Dear Motifator readers,
I have an RS7000 that needs service on the 4 endless rotary encoders. Also, a less important issue is that the LCD is starting to exhibit “ghosting” after it’s powered on for awhile.

The encoders have started to exhibit symptoms (sticking on values, skipping of values, changing values in the opposite direction as desired, etc.) This was typical of encoders that Yamaha used on their samplers (A3000, A4000) back in the day.

One thing I was never clear on was what caused this performance degeneration. Was this a result of typical use, abuse, or normal component shelf-life? Dust and debris, or perhaps moisture gathering beneath the chassis? 

I ask because I was recently relocated by a moving company. All was well on the RS7000 just months before the move. Everything else on the RS7000 - tactile and aesthetic - is perfectly in order. One piece of furniture was delivered with some rust that definitely wasn’t there before, so there must have been rain exposure in transit. The RS7000 was packed in its factory box, however, I did not hermetically seal it in a large bag as these devices usually come from the factory.

The LCD, on the other hand, has been showing signs of age for a few years now. I am calling it “ghosting” for lack of better terms, but that’s probably not the right thing to call it. Basically, the light areas become darker as it’s on longer. I believe this is might be a common issue with some LCDs, as my Waldorf uQ has the same (or very similar) issue. I hope it can be fixed with a new PCB battery, however, if it needs to be replaced, as I worry it might, it really should be done by a skilled and experienced service technician.

I would be very appreciative if anyone here could help connect me with a high-quality Yamaha service technician that could help restore my RS7000. I prefer someone who has done work on Yamaha samplers of that era (preferrably RS7000’s), especially if they have been known to replace the stock Yamaha encoders with more durable replacements. 

Please feel free to share any info you may have, whether it’s contact info or knowledge on the encoder or LCD issues.

Thank you very much for your time,
Scott

Scott,

you might just want to give folks a general idea of your location - the advice given will be quite area dependent - I know what to suggest for the UK but not for the US for example :)

Cheers

Hi Wellie,
Thanks for your reply, and a good point. I’m in the northeast US, Rhode Island to be exact.

While it makes sense to have it done locally, I would be willing to send it overseas to an expert if necessary. I also just emailed Yamaha support.

Thanks,
Scott

From what you said originally I do wonder whether your unit might be suffering from some sort of dampness issues.

With that in mind, a remedy may well be to keep it somewhere warm for a while (switched off) and get some silica gel packs to try and dry it.

It may not do anything, but it won’t harm the unit to keep it in a warm sunny room rather than a cold cupboard for a bit :)

Hope you get some joy from Yamaha service

Cheers