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Author Topic: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?  (Read 7763 times)

Marc Platt

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used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« on: December 20, 2012, 04:22:09 AM »

Just saw a member post a link to his No res ebay listing  for his soundcraft series 2 32ch with case and 2 psu's and when i checked it out it already ended at $670
 Man, thats it.? Seems like the market is going digital faster and faster and I am left to wonder.
  Will all our old analog gear depreciate more and more each day until it essentially has no market, or is this stuff going to hit a low point for another 15-20yrs then skyrocket when everyone decides the analog sound to be superior in some way at which point we all tell stories about all the stuff we pawned off for pennies while "upgrading" to digital, and how much that stuff would be worth if we'd kept it.
  Like the tube to solid state transition.
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Tim Tyler

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2012, 12:24:53 PM »

I suppose the resurrection of the analog consoles will come shortly after the hand crank adding machines...

Merry Christmas,

-Tim T
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Geoff Doane

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2012, 12:25:30 PM »

It's difficult to predict the future, but perhaps looking at other technology that has already gone through the "analog to digital" transition might give some clues.

The most relevant for us might be studio recording technology (not the consoles).  Big 2" analog recorders have already dipped in price and have made a slight resurgence, I think.  But they are far less common today than they were 15 years ago, and now only appeal to a niche market that can afford to keep them running and is willing to put up with their foibles.

The other interesting factor is the value of similar vintage digital tape machines.  I recall seeing a Sony PCM-3348 listed on eBay a few years back that had a "buy it now" price of $1500.  This is a recorder that originally sold for a quarter million dollars!  At the other end of the digital tape scale, ADATS and DA-88s are almost impossible to give away (I've tried!).

GTD
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Marc Platt

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2012, 12:36:35 PM »

I suppose the resurrection of the analog consoles will come shortly after the hand crank adding machines...

Merry Christmas,

-Tim T
Or the people who knew how to actually add
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Gary Green

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2012, 11:20:43 PM »

  Will all our old analog gear depreciate more and more each day until it essentially has no market, or is this stuff going to hit a low point for another 15-20yrs then skyrocket when everyone decides the analog sound to be superior in some way at which point we all tell stories about all the stuff we pawned off for pennies while "upgrading" to digital, and how much that stuff would be worth if we'd kept it.
  Like the tube to solid state transition.
I literally have this same thought every day while I try to figure out what to do next.  Sitting on an MH3, ML4000. some APBs and a handful of sub 10k digitalis I struggle with the when to sell/ buy / upgrade question constantly . I still see the random No Digital rider and I am perfectly happy with the analog I have, but I don't want "give"the stuff away in the attempt to recoup my investment.
My guess is I will ride it out seeing I missed the sell date on what I have and hope for the best - which is maybe some sort of turnaround.
There was a time when a local surplus auction site could not give away pallets of early Apples  computers . Now I understand those  complete systems bring a fair amount of $ for the collector.
Will these large format analogs see the same fate or become not even worth the cost of storage?
If I had to move them constantly I might have a different perspective, but they stay on site and its no huge deal to strike for shows I need to....I don't feel hopeful....and then there is the investment in outboard.....now I am really depressed..
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Bob Leonard

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2012, 12:21:08 AM »

Not a tube to solid state transition at all but more of a transition to feature ladin single box solutions. Everything in one box for many people is the answer, but not for everyone or every purpose. In my case an APB fills the bill for the board, but a dbx 4800 sits under it, which in some ways works for me better than a full digital solution.

Yes, the value of many older boards will fall but not strictly because they're analog, but more because they have lived out their life. Like a car, just because it's old doesn't mean it's worth a lot, digital or analog.
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John Roberts {JR}

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2012, 09:36:27 AM »

FWIW in a bit of an apples and oranges thing, old digital will probably age less gracefully than old analog, as old digital gets replaced with newer-better-cheaper digital, but the increasing feature content in digital desks will continue to grow in desirability and acceptance challenging analog competitiveness.

As usual individual customers will vary based on their personal experience and preferences. Digital is no longer new and exotic, and quickly not as expensive as it was in the past.

I am glad that I don't have a pony in this race.

JR (Old analog dog now using digital in designs).
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Scott Wagner

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2012, 10:14:21 AM »

Right now it's a buyer's market.  As the economy picks up I see a resurgence of boutique analog gear.  The reality is that, even with ultra-desirable gear (Neve and API pres, LA2, etc), the demand is low.  As more disposable income becomes available, those boutique pieces will fetch larger sums.  Of course, being analog doesn't make a piece desirable - being desirable does.  As Bob pointed out, the value of older analog desks are based more upon the fact that they've been depreciated - $20k for an H3000 seems entirely reasonable.
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TJ (Tom) Cornish

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2012, 10:26:04 AM »

Right now it's a buyer's market.  As the economy picks up I see a resurgence of boutique analog gear.  The reality is that, even with ultra-desirable gear (Neve and API pres, LA2, etc), the demand is low.  As more disposable income becomes available, those boutique pieces will fetch larger sums.  Of course, being analog doesn't make a piece desirable - being desirable does.  As Bob pointed out, the value of older analog desks are based more upon the fact that they've been depreciated - $20k for an H3000 seems entirely reasonable.
To amplify your point - very little analog gear will likely fit the description of "boutique", and have any chance of appreciating from it's current value.  PM4Ks, MH3s, even a lot of the Midas stuff won't likely qualify, and definitely none of the lounge-level stuff.
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2012, 10:42:54 AM »

To amplify your point - very little analog gear will likely fit the description of "boutique", and have any chance of appreciating from it's current value.  PM4Ks, MH3s, even a lot of the Midas stuff won't likely qualify, and definitely none of the lounge-level stuff.

We've sold off most of our A rig analog processing: the BSS comps and gates, dbx & BSS eqs, Yamaha fx.  Can't sell a PM4000, and we have a pair.

At Logic Systems in St. Louis, they gave a DDA mixer a big send off rather than ship it for a "trade in".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLzlfs7_lfU

I was thinking of a more Teutonic finale, but we've not had enough rain to float a cremation barge...
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Scott Helmke

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2012, 10:47:24 AM »

Yes, the value of many older boards will fall but not strictly because they're analog, but more because they have lived out their life. Like a car, just because it's old doesn't mean it's worth a lot, digital or analog.

Which is just what I keep seeing as a repair tech - you can get a big analog console pretty cheap, but you're going to have to start replacing pots, faders, switches... not really saving money at all unless you enjoy doing your own work on them.  Professional venues that still have an analog console in play are nursing them along until they can budget for a digital console.
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Vinny DAgostino

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #11 on: December 21, 2012, 11:45:08 AM »

I find it doesn't matter what Pro Audio gear it is you are trying to sell, nothing has a great resale value these days.
It is a buyers market for sure...just check the Marketplace!
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Mark Gensman

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2012, 02:28:59 PM »

Digital is no different than analogue as far as resale goes. The prices for Tascam digital mixers, Yamaha O1V, etc. have gone down as much as prices for analogue consoles.

Analogue doesn't suffer from the major problem with digital. Software upgrades, outdated operating system, etc.

For example, I have a Soundcraft digital console that sold originally for $5,500. I bought it for $800. Just because it's digital is no guarantee of holding it's value.
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Scott Helmke

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2012, 06:25:48 PM »

Analogue doesn't suffer from the major problem with digital. Software upgrades, outdated operating system, etc.

Digital doesn't suffer from the major problem with analog.  Noisy pots, switches, etc.   ;)

(cheaper to replace a dozen encoders, which don't tend to get noisy in the first place, than to replace a hundred pots)
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Mac Kerr

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2012, 07:29:26 PM »

Digital doesn't suffer from the major problem with analog.  Noisy pots, switches, etc.   ;)

(cheaper to replace a dozen encoders, which don't tend to get noisy in the first place, than to replace a hundred pots)

Amen.

Mac
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Stu McDoniel

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2012, 07:48:31 PM »

We've sold off most of our A rig analog processing: the BSS comps and gates, dbx & BSS eqs, Yamaha fx.  Can't sell a PM4000, and we have a pair.

At Logic Systems in St. Louis, they gave a DDA mixer a big send off rather than ship it for a "trade in".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLzlfs7_lfU

I was thinking of a more Teutonic finale, but we've not had enough rain to float a cremation barge...
Stones are using two PM4000s on FOH with Clair.   How great is that!
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2012, 09:07:20 PM »

Stones are using two PM4000s on FOH with Clair.   How great is that!

Dave Natale owns at least one of those PM4000s.  He's been carrying his personal console with the Stones for as long as I can remember.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: used Analog gear prices falling and falling, but for how long?
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2012, 09:07:20 PM »


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