Money to Burn....

A little while back, I wrote a post about vintage synths you could pick up for a song and a dance on eBay. A lot of you seemed to enjoy that one, so I thought it might be fun to look at the opposite end of the spectrum - those vintage synths that are positively stratospheric in price. Sure, these are well out of reach for most of us mere mortals, but it can be fun to dream, right? I generally avoided some of the big modulars and super-boutique-y stuff like Buchla's on purpose, but if you see something you feel I missed, by all means add it to the comments.

PPG Wave 2.3 - Approximately $4,500

Undoubtedly one of the more unique-sounding synths on the list, the PPG Wave laid the foundation for what would eventually become Waldorf's Microwave and Blofeld series of synths. What made it unique among the other digital synths from the early to mid 80's was that it used modulatable wavetables instead of static oscillators which allowed for unique sounds that evolved in interesting ways. The PPG Wave was favored by many 80's artists such as the Fixx and Depeche Mode, but the units are notoriously unreliable, so if you are looking for one, it's probably best for you to try it out in person. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Waldorf's similarly named Wave, which often goes for some pretty top shelf prices itself.

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Crumar Spirit - Approximately $2,000-$5,000

This 2 VCO monosynth is notable mainly because of the involvement of Bob Moog along with Tom Rhea and Jim Scott in the design. The quality of sounds it produces has been the topic of a lot of internet debate (though honestly, what HASN'T?), but it is remarkably well-equipped in terms of features including oscillator sync, ring mod, multi-mode filters with switchable slopes, an arpeggiator, and audio input for processing external sounds. Prices on this are a bit hard to nail down. There seems to be quite a bit of disconnect between asking prices and the prices they actually get, thus the big range of prices listed above.

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Moog Memorymoog - $5,500

As the last synth Bob Moog designed for Moog in its original incarnation, the Memorymoog was a hell of a note to go out on! It shared much of the same architecture as the famous Minimoog, but used different chips, so sounded different, although still unmistakably "Moog". Additionally, it was 6 note polyphonic and, as the name suggests, you could actually store patches on it (a version called the Memorymoog+ could also be retrofitted for MIDI). Those 6 voices could also be stacked in a massive-sounding unison mode. Its sound wasn't the only thing massive about it, though. This thing is about the size and weight of a Sherman tank. I don't know if if there are reliability issues with this in general, but the only ones I've ever seen in person have been non-functional. This may have more to do with user modifications than the original build, but the usual caveat to check out any vintage synths before making the plunge applies. Probably most famously used by Larry Fast (Peter Gabriel's old keyboard player) and the Cars.

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Synton Syrinx - $5,500

Synton was a relatively short-lived Dutch company that produced electronic instruments, the most famous of which was probably the Syrinx. Even so, only a couple hundred were ever made, so its price is largely due to its scarcity. With 2 VCO's, extremely flexible filters, oscillator sync, FM, PWM, and a very unique touchpad replacing the traditional mod wheel, the Syrinx has plenty to make it appealing regardless of how rare it is. (And if you are looking for something REALLY rare, a handful of red colored Syrinx's were made).

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Yamaha DX-1 - Approximately $6,000

Have you ever said to yourself, "I like the DX-7, but I wish it weighed 200 pounds"? Okay, that's not really fair. The DX-1 was based around 2 6-operator FM synths that could be split and layered for much more complex sounds. The DX-1 also featured elegant wood paneling, weighted keys with polyphonic aftertouch, and actual buttons instead of the flakey membrane buttons favored by the later DX series, but perhaps the biggest advantage it afforded was in all the additional parameter displays it offered which can help make the sometimes vexing process of programming an FM synth a bit more enjoyable.

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ARP 2600 - Approximately $6,000-$7,000

The ARP 2600 is one of those 'holy grail' synths that is often spoken of with the sort of hushed reverence normally reserved for royalty - and with good reason. The ARP 2600 took some of the mystery out of modular programming by having all the modules pre-wired and programmable right from the get-go. You'd be missing out on a lot of the machine's capabilities, though, as the patch panel allows you to re-wire connections between modules to open up mind-boggling new sonic possibilities. 3 VCO's, noise source, 24db lowpass filter, ring modulator, sample and hold, and even a built-in spring reverb give the 2600 a thick, complex tone a step above most other synths from the same time period. Depeche Mode's favorite synth... what more do you need to say?

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Yamaha CS-80 - Approximately $8,000+

Looking more like an organ than an analog polysynth, the CS-80 is probably best known as one of Vangelis' weapons of choice during the height of his career. If you want to hear a good demo for the synth, check out his soundtrack for the sci-fi classic "Blade Runner" which is filled to the bursting point with CS-80. Its dual VCO architecture was 8 voice polyphonic and featured patch memories, which was quite a feat in 1976 when it first hit the market. It has wonderfully rich, detailed filters, but wasn't terribly snappy in the envelope department, so it mainly saw duty for pads, brass, and string which it was absolutely brilliant for. Nothing else sounds quite like it.

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Gleeman Pentaphonic - Approximately $7,500

Another synth whose price is mainly a function of its rarity, this 5-voice polysynth featured 3 stable DCO's sent through an analog filter and an overall relatively simple architecture. The Pentaphonic came in both a black version and a rarer clear version, but over all, only about 50 are rumored to have ever been built which definitely makes it extremely appealing to collectors.

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EMS VC3 - Approximately $8,000+

The VC3 is definitely one of those 'status symbol' synths. Sure, a lot of this has to do with the asking price, but with famous users including luminaries such as Pink Floyd and Jean Michel-Jarre, one has to assume it has much to recommend it. Introduced in the late 60's, the VC3 packed modular features in a relatively small space and utilized a unique pin matrix system for signal routing instead of the traditional patch cable jungle. What makes the VC3 so appealing is how unapologetically weird it is. In fact, many would argue that the VC3 really isn't that well-suited for what one might consider traditionally 'musical' purposes, Where it excels are in wild, otherworldly sci-fi sounds (it was used heavily on the television show Dr. Who back in the day) that would be difficult to achieve on machines lacking the VC3's programming depth. Not for everyone, to be sure, but if you want to impress the hell out of your geekier synth friends, very few machines will do it more than this.

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ARP 2500 - Approximately $15,000+

If a "mere" 2600 doesn't get you all excited in the pants, then perhaps the 2500 is more your speed (although the 2600 is actually much better-equipped). This was ARP's first product, and boy, was it a doozy. The massive cabinet (or cabinets if you bought the expansion modules) housed all the modules in the middle with all routing done via EMS-like pin matrices. So if it has less features than a 2600 why is it so much more expensive? Once again, scarcity. Only about 100 are rumored to have been made. (And its appearance as the synth used to communicate with aliens in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" I suppose makes it a movie-star, too...)

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Yamaha GX-1 - $50,000+

There's a lot of folklore about the GX-1 which makes it hard to know for sure approximately how many were made, but most sensible estimates seem to be in the neighborhood of 50 - 200. This surprises me because I've actually seen one of these beasts in person. When my band was on tour in Europe many years ago, we were walking around Hamburg and soaking in all the pre-Christmas ambience when we heard loud, electronic versions of Christmas carols echoing off the buildings. We tracked the source down to a sort of smarmy lounge lizard type surrounded by analog synths happily playing away. And there, at the center of everything was a GX-1. I thought for sure I had to be hallucinating - after all, who in their right mind brings something that expensive and rare OUTSIDE in the middle of winter? Apparently, this guy. A closer look confirmed that it was indeed a GX-1 and not a home organ (which, with its multiple keyboards and organ like design, the GX-1 could easily be confused for). Sonically, this machine is dwarfed by the significantly smaller CS-80 (note: that is probably the only time you will ever hear the words "CS-80" and "significantly smaller" next to one another in a sentence), but if you absolutely want to flaunt what a big, rich jerk you are, it's touch to top this one. : )

Look for one on Ebay...