How Much should i charge for this "Job"

[skiscem]

The guitar player from my new band told me about a JCM 900 he had laying around, he told me that one day stopped working and he never got around getting it fixed, so i told him to bring it to me so i could take a look.
I am not an amp tech, but i understand a few things about electronics and i fixed many of my amps, pedals, instruments..etc
I found the problem with the amp, replaced a couple of capacitors, and fixed a short on the preamp, I also cleaned the potentiometers the tubes sockets.
Now the amp works fine and i spent roughly $8 on the replacement caps.
Since im not a tech, i dont know how much should i charge.
Any recomendations?

thanks

[m_bisson]

how about $8...
Why gouge your friends? It says a lot about your character that you'd even ask something like this...

[bstarbass]

seems like it was cheap to fix, and if hes in your band and will play better or osund better because fo it id say just have him pay for the parts.

but not being a repairman this is tough for me to gauge

how long did it take you to fix it?

[skiscem]

Thanks for the responses, i dont need the money and im always trying to help people with the little knowledge i have, but sometimes.. they try to take advantage of my kindness.
so i was thinking to charge more of a symbolic amount than a real fee..

[jnuts1]

i would charge $12 for the parts & then the amount of time it took you x how much you are worth per hour. just be honest about how much you really are worth.

[LowDown Hal]

$8.00 and a case of beer.

Which you drink together.....

[MooseLumps]

case of beer

[skiscem]

a case of beer it is!, he doesnt drink, so more beer for me, seriously, im just gonna ask him for the $8 and call it a day

[Bandeira]

I'd say charge nothing but 2 6packs of beer... Or have him pay your bill at a bar...

I'd rather not charge a friend for 8 bucks... It feels like charging for a ride home!

Also, this way, He'll never now how much it did really cost...

[aBoMoFo]

I'll agree with Bandeira here. I've been in the same boat as you many times before. It's a handy skill set to have but you also walk a fine line sometimes. If the amp design itself is a bit flawed and prone to breakage then a buddy might become a bit irritated if he is not level headed about something offered on the cheap as a favor.

What I would recommend is that you educate your friend on the cost of parts. I've seen a shop try to upcharge 300% on the cost of a capacitor before. We are talking parts alone here. I'm all for a place keeping it's doors open but at that point you are not doing business on the level. This is how some shops take advantage of people. It's fair to pay a good rate for a hotshot tech. It's not far to pay an exorbitant rate for a cap that can be ordered from mouser or any other catalog shop.

(my 2 cents)

[murphy]

Originally Posted by m_bisson

how about $8...
Why gouge your friends? It says a lot about your character that you'd even ask something like this...

The OP has a wonderful character and did me a really big favour.....for absolutely no charge.
And didn't even know me!!!!

Skiscem is a great person

[phatbass]

Don't worry about the 8 bucks - or the beer. On the other hand, if he offers...

[stylonpilson]

I agree, definitely don't charge him more than just the cost of the parts. If you were fixing amps on a regular basis, or using it as your main source of income, then it would be different, but in this situation you should consider your profit to be the benefit to your reputation and band harmony.

Obviously if he starts recommending you as an amp tech to his friends, then you are entitled to charge them labour costs as well.

S.P.

[aledeville]

Sometimes it helps charging something in order to prevent that people think you work for free.
What is 20 bucks when someone fixes an amp? But since it is your bandmate I would charge some beers.

How long did you have? I would tell him, that he can estimate your effort.

[Jonyak]

I generaly charge for parts and a case of beer.

[BassmanPaul]

If I offer to repair an amp I charge my costs. I don't make money out of my friends. In return I have been given many thank you gifts including a very nice electric G****r. Censored due to this being a BASS forum!

Paul

[Pilgrim]

I'd ask him to pay the $8 and buy you dinner - then you can enjoy spending a bit of time with him and chatting.

[mcrracer]

In a shop it would be around $60. Yeah parts are usually not the biggest cost except for transformers and NOS tubes. But is not just the parts, it is knowing WHICH parts to replace and then doing it safely and properly. Troubleshooting is an acquired skill and so is soldering / desoldering. I have seen more boards ruined by so called techs who did not know what they were doing. I am retired now and very rarely will even consider doing a repair but I have owned my own repair shops and performed this type of work for over 35 years. I still build custom tube guitar amps.Say a part costs $5.00 if you have to order it then you have shipping plus the profit you should make. Labor is not just the physical act of replacing the part. It includes the years of training and experience, your overhead (rent, electricity, heat, web access, insurance, solder, solder wick, cleaning chemicals, etc). This is why the professionals charge and earn what they do. I can't tell if the OP has any of this or considers himself a pro. If not and he wants to give his service away for free, then that is entirely up to him. To ask a bunch of other people who don't know either is sort of counterproductive. My opinion.

[abarson]

Originally Posted by LowDown Hal

$8.00 and a case of beer.

Which you drink together.....

Isn't this like a universal answer?

"What's that PoS gear worth?"
"What do I give the guitarist for stealing his girlfriend...?"
etc.

[FunkMetalBass]

$8 for parts and a case of beer.

I'm fixing up a bass for a friend right now. I'm only charging him for the new strings. I'll gladly take the practice filing frets, doing a good setup, and shielding a bass.