A Long Overdue Update: Restorations, Repairs, & Realities

It has been way too long since the last proper update here on the site.

Truthfully, every time we sat down to film a project, edit photos, or put together a detailed post, the synth ended up selling before we could finish documenting it. Over the last several months the pace at the shop has been insane. Between bench work and repairs, sales and shipping, keeping up with incoming gear, sourcing new inventory, and dealing with a host of technical headaches outside our control, we just have not had nearly as much time to blog as we wanted to.

Rather than waiting another six months for the "perfect" post, we figured it was time for a proper shop update covering at least some of what has been happening behind the scenes lately.

Our First Love Continues to Reign Supreme

Unsurprisingly, a huge amount of the last six months has revolved around Access Virus synths. Virus B, C, Indigo, TI, TI2, Snow, and Polar units have been constantly rotating through the shop in every condition imaginable. Some arrived clean and just needed preventative maintenance. Others showed up heavily worn, partially functional, modified, or carrying evidence of previous repair attempts that ranged from questionable to terrifying (someone thought it would be a good idea to bake their Virus B, no seriously, this happened).

We also spent a considerable amount of time sourcing modern components to expand what we can do to keep older Viruses running flawlessly well into the future. For example, we've mapped and successfully recapped several Virus B mainboards with modern components that match spec and run stable. We've also sourced and tested new 9V 2.0A power supplies for the Bs and Cs (these will be our go-to power supplies from now on Virus B/C 9V 2.0A Power Supply).

While we are still testing and perfecting our B series cap kits, we do hope to make them available for sale soon. There are board variations and other considerations to keep in mind, so even if we do not list them publicly, we will at the very least offer them to our clients upon request.

Update: Virus B Cap Kits now available.

All Hail "The King" 👑

Several late-production TI2 units came through recently that were among the cleanest we have ever seen. Units like these are becoming increasingly difficult to source in 2026, and we've had to work much harder over the last year to track down clean examples. These move quickly when they come in. The first mint unit in 2026 sold within 35 minutes.

We will continue to work this angle, as it's something our clients continually ask for. The TI2s do pop up on Reverb and other venues with some regularity, but they are rarely, if ever, as clean as the units we get our hands on.

Parts, Parts, Parts

Another thing that slowly snowballed over the last several months has been the expansion of our growing Access Virus parts inventory. What originally started as keeping extra service parts around for our own repair work slowly turned into shelves full of knobs, tact switches, displays, encoders, keybed parts, power supplies, buttons, screws, and increasingly difficult-to-find components.

More and more people have been reaching out looking for parts to keep their own machines alive, which has honestly been really cool to see. These synths are getting older now, and a lot of them are surviving only because people in the community are still willing to repair and maintain them properly instead of throwing them away.

Access Virus parts can be found here: Virus Parts. If you need something and don't see it listed, please email us, as we may have it on hand, or at the very least can point you in the right direction.

Queue Elektron

We've also started spending more time in the Elektron world recently, both because it's a product line we personally enjoy and because it's something many of our clients have expressed interest in.

Over the last six months we've repaired and restored a few Analog Four MKIs, an Octatrack MKI, an Analog Heat, and a handful of other Elektron units in various states of repair. Common work has included replacing worn encoders, sourcing replacement power ports, cleaning and restoring cosmetics on worn units, replacing tact switches, troubleshooting intermittent issues, and tracking down increasingly difficult-to-find replacement parts.

While we still consider ourselves far more deeply rooted in the Virus world, Elektron is absolutely an area we plan to explore more going forward.

Moving Beyond Synths

We've also spent a fair amount of time working on older rack gear, including multiple DBX 386 tube preamps that received full recap work, fresh tubes, calibration, cleaning, and power supply servicing. There is something deeply satisfying about taking older neglected gear, replacing tired electrolytics and worn components, then hearing it come back stable and quiet again.

We kept one of the DBX 386s and racked it in our studio to thicken up and round out an ASM Hydrasynth we are currently working with. After enjoying the fruits of a successful restore, we decided to upgrade another DBX 386 which is available for sale here: "Synth Optimized" DBX 386.

The Reality of Running a Shop

A large amount of time recently has gone toward things outside the repair bench as the store continues to grow. We've been working to expand small-parts shipping into Canada, the EU, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, while continuing to navigate the increasingly complicated realities of modern sales channels, platform limitations, payment systems, advertising headaches, and technical difficulties with certain platforms that are beyond our control.

We've also spent a significant amount of time retooling and reorganizing for the future. Between incoming inventory, repair projects, inspections, photography, packaging materials, parts storage, and shipping supplies, the operation has steadily expanded over the last year. Reclaiming shop space, improving workflow, and building systems that scale properly has become increasingly important as the volume of incoming gear and outgoing shipments continues to rise.

Another recent addition has been the introduction of gift cards, which now allow customers to split payments across multiple payment methods more easily during checkout. Gift cards are available here: Captain Black's Gift Card

We've also quietly started dipping our toes into consignment, which has been going well so far. If you are interested in potentially consigning a piece of gear with us, please email us.

We plan to roll out a more formal consignment page in the near future once the workflow and policies are fully finalized.

Looking Ahead

Going forward, one of our biggest goals is simply to do a better job documenting and sharing what has been happening behind the scenes at the shop. Between the pace of incoming gear and the constant flow of repairs, restores, inspections, shipping, sourcing, and testing, it's been very easy for months to disappear without ever properly showing the work being done.

We have a number of larger restoration projects planned for the second half of the year, along with additional parts work, custom builds, repair documentation, and hopefully a lot more shop updates like this one. There is still a mountain of work ahead of us, but we are incredibly grateful for all the support, encouragement, referrals, conversations, and repeat business that have helped make all of this possible.

As always, cheers and best wishes to all :)