music hardware that maintain its value well

[petterdass]

helu

I really want to spend some cash on gear, but i want to be shure i can sell it when im tired of it without throwing away to much money. Am i safe if I buy anything old and anolog in good shape?
If i could get some tips on anything not to big and heavy, as im living in europe and want to buy from usa on ebay, and sending big stuff is expensive.
Im interested in anything i can route a signal through or that can generate a sound. Ive heard old quality microphones and preamps keeps its value well.
Any tips apreciated

Thanks

[C00kie]

Am i safe if I buy anything old and anolog in good shape?

It's never ever safe Prices go up and down with fashion, and if it gets broken due to usage it has lost it's value.

im living in europe and want to buy from usa on ebay

That doesn't make sense. In Europe we use 220-240 volts, in the USA that's 110 volts. And there's probably an eBay-like local site in your country. No shipment needed, maybe the seller lives in the same city or not too far away. So you can visit and have a demo before deciding to go for it.

Since it sounds like you have no idea yet what to get, I'd be VERY careful about the first thing to buy.

Im interested in anything i can route a signal through

We call that an effect. Thousands of them exist, for each and every effect. Most do more than one: multi-effects units! Software is cheaper and just as versatile.

or that can generate a sound.

We call that a synth. Thousands of them exist, for each and every sound. Again: software is cheaper and just as versatile.

Ive heard old quality microphones and preamps keeps its value well.

Something completely different from a synth or effects unit... The thing with old stuff is, that if it's not any good then it's thrown away eventually. So only the good stuff survives. Usually, that is, because some vintage crap survives

[kritikon]

as im living in europe and want to buy from usa on ebay

I don't understand why you'd want to do that?

I wouldn't buy anything remotely valuable sight unseen from eBay from a completely different country. Almost anything you can buy in the US for music prduction you can buy in Europe - some things will be cheaper, some things will be more expensive, but they will be available in Europe. As mentioned - wrong voltage anyway. Don't assume everything in the US is cheaper, because it most definitely is not. Certainly US manufactured stuff will likely be cheaper in the US than Europe, but there's alot of quality stuff manufactured in Europe as well and that will be cheaper in Europe.


Your question really is too general. There is so much old stuff you can buy that we can't answer it.

Having said that, if you buy some used but quality Eqs or compressors, you might have a chance of keeping the investment. Synths are more difficult - certainly some are cherished - any old modular such as Serges, Moogs, Korgs, Rolands etc will keep value, but the downside ias that old stuff may be very expensive to maintain - if it breaks you simply cannot sell it unless you get it fixed and some parts are very difficult to source. I'd actually suggest maybe buying new analogue rather than old analogue unless you properly test the synth in question - never ever buy a 2nd hand synth without trialling it out. You need to check for dud keys, noisy pots or sliders, broken mod wheels/joysticks, rusty jacks, dead VCOs or voices, dying memory (batteries etc) - all sorts of things, dying screens. You can buy quality old synths but you have to play them to know if they're good or bad. Buying a bad one can cost you more than you paid for it to fix it.


Look at the new Prophet08s being sold. EMS also make new synths - most of the old range of things like VCS3s but brand spanking new and they will likely hold their value. Could be a better deal than buying an old one?

Old mixing desks can hold their value too, but generally more in the expensive range - things like old Tridents etc, but do you actually have that amount to spend?

Amps etc - dubious IMO - I can see the fad for old limiting amps etc going away - might also come back but not a reliable investment. Tubes also - very much down to personal taste and I can also see the fad for tubes going away. Whereas quality Eqs will always be useable IMO. Even outboard - an old Eventide or Lexicon will probably hold decent value for many a year - but you can't be 100% sure.

Whatever you buy - if you have investment in mind, then buy expensive old gear, not cheap. The quality stuff holds value specifically because it has quality sound. Cheap stuff is cheap usually because it sounds crap and nobody wants it - old doesn't mean anything if its's crap.

[freddemillio]

Guitars, carefully selected and carefully looked after, will often increase their value with time.

[Meffy]

as im living in europe and want to buy from usa on ebay

I don't understand why you'd want to do that? :?:

I won't address the rest, but one possible answer for this: the euro is at an all-time high against the US dollar. If you have euros, you can buy more dollars' worth of schtuff than ever before.

The big question: would shipping costs eliminate any savings due to exchange rates? The big answer: that will vary for individual cases; must do the arithmetic to see.

[dusted william]

as im living in europe and want to buy from usa on ebay

I don't understand why you'd want to do that?

I won't address the rest, but one possible answer for this: the euro is at an all-time high against the US dollar. If you have euros, you can buy more dollars' worth of schtuff than ever before.

The big question: would shipping costs eliminate any savings due to exchange rates? The big answer: that will vary for individual cases; must do the arithmetic to see.

Now is the best time for all of ya'll to spend your Euros in the US.

I wanted to buy some software made in Denmark and the exchange is killing me.

dw

[Meffy]

*nodnod* Good times for European buyers and US sellers. Not so good the other way 'round but that's how the wheel of fortune turns.

[kritikon]

I can't imagine that the shipping cost for something like a Roland system100 will be particularly cheap though...

[Vintage_Spek]

Reel-to-reels seem to keep increasing in value.

[kritikon]

Yeah, not a bad idea. A good 2" might be a good investment - as long as it's got a good supply of good nick reels/tapes to go with it. They're getting very expensive apparently.

[johnny2johnny]

I don't think any hardware after 2000 and probably earlier will actually increase in value...

BUying anything on ebay in my book is a risky proposition

Guitars can increase, but once again, find a guitar made after 1990 that has not been sourced out and built in mexico or china

You should be able to buy something in europe made in the usa for very cheap anyways, you do not have to have it shipped....

( clothing is another story ) for some odd reason american clothing seems to hold its value in europe. Y'all started wearing jeans, instead of pants... your fault..

[Meffy]

( clothing is another story ) for some odd reason american clothing seems to hold its value in europe. Y'all started wearing jeans, instead of pants... your fault..

Hm.

Will trade my old [edit: oops, I mean "classic"] Levis cutoff shorts for Doepfer modules, in a nice simple one for one exchange.
May require a little sewing to make them suitable for use by tailless species.

[Resonant Serpent]

If your looking to test things out, and not make a profit, then buy fairly recent gear at a used price.

My first choice would be a used Dave Smith Evolver. You can get a used desktop model for 350.00 to 450.00 US, or the mono keyboard version for 650.00 to 800.00 US. They constantly sell for the same value, they have multiple power supplies for foreign countries, and they are not likely to break down anytime soon.

The Evolver is cool peice of gear that you can not only play, but also run other sounds through. It's my fave at the moment.

Another good choice would be used Studio Electronics synths.

The other route is to buy boutique gear like limited edition Metasonix boxes or the custom modded guitar pedals. More than likely they will go up in value. I know the limited edition versions of Metasonix gear go up in value as soon as they are released. Good luck grabbing one.

You should really forget about buying older gear as an investment. While I've seen some gear double in price in the last couple of years, it also means that your dealing with the scrutiny of 'investors' instead of a musician who is looking to pay a fair price. Fixing older gear will cost a pretty penny most of the time, and I've seen people spend more to refurbish a minimoog or old modular than the thing was actually worth. I know people with 100k worth of synth gear, and they never even touch it. It's sad, and it drives the prices up for those of us who actually want to use it.

[raintalk]

If your music is really good, and you get famous, then any gear you own will sell for big bucks at auctions.

[C00kie]

one possible answer for this: the euro is at an all-time high against the US dollar. If you have euros, you can buy more dollars' worth of schtuff than ever before.

But you don't need to buy the schtuff to profit from fluctuating exchange rates. Just go to the nearest bank and buy the dollars themselves, and sell them when there's enough profit.