This review is based only on my experience with Frank's repair. Be warned…read more I built a tube amplifier from a Mojotone kit and despite triple checking all assembly steps when I fired it up (unplugged) was created with very loud buzzing which increased in volume with increase in amp gain controls. After frustrating review of every assembly step and verification that there were no cold solder joints or bad grounds I gave up and decided to have trouble shooting done by a certified amp tech. Frank is an elderly gentleman who works out of a very poorly lit and cluttered small apartment. I should have known better but I was anxious to get my project up and running. Now Frank's terms are $100 minimum and repair work not to exceed $150 without owner permission. Seemed fair so I handed over $100. Six days later Fank advised the amp was repaired with a balance owed of $200. The rationale was that he spent six hours totally rewiring the amp at $50/hour. He never advised me that the repair would in fact exceed the $150 "not to exceed" stated in my order. Nor did I ever ask Frank to undo all of my work and re-wire it. All I requested was for him to troubleshoot it and correct the issue. He does not have an oscilloscope so another red flag that should have had me running for the hills. It's my belief that Frank could not diagnose the problem so he decided to re-wire the whole thing. A good amp tech should have been able to pinpoint the cause of the buzzing without going to the extreme of rewiring everything. When I arrived at his apartment to check out the repair I plugged in a guitar and immediately noted that the loud buzzing was gone but there was a very noticeable hum which got louder with increase in amp gain. Frank said "oh it wasn't doing that when I checked it out". I unplugged the guitar and hum remained. Frank implied it was normal and I should expect that at high gain with a vintage tube amp circuit. I question Frank about the $300 charge without my consent and he said because he has sent me a text with a picture of the work in progress that should have sufficed as my approval since I did not say stop. I paid him the additional $200 thinking that the hum was perhaps environmental electro magnetic interference. I got the amp chassis home and installed it in the cabinet but the objectionable hum did not go away. I contact Monotone tech support and they advised that a properly built kit is dead quiet except for maybe some tube hiss at max gain settings. Frank's paperwork stated that the repair had a thirty day warranty. When I called him out on this he refused to do any further work on my amp and he said the he got it working and he was not about to but any more unpaid repair time in it. He said "you gave me an amp that had no output, it works now and hum was not the issue. It's your project, welcome to the world of electronics. Figure it out buddy" I decided to troubleshoot the hum. I discovered a cold solder joint connected to pre-amp tube V1 and that Frank had mis-wired the center tap from the power transformer. I removed that wire from the wrong location on the circuit board and soldered it in its correct location. Hum gone. Amp dead quiet even at max gain settings. I highly recommend that you think twice about using Ann Arbor Amplifier for amp repair.

I had a customer that bought a custom tube amp from me. He had me ship it cross country to him. I'm…read moreon the West Coast. He's in Michigan. This is a big, heavy unit. He loved it but suddenly it stopped working. What to do? Shipping is expensive and hazardous. I found Bartsonics on Craigslist a few blocks from the customer. A local to check it out, perfect! The customer had told me that the only repair place there quoted him a six month wait to even look at the amp. He didn't know about Bartsonics. The next day, yes, the next day, not six months later, Bartsonics had checked the unit out and a verdict was in. The amp was perfect. No issues at all. The customer was the issue. That solved it for me. If not for Bartsonics I was on the hook for everything, big return shipping, whatever, it was on me. As it was, I was in the clear. They saved me. Thank you Bartsonics.

Music is life! It has been a part of my life even before I was born. I love dancing, listening and…read moreanything that has music. I believe music stirs the soul, and its gift can never be taken away. All of my family has a passion for music and my niece and nephew have taken music lessons here. Highly recommend.

Had first guitar lesson and evaluation w the owner, Alex, and was assigned to an instructor based…read moreon schedule and availability. This is going to be great journey and am really looking forward to getting started. Oh Wait...ok, that was Thursday. Friday, I auditioned and joined a band (vocals), so by Sunday, I called the Center and switched to a vocal coach. Had my first session wtih Chris McCall last week and LOVE IT! Convenient parking directly across the street. The center is one block from Main Street, in downtown Ann Arbor. Classes are 30 mins, they bill you for the month upfront and I can see why. It secures your spot with your instructor and keeps people from totally flaking out on their lesson, leaving the instructor high and dry. Schedules are flexible and the people are friendly.

DLP is a quick and reliable music and repair shop. I called several other violin shops that were by…read moreappointment only and told me that it would take 3-4 days to re-string and polish my violin. I needed my violin ready by the weekend so 4 days was too long of a wait. DLP is open late until 8:00 - 8:30 PM on weekdays. Just call the shop and tell the owner what you need to be done and he is accommodating. I was able to get my violin back the next day. The prices are reasonable. I would return here for violin supplies like strings, rosin, and polish.

They happily took my $65 for an Amp repair deposit. No contact until i walked into shop 3 weeks…read morelater to find amp in same spot on shop (untouched). Complained that I should get my deposit back and take amp home, they committed to take amp back to "bench". Returned 1 week later to find amp still on bench - i believe untouched. I seriously doubt they have any competence for electronic instrument repair. I took my unrepaired amp back and took the $65 deposit loss (since technically they put my amp on the bench). Beware.

My Yamaha CVP-809 was priced more than competitively, I feel almost bad that I got such a great…read moredeal. They took my CVP-309 in trade and gave me top dollar for it. Delivery was smooth and without a hitch and I love this piano so much and it felt great getting it locally

The King family have always given so much to our community, not just selling pianos and music, but…read morea suppying recital venue for teachers and students, studios for teaching, advice on pianos and referrals of piano movers and tuners. They are the backbone of Ann Arbor's musical community. They offer free recitals for teachers and students to perform. I worked directly with Dick King while raising money for the St Andrews piano. He gave us a generously reasonable price, and waited forever for the church to pay, even after the piano was delivered. The King family are kind souls and rock of our community.

Too expensiv. Ceo wants employees to work but doesn't allow them to speak even after excelling in…read moreproduction. Find cheaper instruments on Amazon and buy from a company that cares about the employees.

Terrific customer service! I spoke with Kyndra, who was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and…read morepatient. She clarified a confusion with my order, resolved the issue, helped me place a new order, and assisted with starting a return for an item I ordered by mistake.

Ben was great! He diagnosed the problem with my Onkyo stereo amp -- something the…read morefactory-authorized repair place failed to correct on two separate occasions -- and his expert work cost slightly less than the last bill from the authorized repair place. He quoted his labor charge up front and offered a first-time customer discount (which he honored at the time of payment.) The defective part he replaced was minuscule and was not costly. But finally having a functioning amp and listening to music again in my apartment after five years and two botched repairs is priceless. Ben took the time to explain the repair and was very prompt about responding to texts and phone messages. Ben even answered a technical question I had about running speaker wires. On a Saturday night!

Ben communicated all through the repair of my bass amp and charged fairly for the time spent on the…read moreproject. Will be contacting for all potential future repairs.

Kevin reciently fixed my husbands old guitar. My husband has an old Gibson that has sat in the…read morecloset for a few years unplayed, because the bridge had started to come off. I decided to have it fixed for my husbands birthday. Kevin was very attentive and professional. He had to make a new bridge that he made by hand in his shop. I was worried about how it would look but you literaly cant tell its a new bridge! I was amazed at how it turned out. Kevin was wonderful, the repair was done perfectly, quickly and at a very reasonable price. My husband is so happy to have his guitar back. I highly recommend Kevin!

From the owner: Kevin Caton, of Caton Guitars, has been a professional Luthier for over 20 years. He builds some…read moreof the worlds best acoustic instruments and provides the best repair services available. Kevin is able to do anything from a simple restring and clean to a full restoration.