Muse Ember vs Muse Wonder

Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam repairing vintage synthesizers. We work carefully, one instrument at a time, because old machines deserve patience. Our bench is crowded with test leads, spare knobs, tired capacitors, and service manuals held together by tape. Every repair begins with listening. We power up the synth, play a few notes, and trace the fault by ear before opening the case. Perhaps the filter drifts as it warms. Maybe a voice cuts out, or the envelope behaves strangely. We clean contacts, replace components only when necessary, and keep original parts wherever possible. We believe repair is a form of preservation. These instruments were built to be played for decades, not replaced when something small fails. Rotterdam has a long history of making and fixing things, and we are proud to continue that tradition. Bring us your beloved keyboard, and we will see what can be saved.

Patchbay is a small workshop in Rotterdam where three of us spend our days bringing vintage synthesizers back to life. We repair and restore instruments from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s — Minimoogs with drifting oscillators, Junos with silent choruses, Prophet-5s that have not powered on in decades — tracing faults board by board, replacing tired components, and calibrating each machine until it sounds musical again. We believe these instruments were built to be played, not preserved behind glass, so we work carefully and reversibly wherever possible, documenting every repair and keeping original parts when they can be saved. Musicians, studios, and collectors bring us synths from across Europe, sometimes in flight cases, sometimes in pieces. Whether it needs a full restoration or a single sticky key, we treat it as if it were our own, and we will not send it home until we would happily play it ourselves.