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Pay a tech but amp is not repaired?

#21
If you agreed to a bench fee, you'll HAVE to pay that. I've never gone to any tech with any problem and not established a "don't go beyond X" point. If you did not do this you're more than likely on the hook for whatever he wants to charge you in a court.

You really don't expect him to do all the work and because he can't get things performing right not get anything do you?

:D

God Bless, Ray
 
#23
T-Bird said:
Hi.



I think You're asking a lot from us and telling us nothing.



[vent/rant on]

For some reason people assume that us techs/repair persons in any walk of life are some kind of miracle workers, who can fix anything, and for a price that's a fraction of the price of a used item.

We are aslso expected to see through the "customers" lies and know instantly what it is that they're not telling us.

A lot of things in this throw-away-society of ours are un-repairable from the financial standpoint.
Every cheapo SS amp regardless of the brand or intended primary application falls into that category. As does most of the older motor vehicles.

If the customer wants to get it fixed, regardless of the cost, fine. That can be done.

Usually they tell us that they want the repair cost to be an exact amount of their choosing though, a figure that usually doesn't even cover the parts.

Those are the reasons that a lot of people who could help in keeping older gear and vehicles in use, are now refusing to do so, me included. There's really no point in doing the repairs based on the terms that the people who are often responsible for the damage in the first place set, expecting someone to just repair it. Cheap.

[vent/rant off]

Regards
Sam
Click to expand...

I agree fully with Sam on this. The OP has given little information on which to base an opinion, Not even the make and models of the faulty amps.

P.S. Sam, the word un-repairable should be irreparable. :)
 
#24
Hi.

BassmanPaul said:
I agree fully with Sam on this. The OP has given little information on which to base an opinion, Not even the make and models of the faulty amps.

P.S. Sam, the word un-repairable should be irreparable. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul. The subject at hand got me a bit heated so I wasn't checking the words I use like I usually do. I try to learn more and more as I go, so any corrections are appreciated.

Regards
Sam
 
#25
The last time I took an amp to get repaired, they couldn't find anything wrong with it (it was an intermittent problem). They charged me 1/2 their normal rate for time and said I could use it as 'credit' if I came back. IIRC

Car mechanics do the same thing, charge you for the time they spend on your car. Even if it doesn't get fixed.
 
#26
Axtman said:
I have a situation where a professional amp tech has been unable to repair two of my bass amp heads. He is frustrated because he has put a lot of time and effort into the amps. He has bought and replaced parts. He has not been able to get the amps working but still wants to get paid.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

I had a similar situation recently. The guy actually just wanted to get paid for the parts that he used but I insisted on paying him a bit more. Why should he work for free?
 
#27
"bench fee" this is a given. I have been on both ends of this. I have had to take mixers, AD converters etc in to be fixed before. I alos do minor repairs on MI gear as well as being a professional IT engineer.
So even jsut to show an amp/keyboard/guitar to a tech and get an honest appraisal I would expect to see a bench fee of $25-75 depending on gear and the tech's rep.
An in demand tech can have a pretty high bench fee.
"what kind of amps"
This is the real zinger. Back in the pre-internet days I did run into techs that had no clue what to do with a Traynor YBA1a or an acoustic 456. The inside of some gear are very hard to suss! Used to be that if you had Fender or Marshall you had no problem finding a tech, but only one guy would work on Mesa, Ampeg etc. He would look at the Traynor stuff for a fee but no guarantee.
However these days most amps are pretty easy to track down info on.
I have to wonder if this guy couldnt fix your amps either
A-they were really hosed
B-he is not very good.
C-they are some SMT crap that he isnt set up to work on
 
#28
The amps are a red face SWR 350 and an SWR 4004. Both are not very valuable or desired amps. I got the 350 for $100 and the 4004 for free. I assumed that the problem was as easy as blown output transistors. The tech claimed to have worked on dozens of SWR type amps. He replaced the output transistors and some capacitors but the amps still do not work. The 4004 is silent and the 350 has a hum. He charged me $300 for work on both amps.

To me it does not make sense to put anymore money into those amps and just might take it as a loss and sell them AS-IS.
 
#29
Axtman said:
The tech claimed to have worked on dozens of SWR type amps. He replaced the output transistors and some capacitors but the amps still do not work. The 4004 is silent and the 350 has a hum. He charged me $300 for work on both amps.
Click to expand...
A qualified tech diagnoses what's wrong and only replaces parts that require replacement. That seems not to be the case here. I'd leave them there.
 
#32
techs vary......

Any decent tech is going to have some CLUE WHY he is replacing a part. Bad ones replace it because "usually that problem is a bad <insert part name>".

Bad ones are also big on the "analysis is paralysis" slogan, and feel that if they are not desoldering parts they are just wasting time.

Surprisingly, most technician work is really quite simple.... given a few bits of prior knowledge about electronics..... The idea is to identify the overall problem, develop some ideas as to what it could be, CHECK to see which one (or more than one) is true, replace bad parts, check for possible reasons they WENT bad, and test to be sure it's fixed.

Simple, but requires knowledge to apply. Some guys never get there, and they don't do well.

I worked as a tech, doing hifi and MI stuff, while in school. I finally had to make a deal with my boss that if he gave up on an electronic problem, and I had to fix it, I got the commission, because I fixed a LOT of stuff he started and got stuck on. He could fix any turntable in 10 min, but wasn't so good at complex electronic stuff.

A tech that can't fix it, but gets $300 into the problem, IS a problem, in many ways. He should not have the gall to charge full pop, and should have had the good sense to get out early.

Minimum bench fee? Sure, He deserves that anyhow, but likely no more.
 
#33
Hi.

Axtman said:
The amps are a red face SWR 350 and an SWR 4004. Both are not very valuable or desired amps. I got the 350 for $100 and the 4004 for free. I assumed that the problem was as easy as blown output transistors.
Click to expand...

What You assumed is something that nearly everyone of us has assumed at some point in life, that someone elses (costly) misfortune can be turned into our fortune (cheaply). Sadly, IME anyway, it doesn't quite work like that. I have a somewhat big pile of older PA amps to prove it ;).

An amp like those You have are only worth it if You have the skills to repair them. Having a tech even diagnose the problem for a standard fee is 95% of the time just not worth it.

Axtman said:
The tech claimed to have worked on dozens of SWR type amps. He replaced the output transistors and some capacitors but the amps still do not work.
Click to expand...

He probably has, but just swapping parts is not considered repairing, it's considered to be guessing. But then again, we really don't know what he's done to diagnose the problem(s).

That said, I have a few amps that my friend, who's very good at repairing amps, just can't fix. The output devices just blow in a sec. without any apparent reason. Until we figure something out, no additional money if any will be poured into those ones.

Axtman said:
The 4004 is silent and the 350 has a hum. He charged me $300 for work on both amps.
Click to expand...

At ~$50-75/hour + parts, that doesn't sound too unreasonable.

Axtman said:
To me it does not make sense to put anymore money into those amps and just might take it as a loss and sell them AS-IS.
Click to expand...

Very good idea. IMHO anyway.

Regards
Sam
 
#34
Axtman said:
The amps are a red face SWR 350 and an SWR 4004. Both are not very valuable or desired amps. I got the 350 for $100 and the 4004 for free. I assumed that the problem was as easy as blown output transistors. The tech claimed to have worked on dozens of SWR type amps. He replaced the output transistors and some capacitors but the amps still do not work. The 4004 is silent and the 350 has a hum. He charged me $300 for work on both amps.

To me it does not make sense to put anymore money into those amps and just might take it as a loss and sell them AS-IS.
Click to expand...

When you took the amps in did you tell him the output transistors needed replacing, or let him diagnose the problem?
If you told him that was the problem, pay him.
 
#35
personally i wouldent but i had somthing simalar befor.

back befor i learnt how to solder i got given a guitar by my old school. the pickup worked yet the wiring didnt (poorly soldered and the volume pot was terrable) so i sent it into a guitar shop in my town because i couldent afford the train fair into glasgow. so i gave it in asking that they wire it back up. 3 weeks later i got the call saying it was time to pick it up. usually i ask to try out after any repairs IN THE SHOP but this was the rare case i couldent since i had a gig to do. got to soundcheck and pulled it out the case and plugged it in to find..........NOTHING. opened it up and the wiring was actually in place with blu tack.

decided go back to the shop the next day to tell them and they said "well you opened the cover, its not our responsibility anymore"

and i had to pay up-frount
 
#36
This almost sounds like the tech dosenst have experience using an oscope and DMM.
My first check when diagnosing gear is to start at the power supply. Which is what I would suspect in the case of either or both of those amps. Sometimes its a VR or rectifier diode or cap, that would take further testing. But simply trying this and that isnt real amp tech work.
 
#37
s_mcsleazy said:
personally i wouldent but i had somthing simalar befor.

back befor i learnt how to solder i got given a guitar by my old school. the pickup worked yet the wiring didnt (poorly soldered and the volume pot was terrable) so i sent it into a guitar shop in my town because i couldent afford the train fair into glasgow. so i gave it in asking that they wire it back up. 3 weeks later i got the call saying it was time to pick it up. usually i ask to try out after any repairs IN THE SHOP but this was the rare case i couldent since i had a gig to do. got to soundcheck and pulled it out the case and plugged it in to find..........NOTHING. opened it up and the wiring was actually in place with blu tack.

decided go back to the shop the next day to tell them and they said "well you opened the cover, its not our responsibility anymore"

and i had to pay up-frount
Click to expand...

NEVER, EVER pay up front. At most, they should have asked for maybe a SMALL deposit, but, IMO, even that would raise a red flag for me, and if I was able, find someone else to do the work.
 

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