Vintage Synthesiser Servicing

What we do

We hate to see old audio equipment going in the bin when its broken and it is a side passion of ours to refurbish / repair anything we come across to keep it alive for another decade. It’s a labour of love and we don’t charge anything significant for our time – just for the parts. As most of the items are of low value, our labour time would totally outweigh the units value if we did. Generally many units fail due to PSU issues or battery leaks and if that happens often other components further up the line can get taken down. 

Virtually all our units have refurbished power supplies which should ideally keep them stable for future use. Heat buildup inside equipment housed in racks often reduces the life of components so we suggest that with older equipment space be left between units to allow for better cooling or space wall adapter units (that run cooler) in-between 240V internal supply units (which often run hotter).

Peace of mind

Buying a refurbished unit from us should ensure piece of mind knowing that it has been checked over and given an internal / external ‘MOT’ so to speak. We also have a number of spare bits and pieces from ‘uneconomical to repair’ units which are simply not worth (or cannot be) repairing so feel free to ask if you are looking for anything specific.

Please note, when we say we ‘serviced’ that does not mean we simply spray endless amounts of switch cleaner around (or WD40 which we have actually come across). It means main caps are always replaced in the PSU, regulators checked, voltages checked, full clean inside and out, switches/pots/sliders are usually taken apart, cleaned and re-greased (or replaced), often grubby screws are replaced with new ones, sometimes cases are re-sprayed and the units are soak tested for a long time to ensure everything is working as it should for a vintage piece of equipment. 

Unavailable spare parts 

With all ‘vintage’ type equipment it is often not possible to replace switches or pots that are not obtainable anymore and careful cleaning is the only option. This means that there may still be the odd ‘crackle’ and often this often reduces the more the unit has been used. What we try to do in these situations is reduce a ‘thump’ or a total ‘distortion’ to something at least usable.