Is five months a normal time to wait for tube amp restoration? (Analog Engineering Associates)

maxhifi said:
Lol, electronic art? St-70? Really?

Jeez all it needs is a few parts changed by someone who knows how to solder, this is a 60 year old amp which was designed to be affordable from the get go, not part of the space program!

If it were me I would give them the two weeks, what's to lose at this point really?
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What is to lose? How about them just slamming it through to get it out of their hair!!!!!!!!!
 
vonclod said:
When I hear personal and unfortunate events, I think health or something like..I agree with maxhifi and captouch, what do you have to lose, even if they shipped it back to you tommorow your still probably waiting a week to get it back.
Maybe I'm a sucker but that is what I would do.
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SUCKER!!!!!!!!!!
 
silver faced said:
You are out of your mind!!!!!! They will rush that piece of electronic art out the door as fast as they can with minimal work to get it OUT THE FUC-ING DOOR.....:whip:o_O:rant::no::bs::bowdown::blah::blah::blah::boring:
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Sounds like that's what you'd do, but people that actually run a business would be foolish to compound a problem (like falling way behind schedule) with doing subpar work that ruins their reputation.
 
silver faced said:
Then maybe you should of offered to finish it for him!!!!!!!! If it was to solder just a couple pieces. Oh what pieces are they to get him back up and running ! Oh Ya you have not a clue!!!!!!!
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Huh? The ST-70 was originally sold as a kit, to be assembled at home, by beginners.. I've owned one before and seriously there's nothing complex or special about it in terms of making it work, especially for a tech with any experience working on tube amps.

A basic rebuild in my opinion consists of changing the electrolytic and paper capacitors, changing the selenium rectifier to a 1N4007, measuring the resistors for tolerance, test the tubes and replace if required... test amp for power output and distortion, then let it play for a day or two to be sure nothing else is wrong. Simple as that...

All the parts can be easily bought, and the net is overflowing with info on this amplifier. I think the issue here is how someone runs a small business though, not how to rebuild a dynaco.
 
Quick reality check.
There are some Sherwoods and Fishers (likely many others) with some serious part density qualities . Read that to mean they cram a ton of stuff in a very small space and work is slow and tedious and best left to people with a ton of experience).
Ok fast forward to the Dynaco. I'm not a tech (and i don't play one on tv).
I've worked on enough gear to do neat work with ( sometimes with guidance) .
Trying my best to stay true to the physicians' creed " do no harm".
I just recently purchased a poorly assembled st 70 which i basically gutted. Every component removed from chassis, chassis cleaned, transformers cleaned up repainted, new pcb (stock design) which i installed components (i only point this out because you can buy them preassembled which would save you time accumulating pieces and the assembly itself.
So new board, input jackes, cord, switches, sockets, speaker jacks, all hardware.
Time looking for , ordering....
All this done a few hours a night. Nothing like a repair facility which obviously is a way more efficient manner to do this. Plus, as with everything else, experience and repetition make you much faster (also less of a need to double, triple check everything, plus you have stock on hand.
My point,
The response just doesn't ring true. From a practical point, there are just things you throw away. Unless a transformer is bad. Or you're replacing everything ( which i doubt, and even then doesn't add that much time. Hobbyists with little to no experience built these in a weekend or over a couple of evenings.
I picked at mine, sometimes 10 minutes a night. Probably never more than 2 continuous hours.
Diagnostics?
Then 2 more weeks?
I am in no way soliciting work.
Based on their feedback i suspect they're very competent. I'm not sure what happened here but it certainly brings their integrity into question.
It word vary obviously on condition but i really can't imagine once this hit a competent techs' bench it should only need a few hours (assuming parts necessary are on hand, which isnt a tremendous assumption for a professional shop specializing in vintage gear)
I'm sorry for the long winded reply. I guess I've gotten the run around (for other stuff not audio) i guess it just urks me when i get smoke blown up my A**.
 
maxhifi said:
Huh? The ST-70 was originally sold as a kit, to be assembled at home, by beginners.. I've owned one before and seriously there's nothing complex or special about it in terms of making it work, especially for a tech with any experience working on tube amps.

A basic rebuild in my opinion consists of changing the electrolytic and paper capacitors, changing the selenium rectifier to a 1N4007, measuring the resistors for tolerance, test the tubes and replace if required... test amp for power output and distortion, then let it play for a day or two to be sure nothing else is wrong. Simple as that...

All the parts can be easily bought, and the net is overflowing with info on this amplifier. I think the issue here is how someone runs a small business though, not how to rebuild a dynaco.
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When this thread started I thought this was about an Eico ST-70..........now after reading the rest of it, it's a Dynaco ST-70? Well....both were designed as kits, and as a few others have said previously, they were simple amps made in a simple time and their really is nothing to restoring one of these yourself if you know how to solder. Parts availability is not a problem, probably one of the best vintage amps to own in that respect.

If it were me I would call them and express the fact that even though they had "extenuating circumstances" that that was their problem and should not have been made yours without any kind of notice. I agree with others......don't let them do anything more to it, if they've even done a thing to it, and have them send it back to you at THEIR expense. Simplicity or not, a rush job is a rush job. Things can be overlooked by just trying to push it out the door, even if you are the greatest tech in the entire universe.

I agree that the issue is how the small business is run. Anybody in this day & age can have a slick looking website with a fancy looking email address attached to it. They may do quality work too, but it doesn't help the customers or the business owner if that's how they run their business. These people obviously knew that they would be moving soon, and trying to operate a small business while doing that move is near impossible for anyone, especially when the home & business are located at one in the same. Clearly, ALL of this guy's customers that had equipment in should have been notified this from the get go, that way they wold know that there would be a big delay. It's easy to gather all those email addresses and send a mass email.....clearly they couldn't be bothered.

If I were the OP, I would get the amp back as-is ASAP. Then I would do the work myself.

This is why I don't trust anybody but myself to work on my equipment, and I'm not a tech! If I make a mistake, then so be it. I can always admit defeat and get some knowledgeable help later and get it working again. Six months for a non-repair from a supposed professional is not acceptable in my book, especially since it has been way out of the original promised time frame. You could have purchased a dozen of these amp and fixed them yourself in that time frame! The Californian's ethic of "Dude, I flaked!" is not an acceptable response in my book, yet people let them continue to get away with it. :crazy:
 
maxhifi said:
I think the issue here is how someone runs a small business though, not how to rebuild a dynaco.
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Correct, and I haven't seen where the shop has asked the customer/poster what he would like to do during their bungle. It's all about them and what they plan to do with no concerns for his wishes and no apparent signs of responsibility, including no offer for a price reduction. Service is a whole lot more than replacing parts.
 
Did some investigating a few minutes ago....all I gotta say it Rut-Roh!

Check these things out:
http://aeaaudio.com/contact-us/
Notice the ship to is a house address.....a huge house that is for sale (see here: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Orange-Ct-Hillsborough-CA-94010/15517289_zpid/ ).....the original email address is not working and it says use that gmail address. Also notice the "headquarters" address.

Now check this out:
http://www.jclawgroup.com/contact-us/san-mateo/

Same address as the "headquarters" address.....and its a bankruptcy lawyer.

GET YOUR EQUIPMENT BACK ASAP!!!
 
This is so similar to how Layne Audio failed. A successful 'small' business, with lot's of work in house. But, the owners of gear, receive little to no contact, about their repair. Next thing I read, is the gentleman behind Layne Audio has died. After that, the family holds an estate sale auction, and all the outstanding gear, even though it belongs to other people, is sold. Bye bye to all of that cherished equipment, cause it's not going back to the rightful owner.

Get the amp back! Maybe an AK'er local to the shop could pick it up for the OP? Better to receive it back as-is, than have it sold to someone else...!
 
I've sent an email to request that Lloyd Leonard calls me today to discuss how to move forward. We'll see how that goes—It's about all I can do right now.

I appreciate all of the responses so far; I'm trying to take in all the factors surrounding this situation and make the best decision I can...
 
stereoguy70 said:
Did some investigating a few minutes ago....all I gotta say it Rut-Roh!

Check these things out:
http://aeaaudio.com/contact-us/
Notice the ship to is a house address.....a huge house that is for sale (see here: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Orange-Ct-Hillsborough-CA-94010/15517289_zpid/ ).....the original email address is not working and it says use that gmail address. Also notice the "headquarters" address.

Now check this out:
http://www.jclawgroup.com/contact-us/san-mateo/

Same address as the "headquarters" address.....and its a bankruptcy lawyer.

GET YOUR EQUIPMENT BACK ASAP!!!
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Good detective work. This does look more risky now. Having a shipping address as a home under sale isn't that concerning and could be tied to whatever personal situation they referenced in their reply to you, but having a bankruptcy lawyer as their address isn't good.

@BassKulcha, if you need help picking it up for you because you're concerned you may never see your amp again, PM me.
 
captouch said:
Good detective work. This does look more risky now. Having a shipping address as a home under sale isn't that concerning and could be tied to whatever personal situation they referenced in their reply to you, but having a bankruptcy lawyer as their address isn't good.

@BassKulcha, if you need help picking it up for you because you're concerned you may never see your amp again, PM me.
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It took about 45 seconds of Google searching to come up with this info.......I wonder how long this has been ongoing? If the OP had checked this out and the info was the same in November, it would have raised a GIANT red flag to me and I would have avoided them.

Hopefully the OP can get his amp back and not end up having it sold off in an estate or bankruptcy sale.

Those of us in the New England area of the USA might remember the bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation of the Daddy's Junky Music Store chain. They did instrument and amp repairs as well as selling new & used gear. This was a concern of many customers that had gear in for repair work at the time. Fortunately, it was a small enough chain that the owners were heavily involved in trying to stave off the creditors from claiming customer gear from being sold off in the liquidation. I believe almost all of those customers were very lucky in receiving their gear back. As far as if the repairs were done or even finished, I can't say what state that ended up in........
 
Years back, there was a high end stereo shop near me. Good stuff too; Audio Research, conrad johnson, Mirage, and Magnepan. The shop also had a repair center, and took gear in on trade in, and sold the trade goods to finance new purchases. Well unbeknownst to shoppers, and to even one of the store's co-owners, the other owner was selling off the repair and trade items, and pocketing the money for himself! The kicker, where I worked, we had a cj PV5 pre and an MV45 amp, at the store, for consignment sale. We never recovered the gear or any money from it's sale!
 
I would cut out all of the hysterics, source a real good shop near you, and have it shipped directly there, so you don't need to triple ship the amp.

The good one and two man shops I have seen get in similar positions, generally announce on their website that they will not receive any more units until their backlog has been substantially reduced.
 
sheltie dave said:
I would cut out all of the hysterics, source a real good shop near you, and have it shipped directly there, so you don't need to triple ship the amp.

The good one and two man shops I have seen get in similar positions, generally announce on their website that they will not receive any more units until their backlog has been substantially reduced.
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I honestly don't think its a matter of "backlog" at this point.......looks to me more like a bankruptcy issue......
 
Stereoguy, the house the AEA principal lives at is being sold, and is under contract.

The office he leased is now being leased by a law firm.

AEA also has a banner ad here on AK, and a scroll ad in the sub forum.

With the principal of the company still living, and not having filed for a Chapter 11 or 13 bankruptcy in Orange County, and not having informed the AK staff that he is declaring bankruptcy, I would be most careful tossing that rumor around.

I also would not let any moss grow on that ST70.
 
Oh dear, changes things a bit perhaps..not that this was a good situation to begin with..I try to let people redeem themselves but this does make it a bit more risky.
 
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