I picked up a bargain priced TR-8 with X0X expansion on the used market. To be good to be true, right? Right! Whilst the unit sounded great, I found that half of the drum pad keys were getting stuck. I gave it a quick spray of switch cleaner, which was only a temporary fix before the issues came back.
So after a quick google decided the correct course of actions was to take it part and clean it up.
Disassembly
Unplug the TR-8 flip it over and all you need is a Philips screwdriver. Take a quick photo before starting to remove the screws. Once the back panel is off, the PCB is mounted to the top of the unit by a lot of screws, again take a photo, as some of the holes are for the stand-off part, and some, indicated with an arrow, are mounting it to the top of the TR-8
The pots and sliders slid off easily, then after removing all the PCB screws, I could finally take a look at the issue.
Grime Time
As soon as the case was removed, the issue was pretty clear. This drum machine had seen some use and needed a cleanup. I removed all the plastic and rubber buttons put them in a large bowl and cleaned them by hand with dish soap, and left them to dry.
There is only a few different styles of parts, but make sure to grab a photo of where each goes before removing, for the rebuild later. I also noticed black residue on the PCB itself, around the main pads and instrument buttons. To clean this off I used a rag with Isopropanol alcohol. (you can find it cheap online)
Reassembly
I left the TR-8 overnight to make sure it was totally dry and then it was just a matter of refitting all the controls and screwing the PCB back onto the case. The only thing to watch out for here is to leave the screwholes empty where the back of the case fits (the ones without the arrows).
And the end result was a total success. The pads now work flawlessly, making it much easier to mute and unmute and play the drum machine live. Also seeing how easily the pots remove, I tempted to swap out some for a bit of colour to customize the controls. The next step was to plug it in and record a jam!
Roland TR-8 Sound Demo
Product Details
Don’t fancy a used TR-8? After its success, Roland updated the TR-8 with a newer TR-8s model:
- available on Amazon https://amzn.to/4hVxDOg
Disclaimer
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