Korg Triton Extreme
I bought a Korg Triton Extreme.
Actually, I bought two. One 61-key TE, one 88-key TE. The primary difference between the two is construction (the 88-key uses more metal and has wooden sides), and keybed (the 88-key comes with an RH2 keybed, likely made by Fatar).
I should come clean and say it isn’t really a synthesizer - it’s mostly a rompler with some sampling capabilities. But the sounds it comes with are fantastic, and after playing around with Korg’s Triton VST, I decided I’d hunt one down.
61-Key Woes
So I ended up buying two, but both came with issues. Sadly the 61-key Triton Extreme was handled by Parcelforce, and they did what they do best - and managed to somehow smash-up the right end-cap:
Most of the time, it’s preferable they bugger the right-hand side rather than the left. The Triton Extreme 61 is asymmetrical - the left side houses the tube amp, pitch/mod stick, and a mod ribbon. Whereas the right side is just a simple plastic cap with no function beyond looking nice and taking the damage when you drop the keyboard. Sadly in this case, it isn’t. While I can find a few listings and places selling the left-hand side, there’s sod-all selling the right.
Nonetheless, I figured I should at least try to keep it in one piece. One really shit hot-stapler/epoxy/micromesh session later, and I had something that would at least survive another knock:
88-Key Juggernaut
The 88-key Triton Extreme weighs 28.5KG. This doesn’t just confer bragging rights - it also ensures that doing any form of maintenance is a pain in the arse.
The 88-key had two issues that I could sort immediately, but one major issue I’ll fix in the near-future. The first issue was simply down to the screws in the base being stripped and un-screwable. Despite using the correct Pozi-bit, they just weren’t coming out. I whipped out the PZ-55 and managed to get the offending screws out. Buggered beyond use, I set to work identifying what screw I’d just extracted.
The larger bolts looked to be bog-standard M5, and I replaced those with M5x25mm Pozi Pan Head Screws (DIN 7985Z) I’d bought from Accu. The shorter screws were something else entirely. The closest match I had on hand (also from Accu) was a bag of No.7 (3.9mm)x3/4 Inch (19mm) Pozi B Self Tapping Pan Screws (DIN 7981FZ). Measuring thread pitch is a skill I don’t have, but probably should figure out.
Those No.7 screws aren’t a perfect match. But they do work. I added some M4 washers to make up for the fact the screws didn’t have a flange. The main job of these screws is to self-tap themselves into the metal bar that runs along the length of the unit. Frankly, any self-tapping screw with a flat-tip above a certain diametre will probably work.
The second issue was more serious - the keybed had seemingly been jostled in transit, and the right side of the keybed was above the left side. Quite literally, the keys had an upward slant that followed pitch. Innovative, but unwanted. This didn’t take much work to fix. Really, it didn’t take any work to fix, as the keybed mounts to the bottom plate, and the bottom plate is the first part to remove to reach the internals.
Further Work
The remaining issue is the touch screen. Appropriate for the period it was produced, the Triton Extremes use resistive touchscreens. That is to say a digitizer sitting on top of a mediocre TFT LCD, with a CFFL backlight. On the 88-key Triton Extreme, the touchscreen has an issue that looks like delamination of some sort. If the top layer is pressed down with (for example) a credit card - almost like removing bubbles after applying a screen protector - the touchscreen works perfectly. However it eventually detaches again, and that motion is picked up as interaction.
So, I plan on replacing the touchscreen. China, as you may expect, has the LCD display with digitizer in stock. RS has the CFFL backlight in stock. And I’ll maybe give detaching and re-adhering the existing digitizer a go with some thin adhesive tape for screen repair.
Update
So I did it. I extracted the old touchscreen - I’m getting to be a dab-hand at taking TE’s apart. Installed the new one, only to find it wasn’t very bright. Bugger. I took it apart again, pulled out the display, and removed the existing CFFL tube. Installing the new tube wasn’t too hard, and just required some binding, trimming, and soldering.
It’s still shite. New backlight or not, old screens turn yellow. Some people say it’s the plastic light spreader and diffuser layers turning yellow with age. Some people say it’s the polarizer. Some people say it’s the glue. Apparently every bloody part of the screen turns yellow as it gets older.
Well, whatever. It’s readable, and the touchscreen now works without an issue.
