There's a lot of reasons to buy new gear. But sometimes, used ain't a bad way to go. Certain items, I wouldn't think twice about looking at used gear. Other things...it just doesn't make sense. So this week I thought I would share my thoughts on used equipment...what makes sense to consider, and what makes absolutely no sense.
First off, I'm not going to talk about instruments and instrument amplifiers. Once you start getting into that "vintage" thing, I think people loose a lot of their common sense. Yeah, some older amps sound pretty good. But others....they sounded like a broken speaker at Sonic Drive-In. But, because it was from the 60's some folks will convince themselves that they're in tone nirvana. So, I'm not going there. We'll limit our talk to PA equipment only.
Speaking Of...
Speakers are something that as long as they don't look like they've been dragged behind a truck are safe to consider. But, you definitely want to look things over carefully and actually fire them up before you hand over your money. Take a flash light to shine through the grill (or better yet, ask if you can take it off) to inspect the speaker. You're obviously looking for tears in the cone, but also look for water/beer stains...especially if it's a monitor slant. Speaker cones are (for the most part) paper, and they don't like liquid. A lot of liquid spilled on a speaker will shorten it's life and affect the sound.
If you get the grill off, gently push the speaker in using your finger tips on both hands. Push about halfway between the center and edge. What you're looking for is if you feel like anything is rubbing or catching. The speaker should move freely. If it doesn't, that indicates that the voice coil is damaged or not aligned properly with the magnet. That's caused by either excessive power, over excursion (from too much bass), or the thing was dropped from a significant height. Fixing that calls for a re-cone. Figure $50 to $150 dollars depending on what brand, model, and size of the speaker. For me, that's usually a deal breaker.
Listen to each speaker in a system individually. You don't want to find out after you get home that one of the woofers in a dual 15 cabinet isn't working. Unless you run them at a low level and put your ear right up to the cabinet, it's hard to tell.
Getting Amp'd Up
I used to have no trouble buying used power amps as long as they were less than 8 years old. Why that age? Well, after 10 or so years most gear needs to have the electrolytics capacitors replaced. That's something I do all the time, but unless it's just a killer deal I don't want to have to do it immediately.
Again, check out the physical condition. If it's scratched up, no big deal. But, if it looks like a corner or front panel is caved in, the amp could be hiding circuit board or component damage inside.
In addition to listening to the amp you really want to look at it. If it's filthy to the point that the air intakes / exhaust are clogged, I'l pass right there. That tells me that the owner gave it no maintainence whatsoever, and that the components have been running at an elevated temperature. And as I previously mentioned, every 10 degrees C (18 degrees farenheit) the temperture is elevated, you cut the life of some components in half! People that treat their gear like that typically don't change the oil in their vehicles at the appropriate intervals either. Here's a photo taken right off of Craigslist:
That filthy air filter on the bottom would kill the deal for me. That, and the Power Base series wasn't exactly one of Crown's best amps. They were built for a price point first and foremost, and performance / reliability second.
That said, it doesn't have to be operating room sterile. Here's that fan intake on an XLS 402 (one of Crown's best amps for the money) that I consider normal use:
Yeah, I'm good with that. And the fact that I know this amp inside and out.
He Ain't Heavy...Wait, Yeah He Is
Now, my biggest arguement against buying used power amps now...weight! If I'm going to install them in a fixed installation, no big deal. But if I'm moving this stuff in and out of clubs several times a month, it quickly becomes a consideration. The pounds-per-watt has been coming down rapidly in the last few years thanks to improvements in switching power supply technology (and that lets the transformers get small and lighter). It's at the point now where I can get into something in the range of 1000 watts (real ones) that weighs under 15 pounds. In the late 80s I was using Peavey CS-800s. Almost the same power, but almost 60 pounds. A rack of 4 of those was absolute death when you loaded out at 3:00 in the morning!
And The Rest Of The Stuff...
Consoles, EQ's, Compressors, Crossovers...the low level signal stuff. That stuff very rarely fails due to electrical problems. It's almost always physical damage or dirty potentiometers. Equalizers are especially susceptible to dirt, but they're also the easiest to clean. What you do want to look for is evidence of something getting spilled into them. Beer is tough to clean out. Sodas...forget it.
Missing knobs (if there's just a couple)...no biggie. I can usually get replacements from the manufacturers. But ones where the shafts are sheared off...again that's showing some potential physical abuse.
And then, it comes down to the brand. Quality brands Rane, White, Ashley, DBX, BSS...hard to go wrong with that stuff. It's built well and can be repaired if needed. One brand of rack gear I will never buy again is Behringer. Period. The first thing that fails on their gear is the pushbutton switches. And here's the kicker...you can't even disassemble the stuff to clean them. Or I should say you can't reassemble it when you're finished. Why? Because they put that stuff together with double-sided tape! Yeah, you read that right. To fix their stuff, you literally have to duct tape it back together. I've thrown away a crossover and two 4-channel compressors for this very reason. Naw...screw those guys if they can't even use screws to put their stuff together. That stuff was replaced with DBX and Presonus gear, and I've never looked back.
Check The Spare When You're Kicking The Tires
Whatever you're looking at buying, make sure you check every single function on the device unless you like being surprised later on. That means every button, knob, and switch. If the seller is rushing you along or gives you the "don't worry about that...it's fine", then ask them what kind of warranty they're giving you. If they offer a return period, as them to give it to you in writing (or better yet, ask them to send you an email to that effect with their contact into). If they don't want to do that, then they're either hiding something or just douche bags. Either way, you don't need to be dealing with 'em. Your time and money are better than that.
The Bottom Line
I've reached the point that I only buy used gear if:
- I'm saving at least 50% off of the new street price
- It's a killer deal with a problem that I'm reasonably confident I can fix
- It's some oddball piece of gear that's no longer made that I want to make up for selling the same thing when I was younger.
And there you go...Ken's guide to used gear. Take it for what you will. And just remember that only you can decide if a deal is a good deal.
Until next week, keep the meters out of the red (even if the red is a little faded)
Ken
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