Behind The Scenes - The Perils Of Ordering Parts

Through some weird twist of fate, Lyle ended up making a similar video and uploaded it about 3 hrs prior to this one, so it's probably mostly been covered in his. But I'm funnier, so nerny-ner.
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Webpage: www.bradsguitargarage.com.au
Facebook: bradsguitargarage
Instagram: / bradsguitargarage
Equipment:
Soldering:
Pace MBT station w/SX100 & PS-90 handpieces
Hakko 474 w/815 handpiece
Hakko 936 w/907 handpiece
Hakko FX-888D w/FX-8801 handpiece
Quick 861DW hot air station
BOFA fume extraction unit
Loctite Multicore solder (C511 / 362)
Test Equipment:
Fluke 11, 175, 177 & 179 handheld DMM's
Tektronix 2236 analog oscilloscope
Rigol DS-1054z digital oscilloscope
BK Precision 4017A sweep / function generator
BWD 160a function generator
HP 6236B triple output DC power supply
Kyoritsu 3132A insulation / continuity tester
Video equipment:
Overhead cam: Panasonic HC-V785 w/Audio Technica AT9946CM mic
Handheld cam: Panasonic DC-G85 w/Olympus M.Zuiko Pro 12-40mm f/2.8
On location cam: Panasonic DC-GH5s w/Panasonic-Leica 9mm f/1.7 & 12-60mm f/2.8
Capture card(s): Magewell HDMI USB, ATEN UC3020-AT, ATEN UC3021
Headset Mic: Audio Technica BP892xcW-TH
Lapel Mic: Rode Go
Editing: Adobe Premiere Elements
Hand Tools:
Wiha, Felo, Stanley screwdrivers
CK & Engineer cutters / pliers
RS Pro wire strippers
Sidchrome & Gear Wrench spanners, sockets & shifters
Veritas planes & chisels
Materials / Consumables:
JJ's / TAD electron valves
Elixir / Ernie Ball / D'Addario / Rotosound strings
Electrolube & DeoxIT cleaners, lubricants & chemicals.

[@PsionicAudio]

Nice complement to my vid.

[@dustinthiessen]

you two must be in cahoots!

[@michaelmarchei8539]

Are you guys having a KZbin love affair or something 🥴🥴

[@TheMorganOrgan]

Part ordering - everyone’s at it today.

[@freaksarise]

video like this actually is comforting to share the pain of hunting down parts, analyzing the specs, and sifting through the maze of options. Can be very stressful and tedious even at the design stage. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheHairyDude]

I also run a workshop here in Australia, and I feel your pain hunting for parts. I found myself agreeing with everything you said in this video. I wish customers would watch this so they would understand more of the "behind the scenes" stuff in running a repair business, and why we have to charge the amount we do, just to stay open. Great video!

[@MikeM-Colorado]

You and Lyle are on the same wave length today. Thanks for the Mouser search tips!

[@RobbieF]

You are 100% correct ... I find both the DigiKey and Mouser sites to be incredibly frustrating. Fortunately, I only need parts once or twice a year.

[@pmjjm5]

Fantastic video Brad. I am so over the "Its just a power switch and should have only taken 10 minutes" or "Surely Jaycar have that".

[@jtbracknell]

Excellent Brad and the end user needs to understand the background work and time that goes into a repair. Good job brother man.

[@AlexKenis]

Oh man, those little RK09 pots were rare as hen's teeth during the supply chain nonsense a while back. I feel your pain.

[@user-nt7wz5cd4h]

Good tip 👍on not getting too specific in the search, I've always wondered why when I put in all the correct parameters into a search and I end up with nothing.

[@tedmich]

My mom told me about people pushing their POT agenda! Appreciated Brad!

[@AussieCornerStudio]

Brad really appreciate the effort time and explanation involved when working on gear. I like how you explain some of those processes and some of the pitfalls associated with dealing with companies like Fender Marshall Mesa the main bread line of design and market expectations for guitar amps. IMO Tech’s these days are grossly underrated and under valued, I say this because you have to continuously expand your knowledge in the art of electronics, be able to analyse cct’s, be confident in fault diagnostics let alone use oscilloscopes and not burn your hand on the bloody soldering iron LOL. I’m not a big fan of the throw away component engineered concept when it comes to amp building but you can see why. Time is Money, and if your working as a tech the added pressure of customer expectations can be stressful. Watching your video’s helps me revive my tech skills have a laugh lucky you talk to your self and record it. Your own take on things, a few f bombs the odd DH and mentioning companies shit approach to amp building just keeps me in a happy place. Your honesty and work ethics are much appreciated cheers mate, Grant from the Gold Coast.

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Greetings Brad and everyone.

[@nicksregor4208]

I just went through that nightmare of a process. The ONLY pot in the amp was the pull-for-overdrive knob... I could not find it so I had to add a secondary toggle for the pull function. oooph

[@victorbeebe8372]

Mahalo Brad!

[@markspurgin8225]

Hidden time in repairs the customer never understands 🤪

[@samuel_towle]

I might have selected the single turn vs multi turn pot as well as the (no switch) option

[@robertanderson36]

I have had two DV Mark amps develop problems with the pots after a year or so The amps sound great but are not reliable in normal use due to these components I did manage to clean one of them sufficiently to get it working again As you say Brad if they just made the amp box a bit bigger they could accommodate conventional easily replaceable control pots

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yes, marketing departments have a lot to answer for!

[@FXClinic]

Thank you for this video. Really!

[@mattjohnson6916]

Just put in a big order from Mouser and AES for some projects the other day. I've noticed US shipping charges inching up a bit here lately, but I can only image what shipping charges must be to Australia! 😬

[@curtiseverett1671]

Dry July is quickly approaching.....

[@kyledriscollmusic]

a comprehensive list of currencies: USD Bitcoin gold bullion catalytic converters hawk tuah

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

You win comment of the week! LOL!

[@kyledriscollmusic]

@@BradsGuitarGarage 2 more vouchers until I get a free sandwich

[@coalfacechris1336]

Hey Brad, New to your channel but you can have this shit. More power to you! As a sparky now in my 50's have always worked on my own stuff since being an apprentice. Started doing a bit of amp/effects/etc. stuff the side about 25 years ago, stopped about 15 years ago, since then only do rare love jobs where I'm not counting the hours and do it for cost of parts and beer. Hardest thing to learn was musicians are the worst customers - big dreams, very shallow pockets - being the short story. Very hard to demonstrate how much goes into something like a switch or pot change. But somehow playing an electric/acoustic gig for three hours in a cocktail bar for $350 with free food and drinks, they go on like they're being arse-raped.

[@RaxFx]

just learnt a lot - between your and Lyle's video I feel less intimidated by the parameter paralysis

[@TKsGuitarandAmpRepair]

Thanks for taking the time to expand on this extremely dull facet of our job!

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Looks like I missed the memo!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

No rush, mate. It ain't going anywhere.

[@user-nt7wz5cd4h]

Have you thought about getting into surface mount soldering? A few more tools for the heater, digital microscope, and some tweezers but it seems doable and since everything is moving that way might be a good skill to develop.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

I've been carrying out SMD repairs as a matter of course for about 10 years now. It doesn't faze me, and if anything, it can be easier as you often don't need access to the bottom of the PCB at all.

[@Polyphemus.]

3:43 I believe the distinction is: Dollarydoos, Freedom Bucks and Canadough. Not sure what they use in New Zealand...

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Sheep.

[@Polyphemus.]

@@BradsGuitarGarage 🤣 I was actually thinking that at the time!

[@Mark70609]

Getting quality parts is punishing.

[@seanweatherford1251]

Finding pots is a fantastic pain in the eye. Knurled, split, d-flat too many variables. Some are simply not findable at least by me. Interesting that you and Lyle both did part searches today.

[@riley0187]

yeh i know, i once order pots with indents..

[@valleywoodstudio7345]

important and insightful info

[@TokkanFX]

Well said, it can be a nightmare sourcing spares.

[@KenJepsen]

Super with something "Behind The Scenes"

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Guitar gear market is full of snake oil and rip-offs, it pays to do your research first, or let a knowledgable person do it for you. For everyone that makes gear for a living, there are probably 10-100 who do it for themselves out of Love.

[@Satchmoeddie]

And Brad pulls out the same basic pot body I ripped those tiny leads off of removing a board. The shaft on this one was a short 1/8" diameter with a screwdriver trimmer shaft. I hate this post Covid new normal horseshit. I gave away a bag switching JFETs that I paid all of $40 for 500 of them not more than 6 years ago from Futurlec. Now they are $4 each from Mouser or around $1500 for 500. I finally found some I actually do trust on eBay. CTS's minimum custom orders were usually 3000-10,000 pieces depending on how weird the pot was. I paid about $20 for a NOS JAN replacement panel mount trim pot. If you didn't rip the leads off breaking the plastic shaft off was another risk. Bourns sells one with a plastic bushing and a long 1/8" plastic shaft. PASS! GO INTO THOSE SPEC SHEETS and READ THEM!!! I bought an opto-isolator in an SMD gullwing DIP package, and that part will NEVER plug into an 8 pin DIP socket. LOOK AT THE DIAGRAMS! READ THE SPEC PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES, and DOUBLE CHECK THEM WITH THAT SPEC SHEET! 1/4" 32 TPI bushing with a short trimmer 1/8 inch shaft for the back of a product located where the cord rolls up? NO PLASTIC BUSHINGS! They will get broken off, and you are right back inside the unit fighting with it again! It's not unusual to be searching for parts until past 3:00AM.

[@Satchmoeddie]

I have a Japanese market only hybrid Fukuin quadraphonic integrated receiver on the bench. It is 100 watts per channel in quadraphonic, 200 per, in stereo and bridgeable again to 800 watts in mono. It also used the Japanese version of the 8417 so it has to be rewired for 6550s, or I have to find eight matched 8417s or eight matched Toshiba 6GB8s. The Toshiba was truly great tube but that is up to the owner. If he wants the amp to sit for months while I test tubes and spend over $10,000, fine, as long I get my money.

[@khillsy4489]

With all the crap out there, what are your thoughts on the Roland JC series?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Current models? No idea. The older ones all need a good clean and service at this age, and there are many circuit variations over the decades, each with their own pros and cons. But they are good at the one or two tones that they are famous for, but not much else.

[@goodun2974]

What brand of amp is this? Solid-state, with a switching power supply, from the looks of it....

[@Espjr215]

I think he said it was a Markbass Ninja.