How much money have you spent on music gear in your life?

[Cumulus]

Today I calculated the total amount of money I have spent on musical equipmetn in my entire life.

I got as close as I can, going from memory, and I included every musical instrument I ever bought and I accounted for everything I have ever sold and the few items that were lost or stolen. I came up with a total of $8,562.00. This total is accurate within a hundred bucks or so.

I buy almost everything used and only if it is a good deal. I also almost never sell anything at a loss since I usually get it for a good price in the first place.

I know a few people who have spent upwards up $20,000.00 on gear and have very little to show for it since they take a loss when they upgrade.

[Alex E]

About $3,000-$5,000 since 2004.

I've gained some extra money in trades and deals, but lost some in other situations. Kinda complex stuff once I think about it.

[Stab Frenzy]

I had to do an insurance assessment thing and it works out that my studio has about $35,000 worth of stuff in it. I bought most things at discounted prices so probably about $25,000 or so spent. That's not just synths though, it's mics, preamps, interfaces, software, leads, computers, effects and monitors. It makes me really nervous when I get home and my housemate's left her key in the front door, or not closed it properly...

This was a while ago so there's probably a bit more in there now, but keep in mind that I make about half my income from music stuff (mostly as an engineer) so it's all tax deductible and all paid for with the money I've made from music.

[Z]

Let's just put it this way, I maxed out the Bing.com rebate in about 9 months last year.

[Hugo76]

Probably about $15,000

[rhino]

NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo !!!
Don't make me think about that!!!
A college education for all eight grandchildren.....h**l! I could have bought a damned college!
Of course it's all been (mostly) cheap used stuff, but add it all up and (shudder)....
Then... to make it worse, there are all the things i WISHED I HAD BOUGHT....
'scuse me...I need to take my meds....

That's better. Seriously... probably well over 20K

Not counting the parts for the Jeeps...

[Hybrid88]

...all paid for with the money I've made from music.

If you can actually make a living from music in Aus then you're one of the lucky few

[Cosmosis]

Enough to put me into debt....

Easily, since 2003, on synths alone...

$75,000

[Stab Frenzy]

...all paid for with the money I've made from music.

If you can actually make a living from music in Aus then you're one of the lucky few

I only make half a living from music, I have a part-time job too so I don't have to work with crappy bands just cause I need the money. And I make most of my money as an engineer rather than a performer, income from that is much less fickle provided you do a good job.

[Mr Knesh]

V-synth $630
Mks- 50 $150 sold $165
Alpha-Juno $160
MKS-70 $125 sold $85
JP-8080 $450
MS-2000 $175
Axiom 61 $230 sold $270
SL-1200 $160
DP4+ $170
Midisport 8x8 $75
Ultralite $495
Nanopiano $180
Monitors $200
Mixer $400
Computer $180
sub total $3180

cables, cases, gigbags, dust covers, de-oxit, gaff tape, desk, hours spent degumming and cleaning the gear I own, and hooking everything up in an intelligent manner...
>$100,000

net total - $103,180

not bad for a 25 year old, jobless college student.

[Primal Drive]

Since you mentioned "music gear" it's nearly impossible for me to calculate without taking all the instruments I play plus inflation into account. The first keyboard I bought for myself in 1965 was a Rhodes (damn how I wish I would have kept that). I've bought and sold so many synths and ROMplers since then that I wouldn't be surprised if I came across a board that I completely forgot about owning at one time.

The first drum kit I bought was a 1967 Ludwig 5 piece (I've bought at least 18 kits since then of various brands).

I've gone through at least 3 dozen guitars, and at least a dozen bass guitars.

Throwing into the mix all the reel-to-reel multitrack and digital mulitrack recorders, FX racks and stomp boxes, guitar amps, mixers, mics, cables, 3 high watt PA systems, and other assorted goodies I'd estimate I've spent around $5-700,000 USD.

Ironically, having estimated the worth of my current gear I'd say it's worth about $25-30,000 USD at best.

Aw well, at least I'm enjoying the ride...

[TrondC]

money spent (in cronoligical order):
Synth:

Microkorg - $1000 (first and lasttime I bought anything new in Norway)
Korg ER-1 - $170
Korg ESX - $400
Korg EA-1 - $130
CR-68 - $100
Roland Mc808 - $750
Acidlab Bassline - $500
Monomachine - $1500
Korg KP3 -$400
Machinedrum UW - $2100 (inlcuding the nasty $450 import tax suprise, that I didn't get with the Monomachine for some reason)


$7050

Pedals/Software/others:

can't remember them all, but I think I've owned some 15 different pedals, average cost something like $50 = $750
Reaper - $50
cable mess - $200-ish?
Korg Zero mixer ($500)
NI Audio Kontrol ($300)
Soundcraft 10 Mixer ($350) (selling after I move house)


so, total spent comes out at $9200 over the last 5 years

Sold:

Microkorg - $600 ca (the benefit of living here)
Korg ER+EA - $250
Mc-808 - $900 (yes, I sold with profit)
Mess of pedals, sold for about the same I spent = roughly $750


so, gained $2500 from re-selling stuff.

making it a total spent of ca $6700, an average of a little over $1100 per year. I can live with that, as a 25 year old, part-time working, full time student

[TrondC]

sub total $3180

cables, cases, gigbags, dust covers, de-oxit, gaff tape, desk, hours spent degumming and cleaning the gear I own, and hooking everything up in an intelligent manner...
>$100,000

net total - $103,180

not bad for a 25 year old, jobless college student.

so, your gear is only worth roughly 3% of all the money you've spent on gear? sure you don't mean $ ten thousand instead of $ hundred thousand?

[Umbe78]

what I had (prices are in euro except where are in old Italian Lire (1936,27 Lire = 1 €)

JV1010 bought at 150 sold at 150 =
Fenix les paul bought at 900.000 Lire sold at 230 -
Park by Marshall 30 Watt bought at 400.000 Lire sold at 150 € -
tr707 bought at 120 sold at 150 +
dxt IID bought at 200 sold at 250 +
akai s1100 0 € + 20 repair sold at 100 ++
old Hoshino drums bought at 310 + 200 of hi hat sold at 400 -
about 7 guitar pedals bought used (except 2) at ~400 (some in Lire) sold all at ~220/250 -
nordlead 2 bought at 600 sold at 560 -
jp8000 bought at ~700 sold at 460 !!! --
xstation bought at 600 sold at 360 !!! --
korg ds10 bought at 40 sold at 25 -
electronic instruments 2xt bought at 99 sold at 33 -
dr660 ???? I dont remember but I had a loss -
MC303 same as dr660 -
edirol PCR A30 same as above -
farfisa synthorchestra 50.000 lire sold at 50 € +
siel dk80 50.000 lire sold at 50 € +
electribe es1 bought 150 sold at 180 +
sh101 bought 440 sold at 450 +
sh2 bought at 450 sold at 550 ++

I think I wrote it all

actual loss = Approximately 800€ + losses of dr660, mc303 e PCRa30 (about 150€),-950€ having nothing!



what I have now

ableton suite 279+279
nord electro 2 800
virus ti snow 750
mono evolver 730
hs50m 280 €
touchpad 180 €
monomachine keyboard 1000
machinedrum 700
gibson sg 999
yamaha fgx 400
jupiter4 650 + 70 (repair)
absynth 4 99
guitar rig 3 + rig kontrol 99+99+249
whammy wh1 250.000 lire (now valued 400€)
marshall JCM900 500

8293 €


my total loss is about 9250 € in 10 years (since when I started to work)

[Christopher Winkels]

Somewhere in the neighbourhood of $27,000.

Granted that's over about 20 years (albeit with a five year gap int he middle where I bought nothing). Cheaper than a coke habit though, and probably somewhat healthier too.