Akai Deep Impact on ebay... Strange.

kaputsport · #1 01-08-2008, 01:18 PM

So, knowing full well I want one of these pedals like a fat kid wants cake, I am on the constant watch for one...

There are two on ebay right now, both are bid up to $405.00 right now, and both look like the same person is winning them. They are private auctions, but both bidders have 0 feedback, and the same price...

It just seems weird...

Anyone out there selling one of these??? Anyone bidding on both? Are you trying to create more of a shortage of these????

Smurf-o-Deth · #2 01-08-2008, 01:42 PM

The vast right-wing conspiracy strikes again!

bongomania · #3 01-08-2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaputsport

There are two on ebay right now, both are bid up to $405.00 right now, and both look like the same person is winning them. They are private auctions, but both bidders have 0 feedback, and the same price...

I would not bid on either of them. Either the seller of one or both is trying to boost the price artificially, or there is a jackass noob who doesn't understand how ebay works driving the price up, intending to maybe buy one of them. If you're really into it maybe you could email the sellers and point out this 0-fdbk bidder to them, and see what they do. As a seller I actually have a policy in the "fine print" of my auctions of cancelling any bids from 0-fdbk bidders unless they email me to confirm first.

niftydog · #4 01-08-2008, 04:55 PM

It all depends on what sort of music you play.

The reason it commands such high prices is mostly because of internet hype. Although it's reasonably rare, and unique as well.

bigchiefbc · #5 01-08-2008, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natasmi

Frankly, I don't get it. I have a brand new Deep Impact, box, manual and adaptor, I've used it maybe 2 hours total when I bought it new years ago. Sure it's got great sounds that can be tweeked to just about any synth sound you want, but I've never been able to come up with a use for it in a band situation. And to make matters worse, now that they cost so much I'm afraid to use the pedal for fear of scratching the damb thing. Yet I can't bring myself to sell it, or any of my pedals for that matter. Why does this pedal command such respect and sell for so much coin? Maybe I should dig it out and give it another shot, but if I brought it to band practice it would no doubt freak everybody out and I'd be begged to turn it of so we could get on with the jamming.

The best I can explain it is that there are really only a handful of synth pedals on the market that you can use without a special pickup. The Bosses have crappy tracking, the bsw and ibanez sb7 are really just dressed up env filters with fuzz. Likewise with the BMS, although it does have more parameters, such as attack delay and sweep direction and speed. That really just leaves the Deep Impact and the Korg G5, and they're both going for 400-600 now. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will eventually buy one of them. You're right that they're kinda useless for most standard rock bands, but if you want a pedal synth, there really isn't anywhere else to go.

kaputsport · #6 01-10-2008, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smurf-o-Deth

The vast right-wing conspiracy strikes again!

Hardly...

However I did think it strange. I bid on both, when they were $200.

Every time... This pedal gets further and further away... It is my Unicorn.

Humabass · #7 01-10-2008, 12:11 PM

One just sold on Ebay recently for $600.00!

I bought the last one MF friend had in stock a couple years ago for $139.00! I have used it many times, even in church! I don't know why they go for so much now but it really does track flawlessly which for me is the real test of a synth pedal. I can't believe that no one has come out with a better synth pedal after all these years unless it's just such a niche market that it's not worth the R&D.

Planet Boulder · #8 01-10-2008, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humabass

One just sold on Ebay recently for $600.00!

I bought the last one MF friend had in stock a couple years ago for $139.00! I have used it many times, even in church! I don't know why they go for so much now but it really does track flawlessly which for me is the real test of a synth pedal. I can't believe that no one has come out with a better synth pedal after all these years unless it's just such a niche market that it's not worth the R&D.

Got mine for something like $125.00 when they "found" some old stock a while back. It is extremely usable and setting #3 (when tweaked) provides a nice, synthy, funky wah-like tone (too many adjectives).

My band does a lot of improvised, extended jams, so it comes in handy, though I have to use it sparingly, otherwise it tends to "take over".

kaputsport · #9 01-11-2008, 07:53 AM

The first auction was removed by ebay, however they stated if the seller relisted the item, I could bid on it again.

The second is up to $420, and the first was up to over $550!!!!

Bob C · #10 02-17-2008, 07:49 AM

Feb 17, 2008

There are two listed on eBay right now for around $400 each. They seem to be in high demand, so I can't see why Akai doesn't bring back this pedal.

I know marketing is a complicated biz. Also, there is a lot of false demand caused by Internet hype. But didn't those reintroduced $99 units go like hotcakes? Hasn't the Deep Impact enjoyed tons of sales and excellent reviews?

I want one, but I will NOT pay the eBay prices. Can't we petition Akai to bring this unit back? They are a large company with lots of other products, right? I tried in vain to find an email adress for support questions. Anybody have ideas?

bongomania · #11 02-17-2008, 09:31 AM

No, we've been over this petition business a few times before; it won't do any good. The reason the pedals sold like hotcakes at $99 is because it was a super blowout sale to eliminate factory/warehouse inventory, below dealer cost. Even if they did reissue the pedal it would not sell for anything close to $99.

OhThePeacock · #12 02-17-2008, 10:36 AM

Even if though whole Talkbass community signed a petition and payed up front they probably still wouldn't RI it. I'm pretty sure Akai is completely done with the pedal market nowadays anyways.

kaputsport · #13 02-17-2008, 11:31 AM

No, they still make the Headrush II, and i think some others are n the works.

It is a shame, as they had some really great pedals, for a short time.

Bob C · #14 02-17-2008, 12:38 PM

Yeah, I understand that the $99 was a closeout deal. I still don't know the real reason they quit making the unit. It's possible that they didn't sell enough of them (at the regular price), but they seemed to be very popular.

kaputsport · #15 02-17-2008, 01:05 PM

No, it is popular now, because you cannot get them easily, and supply and demand make products sell. If you can buy a new one for $99, you always put it off for other stuff, thinking "I'll get one next time"...

Well next time has come and gone. Now, to get one you have to spend some bank, and on top of that, locate one and win the auction...

If they re-released it, they would sell for somewhere around $250-$300, and would be a by the order sale.

By the way, this would never happen.