$426.50 for biasing new power tubes, replacing a preamp tube, and straightening out the transformer

Not to knock techs but that’s an offensive price. It’s maybe 2 hrs of work unless the tranny bolts are under the board.
Next time if you buy the tools to do the tubes ($100ish) Il walk you through how to do it over the phone, as would a lot of people here I imagine.
 
That’s just hard to believe he negotiated a price and then hit you with unexpected service and a new price. Scary. Even shady car shops will call and get your approval before doing anything not previously discussed.

Maybe he thought he’d just do you a favor but it ended up taking him way longer than he expected and just got in a tough spot.
 
I've never had a tech do any work without giving me a ballpark price first. If he said $75 and couldn't figure it out in an hour he should have called you.

I just had my Mark IV done. It was $300 for removing and replacing the brown death caps, replacing 3 pots, replacing 3 preamp tubes, replacing the fuse holder, cleaning all the pots and jacks and checking the power amp tube and bias. And I thought $300 was a little much, but I figured there's probably a "this amp is a PITA" fee in there
 
PaintChipsAreVegan said:
Jeez, I once had a tech so much as apologize for asking $50 for a bias

How does a transformer become misaligned?
Click to expand...
The brackets that support it can get bent during shipping which causes it to lean. A lot of times you can straighten it by hand without disassembling anything though
 
PaintChipsAreVegan said:
Jeez, I once had a tech so much as apologize for asking $50 for a bias

How does a transformer become misaligned?
Click to expand...
The old UPS " Drop " ....... sometimes you can also tell it happened by the spots that hold the screws to attach the chassis to the headshell .... if they are bent and not perfectly flat .... your head probably got dropped at some point

you buy enough Guitar Center used amps ..... you learn what to look out for
 
Shippers need to wedge foam or cardboard between the the top of the transformer and the headshell. It provides support to stabilize the transformer and prevent the weight from pulling on the legs as the box is turned over and over. I do this with every amp i ship.
 
Candiria said:
I've never had a tech do any work without giving me a ballpark price first. If he said $75 and couldn't figure it out in an hour he should have called you.

I just had my Mark IV done. It was $300 for removing and replacing the brown death caps, replacing 3 pots, replacing 3 preamp tubes, replacing the fuse holder, cleaning all the pots and jacks and checking the power amp tube and bias. And I thought $300 was a little much, but I figured there's probably a "this amp is a PITA" fee in there
Click to expand...




Unfortunately i sold my Mesas' when nobody here would work on them and i have some great techs.
I was surprised and once Gibson bought Mesa i had no faith in that arrangement.
Im a Marshall guy anyway.
 
Crook. Plain and simple. Waiting to hear his explanation..

Bent transformers effect nothing. I've seen it on several amps I've bought. Typically from getting slammed around by UPS/FedEx. Big heavy transformers and inadequate mounting tabs.
 
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