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A Tale of Two Clavs


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I've been wanting a Clav for a while. It's the last piece of gear missing from my collection of "real" instruments I don't have. [spoiler Alert: I still don't have one.]

 

I check CL with an app that lets me check CL in other regions around here and have had zero hits unless you count when some keyboard goes on sale and the Clav sound is in the listing of tones or something.

 

I also check using the Reverb app and I So Wish the location of the post wasn't halfway down the listing. I'm just not going to buy a Clav sight unseen from across the country and deal with the cost of shipping it as well as the risk of it getting damaged in shipping. Just ask Tonysounds. Aussie Chicago had one up there a couple of years ago, he might still have it, but that's a heckuva road trip. That's not to say I haven't been tempted. I have. IIRC it was a good deal.

 

Today Reverb showed a Clav in Austin for $3500. Lots of the listings are that steep, though some are lower, but too far away. I think this one is at Switched On, a shop known there for synths.

 

But what gets me is that there's been another listing for a Clav in Austin. The title of the listing is literally, "Hohner Clavinet D6 Owned By Ray Benson Of Asleep At The Wheel" So I guess that makes it more valuable? Because he wants $4000 for it. I mean, they list it in "fair" condition, and the listing says, "Serial: N/A. 3 dead keys.

 

All items in Ray Benson's Official Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and include a signed Certificate Of Authenticity from Ray Benson."

 

So I should buy this one, right? :rolleyes:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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My various Clavinets which are layers of PhyMod, Samples and Zebra2 HZ sounds so much better than my old D6.

I could never or would never want to play that crappy action again.

 

Totally understand the need for old vintage, but I can tune the velocity curves per layer making mine however I want it.

 

Good luck maybe the value will double in a few years.

I finally sold my vintage mint OBX for 4700 bucks with the original A & S Snakeskin ATA.

I used it for years, sold it and made money.

 

I regret selling my CS80. I couldn"t afford the OBX and XPander without the sale.

Lost my ass on that synth. 6800 new, 2 years later for 3500.

 

Saw a Voyetra 8 Voice on CL for a ridiculous amount of cash. It sold within hours.

Hell my vintage RP562s I modify go within hours on Reverb.

 

 

 

 

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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>$3000 is the going rate now? Wow.

 

I thought 1500 was steep â like, ten years ago.

That"s just nuts.

 

I mean, if it had a whammy bar, maybe... ð¤

 

Nah. ð

 

dB

 

 

 

no one is going to find a Castlebar Clavinet for sale for $US 3000.00. As mentioned in another post, the only compamy making these new is Vintage Vibe, without a CastleBar, and they are dope instruments, albeit expensive.

I actually would like to have a second Clavinet (I have an E7), but cannot afford to do this. It's the same argument about an actual Hammond B3 verses a clone or a virtual piano verses an acoustic piano. People that are able to play the real thing accept no substitute.

 

:nopity:
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My various Clavinets which are layers of PhyMod, Samples and Zebra2 HZ sounds so much better than my old D6.

I could never or would never want to play that crappy action again.

 

Ah, but a Clav isn't a Clav without that loose, superlight action! It's the difference between lightly hacking at it like it's a pair of bongos or something, and having to really lay into itâ¦

 

Although, re: accept no substitute:

 

I do admit to having recorded the old Electro 2 with the default wah and plenty of its delicious internal distortion (why newer Nords don't distort in the same beautiful, brittle way is beyond me) on more than one occasion, despite actually having an E7 set up right there in the studio, and a D6 in the rehearsal space...

"The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk)

The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio

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My various Clavinets ...

 

Sold my Clavinet D6 for 400 bucks, ATA case included,- and it had new strings and hammertips as well as a high level preamp/ line out, faraday cage shielding etc..

It was bulky and I didn´t need anymore for the gigs.

Same w/ the Rhodes pianos ...

Sometimes I regret,- but usually I don´t collect keyboards for the home.

I remember I had 3 Minimoog D on "service rotation", so there were at least 1 or 2 in excellent condition always, but today I use just only one occasionally.

 

All the vintage flagship hardware synths I sold over time ...

So what ?

Times change.

Today I want it compact w/ complex technology so I can get more out of the rig w/ less gear and compared to the past.

 

I really liked the sound of the old gear, but I also like what makes life easier.

For me, it was already an adavntage getting rid of all the stompboxes, tube amp heads and cabs I used for the electromagnetic instruments.

Transport and setup of these things was a nitemare, even for the roadies.

 

So, no, I´d never buy a clav again, also not a Castlebar.

 

A.C.

 

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For the current going rate, we think you"d be better off buying a Vintage Vibe Vibanet. Having said that, Aussie Chicago"s D6 is really. Really nice.

www.dazzjazz.com

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my YouTube is Jazz Organ Bites

1961 A100.Leslie 45 & 122. MAG P-2 Organ. Kawai K300J. Yamaha CP4. Moog Matriarch. KIWI-8P.

 

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I gig with an old D6 fairly often. Never would have been able to afford one on my own (actually, the resale prices you're mentioning are lower than what I recall seeing on Reverb a few years ago, when $4k-$5k seemed the norm), but the father of a couple of my bandmates had retired his from gigging and moved on to lighter keyboards, and said "if you can get it working, you can use it as much as you want." A few years and three or four puzzled techs later, it's in pretty reliable condition.

 

Yeah, it's a pain in the ass. It's heavy, it's noisy, it's fragile, it's temperamental. I broke a couple of strings in the upper register, and getting new ones on is incredibly frustrating. The original preamp on mine is on the fritz (it would just die mid-song) and in lieu of the money for a replacement, my tech wired around it, so the tone switches don't have an effect anymore.

 

But I love it. There's nothing like it. The action, the response, the sound. Playing the real thing made me understand why it's on all those classic funk recordings: it *wants* to be played that way. There are plenty of smaller gigs where I just play the clav on my Nord, and it's great, I have a perfectly good time. But as soon as I lay into the real thing, there's an extra something special, and I can't keep the grin off my face. Plus, the first time I took the D6 out to a gig maybe five years ago, I hit a high note at the end of a solo and floored the wah pedal and got some feedback out of the amp and the whole crowd went "YAY" and I thought "this is why guitarists walk around like they own the place."

 

So I'm hooked. Good luck with your search!

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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For the current going rate, we think you"d be better off buying a Vintage Vibe Vibanet. Having said that, Aussie Chicago"s D6 is really. Really nice.

Yeah, I've considered that. I guess one of my issues is that a few years ago the used Clavs weren't so much. I've been hoping to get lucky I guess. I'd love to talk to Aussie Chicago but I haven't seen him on here much lately (I don't remember his real name, if I ever knew it).

 

I told my wife about the certificate of authenticity for Ray Benson's Clav, and she replied, "that might mean something if it belonged to Stevie Wonder!" :laugh: I said, "right, it makes sense if you buy one of his guitars or mandolins or something like that, but his Clav? Big whoop."

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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I tuned my low F down to E for a while, I had much more use for that. Tuned it back up when I lent it to someone, and just left it that way.

Did you have to rewire your brain to play it that way?

 

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

 

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Hey, sorry to derail this thread with my reference to the Low E.

 

That was water under the bridge, Joe. :wave:

 

Back to the original programming (or pickup setting, as the case may be).

 

 

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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I told my wife about the certificate of authenticity for Ray Benson's Clav, and she replied, "that might mean something if it belonged to Stevie Wonder!" :laugh: I said, "right, it makes sense if you buy one of his guitars or mandolins or something like that, but his Clav? Big whoop."

I had a Hohner Pianet that had purportedly belonged to Leon Russell. Still sounded like shit.

:confused:

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

 

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Did Electro clavs get worse after the Electro2? I"ve had an E4 for years and the clavs don"t draw me in as I SEEM to remember they did on the E2. The E4 sounds thin :-/
"I'm well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand..."
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Joe, if you ever feel like taking a Florida vacation, I have Clavinet C that I'll give you. Free. as long as you pick it up.

It needs a re-string & hammer tips, but the electronics are good (or they were 20 years ago when I put it in the garage).

I also have a Hammond M2 and MKII Rhodes suitcase. The Hammond is perfect (from Steinway NY, has that logo as well as Hammond) but the Rhodes needs work (top octave doesn't make a sound).

These are all free to anyone who wants to come get 'em, though Joe gets 1st dibs on the clav, if he wants.

 

I have a bedroom, 3/4 bath, fridge, microwave and a few other amenities in the studio if you need to stay overnight, or even a day or 2.

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Joe, if you ever feel like taking a Florida vacation, I have Clavinet C that I'll give you. Free. as long as you pick it up.

It needs a re-string & hammer tips, but the electronics are good (or they were 20 years ago when I put it in the garage).

Dang, that's a 1000 mile drive. I'm tempted though. :) I'd take a look at the Rhodes too since it's there. Or if you want to meet around halfway⦠:D

Did Electro clavs get worse after the Electro2? I"ve had an E4 for years and the clavs don"t draw me in as I SEEM to remember they did on the E2. The E4 sounds thin :-/

The general consensus around here is yes, they made some changes on the Clav after the Electro 2, no one knows why, and no one that's played them here liked the changes.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Hi Joe, Im here , just havn't posted anything for a while. The clav I had for sale was an E7 , but essentially the same as a D6 . I did sell that one a while back to a very happy guy in Ohio somewhere. In the mean time I came across a D6 locally for a great price that was essentially NOS , perfect condition with all the attachments , legs, music stand lid etc. This is the one Darren ( dazzjazz ) played while here.. Its a ripper and plays and sounds great . Very recently I came across another D6 that Im working on getting up to scratch , not as nice as the other one and dosnt have any attachments . It sounds great but needs to be reyarned and adjusted. I may be tempted to sell that one at some point .

I can tell you Ive played a lot of clones of the clav, yeah they sound great, Im really digging the clav on my new Crumar Seven , but theres nothing like the real thing , its feel cannot be duplicated by any fatar action out there . And lugging a D6 to a gig is not bad at all .

They dont come up very often , Im lucky being in Chicago that these do come up occassionally , but maybe 1 every 2-3 years. My plan was to keep the NOS D6 in studio , and use the road D6 for gigs . Proabably not going to happen though. Good luck finding the right clav, if your interested in mine , let me know.-Andy

 

 

"Ive been playing Hammond since long before anybody paid me to play one, I didn't do it to be cool, I didnt do it to make a statement......I just liked it "

 

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Hi Joe, Im here , just havn't posted anything for a while. The clav I had for sale was an E7 , but essentially the same as a D6 . I did sell that one a while back to a very happy guy in Ohio somewhere. In the mean time I came across a D6 locally for a great price that was essentially NOS , perfect condition with all the attachments , legs, music stand lid etc. This is the one Darren ( dazzjazz ) played while here.. Its a ripper and plays and sounds great . Very recently I came across another D6 that Im working on getting up to scratch , not as nice as the other one and dosnt have any attachments . It sounds great but needs to be reyarned and adjusted. I may be tempted to sell that one at some point .

I can tell you Ive played a lot of clones of the clav, yeah they sound great, Im really digging the clav on my new Crumar Seven , but theres nothing like the real thing , its feel cannot be duplicated by any fatar action out there . And lugging a D6 to a gig is not bad at all .

They dont come up very often , Im lucky being in Chicago that these do come up occassionally , but maybe 1 every 2-3 years. My plan was to keep the NOS D6 in studio , and use the road D6 for gigs . Proabably not going to happen though. Good luck finding the right clav, if your interested in mine , let me know.-Andy

 

Hey Andy, Thanks for your reply and filling me/us in on your Clav adventures since. You'd think Houston would have some show up but I haven't had any luck. I'm really considering a trip to Florida for S_Gould's C. My wife thinks I'm crazy. :D

 

I could be interested in yours, though it's even more of a drive.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Our wifes ALWAYS think we are crazy whatever we buy.... Well, we've been playing keys for years!!!
Stage 2, C2, NL2X+TC Pedals, P08+Tetra+H9, P12+TC Chorus D50+PG1000, 2 Matrix 1K, Proteus 2K, TX802, Streichfett, Drumbrute. Guitars:G&L Legacy, Asat X2, Ibanez Artstar AS153.Bass: L2000, SR1200&2605.
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