CRANKY'S
Tube amp and Guitar Repair since 1984
Grand Opening, New Mansfield Location!
TUBE AMPLIFIER SERVICE:
In addition to amp repair work, I have the highest quality tubes
and will take care of your amp's maintenance needs. I do custom
modifications and can assist you in dialing in the sound you're
looking for. Amp maintenance for Marshall, Fender, Mesa Boogie,
Vox, Crate, Peavey and all the newcomers too.
STRING INSTRUMENT SERVICE:
Guitar repair, basses, banjo, cello, mandolin, violin, viola,
anything with strings but piano! My fret mills and re-frets are
the finest anywhere! We do set-up, pickup replacement, broken
headstocks, body cracks, bridge, saddle and nut replacement. Sound
board straightening. Minor finish work. Custom wiring. Floyd Rose
replacement parts and upgrades. Body routing. SEE
PRICE LIST: proudly I have the the first published guitar
repair price list dating back to 1997. Competitors base their pricing
on mine. NOW NEW LOWER PRICES!
BOOTCAMP:
I have been teaching guitar and tube amp repair in the shop since
1997. The BOOTCAMP is the first of
its kind and remains unique. I provide CERTIFICATION
for acquired skills, hands-on training and total immersion learning.
TUBE AMP BOOTCAMP teaches what cannot be found at technical institutes.
INQUIRIES...
EXPERIENCE:
I have owned and operated the repair shop since 1984. Established
the repair department at Parker Guitars, responsible for the set-up
and final inspection of every instrument. Experience hand crafting
acoustic and electric guitars and basses from scratch. Consider
my knowledge of vacuum tubes, pickups and guitar wiring and to
be at the top in the field. I have paid my dues. Over the years
I have provided factory authorized warranty repairs in my shop
for Fender, Gibson, Taylor, Guild, Gretch, Ovation, Epiphone,
Zon, Marshall and others. I have been behind the scenes providing
repair services to music retailers of all sizes in the
area for many years.
LOCATION LOCATION
LOCATION:
60 SECONDS FROM 95 AND 495 at 375 West St, Mansfield MA 02048
Cranky's is located next to the plaza with Home Depot, Staples and
Shaw's.
Telephone toll free 800-FIX-ME-UP
HOURS: Walk in drop off hours are Tuesday
through Friday 12-8, Saturday, Sunday and Monday CLOSED. Pick
up times are by appointment.
[Services] Explains a bit of what we do along with some prices.
[How much do we charge?] Most of what we offer is priced here - visit our rate page, it contains FREE information you really ought to know.
[Can you service
my amp?] Yes. But...
[Online Consignment Shop] Check out what some customers are offering.
[Public Transportation and Directions] How to get here.
[About Tubes] Great FREE info. Practical, written for everyone.
[12AX7A] This is the website to buy the best tubes from.
[Harp amp] Harp players have a specialist too. Me.
[Links] This is a lot of stuff. Shop Amazon here, check out the guitar and amp books! Band links. Website links.
[Bootcamp] Learn how to do this trade.
[Bootcamp Cost] If money was never a concern, the bootcamp would be free!
[Donate!] Make
a difference!
ABOUT
THE SHOP: It's a
one man outfit. The shop is at ground level, and you can get within
6 feet of the door with your vehicle for loading and unloading
(then park in the driveway). The shop is small, 850 s.f. and I
live upstairs. There are horses out back, you can see them from
route 140, and once you are here. You are welcome to stay as long
as you like. It's all about personal service here. I learn what
your needs are by listening, and offer solutions if I have them. "There is no place like this." There is
a room-size customer area with all kinds of fun stuff to play
with. Vintage tube amps, pedals, demonstrator guitars, and NO
SALESMEN. This is not a place to bring your kids. If you bring
them have someone sit with them outside. I raised my own kids
right in the shop, so take my word. Play guitar, bring a friend,
pick ask questions. Bring your tube stash - there is a free to use tube tester in the customer area. The entire
rest of the shop is visable from the customer area! The business
area has the retail have-to-have stuff. Strings, switches, controls,
knobs, machine heads, bridges, amp straps, handles, removable
casters, cables and so on.
I make a lot of custom footpedal solutions for people. I am passionate about making no compromises on the component quality. I make the best A/B switches out there, for starters. They are tough enough to be used in-reverse so you can A/B two tube heads through a single speaker cab! That aspect of my business is quite involved and so the offerings are going to be posted on my other other website ampmodsinabox.com. There has been a foreign invasion of noisey switching power supplies that are unusable for audio applications like powering a pedal or pedalboard. I really feel bad that as pedals are having their heyday that you can't get a decent power supply. My advice for the meantime is "use batteries".
I am taking in guitar repairs
whenever possible! Currently accepting fret work, pickup replacements,
set-ups, electrical repairs and mods, no major finish work. For
amp work, I want to work on your Fender tube amps, and will retube
anything. If you are having reliability problems with your older
Marshall I do some "road ready" mods, give me a call.
NEW: Incredible
effort was been put into the
12AX7A.COM venture
and I want you all to check it out, please. Those of you who have
come in and listened to the sample preamp tubes
in your amp know what a powerful and rewarding service I provide.
Now you can see how to personalize your sound at home without
a technician. This new web site shows
you how. There is a lot of
FREE information
there.
Thank you for your tremendous response! Tube
tasting - listening - service.
NEW: We welcome TV Jones to the pickup lineup! TV Jones is the real deal for Filtertron', Magnetron', Hi-Lo Tron, Powertron reproduction pickups. Mr Jones has the honor of being Brian Setzers' guitar tech, and Brian scrutinizes the authenticity of these pickup designs! If you want that Gretsch sound in a guitar you already own then look no further. There are many mounting options available. Be sure to check out his website, and then place your order here and get a discount!
Our local service area is from Boston to Providence and all points in between. Our shop is centrally located in Mansfield, Massachusetts . We do accept amps and guitars via shipment for repairs and maintenance. We have customers in several countries, and 25 years of experience. Our customers are willing to drive unbelievable distances to get our service. Some of our loyal customers drive from as far away as Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island to get to us. Worcester loves metal, metal loves distortion, distortion is spoken here!
ON THE ROAD
EMERGENCIES CAN ALSO BE HANDLED. See the new updated map.
I have the expertise to keep your gear working, and out of the shop!
"I've seen these guys a bunch of times and they've never sounded this good, I don't know what you did." - fan at Boston's Rock and Roll Rumble. Billy and I went to their rehearsal space and went through every piece of gear. They needed tube amp maintenance, tubes and guitar setups. The next night they placed in the finals with a great sounding, high energy performance. Go figure!
I am able to take on almost
any guitar or amp emergency on the road. I can effect repairs
at your home, dorm room, hotel, rehearsal space, gig, studio,
on your plane, shuttle, lander, wherever! While most repairs can
be performed out in the field MOOOO, the more extensive
repairs are brought to the shop, and that's fun. Lots of folks
(virtually 14.28 zillion) prefer to come to the shop. I
am servicing all the major musical instrument retailers in the
area, but I want you to come too!
Directions are
available, as well as a downloadable maps.
One of the great things
about having a web page is that we get a chance to tell our customers
the scope of what we do. When we are face to face, there isn't
always time to get beyond the task at hand and talk about important
but less pressing needs. We are so much more than a place to get
guitars and amps fixed. Here at our web page you can explore the
comprehensive services available, at your leisure. Please send
questions and comments, by email preferably, so that they can
be answered when we are not pressed for time.
One of the best ways to find out what we basically do is to go
to the rates page. There you will find a long list of common repairs
and custom work, along with pricing and informative comments.
Its worth a look.
Afraid to upgrade? 
Do you want to know
how to make a sensible choice in a pickup? I know the secret
to choosing a pickup and that you will be happy with. I can backup
what I have to say with Seymour Duncan pickups! If you want to
know more about pickups, and expand your listening capabilities,
all we ask in return is that you buy your pickups here.
Our prices are right where they should be! 25% off list price
for Bartolini, DiMarzio, EMG, Fender, TV Jones and others as well
as Seymour Duncan pickups. While Duncan and DiMarzio both offer
21 day exchanges, your best course of action is invest in yourself;
take the time to learn from me. Then you can make your own pickup
choices and get it right the first time. Gibson pickups
are available as well.
Call toll free right now and ask ma how to choose a pickup! 1-800-FIX-ME-UP
How about custom wiring for your guitar? You can hear most mods at the shop on one of our several demonstration guitars before you decide. We make it fun with choices you never knew you had. Like push-pull switches that are part of the control (pot), or push-push pots for fast and easy tap on / tap off action, or a Fender custom shop 4 position switch for your Tele to add a new powerful solo voice? The list is huge, so ask questions. Personalize a knife switch do to anything you can think of? Come and try out a demo guitar on a 1972 Super Lead, or a 1967 Super Reverb or 1964 Bassman, 1965? MY 1975 modified Bassman? 1964 Bandmaster? There's no crowd of noisemakers here. You can play guitars, amps, tubes, pedals and pedal mods, in an environment you can hear yourself.
Is your amp not
exactly what you want it to be?
My personal
one-off amp mods earn high praise. One mod that all you touring bands need to know
about is the "Road-Ready" mod for most Marshalls'. You
can tell me what could be better about your amps sound, and I
can work miracles on it! Why settle for an off-the-shelve sound?
Your first step will be to come in and test drive some tubes!
It's fun. "I had no idea pre-amp tubes made such a huge difference"
- your mouth in the future. "WOW!"
Not happy with your strings? Would you like to know why they are different, and how to choose them? I can tell you!
Get what you want. "YES" ANSWERS ARE AVAILABLE HERE. Cranky's is unique because my can do attitude matches my abilities. Everyone gets star treatment. NEVER name dropping.
We are a Fender
parts and accessories dealer in addition to being a factory authorized
service center, so keep us in mind when you need original Fender
parts - no hassles. Discover cool stuff like Fender vintage
noiseless pickups, lighters, and coffee mugs.
I must have had the largest string selection in Massachusetts. Why? I need them in the course of performing repairs, and offering the strings people like to play is important. When you asked for it, I stocked it. Ask me for box pricing on your favorite strings and save big bucks. Don't ask - oh well, we really are a repair shop after all. I won't pressure you into anything, just provide you with choices. Update: I am gettting rid of all those crappy strings you all asked me get, and getting down to just the strings I would recommend! I will still save you $$ on special order box quantities for whatever strings you want.
HOW LONG?
If you are having a guitar setup, or an amp bias checked and adjusted, then the answer is usuallyone week. Most retube jobs also get done in one week.
For repair work our turn time is normally measured in weeks, and varies. That's no fish story! Other shops run in months, although they may tell you otherwise. Get references if you haven't been referred. To be fair, shops with long repair cycles may be well worth the wait! Don't go back to a repair shop that lies.
We offer emergency service for ultra fast turn around times. This premium service is available in the shop as well as out in the field. Normal priority in-shop repairs get completed in industry standard time frames, and I get it done right. Premium service is billed accordingly.
Check out our FREE super-informative page that has remained the definitive work on the subject: About Tubes! The reader response has been incredible!
Check out the updated
ONLINE
CONSIGNMENT SHOP
for some finds on stringed instruments, tube amps, rare parts
and more!
Give
us a call 1-800-FIX-ME-UP. If you get the machine then slow down, speak your
name and number, and repeat it.
I will return your call as soon I can. I take 60 calls a day,
so keep that message brief! If I am with a customer
I may not be able to answer the phone, so leave a name and number...
Email is NOT the best way
to get me, but click on the shiny logo if you really feel
lucky...
All email is answered
eventually.
The Guitar and Amp Technician Bootcamp is for individuals and
companies seeking training and certifications. I have an extremely
high success rate for our Bootcampers. I teach motivation, ethics,
business skills, and craftsmanship as well as guitar and amp repairs.
Get going! Find out about this great opportunity now.
