THE ELECTRIC
GUITAR
The
electric guitar
revolutionized popular music a half-century ago, and continues to be its
greatest tool of expression. Before this, instruments were mechanical and
acoustic alone. Now, through electronic technology, our electrified beat
enthralls the world with harmony
and joy!
NO
MUSIC, NO LIFE!
Howard (Mick) Davis
SERVICES:
Terms of
Service - BELOW
Is Your Pedal Worth Fixing or Upgrading?
ARTICLES AND
INFORMATION:
How Loading and Cables Affect Your Sound and What to Do About It
Distortion: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Links to Good People, Information, Resources, and Products
*************************************************************************
Guitar Pedal Design, Repairs, and Custom
Modifications
TERMS OF
SERVICE
For information on design engineering services, please send an inquiry with technical details to: howard.davis2@att.net
I do not sell
schematics or parts.
Repairs and
Modifications:
COST ESTIMATES:
No serviceperson can quote you a fair price for a repair without first finding out exactly what is wrong, what parts will be needed, and how much labor will be required. Any estimate given without this information being known is a "guesstimate" - and often is higher than necessary. If you are given an estimate without any preliminary diagnostic work, should the actual repair only take five minutes, many service people will still charge you the full guesstimated amount. Some will give you a "lowball" guesstimate to get your business, then charge more than you expected when the work is done. By doing diagnostic work prior to giving an estimate I protect you from such nasty surprises.
A bench fee is normally charged for the diagnostic work required to determine what is wrong. This is fair compensation for that work, and is credited towards the total parts and labor cost if you decide to go ahead with the repair. If desired, I can give you a free estimate based on the problem as it is described to me, but it must be understood that without any diagnostic work this estimate may not be accurate. For custom redesign/modification work on Electro-Harmonix pedals in good working condition, I can quote an exact price for the job.
ELECTRO-HARMONIX AND OTHER
PEDALS:
Having been the Chief Design Engineer for EH for five
years and presently a consultant for the company, I prefer to work on EH
products, most of which I designed. I do however repair and upgrade most non-EH
pedals for which necessary technical information and required parts are
available.
Feel free to e-mail for a list and description of the custom mods available for your EH pedal: howard.davis2@att.net
DAMAGED, ATTEMPTED REPAIR, AND TAMPERED-WITH
UNITS:
DAMAGE may be physical, or
electrical, as from the application of excessive voltage. TAMPERING includes a previous unsuccessful repair
attempt, or any undocumented modification whether successful or not. Pedals with
these conditions require far more time and labor for test and diagnosis, and I
must charge accordingly. In some cases such units are damaged so badly that it
would cost more to fix them than they are worth. In cases of damage or tampering
the diagnostic bench fee is higher than otherwise, but of course is fully
deductible from the total parts and labor cost if you decide to proceed with
repair. This charge applies however even if repair is not feasible, and must be
paid in advance in certain cases.
NON-REPAIRABLE UNITS:
I do not
service digital pedals, analog only.
Some manufacturers use construction methods that make repair or modification difficult or impossible. In general, units with double-sided PC boards, surface-mount components, and/or board-mounted switches or jacks are among these. If sent a unit on which repair or modification is impractical, I charge only a basic bench fee plus return shipping/handling cost.
There are a few Electro-Harmonix products I do
not service for various reasons. Either I did not design them and the
technical documentation is poor, parts are unavailable, or they are difficult to
work on and the labor charge would be more than the unit is worth. These
include: Microsynth, Bass Microsynth, 16 Second Delay, Holy Grail and all other
digital pedals, the Russian-made reissues, and most vacuum
tube-based pedals.
INTERMITTENT OR NON-EXISTENT
PROBLEMS:
Occasionally I am sent
a unit that has nothing wrong with it, the problem actually being in other equipment it was being used
with. Sometimes a problem is intermittent, and cannot be detected until it shows
up again. In such cases, a bench fee plus shipping/handling is charged, and the
unit is returned as is. The bench fee is FULLY
DEDUCTIBLE from the parts and labor charge for any repairs done on
the same unit for the same problem within 30 days from the date of return
shipping.
RECONDITIONING: If
needed and desired, I can cosmetically recondition (clean, touch up paint
scratches, and relacquer) the box of any Electro-Harmonix product so it looks
almost like new when you get it back. Reconditioning, like custom mods, can raise the resale value
of a pedal considerably. Deep scratches,
bends or dents in the steel chassis, and rust staining cannot be fully
restored.
BATTERIES:
If you send a pedal
with a good 9V battery, it is returned with the same battery. If the battery is
weak or dead, it is replaced with a new battery for which you will be charged,
unless you tell me not to. If you send a pedal with no battery, it is returned
without one unless you tell me to install one.
PAYMENT AND TURNAROUND TIME:
My turnaround time is short. The work is usually
completed within a few days of receiving your pedal. Unless agreed otherwise
beforehand (as for a diagnosis and estimate), receiving the pedal will be
considered consent to proceed with the work. Most jobs are shipped back to the
customer within a day or two of receiving payment for the work by US postal
money order, Western Union money transfer, certified check, or cash.
Personal or company checks or money orders REQUIRE A
DELAY of FROM ONE TO THREE WEEKS until they clear the bank. Return shipping is
delayed for that period of time. Sorry, no paypal or credit cards.
Unless requested otherwise, please send no payment until you are billed after
the work is completed.
SHIPPING:
Shipping is usually the
biggest time-consumer in the repair cycle. I ship by DHL ground domestically and
use insured air parcel post for foreign shipping. If you require faster delivery
service, I can arrange it. I insure all items of significant value for your
protection. The US Postal Service can be slow and is sometimes unreliable, so I
recommend shipping to me by UPS, DHL, or Fed Ex - NOT the USPS. I can take no responsibility for shipment delays, loss, or
damage, which occasionally occur, mostly with the USPS.
STORAGE CHARGES AND
UNCLAIMED UNITS:
Please pay promptly
when billed. Should payment not be received
within one month of the billing date, a STORAGE CHARGE of $2.00 per week will
begin to accrue. Should a bill remain unpaid six months from the billing date,
the unit will be considered ABANDONED PROPERTY and WILL BE SOLD or DISASSEMBLED
FOR THE PARTS, unless previously agreed otherwise with the
sender.
WARRANTEE:
I warrantee all repair work, parts and labor, for 30 days from the
date of shipment to you. This warrantee is VOID if any damage, tampering,
attempted repair, or modification has occurred subsequent to shipping.
On custom redesign/modification work, I GUARANTEE SATISFACTION. I am one engineer that is proud of his reputation, and will live up to what you have a right to expect of me. If your custom-modded unit does not sound or operate as you wanted it to, you get one FREE service return. Return it within 30 days of my shipping date and I will redo the job, FREE. All you'll pay is the shipping/handling charge.
SHIP TO:
Howard Davis, EE
207 Ocean Parkway #3G
Brooklyn, NY
11218
Please contact me prior to sending any pedal to be certain I can fix or
mod it. Enclose a detailed description of the problem
needing repair or of the mods desired, your full name and return shipping
address, and e-mail address. I will notify you by e-mail the day I
receive your pedal, when the work is completed, and upon shipping it back to
you.
E-mail: howard.davis2@att.net