King Amplification

Joey rocks!!! I had fender amp problems and Joey was kind enough to look at it although he was on lunch break and fixed right away. He is really knowledgeable. What a great experience!

I called mid-​week to ask about diagnosing a problem with my daughter’s Fender Blues Junior where the reverb was dropping out, and the amp was distorting at high volume levels. I spoke to «Joey». I mentioned that I found King Amplification via Fender’s website and wondered if any repairs might be covered by warrantee on our used 2012 BJ III. He advised that if it is just the tubes or the reverb tank, those are not covered under warrantee but suggested we could bring it in and he would test the tubes and have a look at no charge.
We went in on Friday after my daughter got out of school and met with Joey. He was just fantastic! He ushered us into a demo room and had us plug-​in my daughter’s Les Paul to show him what the problem was. My daughter wasn’t able to reproduce the problem with the reverb while we were in the shop. But when she explained the amp was distorting at very high volume, she mentioned that she had turned the volume up to 10 while practicing and Joey mentioned that its normal for amps to distort at extreme volume.
Joey was kind and took time with us to explain what he was doing. He disassembled the amp and squirted contact cleaner into all the critical connection points. And he took the tubes out one at a time to test them. Everything tested out OK. After he buttoned everything back up he got some spray cleaner and a tooth brush and scrubbed the Tolex on the topof the amp to show us how to keep it like new.
When we were about to leave the shop I asked how much I owed him and he said, «no charge». I was impressed and he earned a customer that day. They are an amp service store but perhaps more impressively, they have a bunch of very fine guitars, foot peddles and accessories. We browsed the formidable collection of top end Gibsons and Fenders and the Rickenbackers. We also saw some beautiful consignment guitars for sale that were signed by the likes of Jimmy Page and Tom Petty. They even teach classes in building your own amp! I can’t say enough how impressed I was by their shop and their friendly, helpful professionalism. I’ll be back!

Great shop. Through the years I’ve had King Amplification repair my Strat, Tele, Les Paul and 335. They have worked on my ’57 Champ, ’65 Vibroverb and numerous others. I have purchased guitars and amps from them and everything has been priced right. Simply a stand up business. King is the right place to go to discuss value of your collection and individual wants. I’ve told Val about guitars I’ve been looking for and have had him call me to come down and check out a new consignment item. Also, very fair consignment terms for the ones you don’t love any more. He just sold one of my guitars that ‘had to go’.
Super people behind the counter, great advice, selection and service. Also, excellent instruction from top players is available.
My kind of place.

King Amplification’s team is top notch. They know their niche areas and have strong customer service values. That’s because that sweet combination of strong technical knowledge and customer service is bred by the owner, Vall King. Val is one of us SV Techies, in a good way, and has the knowledge, passion and love of his music instruments, amps and customers that it takes to run such a gem in the heart of SV. ~ My personal story with King Amp. is that a friend of mine had a major equipment failure problem on his sound equipment. And, he had to support some big shows coming up that weekend. Val told me to tell him — come in right away and he will know right away what he can do. Within less than 48 hours my friend was up and running again — Great Sound! Great Service! Lasting Customer! I am in the business part of music in SV and I highly recommend Val and his services at King Amplification to everyone.

I thought my Fender amp was gone for ever. It screeched worse than my X, smoke and pop sound is all I got. I spoke with Val. He assured me that it could be repaired. I was not sure that you could get a 50 yr old amp to sound like it once did. Well Val came through. Two weeks later and it sounds sooooooo sweet. You can not buy an amp that has such a smooth sound. A+++++ for Val and his staff.

I’ve had my 1995 Marshall JCM 900, my Mesa Boogie Roadster, a friends solid state Marshall head in for cleaning and repair all which was done very well. My JCM was acting crazy and turned out it just needed some new fuses, they didn’t push me to replace the tubes (all of which they tested) and explained to me other things I might want to consider in the future as the amp is 20 years old now. My Roadster was a purchase off of Craigs List and I just wanted it checked out, they cleaned it all up, tested all the tubes and everything else. All the jobs were done in the time and price quoted.
I’ve had my 2003 Gibson Les Paul Classic in for setup and a repair for a cracked bone nut. They took some time getting it done, but that was expected because they do get busy and I was in the back of the line. Setup was amazing. The luthier made a new bone nut that perfectly matched what I originally had and I couldn’t be happier.

Awesome service! Very helpful and patient with getting it done right! Wish all music stores were like this! Recommend.

Great job on a simple repair and re-​string. Nice folks, fast quality work for a fair price.

Jam class is awesome! I had a great time and actually played on stage. Val also setup my bass with new pickups.

I brought my guitar here nine days ago for a straightforward repair. After 8 days and several inquiries they told me they couldn’t locate the parts to fix the guitar.
I spent about five minutes searching the Internet and easily found the parts that are needed. I called one other guitar repair shop and they’re going to fix it, no problems.
Wish I would have gone elsewhere first.
If the person who works on your guitars is unwilling or unable to fix a specific kind of guitar you should mention that before somebody drives down to your shop and has to leave their guitar for nine days. And then has to pick it up and take it to one of your competitors.
The staff was friendly and the shop is nice.
I’m just bummed I wasted all this time and still don’t have a fixed up axe

I guess it has been 5 years since I wrote a review on King Amplification. They have been in several locations, now over next to the SJ Airport. It seems they just get better and better. Always amazed with their professionalism. They have always stuck to the problem till it is resolved even when it’s not an easy repair. They have save two amps of mine that others gave up on. (Guess that is why I got them for s bargain) I know if I can’t figure them out Val (King) can.
Beware though, if you are a gear head, leave your wallet in the car. They have some incredible vintage (and homemade) Amps and guitars. I’m pretty sure they now have guitar repairs as well.

Took my 1970 Marshall Super Bass there because it stopped working. He wanted to replace the output transformer with a cheap replica. A knowledgable friend told me to get my amp the hell out of his shop. I called him to tell him I wanted my amp back and I would pay for his diagnostic charge. He was very upset and brought it out to me with a real shity attitude. He hung a tag on the amp that said «do not work on this amp dangerous risk of electrical shock» I took it to West Coast Tubes in Santa Cruz and was told that my output transformer was fine. It was my power transformer that had the problem and that any rookie technician would have known this. Furthermore he had previously replaced my caps which brought down the value of my amp and I was told by someone with 30 years if experience this was not necessary. I was polite and didn’t mention any of these things to them and paid them in full for the crappy work. I went back a few months later to order a amp cover that they have special made (out sourced by someone else) they recognized me and wouldn’t sell me the amp cover? So childish.
Mo

1^st class amp repair and reasonable fast turn around and some really cool gear on the floor excellent!

Brought in a 5w amplifier for a diagnostic check due to some strange oscillating noise. I specified upon drop off for the amp to NOT be worked on, just diagnosed. Well, two months later I received a call that my amp was done, (not what I asked for) and that the charge would be 150 dollars. I asked how this job could have cost 150 dollars, which was when I was instructed on how two solder joints needed re-​soldering and that they had to «clean» the amp too… So that was one expensive ride I was taken on. Needless to say, I will not be back for any reason.

Awesome!
These guys are great. Friendly and professional every step of the way.
I was in the market for a new PRS. Phil set me up with several different models and a nice amp. Then he told me, crank it up man — we’re all players here. Enjoy! I didn’t find what I was looking for there, but I never felt pushed or pressured. Quite the opposite. I felt welcomed to try whatever I wanted, through whatever amp I wanted, for as long as I wanted. And trust me, they have a fantastic selection of boutique amps and guitars.
I also wanted to get two of my guitars worked on. My Heritage 150 CM needed a new nut as well as a good setup. They did it well and it was very affordable. This guitar hasn’t played this well the whole time I’ve owned it. Smooth like butter. My strat, which I performed several modifications on, also need work. Largely due to my modifications… cough cough. They’ve been working with me on getting it to where I want it. Setting up the trem, getting the electronics set up correctly, etc. The service is exceptional.
In my opinion, this little store/​shop is a wonderful change from the big stores. Personal service (they greet me by name when I walk in the door!), fine instruments and amps, and the place just has a cool vibe.

In short: The service is excellent. Val is a pro and if I had the money, I would come to one of his amp building classes!
I brought in a Carvin Legacy II that was being temperamental. I described what was going on, Val identified the issue, explained to me what he was going to do and approximated the time and cost of the repairs. Everything was done according to his plan and the amp plays beautiful.
Additional note, I wanted some mods to be done to this amp and after looking into the circuitry and schematics, Val suggested not. He explained the risks/​concerns and I agreed.

Even amongst guitar players, not too many folks know what a Diezel amp is. Im one of those lovers of niche things and the Diezel is one of the amps that caught my attention. But like most unique things, what do you do when you need service? THe first time I changed my power output tubes, I did it with the distributor on the phone and got help from Peter Diezel himself. The stars usually dont align in a way where this can happen more than once. So recently I had a weird pop on one of the boards and needed a place that could look at it. King Amplification was one of the few places in the area that would accept my not so main stream amp. They also have a variety of vintage guitars, pedals and amps on sale. Cool space but small. Hopefully I wont have any other blowouts again but when the tubes need replacing and it needs a workup, I know where I can bring the old Diezel.

Just got my Deluxe Reverb back after a board retrofit. It wasn’t cheap but every now and then you get what you pay for and Val did not disappoint! The amp had noise issues which have been resolved and the tone is outstanding. I got it back yesterday and worked it hard. It took everything I could throw at it and then some. King Amplification does great work. As a result they are usually busy and backed up but if you want it done right, correct and useful info, quality, and someone who backs up his work then Val & King Amplification is the way to go imho. BTW — I’ve been a bench tech working in the Electronics industry for over 30 years and I know good work when I see it (and in this case, hear it!) Val ROCKS!

I brought in my perfectly working amp for a factory recall job (covered by the original manufacturer, they are a Line6 authorized facility). It was due to a possibility of a bad fuse that could (possibly) generate a fire hazard. Keep in mind, until this point my amp is working flawlessly and I inquire about fixing the amp just to be safe.
The problems started even before I got in the store, Val was very short with me in the phone and didn’t give me any time to explain what was the situation, or ask me any questions. I bring my amplifier in, to be greeted with «I can’t perform the service because the amplifier is out of warranty». I tried to politely explain that being a factory recall, that was not important and that Line6 told me very explicitly that I wouldn’t need the original receipt or the original warranty to get the repair performed for free.
To no avail, Val said he didn’t believe me. An Authorized Service Center said that to my face.
Called Line6, explained the situation, the guy on the phone (very politely) explained the situation and told the owner it was ok to perform the job and it would be covered under warranty.
He begrudgingly accepts to take care of the situation, and after roughly 3 weeks I get a call saying my amp is fixed and I can pick it up anytime. Not a word more about anything.
I drive to the store (the same day I wrote this review) and I pick up the amp. I test it and all of a sudden I realize that the Channel 3 of the amp doesn’t work anymore. Before it worked perfectly, now it doesn’t work.
Val serviced the amp but evidently didn’t do a proper job, or at least he didn’t test the amp before he closed it up.
I ask him to tell me what’s the problem, and why he didn’t tell me in advance. He doesn’t know and tells me «stuff breaks all the time, it’s your problem».
So I’m in the situation where I brought in a perfectly working amp and got a broken one back, with the guy that broke it telling me I should pay an undisclosed (didn’t want to tell me how much it would cost to fix or even to diagnose it while I was in the store).
At the end, after a lot of complaining, he threatens me with calling the cops and tells me to please go away and that he will pay me $ 65 dollars just to go somewhere else.
I don’t accept the money, and I ask him what he’s waiting for to call the cops. After a couple of phone calls to figure out what my legal rights were, I decide I’m not going to go any further with them and leave.
The store refused to give me a receipt, or to acknowledge the problem, or to do anything to fix the situation.
The bottom line for me is that you recognize a good business by what happens when something goes wrong. King Amplification is not a good business, because if something happens, they will simply treat you like garbage and stonewall you.
I’m going, of course, to explore all possible legal actions against the business and I will update the review as soon as I know what’s going on. In the end, it’s really sad to see how a simple matter of «doing the right thing» becomes a possible suit simply because a store owner doesn’t understand the basics of good customer service.
the bottom line is STAY AWAY.

Had several bad experiences here. Val is good to work with as long as things seem to be going well but in the end I had these problems:
One amp still had the problem after pickup. Should have been covered by the warranty but Val required another bench charge which I had no choice but to pay.
Another amp worked at first but then failed the same way and i took it somewhere else to find out what the real problem was and get it fixed for real.