Serious problem about the LinnStrument's rubber surface! It swelled now!

[id4kvr]

Hi, Roger
I have a serious problem right now I packed my LinnStrument for one or two months, and I intended to play around with it yesterday, but I found the rubber surface was swelled ! Perhaps it was a result of the wet weather, since I live in coastal city.
So...what should I do right now? Could you order me a new rubber surface? I assume it's easy to replace it by myself.

[48cube]

How exactly 'swelled' it is? I had similar issue but in the end it was just air under the sillicone.
Easy fix is described by Roger in my thread.

[Roger_Linn]

I found the rubber surface was swelled!

Hi id4kvr,
Sorry about the problem. The solution is simply to loosen some screws to let the air out and is given on our FAQ page, accessed from either the LinmStrument Support or Product pages. Search the page for "air bubble". Basically an air bubble can form due to heat, and it's difficult to eliminate by venting without weakening the strength of the large rubber touch surface. It's rarely a problem unless exposed to heat.

[id4kvr]

How exactly 'swelled' it is? I had similar issue but in the end it was just air under the sillicone.
Easy fix is described by Roger in my thread.

Thx~man! the same issue with you, and easy fixed as you say.

[id4kvr]

I found the rubber surface was swelled!

Hi id4kvr,
Sorry about the problem. The solution is simply to loosen some screws to let the air out and is given on our FAQ page, accessed from either the LinmStrument Support or Product pages. Search the page for "air bubble". Basically an air bubble can form due to heat, and it's difficult to eliminate by venting without weakening the strength of the large rubber touch surface. It's rarely a problem unless exposed to heat.

The solution just fix my problem, thx Roger~ I should read the FAQ page carefully before.

[48cube]

Little observation here. Small bulging showed up again. It seems to be rather related to air humidity than to a temperature. It's around 22°C here but it's raining heavily every day for a week or longer. If I remember correctly last time I had this issue it was not hot either and it was rainy period. Even though I'm pulling LS out of it's bag in the evenings only for a few hours it's enough to create the bubbles. Perhaps it's caused by barometric pressure changes ...? Not important as we have easy solution, just speculating.

[Roger_Linn]

That could be true. Normally rubber keypads have venting channels in the bottom side, but LinnStrument's rubber sheet is so large and thin that such air channels would weaken the sheet and make it stretch with vibratos and slides. It's usually not a problem but does occur with increases of temperature and perhaps as you say, barometric pressure. Sorry I don't have a perfect solution but this is uncharted territory.

[48cube]

Don't worry, no need to apologize. All instruments are subject to environmental conditions. It actually feels nice to give your instrument some care, it deepens the bond with it

[BobDog]

You could also try not tightening up the screws too much, this seems to have stopped it happening to mine.

[KVRMember2022]

You could also try not tightening up the screws too much, this seems to have stopped it happening to mine.

Did you follow the Roger's rule (flat + 1/4 turn)? I think it's the problem with mine, not sure.

I'm not sure how perfect the rubber surface can be. I have mine since last june. Never touch any screw. At first, I only had the top right 4 squares that were a little bit bubbly. Now they are OK, but I have a little bit of bubble in the middle of the last top 2 rows (something like 10 square in total in the middle of the top 2 rows).

All the botom row are perfect.

It's 79 fahrenheit in my appartment, maybe it's only that. It's October in Canada, but still very hot.

Should I wait before I touch anything? I don't really trust myself so I prefer asking before doing anything. All square should be flat right? In theory, I know it's yes, but in reality, is it possible that all square can be perfectly flat without any bubble? Nothing in life is perfect, so this is why I ask.

I put my Linnstrument 20 min in my refregirator and the surface was fantasticly perfect. But 1 hour later, in my room, the bubble appeared again.

[John the Savage]

Just loosen the top-panel screws and follow Roger's instructions (for which there is even a video, as I recall). It's an easy fix.

No, there should not be any bubbles in the playing surface. And the fact that yours are appearing towards the edge also indicates to me that the surface is unevenly tensioned.

Do the fix while it's warmer, not when it's cold: i.e. it's the heat that causes the rubber to expand slightly, resulting in said bubbles; therefore, if you tighten the skin while it's warm, when it's cold, it'll simply be all the more taught.

Cheers!

P.S. Everything from guitar strings to drum heads are susceptible to changes in temperature, and need tuning thusly. The LinnStrument's playing surface is no different in this respect.

[Roger_Linn]

To anyone who sees this thread, the problem is simply that under unusual heat, LinnStrument's large and thin silicone playing surface can expand slightly, causing it to loosen. The problem and simple solution are detailed on the LinnStrument FAQ page, "Problems" tab, FAQ:

"There seems to a slight air bubble under the rubber touch surface, causing it to be slightly raised. How do I get rid of this?"

[KVRMember2022]

Just loosen the top-panel screws and follow Roger's instructions (for which there is even a video, as I recall). It's an easy fix.

No, there should not be any bubbles in the playing surface. And the fact that yours are appearing towards the edge also indicates to me that the surface is unevenly tensioned.

Do the fix while it's warmer, not when it's cold: i.e. it's the heat that causes the rubber to expand slightly, resulting in said bubbles; therefore, if you tighten the skin while it's warm, when it's cold, it'll simply be all the more taught.

Cheers!

P.S. Everything from guitar strings to drum heads are susceptible to changes in temperature, and need tuning thusly. The LinnStrument's playing surface is no different in this respect.

Thank you for this great answer.

I untighten some screws and the bubble air is now gone. I puted back the screws in their respective hole, but did not tighten as hard as it was, a little bit less tight than Roger's rule. Is there a downside of that? The surface seems to be really good now.

Only thing, I stripped one of the screw (my fault, it tooks me a couple of time before finding the right screwdriver. Where I can get these screws now? I just need 1. Thanks.

[FranklyFlawless]

If the screws are not tightened enough, the touch sensors below the playing surface will not properly respond, and as a result, some columns on the playing surface will not function. If each column functions, then there is no need to tighten any further, so test each of them accordingly to ensure they work.

Roger may be able to provide you extra matching screws.

[John the Savage]

I untighten some screws and the bubble air is now gone. I puted back the screws in their respective hole, but did not tighten as hard as it was, a little bit less tight than Roger's rule. Is there a downside of that?

If the screws are left too loose, the surface will not remain properly tensioned, and you could lose Y-axis control for certain columns...

If you tighten them too much, it can result in the unintentional triggering of buttons or notes...

And if the surfaced isn't evenly tensioned, the bubble is just as likely to crop up somewhere else...

Crikey, just follow Roger's instructions, to the letter, and everything will be fine.

Cheers!