MATRIXSYNTH: And You Thought Vintage Synths Were Pricey


Thursday, September 13, 2007

And You Thought Vintage Synths Were Pricey

This actually popped in on the AH list in response to the "high" cost of vintage synths. What you are looking at is a Vintage 1957 Les Paul HUMBUCKER GOLDTOP. The Buy it Now (BIN) price? $205,000 via this auction. BTW, I asked a friend of mine if any sites out there were salvaging the shots of these vintage pieces of art and he said only what people post now and then in forums. So... Welcome to Vintage Guitarz. Feel free to spread the word to your guitar buddies. You know you have 'em.

16 comments:

  1. Unless there is a photo of Jesus Christ personally blessing this instrument, I don't see anything that could justify the cost of it.

    At least with the Synclavier in the '80s there was an argument to be made.

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  2. I've said it many times on this blog, vintage synths are not expensive!!!! They are far far cheaper then when they were new and often times you can get similar analog items new for the price of a vintage item. Being an avid user of vintage audio gear I can definitely say that vintage synth prices have been very slow to rise compared to guitars, basses, amps, outboard gear, etc..

    I find it quite interesting that the P08 costs essentially the same as the current market price for a good P5. The same goes for a channel of Neve. The main difference is that Gibsons "relic" reissue of a "Burst" is about $250k lower then the original.

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  3. at least any smart used / vintage guitar purchase goes up in value without risking something as young as 20 or 30 years old crapping out on you...

    My wife drove to Montana with her and her friends $250,000 viola [benefactor loan] in the bed of her pickup...

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  4. WOW! That synth had six oscillators!

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  5. $200 grand? It's only a goldtop - that's '58 or '59 sunburst territory.

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  6. Yeah the gold top was the standard design that Les Paul wanted. It was guitarists that requested new colors which I think created the black beauty and then the other finishes.

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  7. Yep. Last Friday I was getting my el-cheapo $35,000 cello's neck re-planed, and the owner of the shop was on the phone mumbling something about assembling investors in Texas. I asked what it was about when he got off the phone & he said, "Strad." I said, "Stratocaster?" and he laughed politely. I don't know what today's market value is, but 10 years ago the same guy let me play a Stradivarius cello that the German government was preparing to buy for 5 million dollars. Thank God the common wisdom about stringed instruments is that they have to be constantly played to maintain their value, or else artists would never get to use them.

    On the flip side, the most I ever paid for a Buchla module was 1968 retail value plus inflation.

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  8. the z makes the price sting less. there is a $60,000 les paul at the guitar center near my house.

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  9. This is more evidence that rich people are REALLY rich these days, and, well, poor people...

    I just read in Automobile magazine that the not-yet- released $300,000 Bentley Brooklands has ALREADY sold out its entire production run. I think I've been hanging out with the wrong crowd!

    mitchell

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  10. The only people who complain about these prices are those that still live in mommy's basement and surf the internets all day long. Quit yer bitchin' and get a job already. :)

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  11. So Mr. Matrixsynth, are you a guitarist, or is the new site nothing but another way to generate revenue by vampirically aggregating/pimping another category of eBay auctions? I don't see a single post on Vintage Guitarz that's not an eBay auction.

    Inquiring minds want to know.

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  12. i think my working in a factory all day/all year to support my college education/ability to continue being alive qualify my for some bitching. :)

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  13. There's a tough-talkin' anonymous in every thread, there to set us straight in the way of things.

    Safely, of course, lest someone thing it is a pile of horse feces. ;-)

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  14. Ha! suckers!

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  15. You are not up to speed about the art of collecting. I guess you would say the same thing about a stradivarius violin which is only a 200-300 year old piece of wood. And some of those sell for 2-3 million US. Something is worth what it will bring. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Maybe you ought to sell your $300,000 home for only $150,000.

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  16. I don't get it. Where are the keys? Or do you play it like a theremin?

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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