Is buying a vintage amp a good idea?

[Space_Cowboy]

Tommorow I'm going to buy this: http://paulsboutique.ca/index.php?id=20051110102321 Marshall JMP 100 Watt head and I'm going to admit right now I don't know much about tube amplifiers. Do Marshalls really last or is this thing going to break down after a few years of use?

[Jape Man]

Old marshalls are great, but you just have to know what you're buying. There are quite a few hacked up modded ones out there.

I own a -78 50 watt JMP and a '71 100 watt super lead. They're great amps, and are (in my opinion) more reliable than any newer Marshall you'll find.

They are not complicated amps. . .kinda like a muscle car engine, nice and easy to work one. . .not all computerized like today's cars.

That one looked okay, but maybe a little expensive. If it's a 2203 100 watt master volume amp, you should be paying in the $600 - $1000 range. $1000 if it was all original and in clean condition. If it's an older non master superlead, then you're getting into the $1200 and up range.

[chefcraig]

Like everything, it all depends on how it was handled and how you currently treat it. If one plans on dropping it off of the tailgate of one's pick up truck before each gig, chances are one would be better off with a head not full of glass.

For a while there in the eighties, finding replacement tubes was a bit of stiff luck, as the old "tube stand" at most Eckerd drugstores had all but vanished (I'm serious, one used to get replacement tubes at drugstores in the seventies). With the internet, finding them (like everything else, other than real teenaged girls wishing to engage in sex that are not in fact, police officers ) has become far easier.

Best of luck with your purchase.

[Space_Cowboy]

Old marshalls are great, but you just have to know what you're buying. There are quite a few hacked up modded ones out there.

I own a -78 50 watt JMP and a '71 100 watt super lead. They're great amps, and are (in my opinion) more reliable than any newer Marshall you'll find.

They are not complicated amps. . .kinda like a muscle car engine, nice and easy to work one. . .not all computerized like today's cars.

That one looked okay, but maybe a little expensive. If it's a 2203 100 watt master volume amp, you should be paying in the $600 - $1000 range. $1000 if it was all original and in clean condition. If it's an older non master superlead, then you're getting into the $1200 and up range.

I think you might be thinking in American dollars there friend. If not then I'm going to try and get it cheaper for sure. I do like simplicity in amps and any other gear for that matter so it looks like a sweet buy to me.

[Space_Cowboy]

Like everything, it all depends on how it was handled and how you currently treat it. If one plans on dropping it off of the tailgate of one's pick up truck before each gig, chances are one would be better off with a head not full of glass.

For a while there in the eighties, finding replacement tubes was a bit of stiff luck, as the old "tube stand" at most Eckerd drugstores had all but vanished (I'm serious, one used to get replacement tubes at drugstores in the seventies). With the internet, finding them (like everything else, other than real teenaged girls wishing to engage in sex that are not in fact, police officers ) has become far easier.

Best of luck with your purchase.

Well I don't plan on dropping it at all but things happen... Heh, good to know that tubes aren't so hard to find.

[Jape Man]

Yes, I was speaking in terms of US dollars. What's the conversion rate these days?