Amp trouble!! fixed and a WARNING!!

[mooncobra]

thanks for the help guys! it was a bad pre amp tube. I pulled the tubes and took them to a local electronics store. they have the mother of all tube testers. my amp died earlier after a couple days of volume drops. so, I found out the bad tube and bought a new one at the store I was at.

BEWARE
if anyone is in the san fran bay area NEVER EVER go to electronics plus(san Rafael, CA). they have the most ridiculous prices ever!!and the owner is a prick!! when I said I would take a ruby/jj 12ax7, he said, "that will be 28 bucks." I asked if he was sure he had the right price for the tube and he said, "i have to make something on it man!" I told him they are 9 and 11 bucks at the other local places (they aren't open on the weekend), and he actually threw my money back at me and ripped the tube out of my hand and said, "DONT BUY IT THEN!!!" if I was a patient person I would have waited til Monday, but the thought of not playing guitar all weekend was too much, so I bought it. I told the owner that the price was ridiculous, and he proceeded to go ballistic! this dude was such a prick! I usually am a calm and mellow person but when he ripped the tube out of my hand I was very close to snapping!! there is only one other guy who is somewhat local who has tubes on the weekend. I called him and he said he had some used mesa 12ax7s with a few hours left for 17 bucks each and I quickly decided to pass on that.

how do you think you would have reacted if a store employee/owner threw your money back at you and ripped the tube out of your hand?

Man, I'm planning on taking the wife out west and do a little Sonoma CTY sightseeing. Gonna have to stop at this store and maybe secretly record the exchange....I'm gonna play it up.....what a complete fn douche. And he's got you over the barrel since its the weekend....ugh. Glad you got it fixed though!

Sonoma is only about a half hour from San Rafael. The owner is bearded with glasses. Sonoma is nice. I am stoked the amp works again. If you go there check out the tube tester in the back. its huge and made to test every tube ever invented. The thing must have close to 60 sockets! I found a pic online of the model they have. I will try to post it. there is a list above it with literally thousands of tubes and it tells you how to set it and what socket to plug it into. that list you see above it, it flips from page to page and the list is endless. I never knew so many different types of tubes were made, there are thousands!! The owner is a cock man, beware of him!! I was speechless when he chucked my money at me and ripped the tube from my hand. its about 30 seconds off of the 101 in san Rafael. right at the start of 4th st. Bananas at Large is about 7 blocks past that. They always have cool gear in there but it is pretty costly. Especially Neil Schons used gear. He unloads a ton of used gear in there. Then they upcharge the crap out of it because he had it or a couple weeks. He tries every new amp company and all the boutique companies then sells it at Bananas. Satriani has used stuff for sale there also. They usually have a ton of nice amps and a crap ton of pedals.

 

[Crunchtime]

I would have never bought that tube. I would tell the guy he was a total dick and left.

 

[Racerxrated]

thanks for the help guys! it was a bad pre amp tube. I pulled the tubes and took them to a local electronics store. they have the mother of all tube testers. my amp died earlier after a couple days of volume drops. so, I found out the bad tube and bought a new one at the store I was at.

BEWARE
if anyone is in the san fran bay area NEVER EVER go to electronics plus(san Rafael, CA). they have the most ridiculous prices ever!!and the owner is a prick!! when I said I would take a ruby/jj 12ax7, he said, "that will be 28 bucks." I asked if he was sure he had the right price for the tube and he said, "i have to make something on it man!" I told him they are 9 and 11 bucks at the other local places (they aren't open on the weekend), and he actually threw my money back at me and ripped the tube out of my hand and said, "DONT BUY IT THEN!!!" if I was a patient person I would have waited til Monday, but the thought of not playing guitar all weekend was too much, so I bought it. I told the owner that the price was ridiculous, and he proceeded to go ballistic! this dude was such a prick! I usually am a calm and mellow person but when he ripped the tube out of my hand I was very close to snapping!! there is only one other guy who is somewhat local who has tubes on the weekend. I called him and he said he had some used mesa 12ax7s with a few hours left for 17 bucks each and I quickly decided to pass on that.

how do you think you would have reacted if a store employee/owner threw your money back at you and ripped the tube out of your hand?

Man, I'm planning on taking the wife out west and do a little Sonoma CTY sightseeing. Gonna have to stop at this store and maybe secretly record the exchange....I'm gonna play it up.....what a complete fn douche. And he's got you over the barrel since its the weekend....ugh. Glad you got it fixed though!

Sonoma is only about a half hour from San Rafael. The owner is bearded with glasses. Sonoma is nice. I am stoked the amp works again. If you go there check out the tube tester in the back. its huge and made to test every tube ever invented. The thing must have close to 60 sockets! I found a pic online of the model they have. I will try to post it. there is a list above it with literally thousands of tubes and it tells you how to set it and what socket to plug it into. that list you see above it, it flips from page to page and the list is endless. I never knew so many different types of tubes were made, there are thousands!! The owner is a cock man, beware of him!! I was speechless when he chucked my money at me and ripped the tube from my hand. its about 30 seconds off of the 101 in san Rafael. right at the start of 4th st. Bananas at Large is about 7 blocks past that. They always have cool gear in there but it is pretty costly. Especially Neil Schons used gear. He unloads a ton of used gear in there. Then they upcharge the crap out of it because he had it or a couple weeks. He tries every new amp company and all the boutique companies then sells it at Bananas. Satriani has used stuff for sale there also. They usually have a ton of nice amps and a crap ton of pedals.

Aargh! I've heard of that store!! He gets product in, is buddies with Schon right? Schon tries it out, never intends on keeping it..just a ploy to mark it up and re-sell. Wow. Gonna try to pull this trip off later winter so.....

 

[MrDowntown]

Had a similar exchange a while back, with a mower parts store dick owner. I was in a bind needing a small part for my mower, and had no cash. Stopped in at a small parts shop, part was in stock...cool. The fucker looked at me when I handed over my debit card and said, in a room full of people, I ain't taking this card for such a small part! I'll mark it up double.... Man I flipped the fuck out, snatched my card, and calmly screamed....gimme my old part back then....son-of-a-bitch! Room laughed. I walked out mad as fuck, with no part. Then I rode 30 miles to another store, bought the same part with fuel and time spent...probably would've been less costly to pay double initially.

But sometimes you just have to show your ass to make a point.

Glad you got your rig fixed.

 

[Chris6870]

I would have asked him if that was the price with him installing it. I would have walked out. But i don't' blame you for sucking it up and paying. I'm impatient like that too.

 

[Chris6870]

Had a similar exchange a while back, with a mower parts store dick owner. I was in a bind needing a small part for my mower, and had no cash. Stopped in at a small parts shop, part was in stock...cool. The fucker looked at me when I handed over my debit card and said, in a room full of people, I ain't taking this card for such a small part! I'll mark it up double.... Man I flipped the fuck out, snatched my card, and calmly screamed....gimme my old part back then....son-of-a-bitch! Room laughed. I walked out mad as fuck, with no part. Then I rode 30 miles to another store, bought the same part with fuel and time spent...probably would've been less costly to pay double initially.

But sometimes you just have to show your ass to make a point.

Glad you got your rig fixed.

Well done! "calmly screamed"

 

[IHateRap]

He certainly wouldn't have gotten my money.

 

[Racerxrated]

He certainly wouldn't have gotten my money.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[RJF]

Well, on the flip side. We are in a free capitalist market. He can ASK for what ever he would like for whatever product. It's up to the end buyer if they are willing to pay that ASKING price or not. It's really up to the buyer to shop smart OR convenient . Now, Mike made the decision to pay about $15 to have the ability and convenience to be able to play through the weekend, and also not have to travel to another store during the week to buy the same product for $15 less. Personally, I agree with Mike. I would have bought it. I am there, it's in my hand, $15 is worth not having to chase the same part down at another store on a different day.

 

[RJF]

But sometimes you just have to show your ass to make a point.

 

[mooncobra]

He certainly wouldn't have gotten my money.

Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have got my money either. but, that would have meant no amp all weekend and I have been playing a ton recently, as much as 6 or 7 hours a day, loving this Masotti x100m, amazing amp. I only have 1 amp right now. If i had another I would have left the store and played that one.

 

[RJF]

Spare parts dude. I have a whole cabinet full of extra tubes, trem parts, pickups, screws, springs, pots, switches, etc. You never know what you might need.

 

[Racerxrated]

Spare parts dude. I have a whole cabinet full of extra tubes, trem parts, pickups, screws, springs, pots, switches, etc. You never know what you might need.

This. Not planned, but I've become a spare parts 'hoarder'....just can't seem to throw shit away when it comes to gear related stuff..foot switches, tubes for amps I don't use anymore(6550s, kt88s)..never know when I might need them again.

 

[Crunchtime]

Well, on the flip side. We are in a free capitalist market. He can ASK for what ever he would like for whatever product. It's up to the end buyer if they are willing to pay that ASKING price or not. It's really up to the buyer to shop smart OR convenient . Now, Mike made the decision to pay about $15 to have the ability and convenience to be able to play through the weekend, and also not have to travel to another store during the week to buy the same product for $15 less. Personally, I agree with Mike. I would have bought it. I am there, it's in my hand, $15 is worth not having to chase the same part down at another store on a different day.

It's not a matter of money. I would have walked because the guy sounds like a major dick.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

He hit ya buddy with supply and demand. I still wouldn't have bought it under principle. If he woulda been calm, then i woulda bought it, but being a complete piece of shit, warrants no business.

Dude, I woulda overnighted ya a preamp tube from Sacramento if ya needed one that bad.

 

[glip22]

You need to stay out of stores Mike Thy're just waiting for you

 

[psychodave]

Glad the amp is fixed.

I wouldn't have bought the tube and politely let him know that you will be spreading word on multiple Internet forums and social media about his terrible customer service as well as his exorbitant prices.

 

[mooncobra]

He hit ya buddy with supply and demand. I still wouldn't have bought it under principle. If he woulda been calm, then i woulda bought it, but being a complete piece of shit, warrants no business.

Dude, I woulda overnighted ya a preamp tube from Sacramento if ya needed one that bad.

thanks!

 

[mooncobra]

You need to stay out of stores Mike Thy're just waiting for you

Hey Gary!!!! I know, I need to stay out!!! I have been having so much fun playing that the thought of going two days without playing, or I should say, not plugging in, was too much!!! I have been playing a guitar with a custom 5 in it and I love it with the Masotti. The amp is picky, for sure, but when you find a good combination with it, oh man, watch out. Tone and fun for days on end!!

 

[mooncobra]

Glad the amp is fixed.

I wouldn't have bought the tube and politely let him know that you will be spreading word on multiple Internet forums and social media about his terrible customer service as well as his exorbitant prices.

I am very glad the amp works again as well, thanks! Like I said before, under normal circumstances I would have told the guy to go to hell! A weekend full of guitar playing is too much fun to pass up. Also, it is supposed to rain and we have been having a crazy drought. I love sitting inside on a rainy day playing guitar. For some reason, it is even better than normal, I couldn't even began to tell you why, but to me that is like the ultimate guitar day.