Amps, new or used?

[Huggy Love]

I've purchased as many used guitars as I have new ones, but when it comes to amps (or generally any electronics) I tend to lean towards buying new. Too many things to go wrong in circuits and wiring, poor care by original user, etc. I think I've only bought one used amp, and it was a gift to get someone started on elec guitar.

SO where are you with it? Like new stuff only? Old gems? Used amp horror stories?

 

[toothace]

Got both my Archon and HXDA(thanks Bodia!!) used and not a single problem. Have had pretty good luck with used pedals as well, mostly from the auction sites. Only issue was/is a burned out LED on my chorus pedal. That being said, I DO also love the smell of fresh glue and vinyl in the morning, so I respectfully decline to answer your survey

 

[BrianC]

I agree about new electronics unless I know the seller.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I’ll buy used amps from forum members, because, you know... they’re solid people.

 

[CandidPicker]

I think (but am not totally sure) most of my amps were purchased new (save for my former Rivera Quiana (GC, used), and Blues Deluxe USA (GC, used, lacquered by previous owner)).

Most times, if I'm looking for a certain amp, I'll not buy used unless I can test drive it first. Other times, if the amp has checked out on YouTube with good demoes, the pig-in-a-poke route occurs.

That being said, I usually know what tube complement works to my best advantage as well as won't damage others' hearing if volume adjustments might be needed. Am usually a one or 2 channel guy, but have recently been sticking with one channel as a clean platform with effects for tone-shaping and color.

 

[markd21]

I have always enjoyed vintage amps, and before going PRS "crazy" I was vintage Fender Amp "crazy". Yeah, some of them needed work, but they were 40-50 years old!! I have bought more modern amps used and never really had issues. I have only bought ONE new tube amp in the last 20 years, and it's the ONLY tube amp I have had problems with....

I got one of the first 2019 Bad Cat Cub IV 15R combos out of the factory. John over there at BC figures it's within the first 5. Anyway, I got it home and the reverb didn't work. I tried the cables, the tubes, all short of replacing the tank. Bad Cat was cool, and planned on sending a new tank, but it was right around NAMM 2019, so I figure that they got too busy and forgot to sending it out. No worries, I use a Strymon Flint for reverb and trem anyway.

I am still using and supporting Bad Cat, so it is not a big deal to me - but it is food for thought.

 

[AP515]

I've purchased used amps a lot. Been burned once. I've purchased a new amp once. Got burned on that one too. Well not burned I guess because the warranty covered the repair. But the new ones have gremlins just like the used.

 

[Ryan Murphy]

Ive always prefered to purchase new, and that goes beyone guitar tech too. I like messing up my own things

 

[elvis]

I generally buy used. The times I had to fix stuff, the cost was massively outweighed by the amount I've saved by buying used.

Also, I can usually fix stuff on my own.

 

[László]

I’m far too neurotic to buy used gear.

I’m also way too neurotic to fully enjoy owning new gear.

“Mr. S...”

“Yes Dr. Freud?”

“Please leave the diagnosis to me. What was your early life like?”

“The baby book my mother kept reflects that the housekeeper was dusting, and my very first complete sentence was, “You missed a spot.”

“So you’ve always been a nutcase, then?”

“Pardon me, Dr. Freud?”

“Can you recall a time when you didn’t have bats in the belfry?”

“I...I’m not sure what you mean...”

[sighs] “Were you ever normal?”

“Well, I...I...had two careers, and raised a family, and...”

“Why two careers?”

“Well, at first I wanted to be successful, so I was a lawyer, and then I decided life was too short for that, so I became a musician...and...”

[interrupts] “So the answer is no, you were never normal?”

“I guess not.”

 

[Black Plaid]

Life is rarely binary like that, I currently own 2 amps I bought new. As for used I have an '86 Mesa Mk III I couldn't afford new when it came out, a 60's Gibson I wasn't alive for to buy new, and an Archon that was too good a deal to pass up.

 

[dmatthews]

Bought my HRDX locally on Craigs, no worries
Bought the PRS H from a forum member (thanks crgtr) no worries
Bought the PRS Custom 50 from a store vendor on Reverb no worries.
Bought the Kemper (sorry Les) on Craigs no worries.

Older carp came from friends.
Lucky I guess.

 

[JJJ]

I buy used amps generally and I do so knowing the risks. It's an excellent way to buy good gear affordably, just the same as with guitars. It really pays to know a bit about amps and electronics though, and to either be able to service them yourself, or have access to a quality tech. Always leave yourself some funds for repairs in case things go south

Sometimes it works out fine, other times you get a basket case and you're out of pocket. I'd say whenever you buy used, it's worth keeping some cash aside to have the amp serviced.

It's worth noting that new amps have component failures and issues just the same, so it pays to research what you're buying. Also learning some basics allows you to spot red flags quickly and walk away from sales before you get yourself in trouble. People do weird things with amps, and I have learned that when stores claim an amp has been serviced prior to sale, sometimes those 'services' are quite shoddy and dangerous. The simplest things help, looking for missing or incorrect fuses, checking the power cable is appropriate, making sure it's got the correct tube types in it (a lot of substitutions people seem to think are okay, really aren't), looking for signs it's been stored poorly or exposed to moisture, etc.

In one particular ad, I noticed the seller had a headphone adapter jack plugged into a speaker out on a tube amp. That was enough for me to ignore the sale. On older amps I see often, removed fuses, relocated cap cans etc and you have to wonder what quality the work that has been done is, especially if you can't inspect it.

My last two amps were used, both times with the servicing and replacement parts I needed to bring them up to scratch, I still hadn't paid market value for better working examples.

In the future I would actually really like to buy a brand new amp, I have my eye on a hand-wired Matamp from the UK, but that's a luxury. I still think buying second hand is more economical if you're smart about it

 

[Tone-y]

Like everyone else on here I've done a bit of both.

My first amp I bought new, but that was a cheap amp (even though it was all valve) so any savings for second hand would have been minimal and besides, it was in the days before the internet/ebay had really taken off so finding second hand wasn't as easy as it is now.
Then I bought a more powerful Hughes & Kettner secondhand as I needed something more than a cheap practice amp but was on a budget. A few years later and I had some more savings, so I treated myself to a brand new Cornford Carrera.
My most recent amp purchase a few years ago was for a second hand Cornford Hurricane. The main reason for going second hand then was because Cornford had by then gone bust and the amps were no longer made, I wanted to get my hands one one whilst I had the chance. The first thing I did when I got it though was buy a complete set of new valves for it though.
I am more weary of buying second hand amps than other guitar related gear, but it all depends on what you're buying and for what purpose. Anything that looks like it has been well used that isn't also a vintage/boutique/rare amp then I would probably just stay away and find something in better condition. The Hurricane I wasn't worried about it being second hand as I didn't actually need it for any particular purpose so it didn't matter if it needed some attention, plus it is all hand wired point to point so easier to work on.

Guitars though, I think I prefer them to be second hand! You can get a higher grade guitar at a second hand price than new (I always like having a top of the range model rather than a standard one if I can) and they've already started to pick up dinks and dents so you don't feel so bad when you inevitably donk it yourself. Plus I like a worn in feel to a guitar. I've now sold all the guitars that I've bought new and replaced them with second hand guitars.

 

[Rider1260]

I’ll buy used amps from forum members, because, you know... they’re solid people.

Hmmm 2 - Channel H from Brian , MKV From Sergio , Oh and the DG30 from Bodia that went to Sergio

The last new amp I had was in 82 my MK2 B

 

[sergiodeblanc]

And I got the Mark V from JFB.

 

[Huggy Love]

Too bad we don't have a marketplace section, I agree that the members here are a cut above, and I'd be more inclined to trust used gear from folks who play, collect, and appreciate a more refined and elite guitar than that other muck on the market. ......


.....you can PM me with any un-pass-up-able deals.....................

 

[bodia]

Mostly new, for me. I've had a ton of amps dating back to 1984, all SS (with one exception) until maybe 10 years ago. I didn't buy a used amp until I bought the HXDA from CME. That was 3 or 4 years ago. Come to think of it, the only used amps I've bought have been PRS amps. HXDA, Custom 50 and DG30. The DG30 came from a studio environment where the owner decided he like the DG50 better, and kept that one. The other two I had no idea of previous ownership.

 

[veinbuster]

I haven’t bought new in a while.
Bass man 10 in 70 something
Boogie Mark III late 80s
Mrs gave me a Mark V 2010
And a used MDT a couple years later
Kemper from jfb last year

 

[elvis]

I got my Archon used.

*mic drop*