Members Wayne2 Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 I took an amp in for some warranty work recently. Was unimpressed. The guy was hoarding, practically a tunneler. I could barely put the amp down in his office. Everything was off schedule, he'd say come in tomorrow and something would come up, etc. The amp company initially said they would cover the cost of checkover and repairs then backed out after the work was done. I picked up a book from the library for $1 recently about how to be a TV repairman. It was written in the 1950s. I figured it might have some tips for working with tubes. Anyway the parts of the book I found most interesting were the many chapters on the business end of things. Like the small business aspects were actually prioritized as much as the technical ones. Apparently it was recommended back then to fix whatever you could, and if you didn't know how you'd send it to someone who could do the work, and charge whatever they charged plus a small fee for your own time. The more things you could do yourself the more money you made. For the complicated stuff the highly skilled referral techs could make money doing what they were best at instead of interacting directly with customers. Since most problems were easy the system worked. I don't even know if that kind of model is still viable or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amp_surgeon Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 I don't even know if that kind of model is still viable or not.It's not viable anymore. Back then you could build a TV set for less than you could buy one. Heathkit made a solid business out of selling kits for televisions, radios, test equipment - just about anything electronic. The reason was that everything was hand made in the 50's and 60's.This is what a television factory looked like back then:The price of a 21" color television in 1959 was $495. That's about $3660 in inflation adjusted 2012 dollars. Certainly worth repairing if it broke, especially considering the average repair cost was about $4 an hour, or about 1% the cost of a new set, and that included the repairman coming to your home.This is what a television factory looks like now:The price of a "21 inch class" LCD television today is less than $200. Adjusted for inflation, that's about 5% what a TV cost in 1959. The hourly bench fee is about half the cost of a new set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 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? I lol'ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 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 are. Seriously - you are. I'm incredibly lucky in that a very good friend of mine happens to be a CS master builder over at Fender, so any time I need something done to a guitar that is beyond my capabilities (and I can do a decent setup ) or really demands excellence, I have one of the best in the world I can call on for help. Amps... I'd be in a lot better shape if I had a dedicated bench with a signal generator and all the other test gear - variac, oscilloscope, a super large, bright, and powerful lighted magnifying lens, etc. etc. I'm really not set up to work on amps beyond the basics, although I do know the basics and can do more if I have access to a bench. There's not a ton of great places doing repairs locally believe it or not. Sure, if you want to go into LA, or maybe Orange County, but I'd rather pay to ship the thing than fight LA traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members delayed delay Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 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.Care to divulge his name to me? :):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spentron Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 Being a TV tech, I think I can address this question. It can still be a viable business but its days are numbered. We had a slack period late this spring that was almost too much, fortunately the lightning storms have been treating us well.Our happiest customers have big, expensive TVs or just like their stuff and want to keep it working. We haven't done so good with those with their eyes on the latest HH Gregg sale flyer. But people still buy more expensive TVs than the bargain basement brands and models. When people ask what to buy, I point out there are still some differences inside that can make it so you get what you play for. For example, a Mitsubishi or high-end Sony LCD usually have Samsung panels inside. A low end Samsung does not. How the signal is processed also affects the way it looks. I work for a full service storefront shop because they clearly bring in far more business than I could on my own. We do lots of warranty work, which isn't very profitable, because it brings repeat business. The expenses are high and they have to be good at charging. The alternative is someone working from their garage or van, which typically results in being less organized, and some people doing that may have to do more than one thing to make money. There also isn't the advantage of having several techs with differing specialities. I think this cheapest approach will soon be the final frontier for repair work, though. Audio tends to be less profitable than TVs because the equipment costs less, or people expect to pay less anyway, and can be at least as difficult to work on. But, like any business, it comes and goes and one might take in work simultaneously "hoping" to get to it and hoping to not have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 It's more a commentary on the disposable products people buy these days. If you buy some Asian made amp or low end recording equipment it's probably cheaper to just throw it away then it is to fix it. Even back in the 80s (when VCRs were expensive) there were people who would bring their machine in for a cleaning once a year for $50 - $100. Once VCRs got cheap people just bought new. I have a local person who does electronics repair. I tend to buy repairable products which in some cases cost a little more. I had some Tannoy speakers (built in amp) repaired and it was about $100 for parts/labor and took a couple weeks due to waiting for parts. The speakers were about $2000, so I was happy to get them fixed - and that they were designed to be fixed. Amps and guitars I fix myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Texas Noise Factory Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 Care to divulge his name to me? :) :) Whaddaya know, looks like he is still at it. http://www.bentonelectronics.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zozobra Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 I do a little bit of amp teching in my spare time and I tend to pick my battles now. I had a serious issue getting a Peavey XXX up and running for a customer and it was because of a really stupid reason. The XXX uses a very odd switch for the channel select and finding a replacement one was hard work. In the end I had to get one from peavey but none of the european peavey suppliers had one, so they had to order one from the US to then send to me which took months. I explained the situation and the guy I did the work for was okay with it but he could easily have been a dick about it and he wouldn't have been unreasonable for doing so. Once I had the switch fitting it took no time and the rest of the work was only revalve and replacing the standby switch that had been previously swapped for something dangerously under rated (dont use 1A switches in 100W amps!). It was almost a while-u-wait job but it spiralled out of control through factors that were largely out of my control. Next time someone rings up with a peavey with a bust channel switch they can send it peavey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrChrisos Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 This thread reminds me that I've moved miles away from my trusty amp/guitar tech - don't know what I'll do when something goes wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members erksin Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 I think part of it lies in the fact that so many people have no idea what it takes to fix something and therefore they aren't willing to pay fairly for the service. They assume that it's cheap and easy to fix something, are surprised when it isn't, and are pissed that they have to pay for the dude's time to chase it down when it was just a couple bucks in parts. When you are paying a competent tech, you're paying for experience and expertise. That's worth something. If you have reservations the easiest thing to do is ask up front - ask what is the expected turnaround time and what kind of updates are given. Get an estimate. Ask if he includes a detailed write up of what work was done. Price tubes BEFORE you go to the guy to determine if he's gouging or not, etc. Fixing an amp is a time consuming process if it's done thoroughly - hunting down the source of the issue which can be elusive, there's a TON of listening to do when dialing it in, burn in time, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 The price of a 21" color television in 1959 was $495. That's about $3660 in inflation adjusted 2012 dollars. I would bet not many folks had a 21" set in 1959. That being said, like everything else back then you actually got the set in a nice wooden case that matched the furniture. Think of how many jobs that one TV set created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zozobra Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 Its also worth noting that some amps are just a plain bitch to work on. Prime examples are the ashdown fallen angel series and anything made by engl. You need to strip almost the entire amp to get the board out of the ashdown and engl mount the components on the 'wrong side' of the board so you have to pull it in order to trouble shoot it which can be problematic in a high gain amp. This takes bench time and that costs money and in the name of being fair they might as well send it to an authorised tech centre where they'll just replace the board as it's probably cheaper than having me root about in there for a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amp_surgeon Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 I would bet not many folks had a 21" set in 1959. That being said, like everything else back then you actually got the set in a nice wooden case that matched the furniture. Think of how many jobs that one TV set created. Yeah, it was a high end example. The most popular models at the time were 19" black and white. Only "rich" people owned color sets, and many broadcasters weren't transmitting in color yet. Even in the late 40's and early 50's there were many models that came in a metal enclosure. They called these "portable", but "moveable" was probably more accurate because they were still very heavy. Console TV's were popular, and they were more expensive, but not by as much as you might think. The price difference between a "portable" in a metal box and a console, both using the same TV chassis, was only about 25%. The electronics were more expensive to make, being point-to-point wired by hand. By the late 50's they started trying to make entertainment centers out of them by including a stereo amp, radio tuner, and turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 It's more a commentary on the disposable products people buy these days. If you buy some Asian made amp or low end recording equipment it's probably cheaper to just throw it away then it is to fix it.Even back in the 80s (when VCRs were expensive) there were people who would bring their machine in for a cleaning once a year for $50 - $100. Once VCRs got cheap people just bought new.I have a local person who does electronics repair. I tend to buy repairable products which in some cases cost a little more. I had some Tannoy speakers (built in amp) repaired and it was about $100 for parts/labor and took a couple weeks due to waiting for parts. The speakers were about $2000, so I was happy to get them fixed - and that they were designed to be fixed.Amps and guitars I fix myself. i've been buying new printers when mine runs out of ink. new printer w/ b&w and color ink cartridges $29, new ink cartridges $40. i'm guessing the ones that come with the printer aren't filled up all the way, but whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members puretube Posted August 20, 2012 Members Share Posted August 20, 2012 here`s awaiting the time, when a new car (filled up for a first ride) is cheaper than a full tank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.