Post by hedegaard on Apr 21, 2006 21:56:24 GMT
Hello everyone,
I discovered Dubsounds through Wikipedia article on the polymoog and had been searching for other users of this monolith for quite a while but info on the net is quite scarce, until now it seems
A brief history of me and my polymoog 203A synth version:
I worked at a recycling center for a brief period in 1993, repairing computers and other electronics.
I made a deal with the factory manager that if I was able to repair this obscure synth sitting by itself on a table in some corner collecting dust for the last 3 months, then he would allow me to buy it off him.
More by luck and fortune than know-how at the time, I had managed to *faintly* get it powered up and make a few obscure noises.
He was impressed enough to just let me have it for free.
Well partly free, because I had to phone for a taxi home after work as it was too heavy to carry for more than 30secs.
I never used it again other than that time and in a few years I wanted to relocate and so I didn't want to take it with me, so I dismantled it COMPLETELY, stripping it of every wire and every circuit board, which I packed into cardboard boxes so they would fit under an old bed in a garden shed owned by my grandparents.
I had initially numbered every wire and numbered it correspondingly on the cuircuit board, so that when the time came when I had more time, I could reassemble it quickly. However, being young and foolish, I thought this too time consuming and after wire no.50 I stopped numbering(!)
So there it lay, dormant, for the next 4 years, through Denmark's harsh winters until in 1997 I reassembled it. The wires had been bent in their positions since 1976 and so even though I hadn't numbered all the wires, it wasn't as hard as I expected to find the right positions (phew!).
It worked first time!
What was amazing though, was that it worked BETTER than when I had got it working the first time in 1993!
Of course there are faults, as there still are to this day, I do really need to get a hold of those outdated IC's.
I had spent about 3 weeks with an electronics technician friend of mine, a few hours each day, to get it working even better, but alas, without the IC's, there are still faults that cannot be remedied. (Such as sound-initializer not sound on every key - which is the only fault left - all faders, buttons, filters etc work as they should)
I was so delighted with the sound, I sent Bob Moog an email of my account and we corresponded briefly in 1997, of which I saved his emails as a 'nostalgic' moment.
The serial number plate has been replaced (sadly) by some music shop from 1976, but perhaps I can dig up the serial number from some of the cuircuit boards, when I open it up(?)
Even though my 'music time' is very very minimal with my polymoog, I can't help feeling the kind of 'awe', 'respect' and 'magic' that it seems to impart on me, which is why I never sold it and I can imagine that most of you also feel this way about your vintage gear(?)
So thats it from me, rather a long winded "hello", but hope it was interresting to read
kind regards,
André
I discovered Dubsounds through Wikipedia article on the polymoog and had been searching for other users of this monolith for quite a while but info on the net is quite scarce, until now it seems
A brief history of me and my polymoog 203A synth version:
I worked at a recycling center for a brief period in 1993, repairing computers and other electronics.
I made a deal with the factory manager that if I was able to repair this obscure synth sitting by itself on a table in some corner collecting dust for the last 3 months, then he would allow me to buy it off him.
More by luck and fortune than know-how at the time, I had managed to *faintly* get it powered up and make a few obscure noises.
He was impressed enough to just let me have it for free.
Well partly free, because I had to phone for a taxi home after work as it was too heavy to carry for more than 30secs.
I never used it again other than that time and in a few years I wanted to relocate and so I didn't want to take it with me, so I dismantled it COMPLETELY, stripping it of every wire and every circuit board, which I packed into cardboard boxes so they would fit under an old bed in a garden shed owned by my grandparents.
I had initially numbered every wire and numbered it correspondingly on the cuircuit board, so that when the time came when I had more time, I could reassemble it quickly. However, being young and foolish, I thought this too time consuming and after wire no.50 I stopped numbering(!)
So there it lay, dormant, for the next 4 years, through Denmark's harsh winters until in 1997 I reassembled it. The wires had been bent in their positions since 1976 and so even though I hadn't numbered all the wires, it wasn't as hard as I expected to find the right positions (phew!).
It worked first time!
What was amazing though, was that it worked BETTER than when I had got it working the first time in 1993!
Of course there are faults, as there still are to this day, I do really need to get a hold of those outdated IC's.
I had spent about 3 weeks with an electronics technician friend of mine, a few hours each day, to get it working even better, but alas, without the IC's, there are still faults that cannot be remedied. (Such as sound-initializer not sound on every key - which is the only fault left - all faders, buttons, filters etc work as they should)
I was so delighted with the sound, I sent Bob Moog an email of my account and we corresponded briefly in 1997, of which I saved his emails as a 'nostalgic' moment.
The serial number plate has been replaced (sadly) by some music shop from 1976, but perhaps I can dig up the serial number from some of the cuircuit boards, when I open it up(?)
Even though my 'music time' is very very minimal with my polymoog, I can't help feeling the kind of 'awe', 'respect' and 'magic' that it seems to impart on me, which is why I never sold it and I can imagine that most of you also feel this way about your vintage gear(?)
So thats it from me, rather a long winded "hello", but hope it was interresting to read
kind regards,
André
Mostly he was patching in s/h, lfo wibbles but they were drooly, I can tell ya - and STILL unique in a Polymoog way. Next year I'm DEFFO buying one ;D