Right folks, I just decided to win the lottery this weekend and buy myself a Synthi suitcase used by Florian Schneider. That lot to be auctioned is just impressive, man.

It is impossible to tell the story of electronic music without examining the pioneering beats, grooves, and performance aesthetics of Dusseldorf’s Kraftwerk and its founding member, Florian Schneider. Formed in 1970, the band brought an experimental approach to pop music, resulting in some of the most innovative and commercially successful electronic albums of the mid-1970s into the 1980s: Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, and Computer World.

The Florian Schneider Collection is the first auction to feature a comprehensive collection of items from Florian’s personal life and career, providing a tantalizing glimpse at his and Kraftwerk’s often-enigmatic musical processes. The sale features over 450 lots of stage- and studio-played instruments and gear, clothing, artwork and furniture from Florian’s home and studios (as well as from Kraftwerk’s Kling Klang Studio), bicycles, Kraftwerk memorabilia, and Florian’s extensive collection of historic woodwind and brass instruments (flutes, clarinets, oboes, saxophones, horns, tubas, and one-of-a-kind oddities).

Bid on instruments and gear from all periods of Florian’s groundbreaking career with Kraftwerk, including flutes from the formative early albums and performances (such as Florian’s iconic 1960s Orsi alto flute) and a treasure trove of synths, drum machines, and vocoders (including an EMS Synthi AKS synthesizer, a Robovox and Votrax rack case, and a Roland M-160 line mixer). Also featured is a 1964 Volkswagen Type 2/T1 Kastenwagen (panel van), personally owned and driven by Florian, including in the 2007 German biographical film, Eight Miles High, and the Panasonic road bike ridden by Florian in the music video for Kraftwerk’s crossover single, “Tour De France.”

https://www.juliensauctions.com/en/auctions/the-florian-schneider-collection?tab=details

https://www.juliensauctions.com/en/auctions/the-florian-schneider-collection

 

Hmmm, EMS Synthi AKS?
It cost around 450£ when it was released in 1972

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMS_Synthi_AKS

And here's a video for your pleasure

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Florian Schneider (* 7 April 1947 in Öhningen-Kattenhorn;[1] † 21 April 2020 in Düsseldorf) was a German musician and composer. Together with Ralf Hütter, he founded the music group Organisation in 1968. From this group emerged the later world-famous band Kraftwerk in 1970, of which Schneider was a member until 2009.

 

And adjust that for inflation and then the maintenance and just the fact that there aren't too many of those floating around... If it sells for the $6000 that is the current bid then the buyer will be fairly lucky I'd say.

Still, this ad would make for a decent reprint:

 

Yeah, things get heavy over the years. I bet 450£ was a lot of money back in the day... And still is!
That ad is second to nun I guess, but it's not for everyone!

 

It would likely go for about 10k-20k normally, depending on all the usual grading conditions. That's with no "Kraftwerk historical value" added to it. Their estimate might even be light.

They only made about 1000 of them (per ai), and not every synth just survives 50 years. 450£ when it was released in 1972, is just around 7000£ adjusted for inflation. 1000 units might represent serial production, but not mass production. That's why more modern synths will never appreciate in value the same way. They make too many of anything.

 

Last edited: Oct 24, 2025 at 10:54 AM

Yeah, you can't brag to others about all the things you own. I think John Lennon sunglasses now sell for 3,000 British pounds. EDIT: One of John Lennon's famous round sunglasses has been auctioned online for 137,500 pounds (165,000 euros) - twenty times its initial estimated value. For some, it's an investment. Others might sleep better if they own a VW bus or something else from Kraftwerk.

An open question: who actually gets the money from the auction?

 

The myth Kraftwerk themselves created around the band — and especially the Kling-Klang studio in Dusseldorf — has always led to wild speculation in the past about how those once-unique sounds might have been created. Many claimed to know what kind of equipment was in the studio, but few actually did. Now, one has the opportunity not only to get a glimpse behind the scenes, but also to become part of this history by bidding on instruments and devices — some of which were once used in the Kling-Klang studio during album recordings or even on stage to produce the band’s signature sound.

The auction kind of destroys the myth a little, but of course it drives the prices up.

One might hate it, as it so clearly confronts us with the transience of our own existence — but Kraftwerk, too, is slowly disappearing from this world, and with them the myth of the "Knöpfchendreher" from Dusseldorf. The “Konsumprodukt” no longer needs to be kept alive and has served its purpose.

 

this is my favorite lot
floor-cart Maihak E-W49 Hi and Lo Pass Filter

 

It's also a little sad that all this will go to waste

If I were them, I would open a museum.