Techs who repair electronic music gear... Is it a DEAD profession?

[Fender&EHX4ever]

maybe you need to learn to do it all yourself? only way to ensure that something is properly done

I'm not afraid to tinker with low voltage stuff, but tube gear? I don't have the time to get properly trained in that niche. There are so many disciplines I would love to be self-sufficient in... auto-mechanics, plumbing, growing potatoes and rice... but c'mon, I can't do it all.

[Fender&EHX4ever]

stop buying broken and/or vintage!

 

 

I have stopped... for about 2 years now.

[MrChrisos]

 

Shoe repair still exists, still will. So long as there are leather shoes they will need to be replaced. I've gotten a bunch of shoes resoled, buffed, whatever. You can't take vans slip ons to a cobbler though. Those shoe repair stores are for actual shoes, not $20 canvas espadrilles. Same with clothing repair: most of their business is alterations, but I'll be surprised if anybody here on the forum has ever gotten anything tailored because you don't need to tailor jeans and a t-shirt, and hardly anybody actually knows how a dress or button up shirt is supposed to fit.

 

 

Oh I wasn't saying they don't exist - they just aren't nearly as needed as they used to be.

[wjbratcher]

sorry if I've asked this before, bro, but have you visited Radio Relics out near longwood?

[Fender&EHX4ever]

sorry if I've asked this before, bro, but have you visited Radio Relics out near longwood?

 

Yes, Dennis fixed up my '68 Vibro Champ for me in about a month a few years ago. I really like Dennis, but I heard he closed shop

[arthurdent'd]

that collection of yours must be a bitch to upkeep, mojo sent

[Danhedonia]

I guess I've had very different experiences.

 

My take has been that tradespeople tend to behave in ways that match regional culture; here in New Mexico, it's pretty down-home, but there are a bunch of hardworking, mostly reliable individuals. I was able to immediately dismiss one local "guru" simply because he took over a week to respond to an initial email.

 

I have lived in other parts of the country, and also worked on a bunch of tours at one point. I recall that it always seemed like the local tech scene reflected the city. In New York, they were expensive, rude, and very very fast, and quality was all over the place. Boston ... was prickly and you had to build a relationship with people. Vegas had serious pros, and money talked; you could pay your way to some seriously good work with ridiculous turnaround times (2 hours? no problem) if you were willing to open your wallet. L.A. had a bunch of guys who cared more about the customer's status than the work or, seemingly, their business (e.g., I am fixing Nikki Sixx's practice amp! RIGHT NOW! But {censored} working on the backline stuff for this touring company that is, essentially, covering half of my mortgage by bringing me tons of business).

 

And while modern electronics are built more for consumption than maintenance (great point, Amp Surgeon), I have met a lot of people who know their way around these things.

 

I think you've had bad luck, and you must also think about whether your resultant attitude has made you a less-attractive customer for these folks. I say this not to be unkind, but your remark about them cherry-picking your stuff while its in their shop really strikes an oddly paranoid note. I get it - you're venting, that's cool - but with all respect when someone tells me that 'everyone else is the problem' I usually wonder if they're the problem.

 

Recently I had to drive 50 miles to get some warranty service. I coordinated a send-ahead of potential replacement parts from the mfr. (which were, of course, wrong, but they were being nice, so ....), and a timed deal with the tech who respected that I am almost never home during the work week, and set it up so that he would figure out right away if it would be possible to do the necessary work while I waited a couple hours or not. Turned out yeah, we visited while he did one of the repairs, told me I had to get lost while he focused on the second for 90 minutes, and then called me when he was done (a little early). We bull{censored}ted a bit, I bought a CD of his band (I wasn't paying him, as it was warranty service, and he refused another tip), and parted friends.

 

In return, he got a guy who was incredibly punctual, expressed gratitude, and would not have quibbled on charges (typical $80 hourly fee had I been paying). His business was in an outbuilding at his home, and I acted like a guest instead of a customer (his wife dropped in at one point to tell us to turn down, she also worked from home).

 

You started the thread because you're angry. I'm not going to judge you for your feelings, but simply offer you the best advice I can: you will get a lot further with a smile and sincere desire to please others - even as a customer - than if you have a bad vibe or chip on your shoulder.

 

And for goodness' sake, get that stereo back! Just politely tell the guy you were looking forward to using it, and must explore alternatives.

[Texas Noise Factory]

I only had one guy in Houston that was really worth his salt, and he went under the radar years ago. I will be looking for someone in Dallas soon for a few pieces I've been keeping ahold of. My experience is that it's hard to find someone who knows how to fix stuff, and is reliable. I hope i have an easier time in Dallas. I don't think it's easy to be an electronics repairman and make money from it in this day and age.

[macadood]

I'm not afraid to tinker with low voltage stuff, but tube gear? I don't have the time to get properly trained in that niche. There are so many disciplines I would love to be self-sufficient in... auto-mechanics, plumbing, growing potatoes and picklz... but c'mon, I can't do it all.

 

oh but you can. my dad is like that. so is lefort

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

Example. My local vinyl record store gave me a recommendation. I brought a vintage hifi console to local repair guy back in January to give me an estimate. He said he could repair it. I bought exact parts on eBay for it even to help out. When I call for an update, I usually get, "i've been really busy. i haven't gotten to it yet." I'm always the one who has to call and remind that I still exist. I've called about once a month on average. I still don't have a fixed console after 6 months. This guy was recommended. Just one of many incidents.

 

 

Call him up and ask if it's finished. If it's not, tell him you'll be down to pick it up anyway. If he tries to charge you a bench or service charge, tell him politely to get stuffed - he's had it way beyond what anyone would consider to be a reasonable amount of time.

 

Before you go, make sure you check into your state's laws (if any) concerning electronic repair. California has some pretty good laws on the books to help protect consumers - maybe your state has something similar.

 

http://www.bear.ca.gov/about_us/history.shtml

 

http://www.bear.ca.gov/about_us/laws/regulations.shtml

 

Oh, and - document everything. Keep any paperwork he gave you. Note whenever you called to check (time / date) and the status update he gave you (IOW, "it's not ready.") Bring a couple of friends (reliable / upstanding witnesses) with you when you go to pick up your stereo. All of that will come in handy if you end up having to take him to small claims court - last resort.

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

Same with clothing repair: most of their business is alterations, but I'll be surprised if anybody here on the forum has ever gotten anything tailored because you don't need to tailor jeans and a t-shirt, and hardly anybody actually knows how a dress or button up shirt is supposed to fit.

 

 

I may not be an expert in fashion and how things should fit, but I know this much - when you're 5'8" and have a 17.5" neck and 33" sleeve length, they assume that you must weigh about 250 lbs. At least that's what I'm lead to believe, since whenever I buy even an athletic cut shirt with those sizing parameters, I can dang near wrap the thing around me twice.

 

I have no choice - if I want a dress shirt to fit, I have to get it fitted by a tailor. It's either that, or buy a shirt that fits in the body and sleeves, but that is guaranteed to choke me out in under 5 minutes if I attempt to button the collar and wear a tie with it.

 

Not that I'm big into wearing ties. I generally try to avoid it whenever I can get away with it.

[Texas Noise Factory]

I may not be an expert in fashion and how things should fit, but I know this much - when you're 5'8" and have a 17.5" neck and 33" sleeve length, they assume that you must weigh about 250 lbs. At least that's what I'm lead to believe, since whenever I buy even an athletic cut shirt with those sizing parameters, I can dang near wrap the thing around me twice. I have no choice - if I want a dress shirt to fit, I have to get it fitted by a tailor. It's either that, or buy a shirt that fits in the body and sleeves, but that is guaranteed to choke me out in under 5 minutes if I attempt to button the collar and wear a tie with it. Not that I'm big into wearing ties. I generally try to avoid it whenever I can get away with it.

 

Tone is in the neck size.

[wjbratcher]

Yes, Dennis fixed up my '68 Vibro Champ for me in about a month a few years ago. I really like Dennis, but I heard he closed shop

 

That's sad to hear. He was a swell guy and fixed my Ampeg amp when no one else could. I even heard a local NPR feature on him.

 

I feel a little safe with vintage gear up here in NC. There are a few options, I suppose. Orlando seemed to lack trustworthy techs, I would agree!

[Phil O'Keefe]

amp_surgeon makes some good points. A lot of gear is designed to be easy / inexpensive to build, not to repair. Heck, anything SMD is pretty much a "replace instead of repair" item when it goes bad. When I managed a local repair shop several years back, much of the warranty repair work we were doing was manufacturer-recommended board swaps as opposed to component replacements. It's just cheaper / faster / easier to drop in a new sub-assembly than it is to get into the weeds testing / repairing / replacing individual components.

 

When a TV costs $500, you might want to try to get it fixed. When it costs $159, it's cheaper / easier to just buy a new one if yours dies post-warranty period. A lot of musical electronics are in the same boat.

[AluminumFalcon]

After working in the retail/repair industry I've made a few connections and I'm pretty much set with guitar repair from one guy, amp repairs from another, and I do all my pedal work myself. My guitar guy is fantastic and does great work. The prices are a bit steep, but the guy knows his stuff. These guys are pros and tell me straight up how much it's going to cost, and how long it's going to take. No BS or sugarcoating, but they get the job done.

 

Clothes: I do have a tailor who also does fantastic work and has a quick turnaround. Haven't had to get any of my leather shoes resoled yet, but it's only a matter of time. I'm pretty particular with my appearance (have to be for work) and do spend a fair share of money on properly fitted and tailored clothing.

[Faldoe]

I think it depends on the gear. My amp tech (though I have't gone to him a while cause I've delved into my own amp repair as of late), used to repair pedals but stopped cause it wasn't worth his time/cost effective. I think his bench rate for amp repair is like $70 an hour, which isn't bad considering he is a good tech, and most places around here in the Bay Area charge $90 IRRC.

Things like synths are or can be, pretty complex. I'm guessing people with great expertise regarding synths may be more scarce than amp techs and thus may charge more, and the work might be more labor/brain rattling, intensive.

[seifukusha]

 

Same with clothing repair: most of their business is alterations, but I'll be surprised if anybody here on the forum has ever gotten anything tailored because you don't need to tailor jeans and a t-shirt, and hardly anybody actually knows how a dress or button up shirt is supposed to fit.

 

 

I tailor stuff all the time. It's really cheap here, so I'll get long sleeve dress shirts on clearance and chop them up. I'll hem my pants too...having a tailor is a really awesome thing, but in the us, they're like what 10/20bones for a pair of pants? That's why people don't use them.

 

 

Synths..yes. There's a repair guy I got to for pedals that's decently priced and he has a synth graveyard in his shop..50 or so misfunctioning synths all vintage..I've offered him a nice amount for this old Roland synth which he could and has fixed in the past but he don't care about it..his bread and butter is all about preamps and speakers...oh well

[lefort_1]

oh but you can. my dad is like that. so is lefort

Maca, so nice of you to say so, but auto-repair is one thing I just don't do any more....too many "knuckles skinned to the bone", and that's bad news for my current line of work. All the rest of my cumulative knowledge comes from the 'School For The Self-Taught' . This is something my Great Depression-Era parents somehow instilled in 3 or their 4 kids. But that's not to say all that knowledge is useful...

Anyone wanna discuss the repair of leather buggy whips?

[vidret]

There are so many disciplines I would love to be self-sufficient in... auto-mechanics, plumbing, growing potatoes and rice... but c'mon, I can't do it all.

well. say the time you spent on this forum you'd spend on one of those other professions, and then took classes in a second one. you can do it if you really want

[Fender&EHX4ever]

well. say the time you spent on this forum you'd spend on one of those other professions, and then took classes in a second one. you can do it if you really want

So starting a thread about the lack of good repair techs now equates to get off the forum and take classes and become a repair tech..

Sheesh!

Let's apply this ethos to every thread started at HCFX.

Post: Hey guys! Anybody know of a pedal that does xxxxxxxxx?
Reply: Get off the forum and learn to design and build your own.
OP: Oh, okay.
Musicians Friend: WTF?

[vidret]

just saying! doesn't mean you, I or anyone else here has to or will do it

[Fender&EHX4ever]

just saying! doesn't mean you, I or anyone else here has to or will do it

I hear you. I have fantasies of moving to the country off the grid and living Amish style in total self-sufficiency. It's a great dream, but I was born an American city boy, and I'm in my forties now. Making that transition is a bit... Daunting.

If I look at the time left in my life and how I want to spend it? Some things begin to lose priority. But I would still love to find a reliable repair tech

[mhuxtable]

I must be super {censored}ing lucky to have 3 amazing guitar techs (all under one roof) and 2 amazing amp techs in town that are honest about their turnaround time and priced fairly.

[Texas Noise Factory]

 

I must be super {censored}ing lucky to have 3 amazing guitar techs (all under one roof) and 2 amazing amp techs in town that are honest about their turnaround time and priced fairly.

 

 

You must be.

[melx]

I don't get it. I'm friendly, courteous, patient, and I say up front that I'm willing to pay well for the repair. But every tech I've brought stuff to in the last several years has been irresponsible, irresponsive, unreliable, ineffective, incapable, and discourteous. And I've gone to about a dozen. I'm under the impression that the adequate ones all died or gave up years ago, and society is only left with the rejects now. I would love to name some names at this point and let you all in on my experiences, and it may come to that if I don't get my gear back. But I'm holding out hoping that these guys will get their act together soon. WTF?

oh mate ... not more bad experiences??

stuff it man, name names... write a flippin' blog detailing all your crappy experiences, it might make the people concerned step up their game and change their practices... and I'm sure plenty of people would be interested in reading it. People need to know before they fall victim themselves... might be a can of worms on here but in your own blog you can say what you like.