These days I don't have much money since I am still recovering from a back surgery and having to go in for a second one. So I was looking through the local Craigslist to see if I could find a used bass effects processor that's not made anymore. I came across a Markbass CMD 151P combo amp for sale at a local pawn shop that looked good in the picture, so I decided to call them and see if they would be interested in trading a couple of upland bird shotguns for it. They said yes and I had a feeling they would since the amp was posted awhile ago and guns are getting bought up fast these days at pawn shops. So I asked them what condition it was in and they said it was in mint condition.
So I took the ride down there to try it out after they said it sounded fine when they tried it out before purchasing it off the customer. So I plugged in to it and got an instant loud hum that no knob turning would fix, then a bunch of crackling which wasn't the cord or the jack to the bass. Then the jack to plug it in to a cabinet speaker was not even working. The amp also looked like it was gigged during an early 80's LA punk rock show and then used as a table at a college fraternity house. So it was far from excellent condition and more like a "could catch fire" condition.
I always stayed away from buying stuff from pawn shops because it's usually junk that doesn't work right that people sold because nobody would buy it off them lol. Or it's something stolen these days. I am a Gunsmith and left a local firearms forum because the members would always talk about how they had something that didn't cycle right and they sold it to some local gun shop to become someone else's problem. That's pretty scummy to do. If I ever buy a used firearm then it's from the one shop I trust that actually has a test area in back where they shoot them first and then break them down to check them out before they say yes to buying them and putting them on their shelf. Fixing them is always a cheap thing to do for me but to do that to others is kind of wrong. So I decided to pick up a 25w Fender Rumble in the morning, put a Markbass CMD 121P combo amp on layaway and sell the shotguns locally to pay for the Markbass combo. I should have known better than to waste my time dealing with a pawn shop.
At least I have a friend at the local GC and the Luthier's there are good people. So if I do decide to get something used and sent to the store, they would gladly take it apart and inspect it before I paid for it. I got my first bass recently that way and they looked it over, did a truss rod adjustment and then set up the string height to where I liked it before I walked out with it. The bass was in mint condition and had no fret buzz. I am stoked!!!!
So I took the ride down there to try it out after they said it sounded fine when they tried it out before purchasing it off the customer. So I plugged in to it and got an instant loud hum that no knob turning would fix, then a bunch of crackling which wasn't the cord or the jack to the bass. Then the jack to plug it in to a cabinet speaker was not even working. The amp also looked like it was gigged during an early 80's LA punk rock show and then used as a table at a college fraternity house. So it was far from excellent condition and more like a "could catch fire" condition.
I always stayed away from buying stuff from pawn shops because it's usually junk that doesn't work right that people sold because nobody would buy it off them lol. Or it's something stolen these days. I am a Gunsmith and left a local firearms forum because the members would always talk about how they had something that didn't cycle right and they sold it to some local gun shop to become someone else's problem. That's pretty scummy to do. If I ever buy a used firearm then it's from the one shop I trust that actually has a test area in back where they shoot them first and then break them down to check them out before they say yes to buying them and putting them on their shelf. Fixing them is always a cheap thing to do for me but to do that to others is kind of wrong. So I decided to pick up a 25w Fender Rumble in the morning, put a Markbass CMD 121P combo amp on layaway and sell the shotguns locally to pay for the Markbass combo. I should have known better than to waste my time dealing with a pawn shop.
At least I have a friend at the local GC and the Luthier's there are good people. So if I do decide to get something used and sent to the store, they would gladly take it apart and inspect it before I paid for it. I got my first bass recently that way and they looked it over, did a truss rod adjustment and then set up the string height to where I liked it before I walked out with it. The bass was in mint condition and had no fret buzz. I am stoked!!!!
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