HawkeyeKane
724 posts
Feb 22, 2012
2:40 AM
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A new pawn shop opened up here in town...one that sells classic cars to boot. Gotta love that.
Anyways, my band's guitarist just called me and said he spotted a Lafayette Echo-Verb II unit there. Said he didn't find a price, but didn't guess they'd want too much for it.
From what I've researched, these were solid-state reverb units made by Lafayette Radio out of Syosset, NY in the 1970's. Lafayette went out of business in 1981 after losing out on the competition with Radio Shack.
Has anyone ever used one of these for harp? How was it? And what might I expect to pay for it? None on ebay right now.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Joe_L
1749 posts
Feb 22, 2012
3:48 AM
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I haven't seen one of those since the 70's. I have no idea what that thing is worth.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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HawkeyeKane
725 posts
Feb 22, 2012
4:03 AM
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I should mention I saw a few of the original Echo-Verb model on ebay starting at $275.
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Hawkeye Kane
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HawkeyeKane
727 posts
Feb 23, 2012
3:01 AM
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UPDATE: I went into the pawn shop on my lunch break today and tried the unit through my 'Zoo. All in all, it sounds pretty damn nice. Very springy, but at a nice level when it's dialed in correctly. One quirk is that the #1 mic input cuts in and out a bit. May just need cleaning or a connection tightened.
At first the guy quoted $40, which I was fine with, but then he came back after talking to his manager and said they wanted $90 out of it. I shot back that with the input issue, it'd set me back at least 40 bucks or so with an amp guy to get it sorted. (Not that I couldn't do it myself, but this IS a pawn shop after all.) He shot back the lowest they'd go is $70.
I'm taking it all under consideration...anyone else have any thoughts?
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Hawkeye Kane
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Joe_L
1755 posts
Feb 23, 2012
3:03 AM
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You could probably get a more modern used reverb pedal for close to that price. If you buy a used Boss (or similar brand) pedal off ebay, you can probably sell it for close to that amount down the line.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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HarpNinja
2201 posts
Feb 23, 2012
3:07 AM
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If you were confident you could flip it for more money, than it becomes an easy decision.
I once went into a pawn shop and found an RE10 for $50. I bought it and sold if for $100 within a couple hours. I did that with a 545 too.
If they sell regularly for more than you are going to pay for it, it is a solid investment. Heck, you could flip it and get a different pedal and break even.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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HarpNinja
2202 posts
Feb 23, 2012
3:11 AM
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Harmony Central reviews looked good...but $70 seems high. People were getting them for $25-$50.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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HawkeyeKane
728 posts
Feb 23, 2012
3:14 AM
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Well, I mean I have my RP90 pedal that can add reverb in my presets, and it sounds good for a digital reverb. But it's difficult to adjust the amount of reverb whilst playing because I have to edit and save the preset if I don't have the expression pedal serving as the level control. This would give me a knob and an actual spring tank. Love the vintage look too, enough to the point where I dunno if I'd ever wanna sell it. LOL
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Hawkeye Kane
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nacoran
5293 posts
Feb 23, 2012
1:22 PM
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Just as a matter of principle I wouldn't buy it unless they gave you the original price, especially if you think you might shop there in the future. Of course, sometimes principle is overrated.
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Nate
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HawkeyeKane
729 posts
Feb 23, 2012
1:43 PM
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I haven't found anything anywhere about what they originally priced at. You search it on google and all you seem to find are forum topics with a whole lot of unanswered questions. All the harmonycentral reviews look like their owners purchased them used or VERY used.
EDIT:
But it DOES sometimes help to think outside the box. I found an online copy of Lafayette's 1971 catalog. Guess what I found?
$29.95...only 8 bucks more than the Echo-Verb I which is what the guy said he'd looked up by mistake when he quoted me $40. Oooooookay. Gonna print this sucker off and take it back to him. That's way to much of a mark up on their part.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Feb 23, 2012 2:08 PM
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easyreeder
187 posts
Feb 23, 2012
6:41 PM
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How much would you pay for a modern delay that sounded as good? If you're not willing to drop $70 after hearing it, you don't love it enough to pay $40 either, in my opinion. Walk away and when it doesn't sell, make your offer again. But if you love it now, buy it now, and don't look back.
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HawkeyeKane
730 posts
Feb 24, 2012
6:30 AM
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I've rethought the whole thing. Easy, you're right. I do love the thing, but the improportionate mark up on it is a little extreme.
Echo-Verb I in 1971: $21.95, asking price yesterday: $40.00
Echo-Verb II in 1971: $29.95, asking price yesterday: $90.00
I would snag it now if I had that much I could splurge with. As it stands, I've used most of my forseeable harp budget getting harps repaired. After all, if you're a harp player and you have no working harps......
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Hawkeye Kane
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HarpNinja
2209 posts
Feb 23, 2012
10:34 PM
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You have to look at the mark up based on actual market value. For example, look up the new price of a Boss DM2 vs what they go for used and abused.
Regardless, $70 is within budget to get a used pedal that may be easier to work with.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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barbequebob
1815 posts
Feb 23, 2012
11:42 PM
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For an old reverb unit like that, $70 is dirt cheap these days. I remember seeing these things in the old Lafayette stores in the 70's for about $20 a pop and they really weren't bad for short money back then, tho they'll never get as deep under the ocean sounding as the old Premier 90's could (and those are far deeper a reverb than the highly prized Fender outboard reverbs ever were).
While I was on the road with Louisiana Red subbing for Carey Bell up in ME, I took a stroll into a music store with bass player Mookie Brill, who is also pretty good harp player himself, and we saw two of them and he bought them both for $40, and this was in the mid 90's.
I remember seeing Jimmy Vaughn using one for guitar in 1975, when I first saw the T-Birds.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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