Members willi Posted August 4, 2007 Members Share Posted August 4, 2007 Hi I recently purchased a Hohner D6 Clavinet, and was given a Pianet L as part of the deal. The Pianet has seen better days; all the sticky pads are going to need to be replaced. I realize you can buy new pads from http://www.clavinet.com thankfully! This unit was also modified to include a 1/4" output jack. However it hasn't been powered on in ages, and I'm a little concerned. I'm guessing the safest way to test it will be to power it up on a circuit with no other equipment on it. Then, if nothing is smoking, plug in a 1/4" line... but since the pads have all deteriorated, are there any tests I can perform to determine if the amp is working? I would hate to spend $100 on new sticky pads, only to find that the rest of the unit is not working. How might I rebuild the amp if necessary -- I don't see any replacement amps available online, nor a schematic of the Pianet L. I think there is a printed schematic taped inside the lid of mine, though... Could I perhaps use the preamp from another model of Pianet if necessary? Thanks for your thoughts and input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted August 4, 2007 Members Share Posted August 4, 2007 Just pluck the tines with a pencil eraser to see if the preamp works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willi Posted September 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 14, 2007 Thanks for the suggestion.. I tried it the other day and the pianet powered up OK. No smoke or crackles as I feared, and the little red LED that had been added lit up. I did not actually get a pencil out as I found there were a couple of keys that would stick just slightly and produce a slight audible tone. However this tone does not make it to my amp. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the circuitry in the pianet itself... if the key was able to stick enough to make an audible tone, this should have been picked up electrically and amplified, correct? I considered the possibility that the sound was enough for my ear to hear unaided, but that the physical movement of the reed was not enough to induce some electrostatic response or whatever the pianet needs exactly. However, I have to admit I'm a bit timid about playing around inside of it while it is powered on as I'm under the impression that the electrical voltages inside the pianet are high enough to be potentially leathal, if not painful or a fire hazard... Is it necessary for the pianet tine/reed to vibrate in a physically significant manner for the electronics to pick it up? Suggestions on how to proceed next? Thanks for your time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted September 14, 2007 Members Share Posted September 14, 2007 Does it run from battery or with a power adaptor? If battery, is it dead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willi Posted September 15, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 15, 2007 No battery; it's got a little 2 prong 110V AC cable permanently attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willi Posted September 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2007 *bump* Any ideas? Doesn't a Pianet use a high voltage -- do some use 9v batteries? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted September 19, 2007 Members Share Posted September 19, 2007 Mine used a 9V battery. It was a Combo Pianet, and I don't know how that differs from an L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willi Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hmm, interesting. I know my Clavinet uses a 9v battery, but had I thought all Pianets were high voltage. It would seem that later Pianet models used electromagnetic instead of electrostatic systems, but the Combo Pianet is specifically listed as an electrostatic model (as is the Pianet L)... I scanned the old schematics that came with my Pianet L and retouched them. As far as I can tell there are no other copies of this schematic available online, so hopefully others might find this information useful. Any insight that can be yielded about this schematic or how to proceed with repairing my Pianet L is greatly appreciated! I've linked the JPG for inline viewing but if you want to print this I suggest the PDF file which has already got the proper formatting, as it is somewhat high resolution. http://www.sejus.com/earth2willi/images/pianetL-schematic.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willi Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 oh, I also keep getting these little broken parts falling out of the pianet when I move it around or open it up, but I can't tell what they are or where they are coming from. Anyone recognize them? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BonsoWonderDog Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Sorry.....they're mine. I'll clean it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff Irok Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 **Sigh** I had a Pianet back in the eighties. It never sounded so great; the preamp was noisy and several pads were either not sticking or gone. On top of that, I never received a manual, so I had very little knoweldge of it (not that it's a difficult machine to learn). Of course, that was before the Internet, where you can find spongy little pads that stick and schematics on forums. **Sigh** After I traded it in, the music store that I conducted the transaction with assigned it to "Sarge".. "Sarge" was the store's crack-electronic intrument repair guy. Sarge was supposed to fix it up and maybe sell it more than the $50 trade-in value they got it from me for. Sadly, Sarge caused it to blow up. I don't know how you can "blow up" a Pianet, but Sarge was able to. Alas, Sarge is no longer with us... (No, it wasn't the Pianet blowing up. He was older than dirt, after all!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OPEN OCEAN Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madrone Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 I've never been inside one of these, but based on my time spent in Wurlis and various effects pedals, I'd look for broken solder connections. Then I'd start checking capacitors with a multi-meter. OR, just go ahead and replace all the electrolytic ones, (cylindrical metal ones). That wouldn't cost hardly anything but pocket change and an hour or so, and would probably solve it. It's easy, and I've found it to be the most common failure in this king of circuitry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chetwesley Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 My combo runs on a regular 9v dc adaptor, like the type you plug into a fx pedal. The innards of your pianet probably run on something like 9v, but if its got AC going straight into it, you have to be careful when you are inside of it. Chances are, it has a built in DC converter, and the preamp circuitry itself is very low power. Look for a transformer inside, and for where the connections from the transformer hook up to the amplifier circuit board. Make sure you don't touch anything between the 110v cable and the transformer if it is plugged in. Could those little broken things be the decaying sticky pads??? It's hard to tell looking at them what they are. That's not what mine looked like in my combo, but maybe it was different in your model. If you heard sound with your ears, it should have been enough to pick up from the pickups if it was working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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