KVR Audio

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:56 am

Have to say, after reading some of the replies I wish I had know some of this and didn't chuck my 30......cheers to some of these suggestions!

thenumber23 · Post by **thenumber23** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 9:54 am

Just an FYI: I owned a PCR-50 which had the same problem as discussed above (the problem was common with owners around 2006).

I replaced it with a PCR-800. This unit supposedly uses different hardware, and I have not had any problems for a few years now.

shanecgriffo · Post by **shanecgriffo** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:15 pm

just tried the eraser tip with my pcr-m1 and it restored the keys well for playing synths but on something like truepianos that is very velocity sensitive its pretty much unusable as the levels are all over the place, there's no way i could get a smooth performance!

Ravenzwire · Post by **Ravenzwire** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:51 am

hey.. it has been good readin this thread.. as it has almost solved this very same problem with me PCR-M30.
After cleaning the contacts... all bar about 4 of the 32 keys now work.. tho the downside.. velocity is all over the shop.

I contacted roland and they say all these models had the warranties extended to 3 years when they discovered this fault.. so if i had the receipt it would be fixed FOC... i turfed the receipt about 1 year ago

Ive decided to call spare parts at roland to order new contacts... The guy in spare parts tells me they are 'upgraded' parts.. so this should solve my problem. 12 aussie bucks for a strip of 12 contacts. I need three strips and will have a few left over.. So around 40 bucks once i pay postage... so if these replacement parts work all in all it wont be too expensive.

A shame ive had to go through this... i dont think I'll buy edirol next time. But hey.. this thread has been helpfull.

And I'll post again after ive installed these 'Upgraded' parts to let you all know if there is any difference.

shanecgriffo · Post by **shanecgriffo** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:55 am

Ravenzwire wrote:hey.. it has been good readin this thread.. as it has almost solved this very same problem with me PCR-M30.
After cleaning the contacts... all bar about 4 of the 32 keys now work.. tho the downside.. velocity is all over the shop.

I contacted roland and they say all these models had the warranties extended to 3 years when they discovered this fault.. so if i had the receipt it would be fixed FOC... i turfed the receipt about 1 year ago

Ive decided to call spare parts at roland to order new contacts... The guy in spare parts tells me they are 'upgraded' parts.. so this should solve my problem. 12 aussie bucks for a strip of 12 contacts. I need three strips and will have a few left over.. So around 40 bucks once i pay postage... so if these replacement parts work all in all it wont be too expensive.

A shame ive had to go through this... i dont think I'll buy edirol next time. But hey.. this thread has been helpfull.

And I'll post again after ive installed these 'Upgraded' parts to let you all know if there is any difference.

was that roland australia? what city if so, might contact them too (i better look for the reciept!)

Ravenzwire · Post by **Ravenzwire** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:01 am

yeh.. roland australia... in NSW i think.

shanecgriffo · Post by **shanecgriffo** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:39 am

thanks!

sellyoursoul · Post by **sellyoursoul** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:41 am

i just brought a pcr-m80 back to life, thanks to tomg's post. i figured out that there's really no need to use the eraser on the little black contacts of the blister packs (not in my case any way). only cleaning up the tin contacts below the blister packs seemed to do it. i did end up with one dead key, one semi dead, but not bad considering that EVERY key was dead before.

i gave this controller away as a gift when it was fully working. months later, i see it sitting in the corner of the room covered in white dust, and three of the slider tops are missing (it kind of made me feel disgusted). i was told that it quit working all of a sudden (think it had anything to do with all that white dust?!). all the keys were dead, so i thought it was toast, but i took it with me to have a look any way.

i'm thinking that some contact cleaner on the tin contacts (not the carbon buttons on the blister packs) might bring back the two bunk keys. i tried the eraser on those key's carbon contact buttons, but no luck. i'll report back on whether the contact cleaner works or not.

sellyoursoul · Post by **sellyoursoul** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:50 am

ha ha, i had forgotten how crappy the velocity is on this thing. too bad that can't be fixed.

Ja.x · Post by **Ja.x** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:16 am

The new PCRs don't have the same trouble...

Is it safe to buy a PCR-500, then (if I still find one)?

sellyoursoul · Post by **sellyoursoul** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:22 am

For anyone who replaced the contact strips in their pcr-m??, did the touch response improve at all? I remember trying the various velocity curves when I got this thing, with no real improvement in touch response. Of course, nothing has changed now, but I'm wondering if this was a problem with the original rubber contact strips, and if the replacement parts make a difference.

Ravenzwire · Post by **Ravenzwire** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:34 am

okay.. it took twos week for the new touchdown pads to arrive.. Sorry for the delay between post.. blame roland australia.. and australia post..

Anyway the results are great!!! only had it plugged back in for 5 minutes tho.

velocity is good. Touch response is great...no latency if thats what you mean.. and EVERY KEY NOW WORKS!!!! i cant believe it.

now for just under 50 bucks so far im quite pleased.. tho will these new touch down pads last the test of time??

the only difference i can notice is that the plastic is of a slightly darker colour than the old ones.

While i had the keyboard open i clean the metalic sensors under the pads also.. used a cotton tip and some spirits.. careful not to wash off the sticky stuff on each side tho.. as i guess this helps keep dust from getting under the pads. And didnt want to smear that gluey stuff onto the sensors (more cleaning then)

A delicate hand, a phillips screwdriver, and some spirits and cottontips; All in all it took me one devin townsend album and one phonecall from the wife.. so minus the phonecall.. i guess just 45 minutes. including a stubbie or two.

So if ya got 50 bucks to spare.. the new pads from roland worked sweet.. i just hope they last.

And the job is really simple.. i could train my Staffordshire Bull Terrier to do it.

bburtin · Post by **bburtin** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:58 pm

Ja.x wrote:The new PCRs don't have the same trouble...

Is it safe to buy a PCR-500, then (if I still find one)?

My local Guitar Center was blowing them out at $149. I couldn't resist buying one at that price. I've only had it for a few days, but it seems pretty solid so far. I definitely like the features and layout of the PCR-500 better than my PCR-M50. I didn't notice any immediate problems with velocity response.

sellyoursoul · Post by **sellyoursoul** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:17 pm

i finally got around to fixing this thing. i was going to try contact cleaner, but i googled a bit first and found a mention of using graphite powder, which makes better sense: http://www.fixya.com/support/t451937-re ... y_contacts i only put the graphite powder on the black button contacts of the blister packs, not on the metal contacts of the board. all keys are working now and the response has been evened out across the board as much as possible, although the overall velocity response and short key travel are still crap. the graphite powder was $2 at wally world, and i already had some brushes (a fine tip brush works best). if you're stuck with one of these keyboards, here are the steps to make this fix as quick as possible:

- lay out a towel or two on a table. loosen all the screws and flip the keyboard over, letting the towel catch the screws.

- slide the top casing off and remove the two screws holding the keyboard assembly in

- remove the key springs by grasping at the top of the spring and pulling up. remove a few keys at a time, placing them in order (for easy reassembly)

- grab each blister pack at a corner and pull it up, laying them out in order, bottom side up. put some graphite powder in a container and dab your brush in it. dab and brush each button contact until it has a metallic/shiny look about it. after all contacts are coated, shake and/or blow off any loose powder. don't worry about the excess.

- put the blister packs back in, add the keys, then the springs (use your nails to pull up....or have your woman do it). screw it all back together.

it took me about an hour to do a 61 key pcr-m80. i won't be buying another edirol keyboard.

Garthy · Post by **Garthy** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:18 am

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Yes people it can be fixed by yourself at home, cheaply and easily. I've got an Edirol pcr-80 & prc-a30. Both have had intermittent key troubles and keys that just don't work anymore or low/high level compared to other keys. These problems seem to start after a year or so. I've paid hundreds of dollars getting them fixed until I tried this on a whim. The contacts under the keys are a carbon-based contact so cleaning them with metho/alcohol just dries out this carbon. Some people say cleaning them with a pencil easier helps and it can do slightly but not properly. What you need is "Graphite Powder". (Link for a picture of a appropriate product - just cut and paste it in your Internet heading bar, or Google image search graphite powder…)

http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=e ... =&gs_rfai= (http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1024&bih=1080&q=graphite+powder&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=)

Graphite powder is a dry fine powder that is conductive and perfect for the job. You can purchase at any locksmith - maybe a good hardware store, and it is sold as "non liquid lubricant for locks and machinery."
All you need to do is unscrew the case, remove the springs that hold the keys in, remove the keys. (White keys first then black keys. Keep in order.) Peel off the rubber strip under the keys and turn over so you can see the little carbon nipples that touch the circuit board. (2 for each key) Pour a little power out on a sheet of paper and use a cotton tip bud to apply a little powder to these. Now apply a little to the carbon contacts on the circuit board where the little nipples touch. Do all this with your midi keyboard plugged in to your computer/synth etc so you can hear how you're going with getting contact before you put it all back together. You might get a key or two going off when doing this because the graphite power is making a continuous contact across the circuit board. Just blow/lightly wipe away excess to stop this but you want to leave all the contact points evenly (if slightly) coated. Try touching the rubber strip contacts with the circuit board contacts to see if you can get a sound. This can be a bit tricky to line up and get an even contact. This sorts its self out when everything is back together.
Now put back the rubber strip. I used I tiny screwdriver to help push the rubber guide back in the holes on the circuit board. Now put the keys back (black first - with the short springs then white keys with the longer springs) screw the case back together and let me know how you went.

This I think will dry up again in time but if you get a good bit of use out of it you can just do it again… For free…
Garthy.

Edirol PCR-50 Midi Controller: Keys Dying Rapidly