How did you get your start in amp repairs?

[gui_tarzan]

I was born in 1963 and have been interested in electronics from around the age of nine or ten when I first discovered tubes in a radio. Most of my knowledge is self-taught, aside from one electronics class in high school. By that time I had been building projects from parts purchased at the local Radio Shack (when they still catered to the hobbyist) and a few books from the local library and Popular Electronics magazine.

One of the first things I built was a color organ. It actually worked really well until it fell off my dresser into an open stereo receiver that was in one of the drawers. That was my introduction into electrical fires. It was small and went out quickly, but that taught me a lesson in respect for electricity and flammable items.

LEDs fascinated me. The intensity of the color stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw it. Getting the numbers to light up almost seemed magical at the time. Tubes grabbed my attention and have never really let it go. The number of TVs and radios that sacrificed themselves for my pleasure must number in the scores.

My first tube amp was an Alamo Paragon 2575 that my mom bought for $50 when I was 14. It came with two 15" speakers but the covering had been partially removed. I still have the head and I'm gathering pictures of the circuit to rebuild it since there are no surviving schematics.

Fast forward several years to 1984ish. I was laid off from a job and had a lot of time on my hands, so I attempted to repair that Alamo but even then couldn't find any information on it. Since I had a good relationship with the local music store owner and had taken drum lessons from his son when I was 12, he let me copy all of his Fender schematics so I could start learning how to repair them.

I worked on several over the years and had good success but kids and jobs took most of my time until about ten years ago. I even built a few guitars from scratch during that time. A few years ago I got hooked up with an old friend that I had been in a band with in the mid 80s and we started playing at open mic nights in the area. Shortly thereafter we formed a band and have been playing out since.

One of the musicians I met along the way had a '65 SR that was motorboating. I said it was probably a capacitor and he asked if I could fix it. I did, and he was so impressed he brought me two more to fix. Word started getting around and the stores nearby have lost their amp techs, so I've done a pile of things for them as well as other friends who have needed work done.

I've been steadily busy for the last year or so, with the occasional lull around the holidays. Enough to keep me busy, not too much to get overwhelmed. I like it, it's good.

What's your story?

[Phil_S]

That is an American dream story if I ever heard one. Congratulations!

I am just a tinkerer. I don't do this for others. I bought an electric guitar about 12 years ago, my first ever. Then I realized I needed a tube amp. Bought 2 on eBait for a pretty good price but they needed work. I couldn't find anyone. I'm not bashful about fixing things. I rebuilt a pickup truck engine with my friend in 1974/5. It was a '51 Ford F1 flathead six. We did it from a book with minor guidance from an older experienced friend. You may think I'm diverging, but it goes right to attitude about what you think you can do. So, I got lots of advice on another forum, an unmoderated forum that went south because some people there couldn't stick to the topic. I can say I learned almost all if it on the internet without a mentor in the room! What I didn't pick up from a forum, I got from the book, How to Service Your Own Tube Amp by Tom Mitchell.

I figure, with enough time and equipment, I can fix anything and I can probably build anything. Do me a favor, if I build a rocket ship, don't get on for the ride.

[xtian]

My grandpa worked for Lockheed for many years. He was a bona fide spy during WWII and afterward, focusing, I think, on communications. Could never talk much about work. But his house, where I was babysat a lot, was FILLED with electronics. He taught me to read schematics, solder, program, shoot, and ask a lot of questions. He gave me my first computer: Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I.

He died before I started building tube amps. I'm sorry I can't share it with him, but I always feel him looking over my shoulder and smiling.

[ampdoc1]

I was almost born into it. My dad was an electrician, and he loved to work with his hands,...did electrical, plumbing, woodwork,....you name it he'd learn it and learn it right.

In the mid 60's he cobbled the first electrical powered garage opener I'd ever seen. He got a small electrical motor and arranged a number of pulleys to raise the door. But THEN, he mounted an "electric eye" to allow opening the door by turning on the car high beams. He beat the auto door opener by years.

In his middle years he decided to take up electronics, and was soon doing repairs for our local Goodwill, and accumulating a number of Sam's Photofacts. He'd buy the parts, then trade for something himself every now and then. (After he died I found his note book,...he had built up over a $1000 "credit" he never used.)

Then when I was about 20, I got the hots for the guitar, and a friend gave me a Silvertone 1474 amp that didn't work right. Low and behold, one of dad's Sam's had the correct schematic. I looked at the first tube, and saw the voltage was correct from the PS, but not on the downside of the plate resistor. I replaced the resistor, and I was on my way.

In the early 80's I started doing repairs on amps and whatnot out of my home, but soon decided to open a shop. I talked to one of my customers (the largest music dealer in Tulsa), and we became partners in the shop. My first build was during this time. A customer wanted a 40 W version of an all tube American Vox amp he owned. It turned out well.

I was open there for 10 years, but as a one man shop, I was making a very small mount of money although I was working 6 day weeks.
But this was the time when computer networks arrived, so I was able to start downloading info from the net and learn more and more about building.

I'm working on my last amp now, a copy of one I built for a friend in 2006. It's a hybrid with an Express front end, Dumble loop and OD, and a Fender TFL power supply.

I've loved working with this stuff, but at 64, I'm too tired/lazy/deaf.....etc to continue.

a'doc

[Cliff Schecht]

My grandpa worked for Lockheed for many years. He was a bona fide spy during WWII and afterward, focusing, I think, on communications. Could never talk much about work. But his house, where I was babysat a lot, was FILLED with electronics. He taught me to read schematics, solder, program, shoot, and ask a lot of questions. He gave me my first computer: Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I.

He died before I started building tube amps. I'm sorry I can't share it with him, but I always feel him looking over my shoulder and smiling.

I've got three TRS-80's sitting next to me on a desk. Was going to put them on eBay but one of them belonged to my dad back in the 80's and he wants to hold onto it. Pretty useless nowadays but there's a little value in them..

My Bassman RI got stolen from a friends house. Since I was in school for electronics anyways I figured I could throw something together pretty easy. My first few amps were terrible but once I built my second Express (after a pretty miserable first attempt) I learned to slow down, lay things out properly and eventually they started looking pretty decent and I learned how to make them reliable. Eventually word got around that I built amps and I think it was a natural progression to start fixing stuff as well (especially since I'm comfortable fixing SS stuff as well, most aren't). I started working with a local luthier doing repairs and once word got around, broken equipment found me in all sorts of weird "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" type ways.

[ampgeek]

I had owned/played the same Ampeg V-4 since I was 15 yrs old (now 54 yrs old). Never even thought about trying anything different and probably had only ever plugged into one or two other amps in my life.

Until that fateful day in 2007 when my "big baby" went tits up and I went into a full fledged panic attack. I promptly went out and bought the first thing that looked/sounded decent (Boogie DC-3) to cover me until I got the V-4 repaired.

I must have spent a half year trying to find a reputable entity/tech who would provide even just a wild-ass-guess at the cost to repair and struck out miserably.

So....I decided that I ought to just dig in and figure it out for myself....and succeeded!

Shortly thereafter, my QA/QC engineer at work mentioned that he was a radio guy and had about 40 bankers boxes full of old tubes from a ~50 year old laboratory that was being re-modeled. My eyes widened to dinner plate size!! He gave them all to me with a single short list of the tubes that he was looking for (mostly radio receiving types) and told me to keep the rest for myself.

And..that started the addiction which is based (on the surface anyway) on a quest to use up all of the tubes in the stash!

I am a molecular biologist by education and a program manager/"technocrat" by profession so the hobby is a great break from the rat race by doing something totally different.

I play out a couple of times a month in a classic rock cover band and use the amps that I build. If a newly built amp is "better" than what I am using, it topples one from my "gig-rig". The toppled amp is sold or traded or gifted to open up some space for the next one.

My wife thinks that playing in a band is the reason for building amps and pedals. The exact opposite is true! But....I think that we can keep that one to ourselves!

Cheers,
Dave O.

[Charlie Wilson]

Jim,
I was also born in 1963. Up until about 10 years ago I took my amplfiers to Fred Tacome (Divided By 13) for repairs. Well he became famous and that was the end of that. Then I called up Billy Zoom for a simple power tube install and bias and he told me that he would not install my NOS RCA 6L6 tubes and that He would only install Sovtek 5881 purchased from him. I wasn't to happy with that and swore I would never take my amp to anyone else ever again for repairs. I read a couple books, studied the NEETS course, and asked Lord Valve a million questions. I have been repairing my own amps and for customers every since and I am very busy. I also recently got the Dumble bug and have been building those circuits.
Charlie Wilson

[Phil_S]

Nice to hear that Fat Willie actually helped someone. Certainly he's got the chops. I am a refugee from alt.guitar.amps where I got my start and received many years' worth of great advice but just a dribble from him. Have a look at his persona there and judge for yourself.

That story about the 5881's smacks of a mentality in the car repair business, where they don't let you bring your own parts because they depend on the markup. For tube amps, weird.

[Structo]

I have loved electronics since I can remember.
My dad worked for the local AT&T phone company.
Many times he brought home wire and outdated devices from old equipment or things he would find.
I would mess around with that stuff a lot.
During school I always took electronics shop.

A short college stint proved unsuccessful due to low funds.

About ten years or so ago, I bought a tube amp and re-discovered what I
had been missing for years.

So I started delving back into electronics, especially with tubes.
Tubes just seem more tangible and their vintage design is appealing.

Then I found this place and have learned so much more from other members here at this great forum.

I've repaired a few amps for others but I am by no means a amp guru.

Lots of fun!

[Diablo1]

I had owned/played the same Ampeg V-4 since I was 15 yrs old (now 54 yrs old). Never even thought about trying anything different and probably had only ever plugged into one or two other amps in my life.

Until that fateful day in 2007 when my "big baby" went tits up and I went into a full fledged panic attack. Cheers,
Dave O.

My saga also started with a V4 that I've had since new in 1971. It had a problem with the reverb, and then the tone would get dull after the amp was on for 15 minutes. I took it to two different techs, and they thought the amp tested fine. So I started reading up on the web and figured I would try to repair it myself. I didn't know enough to diagnose the problem and locate the bad components, so I replaced every cap and resistor in a shotgun approach - success. After that, I decided to build a kit, and then more kits and bought a few amps that were almost dead and brought them back to life. Then tried a little speaker reconing. Just a hobby for me.

[Gibsonman63]

I was also born in 1963. During the 80's I started buying Blackface Fender amps at the local pawn shops. They were cheap and I was young and poor. At that time, I could pick up a bandmaster head cheaper than I could buy the tubes for it. Over time, they all needed something repaired, so I took them to the local amp guy for repairs. Fast forward a few more years and my local amp guy semi-retired and I had a pile of amps needing repair. I studied electronics and have a two year degree in it, but I never had a job where I actually did any board level electronics, so I had to relearn quite a bit. I started buying books starting with the Gerald Weber stuff (I know, I know). I found the guys at the Musical Equipment Forum, bought more books, fixed all of my Fender amps then found you guys. I built an Express that I use as my main studio amp and a Liverpool that I use for my main gigging amp. I went through about a two year period where I was repairing amps for my friends, but it just got to be too much and my own projects were falling by the wayside. I am still struggling to find balance between amps, luthiery and recording. I have to admit, I have not done much with amps in the last couple of years other than collect a decent stock of NOS tubes. I do check in here almost daily so see what people are building and to try to learn a little more.

[Gorhrut]

only repair my own stuff but maybe that will change....so ill post anyway.

I was recently retired from the air force for medical reasons. with my free time i wanted to start a band but failed to find many others interested in the same music. so instead i started to really focus on making MY sound better....

this lead me to billyZ for some amp modifications. the difference in tone blew my mind so i started researching what else i could do to it. I learned a lot from billy and a lot on here(and similar sites) and completely rebuilt and modded my preamp.

I have done my own pickup replacements and guitar setups since i was 16 and even built my own guitar so modifying amps was the next logical step. I hope to take this even further in the future as i learn more......

[schaublin65]

Hi

about seventeen years ago I bought a superlead that had been savagely hacked with lots of wrecked traces.

I was professionally trained in electronics and have been reading schematics for more than thirty years. Started collecting tube tech books before the internet got useful.

Take care...

John

[vibratoking]

I didn't know enough to diagnose the problem and locate the bad components, so I replaced every cap and resistor in a shotgun approach - success.

Sounds like most auto mechanics these days.

[Reeltarded]

I got my start right here on the internet. My shit was broken and nobody ever fixed it. I paid thousands for guys to rearrange a few caps without results.

I read for 5 years before I touched an iron. Unlike the superidiots that keep popping in I am terrified of electricity with anecdotes.