To the manufacturer or to the repair guy ?

Jerry Bull · From: Republic, MO, USA

I am posting this because I see numerous folks from time to time that at some point in their musical endeavors find themselves in a position of trying to decide whether or not to send their favorite NV112 or Session 500 or whatever to the factory or to the shmuck down the street that at one time fixed your best friends cousins girlfriends brothers soundboard that he loaned out to the local punk band that somehow dropped it in a effort to play a gig for the high school prom. Confused

I can say this from experience !!!!!!!! send it to "PEAVEY"(or appropriate manufacturer) !!!! save your money. Now I know there are many qualified techs out there that are great, some of them frequent this forum and are more than qualified. Just be very careful who picks up a soldering iron with gleam in there eyes from the idea that someone actually wants them to "fix" an amp. Now that I have completed the intro to my rant, I'll continue with round two.
I dropped off my "Baby" (session 500) to a location that I'll not disclose at this time.(email me if you want to know). "oh yeah we can fixer own up fer yee"...........
4 months later and 3 trips back my amp sounded like a dobro on steroids. Not to mention the $350 that I had thrown away. The guy finally told me not to bring it back. So I didn't.
After I finally took the initial advice from a close friend, to "just send it to Peavey" : I sent the amp w/out the cabinet to Peavey on Thursday, got it back the next Friday, hooked it up....PERFECT, better than new, that amp has never and I do mean never sounded that good. Now here's the part that makes me ill. Shipping both ways, and repairs totalled,,,,,,,,, $96.71 But I guess we all have to learn somehow. Merry Christmas !!!
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Dennis Wallis · From: Arkansas

I agree TOTALLY !! I've had the same experience.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

If you visit forums like the WeberVST forum's amp section, the Fender Forum's various amp sections (yes, even for a Peavey question) and simply ask who is the best tech in your area you will get a solid response and find someone who can handle more than just an amp fix in most cases. Most larger cities have professional techs - a very few are part-time and do it out of the garage but have a good rep.

I'd only deal with the manufacturer if it was a warranty issue.
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Don Poland · From: Hanover, PA.

I think the key word when looking for someone to repair or mod your amp should be "qualified". I fully understand your hesitation to send it to "the shmuck down the street that at one time fixed your best friends cousins girlfriends brothers", however as was stated, there are a number of "qualified" tech's right here on the forum. I have sent an old Peavey Deuce to Ken Fox for repairs and he did an outstanding job with it and sent it back to me pronto. The work was great and the price was fair. You certainly can't ask for more than that. By all means, you must do some research prior to having repairs done, but that doesn't mean that only factory trained tech's are qualified.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I used to do amp repair (in Nashville) and there are "qualified" techs around, however, if there are parts required that must come from the OEM manufacturer (e.g. Peavey) in many cases it's faster to send it to the vendor. In the case of Peavey, their repair prices are better than I would charge if I were still doing it.

Another point, a lot of the newer gear has "surface technology" components and multi-layer PC boards. These require special equipment to repair and most repair shops - even many "high tech" shops don't have the equipment to work on these. Trying to do it without the specialized equipment and knowledge on how to properly use the equipment will only result in a "butcher" job.

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Jerry, was the guy on Stewart Street in Springfield? I had a bad feeling about him when I talked to him a few months back. I bought an amp at the connected music store, that was supposed to be fixed and ready to go. The electronics were screwed up and the speaker blown, so someone was lying to make a sale.

Jerry Bull · From: Republic, MO, USA

Keith, it's hard to pull one over on you old guys;-) , somehow you old steelers always read between the lines. It's unfortunate that you were also a victim in the same sort of situation. I hope your teeth get better, this year hasn't been any too kind on your health. Talk to you soon Very Happy

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Mike Brown · From: Meridian, Mississippi USA

Jerry, sorry for your unfortunate experience. It would be nice to "not" have to repair your amp.................ever again. Unfortunately, electronic gear needs upkeep every now and then. At Peavey, we are proud to have a staff of(10) technicians on hand five days a week to repair gear that is sometimes 40 years old! Heck, I'm 53 years old and I need maintenance every day!(ha!).

So, please know that we can help any Peavey customer out with their Peavey product. As for the freight cost to and from the Peavey factory, there are ways to reduce the weight, thus saving money on freight costs. If you have a product such as a Session 500, remove the power amp module, the preamp chassis and the reverb pan. BUT FIRST, LABEL EACH WIRING CONNECTOR SO THAT YOU WILL KNOW HOW TO REASSEMBLE IT WHEN WE RETURN IT AFTER REPAIR. Include a note of the symptom and any past repair history on your amp AND the all-so-important daytime phone number so that we may reach you should we have a question.

I'd say that your Session 500 has had a pretty good "run" if you are the original owner, wouldn't you say?

I can be reached at 1-877-732-8391, ext.1180 should you have questions. Thanks for using Peavey products.

Mike Brown
Peavey USA

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

As if it were necessary, I would like to vouch for the staff that Mike refers to at Peavey. My Session 400 served me well for 25 years, much of the time playing 3+ gigs a week in and out of the Michigan weather. Eventually some of the caps dried out and pots wore out. I wrote Mike and he told me to send the head to Meridian and he would take care of it.

Well, let me tell you, he took care of it. It took a bit longer than originally estimated (it was summer and folks were on vacation) but the two or three times I inquired about it, Mike would call or go by and see the tech and let me know EXACTLY where it was at in the repair process and apologized for it being a week or so later than he'd told me before I sent it.

When I got it back it was up to original specs and literally like new. He told me it was probably good for 25 more years and, so far, that's been my experience.

The folks at Peavey are committed to producing steel guitar amplification that meets our needs. They make the best stuff for the money on the planet. On the Forum, we are blessed to have Mike, a steel player who knows the details of what we need, design-wise, but, perhaps more importantly, he is THERE FOR US.

Thanks, Mike, for BEING THERE.
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Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

I recently needed service on some peavey gear. I chose to send it to the manufacturer in Meridian. They did a GREAT job, fixed more than I asked for, super quick and all under waranty, no questions asked.They even covered return shipping. I couldn`t be more pleased with the service.
If you are tryng to decide who to fix it, if it`s a peavey, I vote to ship it to Meridian. You won`t regret it.

Stuart Legg · Posted 29 Dec 2008 9:53 pm

If you don't ask Peavey's not going to tell.
I still remember Bo sending off his Peavey Tubefex to peavey for repairs so many times that he finally had to buy a second one so he would have one while the other was at Peavey. Every time it was sent in the battery it was replaced. The work was done timely and the Tubefex worked fine when he got it back except for the last time when he sent the Tubefex in and it came back with a note stating that they could not guaranty the work because of battery leak. Through all those years that was the first he'd heard of that. So he asks about it on the SGF and found out the battery and rotor pots were a chronic problem with Tubefex. He sent both Tubefex to Ken Fox and got a battery and rotor pot mod and has not had anymore problems. He has always felt that he should have been made aware of those problems years ago which would have saved a lot of money and a lot of nights playing without his Tubefex crutch. He has 5 Peavey amps and uses one or two of them every week and has had no problems with them and they are all over 20 years old and bounced around a lot of miles.

Chuck Stowe · From: Sycamore, Illinois, USA

I spent 25 years in the audio repair business. I've repaired many guitar amps as well as the gamut of audio and video equipment. That being said, whenever I had a problem with a Peavey that wasn't obvious, I would either send it to Peavey or have the customer send it there. Their work was always quick, professional and reasonably priced.

Even before I got to the Steel Guitar Forum and found out about Mike Brown, the staff at Peavey was very helpful and their parts delivery was quick. Although I did the work to mod and re-cap my Session 500, I would have no hesitation sending there if there was a major problem. (It probably won't get as much wear now that I just got a Nashville 112.)

Yes, there are great techs out there, I consider myself one although I no longer do it for a living. but Peavey is second to no one in Customer Service. (I'm old enough to remember when Customer Service meant taking care of the customer and his needs, not a person who takes phone orders -- sorry pet peeve about the changing of the term.)

Just my $.02
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Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

I've had nothing but bad luck with local repair shops, and nothing but good luck with Peavey's service department, and I've sent them lots of stuff. I sold all of my newer Fender stuff, a Jazzmaster Ultralight, and a Super Champ XD, because they do not offer factory service. I had a small problem with one of my Jazzmaster U/L's and Fender wanted me to take it to a local guy that had never even seen one. I'll stick with Peavey and Acoustic Image, you can't beat their customer service, or their prices.
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MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro.

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