So...I bought a Yamaha TG300 on eBay

[Omega Monkey]

I (sort of impulsively) bid on a Yamaha TG300 module last night. I didnt actually think I would get it even. The bidding was at $80 with less than a minute, I bid $95, figuring I could handle that (with shipping) but expecting someone had probably bid $100 or more. But no, the bid went to $81 so I got a pretty decent deal on it. Shipping is like $13 so the whole thing is gonna be like $95. Not too bad I think.

Im really not sure what all this thing can do yet. I think its mostly designed as a GM box, but it looks somewhat programmable and it also has an external input, which leads me to believe you can use the effects (and maybe filters/etc) on external sources. The guy linked to the manuals on the auction page, but I dont have Acrobat on my computer so I couldnt check them out yet. Anyone have any experience with these or know more about them?

Anyway, the main reason I got it, is because I've been listening to a lot of Elektric Band stuff recently, and I'm really digging all those Yamaha sounds Chick uses. My FB-01 doesnt quite cut it and it seems to have some sort of distortion problem that I cant figure out, so I've been lusting after the SY series, the 99 specifically, but those usually go for 600-1000 and I dont have that kind of money for right now, but I figured this would hold me over for a while. Also, its got 9 drum kits which is a nice plus, as Im not really satisfied with the drums on my ASR-X or my SQ1+, so maybe these will give me some good sounds (not really counting on it though). Anyway, Im pretty excited to get an influx of new tones soon

[Haagi]

Congratulation!! I have an Yamaha TG55 from 1989!!! :? , so I really need new sounds, but I don't have the money to buy a new module and a new keyboard... So I'll buy the keyboard first, when I have the money..

Btw, if an item on ebey is about to be finished, and you get the last bid, does the seller have to sell it no matter what? let's say i bid 200$ for a K2600x, can he say "no"? Would be wierd if he could'nt... Just asking to be sure...

[Spacehog]

Depends on if there's a reserve price... a lot of low bids for things say "reserve not met"... and I'd doubt anyone would even put a starting bid for a Kurz as low as $200!

Martin

[Haagi]

I only used $200 as an example... eBay may be the only place I can get a cheap Kurzweil... The price will tell me it's condition :P

Thanks...

[Omega Monkey]

Basically the way eBay works is that the seller sets a starting price, and also has the option of setting a reserve price. What the reserve price means, is that if the auction does not go above that amount, the seller isnt obligated to sell the item to person who bid the highest. So if the Kurzweil had a starting price of $1, and a reserve of $2000, and you were the high bidder with $500, you would not get it.

The way bidding works, is you enter the highest amount you are willing to pay. And then it automatically raises the price until your bid is highest, or until someone else's bid is higher than yours. So if the staring bid is $200, and Guy A bids $500, it will stay at $200, until somebody else bids. So Guy B bids $800. The bid goes up to Guy A's high bid, and then goes one notch higher (which is anywhere from 1-100 dollars usually lower like 1-5). So now the high bid is $505 and Guy B is winning. Guy C bids $600, because he cant see what Guy B's highest amount is because its hidden until the end. All he knows is the $505. So what happens now is that the bid goes up to $605 and Guy B is still winning. That should pretty much cover all the bidding scenarios. Also there is sometimes a "buy it now" option, where the seller sets a certain price, at which someone can decide to buy the item without waiting until the end.

eBay is like an artform. You have to really know what you are doing, and also be a little lucky to be consistently successful at it. But I have no doubt that there are people that can make a living off buying and selling stuff on eBay.

[ChrisMcCoy]

Hi There.
To read the acrobat files, you can download the latest adobe reader for Free from http://www.adobe.com
A good deal of the of the material on "Beneath the Mask" (My Favorite Chick Corea and the Electrik band album) was done with the Yamaha SY99 (At least that's what the CD's liner notes say) There are some sound samples of that board on http://www.vintagesynth.org/yamaha/sy99.shtml
I remember an ad for the SY99 in Keyboard Magazine when it first came out...The Yamaha rep gave one to Chick Corea to demo, and they never got it back ! (He must have been busy using it to record the album) :D