I brought my tube amp in to fix strange sounds (hissing, squeals, etc.) it was making while playing in the clean channel. I paid Shane to fix the problem. The amp seemed fixed for a few days until the amp's clean channel started acting up again. I took it back to Shane who said the strange noises reoccurred because I must have turned it off without putting in on Standby first. He said he would do more work on it. Looking back I realize this was complete BS, but Shane seemed like a trustworthy person, so I didn't argue with him. My mistake. When I came back to pick up my amp I was surprised to see that I was charged over $200 considering I had just paid him for the first round of repairs. Shane also said that the noises were also due the fact that I needed to replace my tubes. As a result, I listened to his advice and I bought some 6L6s. From what I remember, not including the tubes, I was charged almost $400 total for the work Shane did on my amp. Within a few months my amp was making the same noises. Unfortunately, I was so wrapped up in work that this issue was never high enough on my priority list to take care of. I have since moved away from the Sacramento area due to a new job so the problem was never fixed. My amp still makes the same noises when I'm playing in the clean channel. Shane seems like a nice guy, but the bottom line is that he failed in fixing my amp. If I could do it over again, I never would have agreed to paying him over $200 for the second round of repairs since he should have fixed the problem the first time around. I trusted his expertise and in the end I feel like I sure as hell did not get what I paid for.

I wanted to share some experiences I've had recently with Shane Manning's Tube Sonic Audio custom amp building services. I acquired a 1966 Kalamazoo Bass 50 amplifier more than 20 years ago and struggled off and on to fix several issues with it's performance.... hum and other noise problems plagued this vintage amp. Due to some inherent design problems, the amp was prone to parasitic oscillations when played at high volumes especially. I tried all sorts of shielding and other things I had read on the internet about fixing these specific issues. After Shane had done some other fine work for me, I decided there wasn't anybody I knew that would be skilled OR trustworthy enough to tackle an upgrade/restoration of this amp. I was in no hurry to have this done, but I had some specific wishes that presented some technical challenges.... I knew it was going to take careful planning and an artful approach to fitting what I wanted into the modest-sized amp chassis. To make a long story short, Shane took care to satisfy my checklist, and even came up with cool ideas of his own.... you could tell he was into the project, and I appreciated that. From time to time I'd check in and give feedback on his progress....months later he presented me with a dead quiet, totally powerful, gig-worthy amplifier. He wasn't satisfied though.... he wanted me to take it home and live with it before he gave it the final tweak! I gave further feedback and was so happy with the initial outcome, that I requested Shane to build me a custom head cabinet for the finished amplifier. The total package was a fun experience and I urge others to investigate Shane's services if you're looking for a custom amplifier, voiced the way YOU want it. I am really a satisfied customer. It's a unique service.