Late 70's Ampeg SVT Black Line on Craigslist...help!?

[nillawaffa]

I just found a late 70's Ampeg SVT black line head on Craigslist for around $1500. It is in really good shape and sounds amazing (I've tested it). I was wondering if I should pull the trigger and buy it. Is there anything I should look out for before I decide to buy it?

[anonymous02282011]

new caps

test the tubes if you can

but if it sounds good and you can swing the bread I'd say go for it.

[JimmyM]

ditto.

[nillawaffa]

Originally Posted by adbass

new caps

test the tubes if you can

but if it sounds good and you can swing the bread I'd say go for it.

How can I test the tubes? The only way I know how is to push them really hard and see if they blow up

[anonymous02282011]

well, you'd need a tube tester.

also check and make sure the previous owner wasn't doing anything silly like running the amp without a speaker attached.

if they're the original capacitors you may want to think about getting those changed. A cap kit is 70 bucks + shipping from fliptops ... plus labor of course. You might be able to use this as negotiating leverage.

[JimmyM]

honestly, if it sounds amazing today, it should sound amazing for a while. however, you can ask questions like "when was it last serviced" and how old are the caps and tubes as negotiation tactics. might get an extra hundy or two off the price.

[nysbob]

Even if it had a bad tube (which it apparently doesn't), it's still a great friggin' amp. As far as I know, my black line still has the original caps in it and it works fine FWIW.

[beans-on-toast]

I would do what Jimmy suggested. Ask about the service history. You want to know if anything was changed or if any mods were performed. Ask if they know how long it has been since the tubes have been changed. A smoke free environment is added value. Smell the amp!

The price sounds fair, anything less is a bonus.