Omega Amps Groove Tubes Soul-O-45 mod

Jim Price did a custom mod based on a Dumble clean channel in this amp. It involved adding a choke. I sold this amp to a working guitarist in Denver. When it arrived it was only putting out 5 watts. I assumed it had been damaged. Here's what he wrote back to me.

"I just got off the phone with the most reputable amp tech in denver, and he told me that the work that's been done on the amp is what's keeping the wattage down and hurting the output transformer. There are two push/pull pots added to the front that don't do anything at all to the tone, and the phase inverter is so heavily modified that the original circuit is actually gone. The final output at the speakers is 7 watts from one tube (hence the output transformer trouble.) Essentially, Jim broke this amp,

Certain aspects of the sound I actually liked, however the tone controls were pretty limited. More importantly there was some crackling and hiss in the sound, through the speaker, and a separate cab when I A/B it. Also there was a weird sound on sound thing I was hearing with the reverb tank. Jim told me this had to do with the size of the spring in the tank, and that it was normal. I have a Mesa Lonestar in a head shell that has the same size spring as the GT and it sure as hell doesn't sound like that.

Jim's "custom mod" is actually hurting the output transformer and he doesn't even realize it. See above in features section. His own design is shortening the life of the amp every time it's turned on.

My initial dealings with Jim were pleasent. At first he seemed very helpful and courteous.

I sent the amp to Jim. He had in his shop where he "diagnosed" the reverb sound I was hearing, and convinced me it was normal. What can I say? I was gullible but not anymore.

I had made arrangements (before I learned of the harm in Jim's design) to trade this amp with a guitarist who was expecting the amp in time for a gig out of town. I stressed what a help it would be to have the amp shipped as soon as possible. Jim assured me he'd get it out; no problem, and that he would call me early the following morning with a shipping quote. No call by 4pm his time and I sent him an email saying: "Jim, I'm getting nervous. Why no call? Can this amp ship today?" Here is Jim's response:

DUDE

YOU HAVE SENT ME no money, no nuthin< AND YOU knew this amp had ta be
shipped........like last week??

THE total was $65.00 pls add 3% to that for paypal, i will not ship unless
total is right.

After sending him an email of his exact words on his intention to call and that I was waiting on him to know how much I owed him, he offered a one sentence excuse of being out all day, and being half sick as well. Pretty rude and unprofessional I'd say. A simple call would have sufficed to say he couldn't do it. Instead he left me and someone else hanging in the wind. I told him I wanted a copy of the receipt. I am still waiting for that.

Without a doubt the single worst customer service I've ever experienced with music gear.

The new owners exact words (who is a profesional working guitarist):

"I just have to say one more time that Jim ruined this amp plain and simple. He might be able to mess with a deville and make it sound o.k., but he just butchered your gt and sent it out the door, and I get the feeling he's so sure that he's faultless and mighty that he won't take the amp back and put it back to stock. And even if he did, I'd still have to worry about shipping both ways, plus my amp tech's diagnosis fee, plus Jim's fee, which would pretty much eat most of the cash you sent me with the amp."

So there you have it. A custom design in which the builder doesn't even know he is damaging the amp that it's in. Maybe if I was buying an amp from him, he would have treated me great and the amp would work like one would expect it to. He sure made me feel like I wasn't worth his time and now through no fault of my own, I've unloaded a piece of junk on someone else. THANKS JIM!