Repairs:

Vintage guitar amp repairs: Vintage Guitar amp repairs are to me the most fun to do. The reason is as a tech you have so much control over the tone of the amp!! One of the things I do different from most Tube amp guys is that I take the time to listen to the customer and find out what tonal qualities each customer is looking for when they get their amp back. Lets face it a Jazz guy is not going to want the same sound as a metal head. The other thing to consider is that tube amps tend to loose tonal quality over time. As a guitar player, and tone snob, I go the extra mile to make sure the amp sounds as good as it can when you get it back. The last thing I ever want to hear is that one of my customers is not happy with the tone after a repair. I also take the time to check all other weak spots in the amp and in the case of PCB amps go over the entire board and look for signs of trouble. Simply put the box store guys don't have the time to do this and this extra effort is the difference between your amp lasting 5 years or 5 months.

 

Here's a very unique amp I've worked on recently.

 

Solid-state guitar amps: Most "vintage tube" guys say that they do not waist their time with solid-state guitar amps and more often than not the reason is simple. They lack the expertise to repair them and acting as if they are too good for "those solid state guitar amps" is the easy way to save face. Now understand that I am not trying to knock these guys, some of them are great with tube amps, however my ability to understand both allows me to effectively work on tube, solid state and hybrid guitar amps alike. Let's be honest if you are in a cover band sometimes those modeling amps really come in handy. 

Click here to see a SVTIII being serviced (correctly) 

 

 Keyboards : Simply put, computer with audio stage. In 2000 when I opened my shop, I soon realized how valuable my home audio experience was  The reality is that once I applied my knowledge of PC's and gained an understanding of keyboard players and how things like the velocity setting affected them I began to learn how to keep keyboard players happy. I take the same care in how well I perform these repairs and have developed a list of "things to check" to ensure that my keyboardist would not experience subsequent failures after their repair. It is important, especially with older keyboards and keyboard amps to check these things to make sure they do not break down during a gig. 

 

 

Unique instruments: I have had the opportunity to repair, tune and learn the inner workings of some of the coolest vintage instruments including, Hammond Organs, Rhodes Pianos, Clavinets, Wurlitzers, and Tel Ray oil can reverbs, just to name a few. Jay has been a constant source of wonderful hard to find resources that have allowed me to learn the techniques used to service these instruments during their hay day.

Click here to see a B3 restoration

Click here to see an Echoplex that was in for service

 

PA: I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time running live sound with one of the best live sound guys in the state. This gave me a better than average understanding of PA's and how to make them perform at their best. If you are new to running your Pa for your band and need help setting, it up or are having "gremlins" in your system I can help. If you need me, too I am available to check through entire systems to make repairs and recommendations. Two years of working with SPL in large installations has giving me a good sense of what works best. I'd like to note that when you bring in your power amps, after the problem is fixed, I also run your amp through all of the factory set up procedures, and load test the amp for 8 hours before you get it back. 

 

 

DJ's: This is where the 5 years experience servicing consumer electronics is helpful. I am factory trained by JVC and Sony for CD players. They invented CD players(it was a joint effort involving the R&D dept of JVC and Sony) and I completed their course, which encompassed all CD players. If you ever took one apart, you would see that most of them have Sony Ic's and lasers in them. Most of you will be surprised to find out that the pro DJ equipment is 5-10 years behind home audio technology!! Think about it, digital anti skip was around in personal CD players since 1993. It just became available to DJ's a few years ago! I understand your DJ gear better than pretty much any one else around. Just like any other repair, I check for all of the potential problems as I fix the original problem!!