Hartke 3500 Head Repair – Need advice on several fronts

[jaywa]

Almost a year and a half ago I donated my c. 1994 Hartke “Transient Attack” 3500 head to my church. Even though I loved it dearly, I wasn’t using it and it needed some work. I told my worship pastor that if the church wanted to take it off my hands and get it repaired, it was theirs to use as they wished. They needed an amp for their rehearsal room so they took me up on the offer right away.

So I gave it to my church, and they took it in to the local repair shop. Every couple of months I’d keep asking my worship pastor if it had been fixed yet (cause every time I was in the rehearsal room it was never there), and he kept saying it was still in the shop.

Yesterday was my worship pastor’s last day and I asked him whatever happened with the amp I had donated. He said the local repair shop told him they were waiting on a part. Keep in mind, this head has been in that shop for OVER A YEAR. Seriously.

The deal is, now I want that 3500 back. I have an SWR head that I bought to replace the 3500, but I don’t like it nearly as much and I haven’t used it for months. So, my questions are:

1) Is there anything ethically wrong with me giving my church my SWR and taking my 3500 back? I realize that technically the 3500 is no longer my property but my church hasn’t gotten ANY use out of it and getting it repaired has clearly not been a priority or they would have yanked it out of the local shop and taken it someplace else months ago.

2) Assuming my church agrees to the swap, am I obligated to reimburse them for any money they may have already put into repairing the amp, even though the amp apparently is still not functional and the SWR I would be giving them has higher value?

3) Assuming I can get my 3500 back, is there someone at Hartke who can connect me with a reputable shop that will turn the head back around to me in a reasonable timeframe? I have lost all confidence in our local shop and don’t want to throw any more of my money away with them if I don’t have to.

EDITED to add a 4th Question:

4) If I donate the SWR head to my church, can I deduct that from my taxes as a charitable contribution, and could I claim its new, retail value or would it have to be some percentage of that due to depreciation?

Thanks in advance.

[JimmyM]

1. Not at all. I suppose they don't have to accept it but I see no reason why they wouldn't.

2. Not sure.

3. Call Larry. He loves to help folks get their old gear working again.

4. I'd deduct whatever you paid for it.

[cozmic]

Yeah, call Larry Hartke.

+1 201.680.8153

In fact, Larry himself is the reason why I still play Hartke. Period!

[jaywa]

Thanks, folks.

My first step I guess is to get down to that slacker repair shop and reclaim the head... hopefully they still have it... and then I'll go from there with the swap, etc. Once I have the head back in my possession I'll pick things up with Larry.

[BurningSkies]

What a great head. I have one too, of the same era, and no matter the number of other heads I’ve used, I’ve always held on to it. In a recent thread about Hartke 3500’s I told the OP that he should find one of the MOSFET 3500’s (since I, and many others feel they sound much better and hold up better than the later iterations)…and was getting a newer one since he read one bad review of the MOSFET version. I held my tongue, but damn, it’s a great sounding, under-rated amp that can be had for $250 or less!

[Ezmar]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

What a great head. I have one too, of the same era, and no matter the number of other heads I’ve used, I’ve always held on to it. In a recent thread about Hartke 3500’s I told the OP that he should find one of the MOSFET 3500’s (since I, and many others feel they sound much better and hold up better than the later iterations)…and was getting a newer one since he read one bad review of the MOSFET version. I held my tongue, but damn, it’s a great sounding, under-rated amp that can be had for $250 or less!

Hey, that was me! Didn't mean to offend.