How to best approach amp repair for a living...

[M Fowler]

Probably best not to do amp repair for a living

Ding ding ding....a winner.

We need another Beatles, so that every 12 year old picks up an electric guitar and gets in a band.

What the fook is an air guitar good for?

The local Rock School is loaded with kids playing guitar and other instruments but sales of low priced guitars/amps has no margin for profit for the stores and I don't want to fix all those crappy cheap amps they wreck.

Mark

[cbass]

Probably best not to do amp repair for a living

Ding ding ding....a winner.

We need another Beatles, so that every 12 year old picks up an electric guitar and gets in a band.

What the fook is an air guitar good for?

The local Rock School is loaded with kids playing guitar and other instruments but sales of low priced guitars/amps has no margin for profit for the stores and I don't want to fix all those crappy cheap amps they wreck.

Mark

Exactly there are no shortage of kids playing guitar.There is a shortage of gigs and ways to make money playing music.So there isn't much point in buying quality repairable gear

[Diablo1]

If the parents can afford to throw away money on X-boxes, soccer leagues, etc., then the kids should demand some high-end tube amps. Got to keep up with the Jones.....

[Cliff Schecht]

Probably best not to do amp repair for a living

Ding ding ding....a winner.

We need another Beatles, so that every 12 year old picks up an electric guitar and gets in a band.

What the fook is an air guitar good for?

The local Rock School is loaded with kids playing guitar and other instruments but sales of low priced guitars/amps has no margin for profit for the stores and I don't want to fix all those crappy cheap amps they wreck.

Mark

Mark, you aren't the only person to make a point about fixing inexpensive amps in this thread but since you are the last, I'll pick on you.

Repairing "budget" equipment is where I make my quickest buck typically. I've worked on enough broken crap equipment to know what usually fails in which models/brands and can make my speedy repairs accordingly. At this point people pay more for your knowledge and abilities (as well as overhead for some!) than they are for your time or parts.

The internet is a huge resource for fixing inexpensive equipment because 9 times out of 10 somebody else has had a similar problem. Just having this available means that I can diagnose a lot of jobs before I even crack open the amp (and have to charge a bench fee) so the customer can decide what to do before they owe me money.

It does suck having to "sell" your services but when I approach people, it's only with sincere honesty and a genuine interest in helping them achieve good tone that will stand up to daily use/abuse. I let people know that I am confident in my abilities and my customers really trust me I think. Word of mouth is powerful on many levels.

One of the best deals I've made so far is meeting one of the local pro's out here and having him refer people to me. Since he has ties to almost every other pro in town as well as teachers and the large music program our local community college has, he manages to throw a LOT of work my way. While some of it is cheap shit (which I'll work on all day), I also get to work on some really darn nice/cool equipment.

The other great thing about working for schools and small businesses is that they do not mind paying top dollar for good work. I can ask whatever I want from the schools and they will pay it, although I try to keep the prices well within reason so that they will bring me more work. I look at always having repairs on queue as being better than getting one lump of money at once and not hearing from them again for a year. It does sometimes take a week or two to get paid from a school or business but the money is usually worth the wait.

And you should see how much money I make on service calls, i.e. I go there and fix your equipment.. One could live comfortably if they are confident enough to tackle projects in other peoples houses at an elevated price.

There are of course downsides to amp repair but I think a lot of people have covered these. There will be slow times, but I also sell books on Amazon and do a LOT of business through eBay now as well to maximize the money I make during down times. I have a lot of extra crap that I'm always selling and it seems eBay is the best way to make consistent money on certain things (vintage electronics, vintage audio and old test equipment mostly).

I'll start posting more stuff for sale here very soon but honestly, you don't get top dollar here at TAG usually. I save this forum for things that are amp builder specific (i.e. the good stuff ) and have a stash of stuff set aside that I need to post sooner or later. I have more transformers than I can use in two years of hardcore building at this point and it's starting to look more and more like crap that is just weighing me down when I have to move soon (except replace crap with good ol' US made PT's and OT's ).

[BTF]

Don't forget churches. Our retail system made at least 60% of its annual income on sales and installs for churches. Our service system made perhaps 40% of its annual revenue on church-related service calls. In our area, they are practically the only continually functioning performance venues. We have lost most of the clubs, and the larger theatres must sub their repair out because we only rarely worked them. Repairing mics, guitars, cable systems, pa gear and installed service calls from churches can be a consistent source of revenue. Many churches will buy the gear and have you install it if they think you are sympathetic to their values. Plus, word of mouth between church goers can be very valuable.

I know this may sound weird, and not to be preachy, but you have to look at it this way: There's the romantic view of business where you become a Ken Fischer-type guru and have people coming to the mountain to get you to do their work- and that's great. I had that kind of vision when I began servicing. Then you actually start, and business licenses, rent, insurance, stock costs, taxes, unforseen overhead, competition from undercutters and the like come pouring down. So then you have to start making every penny you can. Churches and schools can be money makers if you just build a rep for quality and integrity. We had more work than we could often handle, but eventually we just lost all interest in doing it and sold out.

[M Fowler]

Cliff, I understand, but your a talented, smart and young individual. I'm grumpy and set in my old ways. There are plenty of business in town selling and install school and church systems. Probably why techs in the area don't want to fix guitar amps.

Until I started repair work they were shipping amps 270 miles away to Savage Audio in Savage, MN. I got enough work just fixing cool old amps the guys keep buying off ebay or Craig's list.

Besides I have grand kids to build for. Also, tag members have been giving me loads of parts so I can build some amps for people down on their luck.

Yesterday Benoit (tag member) came over with 7 loaded old audio amp chassis and a tub of transformers and chokes.

Mark

[billyz]

I have been watching this topic for a while and tried to refrain from posting, ha ha.

My thoughts are. If you do not value your work at least as much as the Plumber , electrician, car mechanic, HVAC guys then you do not have the proper mindset to be a professional Amp Tech . That is one who makes his living do it.

Also, The business minded person is going to have to figure ways to maximize his income streams, ie . Buy tubes , Transformers , parts wholesale and sell them retail.

Stop charging by the hour and start charging by the job.

Sub out work you do not want to do but still take a fee for.

Lastly, Learn to market yourself. And hopefully be located in an area with favorable demographics.

Good Luck,
Z

[Cantplay]

I did the above and built a rental fleet of studio amplifiers 160+ amps strong.

Now I understand you buying up all those TW parts.

John

[selloutrr]

I did the above and built a rental fleet of studio amplifiers 160+ amps strong.

Now I understand you buying up all those TW parts.

John

Correct the TW are for in studio rentals. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the kind of player to benefit from a TW amp. When I play/played professionally I played bass. I just like having tone options and must haves for producing/engineering, writing songs and rental profit is appealing. having name brand is important from a rental and mojo point of view. Its all about mood and vibe... Keeping them running and stock is as important as having them.
At some point I will die and whoever can figure out if they want to sell the amps, keep them, or use them to build a fort in the back yard...

[BTF]

Perhaps you could use them to construct a tomb or pyramid a la the pharaohs!

[Cantplay]

Amphenge!

or Easter(amp) Island.

John

[cpollack]

The best way to make a small fortune in amp repair is to start with a large one.

In my experience (friends know me as the "amp guy"; I don't have a shop) potential customers fall into two camps:

1) People wanting restos or maintenance on serious, valuable amps. This is the high $$$ end of it. They want it done right. Often they are pros who want it done quickly, too. Are you good enough to do it quickly and right the first time? If not, that's the last time you have them as a customer and they will tell their friends. I met Jimmy McCarty (Detroit Wheels, Cactus, Rockets, Mystery Train, yep, that Jimmy McCarty) once at a bar. After 15 minutes of chatting he asked me to work on his Tweed Bassman. I repectfully declined. I didn't have the parts and wasn't confident I could fix it before his next gig. That said, if a guy like him can't find a good tech to the point where he asks a guy in a bar to work on his amp, there may be an opportunity. I get offers from music stores every so often, too, even though I lay it out that I'm a hobbyist.

2) People who are cheap and don't want to throw away a cheap amp that should be thrown away. They don't want to pay and will nickel and dime you down. A co-worker really wanted me to work on his 12-year-old kid's $30 Gorilla practice amp. I declined. He persisted. "I don't do solid state amps," I told him. He persisted. "He loves that amp. Please!!!" I declined again. "Just take a look at it, it's probably something simple, it just doesn't light up." So I took it home, spent 30 minutes looking at it, found a frayed power cord that was intermittent and replaced it. Found a cold solder joint, fixed it. Spent 10 minutes playing it; sounded like a $30 SS pawn shop amp, but worked fine. Charged him $12 bucks for the cord. He was pissed. "$12 for a $2 cord?" "Fine, give me $2" (even though it was a decent $5 cord). He took it home and week later it pooped out again. He spent the next week telling everyone in the shop that I was a doofus who wrecked his kid's favorite amp.

YMMV, but I doubt it.

[Cantplay]

There are customers for whom you are a savior, and can do no wrong.

There are also defective customers for whom you can do nothing right. Usually they believe they are much smarter than you, and are doing you a favor by allowing you to work on their stuff.

John

[M Fowler]

cpollack He spent the next week telling everyone in the shop that I was a doofus who wrecked his kid's favorite amp.

Exactly why I refuse to cater to this crowd. First of all they lie about how or why the amp failed until I tell them how it failed when they incorrectly hooked up the wrong impedance load and fried the friggin whole board on the SS POS amp. Broken knobs/pots, it's unbelievable how many repairs I get with this phenomena. How the hell did you do this? No answer.

Lack of accurate instructions from the middle man has caused me a lot of grief and had one customer saying I was an a idiot for putting in stock pots when he spend $100's getting a Fromel mod done to the amp! Had to resolder the amp back to the mod and then he went out and bought a $2000 amp anyway. Never met the guy because I told the guitar store I will beat the shit out of this ass if I ever see him for what he said about me. Fix your own freaking amp then smart ass.

I make more money on retubing/bias an amp then repair work. I'm known around town to have a large tube supply so all the guitar stores refer people to me on Friday afternoon before the gig's. Most asked for are KT66, EL34 and 6L6.

[boots]

Repairing amps is like any other endeavor in life.

You're a top notch guy and a real genius. As long as you're doing it for free. Once money enters the scene, you can't do nothin' right.