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
Who I Am and What I Do - plus the secret to happiness!
Links to Good People, Information, Resources, and Products
*************************************************************************
Guitar Pedal Design, Repairs, and Custom
Modifications
TERMS OF
SERVICE
For information on ANALOG CIRCUIT DESIGN - ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING SERVICES, please send an inquiry with technical details to: howard.davis2@att.net
I do not sell
schematics or parts.
REPAIRS AND CUSTOM 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
Electro-Harmonix
for five years and presently a consultant for the company, I prefer to
work on
EH products, many of which I designed. I do however repair and upgrade
most
non-EH guitar pedals for which the 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 Electro-Harmonix 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 pedals 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 equipment; analog pedals only.
Some manufacturers use construction methods that make repair or modification difficult or impossible. In general, units with double-sided PC boards and/or surface-mount components 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, Stereo Memory Man with
Hazarai,
Holy Grail and all other DIGITAL pedals, the Russian-made Sovtek
reissues, and
most vacuum tube-based pedals.
INTERMITTENT OR NON-EXISTENT
PROBLEMS:
Occasionally I
am sent
a pedal 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
guitar pedal 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, dents, and deep rust staining in the steel 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. Unless
requested
otherwise, please send no payment until you are billed after the work is
completed.
For FAST SERVICE: Please pay PROMPTLY with a POSTAL money order, Western Union money transfer, CERTIFIED check, or CASH. I will then ship your pedal within a day or two of receiving payment for the work. If you are in the New York City area, you can contact me to arrange a dropoff and pickup, thus saving yourself the shipping time and costs both ways. Please email me the Western Union money transfer control number if you pay that way.
For SLOW SERVICE: Pay by personal or company check or a non-postal money order. There will be A DELAY of TWO TO FOUR WEEKS until payment clears the bank before shipping.
For INTERNATIONAL SERVICE: ONLY a Western Union money transfer, a CERTIFIED check ON A USA BANK, or US currency can be accepted. I will then ship as soon as payment is received. A Western Union money transfer is fastest, and is strongly advised for international payment. Please email me the money transfer control number to expedite completing the transaction.
NO PAYPAL, CREDIT CARDS, or WIRE TRANSFERS can be accepted.
SHIPPING:
Shipping is
usually the
biggest time-consumer in the repair cycle. I ship by DHL Ground
domestically and
use First Class International or Priority International mail for foreign
shipping. I insure shipments when requested to or when value warrants
it, but
there is a service charge for filing a claim.
The US Postal Service can be slow and unreliable, so I recommend that
you SHIP 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.
WARRANTY:
I warranty all repair work, parts and labor, for 30 days from
the
date of shipment to you. This warranty is VOID if any damage,
tampering,
attempted repair, or modification has occurred subsequent to my delivery
to the
shipping carrier.
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 guitar pedal 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 a 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 with the pedal:
1)
A
detailed description of the problem needing repair or of the mods
desired.
2) Your full name and return shipping
address, and
email address.
I will notify you by email the day I receive your
pedal, when
the work is completed, and upon shipping it back to you.
E-mail: howard.davis2@att.net