Korg Forums

[cello]

Given that I have a mild stroke at the very thought of my O breaking down, I'm wondering what you all think is 'best-practice' for looking after our precious O's.

For example - dust cover - good idea, bad idea?

Another example - I keep my O switched on permanently. Logic being the hard disk does less work switched on than it does starting up/powering down and as I use it every day I guess I'm saving on hard disk wear and tear.

And another - servicing. I am fearful of sending my O by carrier all the way to Milton Keynes from Glasgow (700+ mile round trip - plus don't have original packing; box, yes, foam bits, no). I feel it exposes the O to more danger than if it sits in my studio

Cleaning - what's best to use?

plus any other useful bits of advice please!

Really, truly can't bear the thought of an O failure so want to do all I can to prevent it
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Plugged in: Fantom 8, Jupiter-X, Jupiter 80, System-8, JD-XA, V-Synth GTv2, FA-06, SE-02, JU-06A, TR-09, VT-4, Go:Livecast, Rubix44, Shure SM7b, Push2, Ableton 11 Suite, Sibelius, KRK Rokit 5,

[Hedegaard]

Dust cover = I use a nicely soft washed cloth, thats been washed without harsh detergents and rinsed well. Gets washed every now and then.
This prevents obviously, dust, but also other sticky things from the air, such as peeled skin floating around e.t.c.

Switched on permanently, Stephen Kay does this too as far as I recall.
I advise against this however, as all electronic components that are being used will result in failure at some time.
Especially the electrolyte capacitors on the mainboard.
Your harddisk is probably the least of your concerns, I suspect Korg put in an industrial grade (not consumer grade) HD.
Spin up&down on a Harddisk dosen't wear&tear on it anymore, than in a state of actually reading/writing to the disk.
Honestly, if your HD fails, then this is the least of your concerns.

Servicing:
1) You can get a moving company to ship it for you.
2) You can ask a furniture company for extra foam - you say you have the box already.
3)If its out of warranty, then just make sure its more or less a Korg authorized repair center, as they know what they're doing, have the service manuals e.t.c.

Keep it dry. Living along the coast can raise humidity/salty air e.t.c.

Once in a while, open up the hood and vacuum away some dust if this managed to get through the filters on the sides.
Keep dust off the internal fan, this is whats used to keep everything inside at operational temperature levels.

Inspect once in a blue moon, the soldering on the electronic parts, sometimes oxidation can occur, if there is not enough flux used during the soldering process. You might need a handheld microscope for this.

Finally, its not an "engine" as in a car, you don't have to take it for 100miles to keep the engine running smoothly, therefore, turn it off when not in use.
Contrary to popular myth, spikes in electrical signals, occurs when you turn off, not on. You just notice something is wrong when you turn it on the next time.

[SoulBe]

Hi, I advise

- dust cover
- USV to avoid electric strokes, brownouts etc.
- for cleaning I use stuff that is made for computer tft
- alway play with warm hands (just joking )

best regards
SoulBe

[Hedegaard]

Ah, I forgot about cleaning:

Use, if you must, mild dishwasher detergent (not what you put into machine washers - but that hand wash liquid 'stuff')

Never use harsh cleaners, such as solvents, spirits, petrol e.t.c.

Don't be a fool and use a pen on the touch screen! Use your fingers, try to avoid a stylus as with time, tapping the same places will invariably produce marks on the surface.

Kick the cat out the studio too whilst you at it.

Same goes for kids, useless money thieving hang-on's that you're stuck with for the rest of your life, cause all sorts of crap, never say thanks and of course your hand hurts after smacking them across the room, thus making it harder to play the O
(Yes this part just a joke!)

[Kontrol49]

Soft Bristle Paintbrush to remove dust.(great for getting into those nooks and crannys or around knobs/sliders etc)

Periodically clean with a Hoover(with the soft bristle attachment) and damp cloth to remove soilings.

Screen-babywipes and soft cloth to dry(also works wonders for removing finger grease off keys)...


As for keeping gear on.....even though I have spike protection both on the plugs and the main supply,never would keep them on permanently,and always isolate the power supply in the studio during storms,the gear is on more or less for the best part of 8 or so hours daily anyway.
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--Korg Nautilus~~Korg Modwave--Korg SV-1-Korg Wavestate--

[ozy]

[cello]

Wow - great responses; thanks guys!

It seems I'll have to change my routine re keeping my gear on permanently...

@ ozy - you have words of wisdom to and I see entirely where you're coming from! Yes, I admit it is probably foolish, perhaps even childish to cherish one bit of kit so much. It's just I waited a long time to get the O and have spent so many hours getting to learn the machine and create new sounds. So I've got kind of attached - kind of like with a wife... you don't just trade her in because she gets ill!

But I guess my failure scenario is to get a Kronos - at least my hours of sound work won't be wasted (as is usable in K) but the O, well, is beautifully unique! (There I go again... )

But yes, your story has been read, makes sense and is worth bearing in mind, so thanks for your input!
_________________
Plugged in: Fantom 8, Jupiter-X, Jupiter 80, System-8, JD-XA, V-Synth GTv2, FA-06, SE-02, JU-06A, TR-09, VT-4, Go:Livecast, Rubix44, Shure SM7b, Push2, Ableton 11 Suite, Sibelius, KRK Rokit 5,

[ozy]

or maybe you could just buy another oasys for spare.

or two.

[CrazyFoo]

I'm pretty uptight about my gear as well.
When my equipment is not in use, I keep it powered off and there's always a dust-cover on my stuff when I'm not playing it.

I also keep one of those dry swiffer dusters around and give it a once over just before putting the dust covers back on.

[Hedegaard]

[CrazyFoo]

[ozy]

Nice set. Essential and... er... elegant.

Have a couple of questions:

Where do you place the bats' cage?

And the Sacrifice Altar?

I think having the Altar on the side of the Pentacle helps, especially in gigs where the Virgins make a lot of noise.

Finally: I'd cover the white label on the right-hand top keyboard.

Too much white can make a setup a bit... you know... too cheerful

[cello]

[CrazyFoo]

[CrazyFoo]