Price difference in used amp heads

[Ezmar]

I'm getting a new set up, a 4x10 cab and looking for a used Hartke 3500 head. Looking at the used section of the Guitar Center Website, I see one going for $200, one for $250, and one for $275, all the same make and model. Interestingly, one of them is missing a couple EQ knob heads, but that's the $250 one. I'm on a tight-ish budget, although if it was worth it to save up the extra money, I could. What would the difference be in quality, besides simple cosmetic wear and tear? The $200 one looks to be in pretty good shape, with some scratches, and the picture doesn't show the top of the $275 one, so I don't know about that. But would the innards be pretty much the same? I want to make sure I don't buy something that's going to crap out on me, since I'm buying used.

[staindbass]

i dont think a new one would sound any better- dont they have a warranty ? ask them. i think you should buy the one with the scratches and have some money left for strings.

[Ezmar]

So there's probably nothing to worry about in terms of internal damage? Not likely to crap out on me? I've heard this is a VERY resilient and reliable amp, but better safe than sorry, right?

And yeah, I can get a warranty for 20 bucks, so I think I'll grab that. So the price difference is probably JUST cosmetic? The interesting thing was the one missing some knobs being more expensive, although it looked from the blurry picture (Curse you GC!) like it had a casing, like one of those plywood black carpet things, whereas the amp is originally just a metal box. So... Yeah. Thanks!

[77PBass]

Originally Posted by Ezmar

I want to make sure I don't buy something that's going to crap out on me, since I'm buying used.

fyi....I used a 3500 head for a while until it started intermittently crapping out. For no reason I could determine, it would just stop working. It stopped working in the middle of a gig and that was it. The head lived its life in an SKB case.

I took it to my tech and he told me he could fix it but that he couldn't say whether it would not happen again. He explained to me the way the amp is designed and constructed, there are stress points on the pc board and it develops cracks in the solder traces. The amp heats and cools execerbating the issue.

He found some and fixed them and the amp worked for a month and then started crapping out again. It is currently in storage. This was my experience...yours may vary.

Now before everyone chimes in about my tech, he is an old ampeg & univox employee. He is very familiar with Hartke amps. Many pro's in the nyc area use him.

The point I want to make is that, like cars, buying used gear is risky. With a car, usually the ones that are best used are the ones that retain their value and are usually not cheap to start because they are well designed. Think BMW.

[Ezmar]

Aw, you're making me scared!

But in all honesty, There's no way for me to tell, really? I might as well get the cheapest one and it's as likely as pretty much any other to give out prematurely? I'm Trying not to think about this too hard, that's really a bad habit for me.

[Jaco who?]

Used gear pricing is a very in-exact science, based largely on inventory when received on trade in. It's likely that when they priced the $275 amp, they only had that one amp to re sell. When they priced the $200 one, they might have had five other HA3500s to get rid off.

You might check out older 2 ohm Peaveys in the same price range. Mark 3 - 8, Nitro, Firebass, etc.