1. [About Demand and eBay values]They ALWAYS go hand in hand IMO.
I've never been stupid about eBay, and I appreciate it versus the
days when I had to scour the want ads in the Milwaukee newspaper
praying a Minimoog or Clavinet would come up, and I understand you
may have to pay market value PLUS some delta to outbid the other
saps out there; it's the nature of the beast.
2. Agreed again about acrylic - maybe it's not such a good Tron
material, certainly not worth such a huge premium IMO. That's for
new machines (although it's cool Markus at least gives you so many
options), and old, where we really don't know enough about this SM
machine (though it's likely it is indeed extremely rare).
OFF TOPIC FURTHER ON POINT #1: I'm 36 and started buying all my
vintage keys in 1989-90 when people were giving them away. Now it's
natural to bitch about having to pay $3000 for a clean Jupiter8 (just
for a random example) - BUT... think about the saps that actually
bought those units new. Not the McCartney's and Stevie Wonder's,
but guys playing the Tiki Room at the Newark Airport Ramada. They
paid up to the equivalent of Corvette to Ferrari money, LITERALLY,
for a single keyboard, that we pay our "toy" budgets for today.
Do we have a right to bitch?
EXAMPLE: I bought a mint CS-80 locally here in Chi off eBay last
Fall. Went to check it out to verify, where the guy first offered
to cancel the auction for $2125 but couldn't get ahold of his friend
whose eBay account he used. Of course, they didn't wind up
cancelling, and it cost me $3575 in the end. But he paid $6900
for it in 1980, and is living in a trailer park 25 years later
(could that be partially as a result?) - do I have a right to
complain?
--- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, Jerry Korb <jkorb@i...> wrote:
>
>
> Jack Younger wrote:
>
> > Hello!
> >
> > Granted, ebay tends to set the value of items, in
> > a way, as does demand, but I guess the two often go
> > hand in hand, so to speak. But the very idea of that
> > particular unit's rarity (1 of only two made, as far
> > as we know, correct me if I'm wrong) can easily
> > justify a 9K tag.
> > However, will it sell for that? Who knows. As
> > far a Markus' clear tron, Acrylic is ridiculously
> > expensive, especially at the thickness required to
> > build a structurally sound cabinet. It's also very
> > difficult to work with. Yes, who the hell would buy
> > one?!? I would, if I had the gimme. Although, after
> > the money invested in my EMI, I might actually come
> > within a grand or two of that, possibly. Ahh...but
> > she's sooo worth it.
> >
> > -Jack Younger -- E4/103S, The Bastard 'Tron
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
-------
>
> Hello Jack and everyone, I worked one summer during
> college at a plastics firm. Acrylic/Plexiglas/Lucite/Perspex,
> whichever you call it , requires diamond wet-saws to cut and
> cooled machining-heads to form,drill, etc. Bonding at corners
> is a similar material to Crazy-Glue (cyanoacrylate), but a special
> gap-filling formula .
>
> By its very nature, acrylic material is NOT friendly to continuous
> movement. Hence the cracks in ClearTron #2 and also reported
> to have occured in Dave Kean's ClearTron #1 (can anyone verify??)
> ....These instruments are suited for display w/o frequent
relocation.
>
> See attached photo of clear Hammond M3 on display at the
> Chicago Museum Of Science and Industry. Look at those curved and
> machined surfaces incl. legs, spindles ,and bench-seat.
> ...I'd hate to even GUESS what that thing cost to produce !
>
> Enjoy the photo ! -- Jerry K (....seeing clearly now....)