I have seen quite a few synths from well know artists like Orbital being sold off online in near mint condition. I googled a few and could not find any evidence that the ever used those synths on stage or on any albums. made me think scam... Discussing this with a friend he suggested that it might have been gear they had been given as promo from the manufacturer in hope that they would take them on. But they did not like the gear and just put it aside and now sold it off.

Is that a thing? Do known artists get a lot of gear that they never use and just ditch?

Yes and no. Some artists have endorsement deals with manufacturers, usually those deals include free gear. Most artists buy their gear.

it's called product endorsement, you get paid to promote a product for example PRS does it very agressively with top guitarists, I'm sure santana has done very well out of it financially, because it helps the company sell guitars.

Ok, so it is not just a myth.

This is of course all pretty hush hush so we will probably never know if the big companies sends loads of stuff that ends up in a corner collecting dust or not.

Yes, all the time.

It’s also possible that they also buy gear that they don’t like / fit their workflow , like thousands of people in this forum.
How many of us have basically new gear that we used a little and didn’t continue with ?

No, not for free. Perhaps at a discounted price, but more often than not they receive synths for demo purposes that must be returned to the manufacturer after a designated time period.

Bait used to be believable.

Yes,

I used to get all sorts of 'freebies' from manufacturers. Also from the odd shop as well who wanted to keep my business.

I used to joke about being king of the blaggers.

nowadays it's online influencers they give stuff to, often for free, I know guitar pedal manufacturers do this, if you have a huge following then it's free promotion for them and the company.

Some folks are given free gear, some are offered discounts, and some are given loaners/demos or Beta test or Review units, it varies.

This goes for Artists, Engineers, Producers, Studio Owners, YouTubers, DJs, and on and on, anywhere where it suits the company’s Marketing goals and philosophy. Some companies don’t give away anything… others give it out often…

State of the music industry these days at 0.04c a stream they need to be giving them away to get rid of them.

It's obscene.

That is a possibility. A 2000-5000 euro machine bad purchase may not bother them more than a bad pizza for average Joe.

The size/revenue of the Gear industry is larger than the actual Music industry. That’s what cheap gear and the internet did to music, in part, it shifted loads of fans and CD buyers and concert goes and merch buyers into hobbyist gear buyers instead. Now “everyone” is a musician or DJ or “producer” or whatever.

Gear companies love it. The artform and culture suffer.

You get so much free stuff if you have attention-generating success, its pretty crazy. Everything from clothes to suitcases to synths to high end headphones.

There are walkthroughs at things like WMC in Miami where vendors set up and give everything away, you basically shop around at the tables and take whatever you want.

Basically, once you you're doing well enough to have money, everything is free.

Back in the day I knew someone who did some guitar tab books, and through that gig he worked with Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit. Apparently, Wes said the only reason he used seven string guitars on the early albums is because Ibanez would fully comp him for seven strings but not six strings. So the industry definitely uses free gear to prominent musicians in order to push certain gear and create gear narratives.

More people with access to instruments = bad music culture?

Nahh. In general it is better to try and do things yourself to understand something and like it more.

I guess that gear placed on the top of a 6 tier studio rack looks the same when It change hands?

Note:
1. Most artists don't drag all the gear on stage.
2. Listing used gear is not common anymore on album covers.

I think it’s just a different music culture.

• Music and Visual Art as cheap entertainment for the masses is still around
• Music and Visual Art as a profound artful statement upon the human condition is diminishing
^ both of these are being eroded by a race to the bottom with generative AI as one of the key racers.

Which leaves Music and Visual Art for the artists own pleasure and mental well-being, a mindful activity. It seems that it will become harder and harder to make money from our Art, and will all be crushed back into our bedrooms, noodling to impress ourselves and a few friends.

I have been given the odd ball point pen, or on occasion a key fob...

You would be surprised how little companies give. I was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2006 and yet not a single company has given me gear. It’s a hard business

Two-inch black gaffer's tape over the logo on the back of the synth (or 4x12 guitar cabinet) = not free.
No tape over logo = free or deeply discounted.

If you have a band with any kind of exposure, manufacturers will typically offer discounts, often significant. Larger bands will get instruments for free under endorsement deals. In general, famous people get TONS of cool stuff for free (a single Instagram photo or tweet with a star holding/using your product can literally be worth millions). I know first-hand that Mesa/Boogie sold guitar amps at over half-off to a relatively unknown band, but whose lead-guitarist was on a reality TV show (their publicist offered to get one for me).

I'm pretty sure Orianthi got her Engl guitar amps and PRS guitars for free (below). Now, she's an Orange Amplification "ambassador."

True. Gear listings is not as common now as it was in the age of the LP, but even artists that don't list it on their albums usually mention gear they use in interviews. So I imagine that if some gear never gets a mention and looks pristine either have to be unused or a secret unmentioned weapon in their sound.

Yeah, we all should get one for free

So if a band sells of a mint synth that noone has seen on stage with or without gaffer's tape and it has not been mentioned anywhere. What is your position about that piece?

It depends, on the scale / activity level (touring, primarily, but also social media status) of the artist and the brand. Most often it’s a case of being able to buy certain brands at artist pricing. There may be something expected in exchange, such as promo photos, or influencer type content these days. In the case of software it is common to be able to get comped NFR (not for retail) copies, which typically is licensed in a way that you wouldn’t be able to resell it. I have benefit from this occasionally, not for synths but guitars and software.

In most cases, if you see a band selling old gear, like in the case of orbital…I didn’t see the stuff for sale so I’m just guessing…a lot of their old synth stuff was probably acquired second hand especially if from early in their career…stuff that at one time was able to be found pretty cheap. But if they were selling stuff that was modern in their peak…it’s reasonable to assume they may have acquired it through artist deals.

The auction is offline now and I don't remember the exact models of the synths since it was a bunch, but I remember various Nordleads and I think it was a Roland V-synth that was described as near mint condition in the Orbital auction. Then there were some stuff with description of different signs of wear as well.

Not to get off-topic, but it feels like there’s a contradictory attitude amongst a lot of musicians and music fans that the risk-adverse ROI obsessed music industry is killing good music, but also musicians utilizing modern digital production and distribution methods as to circumvent that industry is debasing music. Hate the gatekeeper but also insist people go through the gatekeeper in order to be considered good music.

They literally beg and bribe me with seven figure paychecks to be seen with their most expensive gear, which is offered up to me as a gift along with a beautiful maiden. This is the correct thing to do, as they know my wrath will move mountains in this industry and crush anyone that doesn't get in line.