Published
Sat, Apr 29, 2023, 09:40
- According to the document, some second-hand hardware has jumped 500 percent in price in the past seven years.
Some second-hand audio equipment has jumped in price more than 500 percent over the past seven years, according to a new guide published by online marketplace Reverb.
This is more than four times the growth of the S&P 500 and other major stock markets over the same period. The data appears in Reverb's Guide To Gear, which was published earlier this month.
Compiling data from sales of second-hand synths, drum machines, FX units, mics and guitars, Reverb listed ten common items that have increased in value more than the main US index of stocks. These include the Boss PW-2 Power Driver FX pedal (455 percent) and the Tascam Porta 03 MKII Ministudio (520 percent).
Reverb also presents three-year price data for the vintage synth market and lists dozens of keyboards that have increased in value by more than 50 percent over that period. These include many relatively common and affordable instruments such as a mid-'80s Korg DW-8000, a Roland JX-3P from 1983 and a Yamaha AN1X from 1997.
In that period, the S&P 500 has returned around 24 percent whereas the London stock exchange's FTSE100 has remained almost flat, and the main German index has grown around 15 percent.
"The fact that some old synths are gonna reach cult status is unavoidable," said Sergi Martínez, a DJ and producer from Barcelona. "On the bright side, this love for old-school hardware has pushed manufacturers to come up with both recreations that give musicians the sound and feel of those classic machines, and innovative instruments that push the boundaries of music making technology."
Other vintage audio gear that would have made a better investment than giving your money to bankers include a Korg Kaoss Pad KP-1, a Korg M1 keyboard, Moog's Etherwave Theramins, any Minimoog Model D—vintage or reissue—and almost every old Roland drum machine from the '70s or '80s.
Tony Miln, who works at vintage synth dealers Soundgas, has mixed views. "These are musical instruments that should be used regularly to make music," he told RA. "Vintage synths kept unused as trophy items deteriorate so are less well-suited for investment purposes than some might think."
He added: "But it's not all bad: as prices climb there is more incentive for companies to remanufacture old designs, while companies like Behringer develop low-cost alternatives to expensive originals, and the emulations of classic hardware in software form means we all have the chance to make sounds using vintage synths and drum machines."
For Irish artist Rustal, the hardware is only so important. "Passionate, creative artists will always find a way to get their point across," he said. "They don't particularly need vintage machines to do that. I myself love grooveboxes which are cheap enough and in the right hands are very powerful."
Reverb's Guide To Gear was released to coincide with NAMM, the annual trade show put on by the National Association of Music Merchants in California.