thelurker

The current stable - Roland RD-700, Roland Juno-DS 61, Roland Lucina, Roland U-110 Yamaha S-80, Yamaha Motif Rack, Yamaha TG-33, Yamaha CP-10 (first keyboard) Korg DW-8000, Korg Wavestation SR, Korg Monologue Those dearly departed - Kawai K1m, Seil DK-70, Ensoniq EPS, Yamaha S-2000, Alesis D4, Oberheim Matrix 1000, Korg Poly-800, Yamaha TX81z, Kawai G-Mega.

Only a little help, I own a DW-8000, and have the manual, but offhand, I know (or believe) that MIDI controllers can be manipulated live (volume, pitch, pgm changes, etc.) can be done via MIDI, but I don't believe you can call up parameters and change them from a MIDI source. To do so would require you to change from Patch to Parameter mode remotely, I don't recall that you can do that. I'll take a look at the book and get back to you, but it was a very early MIDI capable keyboard, and since it could only recall one parameter at a time, I doubt there was that kind of flexibility. On a side note, these older keyboards are fun to play with, and do their thing very well, but I would be cautious trying to lug them around for live performances. Back in the day, I had a friend who worked almost exclusively with a DX7, she said it could often surprise you by forgetting all its patches, losing output, etc., and that was when it was new. I recently got interested in performing live (after a 20 year (kids) hiatus). While my DW-8000 still works, it has been at least that long since I changed the battery in it. I did copy its memory to a digital recorder, but that still needs done. My EPS (Not the greatest sampler, but a great controller keyboard) went poof shortly after I started with it. My point is, while they are fun to fool with, I would be concerned about their longevity. It might be worth it to look at a Motif Rack, or some other items, that provide a number of the sounds from those earlier keyboards, with the reliability and flexibility of much newer pieces. Just my $.02, as a "serious" hobbyist.

I once owned a DK-70 (many years ago), a Keytar type instrument. That one also just stopped working. I thought the power might have been reversed, but had not changed adapters. you might be able to take it to an electronics person, they would lokely know what burned, and could replace it, even if they're not a musical instrument tech. It may have burned before you messed with a ribbon cable, hard to say for sure. If you know a good repair person, they're your best bet. good luck!

Back in the 80's, we were practicing in a friends unheated garage. We'd walled off a section, and put a small space heater in there, it stayed around 50 degrees, and was okay, nothing seemed to suffer for that. You can get a window seal kit for about $1, if you're really worried about temperature from that one window.

Cool! Behringer is being really cool about bringing affordable versions of these classics. There is only a limited supply of originals, and a hobbyist like me would never buy an original (at the ridiculous asking prices), but I'll play around with an affordable clone, why not?