What are you guys paying for Tube Amp servicing?

[deytookerjaabs]

Did the Super Reverb sound better after the service ? Personally, I would have asked the tech to evaluate what the amp needed and why, and give me an estimate before performing the work, so that there would be no "surprises" when the bill was presented. Then, YOU can decide what and what not to authorize. Often, they will charge you $75-100 shop time to do that.

( Sure wish "Lord Valve " had migrated from from rmmg.alt.guitar to one of the current forums)

I don't recall it sounding bad before either trip to the shop but it sounded healthy both times I picked it up. The second time was the most perplexing because they said "it's frying eggs" after it sat there for a few months and didn't seem aware it was there the year previous when a bunch of parts were replaced, but it was fine before the fuse went out.

In terms of sound, I will say that particular shop only used their own tubes (at their own rates) so you couldn't exactly get crazy in the weeds without paying a monster premium. And, their "China" tube was the quickest failing new tube I've ever had in an amp!

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

OP, you made the mistake of taking it to NAS. Mr. Sharp's amps, services, etc. is prohibitively expensive.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

OP, you made the mistake of taking it to NAS. Mr. Sharp's amps, services, etc. is prohibitively expensive.

In their defense....

What made me not feel as bad was seeing a few bills from single trips other shops! Seeing that line item of "re-touch every solder joint" on two amps at British Audio made me pause. I think it was on TDPRI where I first read the term "shotgun." Some of the knowing techs who post here talking about other places going overboard to fix what isn't broke to make a few extra bucks...

 

[codamedia]

Unless you do some of the work yourself, it gets pricy.

Why let a tech replace tubes? And why buy the tubes from a tech?
It's a simple job and there is no reason to let them mark up the cost once again.

Average trip to a tech around my area is about $350+ taxes, but that's just talking to a handful of guys that can't do their own work. Whether or not that's unreasonable is dependent on what was required. I've always done my own work so I've never been affected by the price.

 

[Jared Purdy]

I started a thread a while back about a bit of my own spending. Two trips to a shop within two years, months without my Super Reverb. I rejected paying the "rush" fee and said no to swapping out my reverb tank. The second time was just a blown fuse, but they wouldn't sell me just the fuse and insisted on opening the amp up.

Total parts list:



All in all, a bit under $500 from Nashville Amp Service.

Not long after this I go check out a couple blackface classics at Sam Ash. Both went to another popular repair shop, British Audio. EACH bill was a bit over $500. Nothing major on the bills that I could see beyond small parts and cheap tubes. What stood out was "re-touch every solder joint." Eek, every solder joint?

Then I stumble upon this recent bill for a '69 Twin Reverb:

$450 for some TLC, nothing severe though, I hope that $42 reverb cable is audiophile grade!



Is this the new normal? Those of you who don't DIY it all, what are your bills usually like?

Luckily, I have not had any significant issues with any tube amp that I have had. Mind you, I don't gig, and most of them were bought new.

I was handed a 74' Silverface PR a few years ago that had a number of issues. I was able to sort out a couple, namely it needed a new set of tubes, and the speaker needed to be re-coned as it was torn. Needless to say, I did the tubes myself, and I took the speaker to a noted repair shop. I think it was $50CDN. That was six or seven years ago.

There were various "noise" issues with it, that were beyond my skill level, so I took it to a noted amp technician in Toronto, John Fletcher. The 12th Fret, a highly respected high end guitar & amp shop in Toronto has him service all of the amps that they get. I took the PR to him and I think the bill was around $100. I don't remember what he did to it.

I may be about to find out what it costs to replace some resistors. I was reading an article by Rob Robinette were he was discussing the hiss sound found in many 5E3 amps. The culprit being carbon comp resistors, as opposed to metal film resistors. I just emailed Fletcher to ask him about this (I have Fender 57' Custom Deluxe) alteration, so I'll get a sense as to what it costs (and if it's worth it or needed). When I get an answer, I'll let you know. I don't know what he charges an hour, so I can look into that as well.

 

[PCollen]

Luckily, I have not had any significant issues with any tube amp that I have had. Mind you, I don't gig, and most of them were bought new.

I was handed a 74' Silverface PR a few years ago that had a number of issues. I was able to sort out a couple, namely it needed a new set of tubes, and the speaker needed to be reckoned as it was torn. Needless to say, I did the tubes myself, and I took the speaker to a noted repair shop. I think it was $50CDN. That was six or seven years ago.

There were various "noise" issues with it, that were beyond my skill level, so I took it to a noted amp technician in Toronto, John Fletcher. The 12th Fret, a highly respected high end guitar & amp shop in Toronto has him service all of the amps that they get. I took the PR to him and I think the bill was around $100. I don't remember what he did to it.

I may be about to find out what it costs to replace some resistors. I was reading an article by Rob Robinette were he was discussing the hiss sound found in many 5E3 amps. The culprit being carbon comp resistors, as opposed to metal film resistors. I just emailed Fletcher to ask him about this (I have Fender 57' Custom Deluxe) alteration, so I'll get a sense as to what it costs (and if it's worth it or needed). When I get an answer, I'll let you know. I don't know what he charges an hour, so I can look into that as well.

There is this "mystique" surrounding carbon comp resistors which I don't buy into. Metal film are the quietest (less noise/hiss) in the signal chain, but reportedly (FWIW) the most "non-vintage" sounding according to many. Carbon Comp can be noisy. Carbon Film is my preference over Carbon Comp and mostly what Radio Shack sold before they closed in my area. Truthfully, I've never been able to tell any meaningful difference in tone between any of them in the projects I've done.

 

[schmee]

The bill I posted had 40 parts replaced. Yet, no sign of any major failures. How do 12 resistors crap out without something bigger happening? Just age? There are high end vintage repro reverb tank cables out there for 25 bucks, what's the 40$+ cable look like?

"whatever the market will bear" applies here. There are fewer and fewer tech types around. Not that I like it or respect it.

Regarding the "40 parts replaced". There are a couple ways to look at work on older amps:
- If a user wants to play, not have issues etc, and doesn't care about originality, then replacing many of the carbon comp resistors and some other things may be recommended. Reflowing the old solder joints is similar. I only work on my own amps, but often a CC resistor in an old Fender amp is off by 20% of stock value and sometimes many are off up to 40-50%! Those resistors can be noisy, hissing etc. So one approach is to renew the stuff that creates issues so the user can go play music and not be bothered again and again. Old amps can have minor issues often and it's a PITA.
or
-The other approach is to simply fix what is wrong, maybe do a simple cap job and send the amp out there with fingers crossed.

But I think refretting and amp work has become way too expensive personally. Thus the rise of cheap new SS or hybrid amps that are not meant to be worked on really. Problem? Throw it away and get a new one. With today's price of tubes, it's headed even more into that realm.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

"whatever the market will bear" applies here. There are fewer and fewer tech types around. Not that I like it or respect it.

Regarding the "40 parts replaced". There are a couple ways to look at work on older amps:
- If a user wants to play, not have issues etc, and doesn't care about originality, then replacing many of the carbon comp resistors and some other things may be recommended. Reflowing the old solder joints is similar. I only work on my own amps, but often a CC resistor in an old Fender amp is off by 20% of stock value and sometimes many are off up to 40-50%! Those resistors can be noisy, hissing etc. So one approach is to renew the stuff that creates issues so the user can go play music and not be bothered again and again. Old amps can have minor issues often and it's a PITA.
or
-The other approach is to simply fix what is wrong, maybe do a simple cap job and send the amp out there with fingers crossed.

But I think refretting and amp work has become way too expensive personally. Thus the rise of cheap new SS or hybrid amps that are not meant to be worked on really. Problem? Throw it away and get a new one. With today's price of tubes, it's headed even more into that realm.

Yeah, I took an apprenticeship at a luthier's shop back in Chicago specifically because I wanted to save the dough doing my own guitar work. Turned out to be a dumb move, but I still do 90% of my own guitar work while saving the special jobs for the experts.

But, there was a point in dealing with the one shop where I felt like it wasn't about bulletproofing...it felt more like a car dealership where they just wanted to make sure the bill got up to a few hundred bucks no matter what.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

There is this "mystique" surrounding carbon comp resistors which I don't buy into. Metal film are the quietest (less noise/hiss) in the signal chain, but reportedly (FWIW) the most "non-vintage" sounding according to many. Carbon Comp can be noisy. Carbon Film is my preference over Carbon Comp and mostly what Radio Shack sold before they closed in my area. Truthfully, I've never been able to tell any meaningful difference in tone between any of them in the projects I've done.

I've used the Carbon film resistors that Rat Shack used to sell. Bought them when
i was in a pinch & needed them. I still have amps that have them installed & they
still test within spec & work as intended.

 

[abcdefghijklmnop]

Over the past 2 years, Ive learned to do my own amp repairs on my vintage amps and its one of the best investments in knowledge that Ive ever done. Prior to this I had moderate electronics experience but a good amount of wrenching on old cars, specifically old Porsche 911s, so I knew I had some mechanical ability, or at least the ability to learn. However for some reason, tube amps always were a mystery to me and I didnt know where to start.

So I started watching videos on youtube by Uncle Doug, Guitarologist, Psionic, Brad and Chris the Aussie techs, Colleen Fazio.. and several others. There are a ton of YT amp techs now and all of them have some knowledge to offer. Then 2 years ago I bought a 65 Bandmaster and did a recap and put a 3 prong cord on it. Since then, Ive bought a number of other vintage Fenders and Ive also got a good scope and multimeter. Ive read up on how to repair old amps, and Ive bought a few beaten up amps and have repaired them and reconditioned them. Ive learned to bias, learned what each component does and how to really really read a schematic, not just approximate it. Im working towards learning how to alter tone by modding and Im working towards expanding my knowledge in to vintage Marshalls, Traynors etc.

I have no desire to ever be a pro amp tech, but learning how to do my own work on the Fenders has been very enjoyable, has literally saved me at least $1000 in repair bills, has helped me as a guitarist as now I really understand what makes "great tone" and how to dial it in.

I had a communication not too long ago with a very well known, excellent guitarist. He was complaining about his vintage Princeton going down. What he was describing seemed like an easy fix, so I asked him if he could do it himself. He got snarky with me and said "why would I want to do that I focus my time on playing not fixing". So its not for everyone, but I find fixing an old amp to be very enjoyable and rewarding.

 

[LostGonzo85]

My “guy” charges $65 an hour and parts.
Last year or two…
Amp 1: $65 + ~$17 parts
Amp 2: $65 check up, no parts
Amp 3: $65 + $0.25 parts

I feel like it is worth it.

Similar here. I've got a really great tech in Milwaukee who charges about $75 for a bench fee, I think, but occasionally I'll get a deal if the work takes less than an hour. Last time I was there I think I paid like $38 to replace a cracked power tube socket in my '75 Princeton. He had the chassis out on the bench and the issue diagnosed within five minutes of my showing up at the shop. He's always busy - even GC outsources their work to him - but more often than not he'll say "you got a minute?" and then show me exactly what's going on with the chassis out. Guy is a surgeon on old Fenders. I've never had to take anything back to him because he missed something or cut a corner, and as a result my 50+ year old amps have been more reliable than my newer ones. Gonna be real lost when he retires someday. I'm sure he could be charging more by billing his work as an "artisanal" vocation the way some luthiers do, convincing folks they need parts that work replaced with "boutique" ones, etc, but that's not his style.

$1100 for a SF Twin Reverb??? That's just insanity. Whoever quoted that price doesn't deserve to be in business. That quote is either highly unethical, or the person just doesn't know what the F they're doing and is just throwing parts at it blindly.

The only way $1100 to refurb a SF Twin Reverb would make sense is if the amp got run over by a truck or put through a wood chipper and the fix was to replace it with a whole new SF Twin Reverb.

 

[archetype]

My “guy” charges $65 an hour and parts.
Last year or two…
Amp 1: $65 + ~$17 parts
Amp 2: $65 check up, no parts
Amp 3: $65 + $0.25 parts

I feel like it is worth it.

That's what I pay. I drive about 1 hour & 20 minutes to get to a guy who understands old Fender amps. He does only what's necessary and gives me the old parts when he's done.

 

[Jasonpatrick]

The shop in Nashville sounds like a stand up place lol

 

[klasaine]

Living in a big city that is a music industry town has its pros and cons.
Sure, there are plenty of techs but most of them aren’t qualified to do anything other than the basics. This is for both guitars and amps. The guys and gals that do know what they’re doing are pricey and there’s usually a two to three week turnaround.

Another negative byproduct, at least here in La La land, is that unless you’ve got at least a little bit of name recognition, you won’t get the same degree of attention to detail, especially if it’s a tricky issue.

It took me about 6 years to find a good guitar tech after my guy of 25 years retired to Albuquerque.

*All “skilled” labor has gone way up in every field. I don’t see it coming down.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

I took my 1968 Dual Shownan Reverb head to a Fender dealer/service center for inspection before I sold it. It cost me just over $100, no parts needed.

 

[uriah1]

I had a champ recap , checkout etc. done , including all parts,
electorlytics..less $150.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

The shop in Nashville sounds like a stand up place lol

It was funny the second time I took it in for service.

First I called, "hey, can I buy a fuse?"

"No, you have to bring the amp in, you never know what it could be."

"Today?"

"Sure."

So, I get there to drop off the amp. I walk up to the outside door and someone leaving the building holds it open for me as I'm carrying this big 4x10. I walk into the office (their door was open) and no one is at the desk. I wait a minute or a few just standing around. Then I say "hey guys, anyone around, I'm here to drop off the amp."

Dude walks out of the tech room all angry like with a sneer on his face.

"How did you get in here??!"

"I walked in."

In a real patronizing tone: "You're supposed to call the number first, the instructions are on the outside door." I explained that someone opened the outside door for me and that their door was wide open but the guy still was pissed off at me as if I did something malicious. I should have just walked out with my amp at that point but it took longer than that to learn my lesson.

 

[klasaine]

Also, at least in my experience ...
Amp guys can be weird.
Too many solder fumes.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Another negative byproduct, at least here in La La land, is that unless you’ve got at least a little bit of name recognition, you won’t get the same degree of attention to detail, especially if it’s a tricky issue.

Oh, there's very much a "good old boy" treatment at a lot of places. I've been offered 3 figures on stuff worth around 3k-6k many times, I just learned to stop trying to trade in with those kinds of spots, thankfully I was never desperate. I'd imagine it's the same for some of the people who recommend certain shops on their youtube channels, I don't think they get the cold shoulder!

 

[Geo]

Pretty much for the price of a 2 hour tech visit plus parts or a new set of SR/TR tubes now one could just buy a new Boss Katana.
I only had amp work done at Carter Vintage but has been awhile (3-4 yrs) Cost was very reasonable at the time.