Vintage vacuum tube amplifier repair, restoration, and reproductions

I take care and great pride in my work so you always get the very best. I value your vintage equipment as much as you do and will restore your equipment to as close to museum condition as possible. I also build custom and reproduction vacuum tube amplifiers.

I own and operate Spike's Amp Repair from my workshop in southeastern Pennsylvania. My love for guitar amplifiers started in 1970 when I built my first vacuum tube amplifier out of parts from an old radio and was honed over years of working as an audio technician. My attention to detail and experience in amplifier troubleshooting, repair, and restoration shows in the results I deliver to my clients.

I am methodical, thorough, have the attention to detail needed to repair and restore vintage amplifiers, therefore the amount of time your amplifier is in my shop is probably longer than a shop that would just repair your amplifier and return it to you.

The amount of research required to repair or restore a particular amplifier, the documentation that I do of the repair or restore process, and the documentation of the before and after results is time consuming and contributes to the extended completion time. This time is not charged to my customers; the labor time that I charge is based on the extent of the work required.

Contact me to talk about what I can do to help you with your vintage vacuum tube amplifier or build an amplifier with the tone you have been looking for.

Due to an unexpected increase in repair and restoration requests, my estimated completion time is currently about 12 to 16 weeks depending on the amount of work and parts needed.

Henry Walters, proprietor

Phone

(seven-one-seven) 824-five-zero-four-eight

Email

oldamprestorer [at] gmail [dot] com

Testimonials

“

He built me the best sounding amp I’ve ever played through.”

– Mike McElravy, Nashville session musician, Instructor, Stamps-Baxter School of Music, The Speer Family, and The Blue Ridge Quartet

“Efficient in the sense that he asks necessary questions to understand what’s going on re: the necessary fix and takes care of repairs in the most economical and expedient way.”

“Henry has a reputation for patient precision in his work, and the results speak for themselves.”

“I have played a number of band shows in which he was the audio engineer, and his intuitive way of taking care of musicians makes for an enjoyable on-stage experience every time. That same level of care transfers to his meticulous work on gear. Henry gives comprehensive advice, his pricing is a bargain, and his work is done with the long term in mind. My repaired and re-tubed amp is better than new!”

– Ryan Shenk, Professor of Worship and Performing Arts Lancaster Bible College, Mark DeRose and the Dreadnought Brigade

“Whether you need an amp, or your old one needs repair, or you have technical questions, I couldn’t recommend him higher.”

“

Henry’s work is always speedy, reliable and most importantly - EFFICIENT!”

– Mark DeRose, Mark DeRose and the Dreadnought Brigade

“I have nothing but praise for Henry. He restored and upgraded my Ampeg Rocket amp and my Princeton Reverb amp with 3 prong plugs and step down transformers to allow me to safely use them with today's higher voltages and improved house and facility wiring standards. He also completely overhauled my Ampeg with new tubes and capacitors. I highly recommend him to anyone that needs repairs, rebuilds or a great sounding, custom-built tube amp.”

“I highly recommend him to anyone as he has extreme knowledge of electronics and a passion for quality and sound. I’ll always take my gear to him.”

“Henry has worked on a number of my amps and I have always been astonished at the attention to detail that he has.

From my vintage fender amps that were cosmetically challenged to my newer Amps that were smelling of smoke and not working, he has made them all like new.”

– Bill Eichorst, 1973 Fender Champ Amp and 1974 Fender Princeton Reverb

“Seriously, check this guy out. Top-quality and honest work at very reasonable rates. I don’t go anywhere else.”

– Doug Walton, Steven Courtney Band, Roots and Blues Project

“I have taken my amps to Henry for several years now, and I have sent several friends to him as well. He is very knowledgeable, and his work is extremely detailed. He has re-tubed and biased a couple of Fender amps for me (Hot Rod Deluxe and Champ), as well as performing some other repairs, and everything turned out perfectly.

In addition, I have had the opportunity to “test drive” several amps that he has built. The tones were always top-drawer, and the craftsmanship was incredible. I have never seen such clean wiring and soldering. I have to admit, I was a little jealous that other people were getting these amps instead of me!”

“I am very fortunate to have Henry as someone in my corner regarding amps.

He has provided excellent service to my old 1969 Fender Twin as well as providing me with tons of knowledge about my amp. He is a wealth of information and my old Twin has never sounded better.

He also built a Fender Princeton amp for me to enjoy. The Princeton is beautiful sounding, and Henry has been truly committed to customer service in regards to any changes made in it’s design and making sure I would be thrilled with it.

I have also enjoyed playing some of Henry’s other creations as far as amps and they all sound great.”

– Steve Bridgeman, Marty Shaughnessy & The Stars Are Spies, The Rainchildren, and Christopher Wright Band

Spike Recommends

If you need warranty repair for your guitar amplifier, or other audio equipment, this is the place I recommend. I had a bass player that was on tour in Virginia at the time call me about his Ampeg amplifier. He just purchased a few months before and just before the show it had stopped working. The band was playing locally the next night and he needed the amp repaired. As it was still under warranty, I suggested that they give Full Custom a call. He did and was at their shop with the amplifier the next morning. The Full Custom technician did the repair while they waited and he was on his way with a now working amplifier. That is service.

Visit their website at fullcustommusic.com.

Record & vintage equipment store

The Turntable Store in Manheim, PA has a lot of vintage audio equipment and records in their store. They offer refurbishing and repair for your, '70s or newer, audio equipment and after they look at it you decide that you don't want it to be repaired, or it can't be repaired, they may purchase it from you for the parts.

Visit their website at theturntablestore.com.

Repair Shop

The staff at Music on Main are all musicians and are well-versed in a variety of instruments from horns to 5 string and upright basses. Music on Main is located near New Holland PA, at 3709 Division Hwy, East Earl, PA, 17519.

Visit their website at musiconmainllc.com.

Music store, lessons, repairs