How to choose a used Roland TR808?

Question

I've been scanning the net for a used TR808 and 2 cheap Icould find are from ebay in the UK and also one from leboncoin in France. I live in Stockholm Sweden and there is no used TR808 for sale in entire Northern Europe from what I can find. So I'm getting it shipped from another country and I have a budget for it. I already have the TR909 which I never regret getting, it's the ultimate funky drum machine and now I'm going to physically realize the rebirth acid rack witch my TR 909, two cyclone analogic TT 303 and one TR 808.

The two 808 I've been looking at are

http://viewitem.eim.ebay.se/Original-Roland-TR808-Classic-Analogue-Drum-Machine--Recently-Refurbished/111113970727/item

and

www.leboncoin.fr/instruments_de_musique/506090657.htm?ca=10_s

My question is, if I get the ebay 808 from UK, which is preferable since I know better English than French and ebay can handle the payment more secure than leboncoin which would require the seller and me to arrange some payment, paypal or otherwise which is not directly tied to the product like the ebay purchase will be.

Do you think I'm making a mistake or a deal getting the TR 808 from the UK or should I wait for a better deal?

On the slightly more technical side, if I get a UK 808, can I just change the chord like a can change the chord of a TR 909 to fit the non-UK current of 220 Volts instead of the UK net adapter for the 808?

Is there anything else I should think of before making this my largest music investment ever? (I paid only 950 euros for the TR909 in year 2000).

Answer 1

It seems to me that you are rushing the process of finding your TR-808.

I keep a list of interesting synths that I'd like to acquire. The list is divided into two parts, the new part and the old part. Every so often, I move some of the synths from the new list to the old list. If a synth is no longer interesting, it gets deleted. I actively look for synths on the old list. I might happen upon a synth on the new list, but don't usually look for them so actively.

I've managed to find good to great deals on every synth I've purchased. Some of those deals have taken a lot of time. It took over a year to find my Korg Z1, and close to three years to find my Yamaha FS1r. But the price I paid for the FS1r was about half the going eBay price. Same is true with the Z1. Other synths, like my TG77 showed up on eBay at decent prices not long after I added them to the list.

A few other rules that I use when buying synths:

1. Never spend so much money on one synth that I might not be able to pay my rent and bills if I receive a box of rocks instead of the expected synth.

2. If it is rare, large, or fragile, buy locally. The only exception is if the price is so low that I won't mind if I receive a box of rocks.

3. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. A FS1r at half the eBay price is reasonable. The eBay guy who claimed that he had 20 EMS Synthis last year was obviously a scammer. If the gear seems like it might be stolen, I'll also pass.

I suspect that eBay and other mass-market auction / sale sites aren't the best place to find an 808. There have been a few on the muffwiggler forum (you have to register and post to see the buy/sell forum) over the last few years, and the community there is very solid.

Be patient and your 808 will come to you.