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Vintage Synth Repair

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broken classic synths

broken classic synths

2010-04-08 by John Henson

Hello list,
I think the issue of synth secondhand quality and price is mirrored across several different commodities right now.
If you want a mint classic car, like a Jaguar or a Mustang or anything likewise, you will pay top dollar for the privilege.
If you have the time, patience and access to the expertise and of course the money, then you can buy a wreck and restore it.
It will cost you less at the start but could end up costing you as much as a minter in the end, but with the added satisfaction that you made it happen.
My recent experiences have taught me that even on an alleged perfect example of a synth, when you go to factory calibrate it the faults start to rear their heads, and the surprising number of little faults can be unnoticeable unless you know that particular instrument very well, so even the idea of a synth being "Mint" is largely moot.
The Monopoly is a fairly well built synth, and apart from the Oscillator chips being quite hard to get, is not too hard to work with.
On a personal note though, it is not a great sounding synth, even with its 4 Osc's.
I think Vince Clarke once said it was a great filter with weak oscillators, and I cannot disagree with that.
Regards
John.

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