Staying power

[Dave Bryce]

What musical instrument has been in your possession longer than any other that you own, and how long have you had it?

 

For me, it's definitely my MiniMoog. I bought it brand new (I still have the manual and the S-trig that came with it!) in 1981.

 

dB

[jackpine]

Never had a mini, but I did pick up a multimoog before i even knew how to really play keyboards. Still have it and it still works perfectly.

 

Other than that is my trusty ric 4001 from '75

 

jim

[ELP71]

I have a cople things passed down from my Dad that have been in my "posession" since birth - most notably a sub-1500 serial number MiniMoog bought in like '72-'73.

 

As far as MY stuff, I still have my ESQ1 bought in summer '88.

[Intheether]

I can't part with anything - whether or not I even use it...but....

My Dx7 - I got it in 1985 with allowance, Christmas money, savings etc...it was my first 'professional' keyboard (I don't still have my casio-tone). Although I have recently used it as a midi controller, I think we're going to part ways since I hate the patches and it's lack of programmability. Oh, I still have my Ovation Baladeer from when I was about 13. That, my Trinity, and my Ibanez Artist, will never leave my hands. ~nel

[K.C.]

mine is a "mornington westhern" upright piano .. I learn about music with it. Last time I thought it is the best sounding piano I've ever played. But now, I really dislikes its touch.

[Rod S]

Can't say I have anything too exciting. I think the oldest thing in my 'studio' is my power amp and speakers

 

As far as keyboards. Probably my pc88mx.. circa 98. I did a keyboard overhall only a few years ago (finally got rid of my kawai k1).

[marino]

It used to be the Chroma... Now, it's definitely the Matrix-12. Bought new about 15 years ago, I babysit it, and it's like new. A great, great instrument.

 

Carlo

[RABid]

I got rid of my MiniMoog a few years ago when I could not find anyone who could repair the contact bar. My oldest electronic gear is a an EML 400 Sequencer in great condition purchased used 20 years ago. The right side is a synth, the left side is a 16 x 6 sequencer.

 

Oh, I guess I should mention the two pianos. One is a Wurlitzer which I hate because the keys stick. Had it over 30 years. I hate that piano like I have hated no other piece of gear. The other is an old high back upright that was once a player piano. It has no lable to reveal the brand but is dated in the 1800s. Very cool. The front panels open to increase the sound, but top and bottom where the pedals are. The top also raises at one side like a grand. I will never give that piano up.

 

Robert

 

Originally posted by marino:

It used to be the Chroma... Now, it's definitely the Matrix-12.

Carlo

WHAT!! Don't tell me you....

[Valkyrie Sound]

My PC88MX!

 

Now at least 10 years old

without any service....

Heck... I haven't even changed the

battery...

 

Valky

[Mark Zeger]

I've had my Rhodes 88 Stage w/Rhodes powered satellite speakers (the big ones) since around '76-77. About a year later, I got an ARP Odyssey, which is still in near mint condition. Couldn't get squat for them in the '80s, certainly glad I kept them.

 

I kept a few effects from the mid-'70s. A Goodrich volume pedal, a Foxx Fuzz/Wha pedal, and a Univox tape echo (the one with the cartridge that looks like a small 8 track tape).

[Superbobus]

A Roland D5 for ten years!!! I bought that thing in 1990 because:

- I was on a budget,

- I didn't know sh*t,

- I thought old was square.

Boy what a piece of crap! Ditched it two years ago for a CS6x. Never used it much. Two years ago my gigs started to become more and more pop/funk stuff so then it was time to get serious stuff.

Then there's my Duysen grand piano from 1902(!) which I have for seven years now. Great piano but needs service.

Finally my Rhodes 54, which I have for four years now, needed only one small repair of a key which didn't work anymore and will stay with me for the rest of my life.

[Magpel]

Nothing impressive here. The answer is probably the Strat Plus that I bought circa '86. I *should* be the Les Paul I sold in the early 90s to buy a Quadraverb GT. Grrrrrr. Actually, come think of it, it's probably my HR16. Doesn't see much action any more.

[PAULIII]

My oldest instrument that I have hung onto is a Buescher trumpet that I used to play in the high school band '68 thru '71. I have always been a piano player, though, since age 4, and the first keyboard that I actually hung onto and still have is a Univox Mini-Korg synthesizer. 73rd one made!. It just sits in the studio quietly (most of the time) overseeing the other keyboards. Used to sit on top of my B-3 when I did the road scene in the 70's. Now it's retired for nostalgia. Still works great though! Amazing the technology advancement from the Mini-Korg of then, to my Korg Triton of now. Wow! Incredible!

PAULIII

[Dan South]

The one that I've owned the longest is my first synth, the Prophet 600. I don't use it, though. I haven't turned it on in a couple of years.

 

The oldest thing that I still use is the JV-1080. I'm a ruthless upgrader.

[Bobro]

Easy come, easy go. I don't own one thing that I had more than 6 years ago except for some books and a pair of Doc Martin shoes.

 

Ask again in 30 years and I'm sure I'll still have my new mic and clarinet, though.

 

-Bobro

[Groeg]

This post made me think of the good ole days

 

My oldest and most unused piece of gear still in my studio would be an Akai S612 Sampler with the extra Disc Drive. Great 8 bit sound !!!! The good thing about it is that it still works. I got this the same time as a Juno 106, which I still have.

 

Does still having my Fostex 260 4-track cassette recorder count too. Man, I can't seem to let go of this gear.

 

Groeg

[nitecrawler47]

Oldest piece of equipment is my mini-moog, which I got in the mid-seventies. I don't have the purchase record on it but it was around '76 or '77. It has not been played since the early '90's (but I'm reluctant to get rid of it). It reminds me of where my music has evolved from.(from blonde wurly in late 60's to Karma in 2001) Pianos on the other hand have come and gone many times over the last 35 years. nitecrawler

[Postman]

Geez, this is kind of embarrassing. I have a CZ-101 that I bought in '85 in a closet somewhere.

[Pat Azzarello]

DX-7 - 1984

 

It's in the rafters of my garage. I rode that baby pretty hard (replaced the plastic cover over the program buttons twice) but I can't bear to get rid of it. Someday I'm going to use it as a piece of sculpture on my studio wall.

[Robert Smedberg]

I've sold a lot of synths....

The oldest I still have would be ESQ-1. Bought it in 86??

I also have DX-7 (from 83) but got that one in the late 80ies.

 

My first keyboard was a Philips philicorda that i got from my grandparents -75, but my sisters kids have that one now.

[Mark Zeger]

Originally posted by PAULIII:

My oldest instrument that I have hung onto is a Buescher trumpet that I used to play in the high school band '68 thru '71.

I forgot...I still have my horns from jr. high school: a silver Getzen Doc Severinsen trumpet, and a Conn flugelhorn. My oldest daughter took up trumpet this year (with only a slight push from me), so every night I help her practice. Now she's the top player in her class, and I got my chops back in shape in about a month.

 

The only problem is that I now have G.A.S. for a new pro grade flugelhorn, or perhaps a darker tone, large bore, matte brass lacquer trumpet, or maybe a piccolo trumpet...

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by Postman:

Geez, this is kind of embarrassing. I have a CZ-101 that I bought in '85 in a closet somewhere.

I'd be embarrassed about buying things in closets too.

 

Mine is a clarinet I have had since perhaps 1970.

[Llarion]

Well, I have the first guitar I ever owned (1977), one of those student deals, but that doesn't really count, it's just for archival purposes.

 

I have my 1983 Peavey Foundation bass that I bought on 12/31/83, and I'm NEVER getting rid of it. You can hear it on almost all of my music to this day.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Huh...had to think about this for a bit.

 

The piece of gear that I've had the longest is an American Standard Fender Stratocaster, which I purchased brand new in 1984. It's still a great guitar. I hadn't even thought about the fact that it's over eighteen years old now. It's my only elderly piece of gear I still use all the time.

 

I still have my original Portastudio that I bought later that same year. I don't know if it works...heads are probably all gunked up...but it does power on. I also have an original "soapdish" Alesis MIDIVerb from 1986, and a Yamaha SPX90II in a closet somewhere.

 

In terms of old gear I've picked up here and there, I also have an Akai S612! I got it in lieu of actual money I was supposed to be paid for a session about ten years ago. Again, haven't used it in a loooooong time, but I still have the goofy little cartridges with one-shot samples. And then there was the incredible 1963 Martin D-series acoustic that I had for a few short and sweet years before having to give it back to its original owner. But GAWD, what a great guitar that was.

 

- Jeff

[BP3]

It seems that the MiniMoog is in the lead.

[MellonHead]

TR-808 Drum Machine, original DX7, original CX-3. All about the same time, the early 1980's.

[Groeg]

Oh, I forgot about my Roland TR707.

 

I still have my guitar and amp I bought from Sears in the late 70's, but I don't know if this qualifies as an instrument anymore

[Guest Room Warrior]

Mine's an 01/W ProX, which has seen daily use for nine years at least. I don't use many of the patches anymore (although some of the stuff on the plug-in cards is pretty cool), but it's still my main controller, and hasn't given me a moment's trouble. Still, I know it's gonna clap out on me someday.....

 

- Jim Bordner

[soapbox]

I still have a cheap acoustic guitar I was given as a child, back in the sixties. I've also held onto a few percussion instruments and a recorder (the instrument, not the tape deck) that I picked up in the sixties and seventies.

 

I tend not to keep keyboards for more than a decade. At this point in time, my oldest module is an Akai S1000 that I bought new in 1993. Even though I now have much more powerful and sophisticated samplers, my Akai S1000 has retained a place in my setup because 1) I assembled a good library for it and 2) S1000 programs are the common language of the modern sampler world.

 

As a footnote, I believe that the keyboard that holds the record for remaining the longest in my possession would be my Roland D-50. I bought it new in 1988, and I kept it until 2000.

 

Keyboards I sometimes wish were still in my possession: my Oberheim OB8 and my Fender Rhodes Stage 73.

[danallen1]

I still have a Hohner D6 Clavinet and a 1963 Hammond A-100