How do I get started in amp repair business

[Normybaby]

Hi all, this is my first post and would like to know if somebody can help me with this question. I would like some advise on how to get started in a part time tube amp repair/mod business. Let me tell you about myself a little first; I’ve been around awhile, almost 60 years and most of them (48), I’ve been playing the guitar (using mostly tube amps). I love to mess-around fixing things with electronics. Through the years my hobbies has been building some guitar/audio related projects as well as repairing guitars for a local music store and for my guitar friends. I’ve read many books including the Naval “Basic Electronics” course book set and many “how to” books on electronics. I believe I have a good understanding of amplifier theory and function. I recently lost my job (long story) and I’ve been thinking about doing some Tube amp and guitar repairs on a part time basis. What are the required credentials and what are the liabilities involved? Sorry for the long post.
Normybaby

[MWJB]

Credentials - sounds like technically you have a good grounding. Ear training is important too and you have to be able to translate that technical knowledge into the sound the client wants. Your playing should help you in that respect, but the more you work, the better you will get. Always let the owner demo the amp, doesn't matter what the volts, milliamps & scope say, he's got to enjoy playing it & be happy with it.

There are a good range of books aimed specifically at guitar amp electronics service & mods which serve as being more "vocationally" educational, read a selection and draw your own conclusions. (I got into working on amps because it just so happened the guys round here had little understanding of tone/what the player was looking for, they'd say "Don't make no difference/that's the same as the part I took out" - despite not sounding the same or really being "the same!).

Liabilities - Your word is really your bond, spell out what you need to do, keep customers well updated, be transparent - it helps when the inevitable curved balls come up.

Don't take on anything you're not happy with, either from a gear or customer point of view - if you're just doing this part time you don't need to be saddled with big parts bills for difficult/niaive folks quibbling about charges. Most of the money passing through your fingers will be eaten up by parts, so don't be in a rush and take your time in pricing up involved jobs (taxes/post on parts etc., bear in mind that you often may not be able to every part you need for a job from the same supplier). At first it's easy to get carried away and try and fix everything that comes your way and you can wind up spending many unchargeable hours on a turkey (it's going to happen at some time anyway, just stack the odds in your favour).

Don't touch anything still under warranty. Even if it's an easy job, many manufacturers are hopeless at turning round factory parts in a reasonable timeframe (thank heavens for the wealth of specialist parts suppliers we have today). It's the manufacturer's responsibility until the warranty expires, they can do their own PR work.

Never order parts in advance for "imminent" jobs...no matter how honest/well meaning guys are they don't always turn up! You can't always guarantee that you will use up the stockpile of non-standard parts you may accumulate. If a customer has a limited amount of time and needs you to have parts in stock, verify as much info as you can and if necessary ask for an advance on special/expensive parts (this approach might not be popular but most guys are very reasonable when you spell everything out to them).

It's a good idea to get customers to buy their own power tubes, especially for tubes you don't see a lot of, (they won't always want to) when it comes to retubing. Have a good stock of regular tubes but bear in mind that reputable tube vendors might only have a 6 month warranty. It's better for everyone if your client has a dated invoice (and a record of voltages & currents) in the event of tube failures, rather than fitting something that's been lying on your shelf for 5 months.

Be wary of the bargain hunters who appear with a new cheap, purchase, "because it was just rusting away in the corner of the shop". Give it a full & thorough appraisal before you commit, sometimes you may be met with, "that's more than I paid for the amp". The owner doesn't understand that you're not making the big bucks that the bill might reflect. If he has made a mistake he has to live with it, it's not your responsibility to rectify things to your cost when you discover blown speakers/transformers, conductive boards & that the amp never worked right in living memory. It's always better to work on long time owned amps, where owners have some familiarity with that model's quirks.

As with pricing, keep turnaround times realistic. No matter how long you estimate for a job, if you keep delaying (might not be your fault), people don't like it. Better to build in a reasonable margin and ensure everything is on time, sometimes you can even be early. (I might sound a bit paranoid but in reality I do a good amount of "while you wait" work on quick fixes.)

Look after your regular customers, give them plenty of your time, people trust personal referral (the only way work comes my way - I don't advertise) and good customers are worth their wait in gold. Plus you get better at what your doing through the work you do for them.

I have a day job, I build & work on friends & aquaintances amps (some of whom are internationally & national acclaimed touring artists) in my spare time (well, who really wants a life?) but I can tell you, the amount of work I would have to do to turn it into a full time job is scary!

If you can combine the amp service/repair work with parts a modest parts supply service then that may help with the "bread & butter".

Don't get into part time amp work to make money, do it for the joy of a happy customer and satisfaction of a job well done.

[Tom Phillips]

There was a detailed thread a while back about this subject. I looked for it but did not find it. If someone else can find the tread about starting your own repair business and post a link it will be very useful to you. Other wise, I'm sure people will chime in with information.

I did find one interesting related thread which you can check out at http://music-electronics-forum.com/s...ead.php?t=2390

Regards,
Tom

[Amp Kat]

Very well said MKB and some valuable info there. I do it part time also and have a day job so the time at the shop is very limited to mainly late friday's saturdays and some Sunday's and it's basically what Mark said for fun and enjoyment allthough the cash is ok too. The thing about part time is you have to ask yourself some questions ? Where am I going to do the repairs at ? Is it safe and secure ? How much overhead and expenses am I going to have to come up with ? Advertisement ?electricity? telephone? restroom ? credit card service ? can you crank your amps ? rent ? and many more things that seem to pop up out of nowhere. There will be certain part's you'll need continuosly like our thred above on 20uf 500volt caps and 22uf 25 to 50 volt e-caps. Cosmetic part's can sometimes keep an amp from going out the door and some hard to find so as Mark also stated know what you can do and what you can't do. Bass amps ? PA amps ? SS amps? Just a few things to think about

[Mars Amp Repair]

Well,
I started my biz in a very small 'you can't hardly fall down in it' room in my home. I was working part time for a local music store & when they went out of biz I bought out their parts department.

Since I'd heard that the one of the biggest issues with the local repair shops what turn-around time, I figured having the parts right there would give me a leg into the biz if for no other reason, I could get it done quickly....esp since at that point I had no parts at all & no parts suppliers lined up or accounts & certainly no warranties. It really paid off.

Anyway it sounds like you already have a dealer or 2 who you work with...that's the work I first went for. I actually started hitting up pawnshops, but realized reeeeal fast that they had no extra dough to fix the stuff they got. I then tried the bigger used music stores & basically hit paydirt there.

I was amazed at how open these folks were to giving me a chance to prove I could do better than the yo-ho's they spoke of that they were using. I also got all the stories about how they really hoped I wouldn't be like all of them & in a few months start taking forever to get stuff fixed & also raising my rates to uneconomical proportions. I now have about 5 used dealers & the Guitar Centers are beginnig to take notice of me, too.

I agree whole heartedly with MWJB about being up front, transparent, & of couse as honest as is feasible. You have to earn their trust as your predecessors have probably jaded them with repair guys in general.

At first I worked on just about anything that they threw at me...I had time to do that back then. They really appreciated that as the other guys had gotten pretty picky...also the other guys would reject anything as being 'too old' or 'no information available' when really they just didn't have the expretise.

Since I have gotten a bit pickier as I really don't have the time I used to, to work on the weirder stuff. At this point the are very happy with me & understand that their other more important stuff will take longer if I'm struggling with the 'junk' if you will.

As of 1yr ago Jan, I moved in with one of my dealers & am now enjoying the over-the-counter biz. Were as the proportion of dealer to Cust used to be about 99% dealer & 1% customer, the store front has legitimized the biz to where the proportions are more like 40-60 now.

I also work a main gig (ATT) & was motivated to start my own biz by layoffs & frankly at 54 I just can't handle the corporate biz world BS anymore. I agree with AmpKat that it's gonna take a huge amount of biz to make up for what I make at ATT given the benes & all, but it's something I have to do for survival...nuff of that.

I think you're on the right track. I bought all my equipment on E-Bay & had very little trouble there. My 1st scope is a Techtronix 465B that was given to me back in the 80's. I bought a second one off E-bay for $75 which was also a Techtronix (2215). both are more than I'll ever need for audio stuff but good enough for some digital stuff I run into.
Meters are cheap for a decent one. I don't believe you have to have a Fluke...I have been in the repair field for 15yrs & my Tenma $19 one is just fine, esp for audio. Dummy loads you can build yourself from the aluminum resistors you can get through Mouser.
For higher powered pa type amps, you can use an old heater or I went to the local thrift store & bought 4 irons & use them. They work great with the added advantage of getting to press my shirts while I test the amps!!

good luck, g

[stokes]

Excellent advice from all.Its funny how we all seem to be in the same boat here,part time,day jobs.So the only thing I'll say here is just to reinforce what has already been said,if you are looking to replace a regular salary,it is going to be difficult.I,too,have been doing this for years,more as a hobbyist kind of thing until I hooked up with a local music store who has a full time guitar repairman so I get some of his overload on guitar repairs,and all their tube amp work,the guy they used in the past was strictly SS,the work I get from them along with my own regulars would not pay the bills if I had to depend on it alone,but I dont charge as much as I could if survival depended on it.I have a couple of years to go till retirement,so when I do, the repairs will be great for a full time supplement.A friend of mine I have known and played in bands with over the years since high school will be retiring at the same time as me and we hope to open a music store/repair shop,hopefully it will pay for itself and just give a couple of old timers a good place to get away from the wives!The local saloon would be fine,but this will give us some "legitimacy".Best of luck with your venture,hope you can get it off the ground and make enough $$,but dont stop looking for another day job till you can get things rolling.

[Normybaby]

Thank you guys very much, the tips and suggestions are really, really helpful. A lot of excellent points I never thought of…”translate that technical knowledge into the sound the client wants”. That is a fantastic point and to Mr. G; I too am tired of the corporate BS; that is one of the reasons I’m out of a job. Mr. Stokes, I am also near retirement and have been thinking of opening a music store in a few years. I would like this to become my full time job. After all, at this point in our lives, we should be doing something we love to do. I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching (when you’re out of work you tend to do these things) thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life. Working with guitars, amps and musicians is what I want to do. I’ve been reviewing a bunch of old tube amp schematics trying to decide which style amp I want to build to help me refresh my skills; maybe I should get a kit.
I did get a few offers for employment, so yes, I will be keeping a day job; at least for a few more years.
Thanks again for all of your help.
Normybaby

[drfunkphd]

Great advice from everyone. I can't see it becoming a full-time gig, myself, but if I could make a modest income from builds and repairs, I'd be happy with that. Can't complain about doing something you love...and you can build clones of any cool sounding amps you happen across on the repair side.

[R.G.]

I'm reminded about the old question - do you know how to make a small fortune in farming?

Easy - start with a large fortune.

[jrfrond]

I was thinking that perhaps you should strt of with gettin' yer head examined!

[Enzo]

If I spend a few hundred dollars on a beater guitar, and another few hundred on an amp head, and a few hundred on a speaker, and another few hundred on God knows what all, I could probably make an extra $50 a night once or twice a month playing somewhere.

[überfuzz]

First of all. I found it hard to spread the word in any other way then hearsay.

And an other thought, many guitarists don't have the slightest about what different amps really sound like. Every now and then I hear things like, I bought this Fender Silver face some months ago and it's to clean. Could you beef it up for me.

Like the old saying goes. To mod or not to mod, that is the question.

[Twist]

Also keep in mind you always need to repair the main problem along with other possible problems too. Like scratchy pots, cutout points on 1/4" jacks, questionable solder points, dirty tube sockets. Anything that the customer may notice when he gets the amp back. Believe me, onced you've touched a customers amp "your married to it". So you might as well take the time to cover all the bases the first time because if they bring it back in a day or two they'll expect a free redo. It's better to call the customer up first and suggest replacing some aging caps along with the repair instead of having the owner come back later and accuse you of being a incompetent tech or spread the word around that you must have a monkey doing your work. By the way, that picture is me at an class reunion with my old math teacher not my tech help.
Anyway, I also make note of any cosmetic issues like scratches or broken knobs to the customer. That way they can't come back on you later and say you damaged their amp. It's a tough way to make a living. I've been lucky because there's no other techs to compete with in my region and I have a lot of experience to help with quick repairs. I do make pickups and deliveries at other stores in local towns too. If your going to do it for a living you have to be quick on the repairs and do good long lasting work. You can price yourself out of business though so be careful.