I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that the wurlitzer is beyond belief. It is perfect in every way. Can't thank you guys enough! It's a joy to play.
All the best,
Jared Slomoff
I received the Warneck 200 kit, installed the amplifier, it took about 20 minutes. I love it! It sounds punchy and stable! Just wanted to say how much I appreciate you all for putting so much work into something so esoteric-Thanks,
Brian Weber
I bought my 1959 B3 from the alleged first owner, back in 1976. He sold this to me with tears in his eyes as we moved it out of his house, claiming he had to flip the instrument in order to cover some household bills. His bad fortune, perhaps, which then became my good luck. It seems the B3 was a gift from his parents for graduating high school. Some gift!All things happen for a reason, correct?
The B3 cost me $1750 including a mint 122 and a set of dollies. I try not to add inflation to that price and put it into todays dollars, just doesn't seem to be fair to the instrument to do that. How do you attach value to something like this that has brought 36 years of joy, inspiration, creativity, and, well, you know.
The B3 saw some road action and a lot on in- house jamming over the years. I used to trek it to a few local studios for session work. I worked pretty hard to protect it, so it only went from living room condition (9.5) to about an 8 or so. But it had some hard playing on the keybed: lots of glissandi, hard-playing , (I'm a piano player) etc. It got to a point where, little by little, I forgot how smooth and quiet the action/mechanism used to be.
Then, the motor-boating effect on the vibrato scanner began. This initially was touch and go, then later became permanent. At one point, I was looking to sell the B3 and a pretty accomplished player wouldn't do the deal because of the vibrato. All things happen for a reason, correct!
Then along comes Tim Warneck and Retroliner. More good fortune for me, and the B. Tim did a house call on the B, and prepared a very fair estimate to repair the scanner, restore the action to original, clean and lube the buss bars ( I had a few keys not fully firing) and a general tune-up. I can tell you that without a doubt, not only did Tim bring this B back to better than original, he probably added another 36 years to its service life. I am totally impressed with his work. The action is so smooth, no noisy glissandi, keys are dead quiet going up or down. Electronics are impeccably clean, no hum, no clicks,no pops. Every note fires, every draw-bar movement actually changes the sound. The vibrato is so sweet: the amount of depth it adds is surreal. I had forgotten how sweet the top-end on a fully functional B3 can be. He even corrected some issues which I inherited from the original owner but did not know about: the Leslie interface box was the wrong one, Tim swapped it out. He added a grounded plug-in for the power cord. He re-routed the Leslie jack and replaced it with a modern version. And of course, Tim did some wiring clean-up.
When this thing left his shop, the B3 was endowed with the attributes of a person who not only knows what he is doing, but has the passion to be the very best in his field. Rare in any business, no doubt. It's a certain level of artistry in my opinion.
I can't say enough good things about my experience with Retrolinear.
All the best,
-Mike Such
THE PRODIGY IS ALIVE!!!
What can I say? The gentleman who serviced my moog is a real pro and he'll gladly take on any monosynth projects...I can put people in touch with him should anyone need any servicing. He knows his stuff...a real pro and a stand-up guy for sure.
He cracked the bad boy open and knew where to start. He brought the 2nd OSC back to life, replaced all the capacitors and checked every solder joint...and then some. He even managed to upgrade everylittle thing inside of the prodigy to bring it up to date by way of the final 1984 production standards. There's a whole lot more that he did for this...but I can't remember every detail. He gave the keys a bath, replaced a faulty decay pot, and he even threw in an air freshener.
Tim, if you're reading this... thank you so much. I still have the ziplock bag of dead parts as a momento of this epic 10-month struggle to get my hands on a prodigy. Prodigy #1312 is alive and well...
Dirty Larry
Tim serviced my Wurlitzer 200A. He was great to work with - quick turnaround, very communicative, honest, and quick to answer all questions. His services are VERY reasonably priced and his work and attention to detail are top-notch. I couldn't be happier with the Wurli after his repairs. I highly recommend Tim's services if you are in need of repairs, tunings, or general tune-ups to your vintage equipment. I look forward to working with Tim again for all of my repair needs.
Slade Baird
Tim's work is thoughtful, effective and highly efficient. He is a learned' and skilled technician as well as musician. His work on my Wurly not only silenced any impeding noise but improved the overall action and timbre of the instrument dramatically. I am thrilled to know him and will be bringing him my Rhodes and Wurly issues from now on.
-John Conahan
Tim is even better than everyone says he is. He worked the trifecta for us at Turtle Studios ... heavily cleaned up and upgraded our Hammond B3 (upgraded from C2) and Leslie ... then cleaned up and upgraded the amp on our Wurlitzer ... and finally, totally rehabbed our Rhodes 88. He has had a serious impact on our ability to help folks make great records.
Jay Levin
Once again, Tim has done an amazing job fixing, restoring, and enhancing a vintage instrument. This time is was a Hammond C3. Thanks so much for your fine work and service. Excellent service and easy to deal with. Thank you very much.
Sine Studios
Tim is the absolute best. Glad I found him and will continue to do business with him before ALL others
Paul Mancini
I bought a Wurlitzer 206 in May 2010, and it was in pretty bad shape when I got it. I contacted several repair shops who were all slow to respond and wanted an arm and a leg just to look at the keyboard- I finally was referred to Tim and thank goodness. Tim did an amazing job at a very reasonable rate- I now have a 40 year old instrument that plays and sounds like new. I would not hesitate to refer Tim to anyone needing service on their electric piano, organ, keyboard, etc. I'm sure that as long as I'm living in the NJ/PA area, Tim will be my go-to guy for anything related to my Wurlitzer.
Shawn Conroy
Tim did an excellent job doing a complete 100% restoration from head to toe on my Hammond A-100 he's a great guy and knows what he's talking about. It sounds beautiful just as it would back in 1959 as it came out of the factory. I'm am confident that Tim will go on to succeed in his business and prosper. So hats off to Tim for he Is the best on the east coast no doubt about that.
Radu
I can't think of a single negative point. Tim did an amazing job with my MircoMoog. Polite, professional, and knowledgeable. I am 100% satisfied and will say that nobody should hesitate in contacting Tim to get service done on their vintage keyboards and amps. He's top notch!Brendan McGeehan
Tim worked on my Fender Rhodes MkII... and did a wonderful job. He is also overhauling a Leslie 122 for me. Knows his stuff, very fair, extremely competent... and on top of all that, he is a nice guy. Highly recommended...
Justin DiFebbo
I rate Tim Warneck a 5+++! My wife, a former piano teacher, and I were very fortunate to discover Tim on your web site. The amplifier in our Home wooden Rhodes piano failed, and I dreaded handing it to one of the music stores in our city.
The experience with Tim from start to completion was excellent. His expertise is outstanding.
Jim Clark
Tim fixed my realistic moog for me.....and its probably in better shape than when it first came out of the box.... I got it from a friend and most of the controls were dirty and barely worked and it wasn't calibrated correctly.... I gave it to Tim and he got it working perfectly.....and even added stuff for me. Will definitely be going back to him for any synth fix .
April Smith
It really IS difficult to overstate how great Tim's work is. He has worked on both of my Wurly 200s and is willing/able either to restore to the original specs, or to add his own mods/updates
(variable speed tremolo, better pre-amps, shielding - it goes on and on.)
He's done work on my amps - tube and solid state - my synths/ROMplers, and all manner of electro-mechanical pianos, organs, and so on. (Electric harpsichord, anyone?)
There isn't a piece of gear in my keyboard arsenal that I wouldn't confidently place in Tim's expert care.
AND, like everyone else is noting in their comments - Tim's entirely accommodating and professional, has great ears for what makes an instrument sound its best (and has the technical chops to get it done correctly), stands behind his work 100%, is very reasonable in his pricing, and yes, a really nice guy too.
Far and away my best keyboard tech ever - I tell him constantly how happy and lucky I am to have found him!
I recommend him in the highest possible terms.
Yay, Tim!
Mike Frank
I wish there were more people like Tim Warneck in the world.
I find it rare that someone is so committed to their work. Tim doesn't do a good job simply to make a paycheck, to make a name for himself, or to please the customer. He does a good job because he thrives on getting quality vintage instruments into the hands of musicians. In the process though, he certainly pleases the customer. I couldn't be happier with my rhodes.
His prices are more than fair, he is very responsive with problems, and ridiculously knowledgeable.
I've only known Tim and his work for about a year, but everything is perfect or better than expected. I plan to use him as my tech as long as possible.
Patrick Fink
WOW! My 1974 Fender Rhodes is like new and sounds incredible.
Tim is absolutely the best!
Chad
Tim did an absolutely amazing job fixing up my Fender Rhodes 73. it sounded like crap and felt like it to when I first got it, but when he was done it was the most amazing sounding instrument I have ever played. I'm just a starting Rhodes/Hammond player only 16 years old and whenever I have a problem or need something fixed or ask for advice he always knows what's wrong and how it can be fixed and then he goes beyond the call of duty and makes it better than before.
Scott
Tim is probably the best out there. He's honest, isn't looking to make a mint off of you, and is more knowledgeable than anyone I've ever talked to about vintage electronics. I would just about trust him to do open heart surgery on me!!!! (...I'd probably run smoother and sound better afterwards!)
Tom Nardozza