Rest in Peace, Larry Smetana

[CandidPicker]

To any and all Connecticut and southern Massachusetts residents who had the pleasure of knowing Larry Smetana, it is with a heavy heart that it became known that Larry passed away on February 22nd this past month from complications with heart failure.

Larry Smetana was the proprietor and sole owner of Accutech Audio, based in East Hartford, CT. Larry was an electronics and audio repair and maintenance technician extraordinaire. His small shop nestled in an old run-down mill building was home to many patrons' amp and electronics repair requests.

On a personal note, Larry would often set aside time from his busy schedule given a day or 2's notice and re-tube and bias an amp (with supplied tubes, of course), or replace a speaker in about 45 minutes time, charging only $30 to $50 dollars for the bench test and work done. Larry was a quiet and reserved man, speaking softly and with a deliberate work ethic.

True to his unassuming nature, private graveside services were held Feb 26th. There were no calling hours.

What remains of Larry's legacy is the untold electronic pieces that Larry had not had the chance to finish work on...his shop was literally stacked to the rims with amp heads and combos, cabinets, keyboards and mixers, ADATs and the like, work Larry had intended on completing but never got around to finishing. Hopefully, the original owners of these pieces will be able to locate Larry's family contact information and somehow claim their pieces before Larry's family is forced to auction them off to the highest bidders.

Hopefully, if anyone has some of their gear in Larry's family's possession, they'll be able to show their receipts for their pieces, and reclaim their gear.

Rest in Peace, Larry Smetana.

 

[Steve's addiction]

Guys like this are getting fewer and fewer. My condolences to his family

 

[CandidPicker]

Guys like this are getting fewer and fewer. My condolences to his family

TBH, I don't know anyone of Larry's caliber who can replace him. There used to be one guy some 70 minutes away from in SE Connecticut, but I think he closed shop some years ago. I don't know of any other electronic or audio techs locally who can do work like Larry did on short notice.

 

[WEDGE]

He worked on a few amps for me, nice man and always did great work.

I had to take an amp recently to a competitor in Berlin because accutech was closed.....this was November 30th of last year, it’s now a full quarter of a year later and I still don’t have it back. Larry will be missed.

 

[László]

I wonder if Larry was related to the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana? One of the greats of the 19th Century.

 

[CandidPicker]

He worked on a few amps for me, nice man and always did great work.

I had to take an amp recently to a competitor in Berlin because accutech was closed.....this was November 30th of last year, it’s now a full quarter of a year later and I still don’t have it back. Larry will be missed.

WEDGE,

Could you PM me the contact info of the Berlin shop? (Website/email included, if possible). Thanks in advance.

 

[CandidPicker]

I wonder if Larry was related to the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana? One of the greats of the 19th Century.

(Had to check that in Wiki...)

Les,

I don't know if Larry was related to Bedrich or not. Bedrich could have been Larry's great-great-grandfather. The concept of "6 degrees of separation" could certainly hold true in this case. Checking truepeoplesearch.com revealed that Larry had lived in Columbia, CT recently, as well as Manchester, CT back in 2001.

His phone numbers are available, but I tried calling his mobile phone some weeks back before his passing and didn't receive a return call. Larry may have been recovering in the hospital during that time from a cardiac-related problem and was unable to answer. Poor guy was only 66 years old.

That gives me pause big time to re-assess my life and recall just how fragile we are if and when tragedy strikes. No doubt Larry was a work-oriented guy. He had work lined up to last him for several years. It's ironic that before Covid we were all worried how we'd make it through if we couldn't work. Larry kept busy throughout the darkest times of Covid, and still had plenty to do.

 

[EdSevered]

I didn’t know Larry, but he sounds like the kind of guy I would’ve liked to have known. Like was said earlier, guys like that are becoming rare, and their influence precious. My condolences.

 

[CandidPicker]

I didn’t know Larry, but he sounds like the kind of guy I would’ve liked to have known. Like was said earlier, guys like that are becoming rare, and their influence precious. My condolences.

I was checking out alternate repair place service rates, and I realized why Larry was a decent guy. Larry never overcharged for his work, and if given enough time for a small repair, he could do it while you waited. I hate to say it, but we lost a valuable technician in Connecticut recently. Repair prices have doubled or tripled compared to what Larry would charge. Hope to locate someone who will do quality work on small repairs while you wait, but this may a big serving spoonful of "fat chance".