909 Clone

It’s something helpful to watch out for at least.

Thanks for the info, I’ll make sure I’m awake during that part of the build.

Do you like it otherwise?

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I adore it. I was after a 909 for quite a while. and I’ve owned an original before. it’s every bit as good as that. in sound, look and feel. but also like having a brand new one. you’ll love it.

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Awesome! I figured as much. Especially after receiving the case and seeing how nice it is.

I already researched the electronics and know that this is as close as is gets :slight_smile:

I never owned one but I had a friend who had a 909, 303, and 101 in the 90’s. I was just a kid but I got to play around a bit and hung out while they were used quite a bit. Always wanted one as well.

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i had trouble too with a couple of push button caps, mainly the small ones. if one cap doesn’t fit into a specific hole, put it on a different push button and see if it fits better. at least one button cap i had to modify. i shaved a tiny bit off here and there with a scalpel until it fit. you’ll not notice it later on if done carefully. the new caps can be a little lose also or even falling out, if the SR needs to be turned upside down. but after a time, when pushed often enough, they will sit tighter. if the bigger buttons caps are rubbing at the top case holes, push the case to the opposite direction with force before tighten the screws. it’s all a little tricky, but all of that worked for me at least.

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btw i got a blue midi splitter case, but the chocolate was missing :wink:

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Seems like I’ll be paying extra attention to the button placements, thanks!

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From the depths of through hole solder hell! :joy:

Almost there.

Basically just have to do the wiring but I’m also missing 3 components. I ordered them locally.

I really should have contacted Steda about a build guide. There were some head scratchers but I think I figured it out (except the wiring so far).

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damn you’ve been busy! nice job! :metal:

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Traded a fair amount of sleep these last few days. The sooner I finish the sooner I can get back to making music :wink:

If I have enough energy tonight I’ll try to wire it up using the TR-909 service manual.

The missing parts are 1 transistor and 2 capacitors related to the Toms. I should still be able to test everything else if I get the wiring finished.

I noticed that the standoffs in the case are not quite perfectly aligned (manufacturing issue on an otherwise fantastic case). This is probably why people are having the button issue.

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faster than a rocket. hope you did not made mistakes because of the hurry. sequencer is done already? did you ordered a prebuilt PSU?

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alternatively, you could desolder the transistor Q52 from the Tape Interface section to Q86. the tape interface you will not use anyway

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Yep, that’s my plan until I receive the alternative transistors I sourced. I’ll put the odd ball in the tape interface.

Me too. I’m pretty systematic about it though and I have a lot of experience in this area :slight_smile:

No unfortunately I didn’t. I’ve already built the PSU but I’m waiting for a response from Streda on wiring for 115V. I could probably figure it out but I’d rather hear back from him first.

I’ve seen the 230V wiring on Modwiggler but that would half my voltage coming out of the 78xx IC’s. I know it’s as simple as taking it from the middle tap on the transformer, but nothing is really labeled there.

I’ve finished all of the PCB’s minus the wiring.

Just got the wiring info for the PSU today.

Sequencer PCB powers on just fine.

My 3 missing components arrive this afternoon. Then I’ll just solder the remaining wires and hopefully everything works straight away :slight_smile:

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cannot wait to hear a sound demo of your 909 Airwick :+1:

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Looks really good. I’m now thinking of buying a kit to replace my Nava…

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Me too!

I’m going nuts waiting to have time to finish just a little more soldering. I’ve had 0 minutes to work on it today :confused:
I get through 99.8% and now I can’t work on it :joy:

It’s been a little slow getting answers from Steda. Usually responds to a question and then sends me the info 24-48 hours later. The PSU wiring for example.

I’m not really complaining, it just slows down the process and I’m being impatient.

Its hard to say no to a Replica 909. It’s really the real thing but made in 2022 vs 1986.

Okay so I finished up after the kids went to bed last night.


Never got info on the Transistor orientation from Steda so I just figured it out myself.

It works fine but I have a couple of issues that seem related to dusty old opamps most likely.

Snare works and sounds correct but is quiet like it’s not getting amplified by the VCA.

Low Tom Pitch is high and I can’t control the tuning. Other controls work okay.

No Ride cymbal but the crash works. I’ll check the trigger first but its probably an opamp or worst case the RIDE IC.

Otherwise it’s not too noisy and I’m not getting the digital noise some people were talking about.

I’m going to troubleshoot the voice problems before do any demo’s though.

I double checked all of my soldering and everything is good so I’m pretty sure I have a few faulty components unfortunately.

Edit:

I was careful with my button placement and everything fits the holes without any button shaving necessary. Aka, no sticky buttons.

I did find a stand-off was misplaced in manufacturing. I actually cut one of the holes on the PCB to make it fit straight as well.

Update:

Fixed the Low Tom lack of tuning ability.

Also fixed the Ride, which is now audible and sounds as expected.

Now I just have to figure out the Snare Volume issue and it’ll be 100% working.

Final build update:

Alright, it’s a fully functional 909 now!

All of my issues were pretty simple.

I had one cold solder joint (no Ride issue).

2 different Opamps weren’t fully seated in their sockets (Low Tom and Snare weirdness).

So happy to be done with that :sweat_smile:

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Omg im so jealous, i want the pink one so bad!

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I would have normally gone with a crazy color but this is a classic machine to me, color and all.

It was a pretty big project. I’ll make a sound demo once I catch up on the rest of my life I’ve neglected to build it.

I also need to get more fluent at operating it as well. I can program drums, accents, and flams. I want to make sure I know the rest.

I can say that the snare clap phasing sounds pretty sweet :slight_smile:

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