Re: Why buy used?
> From what I have seen, there is some pretty cool NEW gear at
> very reasonable prices. Does it really pay to buy used?
That's a pretty good point. It depends on what you're buying. For studio gear, like CD players, Mini Disk machines, mics and even your console, I think you are probably miles ahead buying new. You can buy a decent dual CD player with hardwired remote for $2-300 from places like Musician's Friend. BSW had some good prices on Mini-disk stuff in a recent flyer. Same goes for microphones. It's a buyer's market on them, since the entire pro-audio market has been reduced to commodity items handled by large "box houses."
It has been my experience that old consoles are usually at the end of their useful life when they are replaced. Switches don't work, pots are scratchy and things work intermittently. Usually, you are inheriting somebody else's problem when you get a used one, unless you get very lucky and find a lightly used production room console that was replaced in a digital make-over.
On more esoteric gear, like satellite receivers, EAS monitoring, modulation monitors, STL, transmitters, etc, used can make a lot of sense. But you still have to be careful. The reason the previous owner got rid of it, is almost as important as the price. Duplicate items from a studio consolidation can be very good buys.