Future of analog gear used prices

I don't think the market is going away any time soon. Right now everything is down. There's a chance that prices may not return to their former levels but I think there will still be a demand for the items. The older mics are still the sought after mics and the vintage outboard gear still fetch top dollar. I wish they didn't because I'd be all over them. Same as Leddy, Either by luck or instinct the gear I've bought holds it's value. So far I've done real well, or probably better.
 
If I gave the impression that I thought the market for this stuff was ever going to just completely tank, that's not what I meant...I just don't think it will ever be a hot market except for some brands/models that are rare and sought after.

That said, I believe there will ALWAYS be some demand for the stuff. I think there will always be a pocket of people like me that just love how the stuff looks, smells, sounds and performs...even how it feels...to push a button and feel/hear something go *chunk*.

Just sayin'.
 
i think the stuff will go up in value over time, or at least maintain w/ inflation. it may ebb and flow, etc ... i wish i did not feel this way because i think its cool that this stuff is so cheap now. but look at guitars ... all it takes is people getting more into it, so the real question is: will people go back to analog in full swing or will they stay w/ digital? i think it'll come around to analog in the next 10-15 years ... the vinyl resurgence is a small indicator of things to come and tape machine prices seem to have actually gone UP in the last 5 years or so for some machines. it all depends on who said this or that in whatever recording magazine. just like a '60s stratocaster is worth 30 times more than a '60s jaguar. the jaguar actually cost MORE In the '60s but Jimi Hendrix didn't use it much. combo organ prices have come up a bit as well.

what i think the problem is going to be is actually working on and maintaining the decks. a lot of guys (like myself) are into USING the machines but not tinkering or fixing stuff. i like to keep the techs employed but they are few and far between. i actually live next door to a world class tape machine expert tech right now, so he can make house calls to fix any of my stuff!
 
lonewhitefly said:
what i think the problem is going to be is actually working on and maintaining the decks. a lot of guys (like myself) are into USING the machines but not tinkering or fixing stuff. i like to keep the techs employed but they are few and far between. i actually live next door to a world class tape machine expert tech right now, so he can make house calls to fix any of my stuff!
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Slightly O.T. (but it's my thread anyway :D)

I was thinking...I'm not an electronics expert by any means, but I would think that you could rebuild old machines with a PLC (programmable logic controller). You would still need the original audio path and decent heads, but the motors, brakes, etc. could all be handled by the PLC. This would allow some different parts to be swapped out when others are not available. Like a motor, for example. You could use a completely different motor as long as it respond correctly to the input from the PLC. It could be programmed to speed up and slow down gently, etc.
 
leddy said:
Slightly O.T. (but it's my thread anyway :D)

I was thinking...I'm not an electronics expert by any means, but I would think that you could rebuild old machines with a PLC (programmable logic controller). You would still need the original audio path and decent heads, but the motors, brakes, etc. could all be handled by the PLC. This would allow some different parts to be swapped out when others are not available. Like a motor, for example. You could use a completely different motor as long as it respond correctly to the input from the PLC. It could be programmed to speed up and slow down gently, etc.
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I'm no expert either, but did replace a rectifier module on an Otari transport. Reading a schematic and using a volt meter was all it took. I think you'll still find comptetent techs. I had my Vespa worked on years ago by some kid who worked out of his garage. Now he owns a respectable shop.
 
lonewhitefly said:
i think the stuff will go up in value over time, or at least maintain w/ inflation. it may ebb and flow, etc ... i wish i did not feel this way because i think its cool that this stuff is so cheap now. but look at guitars ... all it takes is people getting more into it, so the real question is: will people go back to analog in full swing or will they stay w/ digital? i think it'll come around to analog in the next 10-15 years ... the vinyl resurgence is a small indicator of things to come and tape machine prices seem to have actually gone UP in the last 5 years or so for some machines. it all depends on who said this or that in whatever recording magazine. just like a '60s stratocaster is worth 30 times more than a '60s jaguar. the jaguar actually cost MORE In the '60s but Jimi Hendrix didn't use it much. combo organ prices have come up a bit as well.
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Prices got kind of ridiculous for a while. I'm sure ebay had some part in that. A 63 SG that I had bought in the late 80's for $250.00 could have fetched about $5,000 about 3 years ago. That's pretty crazy. I know someone who's been collecting vintage guitars and the prices he was paying were unbelievable.
 
SteveM said:
Prices got kind of ridiculous for a while. I'm sure ebay had some part in that. A 63 SG that I had bought in the late 80's for $250.00 could have fetched about $5,000 about 3 years ago. That's pretty crazy. I know someone who's been collecting vintage guitars and the prices he was paying were unbelievable.
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There was a slump in the 80s early 90s especially for analog. I couldn't give away a broken ARP Odyssey in 1993, that I original only paid $125 for in 1989 or so. That same broken piece could probably fetch about $500 on ebay. Some things though have remained fairly constant. E.g. a Rhodes Chroma goes for about $1500-2000 and has ofr the past five years or so,
 
It's painful to think of the things I've gotten rid of. That's another problem with the gear hoarding. You have to be careful what you get rid of. Eh, life goes on. :drunk:

I just recently sold a Leslie tube speaker on Craigslist, for kind of cheap. I'm sort of kicking myself now.
 
SteveM said:
It's painful to think of the things I've gotten rid of. That's another problem with the gear hoarding. You have to be careful what you get rid of. Eh, life goes on. :drunk:

I just recently sold a Leslie tube speaker on Craigslist, for kind of cheap. I'm sort of kicking myself now.
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You just can't look at it that way and usually it all eventually evens out. I got some great no, awesome deals on some vintage keys a while back, right place right time. Best deals ever. But then again, I probably paid too much for other pieces of gear.

I just sold an EEPROM burner on Ebay "for kinda cheap" but hey, I really didn't pay that much for it 15+ years ago (used) got some use out of it, and it sat unused for easily 15 years. So what if I technically 'lost' about $25 over the course of 15+ years.

I do kind of regret getting rid of that Odyssey though, I have a schematic and probably could fix it now...
 
Blue Jinn said:
You just can't look at it that way and usually it all eventually evens out. I got some great no, awesome deals on some vintage keys a while back, right place right time. Best deals ever. But then again, I probably paid too much for other pieces of gear.

I just sold an EEPROM burner on Ebay "for kinda cheap" but hey, I really didn't pay that much for it 15+ years ago (used) got some use out of it, and it sat unused for easily 15 years. So what if I technically 'lost' about $25 over the course of 15+ years.

I do kind of regret getting rid of that Odyssey though, I have a schematic and probably could fix it now...
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this is right on. there are CRAZY deals to be had right now. you've got to go for the sleeper gear. the minute some famous guy talks about how great something is in a recording magazine, scratch that one off your list. electro voice mics are good examples. everyone knows about the "famous" ones, the 666, the RE15 (Elvis used it! ha), etc. so do some digging and look for models like the 635a (a great mic that usually goes for around $50 - VINTAGE!), the 676, etc etc.

i just got a '60s Leslie cab in great working order for $250 (the Cordovox one ... not many know about it but its basically a Fender vibratone in a smaller shell w/ an 8" speaker). i also got an RMI rocksichord for $300 last year. '70s Sony condenser for $50. a lot of people just don't know what to look for. find those deals, they are out there!

i sometimes will just hunt for stuff and try it out on a hunch without knowing anything about it, sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's not. but i've found with the old stuff that it usually has some kind of unique character and flavor that can be useful in some capacity.
 
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