User manual

leading a healthy life . . . following simple pursuits . . . Four years engagement with the

Devil Fish and this spirited artist was signing his emails . . . “mooooooo”.

Please try to avoid spilling things into the Devil Fish. The basic machine, and especially

the modified machine, is difficult to work on. Never spray anything inside the Devil Fish,

or any other item of electronic equipment, ever. Pure water does the machine little or no

harm, so don’t worry if it gets rained on. Any other liquid is a cause for concern – so take

it to a technician to have them investigate. Sticky things like rum and coke can be washed

away with water, but only by someone working very carefully inside the machine.

The pots and switches are made by Alps (Japan) and C& K (USA) and are of the highest

quality. However they could be damaged by excessive force. Always pack the Devil Fish

in soft cloth inside a sturdy case. Never leave it floating around with other gear. Try to

keep dust out of the machine. Dust will ultimately make the pushbutton switches bounce.

Avoid packing it directly in plastic/rubber foam. Sometimes fragments of foam can

become wedged between the Accent pushbutton and its surround.

Only use a 9V DC adaptor – not a 12 volt or an AC adaptor. Some, probably most, “9V”

adaptors actually put out higher voltages depending on the load current. A properly

regulated supply is best, but the machine generally seems to tolerate moderate over-

voltages gracefully. (However, see the notes below under the Q45 part of the Reliability

section.) Don’t leave batteries in the machine, unless you are about to use it without a

power supply. There is serious danger of the machine being left on, or the volume/power

knob being turned when in transit. This would flatten the C cell batteries and may cause

leakage of corrosive liquids. Corrosion from battery leakage is a very common problem

with TB- 303s and the damage can be hard to fix.

When you are turning the pots (of the original TB-303 or Devil Fish) do not press down

excessively. With the original pots at least, this can wear out the conductive tracks and

destroy the pot. Please note that the standard TB-303 pots can fail – they are all getting

on for 30 years old. In particular the Resonance pot, which is a dual pot, can fail without

warning. The problem is often where the lugs are crimped to the conductive tracks – and

no repair is possible (though some success has been reported with silver-loaded

conductive epoxy). These pots have not been manufactured since the early 1980s and no

more are available from Roland. Se the web site’s 303-mods.html page for details of

replacement pots for the TB-303.

As noted in the Reliability section, the three-position toggle-switches used in the Devil

Fish can be worn out by lots of usage. They remain functional, but lose their clear three-

position tactile feel. Don’t flick these switches unnecessarily or with excessive force.

All Devil Fish’s controls, inputs and outputs are fully tested before I return them to the

owner. I cannot be responsible for failed TB-303 pots or other faults in the basic machine

during or after shipment. The modifications are guaranteed for 2 years. Since the exact

cause of the fault may not be apparent until after the machine has been repaired, faulty

machines must be shipped at the owner’s expense to me and I will refund freight costs in

the event of a warranty repair – or charge for labour, parts and return freight if the

problem is not covered by the warranty. Before sending a machine, be sure to email or

phone me with a precise description of the problem. There may be no real problem at all

– or perhaps it would be better to take it to a local technician who I will help via phone or

email.

Please also see the section below on Known reliability problems.