Fixing pedals, what rate do you charge?

[Randall]

I typically don't like taking in pedals, because I never know what to charge. I can stick to my $50 minimum for amps, but for a pedal it seems a bit high. I took in two this week, a true bypassed AnalogMan TS9 from a band I like, and a RG Keen fuzz. (had to take that!). Both needed replacement switches. The 9 pin bypass switch I had on hand, and RG was kind enough to help me source the 15 pin rotary switch for his Fuzz. If I charge my min rate plus parts, those are $65 repairs. On an amp that would seem resonable, and I wouldn't hear any dislike about it, but does it seem like a lot to fix a pedal? I'm making out invoices and am not sure what to do.

[The Dude]

IMO, a $65 repair is still half or less than a new pedal, so it isn't that bad. I might charge a little less for pedals than amps because, MOST OF THE TIME, they don't take as long, but I wouldn't feel bad about 65 bucks for a pedal. You have to get paid for your time and if you price yourself out of some repairs, then so be it. It may not be worth your time, if that's the case. Some things are disposable. I was told by someone once that if your'e busy and not making money, you're not charging enough.

[Enzo]

YOU charge what YOU want.

I have a minimum too, and an hourly rate. But I am the one who made the rules. I am free to break them.

If I get a pedal with a broken jack or switch, how much time do I have into it? How about half an hour plus parts?

I look at it like keeping customers, or gaining them. If I hop right on it and take care of a pedal customer, then that guy likely comes back with a good repair bill later, a blown up amps or something. A loss leader. An advertising discount. A coupon. Whatever you want to call it.

A kid walks in with a wire off the 9v battery clip. A few minutes later I soldered it back in place, or maybe replaced the battery clip itself. I charge him $10 and he is happy as a clam. In my entire career, no one has gotten a $150 estimate for their HD DeVille and said, "Yeah, but you only charged me $10 for that battery clip last month."

Besides, YOU can point out the discount. "Well, I USUALLY have a $65 minimum, but for this I will only charge..."

[The Dude]

Agreed. I'll almost always cut the customer some slack on an easy repair. I'm not charging 65 bucks to put in a fuse or replace a battery clip. My company charges 40 bucks bench minimum and they take it up front. It's not my policy and I can't refund it. I end up not even writing a bill for the easy stuff since the customer already paid. I do feel a bit guilty when it ends up something stupid that doesn't even require disassembly. I have a good memory for those sorts of things though, and I'll usually give them a break on the next repair. On the upside, it does weed out the disposables.

My earlier point was that if it's NOT something simple, I would not be afraid to charge for it.

[nevetslab]

I too rarely will charge my hourly rate on pedals. All too often, it's loose hardware, broken 9V battery connections, broken stomp switches, etc. The switches, though, all too often it's something I don't have on hand, and the client from one of the rehearsal studios down the hall will be heading back out of town in a couple days, so it prevents completion. Re-stringing an Ernie Ball Volume pedal I'll charge $20 if it's one of the Worship Team members from my church.

And, every once in a while, something rare will wander thru in the realm of pedals. I had the occasion to repair a one-of-kind vibrato pedal for one of our clients. When I got it back up and running, I recognized its' sound from Chris Squire's bass sound from the Yes Album, and asked about it. Yup....that was the one. I didn't charge for that one.

[nickb]

For me. It depends on the complexity of the job. Some pedals are simple one transistor buffers. Other have a good dose of surface mount components with the numbers ground off. Yet others are full of DSP. I waive my minimum for simple jobs so aim to charge a realistic price for the service given and always with a view to customer retention.

[drewl]

Give me a dozen pedals a week to fix instead of amps!

Usually easier to fix, or you get to see some interesting things.
Like the Mutron III in this week. Vintage Funk!

[Jazz P Bass]

Yeah.
Mutron III.
Gotta love having a mains cord running across the stage to a pedal.

[blindboybenton]

Well i don't normally get too many pedals in for repair. Although the past 2 weeks i have had about 8.
I don't normally charge very much but on the other hand i don't go into depth with them.
Normally £20 + ( $26) Parts if reqd
I do however charge for testing if no fault found, Get a lot of people who don't know the difference between AC-DC/ Polarity with psu's or that find that there tongue says that there is enough voltage in the battery , instead of changing it

[Jazz P Bass]

It really does depend on the 'pedal' itself, doesn't it?

Plug the incorrect voltage/ polarity into a Line 6 super pedal that has 3 or 4 voltages derived from obscure regulators and you will have issues.
To narrow down whether or not the pedal will even work after the known bad parts are replaced can be time consuming in itself.
I had one where I had to jimmy in three different voltages to prove the pedal survived the damage.

[blindboybenton]

I just find that i get a lot of pedals that come in saying dead or no effects. If the customer tests it with an incorrect psu or faulty battery etc , Customer then makes up their mind its faulty. I get it , On checking i have found them to be working.
I normally ask if they can bring their psu in or find out what pedal board one they are using .
Had 2 pedals in last week one digitech reported as dead, Pedal was AC psu i tested it NFF.
i had a morley wah wah reported fault was pots scratchy, cleaned them and then tested to find the distortion/volume all working but no Wah wah. when i spoke to the customer he didn't even know that the wah wah wasn't working . It was repaired

[Mark Hammer]

That's why I wouldn't take in any out-of-town repairs. In those cases, it's not just any bench time and parts, but to-and-from shipping as well. If it was any sort of rare museum piece, worth thousands, maybe. But when all the costs to repair a $200 pedal add up to $150, the nuisance and cost doesn't seem worth it. In-town repairs automatically shave $30-40 off the total cost.