cap job price

[rabies]

for my Rivera S120 (1991):

"It would just be 3 hours total and parts would be around $40 for the capacitors. So a little over $300 total."

How much does Mesa or Marshall charge for the equivalent? Does it really take 3 hours?

 

[zodiac272]

The Mesa Factory did my cap job, cleaning, replaced 4 tube sockets, swapped a couple resistors...and all for about $170. They had it for three weeks, and mike B also did the + upgrade (extra $). Now, my 25 yr old amp is practically brand new. I think everything took about 1.5 hours tops.

scott

 

[rabies]

thx for fdbk. sounds like a ripoff to me...

 

[rabies]

"This amp is a totally different animal than a Mesa Boogie and those aren't even on a circuit board . On this amp the whole motherboard needs to come out and there's much more going on like chorus and things like that. It actually takes quite a bit longer than 3 hours but we just charge three hours just to make it more reasonable . We actually probably lose money on it because the tech could be testing new production amps instead of do a repair."

 

[94Tremoverb]

Anywhere between about $150 and $500 could be fair, depending on the amp - how many caps, where they are, how difficult to get at, what else needs to come out first, other things that the tech finds along the way that need changing too (which is quite possible, with older amps), how much testing is done afterwards. You might also find that Mesa factory repairs are deliberately discounted as a form of public relations to customers, and even if they're not, the techs will be on a salary rather than piecework so the cost might not exactly correlate to the time spent.

 

[topcat0399]

Anywhere between about $150 and $500 could be fair, depending on the amp - how many caps, where they are, how difficult to get at, what else needs to come out first, other things that the tech finds along the way that need changing too (which is quite possible, with older amps), how much testing is done afterwards. You might also find that Mesa factory repairs are deliberately discounted as a form of public relations to customers, and even if they're not, the techs will be on a salary rather than piecework so the cost might not exactly correlate to the time spent.

you're making me wanna give my boogie a little trip to cali...

 

[gonzo]

my local repairman (boogie authorized) did a full cap upgrade on my mark2b 2 years ago, charged me 100 dollars.

took him one afternoon.

sounds as good as it did brand new.

wtf

 

[YellowJacket]

What brand(s) of caps does Mesa use? Don't worry, I'm not going to try and recap (eletrocute myself) my amp. I'm just curious.

 

[topcat0399]

What brand(s) of caps does Mesa use? Don't worry, I'm not going to try and recap (eletrocute myself) my amp. I'm just curious.

:shock:

its usually wise to un-plug amp before cap jobs.... :wink:

 

[YellowJacket]

:shock:

its usually wise to un-plug amp before cap jobs.... :wink:

I'm serious. I'm not touching a PCB amp. I was just curious which brands of caps Mesa uses because I was reading about that . . .
I hear Sozo caps are GREAT!

 

[soundchaser59]

Man, I wish I woulda known about all this 2 years ago. I coulda sent my amp to Mesa and got it "factory refurbished" for maybe a $200 couple hundred bucks. Then I would still have a super sweet little Subway Rocket sitting in my basement!

 

[Don]

I hear Sozo caps are GREAT!

Other than 100uF Royal 67 Capacitors, I don't think Sozo sells any other electrolytic capacitors (the ones that are changed in a cap job). The coupling caps (the type of caps that Sozo is famous for) should be left alone unless there is a specific problem with one of them.

 

[Don]

What brand(s) of caps does Mesa use? Don't worry, I'm not going to try and recap (eletrocute myself) my amp. I'm just curious.

:shock:

its usually wise to un-plug amp before cap jobs.... :wink:

And drain the caps! :mrgreen:

 

[gonzo]

hehehe, it's crazy you guys pay so much for a cap job and clean.....

 

[soundchaser59]

Yeah I've always wondered...... if I can solder, why cant I just get the high quality caps myself as long as the specs and ratings match? Why not just replace them myself? What's the big deal? I've always thought I could do it, if I'm not sure then just replace all of them, ayyyy?

 

[YellowJacket]

Well, one mistake and you get cooked. Might as well run around in a thunderstorm with a golf club!

 

[Anonymous]

Well, one mistake and you get cooked. Might as well run around in a thunderstorm with a golf club!

You've just got to stick a probe in and make sure there's no voltage present. Most amps drain the caps when put into standby anyway. Though the risk of severe injury / death is there, it would be a pretty rare occurrence with an unplugged amp. Still, precautions are worth taking!