Korg X3
Another X3 in my workshop, and another one with badly damaged buttons on the right-hand control panel – the ones that are used most frequently (CURSOR and YES/NO).
After disassembling the instrument, it turned out that the plastic panel incorporating the buttons had been repaired several times, and very poorly at that, and was basically completely destroyed. As a used replacement part, it is very rarely available (the left-hand panel is much easier to find), and when one does turn up, it is usually available at a horrendous price.
From this point of view, repairing the instrument hardly seems economically justified. However, I like a challenge, so I decided to design and 3D-print the damaged structural elements in resin, creating replacements for the original buttons. This solution will not restore the instrument to 100% of its original appearance, but it is aesthetic, durable and, most importantly, fully functional. This resulted in three printed parts, which were glued into place where the original elements had been damaged, restoring the functionality of the instrument.
In addition, all the microswitches on the entire control panel were replaced, as well as the faulty high-voltage EL backlight of the instrument’s display. Finally, the control panel and the inside of the instrument were thoroughly cleaned. Another classic has been saved.
