Members Darkmavis Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 i once worked in a music shop about 7 years ago, when a guy came in wanting to swap his 'crappy old marshall head thing' (his words not mine) for an acoustic amp. so i showed him what we had while his pop brought the amp in for him, left him on an old second hand fender acoustic thing that we had for like forever (cost the shop 40, price on it was 150) while i went to see what the pos he was wanting to px was....well it turned out to be this.... yup thats right folks! a genuine jtm50 plexi from 1967.. the black flag version (made for about a year) the same ones that jimi used to use.... (jimi used the 100w versions) now lets remember im the ONLY guitar guy on company who knows his stuff vintage wize so everyone in store is like, look at it its FuC*ed. well after id composed myself, i went into the acoustic room and asked him what deal hed like (sweating a fair bit by now, trying to keep my cool) he turn round ad says, i like this amp, how much do i need to put to to do a deal, well.. my mouth blurted out, "well the boss don't like the look of your amp much (was true) but i tell you what, ill buy it off you? ill give you 150 for it and then you can buy the amp?" the dude took my arm off. so off i went with him to the bank to get the money for him (half expecting god himself to strike me down) i got the money and gave it him, then he took the amp and started leaving, when they were nearly at the exit his dad said to him "i cant believe that lad just bought an amp that dosent even work" my hear sank.. I hadn't tried it!!! I rushed downstairs and plugged it into the marshall cab we hand and powered it up..... faulty tubes!!! replaced em with vintage mullards and it was good as new! now i have one of the holy grail of tone amps for a measly 150 pounds.... as a result i know know what true tone is and endeavor every day to try and get good enough to do the amp justice.... tell me your stores of gear/deals that changed your life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Great story! Tells me that you are a complete bastard and I should never, ever consider dealing with you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkmavis Posted March 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 lol, i expeceted something like that, but come on... tell me youd have fessed up to him.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Patuney Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Amen, brother Ravencad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Call it "integrity" or "stupidity", but yes I would have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 The other side of the coin seems to indicate that the dudes walked out thinking they pulled one over on the store so.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 I would imagine that most of the truly hot items that come in for trade or are on clearance by corporate get snagged up by employees. Nice amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Furtive Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 January, 1992. Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (Mushroom Capital of the World, for those of you that don't know about it). Del Bittle Music. I used to hang out and shoot the {censored} with Del every week and look over the used tapes and cd's he'd get in. Del decided to start buying and selling used guitars and amps, when he could get them cheap. One day he tells me: "Furtive, a kid came in here the other day with an old Fender tube amp. I was going to give him $10 for it if it worked - but it didn't." "Del, have your boy track down the kid. I'll pay you $50 for the amp if you can get it." Six months later, I get the call at home from the young guy that worked in the store "We found him! You still want that amp?" 10 minutes later I'm looking at a tweed Fender amp for the first time in my life. I had never seen one before. The badge on the front said "Fender Super-Amp". "Furtive, it doesn't work because the kid tried hooking it up as a speaker cabinet for his car stereo. You still want it?" I hand over the cash, and drive straight to the local amp tech. As soon as I walk into the shop, he stops his work and walks over with a big smile on his face. "Furtive, you just found one of the best Fender amps ever made." That was the day my love affair with tweed amps began. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stomias Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Had a guy trade me a Music Man RD50 head for a Boss octave pedal. It needed tubes and a little pot cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stomias Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Well...it wasn't life changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drawdeep Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Don't let the naysayers get you down. A deal where both parties walk away happy is a good deal. Cool story... you took a chance and it paid off! The only deal that I can say changed my life was getting my first Gibson... A Gothic Les Paul that I picked up for $400 with case and sold the case for $150. Led me to the realization that Les Pauls, especially those with Ebony fretboards, were my guitar of choice and that has influenced my buying habits since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Clonexx Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 i once worked in a music shop about 7 years ago, when a guy came in wanting to swap his 'crappy old marshall head thing' (his words not mine) for an acoustic amp. so i showed him what we had while his pop brought the amp in for him, left him on an old second hand fender acoustic thing that we had for like forever (cost the shop 40, price on it was 150) while i went to see what the pos he was wanting to px was....well it turned out to be this.... yup thats right folks! a genuine jtm50 plexi from 1967.. the black flag version (made for about a year) the same ones that jimi used to use.... (jimi used the 100w versions) now lets remember im the ONLY guitar guy on company who knows his stuff vintage wize so everyone in store is like, look at it its FuC*ed. well after id composed myself, i went into the acoustic room and asked him what deal hed like (sweating a fair bit by now, trying to keep my cool) he turn round ad says, i like this amp, how much do i need to put to to do a deal, well.. my mouth blurted out, "well the boss don't like the look of your amp much (was true) but i tell you what, ill buy it off you? ill give you 150 for it and then you can buy the amp?" the dude took my arm off. so off i went with him to the bank to get the money for him (half expecting god himself to strike me down) i got the money and gave it him, then he took the amp and started leaving, when they were nearly at the exit his dad said to him "i cant believe that lad just bought an amp that dosent even work" my hear sank.. I hadn't tried it!!! I rushed downstairs and plugged it into the marshall cab we hand and powered it up..... faulty tubes!!! replaced em with vintage mullards and it was good as new! now i have one of the holy grail of tone amps for a measly 150 pounds.... as a result i know know what true tone is and endeavor every day to try and get good enough to do the amp justice.... tell me your stores of gear/deals that changed your life You are a complete dick for ripping them off like that. Taking advantage of people who are just inexperienced with gear and don't know any better is disgusting. I had a chance to pick up a Mark IV head about 10 years ago, it was a guy I had met through a friend who had inerited it through his father. He said he had a friend plug it in to try to use it, but it sounded terrible. I said I loved the Mark IV and would like to take a look at it. After I tried it, it sounded like a microphonic tube. He said "See? It's {censored}. I'll sell it to you for $100 if you want it." Even though it was massively tempting, I told him what I thought was wrong and told him just how much it was really worth, even though I could then not afford to buy it. I replaced the tube for him and he sold the amp later on for a decent price. He and I have been good friends since that day. So yes, you sir are a douchebag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkmavis Posted March 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Guys, in my defence my job sucked, my boss was a total asshole and I was a poor student. But the guy thought he's screewed me over so it was kinda karma And to call me a dick and a xouchebag is harsh man, ok, so you didn't take a good offer and was a good samariatan Instead, good for you. You obviouy made of stronger stuff tuN me, I'd never be a able to afford one ever, Noone got hurt I didn't persuade him or lie,if I'd have met him through a freind I prolly wouldn't have done it either, noo need to t Go overboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 I've gotten several great deals on gear, but I can't say any of them have been life changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Clonexx Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Guys, in my defence my job sucked, my boss was a total asshole and I was a poor student. But the guy thought he's screewed me over so it was kinda karma Justify it however you want so you can be ok with it, but make no mistake. You cheated those poor guys out of the price of a decent used car or a down payment on a nice new car, to put things in perspective. It was dishonest, no matter what your life was like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Whoa, I am waiting to find that guy who has no idea what he is getting rid of. He knew it wasn't working and purposely failed to inform you, serves him right. I got a bit of a deal on my amp. About 4 yrs ago I had joined a three piece blues band as a bass player with a couple of buds. We gigged at bars a bit, made some money playing covers and all thought it was time to get something original going. I had played guitar at a couple of practices and they really liked my playing so we all decided I would play rhythm. However I was ampless. The other guitarist was looking into lessons from a local player and told him he had an old tube amp for sale. Thank god my buddy is really picky about his gear and wanted a new HRD. Met the guy at the bar about a week later and made a $1000 deal for a 1978 Hiwatt DR-103 w/ matching 4x12. Put some new JJ's in it and one quick trip to the shop and it has been a tank since. Definitely seen some use, but hey it's just tolex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 we went through this a couple months ago here. If it was two guys making a deal on the street, that's one thing, if a guy goes into a business and the business isn't quite honest with him, that's bad karma. Anyway, I just had a life changing deal this week. Kind of long story. I saw a band a few weeks ago and noticed the guitar player had a kickass tone. I went to check out his amp and it turned out to be a peavey classic 30. I wasn't familiar with them and figured it was some kind of vintage amp and I couldn't afford one. Got home, looked it up, saw that they could be found used for 300 - 400 bucks. I immediately had to have one. Went on CL and found one but the guy wanted more than I was willing to pay. I emailed him with my offer anyway. He said if he didn't find any other buyers it was mine. Meantime I placed a "want to buy" ad and got a reply. Guy said it was in great shape and he took my offer. So, I drove 90 minutes one-way to pick it up. Get there, turn it on, the {censored}ing thing is broken. The reverb causes some really weird feedback. I left pissed off and drove back home another 90 minutes. When I get home, I see an email from the first guy who says he got no other offers and I can come pick his up any time. I'm thinking - cool, finally got my C30 and I'll pick it up this weekend. When I wake up this morning, I see another email from him -- he tells me he went to turn the amp on and suddenly it wouldn't power on. {censored}!!!!! Two dead C30s that had "worked perfectly" according to the sellers. Taught me a life lesson. Be happy with what I have, work with it if I want to change the tone, and stop trying to buy every single cool amp and gadget I come across!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dman11 Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 oh the hypocrasy on this forum Over at amps they'd be high-fiveing you all day long:rolleyes: anyway I scored a Bassman head for $199 at a pawn shop.It's older than me and has original usa made tubes sounds like heaven and cranked gets into Angus territory:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 $60 for the morning after pill she took was priceless to me to keep my freedom. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 anyway I scored a Bassman head for $199 at a pawn shop.It's older than me and has original usa made tubes sounds like heaven and cranked gets into Angus territory:thu: I paid $400 for this head, cab, and the original covers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scobro Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Justify it however you want so you can be ok with it, but make no mistake. You cheated those poor guys out of the price of a decent used car or a down payment on a nice new car, to put things in perspective. It was dishonest, no matter what your life was like. you did see where the boss at the store wasn't even going to take the head on trade right. Where were they gonna get this down payment for a car? This was also 7 years ago, maybe these guys didn't use ebay, craigslist or anything like that. How do you know they didn't try some classified adds and couldn't sell it. Sounds to me like they flat out didn't want the head and wanted an acoustic amp. sounds to me like they were happy they got anything for the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkmavis Posted March 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 my boss didnt want is, said it was worth nothing as he had 3 md-late 70s jmp's downstairs gathereing dust. i made him an offer, he thought he had a grat deal, all happy? seriously though, those guys wo think im a dick ect ect, go easy on me, i may have done one deal that worked out in my favour, but i did many many more for the regualrs that popped in the shop, allways made sure they got great deals and even stiffed the shop a few times on things they didnt know were worh anything and sold em to the nice customers cheap so they got a bargain, used to do it all the time for a few of the customers. yamaha sg sg3000 for 350 anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GibsonQC Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 Don't sweat it, Mavis. A Mark IV, though a decent amp, isn't the forbidden fruit. You had a rarity presented to you, and you gave the seller the deal they wanted. As others have said, before Craigslist and e-bay, if the pawnshop wouldn't take your {censored} and the locals didn't want it, it was only worth as much as someone would pay. I'm sure they're kicking themselves about it now (like I was after trading a silverface Twin Reverb for a Crate), but at the time they were happy. Still, I don't curse the shop that "took it on trade"...and then charged me an additional $200+... Honestly, though, it was my own stupid fault. But, in 1989, I didn't want to sound like a country picker. And, somehow, I walked out of the store happy with my purchase. If only I knew then what I know now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rog951 Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 My only real problem with the OP's deal is that he's the one who offered-up the sale price. If the seller had stated the price, I'd have likely have no qualms with it. It's not my job to educate a seller on what he's selling; information has never been easier to get than today. Seller shoulda spent 20 seconds to google his amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 .....(like I was after trading a silverface Twin Reverb for a Crate), but at the time they were happy. Still, I don't curse the shop that "took it on trade"...and then charged me an additional $200+... Honestly, though, it was my own stupid fault. But, in 1989, I didn't want to sound like a country picker. And, somehow, I walked out of the store happy with my purchase. If only I knew then what I know now! oh man...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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