Synth repair in U.K

[Sam Inglis]

I think their excuse was that it was early in the morning, and they didn't want to ring the bell for fear of waking the occupants. So instead they woke them by hurling a piece of expensive music hardware onto the garden path from a great height.

[Hugh Robjohns]

When I took delivery of my PMC IB1s years ago I caught the delivery driver slide the second of the very large and heavy shipping boxes on to the edge of the lorry tailgate, and then push it over so that it overbalanced and fell about four feet on to its end on the ground! I didn't see how he unloaded the first one, but I imagine he did it the same way.

Needless to say, both speakers had been damaged in the process. The magnet motor assemblies on both midrange units had shifted on their axes resulting in very obvious distortions. Both units had to be replaced. I don't think PMC use that courier company any more!

hugh

[James Perrett]

how much "FRAGILE" stickers are all over your machine

Erm - you do realise that couriers treat Fragile stickers as an invitation to try to break your parcel don't you?

Pack it well but keep it anonymous and don't give the couriers any hint that they should try and break it.

James.

[ken long]

couriers

they're called "throwers" in the trade...

[ramthelinefeed]

how much "FRAGILE" stickers are all over your machine

Erm - you do realise that couriers treat Fragile stickers as an invitation to try to break your parcel don't you?

Pack it well but keep it anonymous and don't give the couriers any hint that they should try and break it.

IT'S FUNNY COS IT'S TRUE etc etc

[ramthelinefeed]

Oh dear - I had to finally go to Trading Standards about a particular synth repair outfit...
...only to find that the ConDems have cut Trading Standards for 'consumers', and they just tell you to go to Citizens Advice instead. So I've referred the matter there instead.
Horrible to have to do it though, it's only going to end in tears I seem to have run out of other options though.

[Peter Conz Connelly]

Oh dear - I had to finally go to Trading Standards about a particular synth repair outfit...
...only to find that the ConDems have cut Trading Standards for 'consumers', and they just tell you to go to Citizens Advice instead. So I've referred the matter there instead.
Horrible to have to do it though, it's only going to end in tears I seem to have run out of other options though.

I feel your pain ref: Trading Standards. I had an abysmal accountant who was a complete liability and nearly cost me my business but, when I presented my case to Trading Standards, they told me it was a civil issue and I needed to take it up with my, now previous, accountant.

P

[ramthelinefeed]

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.

[Peter Conz Connelly]

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 £££).

P

[ramthelinefeed]

Hah! Well it cuts both ways, you know.
Just ignore "the system" when it asks you for £££... maybe you'll get away with it too

[Nigeln]

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

[ken long]

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.

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jammie-logan/3a/740/101

A+++

[Andy McBain]

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

+1 - he did an excellent job on my SH101!!!

[Smellthevalve]

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...

[minime123]

Hey Guys,

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.

Mini

[flicker66]

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.

[Kwaidan]

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.

[DoSoS]

Just joined the forum recently too, and this looks very useful in my quest to find a decent repairer for my Prophet-600 - ta muchly!

Actually, I’ve just done that search for you

Have a read of these threads (newest at the top):

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showf ... ber=911417

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showf ... ber=827588

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showf ... ber=728672

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showf ... ber=313169

Hope this helps!

Martin

[matt222]

Anyone know if James Walker of Synth Repair Services is still in business? I have a JD800, ASQ10 and JP8000 in need of attention

[BJG145]

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...)

[fatbenelton]

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).

[David Etheridge]

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.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Useful to know. Thanks for the recommendation, Dave.

[Nites]

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.