Peter is an amazing technician when it comes to repairing Vintage Music equipment. I brought several pieces of Vintage gear to him and he was always able to find parts somehow and repair them for a reasonable cost. He is especially skilled at working on Hammond organs and Leslie speakers. Highly recommended read more

They wanted $200 "deposit", immediately got defensive/hostile when I tried to clarify what that meant. It turned out to mean down payment. Deposit implies I would get money back (say, if they could fix my gear in one second or quickly see it's unfixable, etc.) The word choice might be forgivable but the hostility made me feel like I was talking to a swindler. If they have so much business that they're actively trying to repel people, respect. read more

CAE Sound, took care of my equipment and made it like new. I am very pleased with the results and highly recommend them.

I've been getting my synthesizers and electronic instruments repaired at many different shops over the years between my time in Hollywood and the Bay Area. Musician's Service Center in San Jose (since retired), Forat Electronics in Studio City, Advanced Musical Electronics in LA, Synth Spa in Wisconsin, not to mention the manufacturers themselves such as Studio Electronics, Dave Smith/Sequential, etc. During that time, I've gotten service on things from failing Juno 106 voice chips, tuning issues with the Korg PolySix, non-booting Waldorf Microwave XTk, and the list goes on. The time I've spent waiting for these orders to be diagnosed and repaired ranged from a few weeks to close to a year. In one case, longer than a year. I think I've developed perspective as both a client and from the vintage synth repairmen, having conversed with them at length on many occasions. I think it's important to understand and appreciate the extremely wide range of cases that they deal with from client to client. It could be a vintage MiniMoog from the 70's, where the replacement parts and chips no longer exist, so they have to scour second hand markets for parts scavenged off other broken units. That's just one example. The founder and engineer Peter Miller has been running CAE Sound for many years, with Elena running the office admin and client relationships. Occasionally, Peter has some help in the shop with some different types of gear. I've found Peter to be the most straight forward repair engineer that I've met. If there's any chance that your synth can be repaired, Peter is one of the more likely engineers to figure it out and return it to you in working condition. But some instruments are beyond repair, and short of having the original designer look at it, there just aren't shops or available parts to service them. They are pretty up front about the initial diagnosis fee of $185. That's not cheap, but often opening up a synth can be tedious, as you have to pop off all of the knobs and slider caps, organize all the different screw sizes so that you can reassemble the synth once you are done looking inside. That can take a considerable amount of time, something I know from experience. I'd suggest that anyone who thinks the fee is too high, try opening up your own synths and see how long it takes you to reassemble. I spent a whole night opening up a Roland JX8P, detaching each spring attached to the keys one by one, then cleaning the keys and conductive rubber strip underneath the keybed because some keys weren't working. That experience helped me appreciate what synth repairmen much more, and the memory of it keeps me patient and appreciative that there are still people like Peter Miller out there. Don't get me wrong, there are some shady people like Jason Sole of the now defunct Waveformless out there who have flat out stolen synths such as a customized Korg PolySix and my friend's Yamaha CS-50 from people like me. But Peter is one of the good guys. Like most synth repairmen, he can come across a bit surly probably because of the demanding clients that he deals with on a regular basis. One only need to read some of the other reviews on this page to get a sense of that. Perhaps some have legitimate complaints, but as I've been saying, vintage synth repair is a tough business. It's not as if he doesn't want to fix everyone's broken instruments. Peter is extremely passionate about electronics and instruments. He personally designed custom amps for the Grateful Dead, among other really neat projects for big clients. Just go into CAE knowing that it could take some time because he is one of the only people out there still doing this. Be polite and respectful and you will be treated the same way. But he will get to it eventually, and they provide online updates on their website in case you are wondering about your repair status. read more

CAE Sound - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - San Mateo, California

CAE Sound was great to work with. I stumbled in with a huge 26 year old Roland that has been in our family for years with multiple generations playing on it. They not only had parts (can't say they will for you) but were able to repair all the broken keys and turn it around same day. They cleaned it up, polished the keys and it's an absolute gem once more. Worth every penny to find someone with super rare parts and the skill to restore this item. We're so happy. Thanks for your all your help! read more

CAE Sound - Roland KR-575 - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - San Mateo, California

Took way too long. Was originally quoted a year and it took three. Some work that I was billed for doesn't feel like it was done. Specifically key grommet replacement. I was told it was finished when it wasn't. I requested a photo of the work when they said it was finished because I wanted to see how some custom work turned out. OEM parts that had been removed during the repair/refurbish/custom work hadn't been replaced. I pointed this out in the email. I got a call later saying it was finished (again). Went down to pick it up to find the issues I pointed out in the email hadn't been resolved, and was additionally told that they couldn't afford to replace the parts without further payment beyond the deposit. Simple work I had requested during the consult wasn't finished, even though it was outlined out in the file given to me during the consult (switching knobs). Cosmetic damage that wasn't there before. Two stars only because some of the more complicated custom work (switching out lights / custom wood sides) turned out quite nice. Every time I interact with the synth I get pretty upset about the experience. I would recommend avoiding. read more

The only official Roland keyboard repair shop in the Bay Area that actually knows what they're doing. Fixed my keyboard on the spot and picked up some vintage gear at the same time. Fantastic family owned business. Great people. Psycho acoustic satisfaction guaranteed. read more

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Tech is unprofessional, and not ashamed to double-dip on warranty repairs: collecting extra payment from the customer on top of warranty repair reimbursement from the manufacturer. *** In 2016, I'd purchased a Peavey Valveking head brand new, in store. Later that year, the impedance switch broke while I was using the amp head in my house. CAE is the nearest Peavey service center, so I brought my Peavey head there along w/receipt demonstrating I'm the original owner with 18 months left on the warranty. A week later, I get a call from CAE telling me that my warranty claim had been rejected, but CAE would do the repair for their own fee. I had to go over CAE's head to talk with a supervisor at Peavey customer service to get my claim approved - and then I got another call back from CAE asking me for an extra fee to do the repair on top of Peavey's reimbursement to the service center. The tech said all of the following to me over the phone, and I wrote it down at the time: "Customer service tells us one thing, and then the customer goes crying to another department to tell us something else and now the whole situation is all messed up." "This is clearly breakage, probably from transportation." [After I pointed out that my original documentation clearly stated that I purchased in store]: "Well, I don't want to start an argument, but that's not how warranties work. You're lucky you got anything at all, but it puts us in a bit of a tight spot." It was frustrating to see CAE be so quick to advocate against their own customer, while accusing me of lying about the situation - despite the documentation I'd already supplied. It's also not clear to me why CAE would agree to be listed as a Peavey service center, if they aren't willing to accept Peavey's reimbursement rates. read more

It's as if these guys actively don't want your business. I have tons of audio gear and a lot of experience in the field, so I found it puzzling to be given so much attitude when I asked some simple questions about repairing a studio monitor. This fellow Peter did not want to hear even a basic description of the issue (crackling in tweeter). He then required me to bring in the gear, charged a high flat fee to diagnose the problem, refusing to give any turnaround time. The end result was a very high charge for a repair - over half what a new speaker would cost. A more trustworthy shop would likely have advised forgoing the repair and would have earned my trust. read more

took my keyboard to get fixed I got charge 1$195.00 dollars at the front took them almost 2 months to call me back to tell me they couldn't fix it I asked for the money lady said it was for the labor to open it it takes like 10 minutes to open those little keyboards ‍‍‍ read more

I brought in a particularly difficult job, and Peter and Elena persevered, and saw it through all the way to the end. I can't thank them enough for their patience and understanding. It was a Roland multitrack recorder. Parts are really difficult to find, and some are obsolete, but Peter got it up and running good as new, and I am back in business! read more

Just realized I never wrote this review five or more years back when I needed servicing on my Kurzweil PC3X. I STILL have the same issue I took it into CAE for and am about to start gigging again, so in looking for a SF Bay Area repair company I saw their name and cringed at the memory. I bought a floor-model Kurzweil for a discounted price, and from the get-go it had issues with its pitch bend and mod wheels not working properly. The Kurzweil has a built-in MIDI diagnostic feature that shows the MIDI CC values various controllers are sending. Both the pitch and modwheels were asymetric, meaning they were always applying some degree of modulation or pitch bend, and the amount was variable but always noticeable. I had to disable both controllers to work with the keyboard, but being as I was in an 80's synth-oriented band, these controls are pretty key to my being able to use the instrument. I live about 90 minutes away from CAE, but at the time they were the closest authorized Kurzweil service center. I dropped the keyboard off explaining the problem to the nice gentleman at the counter. They said they were quite busy, but should be able to get it diagnosed and fixed within a week or so. A week or so later, I got a call saying they had checked it out, and there was nothing wrong with it. I asked if they had run the built-in MIDI diagnostic, as that clearly demonstrated the issue. They continued to insist there was nothing wrong with it. As I live about 90 minutes away and work during the week, I wasn't able to immediately get back to pick up the keyboard. This was a while ago so I don't remember all the specifics, but I believe it took me about a month to go and pick it up. When I did, they charged me a ridiculous storage fee of something like $200 for not picking it up right away, and whatever they charged for diagnosing (and not fixing) the problem. When I got it home and turned it on, the keyboard immediately exhibited the symptoms I took it in for. THESE PEOPLE ARE CON ARTISTS AND JERKS - STEER CLEAR! I think this is the first one-star review I've ever written, but this place richly deserves it. read more

If you have a choice of going anywhere else, I would do it. We only came here b/c another music repair place, recommended by someone at work, wasn't certified to work on our piano brand. Why they referred us here, I have no idea, but it kind of is disappointing that we ended up at CAE. We were charged $85 for a diagnostic, which seemed reasonable, but when we asked for more details about the diagnostic, they were very tight-lipped and just said basically, "you paid us to diagnose your issue and the diagnosis is that we aren't able to fix it b/c the part no longer exists". They were not offering a report of what was done/what was found, so we could have a record of it and get a second opinion/see if another place could fix it. It felt like they just took our money and could have just made any random diagnosis, whether it was legit or not. When I asked if I could get more details from the mechanic, the receptionist/front desk person said they would have to charge us more to speak w/him to get more details about the problem. Money seemed to be their priority over good customer service. read more

After reading some of these reviews, I honestly was hesitant to consider CAE sound. However, all the other places in the Bay Area were either very stand-offish, rude, clued-out, or simply didn't return my calls. I bit the bullet and brought my Moog Voyager in after bone-headedly zorching it by plugging in a knowingly faulty antique electric clock into the circuit my powered-up synth was on. POP!...SMOKE! So stupid. Left channel was fried (only in stereo patches). I then sheepishly brought it in to Peter at CAE Sound, and he spent a surprisingly short amount of time diagnosing, researching, digging through schematics, ordering the esoteric part, and fixing it. He charged a very fair price for the labor. It's very obvious that they not only know what they're doing, but they care deeply about musical instruments. Elena was super sweet and comforting upon bringing it in, and very helpful when I picked the synth up. I now question some of these reviewers, noting that a big complaint is diagnostic fees. Really? How is a small business supposed to stay afloat if they give away free labor? read more

I brought my Motif 8 to CAE Sound for repairs. Peter Miller is the owner and lead technician. He is very professional, humble, knowledgable, and positive with running a busy and successful repair shop. It is worth my time and effort to drive from San Jose to San Mateo for his services. I would recommend CAE Sound for anyone needing pro sound, keyboard, guitar amp electrical services. Great job Peter. Thanks again. read more

I brought in a 1980s Moag Opus 3 that was no longer working. Peter took it in and fixed what he could within the price range I gave him. He got it working again and most of it is perfect. He explained that some parts are no longer available and would be too expensive to fix. It did take a while but the quality and attention to detail were totally worth it. read more

Caveat emptor! Job was not even done. Product is worse off than when I left it. And I got berated for it! 3 products dropped off. Wonderful conversations had. Congenial. I thought. A few days later, I realized I'd rushed the wrong thing, a gig said I should rush #2, not #1 from the list. I had dropped off parts with the synth. I knew they were hard to find, so I did the homework. Got the part. Got the schematic. So, after the change in priority, CAE was slammed with other business, and I decided to pick the synth up and try the repair myself this weekend, as they are too slammed. As I arrived at home, the person from the front desk called, and said Peter actually had put the part in my synth, finished the job, but it didn't repair it. Upon getting in the house, I looked, and can see the part was not installed at all, but the prior one was removed. Well, no wonder it doesn't work. The part is not in it at all. Looking in the box of parts I left, all 4 are still there, plus the one he removed. Plastic still on the 4. I sent a photo of the parts, and explained the synth had been put back together without putting the new part in, by email. Then called a little while later. Wow, that was a call! I was accused of calling the man a liar (I figured he just forgot?) .. and repeatedly told the part is in the synth, while it's in my hand and there is a gap in the synth where it goes. The call concluded with Peter hanging up on me and declining to refund the work not done. I'd steer clear. But if you like paying hundreds of dollars to not have the job done at all, then to be yelled at about it, this may be your spot! imo this level of service is far from what I expect from a certified Roland repair center. I'll check if Roland agrees soon. read more

NEVER use these jerks! They REFUSE to sell you a simple part you need that can ONLY be bought through a licensed Roland dealer, so, they hold you hostage. E.g., they will "fix it for you" which costs more than buying a used working unit, when they COULD just sell you the part with some mark up. F these jerks. Terrorists. read more

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. read more

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. read more

These guys are con artists. They charged me up front for a speaker repair, said they fixed it so it didn't test it at the shop. Got it home and it was in the exact condition as before. Not working. I brought it back they said they fixed it so I tested it at the shop. It didn't work so I asked for my money back. They wouldn't refund. They took so long to help me I left the shop very frustrated! I have since talked to other musician friends and have heard their similar experiences. Please don't learn the hard way. Anyone who asks for a deposit for labor is a sure rip off! I will never deal with CAE sound again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John read more

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. read more

i took my peavey here twice for warranty repair work. A bit of paper work in the beginning but decided to go for it. the first time i had it back in 10 days and it cost me nothing. the 2nd time the warranty covered everthing but a $15 dollar tube and i got it back within 2 weeks. these guys do good work in a timely manner. the peavey well... thats another story. read more

I had great idea for a gift for my other half ... I'd get his antique Marshall bass amp fixed. The one he'd had his folks ship from England Easier said than done ... the thing's huge, like something out of Spinal Tap and it's one of the first solid state amps, not a tube amp. Why is this important? Guys that fix tube amps don't fix solid state and finding someone that does is hard. I called a bunch of places, "No, I only do tube amps" they'd say, I'd ask, " Know anyone how does?" "Nope, sorry." Finally, after a calling a bunch of places, the kind people at Torres Engineering told me about CAE Sound. I called them up and they thought they could do it ... Yipee! So I dragged that huge amp down to San Mateo and into a weird strip mall that looked more like a 1970's era apartment and in through a solid door into a room chock-a-block with sound equipment, amplifiers and keyboards. The guy behind the desk reminded me of a cross between a guy I went to college with and a character out of Wayne's World. He was intrigued by the giant box ... "Wow, that a Marshall? I've never seen one like it." He went and got one of the techs from the back to look at it. "Never seen one like that" the guy from the back room said. "Think you can fix it?", I asked. "Yes", the two of them said. Satisfied, I left the amp and $ 110 bench charge and waited for their call. They gave me their web address www.caesound.com and told me I could check the progress of the repair online. It took a while to get the thing fixed (my fault for waiting until the last minute and Christmastime to boot), but they did and for a reasonable amount. CAE Sound does work for mainly professional musicians, but they sure did right by me! read more

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 Yelpers 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. read more

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 Yelp 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. read more

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! read more

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! read more

I took a Soundcraft FX16ii with an intermittent effects section problem to Peter two months ago. His quoted price was acceptable and his lead time was long but accurately predicted. I'd give five stars if the time to completion date was quicker. I was able to track progress online. Again, he completed the work in the time frame quoted, so there is value there. This is an old school electronics repair shop. Gold records on the wall from a time long ago before the internet took over the music business. Peter can provide verbal history accompaniment. This dude is the genuine article. It has been 9 weeks since work was completed and my unit is 100%. I am very satisfied. read more

Hello Yelpers, 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! read more

Very nice people, Quality work , lucked out there local, I would,do recommend CAE SOUND. My guitar amp is back and on point !!!! 99% of my playing is death metal . So you know I need amp working at 100% and CAE did the job . Much thanks to all the staff there . read more

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 1st 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. read more

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 Yelp 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. read more

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 read more

Our piano was having some sticky key issues and I wasn't sure if it was a manufacturing problem or that my kids had put a coin between the keys. I looked up Kawaii service orgs and checked with our piano teacher and CAE Sound was referenced by both. I contacted CAE Sound and they came out to work on our piano and I had a very good experience with their phone customer service and also how friendly they were when they came. It was a decent amount of work where they had to remove all the keys, take them back to rework each of them. Then came back a second time to put all the keys back into the piano (it wasn't the coin, though there was a coin in there, haha). In addition, during this whole process they were mindful and safe during this pandemic time, with masks, as we were too. It was really a pleasure having them work on our piano. I learned that Jeff had been working on pianos since he was in high school, and I noticed the detail that Jeff and his colleague/partner (so sorry I missed her name) had in their work on our keys. (I also want to mention I had a really positive experience with Kawaii warranty support as well). All in all, our piano plays beautifully again and I was so glad to have discovered CAE Sound if we need anything again in the future. (I have an even older Kawaii at my childhood home that may need some work). read more

CAE Sound - Piano - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - San Mateo, California

Thanks Peter! Saved me a whole trip of packing up my piano and bringing it down to the store. My new Yamaha P-155 had an A-flat note that sounded flat in every octave. I called yamaha, and the said I should take it to a Yamaha repair shop. I called Peter, described the problem, and he said maybe I could save a trip by checking the software and making sure everything was normal. I read through the user's manual, and found a section on "Fine Tuning of the Pitch' and "Selecting a Scale". I read the description of picking different scales (equal temperament, pure major, pure minor) and it sounded like that could be messing with the individual sound of the notes. I went through and turned out my piano was set for "Mean Tone"! Wild. Thanks for saving me a trip, would've hated to pack this thing up and lug it around town! read more

Horrible service and attitude. I walk in to try and get my Fender tube amp fixed and he ignores me to talk on the phone for 30 min. Also a very old ugly store that's completely unorganized and messy. I get no sense that these guys know what they're doing and I will be looking elsewhere to get my all fixed. read more

I am a collector and user of 1960s - 70s vintage guitar effects from all over the world. I have brought Peter many pieces to recap and to get my gear up to snuff wether it's calibrating or just plain freshen up the tired electronics. He has been fair and always talks through the issues and knows the vintage gear really well. Sometimes when the schematics aren't available he will will work it so that the pedal will sound the way it was meant to back in the day. If you are impatient then that may pose a problem. He does not sub out the repairs he handles it all himself. My average wait time has been around 2 - 3 weeks. Not to bad considering he's a one man shop. I recommend Peter he's very knowledgeable and has a deep history with some legends in the music business. Be patient and if you can deal with him directly when checking in the gear you will be better off. read more

CAE Sound will give you nothing but horrible sevice, flakiness, and incompetence. I brought in my Memorymoog for some repairs. CAE kept it for a year, charged me $700, and didn't fix a thing. Peter doesn't know what he's doing and shouldn't get his hands on anyone's valuable gear. *Read the filtered reviews to get a better idea of CAE Sound's "skills".* read more

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. read more