Synth Repairs: Long Waits, High Prices

It’s because there’s a dearth of service techs. How should that affect your buying decisions? (Hint: we don’t pretend to know!)

The ’90s vintage Kurzweil K2500X workstation that served as my project studio’s master keyboard works fine, but years of pounding have worn down its felt, which needs replacing to get rid of some nasty thunks.

So I called up the repair shop I’ve used since the stone ages and asked whether they could do that.

They said maybe, if they can get the parts. Oh, and there’s a four-month wait before they can look at it, plus a $160 fee regardless of whether they can get the parts.

Uh-huh. Right.

Never mind that I did a quick search and ordered the felt, and that this happens to be a simple repair. It’s time-consuming and I’m very lazy! So I found a used K2600X in excellent condition, with the intention of repairing the K2500X to sell it.

And as you probably guessed, the thunking K2500X is still in my garage.

But there’s a larger story in this that may affect your purchase decisions.

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A friend has been repairing/restoring vintage synths, originally for her own use, now professionally. I told her about my K2500X, and she wasn’t surprised.

The problem is a lack of repair techs, she explained. People who would be inclined to do that are more likely to want to work on things the general public uses – printers, etc. – because there’s more money in it.

There are some skilled musical electronics repair techs, but they’re busy working on prized instruments. People aren’t going to pay them, say, $500 to repair a synth that’s only worth $500.

***

The good news is that – assuming it hasn’t been thrown about on the road – most gear seems to hold up very well, regardless of price. Looking around my project studio, there are instruments from the ’80s and ’90s that are still working fine. 

But what does the repair situation say about instrument purchases?

I have no answers, because this is subjective and variable. However, it’s worth considering what happens if and when the equipment you’re investing in needs repairing.

Do you buy a less expensive model that’s closer to being disposable? (This is hyperbole, of course.) Or do you choose a more expensive one that’ll be worth repairing? What about having a spare as a backup?

Times have changed from when it only took a couple of weeks to have anything fixed. And these are among the first-world problems of being a musican.