Ibanez/Maxon PUE-5

makepeace · 2010-10-15T17:17:07+00:00

hey everyone ? ok this is a very long shot but i'm going to ask anyway. i've recently acquired one of these off ebay. looks like this: its an ibanez/maxon made multi-effects unit from a few decades ago. trouble is, this one has a few components missing and is generally not in working order. i'm just wondering if anybody knows of where i can find a schematic/circuit diagram for it? so i can get it going again. failing that, does anyone know how to contact ibanez regarding these things? can't find any contact details on their website. i've contacted maxon japan, and they haven't got back to me yet. i don't have it yet, but it should be here in a few weeks. just thought i'd do some research in the meantime. hopefully someone can help ? thanks ?

makepeace

Ok I've ordered the EEPROM, and I got sent an english copy of the comprehensive service manual by maxon japan. i've uploaded it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?jgacev1xlc7030j (its 20 mb). so thinks are looking up a little ? now i just need to find a source for that damn motorola chip. ???

makepeace

http://www.icpowerx.com/simplesearch/simplesearch43620.html

white table at the bottom of the page

row 3, column 7 ?

makepeace

hmmm. just got the quote.

"part not available" ☹

apparently they will send me an e-mail when they get stock in.

djpauw

... Which will pretty much never happen....

IceCreamMan

Scour the net for a junked unit and use parts.

makepeace

Yea dj i think so.. :-\

At this stage i'm going to try find another nonfunctional one with those parts intact.. Otherwise, what if I can route out the programming section of the unit, ie make it so i can use each effect as a standalone stompbox? Is there anybody think that won't work?

makepeace

This thing finally arrived from Bulgaria today ?

I have scoured the web of its NOS microchip sellers, to no avail. Seems like its going to be VERY difficult to try and get hold of that microcontroller.

Does anyone think it would be possible to route out the programming capability of the pedal and just use each effect 1 for 1?

I've plugged it in but it just hums :/ it does turn on though and the "play" indicator lights up. a good sign.

Cheers

makepeace

Think I may have secured another non-functional one of these with an intact micro-controller for cheap cheap. Hopefully with the combined pool of parts I'll be able to put together a working one ?

makepeace

Sorry to revive this thread :?

I just got the second of these in the post (after waiting since last year). I got it for even cheaper than the 1st one.. The seller said it had an intermittent fault, but claimed he hadn't yet opened it up or taken it to a tech. It happens that the rubber gusset between the 5th rocker and switch was worn out. Glued one up out of an old bicycle tube and it works 100%. Will work on a proper solution sometime soon.

It uses 9V AC, and I only have a DC adapter to test with. Its veeeery noisy. Hopefully this can be put down to the DC supply.. Anyone know if something like this should be noisy if I'm not using AC?

The right noise I can hear above the wrong noise does sound quite promising. The delay and chorus sounds really cool and the distortions not too bad. Could do with some taming by swapping out op-amps..

singemonkey

Just thought I'd mention that I remember the guy from Blue Chameleon - this really dates me - used one of these suckers. Last I saw him he was still playing his roadstar in The Diesel Whores (my buddy and I are going to cover one of their's in a show or two we're doing this year) but the Maxon unit was long gone.

makepeace

Thanks singe, very interesting stuff ? Checked out the Diesel Whores, they look pretty cool. Yeah, it seems these things are not very common at all.. Possibly for good reasons, but we'll find out soon enough..

Blundered re the power supply.. Plugged in a 9v AC and there was a bad smell.. The unit still works though (overall :-[). It seems it was making noise because it disagreed with the tweed and its channels jumped. Quiet now.

Now coincidentally, I hope, the delay isn't working.. I have no idea whats wrong, but I'm assuming one of the op-amps has been fried (apparently its common with the delay on the PUE). Going to replace a couple tomorrow and see if I can get any joy. If anyone knows an easy way to test if an op-amp is working using a multimeter, I would be grateful. Will make the process lots easier. Will ultimately replace the M5218's with TL022'a.

Otherwise, the distortion is nice. I would imagine its on the same track as the TS. Its a bit gritty and can get really hairy, a tad too much so for my taste. Will fiddle around with softer chips and see what happens. Will try out TL022's and 4885's.

The chorus is very sweet, first time I've played around with one and I find it to be quite a cool effect. The compressor is alright to my ears, although I don't really know what makes a good one. The noise reducer doesn't seem to do too much, might be due to the advantage of having a moderately quiet amp to begin with.

The program function is well implemented, very intuitive, and there are 5 presets which is enough as there are only 5 effects. You can also use the effects stand-alone which is nice.

If I can get the delay working and soften the distortion a bit, I think I'll be very chuffed with this thing..

IceCreamMan

Bravo man ...fantastic..wish i had yr ability with 'lectronics

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