Should I buy this second hand amp?
 

It's an Ampeg SVT 810 cab and it's pretty beat up but it's going for a good price.

The RRP: £999

his price: £500

(pounds, GBP, remember)

So that's a pretty sweet deal, I get to try it out before I buy it and he says the wounds to it are only surface.

Should I ask for it cheaper? Anyone got any advice? Appearances aren't that big of a deal to me, I can always patch up the fabric with tape I guess.

I can add more pictures if you need them but the front and the back seem fine

This is the front

This is looking like a lonely thread

isn't British stuff cheaper over there?

Although they claim that it is just cosmetic damage but you will never know how hard the speakers have been abused. This could be a problem.

I would ask someone here at basschat if it is a good deal.

Figure what year it is, there are some right duffer ampeg 8x10s about, price doesn't seem amazing, you can get far better cabs, unless you just have to have an Ampeg 8x10.

I'm not necessarily tied down to the Ampeg 8x10, I'm going to be using it with an Ampeg SVT7 head so it seemed an obvious choice. The guy says he got it new 3 years ago.

Has anyone got any advice on what to look for in terms of speaker damage?

If the speakers are in good condition you should buy it. I would try to negotiate a lower price based on the appearance of the cab.

you need to test it, I am sure the worth of it, depends on when it was made. We can pick up used svt cabs for $500 USD here in the states. Ripped tolex is not a big deal blown drivers are.

After a few years of gigs almost any 810 will start to look like that.
so cosmetic...who cares.

now you do not have to go through the pain of seeing it new and crying over every new scratch and dent that paper thin vinyl gets.

otherwise just like a used car, you need to ask the seller lots of questions. And be somewhat of a detective and judge by their reactions if they are lying or not.

Just ask questions about speaker damage or speaker replacement. and ask more than once or re word the same question many times to judge all of the answers
otherwise it seems like a ok deal

used 810's in american dollars is around 600 to 900
so in euros I guess that is at the low/mid point of the scale at around
670 dollars.

so i would question why its at the lowend of the scale cosmetic reasons? desperate for money, replaced or mismatched speakers? damaged speakers and so on.

I have seen really really pretty 810's sell for alot and then to find out that the drivers have all been replaced with really crap junk speakers. or just one or 2 have been replaced with junk speakers. then i have seen some 810's that look absolutely horrible but the speakers are just fine.

so again i just always inspect for different colored speaker cones and then ask alot of questions and judge by the sellers reaction if they are lying or not. and after seeing so many of them I just kinda know what the speakers are suppose to look like.

seems like a fair price if there is good drivers.
if its a particle board cabinet it is way more heavy than the plywood versions

Thanks guys :) this is all giving me a lot of confidence and everything. The guy was in a band that was gaining a fair amount of attention but decided to leave to concentrate on his studies, (never met him before) I'm assuming he's giving up bass but i'll be sure to ask a lot of questions.

I'll see if I can get the price down by 50 quid or so.

Is there anything in particular I should be on the look out for from the speakers audio wise?

I'll be sure to check for the odd colour or shape speakers.