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Abell audio in columbus Ohio.

Broadstbully22

Broadstbully22

Dec 5, 2011
678
46
#1
I'm not having a positive experience with these guys right now. At the same time I'm trying not to over react. Have you guys had any experience with these guys, bad or good? I probably will not use them again and won't be giving them positive recommendations from now on.
 
#4
I was given a estimate of 260. I gave 100 down, waited nine days. Got a call for a update saying price would be 304. Went to pick it up, was told price was 404. Board is barely even worth that and they spent only 20 in parts. Not impressed. Now my bands kinda mad at me because using them was my idea instead of using that money to buy a new board.
 
#5
Hi,

It's not cool that you received no call when the repair costs exceeded the estimate. They should have asked for your approval. I suppose you could just walk away from it and tell them to keep it. Then spend your money somewhere else for a new board. But that means the store gets a free board for the cost of a repair, to flip for a big profit.

Did they fix it in house or do they farm out their repair work? If they farm it out they might be adding an extra fee so that they make money on the deal after paying their repair shop.

I suppose you could make a stink about the extra $100 that you didn't approve. You could either talk about small claims court or trashing them on Yelp. Either way, it's a tough position you're in. Try diplomacy first. Decide whether or not that board is worth $400 to you. Have you paid for it yet? If so, there's not much you can do except let everyone know online. Sorry to hear of your troubles.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
#6
Hi.

What board?

It's hard to imagine anyone taking a cheap mixing console to a tech nowadays.

Any console really.

IME only the modular desks are worth getting repaired, even a measly 8/4/2 dwarf single unit desk will take an hour to dismantle if the problem is in the main board. Another hour to put it back together.
That's 2 hours down without even diagnosing it let alone repairing anything.

Broadstbully22 said:
I was given a estimate of 260. I gave 100 down, waited nine days. Got a call for a update saying price would be 304. Went to pick it up, was told price was 404.
Click to expand...

So the repair time went from 2-3 hours to ~1 more, and then to ~2 on top of that.
Not unheard of, but they should've contacted You, that's for sure.

Broadstbully22 said:
Board is barely even worth that and they spent only 20 in parts.
Click to expand...

"It's not the hammer, it's the knowledge how to swing it" applies here as well as in any other profession.

My condolences on Your hard lesson.


Regards
Sam
 
#7
It's a Mackie 24.4 vlz pro. We are picking up today. We are just going to pay it and get our board back (I like our board) and use someone else next time. The lack of communication and notice was kinda sloppy. That price to me also seems pretty high. Especially when that's almost what we payed for the board.
 
#8
Hi.

Broadstbully22 said:
It's a Mackie 24.4 vlz pro. We are picking up today. We are just going to pay it and get our board back (I like our board) and use someone else next time. The lack of communication and notice was kinda sloppy. That price to me also seems pretty high. Especially when that's almost what we payed for the board.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying that.

I had to google the prices (I'm more of a vintage mixer guy), and to my surprise they were pretty cheap.
Real cheap actually on evilbay.

I've used one once or twice, nice desk.

Unless it's a heavily modified unit worth a lot to the user, I usually refuse to go over half the value with the repairs unless there's an agreement from whoever agrees to pay for the repair.
BUT, I'm just a hobbyist, not a pro ;).

IMLE, the price was probably correct for all the work required and for the fast (IMO anyway) repair time, but the lack of communication is always a problem with techs.

Over here it's months.
If You manage to find someone that is.

IIRC that board is divided to 8 chanel PCB's and a master section, so the tech doesn't have to remove every knob and nut just to get to the problem, but it's still a major PITA to work on those kinds of consoles.
IME/IMO anyway.

Regards
Sam
 
#9
I've used Able twice in the past, and my guitarist has used them three times, each without incident.

Their hourly rate is a bit high but they are the most reputable place in town. We've never had a problem with not getting contacted if the estimate had to be exceeded - they were always under-estimate with me, and they called my guitarist for approval first before continuing when his estimate had to be exceeded.

Sorry to hear you had problems.... I hope it was an unfortunate anomaly and not a new way of doing business. I'll definitely watch my back with them next time.
 
#11
Consoles, and particularly Mackie consoles are ridiculously time consuming to work on. The console is basically one big circuit board and to get to the crappy ribbon cables, you have to take the whole thing apart.

Never get one of these Mackie's fixed. Buy a different used one. In fact...never get any analog live console fixed, just always replace. If the live analog board is worth fixing...it is probably time to replace it anyway with a new digital desk.
 
#12
I've passed on their services before due to wait times and ridiculously high estimates for simple repairs. (IMO of course.) Reall, I have no other personal experience besides a few phone inquiries that left me feeling "meh."
 

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