The mothership has landed...GX-1 up for auction

T-John · Post by **T-John** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:26 am

I just saw this, Peter Forrest and the other guys at Vemia have truly hit the jackpot. It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch. Anybody know who this belonged to? It's not Benny Anderssons' dream machine, is it? Could it be the one stuck in outback Australia that you see showing up on ebay once every leap year?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8429881@N0 ... 0282/show/

RJD2, to answer your doubts from another thread, it does have aftertouch (right?) as well as everything else any synthesist/madman/space traveler would ever need. If you're serious about getting that "Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants" sound, buy it and invite me over for some Jim Beam and a sonic trip to the far reaches of our galaxy.

Ezzo · Post by **Ezzo** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:13 am

How many of those were made? five?
I'd love to play Kashmir on one.

sheepmusic · Post by **sheepmusic** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:25 am

outback australia you say?

*becomes a millionaire* *goes on road trip*

realistically, that thing is awesome, its good to see it in a good home.

Post by **Stab Frenzy** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:47 am

It was Yamaha Australia's demo one, a guy in Adelaide bought it in a deceased estate and was trying to flog it for US$250,000 for a while, then US$125,000, then he gave up for a while.

Glad to see it's now going for slightly more reasonable amount, although I still wouldn't be interested even if I had the cash.

I know one VSEr has played it.

Box · Post by **Box** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:58 pm

It looks to be in preety excellent shape. If I won the lottery I'd buy it.

Post by **Psy_Free** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:14 pm

If I won the lottery I'd buy it.

Me too. I'd even consider a second mortgage, if I could keep it secret from the wife.

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 2:30 pm

having never played one of these, i dont really understand the appeal.

gs · Post by gs » Thu Nov 01, 2007 3:25 pm

minime123 wrote:having never played one of these, i dont really understand the appeal.

Having never bitten into an apple, I don't understand why everybody says they taste so juicy and sweet.......

Didn't mean to be sarcastic to you minime. Actually, i'm in total agreement with your attitude here because it applies to me with regard to almost every other expensive vintage synth that gets hyped.

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:12 pm

gs, you're a sarcastic a*s. just kidding

ive played a cs80, and didnt really see the appeal of that, so maybe im closer to having good reason to not see the appeal of the gx1.

i dont know, ive never played 1, and few have. so i think most of the desire is based on its rarity and the fact that a few influential albums had one on them. personally, im happy with my other gear. but ive got some pretty nice other gear.

mini

T-John · Post by **T-John** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:59 pm

Well, apart from the wondrous and weird sounds it's (at least potentially, depending on the player..) possible to coax from the GX-1, to me some of the appeal is the sheer outrageousness of the whole thing. It's both visually and sonically (I presume, having never played one) sort of out of this world. I mean, it looks like a friggin' spaceship! And, of course the fact that it was produced in so few numbers and used by the upper echelon of popular musicians doesn't hurt its appeal either...

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:01 pm

thats what i thought, mostly looks and rarity.

T-John · Post by **T-John** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:06 pm

Yupp, it's not like I'm ever going be able to find one for sale. Let alone afford it if I did. Alas, it's an impossible dream! But they can still be entertaining...

Bill Wolfer · Post by **Bill Wolfer** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:20 pm

I actually got to play Stevie Wonder's GX1 for about an hour in the early eighties. The thing is mighty and awesome. Thinking about it makes me glad I kept my CS80, the next best thing.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:44 pm

It does sound very very good on most of the recordings it was used on though.

On a side note, I read in an old contemporary keyboard that Keith Emerson had his GX-1 modified with a third oscillator bank 'cause, believe it or not, he thought the sound wasn't thick enough! In the same article Keith says he's had problems with the tuning while recording so his keyboard tech added some sort of auto-tune system to his GX-1 for the upcoming 1977 tour.

Anyhow, here are my favorite GX-1 albums, all done by the brilliant Rick Van Der Linden (RIP):

GX-1 (1977)

Night Of Doom (movie soundtrack, 1978)

Wild Connections (1979)

acmesoundlab · Post by **acmesoundlab** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:43 pm

Ever since I first heard Led Zeps "Carouselambra", I've always thought the GX-1 was the coolest synth ever!