Denver Amp Repair Broke my guitar amp more than it already was. Arvada Colorado

Denver AMP repair has done work on several pieces of electronics that I own (custom and OEM), in addition the owner has been a consultant on several electronic projects I'm planning. The repairs have always been professional and the equipment always came back in better condition than I left it in.  The owner (Zeno) hasn't always been able to service my equipment in a day or two, but the timeline is always reasonable. 

One has to wonder if the owner of Denver AMP would actually use high powered drills to work on electronics—if he even owns one—especially in front of a customer. Why not accuse him of taking a hammer to the equipment?

Nowhere in the complaint does Ampless Musician ever mention contacting Denver Amp and asking that the supposed damage be repaired, or ask for monetary compensation—which I certain would. If Denver Amp trashed a piece of my equipment, I’d be in small claims court the next day. 

I’ve watched Zeno do work before and he has always impressed me with the care he takes when taking apart cabinets or removing circuit boards. Please consider me a reference for Denver AMP.

A Satisfied Customer

Let's try this again... 

Here I (The owner of the humble establishment being greatly effected by this unfounded 

subterfuge) and if by nothing more than the need to set the record straight, have surrendered to the writing the following censure, or rebuttal if you will.

Here are the facts

1. If there truly was a grievance or dispute regarding work I had done, then why was I never contacted prior to the posting of this clearly ill-intended report? (Still haven't AAMOF!) That is the standard ( and know by all) practice for the rest of the business world. Have a real problem, concern, question or dispute? Take it up with the person or business 

first! This never happened!

2. All of my work is guaranteed for ninety days! Tubes are 30 days... That's 30 day's longer than the largest musical instrument retailer in the U.S.A. who's policy excludes audio tubes in their 30 day guarantee! 

3. If this person meant to say Digital Modeling Amp (a generic term for any amps made using computer chips that attempt to mimic the sound of a real tube amp and not a brand name) when he said "High tech Machine", then either he has me confused with someone else or he happened to be the one person that had his girlfriend bring me a (and the last one I'll ever look at again, as these amps are neither preferred by professional musicians with refined & seasoned ears predominantly, nor by me. This includes the all of the Professional Amp Technicians, and High End, Highest Quality Guitar Amp designers I know. This includes the Boutique and Classic Amp designs for those golden eared ones who demand more from their gear and can hear the difference.

I fit both classes, as I am both a Seasoned professional musician as well as a designing engineer/ technician. 

So with that being said, it is by process of easy deductive reasoning that I'm 99.999% certain  were this person who had his girlfriend, and the only girlfriend to ever bring in an amp to me! Not only bring it in, but also make the phone call and do all of the communicating. She was the only contact for this rare case and for the

concise & complete record, here are all of the facts of that anomalous case.

Girlfriend of amp owner (in desperate tone of voice) calls and asks if I work **** * Amplifiers (Digital Modeling Amp). 

My response... i.e. Me-

I have fixed them before, but they are not my specialization. If it's anything beyond the power supply section I would recommend finding an authorized **** * (Digital Modeling Amp) service center here in Denver or send it to the factory. 

Girlfriend-

We have called everyone in Denver & he has a gig on Friday! Do you think you can fix it?

Me-

Like I said already (repeats above)... Are you sure you can't find an authorized service person? 

Girlfriend-

Yes! We have tried everywhere and he has a gig in...

Me- I got it, a gig in two day's. Well, I make it a policy not to do rush jobs and I am like any other technician in the sense that I am not an AMP PSYCHIC. So unless I have it in front of me I have no way of knowing for certain what the problem is & (in the case of digital modeling amps audio chips) wether it is within my diagnostic equipments ability to diagnose & correct it is another story.  Those amps require an interface to a machine or specialized computer... (kind of like the ones auto mechanics use I would guess)

Girlfriend-

Well he says it's making a weird sound & the lights are flashing...

Me-

Turn the amp off right away! (I hear her repeat that to boyfriend) Leaving it on could possibly do more damage!

Can I talk to your boyfriend? 

Girlfriend-

 No he has to get ready for work...  He works nights... Can I bring the amp in to you now? Could you fix it by Friday? He doesn't want to lose all of the sounds he made though. (May have said saturday though? point is she seemed oblivious to what I had said, and hindsight being 20/20, I should have just said NO, I'M SORRY AND GOOD LUCK! )

Me-  Again, and if it's within the area that I already mentioned I can fix it, but I can't make any promises that If I can that it will be done in two days, and I do have a Basic bench fee either way... Sounds? I can't promise either... They (may already be gone... Is what I started to say until I was cut off)

Girlfriend-

That's fine... Where are you located?

Me-

Okay and again , I the only promise I can make is I'll do my best. I'm not a magician...

Girlfriend-

Okay, where are you at?

Me-

(I give her directions)  Does he have a loaner?

Girlfriend-yes... I'll be there in 30 minutes or less!

Me-

Okay... Bye...

End of that...

I call her telling her that I found some problems, but is there anyway I can talk to her Boy friend? She say's no because of his job hours etc... 

I tell her that aside from some filter caps that I noticed being leaky, that the screws were off alignment a bit it seemed and I could give her some new ones as they are a dime a dozen. i.e. cheap and easy to replace ( NO MATTER HOW SPECIAL SOME PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE!)

The amp was covered in thicker than average dust and the average tech aware person knows that dust is the enemy with electronics... 

Shortening this as much as possible...

I call her and tell her I could only replace a few faulty caps but had a friend who (a fellow tech) that might have the computer to fix the amp... I also told her that I took the liberty of looking myself and had found an authorized **** * service center downtown. I said I couldn't vouch for there work or how much it would cost, but I had their info for her. She was quiet and agreed to come pick it up before she went to work that day. I apologized and let her know that I didn't charge her for the parts I could that were clearly bad. She didn't want the old ones... I told her I needed to run around the corner to get her some new screws, but time was pressed, so she waited in the parking lot at the hardware store for me to buy them. 

I had my powered SCREW DRIVER with me! One like all techs use, including the factory! I put in the new ones of the precise OEM threading  (That were even shinier than the dull & slightly oxidized old ones)  in right there in the parking lot, and even gave her an extra one that was left over from the package I bought that had an odd amount. Anyway, I remember this as a funny aside, because I asked her "Wanna screw?" It sounded funny & wasn't meant the way it came out, but we both laughed... I reminded her not to turn the amp on until it fully fixed!  Coming to the end, she said thank you with a smile on her face and drove off to work.  

How it turned into this post is beyond me, but who knows what some people will do to point blame! Justice? Ethics? Truth? Sigh...

OH! One last thing!

She also took the information (for the authorized service center I mentioned several times already) that I wrote down for her. I had to go online again and found it while she was talking to my little girl... Actually my little girl to her... So My Wife and seven year old daughter were right there too as a witness! This was before leaving to the hardware store around the the corner that the girlfriend followed me to... You know the rest!

THE OWNER OF THE FORMER DENVER AMP REPAIR

p.s. AMPLIFIRE? Perhaps you meant Amplifier, because that's what I play through and work on as well. AAMOF, I just worked on a players amp from a major signed band and the biggest band out of Denver at the moment. He was ecstatic! I talked before this RIP OFF REPORT SHOWED UP AND I SLID DOWN THE SEARCH RESULTS! OTHERWISE NO NEW CLIENTS AT ALL!  A 75% drop in business!  Selling off personal effects...  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Thank God for some referrals that have kept my family alive.... BARELY! THANK YOU!