Los Angeles Tube Amplifier Restoration & Repair

“You’re the only one I trust with the good amps.”

“Blackie, you are my hero. My Marshall Bass Combo amp sounds so sweet thanks to you.”

“My very beat-up, but very awesome 1965 Fender Super Reverb was blissfully restored to its former glory by the talented Blackie Pagano. For musicians and hi-fi fans looking for a true engineering artist, he puts the same love, focus, and attention to detail into his art for every client, rock star or not.”

“You’re the only one I trust with the good amps.”

“Blackie, you are my hero. My Marshall Bass Combo amp sounds so sweet thanks to you.”

“Blackie Pagano…got the message that it doesn’t have to look like you’re expecting. Exquisite design and craftsmanship.”

“There are only a few folks that I would trust with my own amps and I am not even on my own list Blackie Pagano is at the top of a list that I won’t even add myself to”

“My very beat-up, but very awesome 1965 Fender Super Reverb was blissfully restored to its former glory by the talented Blackie Pagano. For musicians and hi-fi fans looking for a true engineering artist, he puts the same love, focus, and attention to detail into his art for every client, rock star or not.”

“Just a quick note to thank you for your work on the Dynaco Stereo 70. It has never sounded this good — accurate, dynamic, clear, open, and engaging, with great tone. It has made the system sound better than ever.”

“I just got my ’65 Gretsch 6152 back from Blackie. It was DOA when I brought it in and after some work on the speaker, some new electronic bits, a tube, and final servicing prior to delivery, she’s humming sweet sounds again. It’s rockin’. I highly recommend Blackie for all your amp work.”

“Blackie has re-done three amps for me. A Pro, a Deluxe and an old 50’s Gibson that GE Smith tried to buy while it was in the shop. His repairs are legit. Took the silverface 70’s Pro and made it rage like a 60’s Blackface Twin…..Thanks Blackie, wish I still lived in NYC…”

“Blackie has worked on my Audio Note Meishu SET, Jolida 502, 1962 Fender reverb tank, 1956 Fender Deluxe, and before that he built me a Deluxe-like amp. He is superb at his craft.”

“Blackie: Thanks for making my Vox ac 30 sound like 1964 again. What a celestial sound! I used to use the “cut” control to manage the noise but now it doesn’t matter where it is set. Dead-quiet and harmonically rich. Your work reflects the art behind the science. Thanks again.”

“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.”

“I never feel compelled to write reviews but Mr. Blackie Pagano is a true scholar and a gentleman. I brought him four vintage Fenders over the last three weeks and each one came back sounding better than ever. A vintage component here and matched tube there brought these amps to peak performance in sound and feel. These amps are now part of a total instrument that is a combination of great electric guitar plugged into a hand tuned living and breathing vintage amp. Blackie brought it all back to me and my guitars. No hype, no bull, Blackie just delivers every time. Furthermore, I have had many more amps serviced by Blackie Pagano including Tweeds, Blackface, Silverface, and most recently, a Vox AC15HTVH. All came back to me dramatically improved. The Vox, in particular, that has a reputation for being extremely noisy is as quiet as church mouse and just sings.”

“I have a ’62 Fender Concert amp which was in good shape but, being nearly 50 years old and having had no maintenance done to it ever, it was in need of a tune up and some TLC (new caps and power cable, etc.). I’d heard and read all the raves about Blackie and after having some bad experiences with amp techs in my area (San Francisco) I thought I’d make a vacation of it and give him a try. I’m glad I did. First of all, he’s communicative and helpful, which even in good techs, be they guitar or amp, it tough to come by. He says what he does and does what he says, which is a huge deal. I got so sick of dropping off my amp somewhere, being told it would be ready in a week, and then not having my calls returned after two. Then, a month later, I get a call saying it’s done, though not the way I’d asked, and then having it not work. This happens too much.”

“i have brought my amps to blackie a bunch of times. every time, he repaired and maintained them well, and quickly. i’m a working musician, rely on these amps onstage, and he has always taken good care of them for me.”

“The best amp and tube man in North America !!! #1”

“Just wanted to tell you thank you for getting all the work done on my 65′ bassman done so fast and so well! I ended up using it in the studio for all my rhythm guitar tracks, as well as our bass tracks and then lent it to the producer for two other bands to track guitars with. It held up perfect! You’ll have the 65′ back to mod shortly, my 59′ to maintenance and my other guitarist’s Jubilee for maintenance soon… You’re the man! Thanks much”

“Once again, I gotta thank you, Blackie for the great service on my amp. I’ve been using it pretty heavily since it came back home. The power up is so gentle and it is so quiet now at idle that I can’t even tell it’s on; but it sounds great! THANK YOU!”

“Just got my Deluxe Reverb overhauled by amp genius Blackie Pagano! It sounds REALLY great, Blackie! Thanks!”

“Fender Vibrolux Reverb Circa 1972 – My holy grail of tone which has been blackfaced electronically and cosmetically. I can never recommend these vintage Fenders enough, but they must be thoroughly gone over by a high level amp technician… I highly recommend Blackie Pagano!”

“Blackie did a great job fixing my ’74 Champ Amp. The amp was not functioning when I took it to him — a tube had arced over. He replaced a number of parts and got the amp back up and running. The real surprise was how awesome the amp sounds. Better than it ever sounded before (shimmering tones) and super quiet at idle. He is busy — so you’ll need to pay a rush fee if you need an amp fast. I wasn’t in a rush and I wanted the job done right. Price seemed reasonable — a number of parts / changes made with just an hour of bench time.”

“Took my old Marshall plexi to three other techs and it never came back right, then I found Blackie. Fast, cost effective, great staff and understood my issues right away. Got the amp back and it sounds better than ever. I’ve taken my old Mosfet, a Pignose and my Fender Twin Reverb in for tuneups and they’ve all come back better than new. This is the best place in LA for amp repair by far.”

“Look… you have one reason to have Blackie work on your amp; to get the sound you always wanted from it. I was fortunate enough years ago to buy an early 70’s Silverface Vibrolux, it sounded pretty good, but never really great. I had a guy mod it in the late 90’s and it sounded better, but was still missing that sound I was hearing in my head. Finally I discovered Tubesville and dropped the amp off and put it in Blackie’s capable hands. Whoa, when I got it back I was stunned; he had retubed the amp with carefully hand matched tubes, had replaced and tweaked the reverb, and the vibrato just was spot on. He even rewired the speaker harness with heavy-duty high quality cloth covered wire. Leo Fender would be proud even, and Link Wray, Poison Ivy, and Dwayne Eddie would be jealous if they heard it! It was everything I could want in a Vibrolux!”

“Best tube Tech in Los Angeles… Works on HiFi and Guitar amps. In my case, a vintage Scott tube stereo. Amazing workmanship, knowledge and a personal investment in his repairs. He went above and beyond in my case to make absolutely sure my system was making my ears happy even with the possibility that it might be a component upstream of the amp. I’ll never go to anyone else. His custom builds are pretty impressive… I have no experience here, but you have to get a look at these things. He has an eye as well as an ear.”

“Blackie is the best! Ever since he left NY I dont know where to take my amps. We even considered driving our repairs across country on tour so we could make sure our amps sounded good. We miss him in NY, but our loss is LA’s gain. Enjoy!”

“Blackie was the guy in NYC. When he left, NYC had no one really great to work on stuff.”

“Have a ’62 Deluxe that I bought in 1977. It came with an original JBL D120F. Had a solid Oak cabinet made for it, and Blackie fine-tuned the electronics. Sounds fantastic!”

“Glad you’re back. Had several amps in, always top notch work, and my amps never sounded better.”

“He helped me tremendously years ago with my Marshall amp. The tone he got from my amp was nothing like any other amps I have tried.”

“You made my Fender 75 sing and repaired the transformer damaged in shipping on my Mesa 22.”

“Blackie provides an excellent amp service. I highly recommend him for all of your tube amplification needs.”

“Picked up my 1960 AC-15 from you last night. I knew it was supposed to sound amazing, but it didn’t when I first got it — and now it is freakin’ terrific. Thanks, Blackie.”

“Hey Blackie, just wanted to say thank you for getting my OR80 back in shape. Sounds grrreat! Finally! MUCH THANKS!!”

“You don’t want to be killin’ time futzin’ with your amp if it’s on the fritz. Leave it to Blackie. He’s been down in the trenches in the dangerous world of amp repair for years — a pro’s pro. Wish I sent my ’63 Vibroverb reissue for a freshenin’ up before he left for the left coast.”

“Blackie makes magic with tubes. He turned my Carvin (!) combo into a sleek beast.”

“Thanks, Blackie, for running my ’66 black face Vibrolux Reverb through your amp spa and making it as hot as ever.”