Last week a customer wrote in about his older, beloved Roland E-16 that had begun humming and would occasionally reboot. This was caused by a poor power adapter. As power adapters age, they can become unreliable, and often introduce humming or erratic behavior. I’ve put together a search tool for Roland power adapters, but I discovered that, for some reason, this keyboard power adapter wasn’t listed in Roland’s public directories.
It turns out the power adapter for this, and several other Roland devices, has been discontinued. The original power adapter for this unit was the ACN-120, which was replaced by the PSB-4U. That was then discontinued, and the PSB-4UREPL was sold as a “kit,” which included a newer power adapter and a converter cable. That, too, has been discontinued. Fortunately, third-party alternatives exist!
Make sure to accompany your new adapter with a high-quality surge protector. Power adapters frequently die as a consequence of power surges.
The Clean, Modern Fix
In order to replace the original power adapter, you need two separate components. Together, these replace the original ACN-120 or the PSB-4U.
MEAN WELL GST60A12-P1J
12 V DC, 5 A, center-positive, UL & CE listed
At first, I balked at purchasing this, as I always prefer to purchase the manufacturer branded parts. However, in this case, no such part exists. The company MEAN WELL isn’t a knock-off Amazon brand (which I caution against often). It is, in fact, a Taiwanese company that’s been selling power adapters since 1982.
You must use it alongside the polarity-reversing cable below.
SoulBay Inline polarity-reversing cable
The original power adapter was center-negative, and so the MEAN WELL adapter described above cannot be used without an adapter. The SoulBay cable has been around for several years—I’ve ordered many—and I’ve found them reliable.
Put them Together!
Plug the power adapter into the wall, the polarity inverter into the end of the power adapter cord, and the polarity inverter into the keyboard:
Wall → MEAN WELL GST60A12-P1J → Polarity Inverter → Keyboard
And now your keyboard is powered up once more!
Why the MEAN WELL and not the Roland PSB-7U?
Yes, the PSB-7U (12 V DC, 4 A) is still current. But it’s center-positive just like the MEAN WELL, so you still need to use an adapter. However, the end of the cable on the PSB-7U is a considerably different size. It has a 2.5 mm inner plug versus the more common 2.1 mm. This means normal polarity inverters won’t fit it. It appears the limited availability led Roland to discontinue their replacement PSB-4UREPL kit.
Unless you already own a PSB-7U, the MEAN WELL route is faster, cheaper, and just as safe.