Philadelphia Mesa Owners.....advice

[mystidream]

I just wanted to give any Philly area Mesa owners a quick heads up about something. 4 weeks ago, I was having a problem with my Mark V where the graphic EQ was not working on Channels 1+2, and the gain had dropped dramatically on Channel 2 as well. I called Mesa first to see if I should send the amp in for repair, but they said that it was probably not necessary and that I could take it to one of their certified repair techs. They recommended a shop by the name of Musician's Electronic Service in Ardmore. I took my amp up there and dropped it off to be repaired by Russ (the tech up there). Every week I called for an update with no progress showing at all. Finally at the end of the fourth week, I called and was told by the tech that he "spoke to Randall Smith, and Randall said that your amp has the most bizarre problem that Mesa has ever seen and that your amp is having an impossible problem". Obviously the problem isn't impossible because its happening with my amp. I was also told by the tech that he had "worked" on my amp for a total of 7 hours and he no longer wanted to take time working on it since there wasn't an obvious fix and he wouldn't be getting paid.

So I go to his shop and pick my amp up. I'm appalled. Not only does the guy's shop look like an episode of hoarders (just with musical equipment), but he also managed to screw up the piping on the front grille of my amp by just shoving the grille back on and screwing it on, the big tube cover that covers one of the 12AX7's is bent to hell because he tried to force it into the hole without lining up the two notches, the bottom lip of my chassis is all dented/scratched up under the channel 1 controls, AND I have black scuff marks all over my tolex. My amp was 100% perfect when I brought it in to his shop. Not a mark on it. I'll definitely be letting Mesa know about this guy. He had an extremely poor attitude and no respect for others property apparently.

So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about this shop. If you need warranty work done, I would recommend someone else, or just take the time and send it back to Mesa. At least you know it will be done right, and not half assed.

 

[Barry]

If your amp is under warranty and mesa sent you there i would ask them to fix the stuff that their certified tech screwed up . I wouldnt accept anything less . Thats a horror story . You need to call mesa artist relations .

 

[mystidream]

If your amp is under warranty and mesa sent you there i would ask them to fix the stuff that their certified tech screwed up . I wouldnt accept anything less . Thats a horror story . You need to call mesa artist relations .

Barry, what would Artist Relations be able to do?

 

[SBG200]

I just wanted to give any Philly area Mesa owners a quick heads up about something. 4 weeks ago, I was having a problem with my Mark V where the graphic EQ was not working on Channels 1+2, and the gain had dropped dramatically on Channel 2 as well. I called Mesa first to see if I should send the amp in for repair, but they said that it was probably not necessary and that I could take it to one of their certified repair techs. They recommended a shop by the name of Musician's Electronic Service in Ardmore. I took my amp up there and dropped it off to be repaired by Russ (the tech up there). Every week I called for an update with no progress showing at all. Finally at the end of the fourth week, I called and was told by the tech that he "spoke to Randall Smith, and Randall said that your amp has the most bizarre problem that Mesa has ever seen and that your amp is having an impossible problem". Obviously the problem isn't impossible because its happening with my amp. I was also told by the tech that he had "worked" on my amp for a total of 7 hours and he no longer wanted to take time working on it since there wasn't an obvious fix and he wouldn't be getting paid.

So I go to his shop and pick my amp up. I'm appalled. Not only does the guy's shop look like an episode of hoarders (just with musical equipment), but he also managed to screw up the piping on the front grille of my amp by just shoving the grille back on and screwing it on, the big tube cover that covers one of the 12AX7's is bent to hell because he tried to force it into the hole without lining up the two notches, the bottom lip of my chassis is all dented/scratched up under the channel 1 controls, AND I have black scuff marks all over my tolex. My amp was 100% perfect when I brought it in to his shop. Not a mark on it. I'll definitely be letting Mesa know about this guy. He had an extremely poor attitude and no respect for others property apparently.

So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about this shop. If you need warranty work done, I would recommend someone else, or just take the time and send it back to Mesa. At least you know it will be done right, and not half assed.

Drag man. Sorry to hear that happened. And thanks for the heads-up. That shop is probably 10 min from my house. Although I hadn't heard of him yet, I may have stumbled across that place at some point. I would definitely call Mesa and give them the detailed story you provided above. Any time I've dealt directly with Mesa, it's been a positive experience. They'll probably have you ship the amp out there to fix or replace.

For future ref, there is another guy around here that does authorized Mesa work and he has a good rep. He did some good work on a Stiletto Ace I used to have. PM me if you want his info.

 

[mystidream]

I just wanted to give any Philly area Mesa owners a quick heads up about something. 4 weeks ago, I was having a problem with my Mark V where the graphic EQ was not working on Channels 1+2, and the gain had dropped dramatically on Channel 2 as well. I called Mesa first to see if I should send the amp in for repair, but they said that it was probably not necessary and that I could take it to one of their certified repair techs. They recommended a shop by the name of Musician's Electronic Service in Ardmore. I took my amp up there and dropped it off to be repaired by Russ (the tech up there). Every week I called for an update with no progress showing at all. Finally at the end of the fourth week, I called and was told by the tech that he "spoke to Randall Smith, and Randall said that your amp has the most bizarre problem that Mesa has ever seen and that your amp is having an impossible problem". Obviously the problem isn't impossible because its happening with my amp. I was also told by the tech that he had "worked" on my amp for a total of 7 hours and he no longer wanted to take time working on it since there wasn't an obvious fix and he wouldn't be getting paid.

So I go to his shop and pick my amp up. I'm appalled. Not only does the guy's shop look like an episode of hoarders (just with musical equipment), but he also managed to screw up the piping on the front grille of my amp by just shoving the grille back on and screwing it on, the big tube cover that covers one of the 12AX7's is bent to hell because he tried to force it into the hole without lining up the two notches, the bottom lip of my chassis is all dented/scratched up under the channel 1 controls, AND I have black scuff marks all over my tolex. My amp was 100% perfect when I brought it in to his shop. Not a mark on it. I'll definitely be letting Mesa know about this guy. He had an extremely poor attitude and no respect for others property apparently.

So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about this shop. If you need warranty work done, I would recommend someone else, or just take the time and send it back to Mesa. At least you know it will be done right, and not half assed.

Drag man. Sorry to hear that happened. And thanks for the heads-up. That shop is probably 10 min from my house. Although I hadn't heard of him yet, I may have stumbled across that place at some point. I would definitely call Mesa and give them the detailed story you provided above. Any time I've dealt directly with Mesa, it's been a positive experience. They'll probably have you ship the amp out there to fix or replace.

For future ref, there is another guy around here that does authorized Mesa work and he has a good rep. He did some good work on a Stiletto Ace I used to have. PM me if you want his info.

Are you talking about Jim Walton? He's **** hard to get ahold of and his timeframe was about 4 weeks when I spoke to him, thats why I went with this other guy.

 

[Barry]

If your amp is under warranty and mesa sent you there i would ask them to fix the stuff that their certified tech screwed up . I wouldnt accept anything less . Thats a horror story . You need to call mesa artist relations .

Barry, what would Artist Relations be able to do?

They deal with warranty and repair issues . Their certified tech screwed up your amp, you have a warranty . I would call them .

 

[bird_droppings]

I had a similar experience in Texas, but one with a happier outcome.

I had ordered my Mark V from the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood and when I got it here to Texas, there were two problems. One was that it buzzed in Channel 1 whenever the reverb was on. The second is that there was no reverb in Channel 2.

They sent me to a guy that sounds just like your guy. His shop was his apartment, and it was chock full of stuff. Could barely fit me in there.

But my guy was very interesting, and looked into my problem while I waited. He was very thorough and my impression was that he really knew what he was doing. He told me that one customer came to him because of the high recommendation he'd gotten from the one and only Billy F. Gibbons. But my tech guy said that he never knew he'd worked on any of Billy's amps. The customer told him that Billy had to send out his stuff anonymously or it would all get stolen.

Anyway, the tech's opinion was that there was an issue with the circuit board and suggested that I get the head replaced. Which the Hollywood shop did promptly.

And the new one is working perfectly.

I can't say enough about my dealings with the Hollywood shop, by the way. They were fast, personable, reasonable, knowledgeable and competent.

 

[mystidream]

I had a similar experience in Texas, but one with a happier outcome.

I had ordered my Mark V from the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood and when I got it here to Texas, there were two problems. One was that it buzzed in Channel 1 whenever the reverb was on. The second is that there was no reverb in Channel 2.

They sent me to a guy that sounds just like your guy. His shop was his apartment, and it was chock full of stuff. Could barely fit me in there.

But my guy was very interesting, and looked into my problem while I waited. He was very thorough and my impression was that he really knew what he was doing. He told me that one customer came to him because of the high recommendation he'd gotten from the one and only Billy F. Gibbons. But my tech guy said that he never knew he'd worked on any of Billy's amps. The customer told him that Billy had to send out his stuff anonymously or it would all get stolen.

Anyway, the tech's opinion was that there was an issue with the circuit board and suggested that I get the head replaced. Which the Hollywood shop did promptly.

And the new one is working perfectly.

I can't say enough about my dealings with the Hollywood shop, by the way. They were fast, personable, reasonable, knowledgeable and competent.

The problem with that is that I didn't buy my Mark V brand new. I got it from a forum member here that was selling it, so I'm the second owner. I'm gonna call Artist Relations and see what happens. My problem is not as simple as reverb not working, unfortunately. My graphic EQ no longer works on Channels 1+2 and on top of that, Mesa so called "qualified" tech scuffed up the tolex on my amp, dinged and scraped up the chassis, screwed up the piping on the grille, and bent the biggest tube cover that covers one of the 12AX7 tubes all because he didn't take his time putting my amp back in the headshell, etc.

My problem is not as simple as returning the amp and getting a new one.

 

[bird_droppings]

My problem is not as simple as returning the amp and getting a new one.

Of course.

I was treated very well by Mesa and appreciated the opportunity to share that experience. The link between our stories was the nature of the repair place.

 

[Barry]

The warranty is transferrable, did you get that taken care of with the previous owner ? All you need is the serial number, previous owner to contact mesa with your names, address, etc.. and where he bought the amp from and date .

 

[mystidream]

The warranty is transferrable, did you get that taken care of with the previous owner ? All you need is the serial number, previous owner to contact mesa with your names, address, etc.. and where he bought the amp from and date .

The first thing I did when I got the amp was call Mesa and have the warranty transfer over to me. I already called Rich Duvall at Mesa and got my RA number but that was the day before I went to pick up the amp and actually saw the damage that the tech did.

 

[SBG200]

I just wanted to give any Philly area Mesa owners a quick heads up about something. 4 weeks ago, I was having a problem with my Mark V where the graphic EQ was not working on Channels 1+2, and the gain had dropped dramatically on Channel 2 as well. I called Mesa first to see if I should send the amp in for repair, but they said that it was probably not necessary and that I could take it to one of their certified repair techs. They recommended a shop by the name of Musician's Electronic Service in Ardmore. I took my amp up there and dropped it off to be repaired by Russ (the tech up there). Every week I called for an update with no progress showing at all. Finally at the end of the fourth week, I called and was told by the tech that he "spoke to Randall Smith, and Randall said that your amp has the most bizarre problem that Mesa has ever seen and that your amp is having an impossible problem". Obviously the problem isn't impossible because its happening with my amp. I was also told by the tech that he had "worked" on my amp for a total of 7 hours and he no longer wanted to take time working on it since there wasn't an obvious fix and he wouldn't be getting paid.

So I go to his shop and pick my amp up. I'm appalled. Not only does the guy's shop look like an episode of hoarders (just with musical equipment), but he also managed to screw up the piping on the front grille of my amp by just shoving the grille back on and screwing it on, the big tube cover that covers one of the 12AX7's is bent to hell because he tried to force it into the hole without lining up the two notches, the bottom lip of my chassis is all dented/scratched up under the channel 1 controls, AND I have black scuff marks all over my tolex. My amp was 100% perfect when I brought it in to his shop. Not a mark on it. I'll definitely be letting Mesa know about this guy. He had an extremely poor attitude and no respect for others property apparently.

So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about this shop. If you need warranty work done, I would recommend someone else, or just take the time and send it back to Mesa. At least you know it will be done right, and not half assed.

Drag man. Sorry to hear that happened. And thanks for the heads-up. That shop is probably 10 min from my house. Although I hadn't heard of him yet, I may have stumbled across that place at some point. I would definitely call Mesa and give them the detailed story you provided above. Any time I've dealt directly with Mesa, it's been a positive experience. They'll probably have you ship the amp out there to fix or replace.

For future ref, there is another guy around here that does authorized Mesa work and he has a good rep. He did some good work on a Stiletto Ace I used to have. PM me if you want his info.

Are you talking about Jim Walton? He's **** hard to get ahold of and his timeframe was about 4 weeks when I spoke to him, thats why I went with this other guy.

I don't know Jim Walton. I was thinking of RJK Services.

 

[mystidream]

I don't know Jim Walton. I was thinking of RJK Services.

Hmm..I've never heard of them. Are they on Mesa's list of authorized repair stations? When I called Mesa, I was told that the only 2 in the Philadelphia area were Jim Walton and Musician's Electronic Service.

 

[Barry]

The warranty is transferrable, did you get that taken care of with the previous owner ? All you need is the serial number, previous owner to contact mesa with your names, address, etc.. and where he bought the amp from and date .

The first thing I did when I got the amp was call Mesa and have the warranty transfer over to me. I already called Rich Duvall at Mesa and got my RA number but that was the day before I went to pick up the amp and actually saw the damage that the tech did.

Thats good that you took care of that . I would call them back before i send the amp so they can gather the info about what the tech did (damage) to the amp . Also put a letter inside the box stating exactly whats wrong and what the tech did to your amp and when it occured . Did anyone at mesa direct you to that tech ? If so you might mention that as well .

 

[SBG200]

I don't know Jim Walton. I was thinking of RJK Services.

Hmm..I've never heard of them. Are they on Mesa's list of authorized repair stations? When I called Mesa, I was told that the only 2 in the Philadelphia area were Jim Walton and Musician's Electronic Service.

Well at least as of about a year ago he was. He's pretty far out of Philly (Landenberg, PA) so maybe he doesn't show up as being in the Philly area. You can call him at (610) 268-0240 and find out.

 

[CudBucket]

Phil, keep us posted.

Dave

 

[mystidream]

Quick update for you guys: I spoke with Tim in Artist Relations, and Mesa will be covering the shipping both ways, as well as fixing all the problems with the amp, and putting a rush on it so that I have it back sooner.

I was talking to Tim on the phone and he actually informed me that Maddi (JP's tech) had forwarded the link to my thread (I posted this same thread on the JP forum), which I thought was pretty cool of Maddi to do. Either way, Mesa is taking care of me, and thats why I've been using their amps for 8 years and owned about 22 of them. Mesa's CS is one of the best in the business hands down.

 

[Barry]

Thats Tim McKee and he's the best . he just worked his magic for me a few weeks back . I knew they would take care of you if you talked to them . They are a great company and service after the sale speaks volumes about the company you are dealing with . Ive been a exclusive mesa player for 30 years . They are the best in the business when it comes to their customers . Glad they got you sorted out !

 

[mystidream]

Thats Tim McKee and he's the best . he just worked his magic for me a few weeks back . I knew they would take care of you if you talked to them . They are a great company and service after the sale speaks volumes about the company you are dealing with . Ive been a exclusive mesa player for 30 years . They are the best in the business when it comes to their customers . Glad they got you sorted out !

Thanks for the advice, Barry. Tim is awesome to deal with. Luckily, I'm dealing with two of the best companies in the business right now: Mesa and Suhr.

 

[sevycat]

I have used Jim for services on my mark III, he is someone I would recommend to people in the phila area needing a mesa amp worked on. Yes, you are looking at about a months time for turn around.