Sunday, August 4, 2013

When To Call The Amplifier Repair Person

By Cathy Mercer


There is a loud bang on stage as the lead guitar player reaches the climax of his heavily distorted solo. The amplifier repair tech in the stage wings holds his hand to his mouth as a stream of acrid smoke billows from the guitar player's amp unit and the instrument falls silent. The animated audience looks on with disbelief as the offending unit is disconnected from the power source and rushed off stage.

Classical music is echoing through the halls of a large prestigious residence when suddenly it is cut short by a loud incongruous crackle emitted from the inbuilt ceiling speaker system. The home owner relaxing in the lounge nearly drops his glass of fine red wine on the white shag pile carpet as the expensive stereo amplifier hemorrhages.

There are many other scenarios that could be given as to why or when an amplifier needs repair. These are two at perhaps the extreme ends of the scale. The first scenario is probably not that rare. The instrument amplifier is probably the most one of its type in need of repair. It is often taken on the road and used in a live performance situation, where any part of it can be stressed beyond its design limits. For these reasons these types of amps are very ruggedly built.

The instrument amplifiers problems are more likely to be the result of misuse. Not always intentional but more than not caused by the circumstances around its use. These units are often taken on the road and so are constantly bumped, dragged and some times dropped in getting them from one gig to another. To compensate the units are usually built for the rough treatment they may be subject to.

Some players have infamously kicked over or throw their equipment off the stage at the commencement of a performance. Admittedly in these cases the amp is probably thrown out in the trash.

Home music listening buffs will go and buy the best music gear that they can afford. The very high quality amplifiers sought after are often hand built and valve powered. This technology is often less robust than the more modern solid state equivalent however it is preferable for the sound quality produced. High quality instrument units are similarly produced but their owners usually go to some lengths to look after them with some residing only in studios for recording purposes.

Valves tend to be more fragile than their solid state counterparts and like a light bulb can cease working if disturbed, particularly when they are still hot. The filaments within can have a limited life beyond which they break and the unit ceases to function. Valve units are also sought after by musicians but because of their more fragile nature tend to be well cushioned when taken on the road or confined to the more static studio situation for their use.

The consideration of cost needs to be taken into account for an amplifier repair. The relative cost of repair to replacement has definitely erred on the replacement side in recent years. This is due to the flood on to the market of cheap solid state Asian built units and the huge variety of amplifiers available. This makes getting replacement parts a nightmare. Hand built valve units are a different category as they are usually expensive in the first place so repair is often the most pragmatic option.




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