Amp issue?

[BrotherMister]

I seek council from the more informed amp gurus.

Yesterday I sold an amp to a guy, he came to my place and tested the amp out, went over it and what not and was happy enough to buy it. He also mentioned that his wife didn't know he was buying an amp.

Today however I'm getting phone calls and texts saying the amp sounds horrible in his rehearsal room and can't handle loud volumes and wanted to return it tonight. I was out and it is now to late to do that so it has given me some time to think things over.

I've messaged him asking him to clarify the specific issue with no word yet. From what I can gather he seems to say the amp sounds horrible at loud volumes. I'm not sure what he means by this, the cabinets are 400 watts and the amp head is 300 so I'm guessing that even with the head up max it still isn't going to sound horrible through the cabinets since they have enough power to deal with a higher input. I play professionally so the amp has genuinely been in all sorts of weird and wonderful rooms and yet I have never faced this issue.

Is there any sort of logic to his issue? My knowledge of amps is fairly limited and I'm not getting how it can sound fine enough for him to buy it after playing through it and then deciding it is a horrible amp. I'm happy enough to return it if he genuinely has a problem but I suspect angry significant other has come into play in which case that can't be my issue. I don't think of myself as an ass and have purchased second hand gear before so if there is an issue I would like to think if the roles were reversed the guy I purchased something from would accommodate me but I'm not sure I can deal with the fact it is just an angry wife issue trying to be covered up as something else. I have offered to go out and hear the amp in the room to see what his problem is but I suspect he won't accept that option.

Can anyone offer any clarity on the amp issue?

Also apologies if this is in the wrong area, feel free to move it to the appropriate place mods.

 

[seamonkey]

Maybe nothing is wrong with the amp. Buyers remorse.
He could have busted the amp.
Unless you said there was a warranty, or wrote it down, there is no warranty.
Unless you misrepresented it like saying it was "Metal Monster louder than any drummer"
The guy to be some lunatic and maybe you just want to give the money back to get him out of your hair, Be a nice guy, And move on.
Read the CL advise on selling things.

 

[nashvillebill]

An appropriate response would be "Sir, I am sorry you feel dissatisfied now, but you came over to my house, played the amp, and chose to buy it. The sale is final. Have a nice day."

 

[Musky]

I'm with Seamonkey in this.

You mention cabinets so I'm guessing you sold him a full stack. Was the total wattage 400w or was each cab 400w? If it's the former you could get the speakers to crap out pretty easily, so he might not be full of BS. He just doesn't know how to use the cabs, that's all. You might want to check that they still work for you before taking them back though.

 

[beans-on-toast]

My biggest concern is that you don't know what was done to the amp. They might have abused it and damaged it. Maybe they found another used one that they prefer.

You don't own them anything and aren't a bad person for refusing to take it back. You aren't a store that offers a return policy. He tested it out, bought it, he owns it. He has to accept responsibility for his decision. He can sell it if he doesn't want it.

If you choose to return his money, charge him $100 rental. Your terms of he keeps it.

 

[Jim Carr]

I would take it back (accept it as a return). Inspect it when it is returned. If he broke it, charge him $150 for a repair and call it a day. I suspect that he just isn't happy with it, and the marital strife is only background to that. More likely his guitarists are complaining that he can finally be heard!

 

[friendlybass]

Betcha ten bucks the amp sounded horrible over the wife yelling about it.
All in home sales are final imo. He had the opportunity to cranks it at your house, and chose not to. You always crank it if the speakers can handle it, to see if speakers, fuses, or anything else will blow.
Its up to you how above and beyond you go for this dude, but I personally wouldn't take it back

 

[BrotherMister]

He cranked it in my house, then spent another 20 odd minutes playing through it. It sounded fine for him to buy it and I can hand on heart say there has never been any issues with it and it left my house with no problems. It wasn't as if it was an online purchase and he was taking a risk, he came over and tried it out and we went over it together and there were no problems.

The rig was 2 cabs that 200 watt (so 400 when set up) and the head is 300. I went over that as well so he knew fine, he asked a lot of questions about the history of it and stuff and was satisfied so if he has cranked it and ruined it after he left my house I don't see why I should be responsible to that. However I'm happy to take it back if there is a genuine issue that we both may have missed. I'm not buying that 'it sounds crap in my room' thing, that is the equivalent of I'm returning this bass because it was in tune when I bought it. That is why I was asking if it be an issue with a 300 watt head running into 400 watt cab? If he is running it at full volume could the cabs be buzzing or something and that is his issue?

I have offered to go and see it in the rehearsal room to see what the problem is and I think that is fair. For all I know he just knows nothing about how to use an eq.

 

[waltdogg]

Well you're not actually running a 300 watt head into a 400 watt cab. Provided your cabs are matched, you're putting 150 watts into each 200 watt cab IIRC. Meaning those cabs are pretty much already at their limits.

 

[BrotherMister]

Is that some sort of issue though? the 'it sounds crap in my room and doesn't handle loud volumes' seems far too vague for me since I have had it fine at loud volumes and sounding fine in all sorts of rooms but if I have lied to him in that a 300 watt amp can manage fine with both the cabs then I'll happily take it back for my misinformation.

 

[FunkHead]

Is that some sort of issue though? the 'it sounds crap in my room and doesn't handle loud volumes' seems far too vague for me since I have had it fine at loud volumes and sounding fine in all sorts of rooms but if I have lied to him in that a 300 watt amp can manage fine with both the cabs then I'll happily take it back for my misinformation.

Its not an issue. Each Cab has about 50 watts of spare headroom. He may be one of these guys that will never be happy with any rig. A good player that knows a bit about EQ can make any decent rig sound good.

 

[waltdogg]

If he's playing *really* loud it might be an issue. Otherwise, at this point he's probably just a hack or his wife is on his back.

 

[BrotherMister]

I strongly suspect that this may be a 'it isn't a good amp for metal'. He is trying to say that he couldn't hear the tone because some plates were rattling in my house, which only happened when we cranked it 11.

Although I think the 'it sounds bad in my room' must be the amp equivalent of 'but the bass was in tune when I bought it'.

 

[chadds]

If he damaged the speakers then you get screwed. Offer to go to his house and hear it. Then he can show you the problem. You are already doing more than necessary. If he declines then you decline to take it back. If he gets ugly tell him your sound man is an off duty State officer and wants to finish this conversation. Or your brothers or your hockey team are looking for someone to do, I mean something to do over the holidays. JK

All sales are final is a good answer.

I had this happen. I was selling a Datsun yes a Datsun, B210 for $300. It had $280.00 worth of new tires with nibs still on them.
It was a car a high schooler drives to and from school that's all. Guy shows up with his mechanic and pours over the car. List of ailments though it was safe. I said yep it's a $300 car. He left. 20 min later 5 guys show up look over it and buy it on the spot. They worked together in an auto body shop and didn't want to dirty their nice cars commuting so they bought it together.

A week later the first guy shows up asking, "where's the car?"

You can't warrant it after it leaves your house. Just because he can't sound like GeddyFlea doesn't mean your amp is broken. If his wife's yelling he should know her by now. So now he has to CL it like other folks. Wait til this happens during his sale! Think he'll take it back?

 

[lfmn16]

I wouldn't ask him anything. It doesn't matter why he doesn't like it. All sales are final. If he wants the option to return an amp, he should go to a retail store or online store.

 

[BrotherMister]

I'm trying to be reasonable, I have purchased secondhand gear before and if anything were wrong with it then obviously I would hope the seller would still engage me. I have offered to go and hear it but so far nothing received on that offer and I think if a problem has risen I'm entitled to go see it myself before I accept any sort of exchange. Plus I'm able to clarify any damage that may be done since we it left me. The way I see it is that he came over, tested it out and it met all requirements that he purchased it so the problem has arisen after the point of purchase. Pretty much everyone I have spoken to has laughed at this but something still tells me I need to be involved with it. It must be the whole trying to be a decent human thing getting the best of me.

 

[Jim Carr]

...I have offered to go and hear it but so far nothing received on that offer and I think if a problem has risen I'm entitled to go see it myself before I accept any sort of exchange. Plus I'm able to clarify any damage that may be done since we it left me...

I would do as you are doing. Take a buddy. Keep us posted.

 

[B-string]

Maybe the buyer just needs to invest in a better room? Sounded silly? I am actually in earnest the unit could be rattling his room.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

Possible abuse aside, it could sound bad in his room.
Maybe it is rattlling something in the house that his old amp couldn't.
Maybe it's on a curcuit with a fridge, washing machine and freezer
and there isn't enough current left for an amp.

None of those are your fault.
If you want, you could try to find the cause for him,
but that is all up to you.

 

[Aqualung60]

Betcha ten bucks the amp sounded horrible over the wife yelling about it.
All in home sales are final imo. He had the opportunity to cranks it at your house, and chose not to. You always crank it if the speakers can handle it, to see if speakers, fuses, or anything else will blow.
Its up to you how above and beyond you go for this dude, but I personally wouldn't take it back

I have to agree with Friendlybass, he most likely caught a rash of sh*t from his wife for buying it and now is trying to get his money back and shut his wife up.