Hammond Auto-Vari 64

[arginator]

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum. My father-in-law used to be an active musician back in the ‘70s. Recently he was cleaning out his basement, and decided to throw away his Hammond Auto-Vari 64 drum machine from 1974 (I think). I told him I would do some research on it before it goes in the dumpster. Anyone know if it’s worth anything? I have no idea yet if it works, and I can see it’s not in the best cosmetic shape. But I’ve heard people collect this kind of thing.

 

[JKos]

Did you try a quick Google search to see what they are selling for?

 

[Frank Tuesday]

Definitely don't throw it out; it could be worth a couple hundred dollars. But it does have pretty limited pool of buyers, as it's capabilities are pretty limited. I would bet you could quickly get $50 as/is. If it works, and you're willing to wait for a sale, you could probably fetch $200. At $300 you'd probably sit on it for a long time before finding the right buyer.

 

[arginator]

Did you try a quick Google search to see what they are selling for?

I did, but couldn’t find much. I see some for sale on eBay upwards of $400. No one’s bidding on them, so I’m not sure how realistic that price is.

 

[arginator]

Definitely don't throw it out; it could be worth a couple hundred dollars. But it does have pretty limited pool of buyers, as it's capabilities are pretty limited. I would bet you could quickly get $50 as/is. If it works, and you're willing to wait for a sale, you could probably fetch $200. At $300 you'd probably sit on it for a long time before finding the right buyer.

That’s what I figured. Not many people are into the ‘70s organ electronic rhythm sound. But some people are I guess, and some collect that kind of thing just for the sake of collecting. Can’t hurt to try selling it.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

That’s what I figured. Not many people are into the ‘70s organ electronic rhythm sound. But some people are I guess, and some collect that kind of thing just for the sake of collecting. Can’t hurt to try selling it.

People love the sounds. It's the interface that is lacking. To the point that people are taking the voicing board out and hooking it up to midi.

 

[David Vector]

That's wild...I shouldn't be surprised that people who love tackling any sort of electronics project have done this. Fortunately there are Auto-Vari 64 sample libraries available for those who just want the sounds ready to go.