Does this deal sound too good to be true?

[raisingfear101]

I found a guy selling a Mark V 90 watt head and 4x12 mesa cab together for $1,900. He says its a year old and hasn't been overplayed. He said that I "of course" can try everything out before I buy. To me this sounds super cheap, but I've only recently looked into upgrading my amp situation so I'm not sure. Any thoughts guy?

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Jump on that. Now.

Mark V heads go used for $1500-1700 and a Recto cab can go anywhere from $400-700 in good shape.

 

[ibanez4lifesz]

It's a good price, but not an insane price IMO. Like said above, Mark Vs go for under $1500 on the lowest end, and Mesa 4x12s can be had as low as $400 if you wait long enough. If it's the rig you want, it's an easy way to get both at their rock bottom price.

 

[raisingfear101]

Yea, everything else I've seen matches those kind of prices. I'm kind of clueless when it comes to amps, and buying used gear, despite playing for 12 years. I finally have a real income and can afford this stuff. Is there anything specific I should look for when I test it out?

Edit: I *may* also be weary of getting mugged or something, not to sound like a little bitch though lol

 

[ibanez4lifesz]

Mesa amps are generally very rugged…as long as the amp wasn't severely abused, it will run for a long time with only tube swaps as needed, and issues seem to show themselves easily. When buying a used one, if you have the ability to try it, I'd just run through as many of the features as possible (if not all of them) to make sure the amp continues to produce signal without drop outs, intermittent performance, etc.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Go through all of the amp functions and check for volume drops, random popping, extra noise, etc.

 

[flint757]

If you're worried about being mugged meet them at a police station. You'd have to be pretty ballsy to rob someone in front of a police station.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Just make sure this guy doesn't work at that police station! He always gets his cut, one way or another.

 

[Humbuck]

just bring somebody with you...doesn't hurt if he's big.

 

[Fretless]

just bring somebody with you...doesn't hurt if he's big.

Or has a CHL.

 

[desmondtencents]

Yup, grab a guitar and take your biggest buddy with you. Run through all the settings and if it all works, hand over the cash and load it up!
If I had the cash on hand and found a deal like that I'd grab it and run for sure!

 

[raisingfear101]

Update Time:

I took the risk and it was legit! Everything seems to be in working order. There is a good amount of noise/feedback on the third channel with high gain, which sounds obvious but its a little more than I expected. Even if I have to change all the tubes it was still totally worth it.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Over-sized "recto" cab?, or traditional "stiletto" 412?
Congrats on the score!

 

[raisingfear101]

I'm not entirely sure, but I believe it's a 280 watt oversized model.

 

[Pav]

Regardless of which cab you got, that's an envy-inducing deal.