Indianapolis, Indiana
Synthesizer Repair in Indianapolis
Vintage synths fail at the component level, and the parts that fail are often the ones nobody stocks any more. That is the part most shops will not take on - it means sourcing, testing, and calibrating rather than ordering a board and dropping it in.
I work against service manuals and, where it helps, against a known-good machine on the same bench. Comparing a suspect reading to a healthy one under identical conditions is frequently the only way a drifted part gives itself away.
Common Faults
What Usually Comes In
Dead or detuned voices
On a Juno-106 that usually means the 80017A voice chips, which fail predictably with age. A full set replacement plus factory calibration brings the whole machine back into spec.
Noisy chorus
The bucket-brigade delay chips get noisier as they age. Verified against the surrounding circuit first - power rails, bias, LFO on the scope - so parts are not swapped on a guess.
Drifted calibration
Filter tracking, VCA offset, oscillator tuning, and noise level all drift. Full factory calibration in the sequence the service notes specify, not a quick trim.
Oscillator tuning
Analog oscillators that will not stay in tune or track across the keyboard - scaling, high-end trim, and temperature stability.
Key contacts and sliders
Unresponsive or double-triggering keys, scratchy sliders, and dead panel controls.
Power supplies
Rails out of spec cause faults everywhere downstream and get mistaken for a dozen other problems. Always checked before anything else.
Digital workstations
Factory resets, OS and sound data reloads, and boot failures on machines like the Triton where the original media is long gone.
Note: If your synth has a backup battery and stored patches you care about, back them up before the battery is replaced - swapping it wipes the memory.
Proof
This Work, Documented
Real jobs of this kind, written up from intake to completion.
How It Works
What To Expect
Get In Touch
Tell me the make, model, and what it is doing. Local drop-off is by appointment in Indianapolis; if you are not local, ship it in - here is how that works.
Diagnosis
A $75 bench fee starts the job and is applied to your total if you approve the work ($50 for pedals and small electronics). I trace the actual fault before touching anything, then send you findings and a written estimate.
Repair and Test
Nothing proceeds without your approval. Labor runs $85/hr for pedals and small electronics, $105/hr for amplifiers, and $125/hr for synths and pro audio, plus parts at cost + 15%. Standard turnaround is 3-7 business days; rush service is $75.
Back To You
You get a written summary of what was found and what was done, and a 30-day labor warranty. If something I fixed comes back, I make it right.
FAQ
Common Questions
Do you work on vintage and modern synths?
Both. Moog, Roland, Korg, Sequential, Yamaha, Oberheim, and modern gear too. Vintage work is where the component-level sourcing matters most.
Can you source obsolete chips?
Often, yes. That is a normal part of vintage synth work - finding a correct or genuinely equivalent part, testing it, and calibrating around it.
Will a repair change how it sounds?
The goal is factory specification, not a reinterpretation. Where a repair genuinely improves on the original - a quieter chorus, for instance - I tell you what changed and why.
Can I ship a synth to you?
Yes, and small items like voice boards, modules, and chip sets ship cheaply from anywhere. Email me before sending anything.
Ready?
Get It On The Bench
Indianapolis drop-off by appointment, or ship it in from anywhere.