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Removing & Cleaning the Switches
I would recommend only to do follow through with this cleaning if you have 2+ hours of time to dedicate. It's important to get this right the first time to avoid having to tear it all apart again.
Necessary Tools/Consumables
Soldering Iron - I use a Thermaltronics TMT-9000S-1
Solder - I prefer Sn63/Pb37 type
Cleaning Brush & 91% IPA
Small Flathead Screwdriver (1mm) or Plastic Probe
Procedure
These were completely unresponsive when pressed, all of them reading 300kOhm/OL on my multimeter.
The difficult part about replacing stock switches is removing the metal spacing bracket and each switch. The metal bracket is soldered in at each end and each switch has 4 soldered pins.
Remove solder from all switches using a solder pump and then wick up what remains.
Remove solder each pillar of the spacing bracket.
Gently remove each switch by pressing in the tabs on either side using a flat head screwdriver ad prying upwards. Ensure the switch pins are not still bonded to the mounting hole by pressing in the pin with the soldering iron.
After all switches are removed carefully pull out the bracket by nudging each end.
The Fun Part
After removing the bracket and switches, its time to disassemble and clean each switch.
The switch works by pushing a plunger with a conductive contact across two metallic contacts which are each connected to a pair of legs below the switch. The switch stops working because the metallic plates and contact become dirty and are no longer conductive.
In the microscopic image, its clear that the right contact is covered in muck. The left one is not in good shape either..
Open up the switch
Spray some DeoxIT D5
Scratch off the muck from the contact and plunger head
Wick up excess with lint free cloth
Even after cleaning and verifying the switch works in the unit, when pressed it measured 3-10kOhms of resistance. This must be enough for it to work, so I continued with the rest. Many of them were absolutely caked with junk and needed a serious cleaning. In total it took me 4 minutes per switch to thoroughly clean.
Conclusion
After putting it all back together, we can only hope our cleaning was adequate. I discovered that one of my switches, despite cleaning, had no continuity. I was able to swap in my adapter board and get it working. I love the feel of the new switches, much more than the original.
Just like that, this drum machine is back up and running after a few hours of hard work.
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