Bad tech work from good intentions

[Kevin Lightner]

Mini rant here:

Sometimes I get in synths where the owner wanted to "save me time" by doing some work themselves.
But very often they cause more work, not less.
Things are put back together incorrectly, scratched, missing parts or whatever.
This often happens when someone rebushes or cleans their own keyboard action, then delivers the synth to me.
I can't tell you how many times I've had to redo a keyboard because the bushings were put on upsidedown, the J-wires were bent or whatever.

For example, an OBXa was delivered a while ago that made no sound.
I turned it on and it was silent when I played the keyboard.
I had no idea if it was a bad chip or what.
Turns out the client cleaned the keyboard himself and put the cable on backwards.
How would I ever know that?
I might have to troubleshoot a circuit needlessly because they wanted to "save me time."

End of rant.
Any thoughts?

[moogmaniac]

Kevin,

I'll step up to the plate on this one.

Some might say...no good deed goes unpunished.

I have in the past ventured into a project, it
doesn't matter what it was, but at a certain time
I reach a point were I STOP and realize my limitations
and go to a qualified person. Some people can't
stop. The result is that they're good intentions
end up costing them more money.

Another thought...many years ago I had a car problem.
I took the car to a qualified mechanic. After several
hours the problem was solved with a part, if I can
remember cost less than $5.00. The repair bill was
a couple of hundred dollars.

Lesson learned...TIME IS MONEY!!!

So, Kevin you have every right to charge your going rate
as a 1st class technician. People come to you to get top
rate service. Don't sell yourself short.

Harry

[MC]

In my early days I was guilty of that

I refurbished my Hammond Porta-B and it started cutting in and out at the gig. The repair shop couldn't figure it out.

Now the Porta-B is two piece 1) top with two spinet manuals, tonewheels, preamp/percussion/vibrato 2) bottom with collapsible folding support stand and integral power amp/reverb/volume pedal. There is a mating connector built into one of the collapsible stands that makes all the connections between the two halves.

I discovered the problem - the mating connector had two spacing washers and they were on the wrong side of the connector. With the washers the wrong way around, the connectors barely mated thus it was intermittent. After I fixed that it was much better.

I didn't get into analog synths until I was almost done in college (and a lot smarter about repairs!).

[americankiwi]

Hi Kevin...Are you having a dig at me?..

[ColorForm2113]

Ive been close to being one of those client but I always stop and realize my limitations before things get to ugly. a little canned air or detoxit, tuning some trim pots anything else I let the pros take care. I don't need my repair bills to be any higher than what they already are lol

[Voltor07]

If I don't know what I'm doing I ask for help. If it is synth/organ related, I will ask Kevin for advice. Sometimes, I will ask Roger Arrick. It depends on the problem, which piece of gear, and how confident I'm feeling that particular day as to whether or not the issue gets fixed.

[Vsyevolod]

Real men don't ask for help, they just fix sh*t...

Stephen




.

[Kevin Lightner]

Hi Kevin...Are you having a dig at me?..

Nope, not you.
I had just spent a while trying to explain to a client why he's not saving himself any money by doing some of his synth himself.
I usually have to redo whatever he did.

[Kevin Lightner]

Real men don't ask for help, they just fix sh*t...

Stephen

.

Heh.. that's the attitude that usually causes the most problems.

Btw, getting in synths with deoxit or other such chemicals can be a drag too.
Original manufacturers didn't use that stuff and it can attract dust and hairs that can cause friction.
Caig's old products like Cramolin could even cause metal corrosion and low resistance pathways on a board.
Real techs don't use Caig. At least real restoration techs anyway.
(how can one restore a synth by adding something not originally there?)

[moogsaurus]

I'd a Prophet 5. 3.2 in for repair (pot regreasing) however the previous owner decided to cut out the pitch bend wheel and bodge in a joystick?! (bit like a horse with a steering wheel!) I'd 2 spare wheels (fine so far) cut a steel template the dimensions of the hole, forced in tight and used metal bonder to fill/reinforce, masked off the typeface "pitch/mod" and base coated matt black using a hand diffuser,then splatter coated using the diffuser (black gloss) job done,you'd never know it had ever been done! (gave myself a banana as a reward!)

[thealien666]

Having had bad experiences with repairs done under warranty on some expensive electronic devices I owned in the past, I've come to the conclusion that I probably could have done a better job with proper knowledge and equipment. Back in 1990, a $3K Sony camcorder I had bought had to have the CCD replaced because of its premature failure. It came back from service with a tiny piece of hair stuck between the new CCD and the lenses that would show up when I closed the iris !! Had to be sent back for removal...

More recently, my Voyager Old School, which had to be sent in for repairs under warranty, had to be sent back twice because it wasn't fixed properly the first time. And even then it came back miscalibrated after they had decided to replace the whole analog board in it. But it wasn't too dramatic. I sold it shortly after explaining to the buyer that it would have to be sent in for calibration at his own expense (by that time the warranty period had expired). I'd had enough !

And these were all done by qualified, certified, authorized techs paid by the manufacturers to do repairs under warranty! I guess not everyone of those techs are as meticulous and conscientious about their work as some of us...

When outside warranty, I fix it myself. And, strangely, I never have to do it more than once...

[americankiwi]

Kevin..i hope you saw that was light hearted what i wrote...
I understand what your getting at!
a story i went though....
I worked for Toyota as a tech'....a older gent brings in his Toyota Avalon..it was only 6-8 months old...3 techs before me tried to fix a problem with the car...it had a bad rattle!!....so the service manager asks me....would i try looking at it too?....ok i said....let the old guy drive it like he would any other day...i will sit in the pass' seat and watch and listen....so we drive around town....now im thinking is this for real!!....3 techs before me could not figure out what was happening!!!!!!
you know what the rattle was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??
his f@#king metal coffee cup sitting in the center console...rattling its ass off!!!!!!!!!!...lmao
i lost count the amount of times i have had to fix these stupid peoples cars...the most common one!
sunglass's sitting in the overhead console doing the same thing...rattling away!!

sidenote...i had to laugh one day...when a lady come to me and said..."John"..."i never thought i would see the day that "joe lunchbox" would need a tech to put air in a tire"..(because "TPMS" is now manatory "tire pressure sensors")