| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name
 | Date | Lines | 
|---|
| 2651.1 |  | EEMELI::VERGHESE |  | Wed May 29 1991 12:54 | 8 | 
|  |     There's a company I England who specializes in MIDI retrofits.
    They advertize regularly in Music Technology (UK) magazine,
    and if I remeber correctly, they have a retrofit for the OB-Xa.
    
    I'll check the name and address of the company tonight, if that's
    any help.
    
    Joachim
 | 
| 2651.2 | thanks - I'll be waiting | DYPSS1::SCHAFER | What's on YOUR mind? | Wed May 29 1991 15:56 | 8 | 
|  |     Thanks for the offer - I'll take you up on it.  Given that I've struck
    out in the states, I'll take just about any help I can get at this
    point.
    
    It's strange how the "rest of the world" seems to value older equipment
    more than folks here in the US.
    
+b
 | 
| 2651.3 | $.02 | 38388::MISKINIS |  | Wed May 29 1991 17:31 | 22 | 
|  |     
    >> It's strange how the "rest of the world" seems to value older
    >> equipment more than folks here in the US.
    
    Hi!
    
    	Perhaps we just don't advertise our "lust" for older equipment!
    
    	This way we can scoff it up REAL cheap, especially used/abused
    	stuff.  You should have seen the look on my friend's face when
    	I came back from a local used music store with a Roland MSQ700
    	for $99.95!  He paid $950 when it first came out (~1984).
    
    	It's really a weird phenomenon...  I personally think some of
    	the older stuff is made MUCH better than the new stuff.  It
    	may take a few old boxes to do the job of one new box, but
    	if you can live with that, it's a buyer's market!
    
    Just my 2 cents worth!
    
    _John_
    
 | 
| 2651.4 | synths can't handle their beer | DYPSS1::SCHAFER | What's on YOUR mind? | Wed May 29 1991 19:09 | 17 | 
|  |     Well, this thing was a real war-horse.  Was formerly owned by a band
    called Midnight Star (black/funk band - remember them?).  One of them
    spilled a beer in the thing, which caused the power block (including
    the switch) to fratz, and gummed up the keys tremendously.
    
    A band called the Walter Eugenes (obscure Ocean artists) bought it and, 
    rather than simply replacing a bad switch, decided to do major surgery
    and cut a hole in the top sheet metal panel, trying to use a light
    switch instead of the regular switch ($ SET FUSE/BLOW=TRUE).
    
    I got it for $50.  Lots of TexPads, a can of SwissMagic body putty, and
    lots of dis/assembly work later, I've almost got a 2nd OB-Xa.
    
    Now if I could just find someone who sells power switches, service
    manuals, and a MIDI retrofit, I'd be in the biz.
    
+b (who's almost O-D'ing on being able to note so much of late)
 | 
| 2651.5 |  | EEMELI::VERGHESE |  | Fri May 31 1991 02:57 | 9 | 
|  |     Sorry for the delay.
    I posted the address of that British company in 5.50.
    The OB-Xa retrofit kit plus installation costs 200 pounds,
    the kit alone is probably a bit cheaper.
    
    As for service manuals, you could try contacting Oberheim/Gibson,
    see note 5.37.
    
    Joachim_the_analog_freak
 | 
| 2651.6 | thanks! | DYPSS1::SCHAFER | What's on YOUR mind? | Fri May 31 1991 09:07 | 16 | 
|  |     Oberheim/Gibson is sick of me.  I've been bugging them off and on since
    the days of the "newly-released" OB-8 (ie before Oberheim was bought
    out by 14 other companies 8-), wondering about when they would offer an
    OB-Xa to OB-8 upgrade.  Silly me.
    
    Incidentally, they *don't* have any service manuals for the OB-Xa.  Not
    even a xox'd copy.
    
    In any event, I really appreciate the info on Kenton - I may just give
    them a ring.  (But, since I already have a Numera kit, I was hoping
    that someone would be willing to contact them as well.)
    
    I wonder what �200 plus *shipping* is going to set me back in good old
    Yankee sawbux?
    
+b
 | 
| 2651.7 |  | RGB::ROST | Jimmy Blanton's love child | Fri May 31 1991 10:07 | 5 | 
|  |     The transfer of ownership to Gibson was messy at best.  One software
    developer I spoke with once told me that they managed to lose *all*
    the sysex documentation on the Xpander, for instance.
    
    						Brian
 |