Writing this review is not fun, satisfying, or in any way granting me a sense of closure. I genuinely wish the best for Lance and his business, but my experience must be shared.
Early 2019 I bought my dream amp: an early 70's Sunn Model T. After receiving and unpacking the artifact, I started searching for local amp techs and decided to go with Tone Dr. after consideration of cost and distance.
My first visit was all well and good, dropped the amp off for a post-shipping checkup and re-tube. Turnaround was quick and the price wasn't too bad compared to the more established competition. Even was promised a lifetime warranty, which seemed strange as no tech I've encountered up to this point issues a blanket guarantee on amplifiers.
The amp worked without issue for a few weeks until one night when one of the 6550 tubes began to white flash when signal was introduced. Immediately killed the power and notified Lance, who agreed it should be brought in. Long story short, after waiting a month, finally had to call and call and call before I was told that the amp was ready. After receiving the amp again, with two new tubes and some replaced internals, I get it back home.
48 hours later my 1970's Sunn Model T white flashes again and catches fire within the chassis from normal use at concert volume.
Normally I'd be concerned if my amp failed this quickly after turnaround, especially with the Model T, which is notorious for failure when pushed way past normal boundaries (it wasn't), but I have never, EVER heard of an amplifier setting itself on fire in this manner unless something internally was installed improperly. Why not take it back and use the lifetime warranty? There is no way, short of putting a loaded gun to my head, that I would ever entertain that idea. Amps should never catch fire through normal use, and therefore we know the cause.
Steamboat Amps brought my Model T back to life and as of this writing, there are zero problems. Pic related: the resurrected amp. That baggie on top of it is full of the parts that had to be replaced due to the fire.
Incompetence, oversight, lack of due diligence... call it whatever you want. It cost me over half a grand to rectify the Doctor's malpractice. As much as I would love to recommend this business, I'm now forced to do the opposite. read more