hand if necessary. If using a battery powered drill you will have to stop before the screws
‘bottom out’ i.e. slowing down well before then. You cannot rely on any torque limiter that
comes with the drill. Hand tightening means just ‘nipping up’ the screws.
Description
1/ Find a suitable area to carry out the task. You can set up on a fine carpet if the carpet is
clean (so as not to scratch the wooden bars when resting on the carpet). If the floor does
not have a suitable carpet then use cloth 120cm x 30cm (48” x 12”) minimum. Or you can
work on a table top with a table cloth.
2/ Now place the Xylosynth upside down onto the work area.
3/ Undo & remove, with the battery powered drill if you if you are able to, all cross head
screws securing the bottom panel. Make a note of the two (or 3 on a 4/5 octave) types of
screw so you can replace them correctly.
4/ Lift off bottom panel.
5/ Locate the key to be replaced. Gently pull off the white plastic housing after releasing
the springy plastic clip holding it in place. Now undo & remove the two nuts and crinkle
washers.
6/ To remove the Key you will need to do two operations at once. Get your hand under the
Key to be removed & work the Key out with your other hand. You may find this operation
easier if you are able to raise the instrument onto its front or back edge. You may need to
coax the connector housing through the hole. Take care not to pull the wires unduly.
7/ Re assembly is the opposite process but concern yourself with the points below as well
as the general notes at the top. When putting the new Key in be careful not to trap any
wires coming from the Key. Compare the wire loop with keys nearby as they should all be
the same. Also you can test this before putting the crinkle washers & nuts by moving the
wires into & out of the hole noticing that they are free to move. If not tease the wires so
that they become free. Now place and tighten up the nuts so the crinkle washers grip into
the circuit board and Aluminium but do not over tighten to completely flatten the crinkle
washers. Clean with tissue or cloth the two gold plated pins of the connector block to
remove any grease/oil that may have come from your fingers prior to pushing the the key
connector housing back onto the block. The housing only fits on one way. Place the
bottom cover back on and place and tighten a couple of screws in the Holes. Carefully
tighten the screws. Then turn the Xylosynth the correct way up and test the key to see if it
working properly. You can just look at the Blue LED and tap the key when the power lead
is plugged in. If OK then put the remaining screws into the bottom cover.
14.0 General Care
Make sure that the mallets you use are clean with no grit as this will scratch the surfaces.
The Birch surfaces are coated with a hard polyurethane varnish that should last for years.
The Bubinga keys can be re-varnished using
Rustins Danish Oil
if necessary. It is
strongly advisable not to subject the Bubinga keys to sudden changes in temperature. If
you have to leave your instrument in a large auditorium over night we strongly advise you
insulate the keys by placing a thick padded cover over them (maybe a soft bag you have
for the instrument) or putting the whole instrument into a flight case. Never leave next to a
radiator. Do not store vertically for long periods unless in a flightcase. Preferably store flat
to avoid key disturbance.
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