Backstage Technical Service

Brought a dead amp in for repair. After repair it worked for about a minute and blew the fuse again. Brought it back to Kent. Was given a time estimate of a week and a half. Nothing heard for the next month. Called in and was told it would be repaired «soon». A total of two and a half months went by with no communication from Backstage. Finally I went and picked up the unrepaired amp. Cannot recommend this business. Very disappointed.

Fair disclosure – I’m an employee at Loud & Clear Music, the instrument shop next door to Kent’s. But that also means I see the speedy quality service he provides to customers, as many of them come through our store to or from his shop. I’ve also had him fix my left-​for-​dead 70s Fender Champ, which he not only brought back to life, but (after updating the speaker) made it sound fantastic.
Yes, great service. ;)

Excellent audio equipment /​guitar amp technician. Kent repaired my 1965 Fender Bandmaster. Blown tubes and 3 capacitors were replaced. Bias tweaked.
Amp returned to me in less than 4 days with much more power. Sounds good.
Total bill = $ 215.
I’ve used 3 other amp gurus here in Sonoma /​Marin counties. Kent is the best.

Sad to say, my experience was far less positive than most other reviewers here. The proprietor came across as both uninterested and arrogant. I never heard from him. Every contact in the time my son’s amp was there was generated by me, and every time it seemed like it was a chore for him to talk to me. Never did fix it, and I don’t think he put much effort in to it. Perhaps our amp isn’t hip, cool, or vintage enough for his tastes. It’s pretty hip and cool to my son, who’s now going to have to wait even longer while I take his amp up the road to a place with (hopefully) more professional and responsive service. Some other reviewer here used the term «curmudgeon» to describe the proprietor. I disagree. Curmudgeon evokes a somewhat charming albeit grumpy grandfatherly figure. I didn’t get any of the charming part… none at all.

It is so nice to take one of your prized, hand wired, PTP, custom amps to someone here in the area town that you can trust.
Thank you Kent for being a «Good Amp Doc»! … Oh, and a good guy!
John @ The SoulShine Blues Band

Kent Fossgreen is an amazing technician and an incredibly honest businessman. I have had Kent repair my equipment and also bought from him a vintage amp that he had ‘renovated’ to as-​new stock. I couldn’t be happier with his work and have recommended his services to many musician friends. Highly recommended!

I have brought a few different amps of mine over the years to Kent for retubing/​rebiasing, have had him fix miscelaneous pieces of equipment, etc. Kent always a great job and REALLY knows his stuff! I think he can fix just about anything musical with a circuit in it! Kents pricing is also very fair for the amount of experience and knowledge that you are getting. Kent’s turn around time is usually really quick, and things are always completed when he says they are going to be. When you have very expensive things, like amps, you want them to be taken care of and handled by a true professional, and I always feel extremely confident entrusting my prized possessions to Kent. He’s a really nice guy too, always pleasant to deal with. For this kind of work, there is nobody other than Kent I would use or send others to.

Kent has been a local and well known in the area for well over 20 years. He was first a part of the highly enthusiastic and gear — educated music store called Zone Music, which is right next door to where he is now. To have a staff at a music store that actually knows their gear inside and out is rare !!
Kent is now the owner of his repair shop BACKSTAGE REPAIR and he has a reputation that is far reaching and way beyond Sonoma County. People all around the Bay Area have heard of him.
I have been bringing my gear to Kent for the past five years or so on a regular basis and he never disappoints. My business involves lots of gear, and everything I have taken to him is ready in a timely manner and he ALWAYS exceeds my expectations. He knows what I like and it is a benefit for both of us.
Also, Kent is a bass player, as am I, so needless to say, I bring all my basses to Kent for him to do set ups on them. He does the best set ups of anybody. Again, he knows I like low action, so my basses are always better than I ever hoped they be when I get them back.
I honestly don’t know what I would do without Kent at BACKSTAGE REPAIR. I am so grateful that he is a bass player because we speak the same language.
People don’t know that Kent also owns CLARKE KENT AMPLIFICATION which is a guitar amp that blows away any other amp as far as tone and ease of use go. It’s a shame they are not seen on stages all over the world, yet. Someday …
I am glad to call Kent not only an outstanding tech, but a friend.

Have not had a lot of experience with getting sound equipment repairs, but I compare it to other service experiences, and was completely satisfied. I brought in a Mackie combination mixer/​power amp head. Kent gave me a time and cost estimate, both of which he met or did better. He seemed familiar with the cause of my problem just from the description, and suggested a remedy that not only repaired the problem, it will keep it from recurring. Bottom line: the amp works like new at a fraction of the cost of replacing it.

I recently brought my amplifier to Backstage for the repair of a biasing problem. Turns out it needed new power tubes. Upon dropping off the amp, I asked that it be finished within a week to be ready for a concert I was playing the next weekend. The time was agreed upon by both, and I left. By that next Saturday I had not heard back about the amp, so I gave him a call, but there was no answer. I was then obligated to rent an amp because mine was not ready.
I was called back the following Monday with an explanation of «Sorry about the amp. I forgot you needed it by Saturday». The amp was finally ready on Thursday, nearly a week late.
When I went to pick up the amp I was handed an invoice. I mentioned that I hoped we could both agree on a discount for the service, being that he had admitted to making a mistake in getting the work done on time, and that this left me with no choice but to rent gear out of my own pocket. My request was met with a resounding «Umm, no».
So far the repair has held up, but this complete lack of integrity and reliability will not keep me as a customer. I understand that mistakes happen, but to make me pay for his mistake without the slightest inclination to set things right is simply unacceptable.
Stay away, you’ve been warned.

I stepped in in the off chance the guy could fix my Boss DR-​770 drum machine and… He opened it up, fixed it right on the spot and only charged me $ 10!!!
Freakin’ awesome service, awesome deal. Coulda’ charged me 4 times as much and I would not have complained as HE FIXED IT WHILE I WAITED! Yay, still have all my drum patches and patterns.
Will take my Roland digital piano that NOONE else wanted to fix to him next week– very cool!