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When I has my shop, I always enjoyed visits from other techs. Some were very experienced techs, and some were utter novices. But it was fun to talk shop and even talk some trash. A novice was an opportunity to expand their horizon some, and an experienced guy might give me insight into something that was bugging me. Every tech runs into a stumper now and then, and having fresh eyes on it can help.
I enjoyed seeing projects, people would bring in some amp they were building. They might have questions about it, or they might just want to show off their pride and joy. Pro techs might need a part, might have questions themselves, or might be interested in what I had going on. And sometimes we just said screw it, and went to lunch.
So this past friday morning, I went over to Mike's shop at a local music store, and spent half a day. he had invited me, so we could look at some problem repairs he had. Now I miss my old shop. I enjoyed sitting in it, surrounded by my life's activities. it is interesting to sit in someone else's shop. They have an organization, different from mine, but organized nonetheless. Familiar elements are present, but laid out totally different. After a brief chat, we got right into it.
He had an unstable SS amp, we diagnosed fairly quickly, a solid state power amp we discussed but didn't work on really. Then we got out a Classic 30, and took it all apart, tracking down dead heaters. Unfortunately we also discovered an open primary on the PT. We looked at a few other things, and then an OLD Fender Bandmaster with a hum. Someone previous had already replaced all the e-caps - did it very nicely. We looked it over, but ultimately one of the new 12AX7s in it was hummy. A new tube and it sounded great.
And with that, we retired to a local diner for lunch. And we yakked about the local music scene, as both of us have been in it for decades.
A great way to spend a day.
I enjoyed seeing projects, people would bring in some amp they were building. They might have questions about it, or they might just want to show off their pride and joy. Pro techs might need a part, might have questions themselves, or might be interested in what I had going on. And sometimes we just said screw it, and went to lunch.
So this past friday morning, I went over to Mike's shop at a local music store, and spent half a day. he had invited me, so we could look at some problem repairs he had. Now I miss my old shop. I enjoyed sitting in it, surrounded by my life's activities. it is interesting to sit in someone else's shop. They have an organization, different from mine, but organized nonetheless. Familiar elements are present, but laid out totally different. After a brief chat, we got right into it.
He had an unstable SS amp, we diagnosed fairly quickly, a solid state power amp we discussed but didn't work on really. Then we got out a Classic 30, and took it all apart, tracking down dead heaters. Unfortunately we also discovered an open primary on the PT. We looked at a few other things, and then an OLD Fender Bandmaster with a hum. Someone previous had already replaced all the e-caps - did it very nicely. We looked it over, but ultimately one of the new 12AX7s in it was hummy. A new tube and it sounded great.
And with that, we retired to a local diner for lunch. And we yakked about the local music scene, as both of us have been in it for decades.
A great way to spend a day.
.
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