- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Guitronics
Category: Shopping Musical Instruments & Teachers Musical Instruments & Teachers [Edit]
132 9th StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 621-3135
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
22 reviews for Guitronics
Review Highlights
"Hal knows his stuff and you will be oh so happy."
(in 17 reviews)
"It sounds like a brand new amp."
(in 16 reviews)
"I've been taking my tube amps to Guitronics for many years."
(in 3 reviews)
Loading...
22 reviews in English
-
Review from Mike M.
San Francisco, CA
12/6/2011
Hal's simply the best.
I have a weird limited run Matamp head that died on me - I took it to another repair shop around the corner from my place. The amp guy there charged me $100, told me nothing was wrong with it and cleaned it a little. When i got it back it worked for 2 days then died again.
Wish I went to Guitronics off the bat - Hal quickly discovered I had blown a fuse, my bias was off, and i needed new power tubes. He's repaired my 72' Princeton Reverb as well - it sounds perfect.
Don't go anywhere else - with fair prices, about a 2 week turn around, and nfinite knowledge this is the spot. -
Review from Scott L.
San Francisco, CA
11/13/2011
Hal is the best. He did a great job on my '66 vox for a very fair price. Hal gave me some different options to keep the price down, and I went with the mid-range, but I am saving up to go back and do the rest of the job because his work was great.
He's a really nice guy to talk to, and as a bonus gave me some unusual history on the amp that I didn't know. Very knowledgable. Don't go anywhere else. -
Review from Chuck L.
San Francisco, CA
10/13/2011
Hal is deeply knowledgable, infinitely capable, and a total pro. I could talk with him for hours but I'd run out of change for the meter outside. He truly loves what he does and doesn't half-ass anything. My little old '66 Pro Reverb is singing like a teenager.
-
Review from John Y.
San Ramon, CA
2/20/2011
Hal is THE MAN! When you first walk in, it is a mix of old and new gear (mostly old though) in various stages of repair and parts all over the place. Hal himself is a nice unassuming kind of guy. When you talk to him though, he really loves these old amps! He seems like he can talk for hours about amps, music, guitars and the whole SF gigging scene! I feel kind of bad chatting with him though because I know his time is precious and it's his 'work' time.
I've been bringing my '67 Fender Super Reverb to Hal ever since I got it. It's been biased and thoroughly gone over. He's always recommended what it takes to get the amp back to original specs. He doesn't strike me to be a hot-rodder when it comes to amps. He has a certain 'respect' for the amps as they came off the assembly line in Fullerton. So, he always opts to put original spec parts back into the amps. He also really appreciates a good amp when he sees one. He won't suggest anything that the amp won't need and will always try to save you money.
My latest visit to Hal was because I broke my stock Standby switch. I suppose after nearly 35 years, it's bound to break. When my wife & I walk in, he remembers me by name and recognized the amp! So, after a few weeks, I call him to follow up and he even remembers me again! He tells me it's all back together and wonderful sounding. YAY!!! So, I head out there, and he hands me his personal guitar to test out the amp. Needless to say, I am floored that he would hand me his own personal guitar. Of course, it plays beautifully too. My amp sounds great. I've been missing my old friend. He tells me that while he was in there, he did a few extra things too. No problem! Messing inside an amp is not my idea of fun-it can potentially KILL you if you don't know what you're doing.
Anyway, I get it home and put it thru it's paces and it's better than before. Not that I ever abuse my amp, it's well taken care of, but he fixed a little bit of a noise issue I've been having. Just a little hum.
One note, bring quarters if you want to spend any time with Hal. It's expensive to park out in the City!!!
Don't think about it. Just do it. Bring your amp to Hal and you won't be disappointed.
John Y -
Review from Jason M.
Berkeley, CA
7/30/2011
Hal's the best there is. A straight-shooting honest guy who knows everything about vintage amps. I've been taking my '65 Deluxe Reverb to him for years and I've never been the least bit disappointed.
-
Review from MeatMaster X.
Seattle, WA
1/20/2009
Had been going to Euthymia in Alameda and thought I'd give Hal a shot for pure convenience reasons (he's a quarter-mile from my SF rehearsal space).
The people above are right about Hal in person -- he's a nice, personable dude, and loves to talk amps. That's what you want in an amp tech.
The other thing you want is communication. It's nice to know what their backlog is like, get an update when parts need ordered, etc. This is where Hal fails massively. It's always "call me next week," and once you track him down he'll tell you he/you need to order a part.
Finally, you want an amp tech to be thorough. There are a multitude of ways an amp can go wrong, and I realize it's a real process getting an old tube amp running smoothly, and give techs leeway. But after having my amp returned and crapping out on me twice, each time taking closer to a month than the two weeks people mention above, I'm done with Guitronics.
As I said, Hal's a knowledgeable, pleasant dude. While I realize that the lack of competition in this field makes consumers a captive audience, he might want to consider some customer service classes, because treating your customers like assholes is poor policy. -
Review from r s.
Austin, TX
5/14/2008
I recently took my very old Airline tube amp over to Hal at Guitronics for a re-tubing and overall tune up. In a couple weeks, he had the thing singing again. It sounded so good I ended up taking it on the road wtih me for a few weeks and it held up and and sounded amazing for the entire tour.
Also, Hal is just a great guy. Very knowledgable. Will explain everything he's doing, answer questions, etc. My amp has about 8 tubes in it, some of which I wasn't even aware of their purpose to be honest. Hal only replaced the ones that needed replacing and left everything else in tact (ie - he's an honest man).
He's got about a 2 week turn time for the most part. He has a standard flat fee for tune ups (which is better than many other shops in town that charge by the hour) + parts. It's not cheap, but more competitive than the other shops, and in San Francisco these guys have to charge a bit more because of cost of rent, etc. -
Review from mister m.
Emeryville, CA
2/28/2011
Hal has helped me with my '68 Fender tube amp from the day I bought it, starting with a safety inspection, and through the occasional need for maintenance.
He has also been great in recommending tube choices based on the level of headroom vs breakup I want, and answering my questions over the phone when needed.
I couldn't ask for more. -
Review from James R.
Napa, CA
9/3/2011
Hal, couldn't be a nicer more approachable guy with an encyclopedia of knowledge on amps, He did a fantastic job of repairing the "repairs" of all the other amp shops in the Bay Area on my '54 Fender Deluxe and it's never sounded better!
-
Review from Jamie Q.
San Francisco, CA
1/20/2011
Hal did a fantastic job restoring my 1963 Fender Princeton. He is one of the most knowledgeable tube amp gurus in the city.
-
Review from nick d.
San Francisco, CA
11/5/2007
Hal is as much artist as technician- he will make your vintage amp sound like it should, and then some. He will gladly explain concepts like ohms, watts, and tubes to the layperson. Plus, he's nice as pie. I can't believe there are only two reviews of his tube wizardry on here! If your Marshall/Fender/Vox/Gibson/Accoustic/Boogie/etc needs love, Hal is your first call.
-
Review from dan m.
San Francisco, CA
2/8/2008
Need your tube amp fixed? Go here, and that's that. Gets busy sometimes so you may want to check in and make sure your amp is getting serviced when it was said it would be. Hal knows his stuff and you will be oh so happy. :)
-
Review from schuyler d.
San Francisco, CA
3/12/2008
I've got what you might call a cursed amp made by Fender that tends to stop working during shows and sometimes it even makes a wild screech or buzz that you can't turn off. I've taken this amp to Hal about three times now and I think he has finally cured it of its demons. The last time it stopped working I took it back to him and he didn't want there to be any question about the quality of his workmanship so he fixed it totally for free. You can tell that Hal cares about his reputation and the happiness of his customers, so Guitronics gets 5 stars.
-
Review from Pamela A.
Los Angeles, CA
10/8/2008
Well let me just say that ever since I got my first amp back in 96' I have been taking all my amps to Hal. He is just super cool, straight up guy that explains what happened, what he did to it and why its sounding so fuckin tight now!! Everytime I go I always feel like I learn a little something. This is the place to go,PERIOD!
-
Review from rc b.
San Francisco, CA
9/4/2008
Guru god of the tube amps. I had Hal re tube a 1953 fender pro amp (that was a basket case) a year and half ago. This is now my favorite amp, Hal dialed it in to my style of playing. Definitely loves talking shop, super knowledgeable.
-
Review from jan g.
San Francisco, CA
12/2/2009
I've been taking my tube amps to Guitronics for many years. Hal's equipment knowledge is wide, deep and enthusiastic. Has experience with many amp brands beyond Fender and Marshall, like old Ampegs, Traynors and Sunns. Reasonable prices. I was always informed of the repair status and cost.
-
Review from Nelson W.
San Francisco, CA
1/24/2010 4 photos
I have had a problem with some kind of short for a long time with my Fender Deluxe, and I finally took it in because it started to drive me crazy. At any rate, Hal fixed it and changed the tubes. It sounds like a brand new amp!
-
Review from Eastbay C.
El Sobrante, CA
9/9/2011
will only work on stuff he likes.
-
Review from Ocie B.
San Francisco, CA
3/9/2009
Hal is a great guy. He knows his business and he knows what will work best for your amp. I brought my Princeton Reverb in when I first purchased it and upon hearing it said he thought the reverb tank needed replacement, that it sounded flabby. I told him to check it out and low and behold, one of the springs was broken. Great ears, great instinct.
He is fair and doesn't charge you up the shoot, he'll give you a quote for what you want done, and he does it. He'll ask about any additional problems he finds along the way. I give him full reign over my equipment and I haven't been disappointed.
He isn't into the heavy modding and tinkering like, ahem, some other places around here, and he has you demo your amp before you take it with you so you can be sure it's what you want.
He's the best. -
Review from Mike M.
San Francisco, CA
10/31/2009
I took my 76 Twin into see Hal because I thought it had a little too much static sound in it. This is my first vintage amp and I don't know much about them, so Hal easily could have taken me for a ride to make minor and unnecessary fixes to my amp. Instead he did a quick A/B test with an old Fender he had in the shop to show me that my amp was working fine. Charged me nothing for about 20 minutes of his time, and he even had the footswitch I've been looking for in his shop. I can't recommend Guitronics enough and will for sure take my Twin back when it needs new tubes.
-
Review from tom c.
San Francisco, CA
12/9/2007
Hal is a dude. He's on of those really interesting, down-to-earth, no bullshit kinda guys who loves what he does and it shows. He made my twin reverb sound great, and yes it wasn't a particularly quick turnaround, but hey, this guy goes at his own pace. And If you have 10 or 15 minutes to spare, hang about in his workshop as I get the feeling this guy likes to chew the fat.
-
Review from Aaron G.
San Francisco, CA
5/5/2010
Does very good work... Very busy but is very good at what he does and will solve the problem and is very clear about what the problem is and what to do.
