In Squeezebox land a Fettler is a repairer and restorer of boxes . A term used all the time on Melnet - Prime examples of fettlers are Mike Rowbotham, Martyn White, Theo Gibb and Lester Bailey ......
A lot of Melnetters fix their own boxes (do their own fettling) to keep them on the road and even (like myself) buy faulty or dilapidated ones to fix up to keep the cost down but when something major is needed like a full re-tune then it`s off to a professional.. some full time fettlers started up this way (Lester for example) , some even went on to build their own complete boxes (not PAs or CBAs of course, we`re talking melodeons here) ....
Fettling Squeezeboxes is a very useful craft to learn, for example Moleman keeps Anyanka's PAs on the road, I ended up with a couple of very nice boxes on the cheap due to being able to fix them . it saves piles of money . some people are better at doing bits better than others -
EG:- I only do my own boxes and I`ll do leaks & Sealing, casework cracks, cosmetics including retro restorations, mechanics repairs, Reed Waxing, valve replacement and Pallet facings but the only tuning I`ll do is odd sour notes and the only bellows repairs I`ll do is one or two tapes or re-glueing the odd loose corner - is a full taping is needed I send the bellows to Lester Bailey and pay him to do it.
