nevermind

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[kritikon]

It will likely cost you an arm and two legs. There weren't that many made and some parts are likely to be difficult to get. Having said that, if you have the money to do it may well be worth it as I think it was one of the best synths ever made. It's the one synth I wish could have again - I had one on loan in my studio for about 2 years back in the day and it was just gorgeous-sounding. Very sad when it went. It's a real pleasure to play and twiddle with too - those chunky knobs etc are just made for tweaking. I got lost in it for hours on end.

I may well end up buying a PWM Mantis, as it looks and sounds like it's got a lot of the same pedigree and character as OSCar but modern with way more features. No distributor here in NZ and no Aussie stores ship, dammit! I suspect doing up an OSCar if it needs more than minimal stuff might cost you more than a new Mantis. Mantis obvs isn't a replica of OSCar but sounds to me like the filters are pretty damned close with possibly even more in-yer-faceness.

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[vurt]

might be worth it to strip for parts, as kritikon says, they were rare and parts are often needed.

depends how cheap it is mind?

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[cryophonik]

Are you looking at it as a nostalgia/collector's item, or as an instrument to be used in your music? If it's the former, that seems like a good price for renovation hobby project. If it's the latter, I personally wouldn't waste $300 on it when there are other options available that won't be a money and time sink.

[kritikon]

300 sounds OK, but the huge elephant in the room screams out that it is likely pretty f**ked up if they're selling that low. A working OSCar would likely cost several thousand. TBH I'm not into circuit bending etc so I don't know how difficult it might be, but for example Junos can be fixed without actually putting in new voice chips etc - apparently sometimes the faulty chips can have the plastic stuff stripped off and be made to work again - something I might one day get around to (2 voices gone on my Juno106 now and it's basically a wall ornament). I remember watching a vid of some guy who stripped his voice chips, soldered them back in, put new battery holder in etc all at home and cheaply. BUT - that may not even apply to an OSCar and I really have no idea...

[kritikon]

Did a quick surf and the only one I could find for sale was on Reverb (not a good example, I know - reverb seem to have some pisstake asking prices). NZ$17,000 although that was with a refurb and upgrade so the knobs transmit CCs. So 300 (in whatever currency) likely means it's dead.

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[vurt]

bastards, they could give it to you if they're gonna dump it.

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[Constructed Identity]

Well, in a strange turn of events, I got a call this morning saying I was welcome to go and look. Apparently there was a mix up.

Bad news tho, no sound. Not a peep. Shame, as it is in really good cosmetic condition. Not a single crack in the rubbers, all knobs and buttons are there etc. Red lights come on.

Serial# 0700

Really struggled to walk away. It's a thing of beauty. It could be a £10 fix, or a £1000 fix. Couldn't take the chance, so left it (but do have till Monday, if I change my mind)

If you live somewhere you can find a tech, you should buy it. I doubt they would charge $100/hour. On the other hand, if you're just looking to flip... maybe not

[seafire]