The Five G Store in Tokyo does not only carry keyboard instruments but also exhibits a fine selection of analog and digital drum machines, effects and more. From the well-known Sherman Filter Bank, Vermona Retroverb Lancet to small German manufacturers of drum machines like Acidlab or MFB. Here everyone will find his favourite device.
Five G Tokyo – Take A Look At The Best Vintage Synthesizer Store
A few steps forward, you stood again in front of a wall of amazing instruments. Here were original Roland SH-101 in grey and blue, a vintage ARP Odyssey, Moog Memorymoog up to a nice analog Yamaha Synthesizer. Also here, a number of Dave Smith Instruments devices were exhibited and ready to play and also the analog Vermona 14 synth.
The Beauty Farm For Electronic Instruments: Where Care Is Still Important
At the end of the first gear row, the highlight of the Five G Store came to my mind. That was not the selection of rarities but the service area. Synthesizers, Drum Machines … are repaired and serviced daily here. For me personally, it was exciting to watch the whole thing because you rarely see such pictures of synth repairs. If you have a modern Synthesizer repaired today, they will happily disappear into big companies that take over this service very professionally and without charm. In the afternoon, where I was there, a Moog Memorymoog was repaired and made functional again.
After I had looked at the whole thing, the tour continued into the second row, which welcomed me warmly with old Sequential Circuits and Roland instruments. I think the next pictures speak for themselves and don’t need an extra explications.
A Roland Alone Among Sequential Circuits Synthesizers
In Good Company
Two AKAI MPC’s Got Lost In The Synth Paradise
Don’t Forget To Look At The Floor !
“Many of the instruments already had no price tag, were reserved or already sold” <– This is true sometimes. That OB-XA for example is mine. I reserved it before they had even determined the price. It was simple really. Get it now because I knew by next week when I would be back…. someone else will have already claimed it. I go there every weekend without fail. A lot of their stock isn't posted on their web site. Someone grabs it before they have a chance.
"The biggest advantage of the Five G Store compared to private sellers is certainly the excellent maintenance of the devices and their electronic components." <– YES! there is a good and bad to this. The good is that I am very comfortable that if I have issues with any of my synths they will make sure it gets taken care of. I wont by a (vintage) synth from anyplace else. Im not an electrician and with vintage stuff I do depend on five-g if something goes bad.
The bad part is that they always have a backlog of work waiting for them. You will have to wait. That OB-XA… well I reserved it at the start of October and as of April its still in its same place waiting to get refurbished. An additional up side is that the wait gives me time to save up money as well….