Arturia Forums
Hardware Instruments => MiniBrute => Topic started by: turncoat on November 09, 2018, 03:51:56 am
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A few months back I thought the sides and knobs on my MiniBrute seemed rather tacky.
It gets infrequent use in my little hobby setup, but yesterday I turned it on to have a play and all the knobs feel terrible.
They are tacky and a couple retained a fingerprint impression after they stuck to my fingers.
The finish on the sides is basically melting and I would swear there is a faint sickly odour.
I'm really not happy about this, I treat all my gear well, and like to maintain it properly but I can't see what I can do about this.
It looks and feels terrible.
I noticed another post after signing up on exactly this topic.
What is the contingency?
I have a Beatstep Pro and recently got a Drumbrute with identical finishes. :-\
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Having all of those products, I also experienced some "stickyness" on the fader caps and knobs of the original MiniBrute.
The knob caps used on the DrumBrute and BeatStep Pro feel better and seem to use a new and different material and still feel great to me, like the 1st day I got them (when released) so I guess those will be fine.
Regarding the MiniBrute, try contacting Arturia support and describe the issue to them.
If more original MB customers reach out Arturia with a similar issue, maybe they'll provide a replacement pack in the Store at a sensible price of compatible but newer knob'n'fader caps (the MiniBrute2 ones feel great, btw).
Maybe even include in that pack the MiniBrute SE's "wooden" side cheeks to replace the rubber coated (?) plastic ones of the original MB.
PS: I've checked the other thread about this: https://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=90212.0
and I can add that I've tried to wash all the MB knob and fader caps, but once dried, the issue kept happening.
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Well
After some back and forth with customer support, I thought I would share the result here and anywhere else the opportunity arises to save you some time.
I explained the parts have a manufacturing issue and are not fit.
45 Euros is the price of replacement parts (this was later reduced by 14.99 as a good will gesture)
Alternatively,
Arturia are happy for me to 'Sell the synth for parts on eBay and buy future products from a different company'.
No other official solution is offered.
I don't have the time or inclination to pursue this. So, only advice for the other people with this issue is to either sell as proposed above, or just put up with the sticky goo.
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Well
After some back and forth with customer support, I thought I would share the result here and anywhere else the opportunity arises to save you some time.
I explained the parts have a manufacturing issue and are not fit.
45 Euros is the price of replacement parts (this was later reduced by 14.99 as a good will gesture)
Alternatively,
Arturia are happy for me to 'Sell the synth for parts on eBay and buy future products from a different company'.
No other official solution is offered.
I don't have the time or inclination to pursue this. So, only advice for the other people with this issue is to either sell as proposed above, or just put up with the sticky goo.
Well, for 15 EUR I would totally buy those replacement parts (basically a no-brainier for me), because "things don't last forever" and I'd rather keep *my* MiniBrute usable for such a low price than sell it "for parts".
Thanks for sharing the outcome of your support contact. Now I know, when the time comes, that there's a way to get those replacement parts for a small fee (even 45 EUR is kinda OK'ish, if those are the MB SE "wood" cheeks).
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Same problem here. First the side panels became sticky as hell, now the knobs and the wheels are sticky, too. I'll probably just replace the knobs with some hard plastic ones and make wooden or aluminum side panels. Minibrute is not the only product that suffers from this problem, though. This rubber coating should simply be abandoned.
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Recognizable, but not always the same amount of stickyness as it seems.
First experiencing it, it made my think of finishes of some older Waldorf products... no idea the same materials, but sure the same impression: "OMG, how is this going to develop..." ??? ::)
The EU15 deal for replacing all knobs & side-panels sure sounds interesting! Any idea if this was a personal favour, or that anyone could ask for it ?
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Just to clarify, I must not have been clear.
That is not 14.99.
It was REDUCED BY 14.99. So 30 Euros after discount.
This price is unlikely to extend to others, the discount was only offered after I had expressed my disappointment quite clearly and got a response from a second representative.
Also no reference was made to the plastic wheels, and SE wooden sides would undoubtedly cost more than this.
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Thanks for pointing out, I misread
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Well
After some back and forth with customer support, I thought I would share the result here and anywhere else the opportunity arises to save you some time.
I explained the parts have a manufacturing issue and are not fit.
45 Euros is the price of replacement parts (this was later reduced by 14.99 as a good will gesture)
Alternatively,
Arturia are happy for me to 'Sell the synth for parts on eBay and buy future products from a different company'.
No other official solution is offered.
I don't have the time or inclination to pursue this. So, only advice for the other people with this issue is to either sell as proposed above, or just put up with the sticky goo.
THat's very disappointing response from Arturia. I have the same issue with the side panels of my minibrute.
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Same happened to my Minibrute. Very sticky sidepanels while kept in a box for 6 months...
Wooden sidepanels and replacement knobs maybe ?
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The side panels of my minibrute are so sticky they can't be touched without getting sticky stuff all over my hands. It's like pine sap. The rubber on the knobs is sort of sticky also. It's been like that since shortly after new, maybe 6 months. In contrast, my Keylab 61 has wooden sides and the rubber on the knobs is not sticky at all.
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The side panels of my minibrute are so sticky they can't be touched without getting sticky stuff all over my hands. It's like pine sap. The rubber on the knobs is sort of sticky also. It's been like that since shortly after new, maybe 6 months. In contrast, my Keylab 61 has wooden sides and the rubber on the knobs is not sticky at all.
Have you reported that to Arturia Support?
Even if there's no "official" solution (which IMHO should be one, like a replacement kit in the Shop), at least it'll make Support aware of how many units are having this issue, compared with all sold.
Maybe it's a geographical issue, related with humidity? I don't know.
For the side-panels, my DIY solution was to cover them up with black gaffer tape :(
...until I find a way to replace them with a wooden version.
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I'm having the same issue with my Minibrute from 2013. I stored it in its original box in a dry closet for about a year, and when I took it out, all the knobs, faders and modwheel/pitchwheel were gummy and sticky.
I soaked the knobs and faders in warm water and scrubbed them with some soap, and that helped a bit, but they are still fairly sticky. The mod and pitch wheels are nearly unusable because they leave so much residue on my hands.
I contacted support and hope they can help me out!
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funny how this problem only seems to affect certain instruments/controllers. I wonder what it is about the controls they used on these devices that's different from such as the KeyLab controllers which don't suffer from the problem, and ergo why did they just not use the same part across multiple devices
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Good news for Minibrute owners. I finally replaced my sticky side panels for nice wooden panels.
A company called ‘2 many synths’ makes them.
http://2manysynths.nl/
They are very carefully made and look beautiful.
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Good news for Minibrute owners. I finally replaced my sticky side panels for nice wooden panels.
A company called ‘2 many synths’ makes them.
http://2manysynths.nl/
They are very carefully made and look beautiful.
oh cool, thanks! Nice tip there :)
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My Minibrute have the same sticky side panels and a little sticky knobs. The wooden side panels from the nethlerlands sellers are quite nice, but 99 Euro is too expensive for me - I just bought the whole Minibrute for a 130 bucks (nice deal ;D)
I found this webpage - check it out: https://hackabrute.yusynth.net/MINIBRUTE/cheeks_en.html
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I am also inspired by this link _
(https://img.audiofanzine.com/image.php?lang=fr&identifier=image&size=normal&module=user&userPhoto_id=299405)
And a desktop version .
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The rubber/vinyl can be removed easily with isopropyl alcohol and and a magic eraser (melamine sponge) and a cloth. This leaves the end plates looking like the MicroBrute which is just hard plastic and it looks fine. Pour 75%-95% isopropyl alcohol on the magic eraser and scrub. The alcohol breaks down the rubber. Then wipe away the alcohol and rubber mess with a dry micro fiber cloth. Repeat until it’s all gone and even looking. It comes off easily.
Be aware the alcohol will turn the rubber parts sticky if they were not before, so if you start, you have to finish the job. It also works on knobs and buttons. The rubber layer is very thin. Just watch out for the small little plastic inserts on the slider caps. (The horizontal grey line) They can fall out and you have to glue them back in if you care.
Don’t pour the alcohol on the Brute directly. Although you can use it to clean electronics it’s better to keep it controlled and neat.
Only do this if the parts are sticky. Otherwise you will make them sticky and have to do this process until completion.
As a final step, buff it with a dry microfiber cloth to make it nice and even.
This works because the alcohol breaks down the rubber and lubricates the magic eraser which acts as a fine abrasive and then the dry cloth wipes away the residue.
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The rubber/vinyl can be removed easily with isopropyl alcohol and and a magic eraser (melamine sponge) and a cloth
[...]
This works because the alcohol breaks down the rubber and lubricates the magic eraser which acts as a fine abrasive and then the dry cloth wipes away the residue.
Thank you, this is a very good tip!
I've had a similar issue with the old Propellerhead Balance audio interface which suffers from this same unfortunate issue and found accidentally just recently that this solution works and went on to remove all traces of this pestering rubber coating from it.
I have yet to do it on the MicroBrute, but I intended to try on it as well. Glad that someone else already proved that this works. :)
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I'm surprised to see there's a thread for this issue. I have the same problem with mine, I only noticed it 18 months ago maybe and I blamed the damp weather for that. The side panel are sticky, so are the fader (I think it got better for the later after cleaning it with alcohol).
@locosynth Not sure if you're gonna read that, but what do you mean by removing the rubber part? Do you mean the whole 0.5 cm layer?
Anyway, it really sucks that this is a common aging issue...
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It's a fairly thin layer (more like 0.1 mm) on top of the blue plastic - yesterday I took it off with 99% isopropylalcohol using cosmetic wipers (the cheap ones used for skin cleaning, normally). A lot of blue/blackish stuff came off - and the surface of the side panels is now hard. It does not take much time, but you really need to wash your hands after this. After all, it is the same stuff that is now forbidden to be put in plastic toys etc. ... not healthy.
Of course it is pretty bad that this happens after a couple of years - I noticed Arturia is now using wooden panels for newer synths and keyboards. So I think they know this is a big issue.
When it gets all sticky it is impossible to touch the synth - after cleaning at least one can, even though the surface is now dull and hard. The cleaning does not discolour the side panels.
Still have to do the knobs ...
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@eelco
Nice to know, I'll see if I can find this product at the store.
I'm guessing the faders are 100% in that bad plastic material. Would it be possible to put some lacker on it or something?
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I've been using isopropyl alcohol on smaller gadgets that have this issue.
Recently I found an easier (less "messy") alternative, especially when we're able to separate the plastic parts from the rest of the unit (like we can with the MiniBrute).
Here's a video I found showing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_EqlZRIr6g
Today I finally had to take the MiniBrute apart because I needed to fix the lower C key that had a broken stopper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSLoVnPwoII), so after dealing with that I also took out the side panels and tried that process and it seems to work great. Now I have the side panels drying and tomorrow I'll do some cleaning inside the unit and mount everything again :)
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HI ,
I emailed Arturia as my white Microbrute SE has the "knob rot"; they will sell me replacement knobs. For all 20 knobs it will cost me £75!! and £5 each for the pitch and mod wheels
They will be the same knobs so the issue of sticky knobs will reappear in time on the new knobs.
So not ideal.
I was wondering if the keystep37 knobs fit the micro brute as they are the fully plastic non rubberised type?
Personally I don't care what colour or shape the knobs are as long as i can replace these old ones.