Parts and Availability All parts can still be obtained as long as you are prepared to search for them. As mentioned earlier, some Polymoog's deemed "beyond economic repair" by their owners have been broken for spares - just beware that you don't end up bidding for such an item simply advertised as "non-working" on Ebay though! The harder to find parts are the MM5823 and the Ua726s IC's on the TL (top left) board. UK sources are non existent, but they are available in the US if you look hard enough. Conversely, the OpAmps and CMOS IC's are mostly still around and can be purchased locally without a problem. The "infamous" Polycom IC is also still available from the States but this rarely fails. The half a million dollar investment obviously built a decent chip. If all else fails, ask around on the Dubsounds Community Forum as someone will try to help you out with parts and sources. When is it time to call it a day? Does a Polymoog ever become beyond repair? The answer lies with your wallet. It's a simple "yes" if you don't want to spend the money and "no" if you do. Nothing of course that doesn't already apply to any other synthesizer with a 30 year vintage. All electronic parts are available or can be tracked down and even cosmetic parts can be obtained from broken Polymoog's. The deciding factor will always be labour cost. I recently rebuilt a very sick 280a for a friend which took up to 60 hours over a period of several months. If I had been charging by the hour, this particular Polymoog would simply not be around anymore.
© Shaun Brooks 2005