Rumbles have been around a long time. They had their dark times as many brands did.
New ones are plywood. They learned their lesson.
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Dealbreaker or reparable?
- Thread starter ChrisBowsman
- Start date
Rumbles have been around a long time. They had their dark times as many brands did.
New ones are plywood. They learned their lesson.
There's a lot of negative nellys on this thread.
Should the damage at the bottom of the cab scare you away? Not necessarily, you'd have to actually try the amp to work out if anything else is damaged.
Given it looks like only the bottom has any real damage it is possible only the bottom id damaged. You could probably cut a piece of wood or wood like object the size of the base, screw it on, maybe with brackets holding to the sides, and have a perfectly functional amp.
Would you want to? How much is a perfectly functional undamaged amp worth?
Should the damage at the bottom of the cab scare you away? Not necessarily, you'd have to actually try the amp to work out if anything else is damaged.
Given it looks like only the bottom has any real damage it is possible only the bottom id damaged. You could probably cut a piece of wood or wood like object the size of the base, screw it on, maybe with brackets holding to the sides, and have a perfectly functional amp.
Would you want to? How much is a perfectly functional undamaged amp worth?
A case study:
I bought a pair of peavey powered monitors that had clearly been left on a porch for a very long time.
Horns were literally blocked up with dirt, input jacks so rusty they didn't work, one edge of one of the boxes had started the particle board melt thingy, and clear water marking on the woofers.
Replace the input jacks and volume pots, pull the horns apart and wash the dirt out, and those 30 yr old monitors are back to as good as new performance wise.
Buying them was a gamble and there's no way I would have paid 200 for em, but sometimes you win, and they are awesome monitors.
Even have the original peavey removable magnet rebuildable speakers. Wonder if you can still get the replacement cones? Not that I think I'll need since they still work fine after how they've been treated.
I bought a pair of peavey powered monitors that had clearly been left on a porch for a very long time.
Horns were literally blocked up with dirt, input jacks so rusty they didn't work, one edge of one of the boxes had started the particle board melt thingy, and clear water marking on the woofers.
Replace the input jacks and volume pots, pull the horns apart and wash the dirt out, and those 30 yr old monitors are back to as good as new performance wise.
Buying them was a gamble and there's no way I would have paid 200 for em, but sometimes you win, and they are awesome monitors.
Even have the original peavey removable magnet rebuildable speakers. Wonder if you can still get the replacement cones? Not that I think I'll need since they still work fine after how they've been treated.
One of those negative nellies went to the advert and reported a flood line for if the visible disintegration of the particle board isn't enough.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
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- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
Exposure to high humidity is bad for electronic equipment, and especially for pots, speakers, and anything ferrous like a transformer or iron wire coil. The melted cabinet is an obvious sign the unit has been partially submerged. That dampness will take a toll.
Have you actually looked at the pics? I can't see any actual flood line, the whole thing just looks dirty.
Even if there was one doesn't mean it doesn't work.
Given the shop presumably took this thing in as currently presented I'm going to assume they actually test stuff before accepting and the fact is the thing works fine and no one actually looked at the bottom till long after they accepted it.
It's all just speculation till someone actually plugs the thing in and tries it though.
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Perhaps you aren't used to looking at pictures of damaged gear, I certainly see my fair share given my job.
The giveaway is that the bottom back is so swollen that it's pulled the Tolex apart and it's bulged at the joints. This is a no brainer that the cabinet was submerged in water for long enough that the particle board disintegrated at least a few inches up the cabinet.
While the amp portion MAY work, it's been exposed to the undeniable high humidity that took its toll on the cabinet. This is generally destructive to the amp (in the long term) as well as the cabinet.
Since clean working combos of this model are available for only a little more than what they are asking for this total gamble, IMO only a fool would part themselves from their money for anything more than scrap value.
These older, heavy combos are dogs on the resale market to begin with. I see them list for anywhere from $200 to $350 and I'd venture a guess that they rarely get more than $275.
At the asking price, even if you could manage to restore the thing, you'd never reach break-even.
The final kicker is, I don't think they were great sounding amps to begin with, so why bother?
Unless there is still water in the amp then it has corroded as much as it is ever going to from this event.
Are amps warranted for use in the tropics in buildings without air conditioning? Humidity gets really high there as well.
Do you also think that in your job you are far more likely to see amps with damaged cabinets and electrical problems, than those with damaged cabinets without?
Either way I still wouldn't pay almost Good condition second hand price for it, but I expect the thing works fine or that shop would have gone out of business long ago. Do you think they really took it in without even plugging it in?
Any corrosion can continue to be a problem and manifest as issues later on unless you open the thing up and clean it meticulously. That process would likely introduce more potential for failure as well.
I appreciate your optimism but the amp is just not worth more than scrap value. If someone wants to make a project out of it, that's admirable as well but unless you are looking for a project and an unreliable amp, stay far away from this purchase.
Maybe, Maybe not. until someone opens it up and looks though, no one actually knows what condition it's in.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,947
- 5
- 220,547
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Actually, that's not true either. The corrosive salts that are dissolved in the water (ESPECIALLY flood type water) are de[posited on all surfaces and continue to do their destructive work, especially when the humidity is high. This is the reason all PCBs that are aqueously processed are washed use either distilled or deionized water for the final rinse cycles.
I see both, and I am also aware of the long term consequences to reliability. The odds are not all that great IME.
Actually, I'm rather surprised that anybody took this in, or would be willing to pay anywhere near that kind of money in that condition. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if this was an inside joke.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,947
- 5
- 220,547
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
