howieee Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 i am going to be buying a second hand amp very soon. i just wanted to know what bad stuff to look out for. as far as the person im buying it off is concerned its in prestine condition.... bought in 1997 and giged 5 times. its an ampeg svt classic valve head and two 4x10s. just wanted to know what to look out for problems wise. its not been used for 10 years or so! and iv never owned a valve amp and dont no much about them other than they are the bees knees! so have they become redundant as they have not been used for over 10 years. or will they be as new becuase they havent been used. i no they need to be replaced after a while. so yeh is there any hum i should be listening for or anythign like that? if there are problems how majour will they be and how expensive to fix? eg a new set of valves etc thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 If it's a valve head, budget getting a tech to look over it. There are circumstances where a valve amp can appear to be working fine, but is also a lethal killing machine. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on how well your bass is earthed and how inclined people are to touch your amp without permission. They'll make all sorts of funny noises when starting up. Get a meter and figure how to use it to check the marked impedance of the cabs is right, and don't turn it on without it plugged into cabs. 'I don't have a cab but I can show you the valves light up.' is a classic phrase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misrule Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I found this guide useful. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1880"]Basschat amp buying guide[/url] Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howieee Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 [quthanks guys! i didnt see that post! im new here as you can see! lol:) thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Has it been stored the back room or in the garden shed? Has it been damp at any time? Was it covered or is it full of dust? Some of the electrics might deteriorate over time and when not used, capacitors do this I believe. Is it cheap enough to cover any costs you might encounter when getting it going again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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