What was the cheapest Synth you ever bought?

V301H · Post by **V301H** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:09 am

A girl who came to see my band a lot came up to me about 5 or 6 years ago and told me she had some keyboards that her uncle left at her house in the 80's when he moved to Florida and would I be interested in seeing if there was anything I might want to buy.
So I went to check them out and there was a Yamaha CP-25, Korg Poly 61, Roland RS-101, and a little black Korg synth I didn't recognize. They thought it was broke because they could only get out-of-tune noises out of it. At the time most of these keyboards were worth at best maybe $100 each so I passed on buying anything. As I was leaving she said "Why don't you just take that little black keyboard". So I did and that's how I discovered the MS20, which worked perfectly, BTW.
Another good deal was a non-working Yamaha CS70M I bought last December for $300. Had a power supply problem which I got fixed for under $100.

neandrewthal · Post by **neandrewthal** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:39 am

Casio SK-1 for $0.25
It doesnt get much cheaper than that(besides free)

gcoudert · Post by **gcoudert** » Wed May 21, 2008 8:40 am

Phollop Willing PA wrote:
gcoudert wrote:Yamaha DX7 last year. £27 (33.9 Euros / US$53.1 at today's rate).

Gilles
That's pretty cheap considering what they sold for when they first came out.

Did it come with a hard shell case?

Actually, it did. I still have it in the garage!!!

JJQ · Post by **JJQ** » Wed May 21, 2008 8:47 am

JX8-p for 66$

Oberheim Xpander for 1300$

JP-8 for 2000$

Phollop Willing PA · Post by **Phollop Willing PA** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:03 am

gcoudert wrote:
Phollop Willing PA wrote:
gcoudert wrote:Yamaha DX7 last year. £27 (33.9 Euros / US$53.1 at today's rate).

Gilles
That's pretty cheap considering what they sold for when they first came out.

Did it come with a hard shell case?
Actually, it did. I still have it in the garage!!!

Bonus double plus points!

bluedad · Post by **bluedad** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:26 am

Not a synth, but my Baldwin studio piano was free. A voice teacher had bought a new little spinet, and I came to tune it. When I was finished, he asked if I knew anyone who could haul away a piano. I thought he was talking about one of those tall old uprights so when we went to the garage and he showed me I quickly made arrangements.
Ok one more, a lady called and asked if I'd be interested in buying a grand piano. I came out to have a look; it was built in 1889, rosewood and even in it's sad state I thought it looked beautiful. The lady asked if I'd give $100 for it and I nearly fainted.
Korg 01/Wfd pro with hard case $200. I'm using this with my band now, and the weight of the thing is truly a drawback.

But I love the touch of the keyboard .

Alex E · Post by **Alex E** » Wed May 21, 2008 12:26 pm

Okay-ish Juno-106 (working on it) for $30 from my High School and later
a Univox Univibe (

), CS01, Casio SK-1, and a ton of other random c**p from them for $18!

I sold the Univibe for $1050 and bought my 20" first gen iMac G5 + M-audio midi interface and logic express 8.

I traded the CS01 to C1t1zen for an MS2000br.

So technically I got a Casio SK1, MS2000br and a music ready iMac G5 with Leopard OSX for $18.

I also almost bought a CZ-1000 for $50 but I had the D-110 and programmer idea in my mind at the time and bought those instead. I used to have a CZ1k and think the D110 will be better for what I do anyways. I'll probably call the person who was selling it someday and see if anyone bought it.

monolith · Post by **monolith** » Wed May 21, 2008 4:13 pm

V301H wrote:. As I was leaving she said "Why don't you just take that little black keyboard". So I did and that's how I discovered the MS20, which worked perfectly, BTW.

Wow. wowee wowee.
you are so lucky!

Post by **Solderman** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:15 pm

Cheapest? Akai AX60 for $150.

I never get good deals.

But it's better than not having them. The other guy used it to pay rent or whatever and that money's gone.

desdinova · Post by **desdinova** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:41 pm

Kurzweil K150FS for $20
Got my alesis 8.1 for free~

Post by **TrondC** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:59 pm

I think the by far best deal I've ever gotten was a brand new MC808 for 3900 NOK = 780 USD..
now this may sound very expensive to you US guys, but the original price was 11000 NOK = 2200 USD....

I also scored a CR-68 last summer for $99 + shipping, but other than that it's all been expensive..

Tyler: you got Electribes for $50 each? that's agood find indeed

I mean, I can understand why some people throw out 20-30 year old equipment for close to free, as they obviously don't know what they have, but newer, modern gear, people must have a clue as to what they have?

I'm still waiting for my turn to get a really, really good deal sometime, please let me find a 606 tomorrow for 40$ yes?

Tyler2000 · Post by **Tyler2000** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:59 pm

TrondC wrote:Tyler: you got Electribes for $50 each? that's agood find indeed

I mean, I can understand why some people throw out 20-30 year old equipment for close to free, as they obviously don't know what they have, but newer, modern gear, people must have a clue as to what they have?

...and one for free. From friends, mind you. The kinds of friends I have just aren't into money. They knew it was the kind of thing I was into and just like to be nice, i guess. The person who sold me the EA-1 and ER-1 also threw in a Korg AG-10, which is pretty neat for what it is. This thing.

Post by **cornutt** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:19 pm

Picked up a Hammond A100 a few years ago for $225. A guy who restored antique furniture had it, and I was going through his shop and I found it buried under some other stuff. The guy had acquired it as part of a lot at an estate sale. I asked him what he wanted for it and he said it wasn't for sale; he was going to give it to his granddaughter. I made him take my phone # just in case.

A couple of weeks later, I got a call. The granddaughter didn't want anything to do with it (what a surprise, huh). He told me that it was advertised as working, but that he had not been able to get it to play. He named the price; we dickered just a bit, and then he said he'd let me have it for that provided that I removed it from his premises that day. Uh oh...

I had to borrow a truck and two friends to help me move the thing. I think I have two fewer friends now.

Got it home, did the necessary maintenance, found a cord to plug into it, tried to start it -- no start, just a rattling noise. I looked in the back and found the start motor wasn't engaging the shaft. A bit of Hammond oil later, I was in business. It played OK -- the bus bars were a little dirty, but it just needed regular playing. It's fine now. Other than some damage to one (non-supporting) front leg, it almost looks like new. It probably set in some little old lady's living room for decades. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm only the second owner.

gfriden · Post by **gfriden** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:40 pm

Not the greatest deal in the world, but I got an EPS 16+ for $100. The same guy who sold me that one also offerd me a Polysix for $200, which I passed on, because I really didn't need it, although it was in a very good condition. Perhaps that was a bad decision, but I already have a polysynth I'm happy with (D-50) and also I have run out of spaces to put them.

Tridact · Post by **Tridact** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:42 pm

Moog MG-1 for $16
(I talked them down from $20)

Pearl DRX-1 for $40

TR-606 - I've been borrowing it for 8 years

A week ago I found a Yamaha DX-7 in the box with another box (ADX-10?) with a foot pedal and cartridges etc. all for $50. I think it needs a new internal battery though.

What was the cheapest Synth you ever bought?

wryjuwyj