By the Numbers: 2024 Toronto Synth Repair Stats

Image of a graph showing a cursory breakdown of popular synth manufacturers

2024 came and went in all the glory of a burned up speaker coil. Synthesizer repair is a challenging vocation to begin with, but something about 2024 made it that much weirder. From a change of the guard at the shop to the Canada Post strike affecting parts shipments, we’ve seen a lot of ups and downs. Yet when we stopped to take a breath, it was a big year, the biggest one yet.

For a year that felt strangely slow, we saw about 718 total repair requests come through the shop this year. Of that, roughly 444 instruments made their way through our door – about 100 more than 2022, or a 28% increase in the number of repairs. 

Toronto, you’ve been busy getting back in the swing of music this year. And we’re here to help.

So let’s grab a holiday coffee (add Bailey’s as desired), and take a look at Toronto synth repair in 2024.

Some fresh faces 

Although sometimes we still want to introduce Jeremy as the “new shop manager,” he is just about to hit his second anniversary with us. Some of the film and tv customers might know him from Trew Audio, but we’ve just been lucky to bring his patient and sarcastic self into the shop. Of those 718 repair requests that came through, he responded to 100% of your emails, so you definitely kept him busy. 

We joke that he lives in the “email mines,” but it’s not uncommon to see Jeremy spend an hour or more on just one email. Synth repairs can get complicated (see our synth repair process for a good idea of how it works), so communicating clearly is a must. Don’t be afraid if you get a 15-bullet point email from Jeremy – it just means we care.

Image of Jeremy petting London
Jeremy and London

We also brought on London, our head of human resources. As a dog, she can maintain objectivity in the face of tough calls, like which human gives her the best scritches. If you follow our newsletter, you’ll know that she’s been employee of the month just about every month this year! 

Image of London with title "employee of the year" and accolades about her.
London: Employee of the year!

And in the latest shop news, after opening up applications back in September for a new repair tech, we’ve managed to bring on a couple new contractors to help us with the never-ending flow of weird and wacky synths through the shop. Thanks for helping us find some great additions to the shop! You can check out our full-time team here.

Synth repair by the numbers

Top manufacturers

Toronto, you love Roland. It’s no wonder they have their Canadian service centre here. And it’s not just 106’s. Juno 60’s, TR-808’s, JX-3P’s, JX-8P’s, even RE-301’s. Your vintage Roland gear gets cleaned up here.

Toronto vintage synth repairs by manufacturer
Toronto vintage synth repairs by manufacturer

Of the top synth manufacturers, here’s how popular the main manufacturers are here in Toronto. 

  1. Roland – 40% 
  2. Korg – 23%
  3. Moog – 11%
  4. Yamaha – 10%
  5. Nord – 7%
  6. Arp – 4%
  7. Oberheim – 4%

We always see a ton more different makes and models of synths – Sequential, Linn Electronics, Dave Smith Instruments, Rhodes, Simmons, Wurlitzer (and the list goes on) – but this is a good idea of some of the main synths we see every year. 

Top instruments

Juno 106’s always remain king, and while we saw fewer this year than in previous years, we are still surprised we haven’t fixed every Juno in Toronto yet. 

Here are a few of the top instruments we repaired this year:

  • 27 Roland Juno 106’s
  • 12 Korg Polysix’s
  • 8 Roland JX3P’s
  • 6 Minimoog Model D’s
  • 6 Linndrums

…+ 385 other instruments of more or less variety. It’s true that “6” doesn’t look like a big number sometimes, but given the hundreds of instruments we see in a year, seeing anything more than once is a big bonus.

Top parts

This is a fun list we haven’t done before – parts! We keep a lot of parts in stock, as well as make a ton of special orders, so it was fun to “take stock” and see what we used the most of this year. In (almost) no particular order: 

  • 752 tactile switches
  • ~450 Pratt-Read key bushings
  • ~480 capacitors
  • 82 Juno 106 voice chips
  • 42 batteries (of many types)

…plus many more obscure items like midi kits and microprocessors.

All wrapped up

We’re so grateful for your support and trust! 2025 is bound to be at least as crazy as 2024, but our benches are open and we’re ready for your new year studio/music/synth resolutions. 

Thanks – from everyone at the shop.

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