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Amp Techs - What to reasonably expect?

#2
Depends very much on the tech's business practices and if it's a shop, their manager or service associate.

As a data point, on amps that I still repair, I try to get back to the customer within a couple of days. Usually it's to let them know that it's done, but sometimes to get approval for a higher cost because there was hidden damage or damage from a previous repair.
 
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#4
Whenever I drop something off for service I usually ask what their backlog is. With an electronics repair shop, the answer can be weeks.

Also, it can take awhile to get parts. I received my Klark Teknik DN9848 back from repair in Nov 2023. The repair shopped received it in Nov 2022. They originally thought they would be able to turn it around in a few weeks. I called them approximately once a month for the duration.
 
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#5
agedhorse said:
Depends very much on the tech's business practices and if it's a shop, their manager or service associate.

As a data point, on amps that I still repair, I try to get back to the customer within a couple of days. Usually it's to let them know that it's done, but sometimes to get approval for a higher cost because there was hidden damage or damage from a previous repair.
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buldog5151bass said:
Also depends on what is being done. This is something that should be discussed with the tech when you drop it off.
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Wasnex said:
Whenever I drop something off for service I usually ask what their backlog is. With an electronics repair shop, the answer can be weeks.

Also, it can take awhile to get parts. I received my Klark Teknik DN9848 back from repair in Nov 2023. The repair shopped received it in Nov 2022. They originally thought they would be able to turn it around in a few weeks. I called them approximately once a month for the duration.
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I think it's reached the appropriate time for me to get in touch with the tech.

The job was to inspect a just purchased and delivered 2nd hand Ampeg SVT, successfully shipped from a Music Go Round in Ann Arbor MI.

The tech indicated he had other work ahead of me--no surprise there. He asked me how much of a hurry I was in. I said it was not particularly urgent but I wasn't suggesting he let it slide. He said he would get back to me with an initial report in about a week.

It's been two weeks. I've heard nothing from him--no news, no request for authorization to do anything beyond the inspection, nothing about parts to be ordered--No part order or pending delivery involved.
 
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#9
My local shop always gives a ball park estimate as to when an item can be looked at. They usually run a 1-2 week backlog but I've also been told a month when they are swamped. They usually repair the item as soon as they get parts which can be an eternity for some special order key board parts.
 
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#10
bassinflorida said:
Imagine how much more info you might have by now if you contacdted your tech, instead of us.:roflmao:
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I wasn't asking chat for the information, I was asking what others consider a reasonable expectation for wait time. See the difference?

+ I already left him a message this afternoon so not really. ;)
 
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#11
Jim C said:
My local shop always gives a ball park estimate as to when an item can be looked at. They usually run a 1-2 week backlog but I've also been told a month when they are swamped. They usually repair the item as soon as they get parts which can be an eternity for some special order key board parts.
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Yeah, that's understandable but there's no known repair to be made; not parts; this is about an inspection of a 45-year-old amp that was just delivered to me. Nothing else has been reported by them or authorized by me.
 
#13
agedhorse said:
Depends very much on the tech's business practices and if it's a shop, their manager or service associate.

As a data point, on amps that I still repair, I try to get back to the customer within a couple of days. Usually it's to let them know that it's done, but sometimes to get approval for a higher cost because there was hidden damage or damage from a previous repair.
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2 days = sainthood
 
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#14
SkylineFiver said:
2 days = sainthood
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When I worked on console restoration, often those were 30 day projects with other work fit in as needed. Of course those were $30k-$50k consoles that were being fully cleaned refurbished and tested back when analog consoles ruled the world. Spending $5-$10k was no big deal to get another 5+ years out of them.

Here's a Crest console that came through the shop, it was the last console that we rebuilt before the digital consoles became the solution of the day.
100_0563.jpg


100_0564.jpg
 
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#15
My experience with guitar amps was that good techs are hard to find, and the good ones have a decent backlog.

I always ask for an estimated time to completion and when that date comes, I check in with them by phone. If I don't get a response I would check in again every week. But experience tells me to expect that estimated date to be a best-case scenario.
 
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#16
Imagine that maybe fifty to a hundred people all like you needed the very specialized skills of one person to get their thing fixed, and that maybe half of them woke up every morning wondering how long it was going to take them to fix your thing in particular. These cats are artists. They're in demand. They have no idea how long its going to take them to fix whatever is on their bench today, and therefore they can't tell you how long its going to take them to get to the tenth or twentieth or fiftieth amp in their queue. It's just our dumb luck to live in a world where there are people who can fix this stuff at all. Play your backup rig and send your repair shop some cookies when they're done to demonstrate how much you appreciate them.
 
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#19
thehindteet said:
Imagine that maybe fifty to a hundred people all like you needed the very specialized skills of one person to get their thing fixed, and that maybe half of them woke up every morning wondering how long it was going to take them to fix your thing in particular. These cats are artists. They're in demand. They have no idea how long its going to take them to fix whatever is on their bench today, and therefore they can't tell you how long its going to take them to get to the tenth or twentieth or fiftieth amp in their queue. It's just our dumb luck to live in a world where there are people who can fix this stuff at all. Play your backup rig and send your repair shop some cookies when they're done to demonstrate how much you appreciate them.
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That's fine, I can imagine that.

In reality, this isn't a one-amp tech place--this is Los Angeles in SoCal, I could name 8 different techs/shops just from the top of my head within 20 minutes of here. There also wasn't anywhere close to that amount of gear in his shop to work on; he showed me around, including his storage room and it's an inspection; no replacement parts are involved.

The main thing, like I said, he told me he'd give me his initial inspection assessment in about a week.
 
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