Commonly found used gear you should never buy new.

[Ryan Silva]

It seems as if there are certain pieces of gear that are always on Craigslist, EBay, or other used gear dealers.

My guess would be that these bits of gear have many reasons for being so prolific, but the most obvious to me would be that the model has been manufactured and sold for years. Or, the manufacturer had really good marketing, supporting really bad gear, so they sold well but turned out to be lemons.

Some regulars I have seen:

DBX 160a
AKG 414?s
Many Mbox models

Add some on folks.

[Snarl 12/8]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Jay Reynolds]

Sm 57/58.

[Ryan Silva]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Was it somthing I said?

[kslight]

Just about anything if you are willing to wait and it isn't extraordinarily specialized.


It seems silly for people to buy new cheapish tube guitar amps for the same price as a used Fender/etc decent tube amp.

[joel hamilton]

Telecasters.
Boss "metal zone" pedals.
Boss pedals in general.
DBx 160 x/a/xt is a good one, you already said it.
the rest is vintage stuff you cant get new even if you wanted to...

[Scodiddly]

Sm 57/58.

So many counterfeits on the market these days... this is a rare one where i'd say "buy new from a reputable dealer". It's not like you're wasting money on a 57... given that it'll last 20 years you're looking at $5/year.

[Scodiddly]

Certainly you'd want to buy an analog oscilloscope used. Likely some great deals on used soldering stations and such as well. Meters... probably new, something quality so you don't have to worry about calibration.

Microphones, a lot of them are just as good used as new. AT stuff, most higher-end Shure mics (avoid counterfeits, but also note that Shure has a bad-ass flat-fee repair/replace service if you bought a legit dud). The TapeOp favorites from EV are a pretty safe bet. Older microphones from CAD are a sleeper.

Guitar amps... learn to fix 'em yourself, or at least the basics. The market is always flooded with amps a little too big & heavy & loud for gigging musicians.

Guitars and basses? I dunno - the cheap end of the market has such amazingly playable instruments these days. I'd rather play a $150 Samick than a "vintage" 70's piece of Fender crap.

[Marc Alan Goodman]

U87. Why anyone would pay the new price for one of those is beyond me.

[Ryan Silva]

U87. Why anyone would pay the new price for one of those is beyond me.

Perfect example. They have been making U87's for a really long time, they are very reliable, and it's easy to get them repaired. So why shouldn't they be prolific in the used market?

It's a very cool thing actually, because of the quantity available the used prices really stay low, but your still getting time tested gear.

I am not very handy with electronics, using them maybe, repairing them hell no. The only thing that wills me too buy new is the hope that it will last longer before it's first repair. (caps,tubes,pots,faders, etc)

But realistically I cant say I've ever heard of a broken DBX160a, or D112, I mean I'm sure they break, but what are the odds?

[mrc]

For most people, multichannel midi interfaces...anybody want to buy some?

[drumsound]

Sm 57/58.

These should be in the things you should never buy thread.

[Mudcloth]

I know we're talking recording stuff here, but road cases are on my never buy new list. They're so freaking expensive new and end up looking beat to hell anyway, all while doing the same exact job as a used one.

[mjau]

Sm 57/58.

These should be in the things you should never buy thread.

Nothing if not consistent, my friend.
Seems like lots of instruments sort of go through a quick aging process in their first couple of years, so a used instrument is both cheaper and perhaps will be a bit more consistent going forward.
Software (properly transferred) seems to fetch pennies on the dollar when you buy it "used", too. I'm thinking of soft synths in particular.

[casey campbell]

direct boxes...