Yamaha CS-80 (x2) from Zappa's estate

[stickman393]

http://www.julienslive.com/view-auction ... 3Fpage%3D5

I wonder what the final bid(s) will be, and what state they are in. Someone's dreams are about to come true. Perhaps they are members of this forum.

[Bitexion]

I'm guessing $50k

[Mooger5]

Doubt that even a CS-80 previously owned by Vangelis would reach that sum. They will probably sell for 6000$each to an investor that´ll use Zappa´s name to inflate the prices. Judging by the final bids for other items sold there... Les Paul´s FZ10M and DP4 450$; Greg Hawkes´CZ101 250$; David Cassidy´s OB-X and CE1 didn´t sell...
No signs of the Synclavier system, wonder what happened to it.

[Bitexion]

Or deadmau5 will buy them for some of his pocketmoney ($20k for both?) and use them once on a track.

[ninja6485]

Doubt that even a CS-80 previously owned by Vangelis would reach that sum. They will probably sell for 6000$each to an investor that´ll use Zappa´s name to inflate the prices. Judging by the final bids for other items sold there... Les Paul´s FZ10M and DP4 450$; Greg Hawkes´CZ101 250$; David Cassidy´s OB-X and CE1 didn´t sell...
No signs of the Synclavier system, wonder what happened to it.

6000$USD? Did the CS80 recently drop in price for some reason? ...Or are the zappas known to bebroken? Even a normal one would go for twice that afaik

[Mooger5]

6000$ may seem conservative, but 12000$ is for a CS-80 advertised on Ebay and it better be in good shape. I wonder how many of those are actually sold

[Mooger5]

And the name of the late owners isn´t doing much justice at those auctions. Les Paul was a genius having invented the solid body electric guitar and the sound on sound and multitrack recording techniques. Any piece of gear used by him, although not a Gibson, should deserve better than 450$.

[Zamise]

Looks like it is missing the top left slider cap... forget it.

[ppg_wavecomputer]

I used to believe that Zappa's CS80 was sold by Gail at some point, reputedly for less than a thousand US$ .

Anyway, this one looks as if it had been dropped onto its right-hand side. Closer inspection of the innards before placing a bid seems recommended:

http://www.julienslive.com/view-auction ... 3Fpage%3D5

10,000 to 12,500 US$ a piece doesn't seem to be completely unrealistic. Jimmy Page's unfathomably ugly MIDI guitar has fetched a mere 16 Grand.

Stephen

[madtheory]

Anyway, this one looks as if it had been dropped onto its right-hand side. Closer inspection of the innards before placing a bid seems recommended

Well spotted! That's a very very odd bit of damage though, completely isolated to the mains switch. If it had been dropped, I would expect more damage, but the tolex is not even scratched.

[ppg_wavecomputer]

Something might have been dropped onto it (or something heavy has been placed there, exerting pressure for an extended period of time). Seems unlikely to me that just the bolt that keeps the end-piece in place has got lost. You can also see parts of the keybed which has apparently disappeared inside the control panel (at least partly) , this is what is worrying me most. The lid with the controls on it doesn't seem to close properly either (there seems to be a gap on the right-hand side).

Potential buyers might want to buy both units and make one perfect one out of these two.

Stephen

[Mooger5]

Notice the damaged one has Moog pitchbend and modulation wheels. In place of the Ring Modulator, I think. How much does that decrease the value?

[madtheory]

I missed that too. Seems a bit mental. Second guessing the original design. Definitely devalues it. Why does a CS-80 need pitch and mod wheels when it's got the best ribbon controller ever? And poly aftertouch?

[Mooger5]

Looking closer they didn´t remove the RM, they just moved it up, next to the ribbon. So the wheels are more like an add-on. Probably more practical in certain live situations. It´s a "player´s instrument" rather than a museum piece or something to show off to your friends. More functional here will just mean less collectable.

[ninja6485]

I'm seeing a completed listing on ebay for a CS-80 that sold for $15,500. In the past they've tended to sell for 5 figures also. Celebrity owned gear usually helps the value of instruments. In light of these points, it would be very surprising if these sold for as low as $6,000, unless they were in very, very poor shape.