The Front Counter
Here's Jeff working on a vintage ReverbeRocket
WHAT MAKES ANDREWS AMP LAB BETTER?
Customer Experience - As owner of Andrews Amp Lab Inc.,
I want every customer to have better-than-expected experience when doing
business with us. Before starting this company, I worked for many years as
service representative for a large electronics corporation. In that
position, my responsibility was to work with corporate management, independent
service companies, end users and the dealers who sold our products. This
was a unique opportunity to see and hear all sides of the service experience.
If something didn't go well, I would hear from the customers and dealers, then I
would work with the service companies to resolve the situation. During
these years, I learned a lot about customer expectations. These customers
depended on the hundreds of service companies we supported to meet those
expectations. It became easy to see what many companies did poorly and
what a few did well. When you do business with us, these lessons will be
reflected in your service experience and hopefully, your expectations will be
exceeded. We keep a clean shop. You will not find your amp under a
stack of parts and equipment and you'll receive a detailed invoice showing what
was done to your amp.
We specialize in Vintage Tube-Type amps but service all makes and models of
"all tube" amps.
This gives us the ability to provide a higher level of service on these amps.
We go through every part of your amp and find everything that isn't exactly
right. Your amp will be diagnosed and evaluated with the most meticulous
care. We don't just repair the obvious problem and put it back together
with other problems still lurking in the amp like most other shops do.
After giving your amp a thorough checkout and listening test, we contact you
with a list of recommended work to achieve optimum tone and reliability. You can decide
what you would like to have done. This helps to insure that you
won't be faced with a problem during a performance or recording session.
Even more importantly, it insures that your amp will operating at peak
performance and provide the best possible tone for many years.
If you have a newer tube amp and just want basic repairs, of course we can
do that too. We service all makes and models of tube-type guitar
and bass amps.
Top Quality Components
All tubes are checked for shorts,
microphonics, gain and sound quality (many on-line sellers charge extra for a
low noise tube). Then they are hot-tested under full
power.
Each tube is chosen for the best performance and reliability in your amp.
We also check all of your existing tubes. If they pass all the electrical
and listening tests, we don't replace them. If they fail or tests, we let you know.
All capacitors and resistors are selected for optimum tonal quality and
reliability. All
poly film coupling caps are checked and installed in the proper polarity.
This is rarely done by other shops or even by the manufacturers. For all
axial electrolytic capacitor applications, we use only Sprague Atom when
available in the correct size and value. Otherwise, we use the best
available for your application such as F & T and CE multi-section can caps.
Other components are chosen for their ability to stand up to heat, vibration,
humidity and the rigors of gigging and road travel.
We use carbon composition resistors
where they work best and we use metal film and flameproof metal oxide where they
work best. This is not based on price. The choice of resistors type has
very little impact on the cost of amp repairs or mods. This choice is
based on sound quality and is backed up by research and experience. Much
as been written on this subject and you can read the details in Kevin O'Connor's
books or R.G Keen's and Randall Aiken's web sites. To sum it up, there are
only a few places in guitar amps where carbon comps are the best choice so we
use them there for optimum tone. Metal film and metal oxide are much more
accurate, reliable and quite so we use them throughout the rest of the amp.
We use the finest chemicals available
for cleaning and protecting your controls, jacks and tube sockets.
Fantastic tone and reliability are our goals.
When your amp leaves our shop, it will be rock solid and sound its best. You
will probably hear great new tone you didn’t even know your amp could produce!
The deterioration of sound quality usually happens so slowly that often, it isn't
noticed. Many customers report being surprised by the improvement in tone
of their vintage amp after repair, often, they don't remember it ever sounding
so good before.
We go through your entire amp very
carefully and report back to you about anything that is out of spec or appears
to be nearing failure. We want your amp to sound and work at
least as well as the day it was built. All work and most parts (including
tubes) are covered by our 90 day warranty.
No long waits for repairs
Most repairs completed within 1 week.
Please click here for more information about
turnaround time and other news.
Click here to see what some of our customers
have to say us.
A few words about tubes
Today, there are many more choices in terms
of tubes than we had even a few years ago. Some people
have a favorite brand, others swear by NOS (new old stock). Still
others say "a tube is a tube, just use the cheapest thing you can get". Of
course, there are as many opinions about tubes as there are tubes.
Here is my opinion;
1) The majority of NOS tubes are
overpriced, sometimes over $100 per tube. Some are very high quality. Some
are not. Fortunately, there are still a few NOS bargains available so we
do use them in some cases.
2) The majority of Chinese tubes are
of poor quality. There are a few good ones but we generally stay
away from them. We've had good results with the latest generation of Ruby
High Grade 12AX7s so we are now offering those.
3) Many Russian and eastern European
tubes are as good or better than some NOS alternatives and are much more
attractively priced. We use carefully chosen selections from this category
for most work. The choices are based on tube reliability experience and
listening tests as well as the amp application.
4) Groove Tubes - There is much
confusion in the market place about the Groove Tubes brand. In short, very
few GT tubes are made by GT. The vast majority are not. Of those that they don't make
themselves, there are 2 categories. a) They buy "off-the-shelf"
current-production tubes and test them. Those that pass the tests get the GT label
and higher price tag. b) GT has arrangements with some manufacturers
to build higher quality tubes that meet GT specifications. These tubes
don't seem to be available anywhere else.
I'm very particular about which tube I
use in various amps and each choice is made based upon several factors relating
to sound quality, reliability, voltage and current requirements, microphonics,
hum,
etc. When applicable, we will ask you about your tastes and playing
style and choose tubes that best complement your playing.
Recently, several new tubes have
appeared on the market that are much improved over what was available in years
passed. I am constantly on the lookout for the latest news and I try as
many new tubes as possible. When I find a good tube for a reasonable price, I use it.
If you are one of those who
insists on only NOS tubes in your amp and you are willing to pay the premium
price, please tell me before the repair or estimate is complete. I will
use anything you want as long as I don't feel that there is a reliability risk.
Speakers
We have many different speakers in
stock, both new and used and we give you a chance to try before you buy.
Many people are surprised at the drastic differences in tone from one speaker
to another. Come in and try out any in-stock 12" speaker in one of our
demo cabinets with your amp and guitar. This way, you won't get stuck with
a speaker you don't like. We don't know of any other shop or dealer in the
area that offers this service.
ANDREWS Hand Wired Amps
Jeff Andrews
