Sequential circuits pro one with mtg8/21/2023 ![]() ![]() I think that the faceplate is a cool design, but it is plastic and tends to flex more than it should considering it is the support for the board that is underneath it. Especially because they are not secured to the faceplate. I think it could be better as well, but i have seen worse too! The pots are all plastic shaft and are prone to breaking off if you abuse the instrument. Many people lament the construction of the Pro One and accuse it of being flimsy and shoddily made. In early versions the board mounted transformer tended to snap off and destroy the inside of the synth! I used epoxy this time so it will last longer! I also noted that this unit has the power transformer mounted to the chassis and not the board. It looked like someone had used superglue the first time. I re-repaired the shaft of this pot and cleaned the others to help improve the function and performance of the face plate controls. ![]() While i had the machine apart i found that there was a broken pot that had been carefully repaired. I will complete this project as soon as I have all the parts from Amazon! I decided to get some RC servo extensions as they are 12" long and have 3 conductors in a nice small package with male and female receptacles. I felt that i wanted to have connectors to and from the jacks and MIDI board so that the Pro One would remain easy to service and modular in layout. The MTG kit includes the CPU, MIDI in out jacks, a MIDI daughter board, and some connecting wires. I plan to complete the MIDI in outs and other CPU routings later but i found that i wanted to get some extra parts first. I happened upon a site for MTG, Music Technologies Group, that offered a replacement CPU that adds MIDI note in out plus other controller input to this classic synth. ![]() There's a limited CPU on board that can record basic, i mean BASIC, sequences and a decent Up/Up Down arpeggiator that is fun to use. Its sound is versatile and can cover any ground between Lead and Bass and all the way to great drums and percussion. It was released during the era of Big Expensive poly synths and their more compact Mono brethren of the late 70's and early 80's. The Pro One is a classy sounding and nicely laid out mono synth from the same lineage as the SCI Prophet 5. Next up I’ll be replacing the missing mod wheel, the broken potentiometer, and the missing knob.This is part one of a two part series on the Sequential Circuits Pro One. After all that I tested it again to find it working flawless, although still a little difficult to tune. I also bent the J-wires slightly to improve the tension. I used used q-tips with a drop of LPS-1 to clean each J-wire and the metal bar that they connect to when the key is depressed. Another problem is that the J-wires can become less springy, making the connections a bit weak. For a close up view of the Pro-One J-wires check out this post on MaxtrixSynth. The Pro-One uses a J-wire keyboard with open air connectors that are prone to collecting dirt (or residue from malted beverages spilled over the keys). The knobs no longer had anymore crackling going on, so that was fixed, but the keyboard was horribly inconsistent. I put the thing back together and did some tests. After applying the LPS-1 I made thirty or more rotations of the pot from zero to maximum so that the dirt particles were worn away by the fluid. The stuff works wonders on crackly volume knobs and was recommended to me by the electronics experts at AEI Electronics in Minneapolis years ago. To clean the pots I removed the knobs and then squirted a few drops of a greaseless lubricant called LPS-1 around the post. In other words, I wasn’t diverted by dirty dishes. For you laymen, pots is short for potentiometers. The first thing I did was clean the pots. At some stage one of the knobs was broken off and lost, leaving a stub of potentiometer protruding uselessly from the control panel. Over time the key contacts became dirty and inconsistent. Once I started using the Korg MS2000, I neglected the Pro-One and it fell into disrepair. My plan is to get it as close to mint condition as possible and start using it again for recording and perhaps performing. I have finally started restoring my Sequential Circuits Pro-One. ![]()
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