Most overpriced synths of all-time?

i_watch_stars · Post by **i_watch_stars** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:42 am

The price I am talking about is the ORIGINAL retail price.

Well?

clusterchord · Post by **clusterchord** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:50 am

neuron
oasys

however i really like neuron. just not enough to shell out 4.5K when it first came out.

um, probably the full 9600 synclavier system (aprox 250K !!)

i'm sure there's others..

Joey · Post by **Joey** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:53 am

The Fairlight CMI cost around 30 grand IIRC.

Analog Freak · Post by **Analog Freak** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:24 am

The Roland SH-201 gets my vote, it costs 600 dollars. They should be giving them away with the purchase of a guitar pick. Mainly because only a guitarist with an interest in synthesis is going to take one very seriously. Flame me! :blob6:

Post by **Mr Rich** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:12 am

They were all expensive back in the early days, but I don't think that they were too expensive. That's what they cost and the manufacturers probably just couldn't make them much cheaper.

It all changed in the mid 80s though. At any point since then, you could go out with 1500-2000 quid in your pocket and buy a fine synth of the day, whether it be a DX7 or D50, through to stuff like the V-synth.

I agree about the Neuron; excellent piece of kit but damned expensive on release. That was probably the ultimate cause of its' demise. Such a shame because it was a stroke of genius.

I've done some session work with the Oasys and it's a high quality instrument and a remarkable piece of work. It's a bit misunderstood really and there has been a good deal of bad-mouthing around the net for whatever reason. I can't help thinking that it could have been built for less money, but I didn't build it and I don't own one, so really, I'm not in much of a position to comment about it's price.

Sealed · Post by **Sealed** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:02 am

I tend to feel softsynths a little bit expensive for what they are.

supermel74 · Post by **supermel74** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:00 am

Sealed wrote:I tend to feel softsynths a little bit expensive for what they are.

I agree 100%. No soft synth is worth more than $50. I don't care how you use it or how it sounds, it's still just a f**k cd.

joerg721 · Post by **joerg721** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:11 am

The Roland JX-1 was far too expensive when released.
The Yamaha CS-40M was very pricey when it was available new.
The Neuron was overpriced for sure.
The Radias is overpriced.

Yoozer · Post by **Yoozer** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:28 am

supermel74 wrote:No soft synth is worth more than $50. I don't care how you use it or how it sounds, it's still just a f**k cd.

No painting is worth more than $50. I don't care if it's a Rembrandt or a van Gogh, it's still just a f**k piece of canvas with paint.

Thanks for conveniently omitting cost of research, development, coding, porting, etc. The fact that you can duplicate it indefinitely doesn't mean it has become valueless.

supermel74 · Post by **supermel74** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:30 am

Yoozer wrote:
supermel74 wrote:No soft synth is worth more than $50. I don't care how you use it or how it sounds, it's still just a f**k cd.
No painting is worth more than $50. I don't care if it's a Rembrandt or a van Gogh, it's still just a f**k piece of canvas with paint.

Thanks for conveniently omitting cost of research, development, coding, porting, etc. The fact that you can duplicate it indefinitely doesn't mean it has become valueless.

And just because something costs a lot of money to make doesn't mean it has any real value. I could spend millions of dollars building a better mousetrap, but it's still just a mousetrap. Furthermore, a "copy" of a Rembrandt on canvas isn't worth s**t. I know, I have Aristotle Contemplating The Bust Of Homer.

Sealed · Post by **Sealed** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 1:09 pm

I'm not attacking softsynths. I like my Reaktor 2.3 which came for $50 - definitely worth much more.
Good thing is good, whether soft or hard.

But I often hesitate to go soft. PC gets older soon and you have to pay for every updates, while vintage harwares stand still....

*****

Sorry! I'm getting off-topic.

Thefumigator · Post by **Thefumigator** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 1:48 pm

Sealed wrote: PC gets older soon and you have to pay for every updates, while vintage harwares stand still....

Well, if your fav soft synth runs in today's hardware... it will run in tomorrow's.

As for high priced synth (I don't mean overpriced, but many may think it is... the emulator 2 (like 20 grands?)

Bitexion · Post by **Bitexion** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:01 pm

Amazing, just 4-5 posts in, we are talking about the cost of paintings and old computers instead of synths

I wonder what a Moog Modular system cost back when it was new. Bob Moog just said they were very expensive because he and a few others built everything by hand on every order. And true enough, only big record studios or very rich/sponsored musicians had access to one. On most records they just rented time to spend with the synth in a studio. Or it was sitting in the studio they recorded the album in.

Analogue Crazy · Post by **Analogue Crazy** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:39 pm

I think at the SH-101 is overpriced at the moment.

The MS-10 and MS-20 are VERY overpriced too.

AC

Post by **Vxster** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:16 pm

Analogue Crazy wrote:I think at the SH-101 is overpriced at the moment.

The MS-10 and MS-20 are VERY overpriced too.

AC

He did state (in caps) the original price. I think the GX1 was quite pricey when it came out.