Oberheim OBX 4 voice/MIDI/Patch 96 sell or keep?

[iGirl]

I have just been reunited with my old OBX which had been lost for YEARS by a notorious L.A. repair shop.

It is still in need of some minor repairs (auto tune not working currently, and if wanted, key contacts - though with MIDI not necessary) but is working just fine according to the tech who found it! It was also in excellent condition cosmetically when I handed it off to them...hopefully still is!

 

I talked to one vintage synth dealer about selling it to them, but I have no real clue what the actual value of these are these days and don't want to get taken advantage of.

 

It has the Hi-Tech MIDI kit installed, as well as Jim Cooper's JLC Patch 96 - giving you 3 banks of 32 programs extra.

It was purchased new by me in 1980...though it could be a 1979 version - all I know is it was one of the first ones to hit the stores in my area back then.

 

So the inevitable question - what's it worth????

 

I'll add it to the "For Sale" classified area if I decide to let it go - maybe even go to eBay - still unsure as to fix and keep, or let it go... I don't play any more...I was holding on to it for my kids but one is already off to Berklee and the other is a drummer.

 

Karen

 

karen@karenengel.com - email

http://www.karenengelphotography.com - website

[tspit74]

Hard to say what it's worth. If it was all working great and had just been calibrated by a reputable tech, you could get top dollar. When something is broken and hasn't been fired up in a number of years, it's value gets murky. Nobody likes paying a lot for something that needs repair to be enjoyed. Somebody who knows what they're doing might be able to fix it cheap. Since you're not that person, you're at the mercy of owning a diamond in the rough (with emphasis on rough). The number of reputable techs who fix these things isn't great. They typically are extremely busy and don't work cheap. Deduct that from your asking price and it may not be worth anything. Somebody has to want an Oberheim more than they want the money. It's a lot of work buying something broken, getting it repaired, and then figuring out if the whole process was worth it. Personally, unless the person owning it was my neighbor or friend and gave it to me cheap cheap cheap, I'd avoid it.

 

Have you looked for anyone locally to fix it? If you can get it fixed and working great, you could charge a good premium. "Just fully serviced by a qualified tech and guaranteed to work flawlessly" carries a lot of weight when selling such a nice synth. Fully functional, it's one of the most desirable synths ut there. Broken, not so much.

 

Good luck. I'd love a real Oberheim someday.

[iGirl]

Thanks for this - so maybe I just bite the bullet and get it fixed. The tech that found it says emphatically "it's worth a lot" - and - "it's worth fixing". And he is one of the few guys who can actually do it right - one of the top guys from L.A. through the 70s-90s. It is currently in his possession and all he wants is an answer - ship it as is - or fix it?

 

So I guess in lieu of finding a buyer who can do the fixing themselves, I'll soon be getting it fully serviced and back in top notch shape...then probably looking to sell it to someone who will appreciate it as much as I did!

 

Let me just ask one more thing then. Same question only rephrased. LOL What would this one sell for on average, in fully working rebuilt condition? :-)

Very clean 4 voice, Patch 96 & MIDI.

[stikygum]

The tech lost it What kind of tech is that. Isn't there some recourse for losing something that you commission them to fix?

 

Anyways, you can always sell it not working, but you'd get more for it if you fix it and sell it working (net the repair costs as long as its not outrageous).

[Rangoon]

Look on VSE for my response...

[clusterchord]

fix it. buy a few voicecards on ebay, to expand it to 6 voice, or even 8 voice.

 

 

and you have one of the best, biggest sounding analog polyphonics ever made.

 

 

unless you run into a finantial life or death crisis, i'd keep it.

 

 

 

i originally bought a 6-voice that needed minor work, got it fixed at Greg Montalbano. then installed an Encore midi. and after a while finally bought another two voices from Wes@analogics. it is a limited machine, but for meat-n-potatoes analog sounds - polysynths, strings, pwm, pads, leads... its HUGE. imo only a handful of polyanalogs ever produced, have sucha rich, organic sound - OBX, FVS, CS80, SSM P5, JP8 and Chroma.

[iGirl]

The tech lost it What kind of tech is that. Isn't there some recourse for losing something that you commission them to fix?

 

The tech's were great - it's the shop that was evil. LOL They actually used to charge an extra blackmail "rush" fee - otherwise (like me) you got left in limbo. I can only imagine how many thousands of pieces of gear they "lost". Recourse on them would be like trying to sew buttons on ice cream. They are now finally out of business I think...

 

Anyone who played back then in L.A. knows this was just the deal.

[iGirl]

Thanks again everyone, I'm going to get it restored to A1 condition and then decide. It won't be ready until early Feb. or so. Meanwhile if anyone is interested I will entertain offers if we decide to let it go. I'm also going to be looking for extra voice cards (and the upper tray expansion board) in the mean time.

 

Contact info above. Cheers!

[iGirl]

UPDATE - it's now fully running great in excellent condition.

 

The hard question still remains - what's it worth? I want to sell it but don't want to get ripped off - or overcharge someone either. All I ask is a FAIR market price for both sides of the deal. Again, MIDI, Patch 96, 4 Voice - mostly studio use only - never moved without a case so it's in excellent condition.