Opinions on selling amps with no tubes??

[skullfxr]

I would not buy an amp without tubes. Saying that... my local Sam Ash guy calls me in when he gets a sketchy amp, like the BF Bandmaster I got for $300. It was a tiny gamble but I knew it was worth it. All I had to do was replace the power tube sockets because I saw the arc, and a handful of resistors and replace the filter caps as they were original. That was worth the gamble. But a BF Fender is a simple circuit. Saying that not I would not if it were something complex like a markV.

Buy $7 sino 12AX7's and cheap power tubes.


But... FOUR times I have bought an amp because of the tubes, loaded it with used cheap tubes and resold it and got free awesome tubes. That's where a quarter of my VOS tubes came from. Like my Mullard old production quad of EL34's. Or my three quads of Sylvania 6L6's that I have around that I am holding onto. I know... I am an ass.

To FINALLY answer the question of the OP...

I would not buy it. Unless it was a good deal and I could dig and look and the complexity of the circuit. Like bandmaster. In that case my guy let me open the chassis.

From a selling perspective to maintain integrity I would personally probably have to list it as non working.

 

[kurtsstuff2003]

I would not buy an amp without tubes. Saying that... my local Sam Ash guy calls me in when he gets a sketchy amp, like the BF Bandmaster I got for $300. It was a tiny gamble but I knew it was worth it. All I had to do was replace the power tube sockets because I saw the arc, and a handful of resistors and replace the filter caps as they were original. That was worth the gamble. But a BF Fender is a simple circuit. Saying that not I would not if it were something complex like a markV.

Buy $7 sino 12AX7's and cheap power tubes.


But... FOUR times I have bought an amp because of the tubes, loaded it with used cheap tubes and resold it and got free awesome tubes. That's where a quarter of my VOS tubes came from. Like my Mullard old production quad of EL34's. Or my three quads of Sylvania 6L6's that I have around that I am holding onto. I know... I am an ass.

To FINALLY answer the question of the OP...


I would not buy it. Unless it was a good deal and I could dig and look and the complexity of the circuit. Like bandmaster. In that case my guy let me open the chassis.

From a selling perspective to maintain integrity I would personally probably have to list it as non working.

 

[kurtsstuff2003]

I would not buy an amp without tubes. Saying that... my local Sam Ash guy calls me in when he gets a sketchy amp, like the BF Bandmaster I got for $300. It was a tiny gamble but I knew it was worth it. All I had to do was replace the power tube sockets because I saw the arc, and a handful of resistors and replace the filter caps as they were original. That was worth the gamble. But a BF Fender is a simple circuit. Saying that not I would not if it were something complex like a markV.

Buy $7 sino 12AX7's and cheap power tubes.


But... FOUR times I have bought an amp because of the tubes, loaded it with used cheap tubes and resold it and got free awesome tubes. That's where a quarter of my VOS tubes came from. Like my Mullard old production quad of EL34's. Or my three quads of Sylvania 6L6's that I have around that I am holding onto. I know... I am an ass.

To FINALLY answer the question of the OP...


I would not buy it. Unless it was a good deal and I could dig and look and the complexity of the circuit. Like bandmaster. In that case my guy let me open the chassis.

From a selling perspective to maintain integrity I would personally probably have to list it as non working.

That's the reason I bought it was for the tubes. This amp has seen very little use and I've since sold the tubes and want to move the amp along so..bought some tubes for it. I really do like these power amps but they weigh a metric fuckton and..I ain't gettin any younger..lol!

 

[IntenseJim]

NEVER. I wouldn’t look at the ad a second time

Every new amplifier comes shipped with tubes installed .
I’ve only had two or three occurrences of tube damage in decades of sending and receiving amps.