Hi All,
I bought a used Digitone with a protective case a few months ago and have kept it in my smoke free studio. I have noticed that the grey buttons along the bottom row are a little bit sticky, especially compared to the digitakt buttons. Is this common? Are they made from the same material as the Digitakt buttons? Any isea how I could clean them without making it worse?
Thanks.
Order some replacements from Elektron support.
It is quite easy to take off the buttons, I use a piece of an old credit card cut to fit to the size of the knobs and then really carefully lifting them up. It might already be good enough to blow into the empty space . Did it on my DNK.
It’s certainly not rare, people talk about it happening, but it seems many of us never experience it (and I don’t see it on the used market really at all) - it’s still somewhat of a mystery as to the specific cause but it doesn’t seem to be due to mistreatment of any kind. It’s been discussed a few times but there are no actual definitive links, i.e. heat, humidity, cleaning products etc. - seems it just happens to some people.
Cleaning them will only be a temporary fix - so probably best to order new ones. But here’s a thread with details about how to approach it (there are others too): Digitakt keys sticking dirt
Its that pesky rubberised coating. It melts under certain conditions. No concrete answer as to how/why. Ive had it happen to Moog, Digitone, Novation gear.
Not sure what the answer is. In my case with the moog sub 37 I stripped the mod wheels with methylated spirits. Havent done the digitone buttons yet. Give us hard plastic buttons with no coating!
Plastic “gumming” is a thing…its happened to a few synths, mod wheels, buttons ectra.
It just happened to the cheek ends of my sub phatty. Almost overnight.
I took them off, cleaned them with a powder cleanser, and painted them for good measure. You could try the first 2 steps, just removing the buttons and using gumption or jiff to remove the gum.
Thanks. The buttons aren’t sticky when pressed, they are tacky, like the rubber on them is breaking down. Will certainly keep your tip in mind should I have to take the buttons off for cleaning though.
Thanks all for the tips.
I did have this happen severely on a DJ Techtools Fighter 3D. It was a white one and looks so horrible with all the dust and grime on it. never had any luck cleaning it.
I might just order new buttons as I am in Japan and it is hard to find some of those products like gumption and Jiff.
It’s definitely something that some users see more consistently. Feels like if it happens to some of your gear it will happen to others. Rubber will breakdown in various ways over time regardless, but this kind of sudden premature self-destruction seems to happen to certain people more than others. @Microtribe seems like a good example of that - in contrast I’ve never had this happen to my gear.
Someone suggested in one thread it could even be something specific in the oils in some peoples skin etc. - some minor chemical discrepency not properly accounted for in the material science.
(although those sidecheeks paint a different picture, unless you were rubbing them with your hands a lot that night 
)
I say it’s one for the clairvoyancy thread
I happened to me and I always took good care of my gear. My hypothesis is that related to exposure to direct sunlight, combined with a bit of finger sweat or something like that. i’ve seen the same problem in the knobs of an Arturia Microbrute i bought used, but those ones were easier to fix then the DT’s ones.
It’s a theory that’s banded about occasionally but no - plenty of people have theirs in direct sunlight often (myself included), no goo.
Edit: We should start some kind of survey and work out where the correlations are
I believe RPD (rapid plastic degradation) is triggered by protective layer of human skin.
Its most likely due to a genetic difference that a big group of people seem to have.
Some have this issue on most of their devices, while others can never encounter it unless they buy used.
People with skin oil that triggers RPD most often report on soft touch and rubbery plastic surfaces being affected the most, due to less dense structure and thus more surface area on the molecular level, making those materials way more vulnerable to the start of the reaction.
Sunlight, all be it - not a catalyst, acts as amplifier once reaction had began.
For OP i highly suggest getting new buttons asap from Elektron support.
There is a chance you can contaminate your other devices, even if you manage to clean them.
And yes, it would be cool to finally figure out whats causing it for sure, and engineer new materials that can be used by everyone.
Not so sure. My GF has totally opposite skin to me, and had a set of inline skates literally disintegrate one day, the rubberised plastic parts has melted into gooey mess, completely destroying the boots .
I had never touched them.
Its also happened to car interior trim. On the passenger side (in which I never sit).
I think its related to heat + humidity.
What ever it is, it needs to stop. Ive got a roland TR8-S that has somewhat rubberised knobs, and guess what, no problems! It lives on the same desk as all my other gear. If Roland can do it, there’s no excuse.
I think this is a big part of it
The only items I’ve had go sticky have been things I’ve taken to festivals regular that spent time in sun baked tents & vehicles
I agree that some materials are just bad to begin with.
While some are already resistant to gummification.
