 254
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:25 pm

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by Stevie Ray » Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:41 pm

potts1970 wrote:Well, the surface mount boards were the only option to keep this in its price range. It's a compromise. I always pull straight out to avoid any angled patch pulling.
The jacks are thru-hole solder mounted and should be very reliable mechanically. You shouldn't have to worry about the angle you insert or pull out a jack plug ever (I suspect maybe you're joking about that one?). I'll remind my wife how considerate I am by pulling straight out instead of at an angle :x

The problem boils down to two things:-

1) Cheap-ass jack sockets from God knows where (certainly not from Switchcraft, Neutrick, Amphenol or any other quality mfr.)

2) Over-tightening of the panel nut on the socket during assembly causing the metal collar to fracture.

I think Moog need to step up and own this problem.

samaepstein
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:22 am

Re: replacement jacks?

Post by samaepstein » Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:38 pm

just lost my vc mix out jack just shy of having it 2 years. Several of the other jacks feel like they could go any day. Called Moog once and they said it was out of warranty and would be $90/hour plus shipping to fix. I had noticed that they were "loose" almost since purchase but figured i could just tighten them down or whatever. I will try to call back and reason with them since it seems so many others are noticing the problem. not trying to seem overly needy but this seems like something that they should fix?

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