keep or sell dilema....

Anything about hardware musical instruments.
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so, i mentioned this in the other pertinent thread, but have a kind of follow up topic to ask about.

with the arrival of the motorola dsp56300 emulator and its vst support...it seems my 21 year old virus indigo has become redundant. after a/b-ing them i have to admit...the emu sounds identical to me, and being vst...is orders of magnitude easier to work with.

as i spoke about in the other thread...i really do love my indigo. it was my first "real" synthesizer, and its been my most prized synth since i got it some 2 decades ago. however...i dont use it much anymore since its not really compatible with my current workflow. add to that the fact that the keyboard has been malfunctioning for 17 years (it has a broken crystal no one seems able to fix, it creates stuck notes that only stop when you change the patch) and only works properly with a midi controller (or daw midi out), so basically a desktop module...and im considering letting it go and maybe replacing it with something i cant duplicate with software.

im very torn. on the one hand...i do have a lot of sentimental attachment to it, it is my first, and still "best" hw synth...on the other hand...its just a thing. a thing i dont really need or use as intended...which has now been made pretty much obsolete since theres a vst.

lets say i did want to sell it. what would be a reasonable asking price...considering the keyboard isnt working (the rest of the synth is in perfect working and cosmetic order and is 100% properly functional when using midi)?

my head tells me i dont need it and its time to let it go and put something there thats more useful. my heart tells me i love just having it and seeing its pretty blue lights when i turn all my gear on.

what to do what to do.
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I use both, but tend to favor hardware over software, so take my advice for what it is. The Indigo is a kickass synth and, as you stated, you have a sentimental attachment to it, so that makes me think you should keep it.

I've bought and sold a ton of synths over the past few decades and I look for bargains in terms of excellent condition and highly sought after synths being sold for far below the going price. I like to buy synths for cheap, use them for a while, then sell them for more than I paid when I lose interest in it or find great deals on other synths. Personally, I won't even bother with a synth that has broken keys or knobs, etc. no matter what the price is because that's often a sign that a synth has been abused (not saying yours was, but I would have no way of knowing) and that's a risk I don't want to take. So, that said, my advice is to get your Indigo fixed first while you're not really using it, then give it another go with a fresh repair. If you're still unsure, pack it away for a while and come back to it down the road after the software honeymoon wears off. If at that point you've decided the sentiment has worn off, it will be much easier to sell when it's in 100% working order.
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | SX7

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It seems very difficult to sell a synth with even minor repair issues, if it's not one of the hotly sought-after classics that someone wants to fix and flip.

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yup you'll get nothing but low offers and grief, for something you'll probably miss if it does go.

seems obvious really.


edited for low offers rather than "love offers" :dog:
Last edited by vurt on Mon Jan 24, 2022 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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cryophonik wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 5:08 pm So, that said, my advice is to get your Indigo fixed first while you're not really using it, then give it another go with a fresh repair.
thanks for the input, and yes...i hear what you are saying, the issue is that ive been trying to get it fixed since it broke...its been 17 years and the ONLY option for repair has been to send it back to germany for a new crystal.

sending it back to access would take months and months...and be prohibitively expensive for a repair that ultimately doesnt actually affect the synthesizer in any meaningful way. its only the keys that dont work...and since you dont even need the keys at all....its just not cost effective to get it repaired. the last time i looked into it...which admittedly was quite some years ago...the shipping alone was approaching the several hundreds of dollars range.

so, unless i can find someone local who can replace the crystal, which i have not been able to do all this time, im afraid a repair just isnt in the cards.
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chaosWyrM wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:46 pm so, unless i can find someone local who can replace the crystal, which i have not been able to do all this time, im afraid a repair just isnt in the cards.
Ugh, that sucks. OK, I'll give you $50 for it.

j/k :P :lol:
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | SX7

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lol.

so i just called a pro audio repair place around here. i was immediately told that it could take several hundreds of dollars worth of diagnostic work just to figure out the actual problem...and they still might not be able to fix it. according to him...access synths are "not repair friendly and notoriously difficult to work on".

that was even after i told him the guys at access have already said its most likely the crystal.

pretty disheartening, since the actual crystal looks like its a pretty inexpensive (like less than 20 bucks) part that just needs to be soldered on. i read how someone was able to do this exact repair from opening the case, to closing it again, in under a half an hour, though its not something i know how to do...or would be comfortable doing myself anyway.

::edit::

his very first response was to send it back to access, he didnt realize they are only in germany. he def. was not enthusiastic about this repair job.
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Sounds pretty familiar. I've run into a similar situation with camera gear several times. Like, I've sucked the life out of enough shutters that I know when a shutter is bad (as does the repair shop). But, when I inquire how much to replace a bad shutter, I get the same f'ing song and dance every time - "wellllll, I gotta charge you for the diagnostics, then I'll give you an estimate." It's total BS. They know what a bad shutter looks/feels like and they've replaced them enough times that they already know the cost, but does that stop them from charging you the $100 to tell you that the shutter is indeed bad and it will be $300 for a new one? No, of course not. </rant> :tantrum: :lol:
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | SX7

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You may as well keep it because you're going to get f**k all for it 2nd hand. Or bin it. Even if it's at real knock-down price most buyers are reluctant to buy actual broken gear. I've literally thrown synths in the bin before. I'm close to doing that with my Juno106. Yes you heard right - a 106 that has 2 broken DCOs and the battery needs renewing. The voices can be bought and they can be replaced - needs taking apart and soldering, sometimes apparently you just strip the coating off and the voices might still work. The battery can have a cheap part soldered in to replace with a new style battery too. But TBH I really can't be arsed, it's not my thing soldering and fiddling with electronics. It will cost me more than the synth's worth to get it done professionally...and I wouldn't use it even if I fixed it - not missed it all these years it's been breaking. :?

I'd get almost nothing for a broken one despite 106s going for silly money. I could do it up and then sell it (I might consider it, but unlikely). If I don't do it up I may as well give it away or bin it. If I give it away there's the hassle of shipping it etc - almost no market for stuff like that here in NZ, so it pretty well has to go overseas. I kind of like the idea that some newb might get a freebie 106 but it's me that gets the hassle, not them. It won't cost me anything but I still have to get it shipped and then reimbursed etc - just hassle IMO. I will very likely bin it some point soon. Sounds like sacrilege, but it genuinely is not worth anything broken. I can replace it with something like a Deepmind, which is far better and only cost just over $1k. TBH I don't even really need a Deepmind - I don't really use analogue pads that much nowadays.

So you keep it through only nostalgia and touchy-feelies but never actually use it (like you said - VST will replace it) - pointless. Or you bin it. Or you give it away and make someone's day - someone out there might be happy using it as a desktop unit via midi - but they're going to pay you peanuts if you're lucky, so you may as well be a benefactor and give it away.

It can be cathartic clearing stuff out. As you say - you don't use it, you don't need it, you probably don't even want it if you're honest. It will make you feel miserable binning it (been there done that), so do a good deed and give it away. You can't sell it. You'll feel shit getting $50 for it so you may as well make someone else happy. It's worthless - sorry. :(

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Oh yeah - I have double misery. My AlphaJuno is also sat there broken. Keyboard doesn't work and I can't edit it via the synth itself - still works over midi and I can edit it over midi, so I have 2 x Junos just sat there making the studio look good is all. At least the 106 has enough space to work as a drinks holder (and it has drinks holders on both sides - :party: ). The Alpha is f**king useless for anything. :(
And I can get a cheap plugin that sounds pretty much identical if I were to want one.

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I would say - does anyone here want two free broken Junos? But I'm not going to cos I get the hassle of shipping it out to whoever says yes and paying for it, chasing the reimbursement, joining paypal just for the joy of giving it away when I don't want a bar of Paypal again.

I suppose - does anyone who lives within driving distance of Whangarei want 2 free broken Junos? :hihi:

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I live within driving distance. Don't want your Junos though … (bung 'em on TradeMe for parts, pick-up only)

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kritikon wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:27 am I would say - does anyone here want two free broken Junos? But I'm not going to cos I get the hassle of shipping it out to whoever says yes and paying for it, chasing the reimbursement, joining paypal just for the joy of giving it away when I don't want a bar of Paypal again.

I suppose - does anyone who lives within driving distance of Whangarei want 2 free broken Junos? :hihi:
define driving distance if you're delivering?

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I ain't delivering - they're picking up. Which narrows down the audience even further, as Kiwis generally don't like driving far. And mostly they prefer guitars. I think they'll end up in the bin. :hihi:

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