Damage Control: (Used gear checklist??)

B

BillyFurnett

New member
Maybe it'd be cool to devise and post a somewhat systematic checklist for evaluating various pieces of used gear...

What to look for.
What to avoid.
Typical, but perhaps not immediately noticeable warning signs.
Useful tools or devices to bring along when checking out gear.


Just a thought.

:)
 
Well, when I went to check out my two M312B's, which I bought locally and in person, I took a Microphone and a pair of headphones with me. That way I could plug it in to every chanel and see if it passed sound and if there were any dirty pots and switches. I also listened to all the busses, including the axillary busses so that I could be sure that everything was sound.

If you are buying on E-bay, it's impossible to do these hands on type of thing though so all I could say is ask a lot of questions and make sure you get clear answers to them.

For testing other gear, the list of things to watch out for and check would be too long to post here.

If it is a specific piece, we could go from there.

Cheers! :)
 
Yeah that might get A BIT long if it were for all gear. :)

Maybe boards and decks here or something...

(Who knows? I'm just bored as hell!! -LOL)

:)
 
Well, ok.

Warning signs to look out for;

Stains from spilt beverages is a biggie! Nothing like a can of coke spilt into a mixer to just totally destroy it.

Excessive dents and scratches. If the owner knocked the piece around that much, just imagine how many times he let an excessive and damaging signal go through it like a guitars feedback or from a Microphone that zorched all the circuitry for a minute or so before someone closed down the fader to stop it. Or, how many times he had dropped it and maybe cracked a board inside from the impact.

Missing or different knobs. This too is a sign of previous service or pots that needed a lot of cleaning.

Click switches that no longer click. A sign of impending bad or no connection at all.

Stripped screws. Again a sign of previous repair attempts.

How's that?
 
Perfect :)

(I'm gonna go out on a limb and say duct tape or fluid filled VU meters are no no too.)
 
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Pushed-in buttons, scratchy pots & faders, VU lamps on, scratch & dents,...

obvious dirt or cleanliness of unit.
 
F/I, see the attached: Seller listed this in "like new" condition.

:eek:
 

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This has been treated as a joke so far. but it it is a damn good idea. I have been lucky so far with my Ebay purchases but I would love to know how the pros do it.
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Well, ok.

Warning signs to look out for;

Stains from spilt beverages is a biggie! Nothing like a can of coke spilt into a mixer to just totally destroy it.
Click to expand...

This is not true, only if the stains are from Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort. Vodka spills serve to clean the keyboard.
 
Derek Verner said:
This is not true,
Click to expand...

I was referring to Coke! As in Coca-Cola, which in its classic or non-diet versions is loaded with sugar which will act like a glue on switches and pots as well as short out any live circuits that it contacts with.

I know you were injecting some fun into this thread, just as I was but, some will read this thread for informational purposes so let's not put too much dis-information into this thread.

Cheers! :)
 
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