Should I try repairing SS amps?

[Platefire]

I put out a information page to be posted in some local music shops that I was available to repair vintage and point to point type tube amps only. It clearly states that on the page I provided.

I keep getting calls to repair SS amps but not one single tube amp. I been tempted to give it a shot because I have repaired a few SS amps for friends with success. The guy called me yesterday and when I told him I only repaired tube amps--he didn't even know what he had! He said he would have to go look in the back of the amp and call me back. Any free advice on this??? 

[thermion]

Sometimes a ss repair can be a cheap and easy fix but tracking the ultimate malfunction can be very difficult (glitchy chips/ ICs...). Schematics can be very hard to come by, a problem if entire components have been blown to bits/ completely off the board. Mostly pcbs; again careful not to wreck the board traces. When I did ss I did so on a "non-guarantee" basis, that is I did not guarantee I could fix the thing, but I would try, and if I did I would charge. If I could not I returned the amp, no charge.
That said, a successful entrepreneur provides a good/ service that there is demand for. FWIW, I do not do ss anymore.

[Willabe]

About 10 years ago or so I worked in a couple of music stores around where I live. I had done a lot of reading and had fixed some amps even built a few clones.

So I went and got myself hired and I thought this is great. I told both owners I don't realy know any thing about SS amps. They both said "fine".

Next thing I know they got SS amps, and even keyboards (I did fix a Yamie once, had some bad keys) on the bench waiting for me when I came in.            So, ok I'll open it up and see what I can do.      

After about a year I had worked on between the 2 stores no more than a dozen "old" and "old" style, no PCB tube amps. Nothing fancy, cap jobs, new tubes and bias, simple enough stuff. Amp owners where happy, nothing came back, boss'es were happy, me not so happy    

Easely 95% of what I found laying on the bench when I would come in a couple of times a week were those little SS beginners amps. 90% of thoses amps had cold solder joints from the wave solder bath on the PCB's. The other 10% needed new input jacks, newer Fender being the most common culpret, at least that's what I experanced.

It took more time to take the amp apart and put it back together than to fix it, oh boy those were good times.        

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to knock any one who works on SS amps, it's an honest living and somebodys got to fix them. It's up to you if your gonna work on SS amps, I just found for me it was not what I wanted to do, altho I'm glad I did it for a while.

 
                 Brad                


        

[Platefire]

Thanks for sharing your experiance! It's weird about you repairing input jacks because of the SS amps I've repaired for friends it was because the nut came off the input jack and they kept using it without the jack secured and if finally ripped loose from the board. I think I've repaired three like that--same thing.

The guy never did call me back so I guess I convenced him I didn't work on SS and maybe he looked in the back of his amp and found no toobs 

What you say makes sense. No guarantee --if I fix it charge--if I don't no charge.

So next time someone calls, think I'll take a different stance and give it a shot. Platefire 

[Willabe]

Yeah give it a try, it's easy $, not much $, just gets a little boring. Even better if they bring it to you and pick it up. Who knows some of them might move on to a tube amp and they'll remember you or tell their friend that you work on tube amps.

One more thing, when I would go into one of those little SS amps I would always reflow/add a little solder on all the large parts. All the jacks and main filter caps. Those PCB's get solderd in/by a solder wave/bath machine and the larger parts often don't get hot enough and end up with a cold solder joint. The thin little resistors/cap leads are fine but the leadson larger parts act like a heat sink and don't get enough heat to make a good solder joint.


      Good luck to you,      Brad         

[ThermionicEngine]

Thanks for sharing your experiance! It's weird about you repairing input jacks because of the SS amps I've repaired for friends it was because the nut came off the input jack and they kept using it without the jack secured and if finally ripped loose from the board. I think I've repaired three like that--same thing.

The guy never did call me back so I guess I convenced him I didn't work on SS and maybe he looked in the back of his amp and found no toobs 

What you say makes sense. No guarantee --if I fix it charge--if I don't no charge.

So next time someone calls, think I'll take a different stance and give it a shot. Platefire 

I try to avoid the SS amps for the same reason-takes a long time to non-destructively dismantle the board.  If its the power supply or something simple, why not.  If it has a bigger processor than my PC, I send it back no charge.  I have repaired more than a hundred of the Fenders with the input jack on the PCB.  I offer, for the modest price of $35 +parts, to install a chassis mount jack(s).  I have done dozens of these mods.  They don't come back for jack problems.  I use Switchcraft jacks, with a reed switch to ground.  Again, working musicians or serious garage bands where the input was wrecked often opted for the chassis mount procedure

[Platefire]

Yeah, it only makes sense to correct the jack problem so it won't happen again by taking it out of the board.

Har! Got a Grandson that is turning out to be a great player but his amps and guitars are falling apart because he just don't seem to get it that your suppose to keep things tightened up and maintained!!
Don't understand that kind of thinking. I've always been the one that keeps things jam up and jelly tight on all my stuff. Platefire

[Jack1962]

Well , I repaired the Solid State amps before I started in doing Tube units , schematics are sometimes hard to come by , some parts are as well , however they are usually fairly easy repairs but due to the fact that Solid State parts are generally cheap it's sometime's hard to make anything off the repair. It's really up to you weather or not you want to do them , if you can fix a Mesa or  Marshall TSL you can fix a Solid State amp lol lol lol