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Double Bass Walter Woods repair

#21
I guess the most interesting part about dealing with Walter is the stories are certainly colorful.

No schematic in my amp either (Mark you are the first person to tell me they had ever seen one), but when it broke last year I called him and he said to mail it out and stuff a $20 bill inside to cover return shipping!!! He fixed it for free even though I wasn't the original owner (and he KNEW this when he called back, apparently he keeps good records about who has bought from him). Total turnaround from the day it died to having it back was only 5 days :cool:

I bought that head used from a TBer after waiting 2+ years and finally was told on my every 6 months ritual phone call to him that I should look for a used one as he had no idea when he would ever have my amp ready! If I had just ponied up the extra $600 or so for an Ultra (mine is a Hi Power) in the first place...

About 2 years into my wait, a TBer posted how Walter had told him he had a Hi Power ready to go if he wired cash immediately. I called Walter's machine, told him I was most upset to hear that and when would I get MY amp. The TBer then emailed me (pissed) that Walter called him back and said the amp was no longer available. Of course, *I* didn't get it, either...wonder who did???

Any way you look at it, it's not boring dealing with Walter :hmm:
 
#22
Well a few cats that own them here in Boston[One is a regular TBer] have told me that you put like $300.00 in 20 dollar bills inside before you send it to him.then he decides how much to take for the repair.Again if only we could make contact w. the dead....Hey maybe i could start that rumor again !!! At least he might pick up his phone.
That problem that Freddels has is dirty pots and I remember Woods telling me how to spray the pots w. the Radio Shack cleaner about 10 years ago.
 
#23
Mark Carlsen said:
That problem that Freddels has is dirty pots and I remember Woods telling me how to spray the pots w. the Radio Shack cleaner about 10 years ago.
Click to expand...

Gee, I thought Radio Shack only sold "adapters". So what you are saying is that I have to get some type of spray cleaner and open up the amp and then spray it in there and that should solve my problem. Now just to find that Radio Shack cleaner (that's probably been discontinued)<g>

Fred
 
#24
Yeah,but you have to do it just the right way.From what I remember you take the cover off,stand the amp up on it's back fins[Where you wrap the ac cord around the 2 round knobs] and then you have to find the little slots you point the spray into the pots.
Walter said to twist the pots and one short spray so it won't dissolve the lube on the pots shafts.You can mess up the amp if you do this incorrectly.
Maybe get in line to try and reach him by phone.....
 
#29
I don't care how good his amps are...nobody needs that aggravation. It seems he's pretty selective who he treats well and who he doesn't, according to this thread. My more common SWR and Ampeg amps sound plenty great, cost a lot less, and are easily serviced by anyone.
 
#30
Mark Carlsen said:
From what I remember you take the cover off,stand the amp up on it's back fins and then you have to find the little slots you point the spray into the pots.
Click to expand...
The cleaner is available as "CONTACT CLEANER" in Tru Value Hardware stores. Six bucks or so gets you a lifetime supply.

The trick, as Mark says, is to get the little tube pointed into the opening in the potentiometer. Then after you squirt just a bit, work the pot from end to end several times and then just let it sit for a good while before you fire it up.

I did this a few weeks ago. The first time, I turned the amp on right after and the pots sounded worse. Then a few nights later on the gig they were quiet just like they're supposed to be.

You can mess up the amp if you do this incorrectly.
Click to expand...
Ya don't want that stuff dripping all over the place. A little goes a long way.

TBal said:
Are his amps patented? I wonder if he was unable to receive a patent for his design and doesn't want anyone else to...
Click to expand...
I remember hearing that he didn't want to patent because he didn't want to disclose. But that's a long time ago, and who knows.

Good luck, fellas.
 
#31
Well as of an hour ago [I was cooking dinner] I got a call back from Walter.
His line opened up today and his strange message said 'Now's the time to leave your message....'

We talked for some 20 minutes and he assured me a few things.
He is the only one who can repair my model ,because it is so old ,and he has a 20 year stash of original parts. He bought out Motorola parts which are to his specs and nothing today comes close.I started to feel like an A__ ,but I guess I did break down, patients wise, only because of how long it took for a return call.A public apoligie is due to Walter ,just for the record.He mentioned how the internet can start rumors.
He is quite busy and doesn't fish ,is not retired one bit and only works alone.I really did like talking to him and at one point accually wanted to end the conversation ,but he keep yaking.
I told him I would buy a new high powered model if he had the phase switch in the current models.He quickly said that he put those on early models and no one was really smart enough to get hip to it's funtion.[I've been doing the 2 pickup thing for over ten yaers, Me Genius!!!] Anyways my bill will be $400.00 and he is rebuilding my amp.This is a bargain as far as I'm concerned.
So the lesson of this thread.....
Be patient young grasshopper...
The master is alive and well....
 
#32
I'm really happy that things worked out well for you. I was really staving off the desire to come to Walter's defence, but didn't want to get into anything resembling a flame-war. :)

I've had and heard almost nothing but total kudos toward Walter and was a bit mystified by the whole story.

I really believed that he was into fishing....
 
#33
Mark Carlsen said:
He mentioned how the internet can start rumors.
Click to expand...

Does that sort of imply that he MAY read this forum? I'm glad to hear that he's well. I must say that I haven't had any other trouble with my WW amp since I bought it in 1984.


I would buy a new high powered model if he had the phase switch in the current models.He quickly said that he put those on early models and no one was really smart enough to get hip to it's funtion.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm one of those that never figured it out. I just set the "knobs" to the sound that I liked and that was it.
 
#35
Sam Sherry said:
The cleaner is available as "CONTACT CLEANER" in Tru Value Hardware stores. Six bucks or so gets you a lifetime supply.
Click to expand...

I went to Tru Value today. They had "Oops" and "Goof Off" in an aerosol. I wasn't sure if this is the stuff that you were referring so I figured I'd ask before purchasing and trying it. Is one of these the stuff?
 
#37
Big green can of "Contact Cleaner." They also had other brands of the same stuff for three times the price. Ask for "TV Tuner Cleaner."

Freddels said:
I went to Tru Value today. They had "Oops" and "Goof Off" in an aerosol. I wasn't sure if this is the stuff that you were referring so I figured I'd ask before purchasing and trying it. Is one of these the stuff?

Salmon Chanted said:
The cleaner is available as "CONTACT CLEANER" in Tru Value Hardware stores. Six bucks or so gets you a lifetime supply.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
#39
Freddels said:
I went to Tru Value today. They had "Oops" and "Goof Off" in an aerosol. I wasn't sure if this is the stuff that you were referring so I figured I'd ask before purchasing and trying it. Is one of these the stuff?
Click to expand...

Don't use that stuff, it is definitely not what you want. Oops and Goof Off are paint removers - basically lighter fluid - and won't just evaporate off of the contacts like contact cleaner will. You might want to stick Radio Shack or some other electronics store so as to stay out of trouble.

As for Walter - give him a break - he is an artist just like us. As for the patents, if he wanted to spend the $50,000 to $100,000 to hire a patent lawyer and get his patents, the amps would be even more expensive. That's why he scrapes the part numbers....
 
#40
The Jazz Lawyer said:
Don't use that stuff, it is definitely not what you want. Oops and Goof Off are paint removers - basically lighter fluid - and won't just evaporate off of the contacts like contact cleaner will. You might want to stick Radio Shack or some other electronics store so as to stay out of trouble.
Click to expand...

I didn't use it. The ingredients didn't look like it was something that I wanted to spray into my WW. That's why I asked for clarification. Thanks anyways.


The Jazz Lawyer said:
As for Walter - give him a break - he is an artist just like us. As for the patents, if he wanted to spend the $50,000 to $100,000 to hire a patent lawyer and get his patents, the amps would be even more expensive. That's why he scrapes the part numbers....
Click to expand...

It wasn't me that was having difficulty contacting Walter. I hadn't even attempted yet as my amp is still working (just has the little crackling noise but seems that can be remedied easily enough).
 

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