Pro Digital

Ahhh, I am lucky. Paul is on my way to work. Not only is he great for digital, but he has done all my tube amp repairs as well.
Music Reference RM9-​Mk2. He identified a bad input tube trace and fixed what three techs before him could not.
SinglePower Extreme. Paul contrived to add a second toroidal transformer for the plates in addition to the heater transformer. Brought the amp to a whole new level.
Cal Audio Alpha DAC. Fixed it in a jiff.
Isolated power supply. Paul found a nut that shook loose in shipping shorting the circuit in this $ 1,000 unit. Cost of repair: $ 25.
…and so on.
It is refreshing to pay a fair price (labor is a bit high – but – Paul is the MOST HONEST tech possible) and actually get something done right. He gives an estimate beforehand. Also unusual is that when you start to ask him to upgrade all the caps to boutique stuff – he will tell you you are wasting money if the circuit does not merit the upgrades.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Oh, one more thing: when was the last time you had stuff done in 2−−4 days, including parts order? Answer: NEVER. Paul is da bomb.

Hi Folks,
Although I live in San Francisco, I sent Paul and the Technical Staff at Pro Digital my LA Craigslist find of a very expensive and badly damaged high end Sony Mini Disc Recorder Deck (ES — Elevated Standard Deck).
Why ship to it PA? Well the local repair place for the SF Bay Area is arrogant and expensive. If you want a quote from the locals they want $ 150 just for the quote and your house and a half for a repair.
I sought out Pro Digital based on a referral and I was not disappointed. Paul and the staff do high end digital repairs for TV stations and recording studios, but are down to earth folks who took pity on me and fixed my Sony MD Recorder which was trashed when I bought it (someone had forced a disc in it which damaged the recording head). This was a $ 1,300 MD deck and nearly junked. Paul and the staff got it back to normal for a very reasonable fee.
If you have a classic digital recorder you like they can likely help you, if parts are available. When I get my deck back, and I use it all of the time, was very happy with the results. Paul saved my unit using new and reclaimed parts as some parts were no longer available new.
I am a very satisfied customer and have recommended ProDigital to recording professionals and musicians here in San Francisco for their repairs. They do DAT and Mini disc repairs amongst the increasingly rare formats some of us still use…
I would suggest anyone in the US who needs vintage digital stuff fixed consider calling Paul and telling him your repair needs. He won’t waste your time. It is very doubtful you can find a shop with the skill, expertise and equipment they have for Digital Repairs in most areas of the USA.
Cheers,
Tom

So many fetishes, so little time…
In the world of music, some of the more serious hobbyists (and music fetishists) prefer some older school approaches for another dimension of appreciation.
Case in point, as old as vinyl records are, the serious music listener and collector will often debate that the warm and crisp analog sound of vinyl is more enjoyable than the sound off of digital plastic circles read by a laser.
Some electronic keyboard musicians prefer the warm and toasty analog synthesizer «classical» sounds vs their modern all digital counterparts. e.g. Yamaha DX-​7 (remember the 80s? Virtually every single band from that era you can think of has used it, including A-Ha’s first album where I wouldn’t be surprised if they used upwards of 10 simultaneously for some songs) or Moog keyboards (popularized arguably by Jan Hammer who shot to fame with the Miami Vice soundtrack). The Mini-​Moog is still a very sought after toy trinket that can do some serious wonders. Ditto for the Fender Rhodes.
And with music recording, there’s the failed but once immensely popular format with professional recording artists, the Digital Audio Tape (DAT).
One of the greatest, yet most troublesome, and costly formats ever invented. Many of the more serious old school recording enthusiasts (professional and for home/​studio use, and also in the field) used or still use DAT to some extent, even though technically the equipment has been discontinued for quite some time. I don’t doubt that many recording studios have archives full of DAT tapes (e.g. KCRW’s studio in Santa Monica).
Although DAT is pure digital goodness, it’s not just pricey, but the use of DAT tapes in machines wear out the heads of the players/​recorders over time. Digital noise happens when the tapes are out of alignment, causing yucky shitty scratchy noises that hurt the ears (and if not, maybe your dog will bitch at you). DAT is way more finnicky than analog cassette tapes (which also go through wear and tear over time), and presents more problems than the average person’s high maintenance signficant other or chihuahua poochie.
Pro Digital Inc is probably the most well known amongst the DAT fetishists to still lend support to that community, by providing the technical know how to fix DAT machines (and also have the parts and skills at the same time). The brains behind Pro Digital Inc is Paul Plotnick who is well respected in his profession, and does the most solid work for maintenance and repair work. Got a DAT deck that won’t play, FF or RWD or all, or it will play but without audio, or your deck’s lid is busted so it won’t accept tapes properly? No problem, there’s always a solution (unless your deck is deemed totally FUBAR, in which case they may have some refurbished DAT equipment for sale).
The only setback for most living out of state, is having to spend the time and $ to package the gear up safely and ship it over. The other great things are not just good work done, but generally the estimates given in terms of cost and turnaround time are VERY accurate.
So keep PDI in mind if you’ve got a misbehaving DAT machine.