[sdiy] Holy price tags, Batman!

[Tim Parkhurst]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: john mahoney [mailto:jmahoney at gate.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2003 8:29 PM
> To: Tim Parkhurst; synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] Holy price tags, Batman!
> > I see people
> > listing Odysseys for $1500 and Minis for $3000 and they're either
> thinking
> > the same way, or they've stopped taking their medication...
> 
> I concur, sir! But if Minimoogs get $1500 and up, why do Odysseys rarely
> fetch $600?
> --
> john

Well, as much as I love the flexibility and sound of ARP gear, I have to
admit that they're not as well constructed as Moog equipment. The Mini uses
much better quality pots and switches (I hate those damn ARP sliders when
they start to get scratchy, and they're getting scarce as hens teeth). The
case construction is VERY different between an Ody and a Mini, and the
Mini's keyboard has much nicer 'wiping' contacts which help keep them
cleaner. Basically, the Ody is a much easier design to mass produce, and the
Mini is more like a 'hand built' piece. I know that many, many Minis were
pumped out by Moog, but speaking purely from a mechanical/manufacturing
standpoint, the Ody design is much more 'mass-production friendly.' This
'hand built' feel I think is a big part of the reason Minis fetch more on
the used market, and this feeling carries itself over to other Moog
equipment (that may or may not deserve the same 'aura' of quality). I think
used Rogues, Prodigys and MG-1s fetching close to $500 or $600 is completely
silly, but people see them as a cheap Minimoog and so that makes them more
desirable.

And of course, the Mini does have a distinctive sound. I can get just as
many (maybe even more) musically useful noises out of an Odyssey, but even I
have to admit, it doesn't sound the same as a Mini.


Tim Servo

"Our doubts are traitors,
 And make us lose the good we oft might win
 By fearing to attempt." 
-William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure



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