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Moog Prodigy restoration...

claire.foxx

-⃝⃤
Got me a Merg Perdigee super cheap, am thinking of doing it up and selling it as small profit for my time and then ploughing the profits into something more bass related.

First up, what’s good for removing matte spray on the back? The logo is under there but it’s been sprayed over (fortunately not the serial).

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The print work underneath is intact and I can get it off slowly with wire wool but I don’t want to risk taking off text or print... the synth inside is in good condition and unmolested And the key contacts are all good knob travel feels just right... (not too gummy) but before I sell it I want to get the casework and woods off and restored again, a minimal fixer-upper.

White spirit does nothing. Abrading gets a little further but it’s hellish hard to gauge if it will be ok in the long run.

I think I recall from GOLT that acetone attacks the white print that Moog used so that’s a no no...

 
Excellent stuff, the Prodigy is good fun. No idea how to get the paint off the back, but I’m sure someone will. Do you know it’s provenience at all? The logo being blacked out implies big pop bands on TOTP etc where BBC advertising rules applied. What condition is the woodwork in? Does it work?
 
Yeah it’s a 1978/79 US model, unsure about any prior convictions. I have the serial blanked.

It works really well, the knobs feel like they have already been cleaned and the travel is right, not gummy, keys all good. Pots all good, no cracked pcb connections to them board shows no real stress and all caps original, I am loathe to replace anything other than the electrolytic caps, if that, it’s doesn't get too hot in there. It requires a US voltage but it can always have a RS240V:24V Traffo fitted. It makes a wicked bass synth at 32’ setting. No MIDI, no CV. Un modded and it’s staying that way.

Wood is just tatty, top level stuff and some pinholes on the back which can be filled. Keyboard is dusty but all connections are sound. It’ll be a nice unmessed around with instrument when I am done.

This is getting to be a habit with me. I’ll throw more pics up in a bit, the video links to a whole series of procedures to restore this one.
 
One of my first proper synths, until I could afford a mini-moog . Happy memories!
No idea how you would go about removing the paint without damaging the logo underneath. That’s gonna be tricky.
The wood cheeks will be a much simpler task.
Hope it goes well.
 
Can you get the back off, a slack in warm soapy water perhaps?

I will be laughed out of town but we swear by those magic sponge things as well
 
Sometimes things like magic sponges work, will try that. It’s going to get a full disassembly so I can strip the wood case get it sanded down and get it back to its former glory so yes the soapy water idea is a possibility, but it seems to have been attached to the back of the synthesiser through many decades so my hope of getting it off without thinners is slight.

Porn0

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Inside is clean and the PCB has shiny solder points with no cracks at the knobs. Keys are lovely condition. Top is just grime but that kinda protects as much as it looks ugh
 
One of my first proper synths, until I could afford a mini-moog . Happy memories!
No idea how you would go about removing the paint without damaging the logo underneath. That’s gonna be tricky.
The wood cheeks will be a much simpler task.
Hope it goes well.

My first synth too—pre-MiniMoog and Source.

There's a good Facebook group of synth restorers (Vintage Synth Repair And Mods) who are ultra-helpful and knowledgeable.

Stephen
 
Elbow grease and I CHIPPED A ****ING NAIL ON THIS YOU BASTARD — now I need a new gel top and a shellac... which I had booked anyway but hmph...

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I do get drama queen about my nails, it’s been a long uphill battle.

I remember Depeche Mode using a Moog Prodigy on ToTP, ok so I recall secretly crushing on the boys harder than the synths, but the synths were all so small and... utilitarian... but they were so interesting but the boys were so pretty to look at. I had a lot of things on my mind in ambiguous 1981...

 
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Couldn’t you download some templates of the logos, resize them, make them into stencils and spray over the top? Additive rather than subtractive synthesis? If you get it spot on you won’t be able to tell the difference. It might be more work, but cerebral rather than boringly physical, reversible and easier on your nails (provided you use scissors or a craft knife.)
 
Couldn’t you download some templates of the logos, resize them, make them into stencils and spray over the top? Additive rather than subtractive synthesis? If you get it spot on you won’t be able to tell the difference. It might be more work, but cerebral rather than boringly physical, reversible and easier on your nails (provided you use scissors or a craft knife.)

Yes I have been considering water slide decals, custom made from scans or graphics from the Internet. spray the back (mindful to avoid the serial) and the water slide the lot. Seal with a poly spray matte sealer. do again in 25-30 years time. It’s more work and I was hoping I might be able to actually restore...

It does mean I can move the Moog logo where it ended up a few cm to the left and that leaves room for the extra retrofittable CV and filter/Trig jacks on the back — also MIDI if I want to go that route.
 
There you are you little bastard, imperfect, but original.

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Wet sponge, rubbing. My assumption that it was aerosol paint and therefore most likely matte black enamel was probably ill-founded as it just needed a lot of wet to start breaking it down. The finish is not absolutely perfect (and it may be a reason why it was painted in the first place). Or the paint may have become one with the logo at some point but so far the results are better than erasure.

I’m happy. Imperfect but original, you take what wins you can.
 
Vintage Synthesiser strip continues to get at the PCB. Look at the condition of this c1979 (40 year old) board! Incredible!! The solder points are still shiny.

Whoever built this built it properly and well...so I tread very carefully The components that get hot (diodes for AC voltage rectification input) a resistor here and there (usually just before current dumping) have been set to stand in free air (a lot of fixes push these down) all the resistors look original without any browning or heat stress.

At this stage I am looking for visual signs of age: leaky electrolyte from the axial capacitors, (Tants and ceramics all effectively have a lifetime ahead still) or gumming potentiometers, burns on the board, marks in the switching to indicate spills, flux deposits to indicate prior repairs, any signs of modifications or track damage - wrinkling traces were not uncommon on boards of this age, old liquid spills and so on. This board appears to be in great shape, beautiful, a work of art in itself. It doesn’t get hot inside so I am not too worried about the electrolytic capacitors unless it fails.

I have no compulsion to change a thing here at all. I think I got lucky.

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You are indeed very lucky there as that kind of board-mounted knob is pretty easy to damage unlike say a Minimoog, Korg MS20 etc where the pots are actually bolted to the front panel. It was rare to find one that has never needed a fix even back when I was buying/selling the things 25 years ago! Nice Nippon Chemicon caps too, which are likely still mostly ok! How’s the tuning/keyboard tracking and long-term pitch stability?
 


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