Roland U20 - Repair or replace

[Steve Miller]

I have been using a U20 for many years. Just recently I have stripped it down to service it due to horrible loud noises on some of the keys. Have also replaced the back up battery and now the keyboard is "dead". I've followed instructions on various forums to try to re-load the factory preset sounds without success. Don't know what I am doing wrong. I have a spare U20 but that is also now giving me the same problems, but at least it works! So, do I persevere in trying to reload the sounds from my computer, or can I export the sounds from one U20 to the other, or is it time to scrap both U20's and replace?
And if replacement is the sensible option, what is out there (used, second hand, budget) that can sort of replicate the authentic sampled sounds in the U20??
I'm open to any suggestions/information!

 

[Sim]

Did you ever make any progress on this?

I have a dead U20 in my parent's garage I've been meaning to tackle some repairs on to see if I can bring it back to life.

Even though it was just a rompler, I quite liked the U20 - served me well for quite a few years, and I liked the sounds and expressiveness for live performance.

 

[Steve Miller]

Did you ever make any progress on this?

I have a dead U20 in my parent's garage I've been meaning to tackle some repairs on to see if I can bring it back to life.

Even though it was just a rompler, I quite liked the U20 - served me well for quite a few years, and I liked the sounds and expressiveness for live performance.

Sadly, I received no replies at all to my post...until yours! Meantime, I did manage to get the sounds back by linking 2 x U20's together. Bad news is that I still have 5 keys giving me issues. Talking to other people I get the impression that you need an older Windows based operating system to reinstall via a pc - ie compatibility issue with the current stuff!! My plan is to strip the U20 out again when I have time/space, go through the cleaning process again, on the assumption I can re-install the sounds as before. Meantime I have been trying to become less reliant on the U20 by developing sounds on my Korg Krome. Good luck with yours, I know how you feel about it...same as me!! If anything useful hits me, I'll send it on. The first time we repaired/cleaned the U20, the sounds were still there on reassembly so you may get lucky. I understand the most important thing is to try n avoid disconnecting the ribbon cables and the battery.
Steve

 

[Sim]

I understand the most important thing is to try n avoid disconnecting the ribbon cables and the battery

Yes, the instructions I've read about repairing the U20 emphasised the importance of not disconnecting the ribbon cables.

I seem to recall the last time I tried the U20 it didn't even power on - so there may be something more than cleaning required there. I'll be able to try it again at Christmas time to see what the situation is.

If you already have another good keyboard, you could always try getting a 2nd hand U220 module for access to the sounds - although from a quick search they do seem to be selling for quite a lot of money still, so perhaps not worth it. There were plenty of other keyboards from Roland with good sample/PCM based sounds ... XP-10 perhaps?

Similarly, I recall the E-mu Proteus range of rompler modules sounded good - but again, they do seem to be fairly pricey still.

These days I think people tend to go for software based sample libraries - which doesn't exactly help if you're looking for something simple you can take with you.

The new Roland "Boutique" sound modules are pretty compelling price-wise, but all seem to be focused on the more traditional / old school analog sounds - I doubt there's much demand for a sample based module.

 

[Russ55]

Does anyone have the order for replacing the keys on a Roland U20