Before I Purchase An ASR-10....

Im looking for an ASR-10 to accompany my 4000 but they are very rare across the Atlantic. Clearly my best bet is buying from the US probably using ebay.com where there is a steady flow of ASR's on offer. Something I didnt really want to do. Maybe I will have to come for a holiday (when it goes back to £1=$2) and cop one while im there, not sure when yet.

My question is this:

What should I look out for when buying this board? I dont want to buy one and then discover I need 'optional' parts that may be hard to find. Is the SCSI option essential? Which OS should I expect? Anything else worth checking before I buy?

And what do you guys think is a fair price (in US dollars) with/ without SCSI in average condition?

Appreciate any opinions from current owners.

Clint

What u want is a MINT one. Turns on quick, no buzzing, and doesn't crash when u boot.

OS is no biggy (i've run a couple) SCSI = neccessary, fuk wut u heard.

Mine just died. I would pay anything to get another one that operates flawlessly.

Regarding flea bay, I paid 400 and it died, my boy dropped 800 (5 years ago) and it's icy.

p.s. i guess i'm selling the broken 1 if anyone wants. display+SCSI gotta be worth somthin

yes scsi option is essential unless you dont mind using 2mb floppies for loading all of your sounds. Ive owned two ASR-10 and an asr-88 and have had alot of problems from midi ports that dont work to scsi that doesnt work to screens that dont work. Just realize your buying an old peice of gear that is prone to problems and parts are getting increasingly hard to find and expensive.

I disagree that SCSI is necessary. Basically, it depends on how you use it. I would only use it to load up drum samples, possibly bass samples. Now, obvioiusly you can't easily do that without SCSI unless you make alot of disks. Or, buy a cheap rack sampler with SCSI instead for a fraction of the price. I have a good condition ASR 10 that i use with an Akai S2000 for $375 total. I have 3X as much sample time too, not that i use close to that.

For me, it's not important and i'm not sure i would use it if a SCSI card magically appeared. I use it purely for chopping samples and sequencing, i find it easy to work around it. With an MPC, i don't know if you will either, especially a 4k.


Outside of that, i'd make sure that it boots with no issues (try a few times atleast), it records, everything functions well. Obviously, don't trust anyone who doesn't have a boot disk as that is the easiest way to get it out of you hands and say "I'm sure it's fine, i just don't know". If you buy in person, i wouldn't buy one with a single issue at all because you just can't find parts. I know someone who probably just needs a data slider but who knows if he will ever find one without having to buy another asr 10 that is broken.


Also, realize that all ASR 10's have spdif plugs, reguardless if it is installed. So don't assume you have that, even though it will have the plugs.

what i did when meeting up to cop an ASR was to bring my headphones, a power cable, and an OS disk which includes some sounds... thats all you need to test it out really quick, plug ur headphones in, plug the asr in, insert the disk and load it up a couple times... load some instruments up and test all the keys... if everything seems ok and the price is right, cop it!


OS disk should be available for download somewhere... the asr10 yahoo user group comes to mind...

Make sure all buttons, sliders, keys (check for cracks) and screen works.... basically like everyone says.. MAKE SURE IT TOTALLY WORKS!!!
I got mine knocked down from $400 to $300 because dude said it was maxxed out and it wasn't. Due to false advertisement, I found out there was no SCSI card installed, the left cursor button didn't work, it had 4 Meg's of memory (Not 16MB's) and the digital i/o jacks was installed but didn't have the card needed to connect to the main circuit board (I think the majority of ASR's are like that).
If you can... get the purple/blue screen, they were the last manufactured models of the ASR-10 and those screens last longer (so I've been told).

Man... if I was in Phoenix I would jump all over this!! Just to be greedy and have two of 'em!


http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msg/839643999.html

clint246clint wrote:What should I look out for when buying this board? I dont want to buy one and then discover I need 'optional' parts that may be hard to find. Is the SCSI option essential? Which OS should I expect? Anything else worth checking before I buy?


Clint

I'd make sure it isn't beat to sh!t from the jump (I see a lot of gear in general like this). Also, the scsi option is a plus, but not really necessary especially if you have the use of another sampler such as the 4k.

My current ASR (w/ the LCD display) was purchased barely used back in '97 from a local music dealer and hasn't given me any issues since. So if you happen to come across one in immaculate condition, def grab it.

I HAVE ONE FOR SALE RIGHT NOW $600 WITH SCSI BUY IT NOW ON EBAY


viewtopic.php?f=12&t=102072

i got screwed on my last asr purchase(this is my 3rd unit). dude said it was all good and he was just selling it because he switched to reason and the asr was collecting dust. he assured me it had absolutely no issues. i'm 40 miles from where he lives so we met half way at a burgerking off the highway. i gave him $400 cash, got home, plugged it in and the screen was unreadable due to dead pixels or lines. i felt like the biggest fool walking this earth!!! paid $465 to a local repair shop who had to order and wait for the new screen-almost 3 months. the unit is super clean and works just great but it was a costly lesson to learn. don't let it happen to you-and honestly you really don't need it if you know how to work that 4k!!!!!!!!

it's worth it to get the scsi. you will end up loving this machine and having the scsi not only means you don't have to swap disks but it also makes it boot and load/save wayy faster.

get the scsi, the memory is only 40 bucks if it doesnt come with it. asr10 best sampler/keyboard ever. I wont say anything to offend the mpc heads tho but yea. asr10 nuff said!

Thanks for the replies guys, real helpful.

I see that there are a few ASR's currently up on ebay.com. There are none (as usual) on ebay.co.uk!

There is one in Illinois with SCSI currently at $500.00 ($150 to ship to UK)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001

One in Sherman Oaks without SCSI with 16mb a buy it now price of $599.00 ($190 to ship to UK)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=019

One in NY with SCSI & output expander still has 4 days to go, currently at $113.00 (no ship price)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=014

Another in NY being sold by forum member Mathematic with SCSI, 8mb and SKB with a buy it now price of $600 (no ship price) Looks good.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=008

Finally one in Cali with no SCSI, not sure about memory with a buy it now price of $525.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=004

Anyone have the digital input option? How useful is it? From what I understand I'd rather have that than SCSI (less wires, zip discs, hassle etc). You got that Mathematic? Do you need to boot the machine every time you use it?

I have fam in NY which may prove to be helpful and avoid shipping. If im gonna pay close to $200.00 for the ship I might as well get on the mf plane myself and bring it back!

May not get a chance to test the board unless I buy from one of you guys

So, it appears $500-600 is the going rate at the moment. During the credit crunch (and prior to christmas) its really a buyers market and good business people NEVER PAY THE ASKING PRICE. $550 anyone?

BTW im still looking for a 3000. If I could make a single trip and come back with both that'd be real nice, anyone?

There is one in Illinois with SCSI currently at $500.00 ($150 to ship to UK)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=001

Keep an eye on this. Looks promising.

One in Sherman Oaks without SCSI with 16mb a buy it now price of $599.00 ($190 to ship to UK)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=019

No. Just, no.

One in NY with SCSI & output expander still has 4 days to go, currently at $113.00 (no ship price)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=014

Those extras will make heads push the price pretty high. No harm in watching.

Another in NY being sold by forum member Mathematic with SCSI, 8mb and SKB with a buy it now price of $600 (no ship price) Looks good.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=008

If Mathematic can GUARANTEE it...sheit, I'd drive up there myself cash in hand.

Finally one in Cali with no SCSI, not sure about memory with a buy it now price of $525.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=004

Fuk that. probably a pawn shop.

I've had the Digital card. Selling it was the best thing I ever did. Mega $$$ & not worth it.

If you have the cash, i would just go here- http://www.thesoniq.com/asr-10sale.html

You know you are going to get a legit one, you will probably pay more but it's your best bet. I pride myself on how cheap i got mine but at the time, i didn't know i would love it to death. Mine is fine so i have no regrets but if/when mine breaks, i'm going there.