Cobalt
@cobaltmusic.fi
I swear a lot. Musician and DJ from Lahti, Finland.
The SFW alt of @tommyswanson.fi
Other interests include: linguistics, shitposting, amateur radio, electronics, photography, radioactivity, gaming, networking, technology, etc.
The SFW alt of @tommyswanson.fi
Other interests include: linguistics, shitposting, amateur radio, electronics, photography, radioactivity, gaming, networking, technology, etc.
moving onto the next project: the rack case the yamaha came in. this is a before/after on just one small part of the box. some scratches but I'd say it's been preserved quite well; first they applied a layer of dust on it by letting it sit for a few years and then never touched it again x)
November 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
moving onto the next project: the rack case the yamaha came in. this is a before/after on just one small part of the box. some scratches but I'd say it's been preserved quite well; first they applied a layer of dust on it by letting it sit for a few years and then never touched it again x)
since I can't do anything about it right now (I'm gonna get a desoldering station so I'll wait until I get that before I replace the caps) I just chucked it all together and threw it in the rack. it looks fucking SICK even without the knobs, yo
remember where we parked it, kids
remember where we parked it, kids
November 18, 2025 at 4:57 PM
since I can't do anything about it right now (I'm gonna get a desoldering station so I'll wait until I get that before I replace the caps) I just chucked it all together and threw it in the rack. it looks fucking SICK even without the knobs, yo
remember where we parked it, kids
remember where we parked it, kids
checked the voltage at the LED pins, and we're getting a constant voltage of 1.5V even though I set the channel's gain to max so it should be bouncing around a lot. so at least it's not the LEDs themselves that went, and the problem is somewhere else. time to play connect the dots I guess?
November 15, 2025 at 2:11 PM
checked the voltage at the LED pins, and we're getting a constant voltage of 1.5V even though I set the channel's gain to max so it should be bouncing around a lot. so at least it's not the LEDs themselves that went, and the problem is somewhere else. time to play connect the dots I guess?
noticed that the clip LEDs aren't working either. I checked the power supply and there are 4 fuses - one main one for everything, and 3 on separate rails. don't know why they needed so many. one of them was blown, so I temporarily jumpered it. didn't work...
November 15, 2025 at 1:20 PM
noticed that the clip LEDs aren't working either. I checked the power supply and there are 4 fuses - one main one for everything, and 3 on separate rails. don't know why they needed so many. one of them was blown, so I temporarily jumpered it. didn't work...
good news: ch10 is fixed. when I opened it up a screw fell out. can't remember if I was the one who accidentally dropped it in there and then immediately forgot about it but it's fixed now
bad news: the VU meters stopped working for some reason?? the rest works perfectly fine. how did this happen??
bad news: the VU meters stopped working for some reason?? the rest works perfectly fine. how did this happen??
November 15, 2025 at 10:27 AM
good news: ch10 is fixed. when I opened it up a screw fell out. can't remember if I was the one who accidentally dropped it in there and then immediately forgot about it but it's fixed now
bad news: the VU meters stopped working for some reason?? the rest works perfectly fine. how did this happen??
bad news: the VU meters stopped working for some reason?? the rest works perfectly fine. how did this happen??
huh. that's really weird. I checked all of channel 10's solder pads individually, and everything looks fine except for this unknown white stuff on the traces that I can't see anywhere else. I can wipe it away with my fingers. not sure if it's conductive? if you know more, please advise
November 15, 2025 at 8:07 AM
huh. that's really weird. I checked all of channel 10's solder pads individually, and everything looks fine except for this unknown white stuff on the traces that I can't see anywhere else. I can wipe it away with my fingers. not sure if it's conductive? if you know more, please advise
oh. oh no. I was testing the yamaha mixer and found out that channel 10 is completely fucked. seems like a cracked solder pad or a broken trace or bad pot or something around the pan pot area. when I hold the pan pot in a very specific way the channel seems to work. shouldn't be too hard to fix tho
November 13, 2025 at 5:22 PM
oh. oh no. I was testing the yamaha mixer and found out that channel 10 is completely fucked. seems like a cracked solder pad or a broken trace or bad pot or something around the pan pot area. when I hold the pan pot in a very specific way the channel seems to work. shouldn't be too hard to fix tho
before/afters on the rest of the case, right side and back panel (2/2)
some kind of liquid has been spilled on this thing, and there isn't much I can do about the residue without also rubbing away the paint. light rubbing with IPA didn't do a whole lot. that's why you clean up spills immediately!
some kind of liquid has been spilled on this thing, and there isn't much I can do about the residue without also rubbing away the paint. light rubbing with IPA didn't do a whole lot. that's why you clean up spills immediately!
November 12, 2025 at 12:12 PM
before/afters on the rest of the case, right side and back panel (2/2)
some kind of liquid has been spilled on this thing, and there isn't much I can do about the residue without also rubbing away the paint. light rubbing with IPA didn't do a whole lot. that's why you clean up spills immediately!
some kind of liquid has been spilled on this thing, and there isn't much I can do about the residue without also rubbing away the paint. light rubbing with IPA didn't do a whole lot. that's why you clean up spills immediately!
before/afters on the rest of the case, left and top sides (1/2)
November 12, 2025 at 12:03 PM
before/afters on the rest of the case, left and top sides (1/2)
before/after on the front plate
looks a lot better, much less cloudy. I have NO idea how the numbers 2-5 came off between channels 13 and 14, I didn't scrub it THAT hard I don't think 🥴 that sucks, but oh well. made in ~1989 so it's not unreasonable for there to be SOME wear I guess
looks a lot better, much less cloudy. I have NO idea how the numbers 2-5 came off between channels 13 and 14, I didn't scrub it THAT hard I don't think 🥴 that sucks, but oh well. made in ~1989 so it's not unreasonable for there to be SOME wear I guess
November 12, 2025 at 7:29 AM
before/after on the front plate
looks a lot better, much less cloudy. I have NO idea how the numbers 2-5 came off between channels 13 and 14, I didn't scrub it THAT hard I don't think 🥴 that sucks, but oh well. made in ~1989 so it's not unreasonable for there to be SOME wear I guess
looks a lot better, much less cloudy. I have NO idea how the numbers 2-5 came off between channels 13 and 14, I didn't scrub it THAT hard I don't think 🥴 that sucks, but oh well. made in ~1989 so it's not unreasonable for there to be SOME wear I guess
oh yeah also ordered the new fader caps from aliexpress. got ones that kind of maybe slightly remotely match the aesthetic. couldn't find originals anywhere so these will have to do. the blue ones are 100% just a personal stylistic choice, they can be replaced with the black ones the buyer wants to
November 11, 2025 at 6:57 PM
oh yeah also ordered the new fader caps from aliexpress. got ones that kind of maybe slightly remotely match the aesthetic. couldn't find originals anywhere so these will have to do. the blue ones are 100% just a personal stylistic choice, they can be replaced with the black ones the buyer wants to
the VU meters are just their own discrete component instead of being separate individual LEDs. there are also these black things that say "RIVER" on them and they're just resistors for the LEDs. but why they wrote "river" with an arrow on top of them I don't know
November 11, 2025 at 6:47 PM
the VU meters are just their own discrete component instead of being separate individual LEDs. there are also these black things that say "RIVER" on them and they're just resistors for the LEDs. but why they wrote "river" with an arrow on top of them I don't know
that's a funky connector, I don't think I've seen anything similar used elsewhere. the connector cables - for, for example, the power supply - are just solid core wires glued together. you remove them from the connector by pushing down on the white bit and pulling the wires out
November 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM
that's a funky connector, I don't think I've seen anything similar used elsewhere. the connector cables - for, for example, the power supply - are just solid core wires glued together. you remove them from the connector by pushing down on the white bit and pulling the wires out
oh wow, I've been hustling today. I've already got the mixer's knobs cleaned, I've taken the whole mixer apart, and I've cleaned all the pots and buttons. only thing left to do now is to clean all the panels and it's ready for reassembly and testing
November 11, 2025 at 6:27 PM
oh wow, I've been hustling today. I've already got the mixer's knobs cleaned, I've taken the whole mixer apart, and I've cleaned all the pots and buttons. only thing left to do now is to clean all the panels and it's ready for reassembly and testing
as expected, the knobs are pretty dusty. however, what I find weird is that about half of it is too caked on for compressed air, but half got blown right away. that, and the EQ knobs are considerably dustier than anything else, even the gain knobs that are above them (when mounted in a rack)
November 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
as expected, the knobs are pretty dusty. however, what I find weird is that about half of it is too caked on for compressed air, but half got blown right away. that, and the EQ knobs are considerably dustier than anything else, even the gain knobs that are above them (when mounted in a rack)
there's also another issue with the venice knobs: when the fader is maxed out, it'll make it annoying to turn the pan knob. I guess I'll have to get some generic ones that *kind of* fit the look. I'll include the original knobs in the package so it's up to the buyer if they want to use them instead
November 10, 2025 at 4:36 PM
there's also another issue with the venice knobs: when the fader is maxed out, it'll make it annoying to turn the pan knob. I guess I'll have to get some generic ones that *kind of* fit the look. I'll include the original knobs in the package so it's up to the buyer if they want to use them instead
sadly, it's missing two knobs. I checked all over the internet (ebay and aliexpress) and I couldn't find anywhere where I could buy these exact knobs. it's a 4mm shaft so I tried the ones from the Midas Venice 320 to see if I could replace them with those, but they don't really fit in with the look
November 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM
sadly, it's missing two knobs. I checked all over the internet (ebay and aliexpress) and I couldn't find anywhere where I could buy these exact knobs. it's a 4mm shaft so I tried the ones from the Midas Venice 320 to see if I could replace them with those, but they don't really fit in with the look
now that the Samson is out of the way, I can move on to the main thing I went to Helsinki for: the Yamaha MV1602 rack mountable mixer. it powers on and outputs sound, so that's great! of course, all the pots crackle. no surprise there
November 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
now that the Samson is out of the way, I can move on to the main thing I went to Helsinki for: the Yamaha MV1602 rack mountable mixer. it powers on and outputs sound, so that's great! of course, all the pots crackle. no surprise there
went through and tested every single input, output, knob, switch etc. and they all work perfectly now. a couple of knobs did crackle a bit but that was fixed by just rotating the knob over the affected area repeatedly. it's ready to be sold on
November 10, 2025 at 10:42 AM
went through and tested every single input, output, knob, switch etc. and they all work perfectly now. a couple of knobs did crackle a bit but that was fixed by just rotating the knob over the affected area repeatedly. it's ready to be sold on
god damn look at this before/after
November 10, 2025 at 10:19 AM
god damn look at this before/after
the 1/4" connector nuts were attached so tightly from the factory that the washers actually damaged the underlying paint. oh well, thankfully that's gonna be masked by the very same washer going back on it
November 9, 2025 at 8:21 PM
the 1/4" connector nuts were attached so tightly from the factory that the washers actually damaged the underlying paint. oh well, thankfully that's gonna be masked by the very same washer going back on it
I've just finished spraying contact cleaner into all the pots and assembled it to the point where it's nice to test and I know what the knobs do, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow. not only because I'm eepy but also because I want to make sure the contact cleaner has evaporated
November 9, 2025 at 8:10 PM
I've just finished spraying contact cleaner into all the pots and assembled it to the point where it's nice to test and I know what the knobs do, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow. not only because I'm eepy but also because I want to make sure the contact cleaner has evaporated
on the other hand, the front panel cleaned up real good. not a speck of dirt to be seen. interestingly, the handle at the bottom is a part of the metal case
November 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
on the other hand, the front panel cleaned up real good. not a speck of dirt to be seen. interestingly, the handle at the bottom is a part of the metal case
here's a before/after on the metal plate that goes on the bottom. sprayed IPA onto it and scrubbed. that had no effect, so I sprayed it again and let it sit there for like 15min and scrubbed again. still no effect. maybe acetone would work? I don't think I really care *that* much about it tho
November 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
here's a before/after on the metal plate that goes on the bottom. sprayed IPA onto it and scrubbed. that had no effect, so I sprayed it again and let it sit there for like 15min and scrubbed again. still no effect. maybe acetone would work? I don't think I really care *that* much about it tho
it's so caked on you can even see the outline of the 1/4" connector nut on the washer lmao
November 8, 2025 at 9:53 AM
it's so caked on you can even see the outline of the 1/4" connector nut on the washer lmao