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Hey,
Just thought I'd post this here in this forum as it may be the most appropriate as I need some advice about getting a guitar amp serviced in the UK.
I bought the amp in 2018 from a reputable maker of boutique amps in the US and had it shipped over. The amp was built to UK specifications with a UK power transformer and plug.
I've had no problems with the amp apart changing the power tubes when they started to go. It's been very reliable and have gigged with it numerous times. The one issue is that it does have a bit of rattle on a low note. Also recently I noticed that the headroom on the amp was a bit lower than normal so I took it to an amp tech in the UK to look at.
Unfortunately the amp tech said that he could not work on the amp due to the way the amp was constructed, as the chassis is exposed underneath the tubes. They also said that the amp would never conform to British Standards and therefore if they worked on it and something was to happen, they could liable.
The amp maker is a very good one and I know that some of their amps have been sold to some of the best musicians in the world. I doubt that they would make an amp that was unsafe, but I can understand the amp technicians position up to a certain point, and ultimately it's there decision whether they chose to provide a service or not.
However, I'm in an invidious position in that my options seem to be to either contact the maker and see if they will provide an out of warranty service, which would involve shipping it at expense, finding another amp tech or trying to diagnose and fix the problem, which is probably dangerous and not advisable.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Also, curious to know what the position is regarding public liability of amp techs, just in the sense that I know many of them will be working on vintage amps that would have no chance of meeting a British Standards test or getting a CE mark. Even after servicing and repair - for example removing the death capacitor and making sure the amp was properly grounded, I know that some of these amps would not pass those types of electrical safety tests, yet they continue to be repaired and sold on the vintage market.
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Comments
Do you have any photos of the area in question? Even if it does have exposed parts it’s probably not impossible to build some sort of housing or cover for it - I’ve done that for a couple of vintage amps which had exposed terminals on the transformers.
US regulations are quite a bit different and much less strict than EU/UK ones, so it is quite possible that it could be built well and to the relevant standards there, but not here. The tech is correct that he can’t legally work on something which doesn’t conform to the standards without accepting liability for it. Some have “looser” interpretations of the regs than others though…
(Before you ask, I’m no longer doing repair work so this is not a sales pitch!)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Products which are repaired, refurbished or exchanged without changing their original performance, purpose, or type, are not considered ‘new’ and therefore do not need to be recertified and remarked.
However, the above assumes that the appliance respected the appropriate regulations at the time of its manufacture .
More reading - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-equipment-safety-regulations-2016/electrical-equipment-safety-regulations-2016-great-britain
Rift Amplification
Brackley, Northamptonshire
www.riftamps.co.uk
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Rift Amplification
Brackley, Northamptonshire
www.riftamps.co.uk
Where I feel there's a little room for interpretation is exactly in whether something (other than crappy mains connectors that shouldn't ever have been mains-rated in the first place!) should be altered if it did pass the regulations when manufactured, and is safe to any reasonable standard, but doesn't now.
But I don't worry about that any more...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
There are loads of amp makers in the US and the UK and EU that do not build to a high enough standard. Most of them can be made safe though. There will be UK amp techs that would look at this for you, those that would take an interest in the amp and have the time to work through it and the ability to make a plan re the safety side.
Really though to give you proper advice we need to know:
where are you?
what amp is it?
Photo's of the chassis and wiring?
I know loads of amp techs or could look at it for you, but I would not want to do so if it is a complete turd.
If the equipment never met electrical safety standard in the first place liability would always go back to the manufacturer or importer.
Refusing to work on it is the smart thing to do, though in my mind it would be better to make it safe or skip it rather than put it back out there to be a hazard.
After that I'll try a few other amp techs, I assumed that they would be of the same position.
Amen to that brother!
There aren't many amps which can't be made safe and reliable by an open and problem-solving mind.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
So in summary, it seems that the remaining rattle is due to the cabinet, as there isn't any rattle when the chassis is outside the cabinet. However I'll still need to get a tech to make sure that the chassis can fit properly in the cabinet and that everything is secure. Hopefully that should be the solution.