Amp Repair in Syracuse, NY

FallingUnknown · #1 03-24-2011, 09:07 PM

Anyone know someone who can fix up a blown Carvin B1500 in or around Syracuse?

knigel · #2 03-24-2011, 09:10 PM

Burning Skies, we are looking in your direction....

energyflux00 · #3 03-24-2011, 09:11 PM

Hey man,

I'm from Syr too, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you that there isn't a huge selection of music shops around here.... especially if you're playing bass.

But, there is a guy on Erie Blvd on the right side if you are headed toward Dewitt. I can't remember the name of the store, but it is a piano/keyboard shop.

However, the tech there is supposedly very good with amps. I have never gone to him before, but my friend who is the keyboardist in Sophistafunk goes to him he's gotten him out of a bind many times.

I can't remember what the name is though.... Clarke Piano? Something like that.... right hand side on Erie Blvd heading toward Dewitt. Start looking once you go past Teale/Columbus.

FallingUnknown · #4 03-24-2011, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by energyflux00

Hey man,

I'm from Syr too, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you that there isn't a huge selection of music shops around here.... especially if you're playing bass.

But, there is a guy on Erie Blvd on the right side if you are headed toward Dewitt. I can't remember the name of the store, but it is a piano/keyboard shop.

However, the tech there is supposedly very good with amps. I have never gone to him before, but my friend who is the keyboardist in Sophistafunk goes to him he's gotten him out of a bind many times.

I can't remember what the name is though.... Clarke Piano? Something like that.... right hand side on Erie Blvd heading toward Dewitt. Start looking once you go past Teale/Columbus.

Ya I'll try that place. I'd hate to do business with Terry at Beat Street.

Pricey.

FallingUnknown · #5 03-24-2011, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knigel

Burning Skies, we are looking in your direction....

BurningSkies · #6 03-24-2011, 09:24 PM

You're talking about Clark Music, and Mike Finck. And that would be my very first stop. He does repairs to a lot of high end home stereo as well as MI amplification.

What to expect...a wait. He's a great guy and knows what he's doing. He's very experienced (I've been taking stuff to him for 20 years). This fall he refurbished my Roland Space Echo 201. And it was a couple of months of waiting due to the backlog. But ti came back pristine and he was a trove of info about it. I wouldn't hesitate to endorse him as probably the best in town.

He does great work with tube amps too (he had a nice ol' blond Gibson in pieces the last time I was in as well as a BF Fender), and assuming the Carvin is a repairable amp (by way of how its built) you should be fine.

There are other guys around who do tubes, etc. but that's about it. Speaker Works also used to have amp repair, but I haven't been in there in years and the Fender Twin that I have went through their hands at one point and was definitely jacked up after the fact.
Clark Music Company, Inc

2922 Erie Blvd East
Syracuse, NY 13224
(315) 446-7020

BurningSkies · #7 03-24-2011, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallingUnknown

Nigel and I shared a Zip code for a while.

BurningSkies · #8 03-24-2011, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by energyflux00

Hey man,

I'm from Syr too, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you that there isn't a huge selection of music shops around here.... especially if you're playing bass.

But, there is a guy on Erie Blvd on the right side if you are headed toward Dewitt. I can't remember the name of the store, but it is a piano/keyboard shop.

However, the tech there is supposedly very good with amps. I have never gone to him before, but my friend who is the keyboardist in Sophistafunk goes to him he's gotten him out of a bind many times.

I can't remember what the name is though.... Clarke Piano? Something like that.... right hand side on Erie Blvd heading toward Dewitt. Start looking once you go past Teale/Columbus.

AG does have Mike work on some of his keys...but his dirty little secret is that his really rare and good stuff heads out of town and downstate to get fixed...and I don't know if you know that AG knows how to do a lot of his own repairs too. One of the reasons my RE-201 took a while at Clark was that Mike had a couple sets of keys ahead of mine.

FallingUnknown · #9 03-24-2011, 09:32 PM

Jeez I don't know if I can wait months... Daddy's Junky Music said they could send it out. Anyone know the wait at Beat Street?

liquid sunshine · #10 03-24-2011, 09:37 PM

look up fja mods jerry does great work

BurningSkies · #11 03-24-2011, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallingUnknown

Jeez I don't know if I can wait months... Daddy's Junky Music said they could send it out. Anyone know the wait at Beat Street?

I refuse to take anything to, or buy anything from Terry. He'll send it out too...I think he only works on instruments in house. I don't know who he works with these days.

energyflux00 · #12 03-24-2011, 09:39 PM

AG is a very intelligent guy who sure knows his stuff when it comes to tech and tone! I agree. And funky to say the least.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

AG does have Mike work on some of his keys...but his dirty little secret is that his really rare and good stuff heads out of town and downstate to get fixed...and I don't know if you know that AG knows how to do a lot of his own repairs too. One of the reasons my RE-201 took a while at Clark was that Mike had a couple sets of keys ahead of mine.

energyflux00 · #13 03-24-2011, 09:41 PM

Not to prod....

But any reason why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

I refuse to take anything to, or buy anything from Terry. He'll send it out too...I think he only works on instruments in house. I don't know who he works with these days.

FallingUnknown · #14 03-24-2011, 09:44 PM

Who is AG?

BurningSkies · #15 03-24-2011, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by energyflux00

Not to prod....

But any reason why?

Terry's been long known not to be trusted. Fer instance, at one point he commented to me that he was hoarding used parts so he could put together 'vintage Fenders' in his back room.

He's always been known for dodgy dealings and for doing his best to get one over on people.

BurningSkies · #16 03-24-2011, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallingUnknown

Who is AG?

The funkiest keyboard player in the area and beyond these days. And a guy who uses more bass gear for his keys rig than most bass players do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afPPp_8R1y0

energyflux00 · #17 03-24-2011, 09:51 PM

I'm glad I never bought an amp or cab off of him then. I didn't talk at all with him when I bought a bass there a while back, but rather another individual. But, when I did talk to him one day about his amp selection, I smelled some fish. And yet, was still totally unsure whether it was fish that I was smelling or fillet minion... a bit of both I think.

Complicated individual it seems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Terry's been long known not to be trusted. Fer instance, at one point he commented to me that he was hoarding used parts so he could put together 'vintage Fenders' in his back room.

He's always been known for dodgy dealings and for doing his best to get one over on people.

georgestrings · #18 03-24-2011, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Terry's been long known not to be trusted. Fer instance, at one point he commented to me that he was hoarding used parts so he could put together 'vintage Fenders' in his back room.

He's always been known for dodgy dealings and for doing his best to get one over on people.

Yeah, that sounds like Terry - besides always having high prices and acting like a jerk *at times* for no apparant reason... I remember Terry from the BeBop Shop days, and he surely didn't fit in with the rest of those nice guys...

- georgestrings

georgestrings · #19 03-24-2011, 09:55 PM

Just a crazy thought - why not send it back to Carvin???

After all, Jeff here has gone on about what great customer service they have - seems like a no-brainer, *if* what he says is true...

- georgestrings

FallingUnknown · #20 03-24-2011, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgestrings

Just a crazy thought - why not send it back to Carvin???

After all, Jeff here has gone on about what great customer service they have - seems like a no-brainer, *if* what he says is true...

- georgestrings

B1500 is discontinued and mine is used. The cost of shipping and repair will be ridiculous.