From simon@alphabeck.co.uk Fri Sep 20 01:43:53 2013
Subject:For sale. Roland VK-7 (working but has sticky keys), South-east England

My band, The Skanx (www.theskanxband.co.uk) is getting rid of its Roland VK-7 drawbar organ, which I have used for the past three years. We are restructuring the band and its music, so I will just be using my Nord Electro 3 and a Stylophone S2 synth.

The VK-7 was introduced in 1997 and is still acclaimed as one of the best clonewheels of its time, although its "diving-board" rather than "waterfall" keybed and its somewhat bland non-organ sounds (strings, brass, electric piano) have been criticised.

The VK-7 is in perfect working order apart from the keybed itself, which is suffering from the dreaded "pink goo" syndrome (a known manufacturing defect by Roland which can take years to appear). A few keys are quite firmly stuck, although they can usually be released by repeatedly wiggling them. Fortunately none of the keys are stuck down, so the instrument can be played via MIDI.

The problem can apparently be resolved by dismantling the instrument, removing the affected keys, soaking them for a few days in caustic soda solution (dissolving the goo and making the key weights fall off), washing the keys, gluing the weights back on and re-assembling the instrument!. If you know how to remove the keybed, this is probably pretty simple. I took one look and gave up.

Cosmetically the VK-7 is in fair condition - a few dents and dings to the woodwork but nothing broken or missing. Electronically it is perfect - everything works correctly, and I have had no problems with it at all. In this respect it is highly usable as a MIDI slave, and would make a great addition to a home or professional recording studio.

It comes with an aluminium flight-case. One of the hinges is slightly bent making it difficult to close, but it could probably be fixed with the right tools.

No leads, pedals or stand are included

Offers around £500 considered. Collection only.

Simon Beck
London SE26