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I really like to mess around on synthesizers, and back in the day I sunk a lot of money into Euro-rack modules. You'll get a lot of people who attribute magical sound qualities to analog synthesizers, claiming that despite their wear and old age, they retain some ineffable quality that modern equipment can't fully replace. Most of that is sentimental hogwash, but there is a sliver of truth in it. When it comes to electronics manufacturing, early iterations of products tend to be comprised of components that far exceed in specifications what they're being utilized for. In other words, you get a lot of overkill because if somebody needs a capacitor, they simply drop one in they know will get the job done. As manufacturing iterations continue, parts exceeding specification are replaced with cheaper components that "do good enough". One side-effect of this is that a technology that starts off expensive, eventually becomes cheap and tends to retain a general quality, if not an improvement in form-factor. Flat screen TV's are a good example of this. You'll sometimes hear somebody say something like "The early model is great, but then they moved manufacturing over to China and the quality took a shit." So there is some validity to the idea that older systems were better. From a component standpoint a lot of them definitely were.
Here is an old Oberheim DX I restored a while ago:
This particular DX was modified to be MIDI compatible, as opposed to tape-click. A big step into the future. MIDI is still widely used by instruments (and light-effects on stages) to this day to synchronize equipment. Tape-click was a much shittier version of that so I don't blame the original owner for making the change. I picked this up at a used music store for $50. Why so cheap? Well because that MIDI pot right there in my hand was broken. For a musician that means it is time to toss it, but for somebody with remedial soldering skills, and $3 they can spend on Chinese MIDI pots, it's a great opportunity. If you look online you'll find that on average, a DX will sell for about $2000.
It's an easy hobby to get into. You get to try a lot of cool instruments, keep what you like, spend a tiny bit of money and time easily replacing components, and then sell the thing at a 4000% markup to some guy with a goatee and poneytail. The used music store owners loved me, and cut me deals all the time, because I was always buying and never returning or exchanging, and I was taking expensive and professional grade equipment off their hands. I never told them what I was up to of course.
Everything you see here is pennies, or fractions of pennies, and can easily be purchased off Amazon. 99 times out of 100 though, the only thing ever broken on an electronic instrument is the pots that people connect cables into. They're the easiest possible thing to replace on a board like this. These components tend to have some tangible indication of a problem too. You'll see something singed, or smell, or yellowed. Nothing a multi-meter or cheap oscilloscope couldn't help with if things got really in-depth.
I also get opportunities like this, to get my hands on original versions of famous chips. I know people who would be thrilled to get their hands on a Zilog. They make replacements that do the exact same thing, a musician would never appreciate the chip on it's own, perhaps I'll exchange this one out before selling it.
Here is an old Oberheim DX I restored a while ago:
This particular DX was modified to be MIDI compatible, as opposed to tape-click. A big step into the future. MIDI is still widely used by instruments (and light-effects on stages) to this day to synchronize equipment. Tape-click was a much shittier version of that so I don't blame the original owner for making the change. I picked this up at a used music store for $50. Why so cheap? Well because that MIDI pot right there in my hand was broken. For a musician that means it is time to toss it, but for somebody with remedial soldering skills, and $3 they can spend on Chinese MIDI pots, it's a great opportunity. If you look online you'll find that on average, a DX will sell for about $2000.
It's an easy hobby to get into. You get to try a lot of cool instruments, keep what you like, spend a tiny bit of money and time easily replacing components, and then sell the thing at a 4000% markup to some guy with a goatee and poneytail. The used music store owners loved me, and cut me deals all the time, because I was always buying and never returning or exchanging, and I was taking expensive and professional grade equipment off their hands. I never told them what I was up to of course.
Everything you see here is pennies, or fractions of pennies, and can easily be purchased off Amazon. 99 times out of 100 though, the only thing ever broken on an electronic instrument is the pots that people connect cables into. They're the easiest possible thing to replace on a board like this. These components tend to have some tangible indication of a problem too. You'll see something singed, or smell, or yellowed. Nothing a multi-meter or cheap oscilloscope couldn't help with if things got really in-depth.
I also get opportunities like this, to get my hands on original versions of famous chips. I know people who would be thrilled to get their hands on a Zilog. They make replacements that do the exact same thing, a musician would never appreciate the chip on it's own, perhaps I'll exchange this one out before selling it.
