Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Discussion about the Korg PolySix synthesizer

I've noticed a disturbing trend on Craigslist and ebay lately. The asking prices for a working Polysix have skyrocketed to the point where it's starting to make the Jupiter 6 an alternative option.

So far the most outrageous price I've seen is $1200 for a nice looking Polysix with synthwood replacement case (perhaps $200 extra? I've never priced out a synthwood case). Another example was $1050 for a good condition P6 with the midi ARP clock add on (not real midi, and the kit is very inexpensive). Average asking prices seem to be in the $500-1000 territory.

Are we seeing an adjustment of the P6 price based on the number of surviving units after the battery massacres and lack of general interest in Analogs during the 90's? Are we starting to see an appreciation for the P6 sound after years and years of Junos getting all the attention? Are we starting to see a price escalation like the TB-303 because because of collectors and speculators? Is the KLM 367 revival project and a good solution to the keyboard contact problem echoing the solution to the Juno 106 chip problems last year? Could it be that because every other analog seems to be going through the roof the overlooked ones are getting their due (if so, shouldn't the JX-3P, AKAI AX's, Kawai SX's and SCI Sixtrak be getting some love too?). Maybe all of these factors are contributing in some way.

All I know is that it wasn't too long ago when P6's were like hot potatoes. People didn't want them and in some cases gave them away for cheap or free. Not to mention the number of heavily abused units I've seen. We all know how easily the P6 is to cosmetically damage (those darn laminated wood sides) but I've seen some that were so trashed the only way I knew it was P6 was because of the power cord wraps on the back panel. Remember when Johann's full midi option was considered too expensive because it was 3x the price of a P6 (and at that point you were better off with a Jupiter 6)?

I never thought I'd see the day when a Polysix was priced higher than a Mono/Poly. Not bad for what was once called "Poor Man's Prophet 5".