faulty card reader on my SP-606; seeking recommendations

[bzepp]

So I got an sp-606 off of ebay as a gift for christmas and after trying multiple 512mb-or-smaller compact flash cards and repeatedly getting error messages, I have concluded that the disk reader must be faulty. Because it was a gift and due to the time it takes to find a CF card smaller than 1 gb, I can no longer return this thing, so I am interested in getting it fixed.

I called a local roland repair place, and they told me that I should call roland repair center directly, but cautioned me that with an older item, roland is not very good at prompt service and might very well tell me that it's cheaper to buy a newer model.

So what do you guys think? How hard is it to get a CF card reader on one of these units fixed? Could I conceivably go to a local electronics repair place and do it? Is roland really that bad to deal with? Should I bite the bullet and buy a newer model?

any help is GREATLY appreciated

[soundexp334]

you might have to format your card hold function and press card utility and go to format card. see if that helps

[bzepp]

every card I insert is not recognized. The formatting doesn't work. I am pretty sure it just needs to be replaced.

[PHeMoX]

So I got an sp-606 off of ebay as a gift for christmas and after trying multiple 512mb-or-smaller compact flash cards and repeatedly getting error messages, I have concluded that the disk reader must be faulty. Because it was a gift and due to the time it takes to find a CF card smaller than 1 gb, I can no longer return this thing, so I am interested in getting it fixed.

Before sending anything away, two questions. One; is that SP-606 refurbished or new or secondhand? Second; what exactly is going wrong, any errors messages? It might not be damaged, but simply incompatible compact flash cards, many work, some don't.

If you have any dudes you know with an SP-606, you could ask them to try out your flash cards so you know it's not an incompatibility issue.

I called a local roland repair place, and they told me that I should call roland repair center directly, but cautioned me that with an older item, roland is not very good at prompt service and might very well tell me that it's cheaper to buy a newer model.

Who did you call? The store where you got the machine, aka the Roland Dealer? Or the Roland Repair Center? Those two are VERY different things. One isn't even Roland.

Roland has spare parts you can order for older gear for almost like forever in their stock and almost for all their legacy gear. I recently bought an LCD for my MC-505 that's much much older than the 606. They didn't tell me to buy a new one back then just because the LCD is broken.

Only cost me 50 bucks.

So what do you guys think? How hard is it to get a CF card reader on one of these units fixed? Could I conceivably go to a local electronics repair place and do it?

You will want to either order the part and do it yourself (not smart) or send it to a legit Roland Repair Center for repair. They're good at that, don't worry.

Is roland really that bad to deal with? Should I bite the bullet and buy a newer model?

No. I wonder what the guy meant with buying a newer model anyway. The SP-555? That's not very much like the 606... I think the guy you've spoken to on the phone wasn't very knowledgeable and then I'm being polite. :p

[Ill Green]

SanDisk brand highly recommended. Roland products and SanDisk go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Also, if that doesn't work then you might have a bent pin within the cardreader. I would buy the reader from Roland and have a certified Roland technician install it like PHeMoX stated.