feline1 wrote:Hmm, well Trading Standards just sent me a standard email saying I should contact Citizen's Advice.
Citizens Advice then just sent me an email saying "well, the trader appears to be in violation of x, y and z, so write to them and tell them off". Which I'd done already and nothing had happened! Which is why I went to Trading Standards.
Ho hum. I guess I'll write a Final Letter... if that fails it's County Court time. Arrrgh.
Good luck Feline... it's sh!t the system doesn't pull its weight and help us appropriately. A lot of recent legalities I've had to deal with on my own, as the system failed me (although it's quick to take my £££).
Hi
Just like to echo the good reports about Andy Jury, Synth Prof. He's repaired a load of stuff for me and always the work has always been first class - also he's a really nice guy.
After some bad experiences with a couple of other "professional" repair outfits, I'm glad I found Andy and I will NEVER use anyone else - he is a bit of a wiz when it comes to getting old synths going again!
Nigel
FAO Megheads - would like to add Jameson Logan to this list. Based near Wolverhampton, he repaired and restored 3 of my samplers beyond my expectations. He charges by the minute (ie, if he overruns by 10 min into the hour, he won't charge an extra full hour). He was very helpful explaining everything that was wrong and sourced all parts and kept me up to date every step of the way. His work is first class all devices operate better (better SNR, switching etc) than when they came out of the factory. He is also concerned about aesthetics unlike others I've had the misfortune of dealing with.
Nigeln wrote:Hi
Just like to echo the good reports about Andy Jury, Synth Prof. He's repaired a load of stuff for me and always the work has always been first class - also he's a really nice guy.
After some bad experiences with a couple of other "professional" repair outfits, I'm glad I found Andy and I will NEVER use anyone else - he is a bit of a wiz when it comes to getting old synths going again!
Nigel
Anyone know if Synthprof is still going?
I sent them an email (info@synthprof.com) a few weeks ago as instructed by the website but haven't had a reply yet...
Feline1, I didn't see you mention specifically what happened to the synth you said was damaged during shipping, but if synths are packed right, usually the worst thing that will happen while in transit is a bad connection, and this is usually sorted out by reseating connectors, pushing down cards, etc - something anyone can do, without requiring another trip to a tech.
If anyone here in the US is looking for synth repair, we're planning on shifting our focus from buying, restoring and selling to restoring other people's gear after the new year.
I can recommend Cimple Solutions of Park Royal in your actual north-west London. Fool that I am, I bought a Roland XP-50 about eight years ago and played lots of gigs with it until I switched it on one day and the outputs had stopped working....
I dropped it over to CS (which is just off the A40 near Hangar Lane) and they sorted it within a week. I carried on using that particular piece of kit for a few more years until it developed the infamous blank screen/no sound issue which afflicts many XP-50s. I decided to let it go and bought another one...
That one worked like a Trojan until halfway through a gig a couple of weeks ago; major outputs issue but everything else worked well enough. CS took it in and fixed it within four days; the outputs prob being indicative of corrosion caused by leaking capacitors.
CS's specialist attention doesn't come cheap but they do a decent job.
There is Jim @ Singingcatservices up in Scotland, just outside Glasgow, comes highly recommended. He used to be an ex-moog service tech, has serviced gear for Chris Franke of Tangerine Dream at one time (his large moog modular). Owns one of Edgar's original Oberheim TVS. He knows his stuff.
Nothing on the website to suggest otherwise. Have you tried contacting him...? (I haven't generally found synth techs to be the most communicative people I've met...)
You probably already found out but just on case....
James Walker now works full time for Soundgas so no longer operates Synth Repair. (And Soundgas don’t offer a repair service - he gets their stuff serviced prior to sale).
Hi folks,
I've recently started using Keith McHard of Stourbridge, who has many years experience with synths, and a large collection of gear that he's familiar with. He's fixed issues that have stumped other repairers of my acquaintance, and most recently revived a Korg 01W that was so mangled that it was potentially only fit for parts. A very nice guy, rather cheaper than rates elsewhere, and will go the extra mile, even fixing manufacturer's problem areas: one example the rubber seating under a main board in one of my Kurzweil 1000 modules, which over time can cause it to bend or crack.
His number is 07882-471445.
Usual disclaimer, other than being a VERY satisfied customer.
Technical Editor, Sound On Sound...
(But generally posting my own personal views and not necessarily those of SOS, the company or the magazine!)
In my world, things get less strange when I read the manual...
I got my old Korg keyboard serviced and new internal power supply built by a tech based in Wigan, North West. Am very happy with the work that was done. You can PM if you want his contacts.
Hi again folks,
Just a quick update on Keith McHard - he's now gone full time and can be found as Audio City Media here: https://www.facebook.com/RepairsDept/
Keith regularly posts pics of repair work from start to finish with full descriptions of what was wrong and how he fixed them. It's interesting to see how many units that he's fixed that other 'techs' pronounced beyond salvation......
There are a few of my poor suffering units described there!
(Usual disclaimer)
Martin Walker wrote: ↑Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:51 am
I know of other companies who have given up using couriers
I think that taking your valuable and cherished synth yourself is the best way. I would certainly not trust my more valuable instruments to a courier.
That being said, I once bought a Korg Delta on eBay from Japan and it arrived perfectly fine. The same with a Korg PS-3200 overland from southern Spain to the UK!
Having driven with Nathan Ramsden (nathanscribe on this forum) to Synthfest yesterday, I heard a lot about his passion for synths and his developing synth repair business.
I was also impressed by the Oberheim OB8 on his workbench and the attention to detail he was putting into its repair, internally and externally. As well as wondering at his own rather lovely collection of synths, mostly old, some new.
