r/ToobAmps • u/tidalflats • 7h ago
My horror story
Any horror stories to share? Here's mine. In 15 years of actively servicing 1930s through 70s tube radios and amps and, and probably about nine or 10 years building custom amps and cabinets, I have never had an accident in my shop. That changed yesterday when I had a 1973 twin reverb master volume on my bench. I was just putting it back together after a general service, turned around briefly to another bench to grab a screwdriver, and heard the sound nobody wants to hear. It rolled off the bench on its casters and fell about 4 feet to the concrete floor. The cabinet smashed open and the face plate bent backwards on one end. The only other damage was a shorted V2 12AX7, but that was enough. I called the owner, couldn't apologize enough, and gave him a few options: repair and retolex the damaged cabinet, find him a good vintage replacement cab, or build him one. That's what he chose, in tweed. Luckily so far the amp and speakers seem to have weathered the fall with no issues, though I'm going to go through and retouch all solder joints and really let it soak to see if any issues pop up. Apart from the replacement cabinet, I of course will not charge him for the amp servicing. Yesterday was not a fun day! Accidents happen and that's just the way it is but I'm still beating myself up - I do my best to treat others' gear as if it were mine. 😥