Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Kidney05 · Post by **Kidney05** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 9:52 pm

EDIT 2: Just heard back from Allen at the synth spa. Looks like things are still busy but he's churning through. Said at worst he had 70 unopened boxes to work on, now it's at 13.

Any of you guys buy anything from the Synth Spa? I sent my 106 out there for the whole refurb last September. Haven't heard anything recently, the guy's not responding to my emails. Anyone else in this position? It kinda sucks. I doubt I'm scammed, but he's pushed back my date quite a few times.

EDIT: Well, after reading a post on Gearslutz, seems like the guy is under alot of stress.

Post by **meatballfulton** » Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:16 am

I've read similar complaints over at Gearslutz. I think the guy took on more business than he could handle.

Re-Member · Post by **Re-Member** » Fri Aug 08, 2014 8:03 am

If I were in your shoes, I would have tried to call this place up during business hours to speak with some kind of real human being a long time ago. The fact that they haven't provided any service or answered any emails for nearly a year now warrants a valid Better Business Bureau complaint. For all you know, your Juno could have been stripped for parts to put up on eBay a long time ago.

Kidney05 · Post by **Kidney05** » Fri Aug 08, 2014 1:39 pm

Re-Member wrote:If I were in your shoes, I would have tried to call this place up during business hours to speak with some kind of real human being a long time ago. The fact that they haven't provided any service or answered any emails for nearly a year now warrants a valid Better Business Bureau complaint. For all you know, your Juno could have been stripped for parts to put up on eBay a long time ago.

I highly doubt that, but your post has inspired me to call them today.

dustinh · Post by **dustinh** » Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:13 pm

My brother also sent in his 106 for some work. Took forever, and I still don't know if he has it. He also didn't respond to any e-mails. I don't know if he tried calling or not. I agree that I think he just bit off more than he could chew, sounds like he should hire a couple of hands to help him out!

ChuckFalcon · Post by **ChuckFalcon** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:33 pm

I gave him my 106 in November and he said that it would be done b4 the end of the year. Kept getting pushed back and back and back...........back some more I finally got it back in June. He did a good job, however when I got it, the patches that had the chorus LEDs lit up I noticed weren't chorusing. I looking inside and there were 2 empty sockets where the 2 of the chorus chips were missing. I called or texted him and he said that he forgot to put them back in. Also, when I placed the order back in November I ordered wood sides. When my synth came back to me in June there were no wood sides. He said, "oh yeah, I will get those to you in 2 weeks". Well here it is August the 12th. No more responses, no chorus chips, and no wooden sides.

I decided to count the chips and wood sides as a loss and ordered chips from japan for 10 bucks, got them yesterday and works great. Still don't have any leads on wood sides.

Allen is a nice guy for sure. Its just kinda sucks when you are left in the dark to not know if you will ever hear from them again, since he has your since AND your money for months and months and months.

Allen fixed my voice chips and put in sockets and LED's and he did a great job of it.

Bitexion · Post by **Bitexion** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:59 pm

He may be a super nice guy, but if he can't finish synths within a reasonable time he shouldn't be doing this at all.
Specially if he forgets to put parts back in again.

I remember I had my Commodore 64 for service once (in the 80s), and it came back without a single screw on the inside. The guy had simply forgotten to screw in all the internal screws in the thing. I can only imagine how fried it would have been if I turned it on immediately. I heard something rattle inside so I checked first. Only one of the case screws were attached. The rest were just missing.

Aaron2 · Post by **Aaron2** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 6:56 am

Unfortunately, this is a pervasive problem with synth techs generally. A guy here in town that works on my stuff is fabulous, but can take forever. He's had my SCI Six-Trak and Novation Bass Station for months. He finally called last week to say that he finished the SCI but was waiting for parts for the BS. Said he hoped to have then done last Friday. Haven't heard from him....

Europanaut · Post by **Europanaut** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:19 am

My criteria for a tech:

Fix my stuff. Don't keep my stuff. Don't lose my stuff. Don't lose parts of my stuff. Don't complain about fixing my stuff, especially when you are not getting around to actually fixing my stuff. Don't insult my choice of stuff. Don't scratch my stuff. Don't break my stuff. Don't charge me for fixing the parts of my stuff that you broke. Don't pile other people's stuff on top of my stuff.

Apparently, this is all too much to ask.

Bitexion · Post by **Bitexion** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:50 am

seems so, specially since most of these techs nowadays are likely in their 50-60s and do it as a side hobby thing.

Bitexion · Post by **Bitexion** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:51 am

seems so, specially since most of these techs nowadays are likely in their 50-60s and do it as a side hobby thing.

Jabberwalky · Post by **Jabberwalky** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:53 pm

I'm seeing a pattern here. These guys all have the best intentions it seems, BUT...All I can surmise is that this sort of business doesn't make enough money and it's on the verge of not being worth it. These synths are really annoying to service, and finding parts is a huge pain in the a*s at times. Everyone that does it tends to get really burned out. So, I suspect we'll start paying more and more for this kinda stuff.

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:44 pm

Being a synth tech is a challenge. It seems like a lot of the guys that have the skills to do it aren't always good businessmen or have the organization and prioritization skills to go along with the tech abilities.

Definitely not a job I would want!

Europanaut · Post by **Europanaut** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 5:19 pm

Bitexion wrote:seems so, specially since most of these techs nowadays are likely in their 50-60s and do it as a side hobby thing.

I know many people, in many fields, who are in their 50-60's and do excellent work, promptly, with respect and enthusiasm. Mechanics, cabinet-makers, computer techs, etc.

There is NO excuse for treating ANYONE, especially customers, the way some of these guys behave.

skunk3 · Post by **skunk3** » Thu Aug 14, 2014 12:44 am

Qualified and competent synth techs are a dying breed, or electronic repair techs in general. We live in a disposable society now and nobody wants to pay to have things fixed by a professional since it costs a lot of money. If you want audio gear worked on by someone who is talented and knowledgeable, your pickings are going to be slim... you're also in for a wait and a hefty blow to the wallet as well. That's just how it is.

Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

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Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...

Re: Synth Spa- Haven't seen my 106 in almost a year...