So a dude offered me a Ross Phaser

[caspersvapors]

for my Keeley Katana...do it?

[wundergussy]

Do you want the Phaser? Cash-wise it's probably a fair trade, but you're losing pedalboard space, true bypass, and gaining a power cord (I think).

[caspersvapors]

the phaser doesnt run on 9v?

I dunno, to be honest Ive never really used a phaser. But it is vintage and the value on them could only go up. Ive been trying to sell my Katana for $120 and havent gotten many bites. This guy offered me the phaser or cash.

[wundergussy]

Sorry, I was thinking of the Flanger with an attached cord. It does take a 9v power supply (but it might be the old school 1/8'' type).

There is no LED, and it's definitely not true bypass. Also, not volume control, which on some phasers means a boost or drop.

[critter74]

If you do the trade, only do it because you want a phaser. Don't do it as an "investment" on the value of it in the future. Because you will most likely get bitten. A lot of pawn shop, bedroom closets and garages are filled with worthless "the value can only go up!" items.

It is actually very rare for gear to appreciate in value. And if it does, its will be decades.

Most gear can't be given away 10 years later.

[BMF Effects]

Depends, which version of the Ross phaser is he offering up?

[smallbutmighty]

Originally Posted by critter74

Most gear can't be given away 10 years later.

I agree with the sentiment of your post...but this last statement is dead wrong, IMO.

There are few things in this world that hold their value like musical instruments. If you buy used, buy smart, and treat your gear well it is almost impossible to lose money if you sell ten years later.

More than once I've purchased, held onto, and played guitars for longer than that, and then sold them. Never lost a dime.

Not so true of almost anything else I own...car, computer, electronic gadgets, clothes, food, etc. The only other items I can think of off hand that I've held and sold without losing money on are the houses I've owned.


And incidentally, the one type of musical gear I've made the most money on is pedals. Didn't set out to do it....it just sort of happened. I owned a ton of "waiting list" pedals before they became so. Once the cash to be made on the used market exceeded the pedal's value (to me) I sold them. Made a fair bit, too.

[caspersvapors]

Originally Posted by BMF Effects

Depends, which version of the Ross phaser is he offering up?

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imag...sphaser005.JPG

[BMF Effects]

Originally Posted by caspersvapors

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imag...sphaser005.JPG

Thanks for the pic. Pop the back cover, as long as it does not have the LM13600 IC's then I'd say go for it.

[PRF]

Originally Posted by critter74

If you do the trade, only do it because you want a phaser. Don't do it as an "investment" on the value of it in the future. Because you will most likely get bitten. A lot of pawn shop, bedroom closets and garages are filled with worthless "the value can only go up!" items.

It is actually very rare for gear to appreciate in value. And if it does, its will be decades.

Most gear can't be given away 10 years later.

Spot on. Yes there are classics, and collectibles. But 99.99% of the stuff doesn't make it past the nostalgia buyers who used to have one or remember someone playing it.

[joeDRII]

Originally Posted by BMF Effects

Thanks for the pic. Pop the back cover, as long as it does not have the LM13600 IC's then I'd say go for it.

What's wrong with those chips?

[critter74]

Originally Posted by smallbutmighty

I agree with the sentiment of your post...but this last statement is dead wrong, IMO.

There are few things in this world that hold their value like musical instruments. If you buy used, buy smart, and treat your gear well it is almost impossible to lose money if you sell ten years later.

More than once I've purchased, held onto, and played guitars for longer than that, and then sold them. Never lost a dime.

Not so true of almost anything else I own...car, computer, electronic gadgets, clothes, food, etc. The only other items I can think of off hand that I've held and sold without losing money on are the houses I've owned.


And incidentally, the one type of musical gear I've made the most money on is pedals. Didn't set out to do it....it just sort of happened. I owned a ton of "waiting list" pedals before they became so. Once the cash to be made on the used market exceeded the pedal's value (to me) I sold them. Made a fair bit, too.

Well, you are taking small sample (your personal experience) and trying to apply it across the board. Much less you are talking about buying gear that is currently in vogue or demand and flipping it within a short time frame (anything less than 5 years is a short time frame as we are talking collectibles). Or high end custom made gear. The reality is the market generally does not show that. Blue Book and Craigslist, give a more realistic spectrum of music gear than TGP as it has all types of gear. And most of it, though maybe not crap or maybe even pretty good, is never, ever going to be collectible.

You can't use the high end market of any goods (music gear, cars, etc, etc) and use that as an example and a baseline of used gear value across the board. Rolls Royce resale is not the same as a Camry.

That’s' like taking Amazon stock and saying “Well I bought this for pennies and now I'm rich. So obviously all stocks appreciate!" Um, no. Most stocks lose. Most music gear depreciates. That’s fact. There is far more forgotten and worthless gear than there is collectible.

So buying gear blindly in the hopes of it becoming worth something makes as much sense as buying stock blindly with some advice from a forum on the hopes it will be the next Google. You can. But 99.99% of the time, you'll lose if that’s why you buy the stock.

Again, there are far more forgotten pieces of gear than there are gems. Just as in any industry or goods.

So, either you are extremely fortunate and lucky in your purchases or you are buying at a higher bracket than most and using that to form your opinion... The gear 1% so to speak…

[BMF Effects]

Originally Posted by joeDRII

What's wrong with those chips?

There's nothing wrong with them, they just have a different sound and don't hold value like the earlier ones do. The US made Ross phasers have an incredible sound to them.

[joeDRII]

Thanks. I have a Taiwan one with those chips that I like quite a bit. I'll have to try and find a U.S. one to try.

[drbob1]

So, there are three questions here:

Is it a good phaser? Yes, pretty similar to the Phase 90 it was based on, and the US versions generally sound great.

Is it worth $120? More than I'd pay for one, but certainly not out of the range of what's doable. At least if you want a phaser.

Is musical stuff, especially vintage, a good investment? It has been for me. Both high end and lower end stuff, if you're careful and know what you're doing and what's out there, you can sell for more than you paid if you ever have to. That said, life's too short to spend good money on crap, so stay with things that are well built and you'll be fine. The Ross definitely falls into that group. No, it's not a Synthi Hifli, of which maybe 15 are known to exist and they're REALLY expensive. But it's not a Taiwanese TS9 either, it's a reasonably rare, reasonably classic pedal.