The Changing Times (Buying New Synths)
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 2:01 am
Well. Something I found quite interesting that I thought I'd bring up for some other people's opinions.
So over the years I've never really been one for buying new synths (mostly because of the high prices), and since buying my first V-Synth in 2006 I've gone on a bit of a vintage buying spree - so I've been out of the game for a while so to speak.
Recently out of interest I thought I'd research the V-Synth GT as an upgrade to the now decade old original would probably be a good idea given I use mine all the time (more than any other synth I have).
But here's the thing. Last night I looked on every big to medium sized synth retailer in the country and much to my surprise NONE of them showed the V-Synth GT on their sites. Simply cannot find it. Now I realise they may have things in stock and not update the site, and also that they can order things in if you specifically inquire about it, but still I found this to be a bit strange as they still seem readily available overseas.
To interject the story, my local retailer for Roland recently closed down, which I find a great shame as I used to shop there whenever I could. So now the north of the state has no retailer for Roland gear. Upon going into the only other music shop in Launceston I asked the owner there if he stocked Roland stuff. To which he more or less responded that it was too expensive both financially and space-wise (as Roland apparently require a minimum stock order for retailers to stock their gear). He also said that particularly given the GT is an expensive high-end item that a lot of places would not stock them if there is no obvious local demand.
This makes sense of course, but still I found it interesting as when looking around shops in Aus for the original V-Synth back in the day I remember a lot of places had them. Allans, Billy Hyde, Turramurra, Musiclab etc...
So my main point is, is this the sign of the times? I know Allans/Billy Hyde went into administration recently, are places simply avoiding stocking these more expensive items to cut costs? Is the V-Synth GT just old/been replaced with the Jupiter 80 (that I notice some shops do stock). But I mean technically it is still in production as far as I know.
Perhaps it's the impact of the changing economy? Or internet retailers? Is it a downward trend in market demand for this particular item? The impact of plugins? The resurgence of analog? Or just a combination of all these factors. What's the deal?
Cheers guys.
So over the years I've never really been one for buying new synths (mostly because of the high prices), and since buying my first V-Synth in 2006 I've gone on a bit of a vintage buying spree - so I've been out of the game for a while so to speak.
Recently out of interest I thought I'd research the V-Synth GT as an upgrade to the now decade old original would probably be a good idea given I use mine all the time (more than any other synth I have).
But here's the thing. Last night I looked on every big to medium sized synth retailer in the country and much to my surprise NONE of them showed the V-Synth GT on their sites. Simply cannot find it. Now I realise they may have things in stock and not update the site, and also that they can order things in if you specifically inquire about it, but still I found this to be a bit strange as they still seem readily available overseas.
To interject the story, my local retailer for Roland recently closed down, which I find a great shame as I used to shop there whenever I could. So now the north of the state has no retailer for Roland gear. Upon going into the only other music shop in Launceston I asked the owner there if he stocked Roland stuff. To which he more or less responded that it was too expensive both financially and space-wise (as Roland apparently require a minimum stock order for retailers to stock their gear). He also said that particularly given the GT is an expensive high-end item that a lot of places would not stock them if there is no obvious local demand.
This makes sense of course, but still I found it interesting as when looking around shops in Aus for the original V-Synth back in the day I remember a lot of places had them. Allans, Billy Hyde, Turramurra, Musiclab etc...
So my main point is, is this the sign of the times? I know Allans/Billy Hyde went into administration recently, are places simply avoiding stocking these more expensive items to cut costs? Is the V-Synth GT just old/been replaced with the Jupiter 80 (that I notice some shops do stock). But I mean technically it is still in production as far as I know.
Perhaps it's the impact of the changing economy? Or internet retailers? Is it a downward trend in market demand for this particular item? The impact of plugins? The resurgence of analog? Or just a combination of all these factors. What's the deal?
Cheers guys.