What’s on *YOUR* workbench?

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Built cables for and assembled this noise board after I spent the last two nights disassembling a massive, portable but unwieldy rolling synth rack rig I built in 2023 and barely used. It's a crime I let my Oberheim Matrix 1000 and the above Soma Cosmos go unplayed for a couple years. Keeping those and most of the other stuff in the old rig. Meanwhile, the Cosmos is the glue of the entire above setup: Feedback looper (with 4ms Noiswash clone + Moonn Time Waster) > KMA Machines Geminus > Cosmos. I'm gonna build a Leprechaun to add to the feedback loop too. If you've never fed one into itself, I can't recommend it enough.

Also, full disclosure: the above used Geminus was having some slight issues with artifacting. The KMA support team were wonderful but once I crunched the numbers on shipping to Berlin, repair and back, it was 70 bucks difference to get a brand new one. New arrived yesterday and is right the fuck back on my guitar board (seriously, one of my favorite pedals ever ever ever) and its quirky predecessor is now here, where glitching is in fact a desirable feature. Stoooked ☺️
 
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I have a Maxon Compressor on the bench that worked on a power supply but not on battery. So logical conclusion is the DC switch is knackered which proved to be true and luckily these things are not hard to find.

Damn this thing sounds good. A bunch noisy, which is true of this era of comps, but in the end I'd easily man the bypass to get a tone this good. Capable of a ton of level which is not true of Dyna Comps. And not "pucky" sounding like Dynas.
 
Gordo said:
I have a Maxon Compressor on the bench that worked on a power supply but not on battery. So logical conclusion is the DC switch is knackered which proved to be true and luckily these things are not hard to find.

Damn this thing sounds good. A bunch noisy, which is true of this era of comps, but in the end I'd easily man the bypass to get a tone this good. Capable of a ton of level which is not true of Dyna Comps. And not "pucky" sounding like Dynas.
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I have owned a 90's RI Maxon CP101 since 2001, and love it for this very reason. Always wanted a second copy!
 
on *MY* workbench?? Boxing up a Fuzz Foundry Deluxe, watching paint dry on enclosures for a Cheezemonger, and a Sequel.. lawd I hope the Sequel has more output than my Distortion II, love the tone, but its rather quiet.
 
EisengesisFX said:
It's a crime I let my Oberheim Matrix 1000 and the above Soma Cosmos go unplayed for a couple years.
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If we’re admitting Oberheim related crimes… I found a Matrix 1000 in a dumpster when I was a teenager but I didn’t understand what it was. I borrowed someone’s groove box with a midi cable for a weekend once and got some sounds out of it, but I eventually put it back in the trash. 🤣

Ooops.

Sure would be cool to have that now.
 
My god, lol! Funnily enough, some snobs consider the entire Matrix series and the (IMO pretty dope) Digital Echoplex to not count as real Oberheim on account of being created at the time the company wasn't owned by Tom (I think it was Gibson?). All I know is, I love mine, and I will never in my life afford a "real" vintage Oberheim jawn, sooo.
 
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Behringer 2600

This has had an occasional issue with sound cutting out on one side since I got it and it was doing it again today. I was wiggling a cable trying to figure out if the cable or the jack was bad, and while cutting in and out, it let out a wisp of smoke. 😬

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The only problem I’ve found visually was a solder bridge on the pan fader which seems like a good culprit.

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Probably going to hook it up and see if that solves the audio problem, but I’d feel better if it was clearer where the smoke came from…
 
I have been having a weird issue and something was sounding off in my amp, and one thing led to another and I narrowed it down to my DD-3...yep, boss buffer tone suck🙄. Pulled up the service manual and put it under the knife and made it true bypass with a relay. Problem solved. It was a little more tricky to figure out because this pedal, unlike every other boss pedal, uses an opamp to do the flip flop bypass instead of transistors. Luckily I'm not a fucking idiot and got it sorted out. Also, unlike most boss pedals, there was barley enough room to fit it in there because this one has 10 pounds of shit crammed in a 5 pound bag😂
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Another one that needed the switch replaced. Germanium with all ceramic disc caps! That blend option is really cool and it sounds awesome! Such a trip to hear a "real" one. Gonna have to do an Orpheum.
 

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Harry Klippton said:
I haven't been working on music related projects much. Just been messing with my cub cadet 122. Last week, I put a new mule drive and mower deck on, dipped and scrubbed the carb, and today I pulled the spark plug and cleaned it up. I've got a new plug and wire on the way
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Nice dude. Still a month out before I get working on mine. That reminds me, better check on that battery on a trickle charger.
 
Erik S said:
Behringer 2600

This has had an occasional issue with sound cutting out on one side since I got it and it was doing it again today. I was wiggling a cable trying to figure out if the cable or the jack was bad, and while cutting in and out, it let out a wisp of smoke. 😬

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The only problem I’ve found visually was a solder bridge on the pan fader which seems like a good culprit.

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Probably going to hook it up and see if that solves the audio problem, but I’d feel better if it was clearer where the smoke came from…
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Yesterday I finally replaced the barrel jack on my G&L ASAT Z3. Thankfully I had bought the replacement months ago before G&L closed down so I didn’t have to track down the part. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to test it out, but given that it’s just 4 solder joints it’s probably OK. Last famous words, you may hear me swear tonight.

Edit: no rage fits tonight, the ASAT works perfectly. I love this guitar, sounds amazing with flatwounds.
 
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