Jim just completed work on my 1962 Tremolux. Results are amazing and this 64 year old amp is…read moresounding great just as it should. Amphead is now my go to shop for all of my vintage tube amps.

Melody and Jim are awesome. Pleasant to work with, quick turnaround, great work quality, excellent…read moreservice, and great value. My amp sounds so much better than when I brought it in. Considering I don't know much about guitars I'm really looking forward to learning and playing more now especially with a awesome fender tube amp. Highly recommended for your guitar amp service needs!

Haven't bought anything there but he seems like a cool and interesting dude. Very old school…read moreworkshop/store, kind of reminds me of a machine shop.

Audio Specialties is a gem in the Gateway neighborhood. It is great to still have a place in the…read morecity that does repairs and stocks vintage gear. Whether I'm just browsing, trading in a piece of 70s era hardware, or having something fixed, this is my main destination.

Todd and Dylan worked on my old mid 70's ARP Axxe, fixed my dead key and did a thorough job with…read morethe overall once over. Response and sound much nicer than before. Price for work was as expected, not bad at all. I'll be back when my next effects module or synth require repair. Highly recommended. MG

I called them about a potential repair, they seemed angry that I didn't know that they were busy…read more How rude of me to call asking for service? Reluctantly agreed to let me bring in an amp. I left my amp there, asked them to give me an estimate of what it would cost. Instead they called me and said the repair was done, without having agreed on a price. Then he implied he did me a favor by doing that because he was so busy, and berated me over the phone. I picked up the amp, paid his unreasonable fee, and it was not even fixed. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Worst 'service' i have ever experienced.

Mike has single-handedly kept my guitars in shape for over a decade…read more I wouldn't consider letting anyone else touch them. We've all had our bad experiences with instrument repair, not many things can be so frustrating and demoralizing, which is why I've stuck with Mike and followed him through his many stops. He takes extra care to make sure I'm happy with the work, from explaining what I'll need upfront, to minor tweaks to suit my needs before the guitar leaves the shop. He even helped me figure out a few songs my cement fingers were having trouble with. I am fully confident in recommending Sound Service to you.

I met Mike when he bought a piece of gear off of me and he informed me that he also does tech work…read more I was immediately interested, not only because Mike is a super nice guy, but after having lived in SF for some time, I had become disenchanted with most of the guitar techs in the city. In my experience most charge an arm and a leg for routine work, and don't have much time on their hands to interact with their customers. After doing some inquiry into Mike's reputation (which was stellar) I decided to give him a call about refretting what was probably my most prized guitar. We spoke for almost an hour in person going back and forth about my options and his recommendations. Ultimately, his recommendation is what I decided to go with. I could not be happier with both Mike's work and his advice. My guitar has never played better and his refret job was superb. In addition his prices were fair and reasonable. Mike is a stand-up guy, excellent tech, and I wouldn't hesitate to call him for any work in the future.

I brought in a couple of guitars, one for a setup and pickup swap and one for a SS refret. Very…read morehappy with how both turned out! My 80's Charvel plays better than I could've hoped for. I can't recommend PFW enough, I definitely got my moneys worth

I've had a half dozen guitars rewired and set up by Sam and Roy at Portland Fret Works - Teles,…read more335s, Martins. I'll be bringing in a Taylor this week. There are no better guitar techs in Portland. I'll be a customer for life. - Mike Rodrigues, Portland

TLDR This place barely answers the phone. They are totally unresponsive. They don't keep their…read moreword, and they don't call back. I can't comprehend how there aren't more bad reviews, considering a friend of mine who works at a local guitar shop told me I should have avoided this place like the plague, and that I'm not alone in my experience. I've really tried not to get to this point that I have to trash this business, but its been three months since I dropped off my amp, and I still haven't gotten a straight answer on whether it can even be fixed. I dropped off a Fender Rumble 200 with a bad pre-amp circuit board with them in December on a Sunday, after he made me wait outside for 10 minutes in the cold. Inside the shop was a haphazard mess, resembling what you might imagine seeing on an episode of hoarders, but for guitar amps. My interaction with the repair guy was pretty awkward. I'm awkward too so its whatever. He told me he had a spare circuit board from a Fender Rumble 500 in stock that would fit my amp, and that it would take him just a few hours labor to run a trace and swap out the board. For some reason, I interpreted that as I would pick up the amp later that day. When I hadn't heard from them near closing time, I called. Later I would learn it was shocking he answered on the first try. He told me he hadn't even looked at the amp yet, but he would get to it next week. Next week rolled past and no call. I waited patiently for another week, and then called them several times, and most of the time he never answered. I left voice mails but they were never returned. When I did get him on the phone, he mumbled something about being totally swamped, but he would look at the amp and call me back tomorrow. He never did. Fast forward two months, I call him, he answers, and to my surprise he has some news. The trace on the amp showed one of the other boards needed to be replaced too, but the repair would probably be more expensive that I was willing to spend. Otherwise, he probably had one of those boards in stock too, but he'll need to do further testing, if I was really committed to fix it. I informed him I only paid $100 for the amp, and that I am willing to put several hundred more into the repair, considering a new Fender Rumble 200 costs around $600. He told me he would look further into it and get back to me. Its now March, and I haven't heard anything. Periodically when I happen to remember I even own the amp, I call and they don't answer. So, I give up. I only wanted this extra bass amp for my band mate who has been coming over to my tiny office to jam for the past three months, while our drummer was on an overseas trip. Our drummer returned, and we're back in the studio with our big boy amps. I have no need for a practice amp anymore. Arcane Amplifiers, if you're reading this, go ahead and keep my amp. Its my understanding that its incredibly difficult to find replacement parts for a Fender Rumble, and most repair places won't even consider fixing them. Maybe the parts of my amp might help some other poor soul who gets duped into buying a broken one like I did. I'll just consider it a lesson learned, and in return for your services, I'm leaving you this review. Have a nice day.

As you can read by some of the more recent reviews - the shop owner is experiencing some kind of…read moremental breakdown and has begun taking people's equipment and refusing to refund or return the equipment. He currently has and refuses to return or finish work on something of mine he's had since september 2025 (writing in july 2026). He does not answer calls or texts, and is becoming increasingly hostile to customers. For the sake of personal safety, and the sake of your cherished equipment, do not do business with this person.

Took a well-loved, no-longer-made Sony radio and CD player in to see if it could be fixed. The…read moreowner quoted me a reasonable price, but also said he might not be able to fix it. So refreshing just to have an honest exchange about what to expect. It was like brand new when I left. I will go back to him with anything radio-related that needs fixing. Doing his part to keep the landfills free of old radios. He's great! PS No cards, and I was two dollars short in cash. He said, "We're good," but I took in the two dollars the next day because I want to keep going back!

I have my dad's receivers and record players from 1950's. They were cleaned and maintained and now…read morework and sound beautiful. Couldn't be happier. Great service, great person, and I can't say enough good things about this business.

I had an absolutely great experience purchasing a vintage guitar from Bob. Besides having very fair…read moreprices, he worked with me in all phases - price, condition, and adding a hard case. It's hard to purchase a guitar online, but Bob took the time to share everthing I needed to know about the guitar. When the guitar arrived, it was even better than I hoped. His blurb about Guitar Crazy is as accurate as it gets - WE ARE NOT THE TYPE OF "SALES-PEOPLE" you're probably accustomed to (and irritated by). We "shoot straight", LOVE what we do, and we LOVE and what we have to offer. We WANT you to be happy! Thanks for all.