I am not familiar with any service providers who have enjoy a good reputation as universally as Blackie Pagano. My own experience was no exception. Blackie has impressed me as a true master of his craft, and a nice person on top of that. In short: whether you have a vintage heirloom, or just need to get better performance out of your every-day rig (or both), if you really care what your amp sounds like, you owe it to yourself to bring it to Blackie.

Since 2004, I’ve been the proud owner of a ’65 Deluxe Reverb blackface. When I first got it, it was barely working. It powered up, but oscillated so badly it couldn’t consistently produce sound. So, I had a restoration done by another tech (no names mentioned). The result with the other tech was disappointing. In my living room, it was okay, but not exceptional. But then I started gigging with it a few months ago, and learned the hard way, that on stage, it was totally unacceptable. What I really wanted was to get the amp to sound authentic – the way a ’65 blackface with a few decades of maturation on it ought to sound. Where other people failed, Blackie delivered.

It’s not hard to understand why. Blackie’s approach starts with an understanding of the circuitry of the equipment that strikes me as preternatural (translation: this guy is clued in – he just gets it.). In the execution phase, the vision becomes reality through use of very high quality replacement parts – high-end caps, pre-biased tubes, silver solder. Nothing is left to chance, and Blackie’s attention to detail was flawless. Even the replacement power-cable impressed me (I still had the original, ungrounded AC cable; Blackie replaced it with an extra extra-long, hospital-grade cable that I find very useful!) The end result is getting the best sound possible. My ’65 Deluxe has never sounded better. At home and on stage – it’s voice better, there’s no unwanted noise, it just works perfectly and sound the way it should.

For as long as I have this amp, if it ever needs work again, and whatever amps I use in the future, Blackie is the only guy I would want to take them to. So, with that, I am now joining the chorus of people who unequivocally recommend Blackie Pagano to you.

Matthew K.
Los Angeles, CA