[sdiy] Into the future (was Old Age and Synth-DIYers)

[Scott Stites]

Hi Nate,

I've actually thought about this and even discussed it with my brothers a month or so ago.  The last thing I want is the synth going up for sale upon my demise - it could never be sold for the money/time I've invested.  I want to keep it in the family as some sort of mystical heirloom.  Sort of like, in fifty years or so, it'll be "We don't know what that contraption is, but Great Grandpa Stites sure spent a lot of time on it".  

I build with an eye to the future - I'm taking into account the sure demise of DIP components and buying accordingly.  I've drafted manuals and plan on putting everything to schematic in one big binder.

And, I hope to build a link to the future through my son, who's only five years old now.  I don't plan on cramming it down his throat, but I work on sparking his interest in it.  I ask his opinion about sounds I come up with, and he is my 'la-bohr-a-tory' assistant (and not too bad, considering his age).  I've got Ray Wilson's Soundlab mini-synth (still unbuilt) that I plan to pass on to him if he shows interest and he's of age.  I also will let him do his thing on the main synth - I'll encourage it.

He's already developing a fairly keen sense of EM.  A while back, I was listening to some Tangerine Dream.  He walked in and said "Daddy, that synthesizer sounds like yours, only that one makes music."  Doh!  Why you little......

Take care,
Scott


-----Original Message-----
From: nN AAt     e     e <timexheater at comcast.net>
Sent: Jun 7, 2004 3:38 AM
To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
Subject: [sdiy] Old Age and Synth-DIYers

    a little over a month ago, i turned eighteen. so relative to me, some of
the regulars on this list [while i wouldn't say too old], are getting to be
[or are] for the most part, over the hill... admit it, you know you are :P

    i was curious... have anyone here ever thought about what you would want
your family to do with all of your synthesizers and equipment after you have
passed away?

    i know my older brother said that if anything had ever happened to him,
he would want his more valuable comic books [full Marvel Secret Wars run and
full set of figures, some Uncanny X-Men origin issues... all good
condition], to go to his boss [who is also a good friend of his] at the
comic book store he works at, and then sold or given to someone who would
appreciate them like he did, not an overly serious collector that would lock
everything up. the person should be a fan, not someone who just wants to
trade and trade until he has the rarest item.

    i think i probably feel the same way about my synthesizers and
guitars... while i own far from highly valuable equipment, for some of my
gear there is just too much sentimental value to let my family ever sell
them to a collector. i am almost afraid that if something ever happened to
me, my family would bring things of mine to a source i would find
detestable, or just throw them away...
    the same which has happened to many synthesizers, the same reason why
people will occasionally find something such as an ARP2600 or minimoog in
the garbage. my father does estate sales as part of his business, and pretty
frequently the children of the deceased houseowner will tell him to throw
away something that he quickly recognizes as valuable, and sometimes there
will be property not in the will that is still highly valuable but never
mentioned.

    would you feel safe leaving to you kids your homebuilt synthesizers,
which almost like your kids in themselves! me and my father have very
different interests, his are woodworking, while mine are synthworking, but i
still appreciate and understand woodworking and its terms enough to carry on
his bussiness after a few classes if he ever left it to me. on the other
hand, i don't think anyone in my family would be able to tell you what any
of my instruments are possibly worth. my own mother, the one who the credit
card that ordered my Akai MPC-1000 belongs to, wouldn't be able to point it
out in a lineup. i doubt even my uncle who is the over serious/bluegrass
purist/instrument collector archetype would even bother with them, and he
got upset over a lost battery compartment door for a twelve dollar tuner.

    so i guess the real question is, how would you TRUST leaving the
synthesizers you have built with? if you don't have family that would
appreciate them as you do, would you have them sent to someone who could be
considered a peer, such as one of the other seasoned members of the list
that you trust? or even someone who could be considered an 'up and comer',
someone who could actually use them to gain knowledge to follow in your [as
well as many other designers] footsteps? or would you just have them be sold
off to the highest bidder?

but i really don't want anyone here to die.
maybe certain types of people on AH and The Garage [i mean, who doesn't?],
but definitely none here.

- nate
... and like everyone else, wouldn't mind a long lost distant uncle to leave
him a large sum of money... and possibly an ARP2600 or Serge system for good
measure.




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