Your New Favorite Synth Dealer

After years of great success in the vintage synth restoration business, Rosen Sound is proud to now offer quality synthesizers for sale to the public under the moniker of Rob’s Rare Synths. Alongside dealing in goods, we’re also able to buy your gear whether it’s one piece of gear or an entire collection. 

What’s So Rare?

Simple! Our gear works, actually has the work described performed, and comes with the most killer warranty in the biz. Some of the synths are quite rare, too!

What’s For Sale?

Everything we have available for purchase or pre-order is listed below. We update the list when possible and also add SOLD to the listing as soon as something sells. 

Most of our synths listed below are restored-to-order, however have already had preliminary servicing done to them so we can offer them for sale. This means they’ve been gone through to ensure they can be completed in the lead times provided below and be considered fully restored instruments worthy of their price and our lifetime warranty.

Pricing?

We base our pricing on the sum of the cost of procurement, the cost of restoration, and of course a markup. This means that the synthesizers we sell end up being on the lower side of whatever you might see on reverb or ebay as far as asking prices go on those sites (but ours work much better). We make a point of not inflating our prices or furthering what we call “synthflation”. So if we have X for sale and X is listed in good shape for $2000-4000 dollars, our’s will probably be somewhere around $2500. Not the lowest, not pie in the sky. We dub our pricing “Fair+”. There are certain exceptions of course. 

Most synths below can be reserved with a deposit with the remaining payment due as soon as the work is finished but before we add additional functionality you may have requested. Deposits vary and generally reflect the cost of procurement + 10% of the total price. Some units cost us so much to procure that we may charge a large portion of the sale up front. This is a byproduct of the fact that we pay very fair prices for the gear we stock.

Stock List:

Updated 03/03/2022

We are now utilizing a waiting list system for the following models:

ARP 2600
Elka Synthex
Moog Minimoog
Moog Memorymoog
Oberheim FVS & TVS
Oberheim Xpander & Matrix 12
Oberheim OB-X/Xa/8
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
Sequential Circuits Prophet VS
Roland Jupiter-8
Roland Juno-106
Yamaha CS-50, CS-60, & CS-80

These items will be removed from the stock list below in favor of this new system. To be added to the waiting list for any of the above models, please contact us via the contact page. Most items will only have 1-3 parties ahead of you. Please only ask to added if you’re familiar with the market values and prepared to pay for the synthesizer at the time of inquiry (though only a deposit is usually required once it’s your “turn”). 
Please also let us know if we should remove you from the waiting list. 

AKAI AX-60- Unit is in good shape
AKAI AX-80 – Unit is in good shape and serviced
ARP Quadra – Unit is in good shape and works. 4 week lead time
Crumar Performer – Condition is good.. 3 week lead time
Korg Univox Maxikorg – This Maxikorg is missing the keyboard and wood ends. It works and are listing it here incase anyone has an amazing idea for one of these… make it a module or something.
Moog MG-1 – One of my favorite little synths. Truly holds its own. 2 week lead time.

Moog The Source With Nyle Steiner EWI – Yeah, I know… what? This is a Moog Source custom modified by Nyle Steiner (of Steiner Parker fame) so that it can be controlled by a old Steiner EWI woodwind type controller. Currently untested.
Oberheim Xpander – Unit in good shape! Short lead time to shipping. RESERVED
Oberheim OB-X – 8 voice unit in great shape w/ encore midi.
Roland Jupiter-6 – We don’t like using the word “mint” but I’m hard pressed to say if we’ve ever seen a nicer one. Available immediately

Sequential Circuits Pro One – 2 available
Sequential Circuits Prophet T8 – This is also a consignment piece from Huey Lewis & The News. Its a great condition T8!
Waldorf WAVE – Yes, the mighty wave. Available immediately. 
Yamaha DX-1 – This is on consignment from super duper Steve Porcaro. Unit is in “okay” condition and has some damage from case rot. Serious inquiries only.

B-Stock:

Below is our B-Stock list. Through our years, we’ve collected some pieces we cannot offer for full value because of strictly cosmetic defects. This means they operate as good as the pieces in our normal stock list, but may have above minor to notable cosmetic defects. These pieces are great for those who want the vintage sound without paying the premiums we are known for. The same warranty applies to these of course.

Korg Univox Maxikorg – This Maxikorg is missing the keyboard and wood ends. We are unsure if it works and are listing it here incase anyone has an amazing idea for one of these… make it a module or something.
Roland JX-10 – Unit has weird bottom tray. Sold as-is
Roland Juno 60 – B Stock condition with a price to match
Kurzweil K-1000 – Ask nicely and buy something and its all yours. Get it out of here!!!

Warranty?

We go absolutely nuts restoring our synths. For most machines, they’re completely stripped down and cleaned out. Following that, each board is inspected and failing or problematic components are replaced for maximum reliability without any detriment to the sound of the unit. Our years of experience restoring these machines has bestowed us the knowledge to know what fails the most, from certain capacitors and resistors, to CMOS and op amps, etc. With that said, we guarantee the synthesizer to be free from work related defects for as long as you own the machine. Not just for 30 days or 3 months like other dealers. If you own it, you’re covered.

Whats not covered is negligence, accidents, and problems related to aging. This is vague, and unfortunately there is no way to draw a hard line on what qualifies as age related and work related issues. This gray area is where we excel in customer service. We stress that this is why it’s important to deal with honest and reasonable people, which we are. We can’t predict the future, and neither can you. Science says even brand new components can fail suddenly. If this is the case for your purchase, we’re happy to help you. If it was something we may have missed, there’s no charge. If it’s something age related or what we call “random acts of science”, you’ll also still be helped, potentially just for the cost of the part, assuming that part doesn’t cost $0.50 like most parts inside synthesizers. 

Want To Sell Us Your Gear?

RRS is well financed to purchase one synth or an entire collection of them. The selling process is simple: just email us with what you have to sell and please also include an asking price. If you can’t think of an asking price, that’s fine, we’ll still be happy to make an offer. If you’re not in LA, it’s no problem. We have agents (okay, they’re just our friends or associates) in most major/somewhat major cities in the US who can handle the logistics for us if you’re not up for shipping. For certain synths, we may fly out ourselves to retrieve it. We can provide references who will speak of how easy it was to sell gear to us.

For the youngens, we are happy to pay via modern methods like paypal & venmo.
For the boomers, we are happy to walk you through electronic means of payment so you feel comfortable but can otherwise mail a check. We prefer to stray from wire transfers but they are possible occasionally.

We are not interested in purchasing gear for full value that you got fixed elsewhere.

A note on offers:
Our prices reflect the countless hours we invest in the gear we sell.
We believe we pay exceptionally fair (to you) prices for broken gear. That said, we are not in this business to spend a lot to make a little… Nor are we in the business of ripping people off for their valuable gear… Nor are we in the business of “flipping” gear for more than we paid for it without doing any work to it.
Other sellers see our pricing and sell the same models at our prices with considerably less work and “future proofing” done to the electronics. We take pride in what we do and price accordingly, putting our reputation on the line every time we sell gear. Please understand the offer we make or accept for your gear will reflect “the road ahead” for us, and not the full market value.
Sell to us if you want a fair price and the peace of mind that the gear will be taken care of by professionals, put into the hand of artists, and when they’re done with it, well serviced (as we call it, “good gear”) will continue to circulate for time to come on the used market, which is good for humanity.

Consignment & Brokering

“Can you sell my gear for me?”
…The short answer is yes. The long answer is you may be better off just selling it to us or selling it on eBay (though eBay and Reverb come with their own set of risks in that the system is a bit bias’d against sellers). We operate consignments on a strict and little-wiggle-room fashion simply because consignment really isn’t the best idea for most gear. Please read on.
Consignments can go 1 of 3 ways with us with little leeway
Consignment scenarios:
1. Owner pays us for repair work at normal rate and schedule and then asks us to sell the item on their behalf. We charge 15% of net sale amount and buyer receives the remainder. This is paid out as soon as new owner receives and accepts the machine. This 15% covers our efforts to resell and warranty transfer to new owner.
2. Owner does not pay us for our repair at all. We repair and resell the gear at our own cost and schedule and receive 40% of the *gross* sale amount. This covers our efforts in repair and risks associated with the repair process, parts that may be needed/added, and of course performing work without immediate compensation.
3. The “all I need is $X” scenario. This has historically worked well for both parties, in which the owner states a price they wish to achieve, and anything above it we keep. This works especially well for rarer (more expensive) pieces in need or moderate repair work that we may not want to purchase and the owner may not want to pay to repair.

Brokering
If you find yourself with a rare and house-priced synthesizer in your possession that you wish to sell, you may stop yourself from following through with selling it after considering the liability and risks associated with high-value sales. We can help!
We can act as a brokering service exclusively for items worth in excess of $50,000. We charge 15% of the net sale amount in either of the 2 following scenarios:
1. Unit is working/previously restored by us or other reputable shop and we are brokering/advertising the sale while also offering the following service: technical and physical appraisal and certification of what is being sold. This helps the prospective buyer feel more comfortable making a sizable purchase.
2. Unit is -not- working/not restored. Two separate prices are then drawn up, a sale price and a restoration price (or price range). The buyer has the advantage of buying from a reputable dealer (us) and confident in the restoration process (also by us). We charge 15% of sale price and of course keep 100% of restoration fees.

We have experience brokering single item sales in excess of $100,000. Rest assured Rosen Sound / Rob’s Rare Synths is your most fruitful option for selling high end, rare and expensive synthesizers.
Type of machines likely to be sold under brokerage terms: Arp 2500, EMS Synthi 100, Moog Modular, Roland System 700, Yamaha GX-1.

Gear Rob is looking for in trade:

9/26/21: Looking to trade one of my personal ARP 2600’s grey face (G Clef logo) for an ARP 2600 black/orange in fair shape. Straight trade preferred. I will not add cash to the deal and I would not ask you to add cash to the deal either. This is a technically a downgrade for me (value wise) but I do have a desire to own an orange 2600. Will include keyboard if you also include/have the keyboard. My consoles and keyboards have lids, so I would hope yours do too, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Happy to trade even if yours has some issues.

Looking for the following and may be willing to trade some gear for them with cash involved on either end
– Roland Promars
– Yamaha CS-60/80
– Prophet 5 Rev 3
– Oberheim SEM or TVS/FVS
– Moog Modular

Gear we’re always looking for (dead or alive, but hopefully dead!):
ARP 2600 (any rev)
ARP 2500
ELKA Synthex
Moog Minimoog
Moog MemoryMoog
Moog Modular
Oberheim OB-X
Oberheim OB-Xa
Oberheim OB-8
Oberheim Two Voice, Four Voice / Eight Voice or any SEM System
Roland Jupiter 4
Roland Jupiter 8
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 (any rev)
Sequential Circuits Prophet 10
Yamaha CS-50 CS-60 CS-80

Shipping

We ship using a few different methods. Our preferred method is via air cargo which is strikingly inexpensive and arrives to you the same or next day, and allows the buyer to pay for the shipping charges instead of it being middle-man’d through us. We stress that the cost of shipping same/next day via this method is exceptionally safer due to the shorter handling times, and surprisingly cost much much less than traditional shipping… and you get your synth faster!

We are currently offering free shipping in CONUS if you utilize air cargo. 

We also will ship UPS if going to the airport is not an option or you prefer it. We know everyone has their opinion on UPS/FEDEX, so we should note that we are UPS people. They haven’t done us wrong.

Want it to ship in a brand new hard case? We work with an awesome local flight case maker who’s been in the biz forever. The prices are reasonable and he has measurements for the most common gear we sell. A new hard case will run $2-600 generally and be ready within a week or two. Note that this service is only offered to those who are purchasing gear from us or repair clients.