Portland Custom Shop

Brian Watson did a beautiful (and fast) job installing a coil-​split Seymour Duncan bridge pickup in my 1978 Ibanez Musician. It sounds better than it ever has and I’m having a great time playing it. Now I’m definitely coming back to him for more in the future.

Great staff of well experienced techs who are love what they do obviously. Doesn’t get better.

Brian did some mods and tweaks on my early 70’s Ampeg V4 and I could not have been more impressed with the whole experience. He really knows vintage ampeg. He is METICULOUS with his work and it shows both in his repairs and his own amps he builds. Super nice guy, not a pretentious douche like some amp techs can be, and the most knowledgable person I’ve met on vintage ampeg amps. My amp is not only properly biased now, but is better tailored to my type of playing thanks to his tweaking.
Very pleased. When this amp dies, I might look at one of his Soursound amps. Thanks Brian.

I contacted this shop wanting to replace the LCD screen on my Korg Wavestation EX, which Tim retrofitted with an LED screen that looks fantastic! Parts and labor were also very reasonable, and my overall experience was great!

Holy shit, don’t take your amplifier or synth to this place (Soursound)!
Since my experience I have talked to several people who have had shady dealings with Brian. Don’t trust the good reviews from his buddies here or anywhere else and don’t trust this guy with your gear or your money. My guess is that the good reviews are from his «friends» who he doesn’t rip off and who’s amps he probably doesn’t stand on, reverse engineer or improperly reassemble.
It took him (Brian — Soursound) almost two weeks to get my amp back to me for «new tubes and bias»… «That’s weird» I thought to myself. I could have and would have biased the tubes, in less than 30 minutes myself, had I not been too stupid to check the fuse. Diagnosis: Blown fuse from blown tube. Yes, I was stupid for not checking for a blown fuse first and apparently he took me for a real moron with more money than common sense. The weirdness had only just begun…
The amp is imported from Italy, I took it to Brian at Soursound because it was brand new, sent from Italy by post and I feared the worst when the 100W power section suddenly stopped working (Epic facepalm!) — the amp has two separate power sections and it was new to me, it blew a fuse. When I finally got the amp back, there were footprints on my amp cover and a footprint on top of the amp head tolex… Was he using it for a step aerobics class? Was his foot stool too short? Maybe he didn’t have a Matamp, Bogner or Soldano to stand on… The day after I get the amp back foot-​switches in the foot controller start breaking at the nut where they were tightened into the case. Three foot-​switches failed in a matter of three days. This amp was two weeks old, brand new, hand made, with no prior signs of poor workmanship besides a blown fuse! I used the amp daily for two weeks prior, with no sign of switch failure. I sent the foot-​controller back to Italy to be repaired. Brunetti said someone took the foot controller apart and re-​assembled it improperly… I was dumfounded. I had to send the foot controller back to italy to be repaired, it cost me over $ 150 in shipping alone.
I was head-​tripped over this incident for a LONG time. Who should I trust? Why would ANYONE disassemble that footswitch, for no reason? Why would Brunetti lie to me? Why would $oursound $crew me? I could not find a single online account of this happening to anyone else. Brunetti has a good name in Italy and throughout Europe for his build quality, integrity and knowledge (Brunetti amps are handmade like Fryette, Soldano, Rivera, Bogner). My amp was custom modified by Marco Brunetti, I had a high gain switch and a resonance control added so I know he personally worked on it and I paid for it with money I had saved for a LONG TIME. The switches used in that foot controller were top quality and I could not find any reference to early switch failure like I had encountered after my amps visit to Soursound. Now, every time my amp so much as glitches or farts I get that feeling in my gut, think of Soursound and wonder if he reverse engineered more than the foot switch…
I learned three things from this experience: 1. Never import a custom built amplifier from a foreign country without local warranty tech service 2. Always check the fuse FIRST! 3. DON’T EVER TAKE ANYTHING TO BRIAN @ SOURSOUND! — Especially if he has never seen one before and there is the potential for him to reverse engineer it and poorly re-​assemble it — Especially if you want it back QUICKLY and not broken!
Yeah, the guy builds his own amps… whatever. I wonder where he gets his ideas from? Books? Reverse engineering things he’s never seen before? It should never have taken so long to retube and rebias any amp and why did foot switches suddenly start failing the day after getting the amp back from brian when the foot-​switches worked fine prior to brian having the amp in his possession? AND WHY DID MY AMP HAVE FOOTPRINTS ON TOP OF IT? The footprints aren’t even the crux of the matter, I understand that when a ladder is not available you use somebody elses gear to stand on, it’s the obvious thing to do, but it shouldn’t have taken so long to get the amp back for a re-​tube. Not to mention the fact that he got to keep 4 brand new Svetlana 6550 tubes that cost almost $ 150 a quad AND he got payed to perform the re-​tube and bias — He told me all four 6550’s were blown when the fuse blew, I knew different, they were two weeks old! It’s possible ONE was blown but not all four.
If I can ever afford a nice amp again I’ll buy a Rivera or Soldano and I won’t EVER take it into soursound.
If for no other reason, even if you think my problems were a coincidence or my fault for not checking the fuse, don’t take your equipment to Brian @ Soursound because he takes forever to do the work, overcharges, he might rip you off (royally) and treats your equipment like his own personal stool.

I’ve taken a couple of things there and have talked with others about their experience too. Portland Custon Shop takes a relatively long time for repairs, and they don’t always do the best job. Someone told me yesterday their mono poly has been in there for two months. I had a synth in there for more than a month to replace a broken key, and they did an awful job of matching it, although it did function. People I’ve shown the synth to have laughed at the repair work.
Bottom line — if you’re expecting excellent work on something unique, I’d say look elsewhere. Tim is a nice guy, but his skills are limited.

I’ve had to the occasion to take my amp in for service with Portland Custom Shop two times in the last year. Whenever I had dropped off my amp with previous shops, it was an exercise in paying way too much and waiting way too long… Not so here. Seriously the best repair service I’ve ever had. They’re into what they do, they do it extremely well, and they do what they do fast. Five stars alone does not do them justice!

Holy shit, why would you ever go anywhere else for your gear-​related repair needs? These dudes have a tight game, solid solid solid. I’ve been going to Sours for a few years now, and he keeps my amps in top shape. Watson’s attention to detail has pretty much resulted in a completely new guitar playing experience (including rewinding a faulty humbucker that I thought just, well, sucked). Tim has been gracious with my friends’ and their solid state gear. I haven’t ordered anything from Jeremy yet, but I would LOVE to have one of his cabs. Or two. Or ten. Preferably to go with the Soursound head I have yet to buy… Dreaming a little…
Hands down, best shop. You are lucky if you are a guitarist living in Portland and have these guys at your disposal. And if you are not using their shop, you are just hurting yourself. So stop hurting yourself, dummy.
***AMPEG OWNERS: I do not think you will find someone who knows their way around a V4 better than Bryan Sours. Maybe Dennis Krager, who designed the temperamental beasts, but he lives in frickin’ Jersey.