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Slider caps - rubber coating is melting?!
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MartinHines
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Joined: 21 Jan 2003
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Location: Topeka, KS (USA)

PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cello wrote:
MartinHines wrote:
I assume sliders can be ordered from any Korg Authorized Service Center, just like other parts.


I guess that's what we would all assume, but for a parts inquiry to have no response in 7 days is not looking good... and that's from Korg USA - logically should be best of them all because of market size and market requirements.


Some companies don't seem to do as well with email inquiries as with the phone. If I want a timely response from any company, I always phone them.
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Korg USA Product support -- https://www.korgusa.com/contactus (For fastest service I would suggest calling them on the phone)

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TagPass
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MartinHines wrote:
Some companies don't seem to do as well with email inquiries as with the phone. If I want a timely response from any company, I always phone them.


And I agree with you in theory, but I've been able to get quicker responses to inquiries from companies bigger, smaller, and comparable in size to Korg via email than from the phone, too. I'd rather type up my message, and make sure I'm articulated clearly, click send, and move on to the myriad of other things I need to do in a day, than navigate an automated phone system and listen to on-hold music beds and announcers urging me to "visit their website for faster service". Not saying Korg does this, necessarily, but you get the idea.

If the email is not an adequate form of communication for busy, mobile customers like myself, why bother even posting a support email address? Again, a general statement about customer service, not necessarily Korg in general.

Trinity2112 wrote:
From http://www.guitar-parts.com. However, I don't know if they ship to Israel.


I saw those D3200 sliders on the Guitar Parts website (along with other knob replacements). As much as I would like to have Korg-issued replacement parts, they are WAY overpriced there. $5 a pop? Get out of here! Most of these knob companies are charging 1/10th that per knob, and discounting them further in orders of 10 or more. So to replace the knobs and sliders for my Oasys would be $90 plus shipping? (I know, I know, "you paid $7500 for the Oasys and you're bitching about $90 knobs?!" Well, personally, given my experience with Korg knobs, I'd feel doubly ripped off. Refer back to my original picture -- worth 90 dollars?)
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TagPass
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And lo and behold, within minutes of posting my last message, I finally received a reply from Korg USA support. So 9 days after my initial request for information on getting parts, they advise me to check the website support page (the one on which I filled out the initial support request on!), and follow-up with one of their authorized 3rd party suppliers -- the ones that charge exorbitant prices for knobs.

Oh well, I've already solved it myself, perhaps less ideally, but definitely in less time and with less expenditure... and dealt with two agencies (Mouser Electronics and Dave Smith Instruments), who were capable of timely responses and support via email.

I would say that, aside from the actual issue of cheap deteriorating parts on my Oasys, this is probably the first negative experience I've had with Korg. In the end, Oasys ended up being a big debacle for Korg -- not necessarily in sales terms, but almost certainly with their "premium" customers' perception of the company (not to beat a dead horse, or anything!). So my issue was a small one. But the lack of timely support, the form letter response, and the expectation that I should pay premium prices for inferior parts, further illustrates the casual disregard Korg has for its Oasys user-base. Korg already got my money, and plenty of it. I will not invest any more dollars than I have to to keep my Oasys clean and neat and functional from here on out. And if it ends up failing on me altogether, I would certainly think twice about replacing it with a Kronos. Seriously.

So what did I expect from Korg? I'm not sure. When I scratched the faceplate of my out-of-warranty Fantom XR, I contacted Roland, and had a replacement faceplate within 3 days, for a total outlay of 8 bucks. No waiting, no runaround.

I suppose it's unrealistic to think that other synth companies might have comparable service and supply...
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Trinity2112
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TagPass wrote:
So to replace the knobs and sliders for my Oasys would be $90 plus shipping?

No, it would $45 plus shipping.
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Current Korg Lineup: Kronos 61, Oasys 76 · M3-61/RADIAS · Trinity Plus/HDR · 01/WFD · 01R/W · X3R · M3R · Wavestation EX · Wavestation SR · Triton Rack/MOSS · Z1EX · TR-Rack · Karma · D3200 · iM1 · iWavestation · iMono/Poly
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TagPass
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trinity2112 wrote:
TagPass wrote:
So to replace the knobs and sliders for my Oasys would be $90 plus shipping?

No, it would $45 plus shipping.


For the sliders only. The knobs are also beginning to suffer the same fate, and thus would be another 9 items at $5 each.
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Trinity2112
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh jeez. Now the knobs??? That's messed up. Sad

Can you post a pic?
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Current Korg Lineup: Kronos 61, Oasys 76 · M3-61/RADIAS · Trinity Plus/HDR · 01/WFD · 01R/W · X3R · M3R · Wavestation EX · Wavestation SR · Triton Rack/MOSS · Z1EX · TR-Rack · Karma · D3200 · iM1 · iWavestation · iMono/Poly
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TagPass
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trinity2112 wrote:
Oh jeez. Now the knobs??? That's messed up. Sad

Can you post a pic?


I've only removed the knob caps from the Oasys -- haven't tried washing them yet, so they don't look as bad as the slider from the earlier post -- but they all have a slight tackiness to them, same as the sliders.

This should give you an idea:


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Trinity2112
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I can actually see it.

When I pulled my sliders off yesterday they had no tackiness to them. Same goes for the D3200 sliders. However, I just removed the knobs and they are slightly tacky. I called my uncle who used to work at one of DuPont's textile divisions and he had this to say...

"Certain (typically inferior) rubber compounds have a molecular structure that can allow contaminants to penetrate the molecular level and compromise it to the point of structural breakdown. In this case, grease and acid from the skin are the likely culprits. You also mentioned heat. That can also be a contributing factor in certain instances."

He suggested that when I clean the knobs thoroughly with a very mild soap and cool water. Then dry them off and place them in a freezer overnight.

BTW, my sliders look and feel like a hard plastic, not hard rubber like the knobs. Is this the case with yours?
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Current Korg Lineup: Kronos 61, Oasys 76 · M3-61/RADIAS · Trinity Plus/HDR · 01/WFD · 01R/W · X3R · M3R · Wavestation EX · Wavestation SR · Triton Rack/MOSS · Z1EX · TR-Rack · Karma · D3200 · iM1 · iWavestation · iMono/Poly
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TagPass
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trinity2112 wrote:
BTW, my sliders look and feel like a hard plastic, not hard rubber like the knobs. Is this the case with yours?


The Oasys sliders ARE hard plastic, with what appears to be a thin rubber coating to give them a "soft-touch" feel. Or at least they were. I gave them a bath in a mild solution to try to remove the rubbery finish, which worked well enough... although they'd need more attention as there's still bits of residue and some discoloration left behind.
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MartinHines
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 1:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

TagPass wrote:
Oh well, I've already solved it myself,


If Korg USA Product Support is referring you to Authorized Korg Service Centers, I would suggest contacting one:

http://www.korg.com/Support.aspx

A Korg Service Center, who would have access to the OASYS Service Manual, could tell you the specific part numbers in question.

The question I would want to know would be if those specific OASYS parts are available, rather than substitute options (like the D3200 parts or parts from other manufacturers).

Someone like "Parts is Parts" might be able to tell you the specific part numbers, whether those can be ordered, and their cost:
http://www.guitar-parts.com/catalog/korg

** Update **
On the webpage linked above, there is a "Parts List and Other Good Info button" which takes you here:
http://www.guitar-parts.com/parts-lists-and-schematics

If you click on the "Korg Parts Lists" you can download a .zip file containing a number of parts lists for different Korg products, including the OASYS.

I think the following might be the parts in question:
Part # -------- Description -------- As Used

500365010900 -------- RS4511A6A08 SLIDE VR -------- Faders 1-8 + Master Fader
620040700 --------VR KNOB KOC-E40519-1 --------Realtome, Tempo, and Audio Input Knobs -- Black knobs with white insert. 11 Used
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Korg USA Product support -- https://www.korgusa.com/contactus (For fastest service I would suggest calling them on the phone)

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TagPass
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All knobs and sliders now replaced with non-gooey 3rd party caps:



Total cost = about $25.

Sliders:
- Available from Mouser Electronics (http://www.mouser.com/)
- Part Number 450-SL5512 SLIDE CNTRL GY/BK

I wish they had more colors, but I'm not going to complain for 42 cents each.

Knobs:
- Available from Dave Smith Instruments (http://store.davesmithinstruments.com/proddetail.php?prod=DSI-8301)
- Technically, it's the Mopho Knob Replacement Kit, but they worked out discounted pricing specific to my request, so they saved me $5, which wouldn't have been the case had I ordered direct from the store without emailing them first.

Most importantly, BOTH companies shipped the items immediately after ordering and I received them from across the country within 3 days.

Yes, they're not factory standard, but I'm actually preferring the scale of these new controls to the originals. If I had done this from the outset, I still would've had new control caps in my hands and back on the Oasys 6 days before Korg Support even emailed back. Either that, or, as per Martin's suggestion, I could've contacted an "authorized" Korg parts supplier, paid 3 1/2 times as much, and waited who knows how long while they sourced the parts and had them drop shipped. In either case, I'm actually happier I solved it myself.
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Dany
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PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2012 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I own an OASYS-88 with a very low serial number and a second one with a very high serial number. Both were in mint condition until some days ago...

But some days ago and without any reason, suddenly the fader and knob caps on my OASYS with the lower serial number, began to get sticky and their surface looks like a kind of melted, just as shown on the photos of the OP "TagPass":



Fortunately there aren't any problems with my other OASYS.

I always just clean my instruments with a humid (water) cleaning cloth and a very soft paint brush and never use any chemicals. So it must be a faulty material design, which is probably dependent on the serial number, resp. production cycle...

The very good news:

Yesterday I wrote an E-Mail to the Swiss Korg distributor and they've already asked me to send them the faulty caps with the indication of the OASYS serial number, so that they can send me the replacement caps for free!!!

Wow, that's what I call perfect customer service!

Thanks Korg! And thanks for having built such a great and outstanding musical instrument like the OASYS!

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Kontrol49
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 12:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No Probs with my sliders/knobs as of yet,my studio is air conditioned and doesn't have a window so don't have any problems with sunlight.


Just out of curiosity???are the trigger pads made of the same material???
Replacing the knobs/sliders is a no brainer operation but what if the pads were to deteriorate,if made from the same compound is gonna suffer the same fate exposed to the elements and finger soiling,well that gonna be more than a five minute job.....
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Dany
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 1:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kontrol49 wrote:
...are the trigger pads made of the same material???
Replacing the knobs/sliders is a no brainer operation but what if the pads were to deteriorate,if made from the same compound is gonna suffer the same fate exposed to the elements and finger soiling,well that gonna be more than a five minute job.....

The OASYS pads seem to be of a completely different plastic material than the fader and knob caps and I don't think that they will ever cause any problems. They feel consistent and the same, on both of my OASYS, since several years.

The problem with the "melting" and sticky fader and knob caps is not the plastic material itelf, but the rubber coating and this coating seems to have a kind of half-value period. It could be a material fault of just one early production cycle.
It is my OASYS with the very low serial number (from an early production cycle) on which the problem occured. And this is the one OASYS which rests in my Studio all the time under perfect conditions.

The caps on my other OASYS with the very high serial number (I guess from the last production cycle), which I am using under much harsher live conditions, don't show any signs of material deterioration instead.

So it could be a problem which only occurs on OASYS'es with low serial numbers, but I am just speculating...

-
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Kontrol49
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I seem to recall seeing Stephen Kay's Pad 1 showing signs of wear on his Oasys,clearly this is not the same "Element" problematic symptoms as some are experiencing,however I don't overly use my Trigger pads but they look of the material that excess use would ruin,or disfigure them.

I wasn't aware of this problem with the Slider caps,(Mine seem to be fine)is this a known problem that Korg were aware of,if so which serial numbers (maybe) are affected!and at which serial number was it rectified?
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