Amplifier Repair in Calgary
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The guy in Axe Music's building beside Jim Mozzell. I don't have his number, call Axe.ENDITOL said:
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276 Posts
The Guy on 17ave is Mike Pasnuk..I think thas his last name. Anyway he works out of the Guitar Connection.:rockon2:
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259 Posts
I repair and build tube amps.
www.claramps.com
[email protected]
For a reference call Long & Mcquade in Calgary.
www.claramps.com
[email protected]
For a reference call Long & Mcquade in Calgary.
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3,455 Posts
I wanted to chime in and mention Keith at Clara amps (member "addicted to tubes").
He has my amp right now and although I don't have it back yet (it just went it) his customer service has thus far been impeccable!!
TG
He has my amp right now and although I don't have it back yet (it just went it) his customer service has thus far been impeccable!!
TG
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3,118 Posts
Isn't it like a vacation for you guys? Coming to the lovely Calgary!jroberts said:
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Nope, I just packed it up and sent it via Canada Post. I don't think I can drive to Calgary and back for $30; especially when you factor in 6 hours of my time.
I have had horrible service from amp "techs" in Edmonton. The only guy that has been recommened to me has a 3-4 week backlog so it made perfect sense to ship my amp to Keith.
BTW, I was debating if I should ship via Canada Post or Greyhound because I didn't know about Greyhound's insurance policy. Keith phoned greyhound, found out, and emailed me with the info!!!! Wow, now that is customer service
TG
I have had horrible service from amp "techs" in Edmonton. The only guy that has been recommened to me has a 3-4 week backlog so it made perfect sense to ship my amp to Keith.
BTW, I was debating if I should ship via Canada Post or Greyhound because I didn't know about Greyhound's insurance policy. Keith phoned greyhound, found out, and emailed me with the info!!!! Wow, now that is customer service
TG
jroberts said:
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1,808 Posts
Sacha,
Depends on what you're trying to have fixed. The guy next to Jim at Axe is Dave...he works for Frank Bade of VB Electronics fame (Mother's and guitarworks use them almost exclusively) but they can be UBER SLOW sometimes...like painfully so...unless you headlock 'em into doing it fast which is to say, pay them more money.
There is a guy over at The Guitar Connection if it's a vintage piece. He's good from what I've heard.
And yes, the guys at L&M will give huge props to Keith. He's a good guy.
Depends on what you're trying to have fixed. The guy next to Jim at Axe is Dave...he works for Frank Bade of VB Electronics fame (Mother's and guitarworks use them almost exclusively) but they can be UBER SLOW sometimes...like painfully so...unless you headlock 'em into doing it fast which is to say, pay them more money.
There is a guy over at The Guitar Connection if it's a vintage piece. He's good from what I've heard.
And yes, the guys at L&M will give huge props to Keith. He's a good guy.
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90 Posts
You won't go wrong with either Keith at Clara Amps or Mike at Guitar Connection. Both are technically sharp, know vintage stuff, know mods, and offer GREAT service and turnaround time. I've had work done with both so I know.
I'll personally never have anything ever to do again with Mike at Guitar Connection.
I took a stand alone Fender Reverb to Mike, as well as my vintage Lexicon PCM-42 a few years back. The reverb needed to have a blown power transformer replaced and the Lexicon just needed some simple tweaking. It took Mike 4 months to replace the blown transformer with... the blown transformer. As for the Lexicon, Mike "borrowed" that for 2 years and parted some of it out. I got the Lexicon back only after the police got involved
Both James Peters and I have seen too many examples of Mike's "technical sharpness".
If you need amp repair work done, stick to people that really know what they are doing - Keith from Clara here in Calgary, Lindsey up in Edmonton or James Peters in Winnipeg.
I took a stand alone Fender Reverb to Mike, as well as my vintage Lexicon PCM-42 a few years back. The reverb needed to have a blown power transformer replaced and the Lexicon just needed some simple tweaking. It took Mike 4 months to replace the blown transformer with... the blown transformer. As for the Lexicon, Mike "borrowed" that for 2 years and parted some of it out. I got the Lexicon back only after the police got involved
Both James Peters and I have seen too many examples of Mike's "technical sharpness".
If you need amp repair work done, stick to people that really know what they are doing - Keith from Clara here in Calgary, Lindsey up in Edmonton or James Peters in Winnipeg.
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39 Posts
Another 2 thumbs up for Keith at Clara amps
Keith just serviced my Deluxe Reverb and my buddies Blues Deluxe last week. Excellent service and a very personable fella and very reasonable rates. He was very accommodating for my brief sojourn into Cowtown too! I will take anything I can't solve to Keith. Thanks a ton again Keith
(No personal affiliation etc. etc. for me either)
Cam
Keith just serviced my Deluxe Reverb and my buddies Blues Deluxe last week. Excellent service and a very personable fella and very reasonable rates. He was very accommodating for my brief sojourn into Cowtown too! I will take anything I can't solve to Keith. Thanks a ton again Keith
(No personal affiliation etc. etc. for me either)
Cam
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600 Posts
OK, this is all things I've heard mixed with some personal observations, but here goes. Correct me if I'm wrong about any factual details...
I've had work done by Mike Pasnak years ago when he was apprenticing with John Macintyre (Musitech, next door to Axe until the late 90's or so). John is THE all time amp guru of Calgary as I understand it, having built stuff for David Gilmour and other superstars. Supposedly Mike learned everything he knows from John, who left behind amp service years ago to go work for Lexicon (I think) designing circuits.
Even back then, their shop was FULL of customers amps that would sit for months on end! Now if you are, say, Gordie Johnson and Big Sugar is in town and you need amp service, Mike will drop everything and come right out. If you're Joe Blow it might take a bit longer, depending how hard you ride his ass. I think Mike is a nice guy and totally knows what he's doing, but he's not the most reliable and his execution can be a bit sloppy. Sorry Dude.. my 2c.
Enter Keith McNeil (Clara). Great guy, reliable, quick turnaround, reasonable rates and knows his stuff. At least that's been my experience with three service jobs and the Clara 18watt I purchased. I will take all my future business to Keith as long as he has time for me, and am very likely to buy another of his amps.
I've had work done by Mike Pasnak years ago when he was apprenticing with John Macintyre (Musitech, next door to Axe until the late 90's or so). John is THE all time amp guru of Calgary as I understand it, having built stuff for David Gilmour and other superstars. Supposedly Mike learned everything he knows from John, who left behind amp service years ago to go work for Lexicon (I think) designing circuits.
Even back then, their shop was FULL of customers amps that would sit for months on end! Now if you are, say, Gordie Johnson and Big Sugar is in town and you need amp service, Mike will drop everything and come right out. If you're Joe Blow it might take a bit longer, depending how hard you ride his ass. I think Mike is a nice guy and totally knows what he's doing, but he's not the most reliable and his execution can be a bit sloppy. Sorry Dude.. my 2c.
Enter Keith McNeil (Clara). Great guy, reliable, quick turnaround, reasonable rates and knows his stuff. At least that's been my experience with three service jobs and the Clara 18watt I purchased. I will take all my future business to Keith as long as he has time for me, and am very likely to buy another of his amps.
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207 Posts
Clara
My vote goes to Keith as well.
My '65 Super Came back sounding like....a '65 Super.
Yummy. I think Keith uses the term 'tasty'.
My vote goes to Keith as well.
My '65 Super Came back sounding like....a '65 Super.
Yummy. I think Keith uses the term 'tasty'.
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3 Posts
Amp Repair Dude
Frankly, I think all amp techs are a bit "sideways" but that is beside the point.
I just want to know that the inside and the outside of my investments are being looked after.
Keith from Clara builds some neat stuff and its worth a look. Repairs for me have no complaints.
Mike, formerly of The Guitar Connection, is/was a mess but seemed to do great work when and if he could EVER get it done (you may wan to see if he still has your stuff).
Alex, the great alex, is great ..tube stuff?
Frank, WAAAYY too busy. But has time to eat ice cream.
..
Frankly, I think all amp techs are a bit "sideways" but that is beside the point.
I just want to know that the inside and the outside of my investments are being looked after.
Keith from Clara builds some neat stuff and its worth a look. Repairs for me have no complaints.
Mike, formerly of The Guitar Connection, is/was a mess but seemed to do great work when and if he could EVER get it done (you may wan to see if he still has your stuff).
Alex, the great alex, is great ..tube stuff?
Frank, WAAAYY too busy. But has time to eat ice cream.
..
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16,363 Posts
My question is, if you drove from Edmonton to Calgary, why would you drive back?:smile::smile::wink:
Okay--I'm just kidding.
:smile:
Anyways, I've never had any work done on any of my amps, but I have spent time talking with Dave, and he really seems to know his stuff. I'm also impressed by what I'm hearing about some of the other guys as well.
I'm saving this info in case I ever do need it.
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4 Posts
Solid State amp repair
Thanks for all of the awesome info everyone! I definitely know where to go to get my tube amps dealt with now. I was wondering though if there are any good amp techs for my solid state amps. I have 3 in need of some minor work right now. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks for all of the awesome info everyone! I definitely know where to go to get my tube amps dealt with now. I was wondering though if there are any good amp techs for my solid state amps. I have 3 in need of some minor work right now. Any help would be appreciated!
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1 Posts
I'd like to throw in my 'two cents' for what it's worth.
In the mid-90s, after reading John Macintyre's article in Guitar Player mag on how to mod an old Fender Bassman, I was pleased to notice he was in fact located in Calgary.
After first contacting him for his business address I shipped him my '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb to have his company perform the modifications as outlined in his GP article. I included a cheque for the work (about $450).
The work was done and the amp returned in a reasonable amount of time and it sounded great but I had a couple of complaints that went unaddressed:
1 - No schematics were ever supplied for what is essentially a different amp; and
2 - The "fat switch" circuit -for which I had paid $39 as part of the total price of the mod -had not been installed as requested.
But the thing that pissed me off the most was something I only came to notice some years later: that my '65's original Jensen speaker had been replaced with a stock Fender speaker. Oh well, what are ya gonna do, eh?
Now, I don't accuse John Macintyre of personally of swindling me out of my vintage Jensen speaker but nonetheless, someone from his company did. That, and the failure to provide the fat switch I'd paid for, certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.
I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who might have experienced a similar problem if only just to have somebody to commiserate with.
Notwithstanding the above, the Macintyre mod was a tremendous improvement on the amp's original design and in any event, I fully intended to replace the original speaker with a 12" JBL I had knocking about the place. The coolest aspect of the Macintyre mod was that the amp remained aesthetically the same -it continues to look like a simple Fender Deluxe Reverb but it sure doesn't sound like one!!
If anyone knows the whereabouts of John Macintyre I'd still like to get my $39 bucks back; though I'm not holding my breath for the return of my Jensen speaker.
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