Nord User Forum

I was having a conversation in the pub the other day which went along the lines of "if only I hadn't thrown away my Prophet 10 back in 1988, imagine what it would be worth now..." (ok, nobody actually threw away a Prophet, but you get the idea...)

The scary thing is, the newer the gear, the less likely it will be to work in the future.... some reasons:
1960s - The earliest synths were made using discreet components, assembled by hand. If something fails, chances are a good electronics guy can fix it.
1970s - Still mostly discreet components, microprocessor chips appear, but these can be still be replaced today, if you can find one (e.g. CEM, SSM chips)
1980s,- integrated circuits - which means it's no longer possible to repair - you have to source a chip or a replacement circuit board.
1990s - integrated circuits are even smaller and more manufacturer-specific. Software drivers, editors etc. will not run on modern computers.
2000s - combination of the ban on lead solder and the continued shrinking in size of integrated circuits leads to the problem of tin-whiskering, which will kill your gear! http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/apr/03/research.engineering
2010s - by now, some gear actually needs software running on computers (e.g. Nord Modular). In future, the software is no longer supported and the computers and the operating systems they use are obsolete. You can keep an old computer, yes. Did you read about tin-whiskering? Dammit.
Even those people who moved over entirely to software synths (VSTs etc.) will one day find their favbourite synth is no longer supported, and the computers they need are dead.

The moral of the story is: KEEP BUYING NEW GEAR!

Hej Neo!

A very good post. Almost as good as somthing Ricard, Kroffe or Pablo wrote.

Thanks, mate, for the insight!

/Amicalement
Michael in Scania

Very interesting reflection, thank you!

But I respectfully disagree on the conclusions:

neolithic wrote:The moral of the story is: KEEP BUYING NEW GEAR!

The moral may as well be: keep buying vintage gear!!!

It's the only one that, given proper maintenance, will last forever!!!

Agreed... if you have the money!
Someone once told me that owning your own sailboat was like standing under a cold shower while tearing up £50 notes.
I think the same kind of analogy can be adapted to apply to vintage synths - i just couldn't think one up right now...

Boat = hole in the water into which one continually pours money.

Buying vintage usually means being able to sell years later for the same money or more.

Pablo