Getting amps "regularly serviced"... a rant.

[remo]

Trawling eBay as I often do I found this add: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mesa-Boogie-B...QQcmdZViewItem

Nice head, fair price, everything looks good... The guy describes the head as being "regularly serviced".


Now, who here actually gets their gear (ESPECIALLY AMPS) "regularly serviced"?

Personally I see the merit of regular service when it comes to cars (oil, filters, cam belts etc), basses (setups change in temperature, fingerboards get filthy, necks shift etc), and other innately mechanical devices but surely not amps!! I realize tube amps need to be re-biased and re-valved which is fine but to me this is not part of a regular service. A "regular service" is when you take it to the shop when there is NOTHING wrong with it and just get the guy to "look over it" and maybe squirt some switch lube and contact cleaner around.

Is this what people are doing to their amps? How often are you all doing it?

I take care of my own gear, if it looks dusty I pull out the compressor and give it a good clean, if a pot's scratchy I switch lube it... I only ever take it to a tech when the thing DON'T WORK PROPERLY! Am I a monster for not getting my amp (which is in perfect working order) "regularly serviced"???

[IanStephenson]

While I agree "regular" is probably overkill, when I had a fault fixed on one of my (SS) amps, the guy replaced a couple of other minor things that were deteriorating - he was pretty thorough, and caught a couple of things that would have been more expensive to replace if they'd blown and taken a bunc of stuff with them.

While regular survice isn't required, an occasional look over by an expert isn't a bad idea. If I was in a big touring band I'd probably have amps checked over before a tour, even if they were fine.

Ian

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Regular, could just be at regular intervals , once every decade?

He was regular, in that, whenever the amp developed a fault he got it fixed ?