The Synth Motherlode – It’s In New Jersey!

The Synth Motherlode

Looking for a good excuse to visit New Jersey?

Look no further! New Jersey is apparently the home of the synth motherlode, shown above.

This collection is found at keyboard specialty store Three Wave Music, located in Hawthorne, NJ. Three Wave Music has roughly one bajillion keyboards in their storeroom, at least based on a sampling estimate from the photo above.

They’ve got Moog, Oberheim, Sequential, ARP, EML, EMS, Yamaha, Roland, Korg, AKAI, Alesis, M-Audio, Nord, Waldorf, Access, Novation, Farfisa, Vox, Rheem, Hammond, Rhodes, Wuritzer, Hohner, Dave Smith Instruments, Tom Oberheim, JoMox and more.

We can’t say that they’ve got one of everything – because it looks like they’ve got several of some.

Here’s another shot from their collection:

the synth motherlode

It’s so beautiful! What does it mean?

via waveformless, anonymous

41 thoughts on “The Synth Motherlode – It’s In New Jersey!”

    1. I made it to NJ and to Three Wave last week, having been a collector of vintage synths for 15 years I have seen some good collections. Nothing matches Three Wave, the owner who is incredibly well versed was also one of the nicest guys I have met. I spent about 45 minutes there and had to leave do to over stimulation! CS 80 check, TR 808 check, Prophet T8 check! EML! Etc etc make the trek it’s worth it!!

  8. Damn, you guys found my favorite place, it’s hidden behind some car dealers in Hawthorne. The owner of the place also fixes synths, and has plenty of spare parts. Prices are a bit steep, and his hours are not 9-5 friendly, but still it’s a phenomenal spot. he was nice enough to let me stay for over an hour past his closing time to just stair and drool.

    1. actually, i find his prices to be very reasonable compared to most, especially since most the gear has been tested. certainly far more affordable than ebay.

      1. I’ve been there a few times myself… I live 40 minutes away… Higher prices than I would have liked, and many of the synths had issues.Great shop either way.

      1. He screwed the guys at Rogue Music, and set up shop across the street. Now he sells junk WAY overpriced on e-bay. The ego doesn’t match the skill set. Spare yourself the headache, and look else where.

    1. What are you talking about ? Have you emailed Sam or been to the store to check out his prices. His prices are very reasonable and everything is tested and he will fix anything that is not functional. Yeah, if you want a Matrix 12 you’re going to pay for it but no more than anywhere else and most likely considerably less. I am pretty sure he still also offers a 90 day guarantee and will fix anything that goes wrong in that time. Anyway, far more affordable than Tone Tweakers and Armen’s.

  23. Three Wave is THE best place for synths. If you’ve never played something, like a Korg MS20, before, he’ll let you, and you can try stuff out for hours. You really can’t beat the prices especially since you can rest assured that what you’re buying is guaranteed to work and even if something goes wrong, he’s the expert tech that will fix it for you for free after 90 days of purchase.

  26. Whhhaaaaaaaaaaaa,hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm,oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
    Give me,give me,please give me one?
    Is this heaven?
    Can you give me one synth please?
    You’v got enough !
    The stores in the monkeyland I live in, they have to order a synth if you want to buy one.

  27. I know the guy that owns this store, as I’m about an hour away… HE LITERALLY HAS EVERYTHING, EVEN PROPHET 10’S! But, he’s also really nice. I’m so happy to live near this place!

  28. I took the hour ride there last week and spend over an hour just gawking. It is truly museum like.
    Not that I’m in the market, but I wish that there were price tags on the products, perhaps with dates they were originally released and perhaps even the original price (and a conversion to what that price would have been in 2014 dollars for kicks). If there were prices and I saw something that looked like a deal, who knows what silly thing may have followed me home.

    Sam seems like a really nice guy as well as the tall young bearded fellow that works there. (It was 100 degree weather that day, and I was a little dehydrated, so that didn’t help with remembering names).

    I walked out with a Moog Werkstatt and an entry level Pittsburgh Modular system. In a way, I’m happy it is an hour drive in a direction I almost never find myself in, as It would be dangerous to have a store with that many incredible items within easy distance.

  30. Please remember, you can’t buy these babies anymore anywhere. You also can’t reproduce some of these synths sound anymore. So, it just like computer memory your going to pay more for vintage rear stuff. So, stop your belly aching over the prices.

  31. Please don’t speculate about the condition of synths unless you’ve bought something there or, worse, had the misfortune to have something repaired. Check Yelp. Ruined my very rare synth which I shall not name since he will immediately know it’s me, but had to send it to get repaired elsewhere. He had another there and DEFINITELY harvested mine for switches.

    This guy is Arnen in sheep’s clothing. Seems sweet but don’t say I didn’t warn you. The collection is of course stunning but I’d never do business with this guy again. I’ve used about every tech besides Armen, including the late gear Synthfool, and Sam is a ripoff artist.

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