Amp Technician Rates?

[maltone]

Can someone please post a checklist of things that an amp tech would include in a thorough inspection?

I know they check voltages, (and other stuff) but for the JCM 2000 - DSL 100 (if used) can someone list the specific things I should ask for to see what shape the amp is actually in?

And, what would a good tech's rates typically be for checking these things?

Thanks.

 

[Ken]

Can someone please post a checklist of things that an amp tech would include in a thorough inspection?

I know they check voltages, (and other stuff) but for the JCM 2000 - DSL 100 (if used) can someone list the specific things I should ask for to see what shape the amp is actually in?

And, what would a good tech's rates typically be for checking these things?

Thanks.

Rates vary, but I would expect a minimum charge of $35 for a quick look-see and then it depends on time. Ask him ahead of time so you don't get surprised.

DSL's have only a few common issues.

I'd have him do the speaker jack mod if it's not already done.

I would check all the solder connections for the input, speaker, F/S and FX loop jacks. Also the AC cord recepticle solder connections. All these tend to need attention with heavy use. I've had to resolder several of mine.

Be sure the reverb works. Well, be sure everything works actually! Channel switching, etc. but lots of DSL owners had reverb issues. I think it goes back to poor solder connections 9 times out of 10.

That's all I can think of for "common" problems. DSLs in general are very reliable. I did all the above myself with only basic skills; nothing complicated has gone wrong with my amp and it gets moved several times a week on average.

Ken

 

[PaoloJM]

Can someone please post a checklist of things that an amp tech would include in a thorough inspection?

I know they check voltages, (and other stuff) but for the JCM 2000 - DSL 100 (if used) can someone list the specific things I should ask for to see what shape the amp is actually in?

And, what would a good tech's rates typically be for checking these things?

Thanks.

As a tech my general once over includes:
Cleaning all plugs, jacks and sockets.
Visual and nasal inspection.
Check bias.
Check power output. (this is the best indication of amp health IMO).
Leave the amp on for 1.5/2 under signal hours and then play it myself on all channels and settings.

If it passes all of these it has a full bill of health from me.

€25/€30 would normal for this, assuming that no issues were found.

 

[maltone]

Thanks Paolo. Just curious, what is a nasal inspection?

 

[PaoloJM]

Thanks Paolo. Just curious, what is a nasal inspection?

Sniffing stuff!!

 

[RobS]

A slab of Beer or a bottle of Jack goes a long way in Australia!!!!

 

[maltone]

thank you guys. Much appreciated.

 

[Ken]

Sniffing stuff!!

If you ever get to work on one of Slash's amps, that might get exciting...

Ken

 

[maltone]

Finally got the DSL 100 home yesterday. My god this thing is LOUD. I thought the crunch channel with volume at 4-5, gain at about 3 was good - until I set the volume to 10, and the gain at about 3 - with the deep switch engaged. My ears are ringing - I probably shouldn't sit 4 feet in front of the speaker. Unreal.

 

[PaoloJM]

Finally got the DSL 100 home yesterday. My god this thing is LOUD. I thought the crunch channel with volume at 4-5, gain at about 3 was good - until I set the volume to 10, and the gain at about 3 - with the deep switch engaged. My ears are ringing - I probably shouldn't sit 4 feet in front of the speaker. Unreal.

Cool, great to hear it man.

 

[madmmx]

A very reputable tech in my area charges $60 bench fee plus parts.... He charges a fair price for parts

I had a Super Reverb that got a cap job, reverb pan replaced, blackface mod to the circuit, replaced tremolo sensor, 2 preamp tubes and a couple of pots for $200..... Oh and he made me a dummy rca jack for the tremolo because I didnt have the footswitch. I just pluged in the dummy jack and the trem would come on without having to use a pedal.

 

[maltone]

Thanks guys, I think I found someone local who knows their stuff.

 

[charveldan]

My tech charges $75 buck an hour and he's worth it.

 

[mrrstrat]

I charge 35 per hour. Shops that sub my time usually mark up the time upto 2 times my rate. I dont surcharge for parts, but nearly all shops do.
I have a standard check, but what I avoid is to do what some shops do: look for anything wrong to fix for as much time as possible. We got a local hack that will retouch all solder points telling people its a precaution. About 10% of all repairs I do comes from this guys shop directly.
I would think a good shop is like your trusted mechanic: fix the issue the amp came in on, find the roor cause, look for potential problems, and alert you before doing any ynauthorized work.

I look for signs of stress, burns, bad connections, burnt smells, voltages out of what I expect, I do research to see if there are common or repeater issues for the amp I am working on (service bulletins).

I have found in this business, any work needs to be diagnosed and fixable within 3 to 4 hours or it is not worth it to the customer. Too often shops will trickle time into a problem they are gradually understanding. In the engineering world, we call this 'one factor at a time' and this leaves out the complexity multifactors have in causality in a problem.

Hope anything I said helps!

 

[Ken]

We got a local hack that will retouch all solder points telling people its a precaution. !

On a p2p amp that's almost sacraligious, but on a DSL that's not a bad idea at all, especially for a gigging musician. There's been a million posts from DSL owners who've had solder connections fail, and I've had it happen to me on my input jack and power cord socket.

As long as he's up front that he's going to do it and doesn't charge a stuipd fee for it, I think it's a good idea at least on a DSL he's seen for the first time. Not sure if all newer Marshalls have this issue.

Ken

 

[mrrstrat]

On a p2p amp that's almost sacraligious, but on a DSL that's not a bad idea at all, especially for a gigging musician. There's been a million posts from DSL owners who've had solder connections fail, and I've had it happen to me on my input jack and power cord socket.

As long as he's up front that he's going to do it and doesn't charge a stuipd fee for it, I think it's a good idea at least on a DSL he's seen for the first time. Not sure if all newer Marshalls have this issue.

Ken

Now I am a hipocrit: last night I retouched the solder connections (on my DSL I am working on) on all tube socket connections - now they are all bright and shiney making good contact (meter checked as good as I can).

The guy I am talking about does this on ANY amp he works on and is glad to charge atleast 1/2-1 hour on top of what he is doing each time. I have heard of him doing this on ALL connections: resistors, connections, capacitors and charging a couple hours to boot. I wont own any amp he has worked on and in my area he is the major amp repair guy (I am a part-timer who cherry picks work I am certain I can fix). 10% of my work is fixing his work.

Since the DSL seems to have this issue (from what I have read) - PC board mounted socket stressing - I was comfortable in pre-emptively fixing this as I have the power board out of the amp and figured it was a good time to do this.

But I am reluctant to do more than what I think is wrong with the amp as things get unintentionally broken and turn into the dreaded "repeat work for free" as I garentee my work. The guy in my area is glad to generate rework and charge for it blaming it on "its a used amp" and peoples ignorance.

As for me, I do a fair amount of free work to help out a brother as much as I can afford to do!

 

[maltone]

Mrrstrat - that's very honest and cool of you. I think I found a good guy, I'll only take my amp to him - because he knows what he's doing, and he's a DSL owner as well.

I really need to get more involved with this stuff - fixing these connections you speak of. I have a really steady hand, but I've never soldered anything - since grade 8!.

It would be so cool if you guys could put together a list of connections, what area of the board, etc. I'd like to start learning more about this stuff - but I have absolutely NO experience with electronics. Really I just want it to sound as good as it can, and be as solid as possible without any future problems - if they can be dealt with now.

 

[scat7s]

search the threads, you'll find that all the common issues come up again and again.

 

[Australian]

I've said it before, but we lost two techs in one year in our neighborhood.
So searching out a new one, the last tech I used charges a $90 bench fee.

 

[Ken]

It would be so cool if you guys could put together a list of connections, what area of the board, etc. .

I'd start with the connections that get physical stress from plugging in and unplugging: all 1/4" jack connections, power cord recepticle, and the tube sockets. Maybe the fuse holders too.

Ken