The repair shop in a music rehearsal space

Whether it's that noisy guitar pot or a major repair on your PA head, having easy access to a local Repair Shop can be a life saver.

With fewer music stores on main streets compared to the past, it is increasingly difficult for musicians to know where to take their instrument when things go wrong.

Repairing a snare drum

Any kind of kit regularly used will need routine maintenance to keep it in a good working condition. Often this can be minor maintenance such as an electrical re-solder or simply a good clean.

Grace Hayhurst at Sensible Music describes the most common repairs for musicians who use their rehearsal space: "We've been fixing and re-soldering a lot of cables and stage boxes that have been used and abused over the years. Connectors start to come loose fairly easily over time."

Abbey Music Studios

Many music rehearsal spaces maintain a whole host of equipment available to hire including guitar amps, PA systems and drum kits. Many also operate recording studios with computers, outboard and monitoring systems.

Maintaining your kit for hire to customers inevitably means employing a regular or adhoc routine for maintenance and repair.

This may simply be disposing or selling kit once it's reached it's end of useful life. But before reaching for the phone there are simple checks individual musicians can undertake to maintain their kit.

If you're musician - things you can do yourself

Things go wrong, kit gets broken, dropped or simply needs replacing. This becomes an imperative if you're a regular rehearsing and performing musician.

• Check over your gear every time before you plug it in - just a quick visual check will help.

• Regularly check the condition of cables - if you can see bare wires anywhere then it is unsafe. All wires should be shrouded in an insulation cover and secure in their fittings.

• Make sure you have the correct fuses fitted to the power cables you are running your gear off.

• Extension power cables are designed to be unwound before you use them. Leaving them coiled while in use can cause them to overheat. Often extension leads are rated to 10 amps not 13 amps.

• Ensure equipment is serviced and maintained as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

If there is a problem with an instrument or piece of kit it is worth considering the following:

1. Check the product manual for any information

2. Does the problem relate to something else e.g cables, attached equipment etc.

3. If recently purchased, check if the item is still in warranty. If so, contact the seller.

4. If computer related, and the problem has just arisen, check whether there has been a software update

5. Check the manufacturer's website and forum.

   
   

If you are still experiencing difficulties, then the Repair Shop is the place to go.

Regular maintenance to keep equipment in good order

Well-run spaces will have some kind of routine to maintain their kit and access to someone to repair it. The list of kit maintained by a music rehearsal spaces is almost endless but could include:

• guitar

• guitar amp

• PA

• drum kit/percussion

• synthesisers/electronic instruments

• FX pedals

• Mixers

• interfaces/recording kit

• lighting

• keyboards

• cables

Some music rehearsal spaces have taken a step further offering a repair facility to musicians using their space.

Opening his Repair Shop in 2002, Steve Norman at London's Abbey Music Studios explained: "Being a rehearsal space we have a good turnover of musicians who need repairs and maintenance of their gear. We gained lots of expertise in re-wiring the studio. The skills we learned have come in useful in offering equipment repairs in-house."

Having a repair shop can be a valuable source of income for a music rehearsal space.

Engineering flowchart

Having a repair facility onsite

It makes sense that if a music rehearsal space is maintaining a heap of gear, the skills and knowledge gained are put to use as part of the ongoing business. Scot at New Cut Studios said: "My business partner runs a guitar repair space at the studio for instrument setups, minor electrical repairs, rebuild of harnesses and pickup replacement."

If this isn't possible, signposting musicians to a go-to guy qualified in fixing stuff can be helpful.

A repair service however may not always be needed. There are a few things you can do yourself before reaching for the phone.

Utilising existing skills - maintenance

Workers at some music rehearsal spaces have acquired sufficient skills to repair in-house kit. This resource can be extended to customers for a fee. If you regularly use a rehearsal space you can ask if they are able to carry out a repair or modification.

Absolute Music

Bournemouth's Absolute Music has developed a dedicated Repair Centre offering repairs and routine maintenance to in- and out-of-warranty products, no matter when or where they were purchased.

Qualified technicians and a fully equipped workshop caters for live gear such as guitar amps, mixing desks and PA speakers and pro audio gear, from interfaces to synths.

Its links with national and international music suppliers gives a reliable supply of parts and resources, however obscure the product or fault.

Playing Aloud

Scott Nairn at Lincoln's Playing Aloud has too operated a Repair Shop since 2012. He found there was a demand from musicians using his rehearsal space for a repair service: "Between the two owners we undertake basic repairs. I do the drums and my partner looks after guitars and amps. We also make our own cables and able to do simple mods such as kick ports. Anything more complicated involving circuit boards and components we outsource to a local AV repair business."

PAT Test machine

Portable Appliance Testing

PAT testing involves examining portable electrical equipment to ensure its safe use, encompassing both visual inspections and electrical tests. It helps prevent accidents and complies with legal obligations regarding electrical safety.

It covers a wide range of equipment, including amps, keyboards, computers, kitchen appliances, anything that is electrically powered. Checks are usually carried out annually by a 'competent' trained person using a PAT testing machine,. Maintaining records of tests and their results is crucial for demonstrating compliance and tracking equipment safety. The test can be combined with a general service.

PAT testing helps identify electrical faults and defects in equipment that could lead to accidents, fires, or equipment failure. The mains plug, flexible cable and terminals are likely to be subject to more wear and tear than equipment permanently fixed.

By ensuring the safety of electrical equipment, PAT testing helps protect individuals who may be using or interacting with that equipment. While not legally required, PAT testing can help reduce the risk of electrical hazards and the potential for legal consequences if an accident occurs.

Gary Chamberlain at Leicester's Rewind Rehearsal Rooms said: "We have a PAT test machine which I use to test any new 2nd hand gear and then I go around each room every month or so just to make sure everything is working properly. Service wise I had my amp guy go around about 6 months ago, I try to make it a yearly thing."

Ben at Southampton's Pure Rehearsal Studios said: "We PAT test annually and our gear usually gets checked/serviced as and when required. Our PA hire gear gets checked each time before it goes out and once it has been returned."

Conal Cunningham at London's Bush Studios said: "We PAT test every year though it's a hassle and as we have our own in house repair guy on tap generally we service gear when it needs it."

Miltron Musical Electronics

The Repair Shop

Beyond a routine service, The Repair Shop can offer a range of more in-depth and specialist services including:

• PA head repairs

• Spare part sales

• Electronic repairs to amps

• Amp refurbishment

• Digital valve matching

• Valve replacement

• Portable Appliance Testing

• Speaker repairs

• Drum kit repair and servicing

  
  

Darren Hasson-Davis at Master Rhythm Studios said: "We have a couple of stores near us that do musical instrument repairs. I also have other musicians and various people that repair bits and bobs."

Repairing a mic stand

The Repair Shop in a music rehearsal space

Smaller rehearsal spaces may find it difficult to directly employ staff to repair gear. However, larger operations such as Manchester's Brunswick Mill Rehearsal Studios rents a room to a self-employed technician, Miltron Barton. He has rented a room at the space since 2019 repairing guitars, synths, FX pedals and sometimes carries out mods on amps. As a self-employed technician he says: "I've had to make my own way working for myself. It can be difficult to expand the service because there is a limited amount of work coming from bands using the space."

Grace Hayhurst at Sensible Music said: "The Sensible Repairs department itself is fairly new, but the man behind it used to be a touring tech for Emerson, Lake and Palmer and repaired lots of equipment for them in the 70s to keep the tours going."

Ben at Southampton's Pure Rehearsal Studios said: "We have in house repairs and we also offer a service for our customers with Valentine Instruments & Repairs who keep our kit maintained."

Conal Cunningham at London's Bush Studios said: "We have our own in house repair shop run by Jon at Gtek where we service and repair amps and guitars for ourselves, the general public, other studios and touring bands. Even other music studios use us from RMS to John Henry's send their broken gear to us.

Conal continued: "International touring bands have their gear fixed here, usually by their techs, either because somethings broke or they're about to go on tour. We sometimes have the odd 'star' dropping something by. We keep it pretty quiet who uses us so let's say many 'well known' touring bands."

Grace Hayhurst at Sensible Music said: "We have our own repairs department on site. We found it was very valuable for our clients to be able to have things fixed quickly on site when in mid-session using our recording and rehearsal spaces. The room where our repair is located is temperature & humidity-controlled to avoid any damp corrosion of sensitive capacitors and circuit boards. if you're replacing corroded parts with more corroded parts, the lifespan of the repair will be shortened."

If you're unable to fix an instrument or a piece of kit in-house, then you may have to turn to a specialist repair shop.

Repair Surgeons at Soundstage Studios

David Croft at Soundstage Studios said: "We cater for pre-tour rehearsals and stage shows where, for instance, over a week or so of intense rehearsals we help scrutinise technical issues, iron out any snags and repair instrument failures to build a show that runs flawlessly from start to finish. We also have decades of experience running the Synthesiser Service Centre.

Specialist repair guys

Repair Specialists fix instruments for players from all walks of life, often using specialist tools and equipment. Some run repair courses for musicians and other repairers.

Scot at New Cut Studios said: "We have a couple of repair guys that we outsource to if anyone comes to us with amp, PA or other equipment repairs such as pedals or anything else."

Peter Lancaster at Airtight Studios said: "We have a local amp repairer who we recommend to our customers as long as the equipment does not involve surface-mount technology circuits. For guitar and bass repairs we also have a guy locally. If I can't fix bits of drums that get broken then they will need to be replaced."

Conal Cunningham at London's Bush Studios said: "We can sort keyboard and mixing repairs because we're linked with Puretech Solutions in Wiltshire conveniently located just off the M4 motorway a digital keyboard repair specialist.

Puretech Solutions is a good example of a specialist electronic repairers. It is recognised as one of the UK’s best repair service centres as an Authorised Service Centre for several manufacturers. It has a small team working in its workshop facilities also able to carry out a repair onsite at your home, on stage or emergency callouts.

It can carry out warranty and non warranty repairs on many makes and models of digital and stage pianos approved by several manufacturers including Yamaha, Roland, Nord, Korg, Casio & Kawai. It can also repair on Yamaha digital mixing consoles and Yamaha and Roland Electronic Drum kits.

Puretech Solutions offers convenient pre-booked repair drop-off/collection points across the UK, including their main office/workshop in Wiltshire, and locations in West London, West Midlands,, East Midlands, and the South West.

Synthesizer Service Centre at Soundstage Studios

David Croft at Soundstage Studios said: "Our Synthesiser Service Centre are repair services with a wealth of experience repairing and servicing electronic equipment. We have been providing warranty support to many major brands used throughout the entertainment industry since the early 1980s including Akai, Moog, Roland, Yamaha and many more. Our trade counter is open to the public where we're pleased to help with out-of-warranty equipment repairs from walk-in customers."

David continued: "Sometimes new parts are no longer available but at the Synthesiser Service Centre we have the mechanical and electronic engineering facilities to provide solutions to otherwise impossible problems. Some years ago, The Synthesiser Service Centre acquired a company that had been servicing and repairing keyboard instruments for more than 30 years. With access to service records and technical schematics dating back to the 1930s, we were then in a position to create “The Vintage Keyboard Company”. This was dedicated to continuing support for vintage pianos and organs such as Hammonds, Fender Rhodes, Mellotrons, Wurlitzers, ARPs and Moogs, as well as a wide range of valve amplifiers from Ampeg, Laney and Leslie (among many others)."

Guitars

Ackworth Guitar Setups in West Yorkshire has begun an initiative working directly with music rehearsal spaces. It has been established for 10 years and in 2021, it launched the UK's first chain of guitar repair shops in Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, Cambridge and Northampton.

Tristan Johnson

Tristan Johnson at Ackworth Guitar Setups said: "We work with Eiger Studios in Leeds and Brunswick Mill Studio’s new site at Salford offering both off-site and on-site services. Having worked at scale across the UK, we’ve become well versed in the art of managing repairs and working with our customers."

The company offers guitar repairs, setups, fret levelling, rewiring, headstock repairs, neck resets and finished repairs on electric, acoustic and bass guitars.

Its technicians are experts in working with Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars and worked with international touring bands. Tristan continued: "Guitar and amp repairs are a niche skill. We are able to offer repair courses to those interested in learning. We have introduced a membership scheme to offer people access to a great way of paying for work at reduced prices. It’s just making a difference to people and it’s our way of saying thanks to our customers."

Electric guitar bridge

Whether you’re a casual musician looking for a repairer near to where you live, or a professional on tour in need of an emergency repair, FindRepairers is a useful web-based directory of instrument repairers, makers, luthiers, ateliers and specialist instrument crafts people. A quick search on google will also reveal small businesses able to offer amplifier, drum repairs or the repair shop in a music rehearsal space.

Hourly rehearsal spaces often have instruments and kit available to hire. If on occasion an amp fails or a drum skin breaks during rehearsal, the space can often hire a replacement so the rehearsal can continue with minimum disruption.

At any stage of learning to play an instrument it is vital to know how to perform at least a few basic repairs and know some maintenance tips in order to get the best out of your kit. Only once you have exhausted your skills could you think about a specialist repairer.