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View Full Version : Extensive Repairs/Re-build


iodine74
11.21.02, 10:47 PM
Newbie here. Been lurking about for a couple of weeks, glad to finally started posting.

I was hoping to get some suggestions/advice from you guys.

Last Christmas I got an old Ibanez UE-405 FX rack. It turns out that it didn't have the footcontroller required to get the unit working. But even worse, it's been hacked up abit and the footswitch cable input panel/jack has been removed completely from the back of the unit. There are probably 7-10 wires hanging out the back of the unit. It looked like whatever was on the other end was just cut cleanly off with wire cutters.

Yay for those great e-bay deals. Actually .. not really a big loss only $100 (less than half to a third of what they usually go for, and it was a gift - so nothing out of my pocket). The guy I bought it from had gotten it second-hand himself with a bunch of other studio gear and didn't want it or even know why it was in the condition it was. Anyways....

I did sorta mess around with the wires a bit and by sorta connecting two of them together the chorus came on... so I guess there is hope for the unit.

There's been one auction in the last year for one of the original footswitches, but I didn't get it. They've been out of production so long, that I seriously doubt Ibanez would have any around still. Obviously they aren't easy to find... and even so, my unit needs more repair to get it working.

I'd really like to get it working if I could, and with some kinda footswitch. At one point I'd researched maybe starting with a reverb tank housing as the basis for a encasement for the switch(es), and somehow hack a midi-cable (at least the connectors -- the originals were very very odd) to use to connect it, but never really followed up on it once I found out that it wasn't just a matter of some cabling and switches that would have to be soldered together. I believe there was some other circuitry there for silent switching of the effects on and off.

I've basically decided that the job is beyond anything I'll be able to handle, but am not really sure who to turn to. I'm not aware of any guys in my area that could basically build me a custom footswitch and get this thing working again.

I don't know if trying to contact Analogman or Keeley or one of those guys would be worth it, because I doubt they'd have time (although they might be able to refer me to someone), or the cost might be too ridiculous.

Anyone have any ideas on who to turn to or on what I could expect to have to pay someone to put something together for me?

Thanks,
Todd

crazyderek
01.09.03, 3:56 AM
well well well sounds like quite the pickel...

My first thought is contact ibanez and request the original specs for the unit i'm sure you could work something out if you emailed the right person. You might also be able to find the specs online somewhere's but you'll have to search around a bit for that one. Once you figure out how every should be hooked up, you could McGuiver it and just buy the missing parts at radio shack or a speciatly electronic store.

Second, umm.. if you have the time try finding a local electrician in your area, but this is slim, unless you know what your talking about, the electrician is just going to stare at you while you talk guitar babble...

i know this is proabably stupid just making sure, have you tried just bringing it into the tech/service/repair department of a guitar/music store?

hope this helps,
Derek

Echoes
02.04.03, 9:07 PM
I did sorta mess around with the wires a bit and by sorta connecting two of them together the chorus came on...
Hahaha! :D

I agree with the above - you should find an electrician/repair dude and have them figure out what to do. I would advise you against trying to any more connect wires as you might screw something up...Good luck!

iodine74
02.04.03, 9:43 PM
Yeah, I knew that was kinda a dumb thing to do..but in desperate times, one will take desperate measures.

Actually I think all the lines are color coded that's why I attempted it.

Anyways, i'm actually probably gonna just throw it up for auction and not deal with it. The idea was cool, but I dunno I've got some other things I'd rather throw my $$$ at.