I recently had an interesting chat with another Drake Music associate about vintage equipment we have come across in various schools across the Bristol area (and a little bit beyond) Turns out there are some absolute gems out there e.g. how about this Casio CT-310 for starters (with original stand!) Also, an original early drum machine from the 1980s, Premier Olympic drum kits from the 1970s, even parts of a fantastic old piano.
Now, many of you may be nodding off already and be asking “so what”? Well, the thing is, apart from sounding and looking great, they can also potentially raise cash on ebay etc to buy other equipment (for example) Many of the schools we work in are either unaware of the stuff they’ve got, or certainly not aware of it’s potential value (given a little dust-off and proper electrical service, naturally). In one school I worked at years ago, I remember the new music teacher telling me with pride that he had thrown out all the junk in the cupboard (can’t begin to list the goodies that ended up in a skip that day…the skip was gone when I rushed out to try and salvage something, in case you’re wondering)
So, my question to all music departments: Do you know what’s lurking at the back of your equipment cupboard?
