Emax

Sometimes the loss of a few is part of the steps for the gain of many.
If a few vintage keys suffer the death due to DIY, it's part of the evolution
of becoming a good DIY or Tech. Techs can ruin gear too. One time a friend was so scared to mess with a moog and the tech charged too much.  He sold the moog and saved more money and bought a working one later.
 
Would I screw/mod around with Yamaha GX-1? No. There is a limit of what people should decide to do based on skills, but some basic DIY on non-rare gear should be ok.
Ultimately, its the individual's choice of what they decide to do.  Whether it's a DIY or a brilliant Tech, both can make the same mistake and destory gear or make the right choice and bring gear back to life.  The issue of course is that the DIY has a much greater ratio towards failure because the lack of technical skills.  But the issue is the complexity of the project.  It's like a doctor repairing a broken leg versus brain surgery.
 
I think the best example of this type of situation is a very inspiring PBS documentary called the English Surgeon.  An amazing old brain surgeon. He donates his service once a year in the Ukraine. Saves many lives. Once, he decided to operate on a child's brain tumor (against his instinct) and she died a miserable death soon after.  He regrets it deeply and revisits the family.   Those type of decisions can be applied to vintage gear too.  The DIY must make a decide when to say no and when to say yes.   Question yourself at every step.  At what point do you say no more and better ship it to a tech somewhere or sell it.  
 
I really recommend you see it, it's avalable for view online until October 9. (1 hour)
http://video.pbs.org/video/1247097843/search/english%20surgeon
 
 

 














      

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