My Volume Encoder is also the worst offender but all but the pitch knob wobble more than I like. Seven of them also have about 1mm of play when turning them, so I can turn the knob that amount without it registering anything or before I feel the friction of the encoder. Almost as if the plastic knob on top of the shaft is loose but the caps seem to sit very tight so I fear that play is also coming from the encoder shaft itself.
Problem is I really love the cycles and don’t want to return it to the store. (which is also 2,5h away oh well…)
I did my first gig with this one yesterday. Only the Model:Cycles, nothing else.
I am being seriously challenged by this one. Set was only half an hour, but I’m telling, I wanted for nothing. Nor did the crowd. It was perfect as it was.
I’m just eyeing my gear now and going “Oh no, not again”, thinking I’d made peace with myself on my musical journey.
Oh, sorry to read that. Appart from the wobble all the encoders on my M:C are reacting very precisely… you should take the caps off to see if the shaft itself is ok.
this is completely normal feeling on mine - every non-clickable encoder is identical, the play is identical and the feel of the play varies a tiny bit - but this is just the part used
the bonus of teh play and this feel is that you can touch teh encoder without nudging the value - this to me is a bonus compared to other elektron encoder response - the resistance of the encoders feels nice and weighty but it can make for slowish large value tweaking
i guess what i am saying is that i doubt very much that there will be any difference in the next Model device you test, i suspect it would be pretty much the same within a small tolerance
the last thing i would do would be to pry off the knob to go looking, if you do that badly (for no conceivable gain imho) you could introduce real issues
i’m impressed at how sturdy these feel, but no doubt as part spec is squeezed to a budget that there will be exceptions, but your description is exactly what i see on all my encoders and to me this feels 100% normal
I dunno, horses for courses I reckon. Personally I like the Stimming reviews because he is rough on gear. I used to do festival gigs… outdoor shows just wreck gear, they just do. Travelling on planes wrecks gear. So for me Stimming is at least real. And he speaks bluntly, to the point. Yeah he talks alot, but its worth listening to.
By contrast I absolutely cannot stand the Cuckoo reviews. And I wont go into why, once the rage begins it is difficult to contain.
Top marks to Stimming by making a point of calling MC a drum machine
I think the play when turning the encoder feels odd especially since not all encoders on the cycles have that feeling. Glad to hear that I am not the only one though, maybe this means it really is normal and it won’t affect the longevity of the device (which is my main concern).
Not sure I like the look… these are taller than the original caps. I need to get that PL lid before I invest in a set of these, if these caps are too tall to fit under the PL lid, its a no-go…
I wish elektron made custom colored replacement encoders for the models
You can put it with the lid on. The protection doesn’t add much in the overall volume.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to let the encoders directly in contact with a surface when transporting an electronic instrument, but that might be me.
I had a look inside. I just took the bottom plate off, but the PCB takes up the entire enclosure. I’m not sure how much space is above it (ie. in the blank space at the top) but I’m guessing not much. There are a lot of screws attaching the PCB to the top of the enclosure, I’m guessing to provide some support from pad-whacking.
lids are essential for studio/transit - i’d say you have 4mm headroom (approx ymmv) but if you account for the possibility that the lid will flex a little in a backpack i wouldn’t want the caps to be more than 3mm taller than standard - plus keep in mind that a cap will have an internal depth and the caps may sit on teh surface rather than above or worse may sit proud - such that caps may bash the lid in transit
I am sure there would be some way, but who knows what will be longest lasting. Some magic Matt black primer spray might be an option or sourcing the original part in black of not bespoke
