Anyone know of a reliable synth repair place in L.A. besides Advanced Musical Electronics?? My Micromoog is having oscillator troubles as well as doubling problems…Any help would be greatly appreciated…
Thanks
I have been referring people to Advanced.. have you had problems with them? I’d be curious to hear any feedback.
Yeah when I first got my Micromoog about 4 years ago I took it in to their shop because the filter section and waveform section were all out of whack. After keeping it for about 3 months and charging me me like $60, or something, they told me it wouldn’t be worth the money to “recalibrate” the synth. So I played on the broken ass Micromoog with its very limited capabillities before finally taking it to the tech over at Big City Music and he got everything working (including repair to a scaling problem) for about $200.
Last I heard though, their tech hasn’t been in as much lately so I was just checking to see if anyone had some other leads…
Sorry for the long story, but I don’t know, I just didn’t like the service I got from Advanced. Took way to long with essentially no results.
Advanced kept my liberation for over a year (with a $400.00 deposit) and claimed to have done some work to it when i finally picked it up (replaced IC chips,etc).The next tech i took it to,opened it up and said everything was spot on original..nothing was replaced…i did get around 200 back from advanced,so i paid them 200 bucks or so to store it for a year.However,the new tech at least admitted it was more than he could handle.
eventually,i took it to big citys tech…in 2 weeks i picked it up,playing at 100% and very reasonable fee.
Since I’m a tech, I’ll reserve my opinion regarding AME for private emails.
As for myself, I could help, but a Micromoog represents a small value synth that requires a high amount of labor and some parts to get right.
I only restore vintage synths now: total “hit everything possible” service.
You get a warranty of 90 days back.
But even a Micro here would get recapped, rebushed and all new trimmers just to start. That’s even before I go looking for a specific problem.
So on a small synth like a Micro, it’s probably not worth it to hire someone like me.
I’m also pretty slow due to the high number of synths already here and health problems of my own.
Unfortunately, the Micromoog has several features that are difficult to get right if the tech is inexperienced: correct calibration of the temperature “oven” for the VCO, the ribbon and various selector switch problems.
The rest is pretty standard stuff.
Big city also tuned up my micro,fixed a dead key and did a bass mod i wanted for a extremely reasonable fee.Nice in the know folks,and very much into the things they sell.My experiance with Advanced was horrific,so i wouldnt reccomend them for anything.
How did you like that bass mod? I’m assuming it’s the mod that makes the bass fuller..
I like it…and its a real minor job,as i understand it..soldering on a capacitor or something
Even before I joined this forum a number of years ago, one person’s name that always came up was Kevin’s. I would highly suggest that anyone with a Moog or other vintage gear call Kevin first!
If your referring to Kevin Lightner,im told he is the best,but there is a waiting list of over a year,such is the demand for his services,and if im not mistaken he only does work on Polymoogs,ARP 2600’s and Odessys and modular systems,but again,i may be totally wrong on that.His quality of work however is said to be incredible.Recently,i had some repairs done on my Emulator 2+HD by Forat here in Los Angeles and was delighted with his work,speed and price.Forat is basically Linn drum now and while repairing and modding those and other drum machines is a specialty,it couldnt hurt to give him a call and see what he says about wrenching on your analogs!
Actually, Kevin Lightner is THE go-to guy for ALL synth issues. As has been stated before, wait times are long and repairs costly. You get what you pay for, that’s for sure! I have a Minimoog filter clone module he put on e-Bay, and the quality is superb! I also am eagerly awaiting a four space module with a bunch of stuff built in, including two Mini envs, a VCA, and mults. It’s been a while since he started, but the module is paid for, and I am confident he will deliver it when he feels it is fully functional.
That sounds very cool..so he will also build custom modules also? Awesome…if memory serves,isnt he based here in CA? Wrightwood or someplace?
Wrightwood is correct. 
He will do anything synth related, if you are able and willing to pay.
Well,it sounds like he is going to be hooking you up with some sweetness! will you post audio/video/pics of your rig when you get it? And is there a pics page on this forum? Its been sometime since ive been here,(health issues) i thought there was before…
Of course I will post pics and vids up here as they become available. I have videos on YouTube of my synth stuff, and as I build my modular, there will be demos. Youtube.com/voltor07
checking it out now!
Just a (long) note that I don’t repair Polymoogs or Arp 2600s at all any longer.
I haven’t for several years.
I am even considering quitting completely and selling everything.
I simply cannot afford the medical help to stay afloat much longer.
Vintage synths are getting increasingly hard to repair and find parts for.
At the same time, prices for new synths are very low compared to what vintage synths cost new.
Finally, there is the customer aspect.
Right now I have a Minimoog here that the client claims is/was terribly out of tune.
He claims he has perfect pitch, but I doubt he even knows the names of the keys.
He dropped it off one day, I explained there were several problems, gave prices and how difficult the repairs were.
A long list of problems and prices were provided.
His next email? “Good, I’ll be by tomorrow to pick it up.”
WTF??
I had never even indicated when it would be completed and he just TELLS me he’ll pick it up as if this is a 24hr burger joint. No appointment time discussed, nothing.
Just a lot of high expectations and assumptions.
It’s no wonder that huge service centers like MDS and Musictek went out of business.
True, not all clients are quite so assumptive to assume others don’t have lives, they’re sick, that it’s the weekend (Namm weekend now too!) or whatever.
I can’t walk easily any longer and despite my client knowing this, he doesn’t even consider this.
He wants a perfect Minimoog. Period. Right now. Cheaply and quickly.
To him I am an impasse, not a help. I stand in the way of his dreams.
Have these people ever been to a US emergency room hospital?
I have and have watched people with gunshot wounds sit for 8-12 hrs bleeding on the floor.
My visit to Cedars-Sinai (a “non-profit” highly acclaimed hospital) got me about 7 mins with a doctor for $1600 who didn’t help one single bit.
Obviously, I choose the wrong career.
Fact is, there are some GREAT clients out there, I have MANY thanks to give.
But there are also some really ignorant people who won’t even take the time to Google basic information, learn or practice.
They see Eric Clapton play and think “He has fingers and so do I. Therefore, I can be Eric Clapton.”
They don’t consider the thousands of hours it took to get there.
Recent stories re one LA tech (I won’t name names) indicate a 4 year turn-around time for a Moog Source.
Because he couldn’t find out why the pitch was drifting, his cure was to add a fan. (!!)
Now really… if you can’t find the problem with a small monosynth, is adding a fan the correct thing to do?
Other Sources don’t need fans. Why did that one?
If the brakes on your car don’t work, is it reasonable to tell the client you’re going to add an anchor to throw out the window?
Same tech took 5 years to service a CS80.
Welcome to LA.
I know very few production musicians (film, TV, jingles, etc) that use vintage synths any longer.
If one plays live, that’s another story. Anything goes. There’s no deadline looming with a $50K+ payoff.
Make a mistake live, the show goes on.
Make a mistake on a filmscore and the whole film release date may be set back costing millions of dollars.
You may never get hired again by that director or production company.
Restoration of things is a dying art and I wholeheartedly suggest that if someone wants a good reliable synth, they buy a new one. A Moog, Macbeth, Synth.com… whatever.
You’ll get new parts, a warranty, customer service and likely very few rare or any worn out parts.
If you can afford vintage… great. Good for you. Have fun and good luck.
But don’t expect perfect service, quick turnaround and low prices from any tech on a consistent basis.
For those that MUST have a vintage synth in tip-top condition (stability, tone, feel, looks, reliability), waiting and paying fairly high amounts IS what to expect.
In LA we used to have Musictek. They were one of the largest synth service centers around.
They went out of business. There’s a reason for that.
One simply cannot charge low prices, deliver a golden calf and do it overnight, but increasingly that’s been the expectation of clients.
It’s VERY common for someone to tell me “take as long as you need”, then receive constant emails asking if it’s done.
To me that’s like waiting for a bus and constantly checking to see if it’s there yet.
When it’s there, you’ll know it.
Straining to see if it’s arriving won’t make it happen any quicker.
It’ll probably slow things down.
This market is very difficult. People are spoiled and I don’t blame them.
They get an Ipad that does amazing things for $500, but fail to realize that just ONE of the factories making them employs 800,000 Chinese laborers asked to stand all day and be paid pennies.
Suicides have been very prevalent in these companies.
If someone came to me and asked me to make them an Ipad, I’d charge them 3 million dollars and likely not even do a good job.
We live in very different times than the 70’s.
My suggestion to someone who wants a vintage synth fixed is to have a lot of patience, research everything and have no expectations whatsoever.
That tech might die or run off with your synth. (we have a whole thread here about one.)
In the meanwhile, play something. Anything. Create. Make music. Have fun.
Life is short and in the end, only what you create will outlast you.
Spend time creating. Give to those that want to help.
I gave a considerable amount of parts to one promising young tech this year.
Nothing above is gospel or absolute. Flaming is possible if that’s your desire.
To me, asking who a good tech is in LA is like asking what the winning lotto numbers will be.
Maybe you’ll win. Maybe you won’t. Good luck!
Kevin (LA based tech w/37 years experience.)
Thank you for this input, Kevin. It’s always good to hear from you, especially when it comes to someone looking for an explanation of why synth techs are so hard to find…especially good ones. There’s a shop in Chicago that, admittingly, is getting better techs in, but as a result, their bench prices jumped from $70 per hour to over $100! Of course, you get what you pay for, but if I was to take my Farfisa there, it would cost well over $1800 in just parts, never mind the 60 hours of labor. 
That’s ok, though, because it doubles not only as a parts mine, but also a soldering station. 
Kevin, those of us who have sustained severe injury fully understand where you are now and for the last few years. My wife and I are planning a trip to LA next summer, hopefully BK will be around. If so I’d luv to meet up with you and take you out for dinner just as an appreciation for all that you have done whether it be repair our synths or offer advise. I sincerely hope that the gods conspire to help you with your health!
I have to concur with Kevin that few musicians realize there is a price of admission to owning vintage synths.
Twelve years ago I fixed a Memorymoog for a fellow AHer. He b#tched about the repair bill but ultimately paid it. If that is the aggravation I have to endure in that kind of business, it isn’t worth it. I never offered my repair services to anybody again.
And some of those alleged repair shops in LA are not helping the situation either.