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March 2024 by Sola Aiyegbusi
What can I say about AB & B Electronics that hasn't been said already? I had a technics 1200 mk 1 that I pulled out of storage this past X-mas. After so many years of non-use I noticed that the turntable platter demonstrated an inconsistent speed and the anti-skate on the turntable had a LOT of drift. Additionally, I noticed that despite getting new speaker wires, new speakers, and an integrated amplifier there was a distinctive hum that would play when my turntable was at rest. I found AB & B Electronics when I typed "Turntable repair in OC". I called him and told him the problems I noticed and he told me to bring it in for inspection (with a $40 deposit for diagnostics).Now, I will say that when I visited the business I was shocked that it was essentially the garage connected to his house and it was just him and one other technician. I can tell you that I'm glad I took a chance with Ed. Though the operation is pretty small it punches well above it's weight for knowledge and service. Upon a cursory inspection of my turntable Ed noticed that the ground wire for my turntable was missing the end-piece which he told me was likely the reason why my speakers was emitting a noticeable hum. He fixed that on the spot for no charge. While Ed was looking over my turntable I decided to "kick the tires" on his knowledge. What I appreciate about Ed is that unlike most of the young stereo repair people I know/worked with, he was knowledgeable yet not pretentious. Ed and his father owned (forever ago) owned an electronics store for quite a few years. He told me about a time when he use to go house to house (and to the local prison) to repair old televisions, radios, transistors, and media cabinets that had broken down. Additionally, Ed demonstrated a deep knowledge about turntables and the difference between mechanical turntables vs. electronic turntables.After our conversation Ed looked over the turntable he quoted a time window in which to expect my turntable to be ready for pick-up. One week later, Ed called me to let me know that he had completed the repair on my turntable. Let me tell you, my old technics turntable sounds like it has received a second life. I cannot write enough about how impressed I am with his work. Ed's experience lends itself to being an expert with not only repairing old/dated audio equipment but also modern equipment as well.If there is a "knock" I would have to say that because Ed manages everything himself you may have to call ahead if you want to schedule your service and call ahead to pick up. Also, it's a cash only (so keep that in mind), but the price he charges is super reasonable.
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April 2023 by Mussa Julius
We were elated to find the vintage radio repair service that we had been searching for! The professionals at this shop not only provided quality repairs, but also gave helpful advice and tips. Their expertise made us feel confident in trusting them with our treasured piece of history - an experience well worth repeating!
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April 2023 by A. B.
Ed brought our 1970's Hitachi stackable record player back to life! Ed's expertise and passion shows in his work. He fixed on our record player about 3 weeks and kept us updated on the repair process. Because of Ed, it's spinning like new! Ed is efficient and honest. I'm so grateful to him for helping us and our Hitachi!
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March 2023 by Stephen M.
Ed is remarkable. Professional and personable. His experience is self evident.Even though my need was a small task ... he gave me time and completed it well.I highly recommend AB & B Electronics.
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February 2023 by Dimitri Lujan
Awesome service friendly. They accept my item for estimate.
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February 2023 by Robby T.
Private owned and a master of his trade. Fixed issues with 1970 analog receiver. Not sure if you can find anyone else with technical skills, especially a manufacturer/ retail. He works on turntables, amps, receivers, and most things electronic.
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September 2022 by k w.
I bought a Sears Silvertone in working condition where the radio and turntable both worked. I was listening to it just fine and had a whole bunch of records lined up, but all of a sudden it stopped working. Never thought that there was someone so close to my home that could fix it for me. For a very low and reasonable cost Ed fixed it upon arrival. He is so personable and even gave me a fix on how to get rid of the itch from all my mosquito bites. He is the best!
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August 2022 by Victor Diaz
My receiver sat at his shop a month,finally called and was told that he would try to look at it...
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May 2022 by Kelton Mock
Excellent service. I took in my vintage Mrantz receiver and turntable--the receiver itself needed a lot of work. He got both back to me for a reasonable price, sounding cleaner and crisper than I have ever heard. He even replaced a missing button and changed LED lights on the display. Couldn't be happier- would definitely recommend!
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February 2022 by Monica S.
Ed, the owner of A-B & B Electronics, was the only one who I could find to work on my late 40's Philco. He had great reviews at the time, so I happily called him. I should've known on our first conversation, or should I say lack thereof, that it was going to become a nightmare. First of all, he doesn't concentrate on the conversation and what I am telling him. In addition, his phone keeps beeping for another call, so I'm continually put on hold. Again, good reviews and honestly, he seems like my last hope on the antique I've had setting for a few years now. He tells me to bring it to him. Well, it's in a unit. "I don't have room in my garage. You must disassemble." My husband isn't crazy about that, but we've waited a long time. So he does. Ed wants $40 to "look" at it. In the 13 months he had the pieces, turntable, amp, and radio, we hardly heard a peep. We had to continually call him for updates, going through the same pattern of terrible communication, phone beeping, put on hold or I'll call you back. I got so frustrated, I pleaded with my husband to take it over. He got so irritated , I had to take it back over because I thought we'll never get it back. Mind you, he's open until 6pm and only open until 1pm on Saturdays. Considering we live 45 minutes away w/out traffic and my husbands works til 5 pm M-F, quite an operation to accomplish. Thirteen long months later, pushing, pulling, scraping, mustering up every ounce of patience left, we picked it up. In the end he said the original turntable couldn't be fixed and ordered another on EBay and added 15%. Because everything is built in, we had to make a form for it to fit inside. So basically after all that, we got a turntable that worked but we would have to figure out how to put it all back together, apply it so it fit into the unit, because "he didn't have room for the cabinet" to do it himself. When I say fit, the phonograph is screwed to the door and the door opens forward to display the unit that has springs. The unit sat again for another four months while my husband gathered a plan. Well, yesterday, I had a girlfriend over. We appraised the situation together and after some grinding of metal, used the original form, screwed it all on and played my first record. Hallelujah! In closing, we paid nearly $345 dollars. Not exactly sure what we got for that except a lot of runaround. Didn't inform us he wanted cash until we were there for pick up. Wasn't going to credit the original $40 that was given as the initial deposit. Good thing I kept my original receipt. Overall, no matter how desperate, DON'T GO SEE ED. Terrible, the worst communication skills. Nobody needs that much aggrevation in their life. My husband and I still have PTSD and we appreciate each other more for our communication skills.
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December 2021 by oscar Aguirre
Very disappointed with this business. I took my Concept stereo receiver in for repair on September 24, 2021 and 6 weeks later still no word from Ed Bartolo, owner. When I called his response was "we're very busy" and said his tech still hadn't diagnosed it. This business owner doesn't give a reasonable time frame of when he will diagnose much less repair your electronics. P.S. I had called after my stereo being there for 2 weeks checking on the repair status and Ed B. tone on the phone was one of irritation and said "we're very busy". Needless to say, I picked up my stereo on Nov. 4th and took it to another repair business in L.A. area (where they gave me a 1 week diagnostic response time).
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June 2021 by Ryan V
Very responsive and answered all my questions. Couldn’t provide me service on my current issue, but offered solutions
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May 2021 by Rami Dimitri
I just dropped my early 1970s Weltron 2004 to get it back to life. Ed seemed such a nice person , he appreciates the vintage beauties.
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February 2021 by Thomas T
Fixed my Adcom power amp. Easy to work with and got it done quickly.
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January 2021 by ray martinez
Great quality work. Highly recommend. Exceeds your expectations.