RL Music

RL Music UK-based vintage & classic synthesiser specialist. Serving the global synth community with honesty and expertise for over two decades.

Founded in 2002 by Richard Lawson — dedicated to restoration, curation & advisory services for collectors, enthusiasts & music professionals worldwide. Founded in 2002 by Richard Lawson, RL Music is dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and curation of the world’s finest vintage and classic synthesizers. More than a sales platform, RL Music offers expert advice and bespoke services for colle

ctors, enthusiasts, and estates — built on trust, integrity, and a lifelong passion for electronic instruments.

Hey everyone,Hope you're all doing well and looking forward to the weekend!What a week it’s been — really very busy… the...
05/12/2025

Hey everyone,

Hope you're all doing well and looking forward to the weekend!

What a week it’s been — really very busy… the good kind of busy! A number of high-end vintage synths have sold, including the Minimoog and the Jupiter-8 featured here over the last couple of weeks.

I wanted to give you all a heads-up on a Yamaha CS-80 that I’ll be brokering in the New Year. It’s one that I originally sold to the current owner and was the last “Total Restoration” example I delivered back in 2018. There’s a lot to tell you about this stunning instrument, which I’ll share once my client is ready, but for today I thought I’d simply show a picture of the actual CS-80.

If anyone is considering owning one of the finest analogue synthesisers ever made, please email or call me to register your interest.

Cheers,

Richard
Proprietor, RL Music

Hey everyone,Hope you’ve all had a good week. Friday’s finally here, so I’m curious — what are you all up to with your s...
21/11/2025

Hey everyone,

Hope you’ve all had a good week. Friday’s finally here, so I’m curious — what are you all up to with your synths this weekend? Any projects on the bench, sessions planned, or machines you’re finally getting around to playing with?

I’ll be spending some time on the less glamorous side of things: archiving work. It’s slow, detailed, and very time-consuming… but absolutely essential. And it reminded me of something I’d love your input on:

What online or written resources do you rely on for all vintage synth information?

Anything at all — manuals, technical deep-dives, restoration guides, history, weird little niche sites, personal blogs… whatever you find genuinely useful.

We all know Vintage Synth Explorer — it’s been around forever, even if it’s showing its age now — but there are so many other pockets of knowledge out there. It would be great to gather a list, especially for people who are just getting into this wonderfully niche world of ours.

So please share any sites, channels, or references you lean on, and I’ll make sure they get a proper mention.

To kick things off, I’ll start with Peter Forrest’s legendary A–Z of Analogue Synthesizers — still one of the most authoritative and lovingly assembled resources ever created for our community.

Anything else you can think of that you would like to add?

Cheers,

Richard
Proprietor for RL Music

PS. Picture of part of my home studio in 2005 - can you guess the synths?

Morning everyone,I’m collecting this Jupiter-8 from my client next week — it’s a 14-bit version with a Kenton MIDI kit f...
18/11/2025

Morning everyone,

I’m collecting this Jupiter-8 from my client next week — it’s a 14-bit version with a Kenton MIDI kit fitted. I originally sold this JP-8 to my client back in 2021, so I'm pleased that it’s circled back again. I remember it well as a particularly lovely example, and Kent at KSR fitted a brand-new MIDI kit at the point of sale.

I’m delighted to say I’ll be brokering this Jupiter-8, so consider this the first announcement that it will be available for sale. After I pick it up next week, I’ll be taking it straight over to Kent at KSR for a full health-check. It was fully serviced only four years ago by Kent, but he will go through it thoroughly to ensure it’s operating perfectly.

The sale price is £17,990 GBP.

No VAT on the sale to UK buyers.

We all recognise the significance of the Jupiter-8, and why it remains one of the most sought-after vintage synths of all time. This late-production version, fitted with a Kenton MIDI retrofit, ensures it remains as powerful, relevant, and enjoyable to own and play today as it was in the 1980s.

If you're interested, please DM me here on Facebook or email me directly at [email protected]

Cheers,
Richard
Proprietor, RL Music

Image shown is of the actual Jupiter-8 for sale.

When I was a child, I used to draw pictures of fantastical keyboards — whatever my young brain imagined the “ultimate ma...
16/11/2025

When I was a child, I used to draw pictures of fantastical keyboards — whatever my young brain imagined the “ultimate machine” should be. This would’ve been in the late ’60s, long before I knew anything about Moog Modulars or the Buchla 100. If I’d seen those back then, they would have absolutely blown my mind.

Did any of you do anything like this? Or was it just me, dreaming away the hours wishing for something that didn’t exist?

Maybe it was inevitable that Kent and I would eventually find our way into a career working with synthesisers. All these years later, we’re still passionate about them — hopefully a bit wiser, but still kids at heart.

I asked my AI to create my childhood “ultimate keyboard,” and this is what it came back with. Imagine me as a kid seeing this! — especially considering my pictures were done with coloured pencils.

Please share your own ideas of childhood, or even adult designs for fantastic music machines. Let me know I wasn’t (and still am) the only dreamer out there — even at 62 years old. ☺️

Sunday… best day of the week, in my opinion. I love getting up early and easing into the day with a cup of tea and the s...
16/11/2025

Sunday… best day of the week, in my opinion. I love getting up early and easing into the day with a cup of tea and the sound of the birds.

I am working today — emails and admin mainly — but overnight I had confirmation that a beautifully-kept vintage Prophet-5 is coming in through my Brokering Service.

It’s a Prophet-5 Rev 3.3 with MIDI, the final iteration of this classic ’80s polysynth.
The sale price through RL Music is £6,900 GBP, and it will be fully serviced by Kent at KSR post-sale and supplied with a 3-month warranty.

If you’ve been holding out for the right vintage Prophet-5 to come up for sale, this might well be the one. If you're interested, please DM me here on Facebook or email me directly: [email protected]

Enjoy your day.

Richard
Proprietor, RL Music

Image of previously sold P5 Rev 3.3, for illustration.

Hi everyone — how’s your week been? I’ve made it to Friday intact… it’s been a very busy one here at RL Music, what with...
14/11/2025

Hi everyone — how’s your week been? I’ve made it to Friday intact… it’s been a very busy one here at RL Music, what with the sales successes in the VEMIA auctions and new stock & Brokerage items coming up.

I’ve just come off the phone with a long-standing RL Music client who’s downsizing part of his collection, which means I’ll have several beautifully-kept, high-end vintage synths coming in shortly.

One of them is a particularly lovely, mid-1970s Minimoog with a serial number — a machine I originally sold to him a few years ago. The image shown here is the archive photo of the actual instrument. I’m expecting it to arrive with me in early December and, once it’s had the full KSR treatment, it will be available through my Brokering Service.

I don’t have final pricing yet, but if you’ve been thinking about owning a genuine, historic Minimoog, this example would make anyone’s day. Drop me a line if you’re interested and I’ll keep you personally updated.

Cheers,

Richard
RL Music

Morning all,Hope you’re having a lovely weekend. I really enjoy Sunday mornings — it’s the only time of the week I feel ...
02/11/2025

Morning all,

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend. I really enjoy Sunday mornings — it’s the only time of the week I feel properly relaxed and creative. I’m planning on writing and producing some music today, so I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into that.

I also wanted to let you know that all but one of my 17 vintage instruments are currently listed in the live Autumn VEMIA Auction. Many of you will already know of Peter Forrest and VEMIA, but this marks his final time at the helm, which feels quite poignant — I’ve known and dealt with Peter for over 20 years. He’s an exemplary professional and a thoroughly decent guy, and I wish him and everyone involved with VEMIA the very best for this auction.

There are over 1,000 lots listed, an impressive collection of gear, so I highly recommend you head over to the VEMIA Auction Rooms today to take a look. The auction runs until next Sunday, 9th November.

https://spheremusic.com/Bargainrslt.asp?Mode=Auction&Origin=Search

Have a great day,
Cheers, Richard 😀

Hello everyone, hope you are all doing okay. It’s been a long while since I spent any time on Facebook, needed a comple...
30/10/2025

Hello everyone, hope you are all doing okay. It’s been a long while since I spent any time on Facebook, needed a complete break to focus on family & health. So, I’m back from out space, and it turns out that Mark Watney didn’t make it off, but had the good sense to try one last Korg filter sweep before he succumb. Anyway, I’m planning on working on some new content for the RL Music page & my YouTube channel, so watch this space. All the best, Richard 😀

01/10/2025

“I told my wife I was only buying one more synth. She laughed… because she’s heard that patch before.” 🎹😏

Hi everyone, I've got a lot of vintage synth related content coming shortly, but to kick off the week, I wanted to tell ...
23/09/2024

Hi everyone,

I've got a lot of vintage synth related content coming shortly, but to kick off the week, I wanted to tell you about other things I'm engaged in as I know a lot of you are not just keyboard players.

After quite a few years since I first picked up a guitar to learn how to play, I recently decided to dedicate myself to learning again. I purchased myself a beautiful Martin Steel Acoustic (CEO-7) which is all part of my plan to start writing music again. I have a nice collection of vintage synths and would like to be a more rounded musician. It's really good fun being a complete noob at something and being challenged mentally & physically. The reason for this post is a bit of a 'LOL' moment as we all know and love our vintage synths and how extremely nerdy it can be, but talk about going down the rabbit hole with guitars..wow!

I spent a few hours last night learning all about the 60-cycle hum on Fender Single Coil Strats. I then asked the question of Google: "recommend guitar pedals' haha...that literally made me laugh out loud when that can of worms was opened.....blimey!

I love learning a new instrument again though, I first tried to learn to play the guitar about 20 years ago but didn't stick to it. Learning an acoustic instrument is very personal and immediate and there's no sophisticated technology involved, just you and the wood & strings and the great sense of little 'wins' you get each day your fingers do what your brain asks...eventually.

Next on my list is a Fender Strat, I'm favouring the Vintage II 61 series as I only plan on buying one decent electric guitar....🤣

The analogue verses digital debate isn't just a synth thing. 🤣
22/09/2024

The analogue verses digital debate isn't just a synth thing. 🤣

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