I bought a new (used) bass head and it turned out to be bad. What do I do now?

[Malpine Walis]

OK, my local music shop had a deal on a used HA 3500 for $250. When I was in the store, I grabbed a random axe off the wall for testing and it did not reveal the problems that I found once I got it home. Now I need to figure out where to go.

Option one is to have the place fix it for free.

However, I have reservations on that as I may end up with a known poor amp that could break down again. If that happens, I then have to pay for parts and bench time.

Option two is to upgrade to a new amp. That will cost me another $250 but then I know that I will not be in trouble later on. Honestly, I am leaning towards option two here.

Now the store has two other amps that I am thinking of but I am not sure where to go. Let's say A and B here.

Option two A is a brand new HA3500 for $500. Same amp as before but new and with the usual one year warranty. $250 with my return credit.

Option two A is a brand new HA5500 for $500. Same amps as before, except @ 500 watts but new and with the usual one year warranty. $250 with my return credit.

 

[montage]

I would opt for the more powerful upgrade.

 

[toobalicious]

I would opt for the more powerful upgrade.

agreed. it is really hard to have too much power for clean reproduction of live bass guitar. 350w @ 4 ohms isnt exactly a powerhouse, especially for anything larger than a small-ish room, without PA reinforcement.
the last bass gig i had, i used a mackie FR M-800 bridged for a claimed 800 watts @ 4 ohms, into a 2x15. at times, i couldve used more. personally, i cant stand to play with the sound one gets from pushing a solid-state bass amp really hard. ss clipping is awful, of course, but i have pretty big problems with the limiters (sometimes called a "compressor", but it really isnt) on many power amps as well. remember, these are for *protection* not *musicality*.
a