CAE Sound

I ordered a tube amp with reverb online (what could go wrong). Reverb was broken in shipment. Peter at CAE was nearest warranty place, not that close, but that’s not his fault. Dropped it off, used his website to track repairs and picked it up a week later. It works fine now. Thanks

CAE is listed on the Line 6 website as offering repairs and replacement parts. I called them today to order a couple parts and was told that unless I wanted to pay extra for the owner’s time, he wasn’t willing to even look up the part numbers and place the order. Totally rude. What a jerk.

Called Fender to get instructions for repairing a defective new amp we just bought. They gave us phone numbers for two local shops to call. This one was closest, though a good 30 minutes away. Called and they said to bring the unit down. Gave their hours of operations (which are M-​F 10 – 1 and 2 – 5 so, if you have a day job, you have to take time off). No other instructions.
Drove down to what appears to be a converted old motel. Tiny sign in front and a darkly lit room piled floor to ceiling with amps and other equipment.
The first guy couldn’t help us for some reason. Said he didn’t know where anything was. The second guy (appeared to be the owner) came in, fiddled with his computer a sec then gave us the story a few Unilocalers said they got too. Basically, that Fender only pays him $ 30 for «an hour of paperwork» (I’m pretty sure that’s exaggerated) and that he asks customers to «pitch in» and pay another $ 40 for him to basically package up the amp and mail it back to Fender. They then repair or replace it and mail it back to him. That’s it. And that would take several weeks because he said (and showed us) that he’s backlogged some 30 – 40 items. Guess they didn’t pay the tip.

If I could give this place more stars, I would. This is the 2^nd place I contacted to get my JBL EON speaker repaired. This place was more kind and respectful on the phone than the 1^st place I contacted in Berkeley (per JBLs website). The repair gets a lot of business but is under paid but a majority of these brand name products. When you get your equipment fixed here, please be kind and tip them. Thank you for the wonderful and kind service!

The work done here is pretty solid. I had a line 6 pedal that was not receiving inputs properly so I dropped it off and a week later it was resolved. The workmanship and the quality is solid as well. The actual technician does reliable work.
I was off put however due to their policies in terms of pay $ 125 upfront and its not a guarantee that the issue will be resolved. The drop off price was only for the 1^st hour labor. If your item took more than 1 hour prepare to pay additional $ 125 per hour based on what the receiving person told me that did not include parts. Luckily my issue was apparent and a relatively simple so it was resolved with just the $ 125.
I would probably come back to get my other stuff fixed if they were broken in the future, but if I find another shop with better price points and shop policies, I would most likely go there.

I just picked up my Ampeg head this afternoon from Peter’s shop. The amp’s been in the shop for about two and a half months and quite frankly, I was dreading the cost of repairs bill. I followed the «repair status» postings and was intrigued/​worried that the analysis of the varied issues and repairs would not prove cost effective as to «saving» the amp. Those of us bass players that push their sound through tubes understand the want/​need that only tube-​heated bass sound projects! Being that there was an unusual problem that was hard to detect… it took over 6 hours to test and diagnose & repair multiple problems. Peter only charged me 2 hours time and parts. This guy is the epitome of «old school» craftsmanship and «attention to detail»! It’s reassuring to know that there’s a guy out there that conducts business with integrity and honesty! Thanks Peter!

Peter is a no B.S. wonderfully quirky, friendly, passionate Craftsman with a capital C. If your instrument is important to you, he’s the guy you want looking after it. Peter has integrity and cares about what he’s doing.
Peter posts regular status updates through his website so you can see how your repair is going.
He is a bit overwhelmed being largely a one man band with occassional help from an employee to allow him to focus more on doing repairs; so respect his time. Be a little patient, pay the good man on time, and he’ll get it done right in the end. He also doesn’t have a lot of free space so if you don’t pick your gear up soon after its repaired, you should experience deep guilt like I did.
If Peter can’t fix it, you may as well keep it for decoration or sell for spare parts. He also has a nice collection of vintage gear for sale so check it out before gambling on ebay. Peter is the only guy I’m comfortable leaving my instruments with.
P. S. My repair was a non-​warranty issue so Peter probably was paid more reasonably and fair for the time he put in on my piano than if it was under warranty. Don’t blame Peter for manufacturer’s policies. He’s the Craftsman who does the repairs. Judge him on that alone. Manufacturer’s often squeeze service shops Go Unilocal review the manufacturer for problems with their product quality or warranty policies. If you have a Warranty job, Peter is still the guy to go to of course-​but be extra respectful of his time and go to him for things outside of warranty jobs too so it’s worth it for him to keep doing warranty work. There aren’t a lot of Craftmen like Peter around anymore, so look out for the guy.

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I drove 90 minutes from Sonoma, to drop off my mixer after talking to Mackie and being told to just bring it to my nearest warranty center and they would take good care of me. CAE is the only warranty center in the Bay area. When I got there and described my issue, Peter spent 30 minutes telling me about how little they were paid by the manufacturer for doing the warranty repairs. He even showed me 2 invoices where he was paid less than 10 cents. He keeps them pinned to his board. He explained that if they had to spend more than 15 minutes to find a problem then I would have to pay for the extra time at their normal shop rate. I told him I did not want to get a call telling me they couldn’t find a problem and that I owed them a payment for extra time. I did say that if they would fix the problems and they were not adequately compensated by Mackie, I would work something out with him. I left feeling like I had just been conned into something, but I decided to wait and see if they fixed it. It would be worth it just to have my board working properly again.
3 weeks later, I saw that they had changed the status on my mixer to progress, I waited another week or so to see if the status would change again and it did not. I found that I could click on the order and see more detail and then found that they had put the mixer on the bench for 15 minutes but did not reproduce the problem. I guess they were waiting for me to find the detail and call them, when they should have called me to let me know, in my opinion.
I called them and after a totally unsatisfying talk. drove back down to pick up my board. They tried to get me to sign a form which said I acknowledged the quality of their repair and parts and told me I was just signing that I had received my board. I said I would be happy to sign it if they let me cross out the part which said they had actually provided parts and repair and they refused to let me do that. In the end I just picked up my board and left. On my way out Peter told me to never call them about my mixer again. He did not need to tell me that, I would never bring him anything else, ever again.
It’s been several weeks since then and my board is still not working properly. I had bought the mixer from
and it finally occurred to me to call them and ask what to do. If only I had called them first. They sent me a Fedex shipping label and are covering the cost of shipping, both ways, and will perform the repairs under warranty, themselves. Thank you Sweetwater, thank you so much. on’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

I took my Roland synth here to replace the LCD screen which had gone dark. It took several months but that was due to the part having to come from Roland Japan, it was out of stock. They are reasonably priced and very straightforward about the process.

I really don’t enjoy writing one-​star reviews but in this case it is truly warranted.
I brought a Fender Rhodes keyboard here several years ago. It had several «sticky» keys to be fixed. In addition the repairman was to make a special power supply since I only had the keyboard and not the original amplifier.
Long story short, several hundred dollars and MANY frustrating trips from Sunnyvale to San Mateo later I ended up with keys that still stuck and a power supply that stopped working. I still have it, maybe I’ll use it as a paperweight.
Furthermore the customer service was horrible, rather than just quoting a price for the repair the work was charged by the hour without even a rough estimate of how long it might take. I was strung along for weeks. On several occasions the repairman assured me work would be done within a certain time frame and then failed to deliver, in fact failed to even bother to CALL and update me. Never an apology, just bad attitude all the way.
Enter at your own risk, you have been warned.

I’ve been taking my equipment to CAE since 2001. We’re talking Moogs, Continentals, Wurlitzers, Vox amps, and gear I can’t even recall, but it’s not until my recent experience that I’ve been compelled to write a review. I’ll be honest. I don’t write a lot of Unilocal reviews, as I only write up places that truly impress me, and CAE has done just that.
Recently, I brought in a solid state Peavey bass head I acquired on the cheap. Well, I soon discovered why it was so cheap. Not only did it not work, but it completely befuddled and frustrated a local tech I had been using due to his proximity to my apartment here in SF. This tech, who is very skilled in his own right, gave it back to me and asked me never to give him anything that wasn’t a tube amp or guitar from now on. That’s how put out he was.
Certain I had purchased a lemon, down to CAE I went. Peter tackled the job without batting an eye and had it back to me in a couple of weeks despite being slammed with work. I plugged it in, started playing, and towards the end of my rehearsal, it started smoking! Money down the drain, I thought. I took it back to CAE, and Peter promised to get it working and refused to charge me any more labor. He had it back in my hands less than a week later, explaining the many issues it had in detail, and it’s been working like a charm ever since.
You might be thinking, «Well, why didn’t he fix it right the first time?» The fact is Peter wanted to preserve the original parts if possible and keep the cost as low as he could. He could’ve replaced all the parts at first glance & charged me a small fortune, but the man respects gear and, more importantly, his customers. An old solid state amp like this is much harder to work on, and even broke a lesser tech. Peter, meanwhile, admitted it was a challenge, but never showed any fear, never flinched, and saw the project through to the end for a reasonable price.
CAE currently has an Ampex 601 reel to reel of mine that I want turned into a preamp. I saw this done on a website, asked him if he could do the same, and he’s taking it on. That’s how dedicated Peter is. Good luck finding anyone else to indulge your technical flights of fancy. As soon as he’s done with that, he’s getting my Crumar Performer. I can no longer deal with any gear that’s not running perfectly, and that’s because CAE has spoiled me. I don’t know what I’d do if they closed.

Poor customer service. Would never think to call over there again. Found a much more reliable business in the area that is accommodating, accessible and helpful. If anyone asked for a recommendation on CAE, it would reap a big NEGATIVE.

Holy crapstics. Not only are these guys a Crown Authorized Repair Dealer (damn hard to find!), Pete GAVE ME A LOANER AMP FOR THE DURATION OF THE REPAIR. No charge.
No really. Here it is again, more details.
Crown gave me shit with the warranty (two freakin months!!!) and I had no worries because I GOT A LOANER AMP FOR THE ENTIRE TWO MONTHS.
Crown made me pay for shipping, and hey Crown may be a pain in the ass, but CAE Sound made everything else FREE and PAINLESS. They’re fast, professional and friendly. I love these guys!

Peter was so knowledgeable and personable when I took my Juno G workstation in. I was having trouble with my LED disappearing and leaving me blind as to where anything was. Then it finally went out all together.
He not only repaired it but found a recall from Roland. All I needed was my purchase receipt and it was «FREE» even the labor was picked up by Roland!
Thanks Peter you are awesome and good people too! Lydia V. Livermore

Hello Unilocalers,
over the years I have found Peter to be an expert on a variety of musical gear.
He has repaired an Oberheim Matrix 1000, TC Electronics 2290 and TC electronics pedal chorus. I love the sound of these devices and was thrilled to not have to replace them with something else. Not everything can be fixed — but if it’s possible CAE Sound is likely your final option. Keep up the stellar work guys!

Worst repairman I have ever met! I took my Emu SP1200 to them. They said they could fix all the problems with it. I did not have the OS disk to even test what the problems were, but they said they had one and could figure out all the known problems. They kept it for over 2 months. When they called me to come pick it up they said they had worked everything out. I get there and they said they could not fix the button because they had no replacement for it. Fine, I understand this, but I saw a button in which I could have bought online and given to them. They said they would have to recharge me again for the initial fee of $ 150. That is fine, I fully understand that, but at the same time I think I should have been notified that they could not find the button before they closed the drum machine up. Another problem I found with one of the drum button triggers was not working and they said that I did not put that in the initial note I left for them of the problems. THAT WAS BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE THE OS DISK TO KNOW WHICH BUTTON IT WAS! I even wrote that in the note. They try to scam every dollar they can by not fixing known problems and then recharging you the $ 150 initial fee to open it up.
Then I asked to buy the OS disk for the drum machine, they said it would cost $ 50. THATS OUTRAGEOUS! The disk takes 10 minutes to copy over to another disk. I had my own floppy disks and they said that it would still cost $ 50. The guy said he runs a business and that he has to make money. $ 50 for an OS disk is ridiculous. I ended up buying on ebay for $ 10.
The button that they did fix felt kind of funny, but it did work. And so I took it home, and about a month later that button broke. The same one they claimed to fix. I asked them to re-​fix it and they said they would have to recharge me again.
I then took the drum machine to another tech in the bay area, much more reliable than CAE. And he told me the job they did on the drum machine looked half assed. The button that CAE installed was not even made for that SP1200, but it did fit. And that is the reason it broke because it was not even for that drum machine. He said it looked as if they spent 10 minutes putting that button in because the soldering job was horrible. I will never ever go back to this place for service and I recommend that if you are a musician that you go to a more reputable service tech. I have lots of studio gear and have been to many techs in the bay area, but this is by far the worst service tech I have ever been to.

I wish i’d found out about this place sooner!
I have owned a variety of analogue synthesizers over the years and had always wished there was a place close by to do the service that i couldn’t (meaning mostly at the circuit level, as i can replace motherboards and many mechanical parts).
I ‘ve dealt with a talented guy in Oakland (you may know of whom i speak) and even had some work done by another talented guy in Seattle, who also does hardwood cases for vintage synths. I had even considered sending a synth to a well-​known technician in Georgia who specializes in ARPs.
Last year, i decided to finally pay attention to the couple ads i’d seen for a hole-​in-​the-​wall shop in San Mateo. I’m very glad i did and have kicked myself a couple times for not «discovering» CAE sound earlier. Since my discovery i’ve had a couple Moogs and an ARP serviced by Peter and all my experiences were beyond satisfactory.
The first time i walked into CAE, i knew i was in a master craftperson’s shop. There were Leslie cabinets being refurbished, amps of every make and model on their way in and out, and venerable old Prophets and Moogs waiting for their owners to claim them. I’ve since had peeks at the repair bench and Peter has an amazing collection of vintage and refurbished parts for many, many types of gear. He even maintains several aging PCs to accommodate servicing gear from the 1980s, when gear first started to talk to computers and never got upgrades to newer OSes.
I’ve chatted with Peter several times and know full well that he represents a disappearing breed of bench technicians who have literally seen it all and repaired most everything. Peter’s expertise goes beyond the circuitry and mechanical realms, into cabinet housing as well. It’s no wonder he was a key technician for the Dead — you probably know how important sound was to *that* band!
Anyway, i understand that service on vintage gear can take a while. Peter is literally a one-​man shop and his services are in demand. He has an online repair status page that has allowed me to track the progress as it occurs. If you have dealt with any of the other talented repair specialists i alluded to above, you know that servicing vintage gear just does not happen overnight — and most of these people are not doing repair full time, as Peter is.
I saw some of the negative reviews on CAE sound and, well, everybody has different expectations and experiences. Mine have all been great. For any sort of mechanical, electrical or even cabinetry needs, i will not hesitate to go to CAE sound first.
Negatives are minor: there will be a wait. Get in line like everyone else. Fortunately, little of my gear is «gig critical.» Also, CAE keeps very tight hours — no weekend hours, so i have to plan my drop offs and pick ups in advance, as i work far from San Mateo (though i live fairly close).
On the positive, Peter is really easy to talk to and he understands the intricacies of my gear. I know i’m leaving my gear with someone who not only understands how to troubleshoot and repair it, but who genuinely cares about his work. Like i said earlier, a master craftsman — a dying breed. I hope Peter finds an apprentice who’s willing to put in a couple decades just to scratch the surface of what Peter knows.
P. S. I’ve heard Peter talk on the phone with people calling with unrealistic expectations and i’ve heard nothing but patience in his voice («You want me to come to your church right now and repair your aging Hammond organ? How about i call you back after my customer leaves and we’ll talk about how i can help you…»).
I hope none of my gear breaks down — but if it does, i’ll find a way to get it down to CAE sound for the necessary TLC.

Phone call…
CAE: «CAE sound.»
Me: «Yeah i’d like to get my keyboard looked at and would like to know how to go about it.»
CAE: (sarcastically) «Well we can’t repair it over the phone.»
Me: «Obviously.»
I found someone else.

I had a GREAT experience with these guys. Had a defective Line 6 M9 that Line 6 HQ in SoCal was resistant to have me send to them, instead they referred me to CAE locally.
I had never heard of them so was intially somewhat flummoxed and hesitant. I called them, was treated with good natured hunor and respect over the phone. Went down there and dropped off the unit, they were crystal clear as to their policies. They called Line 6, got the part and got the unit back to me in working order in THREE DAYS. All covered under warranty. Never left me in the dark– corresponded with me the whole three days by phone, email and status update.
Musicians can be a tough bunch to please, I know, I am one of them… but let me say that there is not one thing CAE could have done differently to make this experience any more awesome than it was. They are kind, good natured people and I will take gear there again based on how well they treated me and my gear. Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you would like more details.
Thanks CAE!

You’d be better off flinging your gear off the Bay bridge than leave it with CAE Sound. If you don’t believe me, read some of the other reviews (including the filtered reviews)! There is a disturbing pattern and I invite you to email me if you’re interested in putting together a class action law suit — NOT KIDDING.
My husband brought in a small GK cabinet — under warranty — and then didn’t hear back from them for a month. Whatever — I’ve seen worse (we’re both musicians).
But when he got to the shop to pick it up — in total lockstep with some of the other reviews here — they tell him that they didn’t find anything wrong with it but that they’d performed a bunch of unauthorized work on it and then handed him a grossly inflated bill for unnecessary services that they never received permission from him to do. Sound familiar?!!
When he disputed it, they whipped out this Rumplestiltskin-​like contract he’d never seen before, claiming they could charge him whatever they wanted to without his permission or notification! There was even a little place for the customer’s initials — which was BLANK of course, because they never showed it to him.
When he pointed out that he’d never seen it, which is why the initials line was BLANK, they told him that the now-​ex employee who took the gear when he first visited the shop was supposed to tell him that, but that he must have forgotten because he was a bad employee and that’s why they’d recently fired him. Apparently, he’d been doing the same thing to other customers…
…which I needn’t mention because in CAE Sound-​land, when an employee screws up it’s two big middle fingers for you… although there’s always the possibility that if the customer saw a stupid, probably illegal clause like that in a contract they’d turn right around and walk out!
After a whole lot of shuck and jive, my husband decided to contact GK (since CAE was their authorized dealer) and they said they’d be in touch with them. The shop said they’d wait.
So – as agreed, my husband waited patiently for someone to update him. In the mean time, he’s having to drag out his old Mesa Boogie rig to play gigs and we’re both going, ‘hmm — I wonder what the status is…‘
One week later, I come home from work and my husband is on the phone (speaker was on) with this crazy, hopped up she-​jackal telling him to come get his cabinet RIGHT NOW or she’s going to take it to the recycling center! Completely out of the blue. And I hear him trying to interject his side of the story as calmly as possible, but this only stokes her vampiric psychosis. I was so enraged, I just about blew a gasket. It would be one thing if she simply didn’t get the memo, but that never ever ever excuses treating a customer that way! Total stunner.
Being the nice guy that he is, he hangs up the phone and sort of scratches his head. The last he’d heard, someone from either the shop or GK would be in touch with him. The next thing he knows, he’s got Glenn Close on his @ss! I’m not kidding.
My filter just popped right off and I automatically called her up and reamed her up and down. You don’t call up a customer and verbally sucker punch them, and expect to come away unharmed.
For fear that she would — oh, I don’t know — stuff a horse’s severed head in it, he went in to get his cabinet. He has gigs and doesn’t have time for the shenanigans. So the strategy was to get it out and then relay the whole thing to every connection we know — including and especially our friends with GK endorsements.
With that in mind, he goes in there (this was two days ago) to rescue his gear and out trots Nurse Ratchet. And I’m so glad I wasn’t there. So, so glad because I don’t think I would be able to restrain myself. Anyway, he gives his credit card to Nurse and she tells him they DON’T TAKE CREDIT CARDS FROM CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE A DISPUTE!!! schlllllllllllllap! So he had to go get CASH to pay this psychotic troll before he could get his gear back! Because they’ve had SO MANY UNSATISFIED CUSTOMERS that they had to create a NO CASH RULE! If that doesn’t tell you to take your gear somewhere else, I really don’t know what else to say… except that you can instead take your gear here:
Or here:
Or here:
Or here:
And if you’re bringing your gear in because it’s your manufacturer’s authorized repair shop, tell them NO WAY and ask for the next shop on their list.