the year is 2502, 300 years beyond the robot apocalypse. sixteen years ago elektron mysteriously registered the name “analtakt 4”. elektronauts world wide are discussing whether it will be the long awaited follow up to the monomachine or the machinedrum
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Sounds like it was already a mistake 10 years ago😂
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In about 10 years it will be time to get nostalgic for the 2000s again, so I’d say older Novation stuff and Nords might be due for a price increase in that time. As far as what’s being made new now that might be worth more, as others have noted, it’s the expensive limited run stuff that there won’t be a high supply of. Remains to be seen how much ultimately gets made of what stuff, but I think anything Black Corp is a solid bet, and all the Moogs above Grandmother/Sub37 price or so (maybe including those, but probably not within 10 years). Not really as sure about anything else. I mean, anything’s possible, Behringer could be bankrupt tomorrow and suddenly all the Boogs are a hot collector’s item, who knows.
Here’s my wildcard: Arturia Matrixbrute? Still in production, but there’s also still not really a direct competitor (other great monosynths for sure, but nothing else like a Matrixbrute). I think that one’s a love it or hate it unique industrial design that will go down in synth history as soon as it’s not being produced anymore. Came out around the same time as the Sub37 and the Pro2, all 3 are going to be classics. There’s so many things that make up a “classic” though, whether that be brand, capability, design, use by famous artist, etc, it’s hard to say how any of those 3 will play out with any degree of certainty. I am biased as I have a Matrixbrute.
I work in finance, I don’t recommend investing in synthesizers. Don’t tell your significant other that this latest purchase is an “investment” that will make y dollars back in x years. You will almost certainly be wrong and tarnish your trust as a result, and that’s the best case scenario IMO. Be honest that these are either a tool you will use to do a job or a hobby that you will enjoy for some amount of time before it either breaks or you sell it to do something else. I don’t mess around with alternative investments (ie collectibles of any sort) much at all, because the cost of doing well in them is so high after you factor in good insurance, storage, maintenace, etc that the gains are rarely worth it UNLESS you were actually there to enjoy the synthesizer in the first place. If that’s the case then enjoy the synth and leave the money at the door.
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At the beginning of my musical journey i bought an Ensoniq Fizmo (rack version) cause musicstore was selling them at dump prices (±500 euro) . Traded it cause it was too weird for me back then … little did it know only between 100 and 500 rack versions were made … it’s extremely rare one gets sold , but if it does i’ve seen prices between 1500 and 5000 euro in the last 10 years…
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central air conditioning, solar panels, whole house battery systems, rain catch systems.
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Ford Falcons.
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Stimmings instant mastering chain.
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Moog Subsequent 37 in 20, 30 years? What price would be realistic?
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Probably an inflation-adjusted million dollar ARP 2500
Truth. If I owned my place Id be on solar already. Got rain tanks, no mains water here.
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That’s a good guess. Sub Phatty was Bob’s last living synth but the Sub 37 is used by 99% (made up number for exaggeration ) electronic act these days.
People will probably look back at some classic songs and see that they used a Sub 37.
Of recent synths (depending on how long they produce them) I’d say maaaaayyyybe:
UDO Super 6
Matriarch
OB6
Moog One
Pro 2/3
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I’m suprised to see OT mentioned so frequently in this thread, over 10 years of production, I doubt it will be scarce enough.
I’m also a bad speculator, I sold off my Magic the Gathering collection in 2011 because I thought it was a dieing game and now find myself looking at previously owned cards that are now over 10x higher in value.
That being said, my guesses would be:
Yamaha FS1R
Roland VP-9000/MV-8800
Eventide Orville/H8000
MNM
Nord Modular
All the above are digital though, I think a big reason old Analogs have exploded in value is the mindset that they can always be repaired. The barrier of entry with the above may be the obsolete and specialized components.
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hmm… Sub 37 costs around 1000 used now. In 20 years … 1500? 2000?
Matriach costs 1900-2000 … will be 4500-5000 you think? I have no experience / data to compare.
That’s a valid thing to worry about. But I think there will be solutions if the need arises. Vintage game consoles can still largely be repaired and modded thanks in great part to plummeting FPGA costs. So just a generic board with a custom interface and then code emulating the necessary digital parts all sounds possible (if expensive) to me, but that will eventually come down in price.
15 years ago, there was one NES clone console. Now there are probably half a dozen decent ones, with two of them based on FPGAs. And those scale in price from cheap to reference grade expensive, ranging in difficulty from full DIY to plug’n’play solutions. That was unthinkable a decade ago. If the market for the synths is there I’m sure they can be repaired.
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I don’t know if thing will inflate the same way considering part of the value is scarcity. There are so so many more people buying synths these days compared to the era of classic synths plus people are better educated. People know to store their gear properly now, the impact of smoking in the studio for decades, not powering synths on for years. Plus faults are quickly identified because the world has become a giant beta testing playground.
I predict there will be way more matriarchs knocking about in the future than say Jupiter 8s 40 years after their respective release dates. Plus the “classic synth” magic and mystery doesn’t surround most these synths. instead of some wood panelled velvet laden multi million pound studio they’re mostly sitting in some guys bedroom. I think things that don’t sell widely and are expensive will only get more expensive. Think moog ones. Something true throughout history is that money makes money.
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Virus - tons have been made, but they are heavily used by working musicians. Most will probably disappear into landfills or be handed down like grand pianos.
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Sidstation
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The OG TR-8. Those things are pretty cheap right now, but lots of ppl swear by them.
Edit: I wouldn’t say worth the most, but I do expect them to go up significantly.
Any shared system from make noise. Erica synths techno system
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