Says it’s Keith Emerson’s “spare” and came from his long time tech.
That would be Will Alexander, but he’s not named in the auction.
Neither is who restored it, when and what was done.
The keyboard is dated from 1968, which I think is before Keith ever got a Moog.
I’ve spoken to both Keith and Will several times over the years and neither ever mentioned a spare Moog 55.
In our last conversation, Keith said he was looking for a spare 905 reverb module too. (why, if this spare 55 was his?)
Keith is or recently was in a UK hospital which could suggest several things too. (I wish him well on a full recovery.)
I don’t doubt they have a Moog 55 for sale, but I’m having doubts it was Emerson’s.
What do you guys think?
Your take, MC?
But upon careful read, it says “owned” which could mean past tense, that he once owned it, perhaps for a year or two and it since has sat with one collector or in storage.
Just guessing…
Appears to be quite a high already with plenty of time left. So some guy with deep pockets will post $200,000 and maybe two people will go at it until it hits some super high dollar amount. Or it will sit here for a while and somebody will get it for $16,000 and one penny.
I basically called BS on this auction on Matrixsynth for the same reasons. It’s not a stock 55. Can’t prove Emerson ever touched it, much less owned it. My guess is they’re referencing Will Alexander as well.
Bottom line, don’t advertise it as something it most likely isn’t.
I like this comment in the auction Qand A section.
Quote:
Q: I think I know the tech you are referring to, and he was nice enough to introduce Keith to me many years ago while on tour. I wanted to inform you that Mr. Emerson is claiming this auction if a fraud, what is that about? Either way, it’s an amazing synth! Nov-07-10
A: Hey there, Firstly, this is quite obviously a real genuine Moog 55 synthesizer. Considering we don’t feel Mr. Emerson’s ownership enhances the value of the piece, we personally don’t care either way, and we are simply representing the synth as it was sold to us. We have an abundance of information which suggests Keith Emerson owned it. We encourage all serious buyers to come and inspect the unit in person, so they can see it with their own eyes, plays it with their hands, and hear it with their ears: proving the unit is real, working, and available to the highest bidder. We are working on having his comments regarding this auction being “fraud” removed, Thanks for the heads up, and I hope your introduction to Keith was better than ours! -Vintage Gear
Unquote:
So, they think the ‘abundance’ if hearsay info is better than Keith himself saying it was never his? Then being pissed that KE called them on it!
crooks. pathetic. lazy salesmen. i guess snake oil salesmen didn’t go extinct after the West was killed off by the Industrial Revolution. i get tired of seeing persons praying on others ignorance.
I have no knowledge that KE ever owned a “backup” modular. A shame that unscrupulous sellers have to stoop to this level, and that isn’t necessary for a rare coveted item like a system 55.
Someone on AH did identify the seller’s name but I’m holding off judgement until this is confirmed…
I don’t recall ever reading KE had a complete back up Modular. Why ? You can just carry a few spare modules and swap them out easier than carry a whole second system, In the Keyboard interview from the mid 70’s it was mentioned that they had spare modules for the modular but about a complete system. Not sure, but it was also suggested by someone on KE’s FB page that when modules needed updating or repaired, Moog would often times just swap it out, so it could be possible that one of those modules wound up in other systems.
KE’s modular( IC at the time, he added on over the years) was one of the ones used for the Jazz In the Gardens Concert(late 60’s) and the unique preset box. When Keith and Greg were on tour last year I was talking to his tech and he said the Preset Box still worked but they really weren’t using it on the tour.
i think sale persons that refuse to confirm the history of their wares before they grace us with fantastic allegations of being “rare”, “never modded”, “one owner”, “owned by God when he used to gig with Lucifer”, etc should be held accountable for false advertising. if you have no proof of the instruments history - then don’t print or say it. where’s the affidavit or pics? if it has taken this long to confirm their allegations then i am weary that they are in fact true. presenting the truth does not require this sort of stalled, contradictory, evasive behavior. just have the seller sign an affidavit, right? done. why all the secrecy? i don’t get it. now they don’t feel KE’s ownership enhances the product after they have printed it? haha. whatev. like a 3 year old caught in a lie.
look, i’m a capitalist, too. let the market work itself out. but not in this manner. this is just… lame.
oh, and MC, i’m not sure what you were alluding to in your post but i can assure you i have never taken advantage of anyone’s ignorance in such situations. my parents raised me to practice its better to give than receive. maybe this makes me the fool but at least i can wake up each morning with a clean slate, makes it a lot easier to look at my ugly mug in the mirror, too.
I have purchased a Roland SVC-350 Vocoder from them --no issues --it arrived well packaged
all up I found them a good Ebay seller that ships internationally
Its not just vintage synths - this kind of unscrupulious & artificial price inflation can be seen on many of the guitar and bass auctions (and other instruments) listed on the 'Bay. And its not just on-line auctions either - I remember being able to score some great deals at pawn shops only a decade ago, but now it seems that every pawnbroker thinks that any old instrument they are trying to sell is “rare”, “special” or “highly desirable”, and pawnshop prices (NOT sales) have skyrocketed.
True, most of us know better than to deal with these folks, but it pays to educate yourself & do your homework before laying down your hard-earned cash for any instrument.
