Does anyone have any first hand experience with these guys?? I see they are an authorized service center for Rivera amps and they are within 15 minutes of my home, but I dont know if they are reliable or not. JQ
They are OK. I would probably seek out someone a little better IMHO. But they have less than a week turn around time. Steve
Do not overlook Jimmy Somma if you need a tech. www.sommatone.com He's top notch and about a 35-45 minute drive west of Bloomfield. ~John II
Yes I have, and I realize I am in the minority, but I had a miserable experience. Dave was an annoying "know it all" type who modified my amp without asking me, insisted I was an idiot for bringing my own el34 tubes and suggested I buy his overpriced Ruby's instead, AND installed all new Pre tubes even though I didnt ask him to. When I told him to remove these Pre tubes and the charge, he got pissed and wrote "work not guaranteed" all over my receipt. JQ
I had a similar experience with Dave's. I'll never go back. Almost 2 months to work on an amp. Lots of promises about it "being done this week". Finally got it back, and the original problem was still there. He says, "OH, THAT noise.".
What is the problem? If it is just a tube change/biasing or something easy like that, Andy Fuchs is in Bloomfield and knows his stuff. He may not be interested though. Can't hurt to email him.... Scott
I've brought a few things to Triple S, including two Rivera combos. They did a good job on all three items I brought in. Al
I went there for a warranty job on an amp with a blown speaker. Took forever, and a lot of hassle. I had to have the manufacturer call them directly and it was still a hassle. THEN - they replaced the speaker with a different brand (was supposed to be a Celestion) and told me "Oh, yeah, that's what they're using now." $.02 Betos
My untrained ears think its power tube failure, volume going up and down etc. But I also want them to "de-mod" what Dave in Whippany did!! JQ
I went to Dave's Sound for years only because I didn't know of any other techs in my area. I met Jimmy Somma through a mutual friend and I've never been back. Jimmy's hands down a better tech (he approaches guitar/amp mods and repairs from a player's perspective; Dave doesn't) AND he knows how to treat people with respect and kindness. The only good thing Dave has going for him is Bill. Bill is an awesome guitar tech. peace -jeff
Bill worked on my R9 Historic at the same time, and he did very nice work, no doubt. But even he apparently had some of Dave's "tude" rub off on him, as he certainly did engage me in some debate regading the work I requested, he didnt install my new pickup rings along with the new pickups because "he" didnt like the color (!) and refused to install the RS Electronics upgrade kit because in his mind, it was "snake oil" and I "paid too much!" JQ
Sorry - too busy ranting, I forgot why I really replied!! Where can I find this Jimmy Somma?? Sounds like someone I wouldnt mind doing business with. JQ
+ 12,351 and try www.sommatone.com and jimmy if you're reading this, i'll be picking up my stuff, soon!!
Wow, very surprised to hear this. I've been bringing my guitars to Jimmy Somma (www.sommatone.com) for several years now, so maybe Bill's gotten crabby in that time. Sad to hear it. Oh well, def. time for you to move on. peace -jeff
I had my SFDR butchered by another NJ tech and after doing some heavy research I took it to Dave's Sound. He made the amp sound fantastic and although it took almost a month it was worth the wait. For what was done the price was very reasonable. Now he also replaced tubes without asking. He replaced my JJ 6v6's with sovteks, a new mesa 5u4 with a sovtek and a EH preamp tube with an EI. All the old tubes were returned with the amp and his explanation was that the tubes tested "bad". Given the poor condition of the amp before it got to Dave and the inconsistent production quality of modern tubes I think it is quite likey that the tubes were indeed bad. FWIW all the "old" original GE preamp tubes in my amp tested fine. Since you've given up on Dave you could try Rich Koerner at Time Electronics in Union NJ (www.timeelect.com). He's a very well known and respected tech in NJ but I hear that he's got a long turnover time. Somma sounds intriguing but I find his pricing to be a little high. For instance Dave Allen will rewire my SF bassman head to have a BF normal channel and a pseudo Tweed/plexi bass channel for $150. Somma's mods START at $280.
Yes - I have used Rich many times and consider him a freind, great guy with some serious amp "chops." But like you said, his turnover time is quite long. Still though - he would be the only one that I would trust with a vintage Fender or Marshall. For the newer printed board type amps, I dont think this is the forte of guys like Rich, so I am trying to find someone who has worked on or is an authorized service center for Rivera amps - hence my interest in Triple S. JQ
