I have seen synthesizer heaven and its name is “Patchwerks”.

Patchwerks was my go-to source for synthesizer gear during the pandemic. I have placed several on-line orders with them and each time their customer service was spot on.

I finally had an opportunity to visit their Seattle showroom at 4129 Stone Way North in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. If you live in Seattle or visit Seattle, I strongly recommend a trip to the Patchwerks showroom. You won’t be disappointed!

The showroom seems to have one of everything. In addition to synths and beat boxes, you’ll also find patch cables galore, DIY kits, and of course, friendly staff. No one comes screaming “Don’t touch that!” and there aren’t any wannabe guitar gods. (You know which other brick and mortar retailer I have in mind…)

Don’t bring your Ford F-250 or RAM 2500 truck because you may need to park on a side street. Wallingford is old Seattle. Side streets are three cars wide and two of the “lanes” on either side of the street are filled with parked cars. It was a challenge parking my dinky Scion iM. 🙂

I’d like to say that the “opportunity” was to buy something new. Instead, I needed to return a troubled Keith McMillen QuNexus. Good on Patchwerks because they readily offered an exchange or return after seeing a video of the malfunction. These guys are on the level. (Regular returns are subject to a 10% restocking fee.)

I must give a shout-out to Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI), too. After getting the trouble report, they immediately stood behind their product and offered an exchange if Patchwerks was unable to resolve the issue/situation. Both Patchwerks and KMI responded to my initial trouble report within 24 hours. Very quick and to the point. It’s a pleasure to call out a positive customer service story.

I will continue to order from Patchwerks and I will likely give Keith McMillen Instruments another go, too. Even though the QuNexus didn’t work out, those colorful K-Board-C are quite appealing.

When you’re in Seattle, be sure to visit Patchwerks.

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski