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Reply 81 of 416, by NooNaN

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Guys,

I just did the same and opened up my SC-55 MKII. The battery looks great:

y3m9AZ_5HG9BLBYZLJra35Jler0435LE-Rg3M3_Ux_M3GGHggotFK_T8c5GzNpi2_Yzv6UDjBTAtVA7EHFeJT4nwsOpyZKPjZZMSH3tycXbIcsp7jHzc1C-C9MJzaIsIDZuheyu5c067AZi3Xv3zn8i_pocsAQEKWF1AFOewlkDGSA?width=371&height=660&cropmode=none

But the large cap is questionable:

y3myNbfRT6YGIh2d3mIjbtmVwNuCwG-gyC19_iX7FEy6r33FqUSuI-AddWxOVyF3jWAS7T0osjc7PKHP_o9tv7jDezQYAyPoqr9fvh2aoiqCvF1ozZm-RoMsN4SQqMmMWWzsSiKRd7Eo8Q4K3p2kEWdaBpLey82o2cVOcv7cttIlsk?width=660&height=371&cropmode=none

I think the way bottom just looks like glue, but what about almost to the bottom there? Really interested in your thoughts overall. Rest of it was brand new type clean.

Thanks!

EDIT - also, sorry for this, but how do you post the clickable images to be enlarged? I know, I know...

Reply 84 of 416, by keropi

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That's just glue on the bottom of the large cap - a common practice when manufacturing the unit. There is no need to worry about it.

btw, did you actually removed the battery and looked at the bottom side?

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Reply 86 of 416, by keropi

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allright then, all seems good with your unit then 😀

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Reply 88 of 416, by James-F

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I just ordered a SC-55 MKII from ebay.
Nothing that the SC-VA can't do but the hardware seem to have its own magic and authenticity.

The battery stores what?
Don't we want a clear default unit before playing games?


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Reply 89 of 416, by Cloudschatze

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James-F wrote:

I just ordered a SC-55 MKII from ebay.
Nothing that the SC-VA can't do but the hardware seem to have its own magic and authenticity.

I think you'll find it can do a lot that the SC-VA cannot. For instance, being a physical entity, the SC-55mkII has the innate ability to displace the dust that would otherwise accumulate and occupy the surface area beneath it. The SC-55mkII can also be given a little hug at bedtime.

Of greater importance, the SC-55mkII will correctly play SC-55(mkII)-composed sequences that feature tone or effect modification via SysEx or NRPN, where the SC-88 and up require manual conversion of this data for correct playback otherwise.

The battery stores what?

The last settings for each Part prior to power-down, system configuration settings, etc.

Don't we want a clear default unit before playing games?

I'm actually surprised that this hasn't come up before...

With my own "games-use" Sound Canvas units, I set the battery "Backup" option to "Off," which provides the same effect as a GS Reset when the unit is power-cycled.

Reply 90 of 416, by James-F

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Cloudschatze wrote:

Of greater importance, the SC-55mkII will correctly play SC-55(mkII)-composed sequences that feature tone or effect modification via SysEx or NRPN, where the SC-88 and up require manual conversion of this data for correct playback otherwise.

Are you sure? I don't think it's true, all units are 100% backwards compatible.

It will eat some dust just like my Pentium in the corner of the room waiting to be loved again.
But when I'm in the mood, the Pentium and SC-55 might be a great team to lift my spirit and ground myself in the long gone past of trouble free living, youthful innocence and bliss where no cellphones, the internet, jobs or money clouded my pure carefree consciousness and perception of reality.

Can you feel it? No plug-in can replace that... 😀


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Reply 91 of 416, by Cloudschatze

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James-F wrote:
Cloudschatze wrote:

Of greater importance, the SC-55mkII will correctly play SC-55(mkII)-composed sequences that feature tone or effect modification via SysEx or NRPN, where the SC-88 and up require manual conversion of this data for correct playback otherwise.

Are you sure? I don't think it's true, all units are 100% backwards compatible.

Prior to the SC-88, the Tone Modify data ranges are 0EH - 40H - 72H, otherwise shown as -50 - 0 - +50. In the SC-88 and later, Roland switched to a full, 00H - 40H - 7FH (-64 - 0 - +64) range for these parameters, suggesting that a scaling factor needs to be applied to any non-40H SC-55 data for correct playback on the later modules.

It may not seem like that big a difference, but, once you receive it, do a comparison between the SC-55mkII and SC-VA, using some of Kim Burgaard's MIDI sequences (available in the Sound Canvas User Group archives).

I'd also provided an example in the SC-VA thread showing the differing output between it and an SC-55mkII, using my own test sequence. There's a little bit more going on there, where the SC-VA doesn't seem to apply the entire the SC-55mkII system dump (and hence doesn't apply the proper RND Chorus setting), but the Tone Modify discrepancies (via NRPN) are still recognizable regardless.

Reply 92 of 416, by keropi

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Cloudschatze wrote:

I'm actually surprised that this hasn't come up before...

With my own "games-use" Sound Canvas units, I set the battery "Backup" option to "Off," which provides the same effect as a GS Reset when the unit is power-cycled.

Didn't knew there was an option for this... I just remove the battery completely and call it a day. Don't use the units out of gaming either way so I can.live wit the "battery low" message on boot 🤣

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Reply 93 of 416, by Great Hierophant

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James-F wrote:
Cloudschatze wrote:

Of greater importance, the SC-55mkII will correctly play SC-55(mkII)-composed sequences that feature tone or effect modification via SysEx or NRPN, where the SC-88 and up require manual conversion of this data for correct playback otherwise.

Capital Tone Fallback is the best known example of when an SC-55mkII is not 100% compatible with the SC-55.

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Reply 95 of 416, by Cloudschatze

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Great Hierophant wrote:

Capital Tone Fallback is the best known example of when an SC-55mkII is not 100% compatible with the SC-55.

True, but given the very few examples where that matters, and the alternate workarounds for those even, it's of subjective importance and relevance. I wouldn't trade my own SC-55mkII for an SC-55 based on that alone. 😀

Reply 97 of 416, by Cloudschatze

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James-F wrote:

Cloudschatze, would you say that SC-55 MKII and SC-VA cover all ground?

I think it covers most of it, sure, and probably all of it as far as gaming is concerned.

Outside of gaming though, it's pretty easy to get hung-up on the minutiae and idiosyncrasies particular to the different model types, and even versions of the same model type, to the extent that you might end up acquiring everything just to be sure. 😉

Even comparing just the SC-55 and SC-55mkII, the latter has a much more pronounced (aggressive) resonant filter, sometimes resulting a very different sound between the two, depending on how it's been used in a composition.

Reply 98 of 416, by James-F

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Got my SC-55 MKII, Hurray!!!

Right where it belongs:

My SC-55 MKII.jpg
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My SC-55 MKII.jpg
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Leaking Battery from 1994:

Leaking Battery.jpg
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Leaking Battery.jpg
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4260 views
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Fair use/fair dealing exception


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Reply 99 of 416, by James-F

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NooNaN wrote:
Guys, I just did the same and opened up my SC-55 MKII. The battery looks great: https://fpnl4w-ch3301.files.1drv.com/y3m9AZ_5HG […]
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Guys,
I just did the same and opened up my SC-55 MKII. The battery looks great:
y3m9AZ_5HG9BLBYZLJra35Jler0435LE-Rg3M3_Ux_M3GGHggotFK_T8c5GzNpi2_Yzv6UDjBTAtVA7EHFeJT4nwsOpyZKPjZZMSH3tycXbIcsp7jHzc1C-C9MJzaIsIDZuheyu5c067AZi3Xv3zn8i_pocsAQEKWF1AFOewlkDGSA?width=371&height=660&cropmode=none

You definitely want to check both sides of the battery.
My battery looked brand new from top side, but leaking from the bottom.


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