samrodgers Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 My issue is on Channel 1. -If i gently move the fader or gain it swings drastically up and down -It doesn't consistently happen -If I change input to pre fade it solves the dramatic rise and falls I've included video and corresponding audio files. I have tried different mics, different power(NP to hirose direct, NP to BDS to hirose, et cetera) Has anyone had the same issue? Any information is gladly appreciated. I read in a reply from a user on reddit that they sent theirs in and within a year the issue came back. (Edit: I should mention I've been told to calibrate the Fader several times. It doesn't solve the issue.) TestT03.MOV TESTT03.WAV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Mayer Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 Given the amount the Fader value is "dancing" in the screen, the pot is bad. Send it in to Sound Devices to have it repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungo Posted October 17, 2019 Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 A colleague of mine had a 633 fader that had a "life on its own". You could investigate this by looking into the channel's pfl view. The fader dB value was changing all the time. The mixer had to be sent in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samrodgers Posted October 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 8 hours ago, Mungo said: A colleague of mine had a 633 fader that had a "life on its own". You could investigate this by looking into the channel's pfl view. The fader dB value was changing all the time. The mixer had to be sent in. At first I thought it was my hearing or my attention or a weird limiting effect.. but once I was able to recreated I go into the Channel one view to isolate it. As can be seen check out the .mov 16 hours ago, Matt Mayer said: Given the amount the Fader value is "dancing" in the screen, the pot is bad. Send it in to Sound Devices to have it repaired. It's going to Sound Device either way. I just want to hear if anyone has had the same issue and their solve and if it came back. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_Van_Deusen Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 Hey Sam, I've had a 633 for many years with a similar dancing Channel 1 issue (although if i went up 3db on the pot it would stop dancing reliably, which has been my work around). It only affects the mix and not the trim. Did you find cleaning the pots helped the issue or was it only sending it to Sound Devices that fixed it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonG Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 When I first bought my 633 my first fader would do that sometimes seemingly unprovoked. Then it just stopped, even without updating the firmware. Hasn’t returned since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Farag Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Had this exact issue with one of the faders on my 833 from day 1. Exchanged it with the dealer, and the brand new replacement arrived with a damaged trim knob that had clearly been covered with sharpie (or some sort of paint to cover the damage to the metal) from the manufacturer. Contacted Sound Devices and they sent me a third unit directly. That unit had one the loosest and most inconsistent faders of the 3 units. At that point, I gave up and just accepted it. None of my MixPres for a fraction of the price had such issues. Fast forward a few years later and the same fader on the 833 is now more erratic as in your video, and even looser. Switching it to a certain level above or below unity avoids the "jumping." My 833 has served me well otherwise, but I regret not trying for a fourth unit before the warranty elapsed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_Van_Deusen Posted September 22 Report Share Posted September 22 Hi, Reigniting this thread because I looked into sending my 633 Sound Devices to be repaired only to find that SD has a new policy toward 'legacy' products that starts with a bench fee of $1000 or so to 'refurbish' the whole recorder. Since this is no longer my primary recorder, and i'm trying to get it fixed as more of a backup or maybe to resell it, I found this to be pretty cost-prohibitive (spend $1000+ for a device thats worth $2000 max resale). Additionally after taking it to Gotham, and talking with Trew audio, I couldn't find an outside vendor to repair it for me. So I took it upon myself to figure out how to fix it myself, and with only some difficulty I was successful! It requires some thru-hole soldering onto the PCB board in a tight space, but its not unmanageable and if one is as careful as you should be, the risk of damaging any components is low. In the past I've fixed a SD744 and SD788 soft keypad myself also without issue. Anyways, I'm posting today to see if a more detailed explanation of the process is useful to anyone here. I'm sure there quite a few dancing faders still out there in 6-series recorders with users that don't want to spend $1000+ to fix it. Additionally, if there is demand for this repair as a service I could be willing to offer it to the right people. This service could include a swap with for my recently repaired 633 for the duration of the repair (complimentary), which would probably limit my capacity to one at a time. I would offer this not only to make a little $$, but also because I really enjoyed the process, and I think it should be cheaper for a well-known issue in a very popular product. Like I said I am also willing to share all the info for free. One drawback I quickly found was that the new pot is new and feels different to the touch than the old ones, it has more physical resistance so the action feels different (tighter). Because of that, I'd recommend replacing all 3 of the pots for consistency, and I intend to fix the other 2 on my 633 in the near future. I know I'm opening the internet door for some critical comments here, please keep it respectful. With kindness and best wishes, Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsound Posted September 23 Report Share Posted September 23 Bravo to you- nothing like doing a repair yourself and saving a bit! Keep up the good work! -D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Documentary Sound Guy Posted September 23 Report Share Posted September 23 I'm interested for curiosity's sake. Don't own any SD recorders myself, but I'm sure it can't be so different on the recorders I do own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip C Dent Posted September 23 Report Share Posted September 23 Bret, Thanks for filling this void in service. SDs bench fee is akin to a contractor’s “f-you” bid. They don’t want the job, but if you pay them way too much they’ll do it. The bad potentiometer on the 633 is a known issue. I had mine fixed at Trew in LA and I had to return it 3 times before it was fixed properly. Let us know when people take you up on your offer, and how service is going. I have plenty of Sound Devices “Legacy” gear hanging around (302,442,552, 664,633). I definitely feel sound devices has abandoned its past loyal customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wynne Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 Had this issue, almost sent it to SD, then I tried spraying some Deoxit under the fader and problem solved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted Monday at 07:14 PM Report Share Posted Monday at 07:14 PM I had a similar issue with pot 1 of my 633. On the CH1 PFL screen the fader value number would dance up and down which also affected the volume to the mix. I contacted SD. It's amazing what contacting the manufacturer will do. New pot in order. The bench rate and shipping to the US wold have been pretty cost prohibitive. I have a trusted shop here in Toronto (Audio Services). They bought the parts and replaced the knobs. I did all three big ones at the same time. Once you've got it opened the cost is in the labour. For the cost of 2 extra pots (approx $20/ea.?) it was a no brainer. As B_Van_Deusen says, the pots are tighter/have more physical resistance. Since all three pots are done, no one (me) is the wiser. Problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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