I’m about to make a purchase decision and currently have two concrete offers:
Approx. 4 years used Octatrack MKII in grey for 800 Euro incl. Decksaver & backpack.
or
6 months used Octatrack MKII in black and top condition for 1050 Euro with 2 years warranty by the dealer and 3 years warranty by Elektron (I assume).
Does anyone here have any experience with devices that are 3-4 years older in terms of defect potential and does anyone know how expensive a check-up/service at Elektron is? (unfortunately I couldn’t find any information about this)
I’ve never had issues when buying older second hand elektron stuff, but I may well just have been lucky a bunch of times. Having said that, out of those two options I’d go for the newer one, simply because you have some warranty there. Both sound like good deals tho, and imo the grey OT is much better looking than the newer black one
I’ve never had the grey model in my hands and my Elektron devices are all black, which is why I’m leaning that way. But the colour is actually less important than the more essential factors.
I’d probably pay extra and get the warranty coverage. You’re also getting something with lower hours on the electronics, less turns of the encoders, less presses of the buttons, less exposure to dust etc.
I like saving money but unless you think you might not get along with an Octatrack and just want to be able to move it along at a minimal loss in the event you don’t like it, I think the newer build date is a better value.
800 is a good price though so I understand the internal conflict!
I don’t travel much, but the decksaver is nice to have and a plus. At the same time I’m trying to avoid the accessories influencing my decision too much.
Would be great to know what a check up / pro-active servicing at Elektron would cost so that I can weigh up the eventualities.
Elektron warranty is 3 years but from date of manufacture, if you don’t have any proof of purchase
You can see the manufacturing date (MFGDT) on the serial number sticker on the bottom of the machine.
Retailer warranty is not transferable and thus only valid for the original buyer.
Any product sold legally new in EU is covered by a base 2 years warranty whatever warranty duration is provided by the manufacturer. This base warranty runs from date of purchase, and covers second hand owners for the remaining period.
Without the other considerations, 800€ is a great price for that package, the OT is a workhorse, if it works it will still work.
My one problem with the OT required repair, the transistor issue, haven’t had any problems since, do you know the repair history of the older one? What about the visual condition?
Personally I’ll almost always go for the less expensive variant, even with scuffs/cosmetic issues that have no impact on playing.
In terms of the colour, I admit that I prefer the black one (I have the grey), but is this meant to be an exhibition showpiece or an instrument? When you’re playing a show nobody is looking at whether all your gear matches …
The price difference to me is enough to go for the older one … a 4 year old OT still makes the same music as a newer one, use the 250€ for something else.
All of the replies are quite similar to the things that go from left to right and back again in my head.
The owner said that there had been no problems so far. Based on this statement, I assume that there have been no repairs either. But I would have to ask him to be sure.
The function also has priority for me, the colour is even tertiary. But I am very meticulous when dealing with my own equipment, which after several years of use still looks as if it was freshly packaged. A device with lots of cosmetic flaws would probably bother me. But that’s not the case with what I’ve seen so far of the cheaper offer.
Ahh, great. Thanks for sharing. I wonder whether the policy is outdated after almost 7 years.
However, i don’t see any problems with the Elektron warranty, as one device would be from a dealer who provides an invoice. Accordingly, the Elektron warranty should apply from the date of purchase, or am i missing something?
there is no point of paying the extra of the newer one… ive hade old ones even mk1 and works well. IF something would happen and needs repair and remember IF, elektron often dont charge that much…
It’s for the machine itself regardless of owner, starts at date of original purchase or at date of manufacturing if date of original purchase cannot be determined.
Haha! Are you maybe the seller of the cheaper offer?
Some valid (potential) reasons against it were mentioned though. But yes, the price is of course also in its favour, otherwise I would never have written the thread.
Thank you, I hope that I will have made a decision soon.
I don’t know about any warranty rules specific to EU but the Elektron warranty on the machine goes from the build date except in the event of original sale, then the sales date is the beginning of the warranty as shown on the original purchase receipt.
The seller is a dealer, but this is not the first sale, so for any warranty offered by your seller, it should begin with the time of sale, however the Elektron warranty is already a ticking clock from the build date on the bottom, based upon the fact that the device has already been sold to a new owner once.
That should not impact anything about the dealer’s warranty date, they can coexist as 2 separate things, but if the newer OT was first sold 6 months ago (and if that is true and accurate) then you have to go from the build date on the bottom of the machine unless the dealer is in possession of the original sales receipt from the original owner, so I would check that date on the bottom of the machine because if it’s like 2024wk3 then a year of the warranty has already expired.
I was not sure what happens if the seller sells a used device even with an invoice. And for the decision making I assume a 2-year dealer warranty. Unfortunately, the seller is not very responsive today, which is why I probably won’t be able to find out the detail about the date of manufacture within the next few hours.
