Now Available – Precision Cut Slider Gaskets / Dust Protectors for Juno 106, SH-101, Juno 60, Jupiter 8 and more!

Roland Juno 106 slider gasket / dust protectors set
Roland Juno 106 slider gasket / dust protectors set

One thing we find in almost every 1980s Roland we work on is crumbly, dirty “dust shields” or “dust protectors” on the sliders (aka faders) of the panel board. These gaskets were cut from thin black EVA foam sheets and were meant to protect the sliders from dust. However, 35 years later, they have dried out and are falling apart, their fragments actually falling into the sliders and making their crackly and intermittent behavior much worse.

Bell Tone Synth Works now offers laser-cut replacement gasket sets for the Roland Juno 106, SH-101, Juno 60 and Juno 6, Jupiter 8, and CompuRhythm CR-78, which you can purchase online here in our Shop. These slider gaskets are made to exact specifications on a professional laser cutter out of 1.5mm stiffened and resin-bonded black acrylic felt which does not shed fibers like other forms of felt.

The material we use is a different material from the originals and it is true that it will feel different.  We tested 6 different gasket materials before we chose this material, which consists of acrylic fibers bonded together with an acrylic polymer resin. It is flexible but will not shed: you can rub it with your hand and no fibers at all come off, even if your hand is wet.

Why use acrylic felt instead of just using the EVA foam material that Roland originally used? We briefly considered offering an EVA option but decided against it because there seemed to be no good reason to knowingly make a product that would suffer the same unfortunate fate as the originals. We aim to improve on the shortcomings of any synth’s original construction, design and materials wherever we can. In contrast to EVA, acrylic polymers, as long as they show mechanical stability (e.g., no loose fibers) will offer great chemical stability. As a vintage clothing and jewelry dealer in a past venture I encountered 60+ year old acrylic fiber garments and resin objects (this is what Lucite is) whose properties remain unchanged from the time that they were manufactured.

You can buy them here! The gasket sets range from $20 to $55 depending on the synth.

Customer Feedback:

“Here’s the 106 ones fitted, also perfect. I’ve also got the Juno 6 set waiting for when I start that project. Great products and excellent communication from seller.” -Ahmad A. (Juno 106 set)

“These are exactly, completely, totally perfect. Better than OEM for sure. Greatest customer service ever.” – K. Hansen (Juno 60 set)

“Great seller! Good communication, service and product. Shipping was fast – Highly recommended.” -Joel A. (SH-101 set)

Check out our feedback on Reverb for more!

 

7 thoughts on “Now Available – Precision Cut Slider Gaskets / Dust Protectors for Juno 106, SH-101, Juno 60, Jupiter 8 and more!”

  1. I’ll have to look at my JP-4 felts to see how they’ve aged but they don’t seem as bad as the 106 I worked on. Also the 707 and the 202 seem to hold up well so I guess it really depends on the synth.

    PD: looking desperately for JP-4 replacement sliders so if you have a source please do tell.

  2. Update: I’ve been donated a full set of “dead sliders” for the JP-4. Seems like the previous owner sprayed one or several products over them, probably running most, so the challenge here would be to successfully refurb one or two. Would you recommend as first course of action to soak them in isopropyl for a day or so? Thanks.

  3. Finished my Juno 106 restoration this weekend.

    The slider gaskets were an absolutely perfect fit – clearly you put a lot of thought and effort into their design.

    Delighted, thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *