What's the best deal you ever got on music gear?

About ten years ago got a blackface deluxe for 50 bucks, Iv'e gotten more deals .Can't remember having a senior moment
 
I found out why the Neodymium speakers I ordered almost doubled in price a few days after I bought them. Apparently China is the only supplier of neodymium thanks to EPA regulations and other crap that forced the shutdown of our mining operations here in the US because it just wasn't feasible for them to operate in that type of an environment anymore. That plus the fact that China is limiting exports of it because of their own internal usage of the material, plus a hefty tax they just levied on it per ton, has created a situation where the price of neodymium has gone way up all of a sudden. China took over and closed our only neodymium processing facility here in the US as part of a trade deal a while back as well, so we don't even have a currently open processing facility here in the US.

There's a mining operation in California that will be starting back up within the next year or two, so hopefully we'll start producing our own again and get out from under the thumb of the Chinese suppliers. The bad part about all this is that neodymium is used in everything from cell phones to military equipment and we're pretty dependent on it technologically. We should be producing our own anyway, so hopefully this mining operation in California will take off and get us back on track, and maybe a few other operations will follow.

The sad part is that speaker manufacturers have had to up the prices about 80% on the speakers, and one company that builds speaker cabs has discontinued building cabs with neodymium speakers, at least for now.

Oh well, at least Musician's friend is honoring the price I bought them for on the three backordered ones. I should be getting those by mid May.
 
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- Good as new Rocktron All Access for €370 (instead of €1000 now)
- Boogie 20/20 for around €500 (€1500 now?)
 
In 1975 I bought a Les Paul TV Model for $11.00. It was missing some of the finish, but it sounded and played great. The stop tail didn't allow for intonation, but I was 15 and it didn't seem to matter much.
 
Ok this isn't liek CRAZZZY deal, but a couple years ago I bought a Mesa/boogie Simulclass 295 poweramp from ebay for $350. The most interesting thing about it, is how mint of condition it was in. I mean, it's like a singularity opened up at a music store back in 1986, sucked in the Mesa poweramp, and and spat it back out to me, in 2009. everything was awesome condition.
 
Sixstring said:
I put this one in my watch list... If he gets a grand for that I will be totally surprised. I sold an original WH-1 about 5-6 years ago for $265.00 and couldn't believe it.
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It's insane how much those things are going for, especially since the new ones are the same thing.

I recently sold a damage control solid metal distortion pedal and got $210.00 out of it.....I bought it used 2 years ago, for $100.00....it's kinda creepy....as if I sold somehting that will be worth like a grand in 5 years lol
 
Just bought a used PRS in guitar super-store for 2k+tax. They insisted it was 1995 even though the serial number clearly indicated 1985. I didn't debate long and bought it.
 
A Les Paul Standard, a Roland Cube 60 amp, and a shopping bag of assorted pedals for $700. The guy bought that stuff for his 10 year old kid, who never got into playing it "since it was too heavy for him"...I sold the Cube amp for a couple of hundred, sold/traded/gave away the pedals, so I only paid ~$400 for the Standard. Sweet deal indeed.
 
Philip said:
DigiTech Whammy WH-1 INSANE SHAPE | eBay
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When I see what old pedals and parts, etc. are going for I'm reassured that I'll be able to retire in style since my retirement plan is to take the large stock of old Sony VCR circuit boards I've got lying around at work and reclaiming the vintage, 80's JRC 4558 op-amps that guys pay crazy prices for so they can put them in a pedal and become Stevie Ray. I'll make billions ;-)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ibanez-overdriv...124?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2eb4d6d2a4
 
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Picked up one of my Moog Taurus 1 bass pedals with an Anvil case for $250... Got my first set with a homemade POS case for $290... Fixed them both up, kept the better of the two and the Anvil case, and turned a nice profit on the other set and the crappy case.
 
I got a Variax 700 brand new with a gig bag and stuff for R3500 ($530), also bought a brand new Ibanez SR3000 Prestige bass for R5000 ($760) with a hard case. :)

But I'd say the best value for my money out of all my stuff, would be the Axe-FX :) hehe
 
I paid $50 for a '75 RIC 2001 bass. It was a little rough apperance wise but plays sweet. I also picked up a 78 Amembic Bass for $250
 
I snagged an Ibanez BTB1006e (MIJ 6-string, flame maple top, first-gen Bartolini actives) in mint condition with hardshell case for $400. The Elixir string company used it to prototype bass strings and then sold it on consignment. They took immaculate care of it. Didn't need a 6-string, but couldn't pass it up.
 
I going to date myself here..While in High shool in 1976 i picked up a 1963 s/b fender strat in nice condition for $225.00 The store owner did't know what he had..Sold that in 1994 for $3000.00.Iknow stupid.Should never of sold that one..I also traded with him a Heathkit amp [lots of buttons lol!] for a blackface twin in great shape..Those were the days ....
 
I helped set up a studio for a friend as a favor, but he insisted on doing something for me. I did a price match for a Yamaha HS80M on Amazon for $200 and he paid for one of them so I got a pair of them for $200 out of pocket. New they were going for $700-800 for the set at the time.

I was at GC and saw an Agile LP. I know that it's an import, but I had heard rave reviews of them from others so I picked it up just to see what it was like. It played great, neck was really nice. It was filthy and I assumed that all the gunky hardware and pickups would need to be swapped out so I didn't even plug it in. Everyone at the counter was raving about this guitar and I got it with a trade in for some small crap that I hadn't used in years for like $120 out the door. Well I get it home and start ripping it apart to clean it and see how bad it is. It's got a set of Seymour Duncans in it, a Gotoh tailpiece that cleaned up with a paper towel and the pots are nice full size brass ones. So I look it up on the internet...ebony fretboard, bone nut, 3/4" maple top (not veneer) etc...it was fully frickin' loaded. It cleaned up like brand new and turns out that they were going for $700 all day long. I will never get rid of my Gibson, but this is a great little guitar that is different enough to keep for the long haul.

But my best deal was probably back when e-Bay and Bing were doing cashback. I sold an old OLP Axis copy for $100 more than I paid for it (open bidding, no reserve...actually a good little guitar) and scored a gorgeous tobacco EBMM Axis for $850 shipped. Now after cashback and the money from the OLP it was like going into GC with $200 and the OLP and saying "I'll trade you for that Axis". Best deal I've ever gotten.
 
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