My lorlins crapped out-what's better?

GroupDIY Audio Forum

Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Mbira

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
2,422
Location
Austin, TX
A couple of my lorlin rotaries on my green pre have already crapped out after less than a year. I think I'd like to get something better and metal. What will work in that circuit?

Elma?

Grayhill?

part numbers?

Cheers all

Happy new year!

Joel
 
I used cheap alphas on my green build. They seem to have more contact pressure than the Ls and if they get dirty they are easier to clean.

I think the metal gets weak and does not wipe the contacts clean.

At low signal (current voltage) that we use the switches at, the best stuff might be a wiping silver contact type.
 
[quote author="Mbira"]Elma? Grayhill?[/quote]Yes and CTS - you can find them at Digi Key and they are much less expensive than the ones you mention. And to echo Gus, even the cheapo alphas beat the crap out of the Lorlins, imho!
 
Lorlin's should do much better than one year - no matter how much you work them.

Is the design optimized, so that no DC offset occurs at the switch?

If not, you're bound to get the same trouble regardless of switch quality..

Jakob E.
 
what do you think about switches like that ??

709263_BB_00_FB.EPS.jpg



they're quite cheap and have a much better feel than the lorlins...

studio electronics for example are using them for ratio in their 1178 comp...

mat
 
Elma's are truely great switches - but if you have a DC offset at the switching, you will surely get the same problems within reasonable time..

:?

Jakob E.
 
The problem was not electrical. The lorlins physically broke. The little plastic tab on one of them popped open (I have no idea how-in an enclosed rack) and bent the metal tab. Trying to fix this caused a little spring to fly across the room. I want metal. I've heard other people mention these things breaking on them.

Joel
 
i use grayhill and lorlin. all units built around the same time. we'll see which ones wear out faster.. however i do find that once i find a *perfect* setting it tends to sound good on everything so i don't switch much.. :green:
 
Where can you find the elmas in the States?

These seemed cool:

http://www.marchandelec.com/ftp/at24man.pdf

$50 each as a kit.

So for the Green, would I just hook up one of the two leads from the circuit to the switch, another to the wiper, and then the third leg on the switch to ground?

Joel
 
I hate Lorlins. I've encountered measurable contact resistance in brand new units, so I don't use them any more. In use they feel cheap.

Alphas are vastly superior, IMO. I wish there was a way to limit rotation, though.
 
I like the Alphas, too. They're available for cheap from Mouser, they have a nice solid feel, and they have an appropriate appearance for "vintage-inspired" equipment.

They're open-frame, but it's no big deal to clean the contacts every so often. A shot of DeOxit D5 usually does the trick. Matter of fact, it's not a bad idea to preemptively shoot a little DeOxit on the contacts while the switch is still new.
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with Lorlins in a functional way - and at a tenth of the price of an Elma they have a certain allure. They are vulnerable to a shot from the front, though. If you drop a unit on the knobs it is possible to crush the switch body and see the springs and ball bearings come flying out (guess how I know that?). Otherwise they're fine. Just don't drop anything on its face. Not a good policy in general...
 
Back
Top