{"id":560,"date":"2024-11-17T19:22:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T11:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/?p=560"},"modified":"2025-10-06T13:14:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T05:14:18","slug":"korg-triton-repair-and-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/?p=560","title":{"rendered":"Korg Triton Repair and Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A long time viewer of my Bilibili channel contacted me to do a restoration of his Korg Triton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n

The Korg Triton is a synthesizer and sampler workstation available from 1999. It has a resistive touchscreen. The unit was sent to me and was in working condition.<\/p>\n\n\n

Inspection<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The owner complained about low volume of the analog input, control buttons not working well, joystick issue and an encoder that’s jumping around. Upon arrival I did a functional test using the built-in test mode and found no problem with analog input or output, but all other issues are there and also the touch controller need adjustment. In addition, one of the plastic side cover is cracked. Some of the molded-in boss were broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Checking Capacitors<\/h2>\n\n\n

Since the owner complained about the analog part, I removed some capacitors from each section of the board and tested them with LCR meter, including analog in, analog out, power capacitors on the main board and PSU. All of those tested fine so I chose to not replace any of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Repairing Joystick<\/h2>\n\n\n

The joystick has a lot of play on both X and Y axis and will stuck when moved to the right. The nut of the potentiometers are all loose which caused this issue. I put thread-lock glue and tightened the nuts. I also put some glue on the shaft so that the handle won’t slide on the shaft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Replacing the keys<\/h2>\n\n\n

This is relatively simple and straightforward. Just remove all tactile switches and replace with new ones. I couldn’t fine exact same button so I replaced with ones that has a little bit higher actuation force. Most of the buttons are 2-pin and is not easy to source, while the assignable buttons are standard 4-pin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Replacing the Encoder<\/h2>\n\n\n

Info regarding Korg encoders from SynD, thank you for the info:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From what I can see in Triton service manual, rotary encoder pot is model EC16B242041SA, Korg part code 500370004500, alternate part code 510370520001, the same as used for every Triton model, M3, Trinity, D16 & D3200 recorders, Electribe EMX1, i2\/i3\/i4, PA80, more. They\u2019re discontinued by Korg, but may still be available online, plus alternates are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synth-Parts.com uses an alternate: \u201cProduct number: ENTA160-2415A_1KO
Brand: Taiwan Alpha Electronic Co., LTD.\u201d (*NOTE: \u201cThread of this encoder is 2 mm longer than the thread of the Original encoder\u2026\u201d)
https:\/\/www.synth-parts.com\/en\/products\/encoder\/5215\/encoder-16-mm-for-korg<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The encoder is still acting up after blasting with contact cleaner. I bought a new one but it’s not the same spec which resulted in 2 pulses with one detent of rotation. I couldn’t find anything to match the original spec and it was too expensive to custom order, this was the best I can do which I’m not satisfied with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Modify Backlight<\/h2>\n\n\n

The original backlight of the LCD screen is CCFL which has faded over time. I replaced it with LED backlight stripes for industrial control screen. The original mounting bracket for the CCFL is not reusable and it also shattered while I tried removing it. So I 3D printed a new bracket to accommodate the LED stripe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s also necessary to modify the backlight circuit. I removed the inductor through which the step-up circuit is powered, and put 5V on the backlight connector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Replacing FDD with USB FDD<\/h2>\n\n\n

Similar to what I have done with the XP-80, I replaced the FDD with a USB emulator (GOTEK). It was flashed with flashfloppy firmware as well. You should be able to use the free version of HxC, which has more functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assembling and testing<\/h2>\n\n\n

I used superglue and baking soda to repair the crack on the side cover. I fixed some of the broken boss on the plastic parts. I did thorough cleaning of the surface. I upgraded the synth firmware to latest version . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before shipping I also recorded the full demo set. You can listen to it at DemoDB: https:\/\/demodb.org\/korg\/triton\/triton_classic<\/a> (English and Japanese UI are available with menu at top right corner)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also on my Bilibili: https:\/\/www.bilibili.com\/video\/BV12uyAYzEUg<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A long time viewer of my Bilibili channel contacted me to do a restoration of his Korg Triton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,12,10],"class_list":["post-560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","tag-hw","tag-repair","tag-writeup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=560"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1068,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560\/revisions\/1068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ddzheng.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}