How far out of your way have you gone to get a synth?

bhrama · Post by **bhrama** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:36 pm

Drove 6 hours round trip in a nutty a*s freezing rain/blizzard for my Fender Rhodes. The highway was so bad they shut it down, insane trip but I still have her and won't part ways ever.

Post by **tomorrowstops** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:46 pm

Drove 5.5 hours to NYC in a nasty snow storm to pick up a DX7. The drive back was even worse. I didn't even end up keeping it for more than a couple months!

plikestechno · Post by **plikestechno** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:13 am

About four hours round trip to get a Juno 60, MD-8 and Casio CZ-101 for $120.

I'd been praying to the Juno 60 gods for a couple of years and then it happened. Will never forget driving out of town on brutal icy roads to get that thing. Luckily it came with the original road case as well.

Have made lots of trips an hour or two out of town for stuff that's been worth it.

vinyl_junkie · Post by **vinyl_junkie** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:52 am

Sir Ruff wrote:
Herbs_and_Spices wrote:Just started collecting synths, and wanted to start by getting some classics. I live on the South coast of England, and found a DX7 for a reasonable price (£140), collection only, about 200 miles North!

In the end, I made my friend, who was heading back up North to uni make a detour to pick it up for me. I then made arrangements to go and visit him for a weekend a few weeks later, and would pick up the synth and take it back to my uni.
Not only does that not sound like a price (or synth) worth going out of your way for, surely shipping would have been less than the price of gas (or a train ticket)?

Anyways, I drove 10 hours (there + back) from Chicago to Cleveland for a CS-60 that was pickup only... Worth it in the end, but halfway through I really wondered what the h**l I was doing.

+1

I live in the South East and to be honest you can pick up better bargains than that. I can get a mint DX7 from a shop here for £200 without the a*s hassle of going for a million mile trek picking up a synth that's really far from rare. As to postage, I posted my JX-3P for £7 through my work. I'd say what you paid is just generally what they go for and are worth.. I sure wouldn't pay more than £200 for a DX-7

vinyl_junkie · Post by **vinyl_junkie** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:55 am

Gear has to find me, I don't find it.. That's my theory any way lol

clubbedtodeath · Post by **clubbedtodeath** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:14 am

bhrama wrote:Drove 6 hours round trip in a nutty a*s freezing rain/blizzard for my Fender Rhodes. The highway was so bad they shut it down, insane trip but I still have her and won't part ways ever.

Amen, brother.

I drove 50 miles to get mine, knowing they are rare as hen's teeth in my part of the world. I (somehow) got my Mark 1 Stage 73 down three flights of a tenement stairwell, to drive it back in my somewhat underpowered hatchback through the driving rain. After finally getting up to speed, stopping quickly proved interesting.

rharris07 · Post by **rharris07** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:23 am

5 hours round trip for me - but I picked up a SCI Six-Trak and DrumTrak for $550 total from the original owner. Even came with the original price-tag from the '80s!

theotherleadingbrand · Post by **theotherleadingbrand** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 4:04 am

vinyl_junkie wrote:Gear has to find me, I don't find it.. That's my theory any way lol

Good theory if you ask me. Unless I want something badly and I don't think I'll have another opportunity, I'm not going out of my way. One way or another, fate seems to bring me into contact with what I need.

CZ Rider · Post by **CZ Rider** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 2:43 pm

Drove over 2 hours one way to Long Island NY to pick up my 1969 Moog Modular. No way I was going to risk using a carrier to deliver such a rare and unreplacable instrument. It was a nice ride and was great to meet the seller.
Another time I drove about 2 1/2 hours each way past Baltimore MD to pick up a Synclavier II, complete with flight cases. I drove a small Dodge Daytona hatchback, and pulled the passenger seat out before I left to make the extra room. The seller did not think it would fit, but I had plenty of experience of fitting 20 Lbs. of shite in a 10 Lb. bag. Like playing Tetris.

This was another fragile instrument and I got a great deal since it was one of those pick-up only sales.
Still have both and they work great.

Phollop Willing PA · Post by **Phollop Willing PA** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 2:51 pm

gearfixer wrote:I drove to Wolfville NS from Moncton NB to pick up a ARP Avatar and then on to Halifax to get a Pro DGX and back to Moncton. Two ARPs in one trip it was a good day. It was about 6 hours behind the wheel.

Right in my neighbourhood too. Sounds like my trip from Halifax for the M5. Did you get it from some guy called Mike T. ?

urgetoplay · Post by **urgetoplay** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 3:08 pm

"Well, I think Urgetoplay has me beat, on a slightly larger beast... where is he to chime in?

"

24 hour round trip from phila to chicago for a CS80 through a blizzard....

Met a total stranger in a hotel parking lot, unloaded the beast in an anvil case, slept for 4 hours in the hotel and went home.

Lots of trips from phila to boston ( DX1) , Baltimore area (P5,T8) New york ( voyetra eight) and New Jersey ( Neuron).

Shipping is a risky game between disgruntled workers and sellers who refuse to spend the time and effort on proper packaging. I'd rather spend the gas/toll money and pick it up.
That being said, the best packaging/shipping job ever was from forum member WDW. He picked up an OBX eight voice for me in Cal., took it home double boxed it with multiple bubble wrap/insulation layers and sent it to me. It took nearly half an hour to get it out but it was pristine. I really appreciated the obvious work that went into that effort.

Herbs_and_Spices · Post by **Herbs_and_Spices** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 3:38 pm

urgetoplay wrote:24 hour round trip from phila to chicago for a CS80 through a blizzard.... Met a total stranger in a hotel parking lot, unloaded the beast in an anvil case, slept for 4 hours in the hotel and went home.

That's amazing, what an effort!

I agree with you on shipping as well. Whenever I think about it, I imagine some guy just tossing my package around like a ball. I would much rather meet the seller, inspect the item, bubble wrap and package it and then look after it like a child on the way home

.

omvibes · Post by **omvibes** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 7:16 pm

My kind of thread

Here are some of my stories:

Dragged a Moog Taurus (I took a trolley for it!) across London by public transport (train, underground, bus) once - doesn't sound that amazing, unless you realise the weight of the damn thing.

Recently drove about 3 hours/ 300km each way from where I am at the moment (Budapest, Hungary) to meet a guy from Zagreb, Croatia, at the border between the two countries - that netted me an Arp Pro DGX.

My best story is probably to do with something I sold...while driving from England to Hungary about 18 months ago, I met a Dutch guy at a train station near Eindhoven, Holland, to sell him a Casio AZ1 keytar. He had found out about it through a friend of his in the UK, and we arranged to meet there. He seemed very happy with the purchase! And that was during the same journey that I picked up a Novation X 61 keyboard from a guy close to Dover, UK where I was getting a ship across the Channel. That was quite a journey...

om

Post by **shaft9000** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:57 pm

Phoenix->San Diego for OB-Xa
Phoenix->Denver for JP-8

both drives were around 7-8 hrs each way

Yoozer · Post by **Yoozer** » Sat Nov 05, 2011 10:49 pm

3.5 hours by train to pick up a Virus C rack. It's a small country, though.

How far out of your way have you gone to get a synth?

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