Three Wave Music

Threewave and Sam (the owner) are as good as it gets for vintage synths. A true gem of a spot for classic gear.

If I could give minus stars I would well after 7 months horrible communications synth not repaired… And it’s actually worsened the issue. The piece at least turned on before… now it doesn’t… Disgusted!
And offered no remedy or at least my bench money back. Probably gonna cost me more to fix his mess.

I went there once, and found the staff very helpful and friendly. They went out of their way to setup a tiny demo area when I wanted to try a Waldorf synth. They also sold me an octatrak, which I had them mail to LA without incident.
The vibe of the place is really cool, because it combines a warehouse and a store into one space. There are a lot of boxes and inventory scattered around, however it adds to the «treasure trove» aesthetic.
Although I’ve never had a repair here, my entire interaction with the store was great.

I still love Three Wave, but had a few repairs that without exaggeration took 8 months. There were no missing parts, and I never got an explanation. Would love to give Sam my business but the delays are tough! Hire some help!

I am a Three Wave regular for about 2 years now. I have bought stuff from Sam, sold him gear, and even had some stuff fixed. He knows what he is doing.
Not sure whats the deal with guys like Craig (he reviewed below) who write about bumping into boxes at a synth store? Chill out dude, its a synth store, not a strip club bathroom. Of course there are boxes. Also, the prices are pretty much up there on the wall next to the kit. I’ve seen it. And unless you are recently blind, you will see it too.
Bottom line. If you can get to this place, go. Sam is a generous guy and has been involved with Synths, Keyboards, Drum Machines, etc for over 50 years. Dude is legit and won’t rip you off.

This review is for repair only. The owner Sam seems like a nice person to have a beer with and talk to about synths, but I will never bring a single thing to him again and discourage anyone else from doing the same. You will get a very polite brush-​off no matter how long your repair is taking — in my case, literally (and I am using «literally» correctly here) 2 years. You may also enjoy (like me) having to bring your gear back multiple times after the repair doesn’t work. Despite these problems, be prepared to have it made very clear on the phone that you are a low priority and that sales take precedence.
If I can say something positive, it’s that the collection in the shop is very impressive.

Really wanted to love this place, but I won’t be returning after trying to get a repair done. The level of communication was nonexistent. I was constantly being told that I would get an official estimate every two weeks whenever I called for an update on my synth. This went on for a month and a half. Finally, I decided to pick up my synth and bring it to analog lab in NYC. I was charged for an hour of labor, the guys at analog lab said that three wave actually exacerbated the problem with my synth. Also, I was constantly being stalled because of the unavailability of some vague mystery part at 3 wave. Analog lab fixed my gear up and didn’t mention this issue. I would love to support an independent music store as unique as 3 wave, but they have done nothing to earn that sentiment.