Shuttlemax disaster Repair advice- help!

klyph · #1 03-11-2013, 01:09 PM

Hi!

After my gig on friday, while loading out, my SM12.0 took a two foot dive onto the tarmac, inside it's bag. It unfortunately made contact at the worst possible point- the right side of the front panel. The master volume knob is now bent toward the shape knobs by about 1/8th of an inch, and the front panel under it is slightly bent up. Plugging it in and powering it up produced the awful alternate cutting out/loud squawking one would expect. There is no other visible damage.
Obviously, this is not a warranty repair. My conundrum centers around getting the repair done. There is a place locally where I get all of my repairs done, and they have always treated me VERY well. Like, one of the family well! Cutting or completely comping bench fees, replacing components with better ones they had laying around for free, etc. (I'm a good customer; I break stuff)
They are not a GB authorized service center. The owner/tech has been doing audio repairs for over 40 years, and they are authorized for Crown, QSC, Korg, Fender, Marshall, etc. They repair 80's digital keyboards, 60's tube amps, etc., everyday. They did not sell me this amp, and I have no idea whether the tech has seen one before or not. I've been using them for twenty years, and had nothing but good experiences.
The nearest authorized service center is about 1.5 hours away (address from the GB website). Website is "under maintenance" and they don't seem to be answering the phone.
I live in MA, so there are other service centers that are a similar distance. I just don't want to drive that distance repeatedly if the head needs more than one trip to the tech. I have backups, but honestly, they pale in comparison, and I am now officially spoiled by the SM.
So, my Boston/Rhode Island fellow TB'ers... has anyone had local non-warranty repairs done to their GB SM? Anybody had good experiences with any of their authorized service centers (not necessarily with GB products)? Has anyone here had any experience with "TJ's music" in Fall River, MA? Am I crazy for even thinking about taking this to my local guy, or is replacing a pot the same no matter how state-of-the-art the amp is? Is it worth risking a 400$ repair bill from a tech who doesn't know me from Adam (after two hours of sharing the road with the worst drivers in the known universe) when I can drive ten minutes and get it repaired (maybe) for 60$+ parts? What is the likelyhood of it not just being the Master Volume pot that needs replacing? Help!

**svtb15** · #2 03-11-2013, 01:20 PM

i did the EXACT same thing to my SM9.2... I did contact GB and they gave me an RA # and had it done in about a week and back to me... Parts were minimal cost... But my whole case was bent,,,, MY PROBLEM besides the bent chassis was a cracked wafer inside of the MASTER VOL control...
Maybe agedhorse will be able to get you info...

singlemalt · #3 03-11-2013, 01:22 PM

You have a tech you like? Close at hand? Is that Utopia, MA?

Guys who do good work for me always get the next job.

searchfunction · #4 03-11-2013, 01:22 PM

I would take it to the local shop. If they are Fender dealers there is a good chance that includes GB stuff as well. Good luck.

georgestrings · #5 03-11-2013, 01:23 PM

Yeah, I would call Genz before doing anything - don't know how it is now, but they've done very well by me in the past...

- georgestrings

craig.p · #6 03-11-2013, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klyph

Plugging it in and powering it up produced the awful alternate cutting out/loud squawking one would expect.

Does that amp use an Icepower module? That symptom is exactly the one an Icepower module exhibits when its power-up pre-flight check fails. If so, then it's possible one of the toroids on the board snapped its solder joint, or broke one or both wires just above the board, when the case hit the pavement. Those things are relatively heavy, so they will "respond" to external physical impact.

If it doesn't use an Icepower module, forget what you just read. :-\

Might also be a broken or dislodged tube. You could open it up and check for that. Actually you should open it up anyway and see if it's something simple like that.

B-string · #7 03-11-2013, 01:51 PM

IMO pm agedhorse first before you do anything.

klyph · #8 03-11-2013, 01:52 PM

OK, It would seem that the likelihood of there being damage beyond the visible is great, so I guess it's time to call GB. I still have the original packaging. Are you saying, SVTb15, that you sent it back to them in AZ and had non-warranty work done? And sent back within a week? That's kind of unbelievable (no offense... I believe you)! That would probably match the turnaround time at my local guy. If the cost is really nominal, then I guess I have to see if that avenue is open to me. Thanks for the speedy reply!

agedhorse · #9 03-11-2013, 02:17 PM

This is a major repair, as the unit must be entirely gutted to repair the chassis. Usually, several of the pots are broken, plus there can be other hidden damage. Additionally, repairing the chassis is difficult at best, but usually I can get it back to fully functional and looking pretty respactable. This is not a project for a tech that is not very familiar with working on that specific model. In fact, for this kind of damage, it's helpful to have a benchmark unit to compare things to upon disassembly and then upon reassembly.

You can PM me and I will let you know what your options are. Turnaround time is generally a week or so BUT it depends entirely on what's damaged. There's a lot of mechanical work that has to happen for stripping the chassis so that it can be straightened and then there's the metalworking skills and tools that is needed.

I did do Kirk's amp myself, it was a Shuttle and not a Max, single output module not two. These are all kind of major repairs unfortunately.

**svtb15** · #10 03-11-2013, 02:59 PM

Thank you Andy for fixing mine..
Mine was at the hands a road tech's butter fingers.. But you got it fixed and its been perfect since.. and as you remember my chassis was twisted... but mine fell from about 5 feet up.
Hey, when i do it, i go all the way.. haha

agedhorse · #11 03-11-2013, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svtb15

Thank you Andy for fixing mine..
Mine was at the hands a road tech's butter fingers.. But you got it fixed and its been perfect since.. and as you remember my chassis was twisted... but mine fell from about 5 feet up.
Hey, when i do it, i go all the way.. haha

I remember Funkee1's amp that survived (almost intact) a serious car crash. THAT was a Humpty Dumpty project that I still remember...