The plastic knobs on my Microfreak are sticky to touch

Freak MicroFreak
#1

The knobs on my Microfreak have become sticky to touch. That is, the plastic surface of the knobs. They are still smooth to move.
Has anyone else experenced this?
I had the same happen to a Logitech game controller and the solution there was to clean the plastic with nail polish remover (acetone). I’m a bit nervous about doing the same with the Microfreak.
I live in a tropical climate and I believe this is caused by plastic degradation due to the warm and humid climate.
I have logged this matter with Arturia Support, but thought I would also consult our learned community.
Thanks in advance…

Impact replacement pads
#2

This has been a well-documented issue with various Arturia controllers (and other manufacturers), and as you have identified, it is accelerated by environmental factors. Others have reported succees with both IPA or Acetone, but of course you do either of these at your own risk.

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#3

Thanks for replying. Acetone worked well with the game controller but obviously would need to be very careful if I use on the Microfreak. Sticky knobs make the whole user experience frustrating. I’ll wait a couple of days and see if I get an official Arturia solution before testing acetone on a single knob … cheers

#4

I had the same issue with a Nektar P6 and used Isopropynol and a microfibre cloth.
I inadvertently left the knob/fader caps in a plastic bag on a windowsill in direct sunlight for a few weeks, which seemed to accelerate the decay of the soft touch paint too.

I’ve also seen people using other solvents in videos on YouTube, which i’m going to try myself on another bit of kit that’s developed the same issue…
as @Jon_Vincent said though, it’s at your own risk, although i’ve not had any issues post cleaning.

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#5

The key here is use the least aggressive methodfirst, and only work up if that doesn’t work. Try washing in soapy water. That night work. If that fails, try IPA. Make Acetone your absolute last resort, because it’s known to react badly with some plastics., same as carbon tetrachloride.

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#6

I live in Thailand and I’m sure the tropical climate is the main culprit. I’m pretty careful and keep things covered when I’m not actually playing them. The plugs of instrument cables can deteriorate quickly too if not stored correctly. Off In search of IPA tomorrow…

#7

Mat thanks for offering your opinion on the best course of action. I’ll try the IPA and microfibre cloth approach.

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#8

Hi, in Thailand also and this has happened to my MicroBrute among other items. I found the regular 70% ethyl alcohol you can get at boots or other works quite well. I use that with a cut up old tee shirt. No issues. Have never found IPA here yet.

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#9

Hi JMK - I found soe 90% IPA on Lazada just waiting on delivery.

Nice to hear from another musician living in Thailand. I live near Buriram amongst the rice paddies and have a small home studio. I release music as Anacrusis in Thailand on Bandcamp and the other online music services - Apple Music, Spotify etc.

Ever wish to swap stories you can message me here or email me through my Bandcamp contact email.

Appreciate you taking the time to reply…

#10

Hi, as others have said it’s a well documented problem and one would have thought Arturia might have picked up on this and changed the knobs by now. If you don’t have any success with cleaning you might consider doing what I did on my drumbrute and change the knobs. I changed them for hard plastic which did the trick. There are many companies out there, Thonk and even Amazon now have replacement knobs. Some have specific replacement knob kits but if you go custom be sure to get the correct length and D-notch configuration. Or you can get a D shim which makes the potentiometer top round and you can use any round holes knob. Sounds like a faff but it’s really not and you can get a cool looking custom freak for relatively little outlay. Good luck.

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#11

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Cleaning has worked well on the white knobs, the black less so, but better. The orange knobs have not deteriorated at all. I am a hopeless handyman so replacing knobs is probably something I wouldn’t tackle lol.

#12

TBF, AFAIK they have changed to newer knobs on more recent products and possibly on later batches of older products still in production… i’m not 100% on the last part of that though, just from what i’ve heard.

I have a few Arturia keyboards here and ALL have the newer type of knobs, they DO look pretty much the same in pictures though.

#13

Yeah, I noticed the knobs on my Minifreak are different and do not have the grippy coating, clearly for this specific reason. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arturia Support offers to send you a set of these new knobs.

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#14

Arturia hinted they could ‘sell me some’. The IPA cleaning has removed most of the “stickiness”…

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#15

“Sell you some” is kinda wack. I guess if it’s out of warranty, all’s fair game. That being said, I’d probably buy a set for my Microfreak to replace the knobs before they go gross on me. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

#16

I had the same issue with my Keylab 88 as well as my old Moog SubPhatty. I used baking soda which worked well but took some work and elbow grease to clean the sticky gunk off. Acetone and/or IPA can dissolve certain types of rubber so I wanted to steer clear of those.

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#17

Thanks for your response. In my case, IPA has improved things…