The "Source" of my dreams... now, how do I clean it?

[Spitfire]

Hello all,

Long time no see! I hope all of you are well.

Yesterday I bought the synth I've been wanting for nearly 10 years... the Moog Source! It sounds great and the Ebay seller forgot to mention that along with the MIDI upgrade, it also has over 200 memories! Oh how wonderful!

Anyway, I'd like to give it a good surface cleaning (wheels, keys, metal body, and wood panels.) How would you suggest I do this?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

Cheers,


Spitfire

[thealien666]

Send it to Synthfool, he'll take care of it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwRlZyIG6rg

[Spitfire]

Dear Alien,

Thanks for the suggestion and vid. I would certainly contact Kevin if the source needed service... I believe he's based not too far from where I am in Southern Cal.

Anyway, the Source is really in great shape, I just need to remove some dirt and smudges, and would like to give the wood a nice touch-up. I wouldn't want to have it opened unless it needed some servicing, at which time a deep cleaning would be sought.

So, does anyone have recommendations?

Cheers,



Spitfire

[thealien666]

Some Windex on a cotton rag for the keys and panel, and some wood polish (Pledge) for the sides and under the keys, would be my suggestions...

[Spitfire]

Thanks a lot for the ideas, Alien. Very much appreciated.

[fyvewytches]

I don't know what Windex is but I wouldn't use anything chemical to clean the front panel, etc. I just got a Korg PS-3100 and am using a slightly moistened (with warm water) microfibre cloth. This seems to do the trick.

[thealien666]

Windex is a mild window cleaner. Pledge is a wood cleaner/polish.

Of course, if the Source isn't too dirty, warm water would also do.

[Ledbetter]

Windex has abrasive cleaners in it. I would use clean terrycloth moistened with warm water unless more aggressive cleaning is needed.

[Voltor07]

For the wood, Murphy's Oil Soap. Pledge is merely a polish. The dirt still sticks to the wood after Pledge. Murphy's Oil Soap will actually clean the wood. You won't BELIEVE ow much grime builds up on wood until you truly clean it. On the plastic and metal parts, I'd use 70% isopropyl alcohol mixed 50/50 with distilled water.

[soulsource]

Congrats! I've been trying to get one myself. How much did you pay for yours? I dont know what a good price is for these, as ebay is alot of time way overpriced.

[Spitfire]

Hey guys, thank you all for your help. After reading your replies, I did the following:

Cleaned and polished wood parts with Pledge.
Cleaned keys, knobs and metal surfaces with Pledge Multi-Surface Cleaner (see more details here: http://www.pledge.com/en-US/Products/Pa ... eaner.aspx

It looked pretty clean from the start, but after performing the above maintenance, wooo is it clean!

SoulSource: I paid $1599 for mine, as it was with the original owner all this time. I had a chance to drive down to the shop to pick it up, so no shipping needed. I wouldn't want any synth, much less a vintage one, passing through more shipping channels than it already has to get to the storefront.

I have kept an eye out for one for a loooooooong time. Must be like 10 years. I let one get away a few years ago. See, it was either buy one from an original owner who kept his put away for decades and it really did look brand new (priced at $1999), or buy a white on white Moog Voyager. I opted for the latter and my decision ate away at me every day. The Voyager was great (sold it in February), but I regretted not buying that Source. The one I bought, when I saw it, made me think, "Oh f*ck, if I let this one get away who knows how long it will take before I find one nearby and in excellent condition." So I took the plunge after talking to one of the shop owner's employees... I mean, it looked great, played great, had the Encore MIDI expansion (which has the aforementioned 256 memories, as opposed to the stock 16), and was a 3 hour drive away.

So, what is a fair price? That's tough to say, but I wouldn't pay more than $1999 for a perfect-for-being-over-30-years-old condition Source. I think my price was just right. But I agree with you 100%... Ebay prices can get ridiculous. Some guy I think is selling one for almost 3 Gs! That's just crazy.

<sidebar> just stepped away for an hour to play my Source... you should get one when you can and the price is right... I'm so glad I did.