How I Got Into Amp Repair | Fazio Electric 

It's a pleasure to watch you rapidly develop into a very skilled and competent technician. Our field definitely needs an infusion of young people to carry on the proud tradition of tube technology......and I can think of no one better than you to set the standard.

"5k subscriber" *Looks at subscriber count* Well... that is escalating quickly

What a difference a country makes. Imagine a community college delivering courses on electronics and similar technical skills, let alone specific guitar and amp building - virtually unheard of in the UK. Looking forward to sticking with you for a long time...

I love Uncle Doug! Glad to have another amp channel to watch ✌

It's really inspiring to see another lady killing it in a male dominated field! I'm an audio engineer and I know a few other women who are audio engineers but I don't know a single lady doing amp repairs. I'm happy to see you breaking in and I know you'll have a long and successful career ahead of you because of how passionate you are about what you do. Happy for you! I'll recommend you to everyone I know in Cali!

I just discovered you about a half hour ago. My first thought was "I wonder how she got into this?". Then this video appeared!!!

You've been on a fantastic journey, and you’ve remained very humble and appreciative. As boomer I believe all young people should follow their passion, whatever happens you won’t regret it. I genuinely wish you all the success in the world. One of the best parts of the video is the very natural interaction with you and your dog. (S)he looked more than happy to play with their ears and I don’t think you realised you were doing it half the time.

Since Colleen here mentioned her earlier interest in Lutherie, I feel I should mention Canadian luthier and guitar repairman Ted Woodford, whose "twoodfrd" channel I watch all the time. He is a true craftsman, which is not a word I use lightly, and he's also dryly funny.

Admitting we don’t know everything is the first step to learning more. You’re a refreshing addition to our little amp geek corner of the Internet.

i know its a cliche but the internet as an entity is really a game changer. alot of knowledge was gate-keeped until the internet came along.

I’m ready to buy the first Fazio Tweed Deluxe as soon as you get your own company going! Love your lineage in amp building! The epitome of bad ass! Thanks for this video!

Nice to see these kind of skills being passed onto the younger generation. I wish you the very best of success with your career choice!

Nice to hear the background. I played electric guitar since I was 9, didn't get in to repairing my own amps till I was in my 60s. Appreciate your videos and yeah, Uncle Doug.

Those Vero amps are lovely pieces with an Art Deco flair. Congratulations on your channel and trusting yourself enough to take the plunge in your own business. Keep learning and pursuing your passion.

You are really inspiring me. This is my passion. I love it when I see people doing what they love and being able to make some money doing it. This is where I want to be. Thank you.

I’m totally digging this. As a tube amp freak, it is so important for a younger generation to take the reins so that amp repair doesn’t disappear. You got a new sub! Looking forward to your content.

I appreciate how humble you are with your craft. Seems to me that you are becoming a mentor to your subscribers!

Huge damn respect for people like you. Huge respect and regards to people who find their passion and follows it, no matter of stereotypes about human and subject. Huge respect and regards to people like you, who share their wisdom and passion to other people. Nowadays, non-cheapminded individuals, who make it their own way is real gold of society, you the one who making progres, walking in future, even though you working with something old, something what some people call "legacy things". You inspiring, i wish there will be more people like you, an example for many. Huge respect and regards, from some people of Ukraine))

congrats on the creator on the rise promotion on RU-vid trending page.

Love those Vero amps, I remember seeing the late, great Nick Curran using one.

I hope your business does well!

Just love your passion and confidence. I’m a little late to the party here, but your videos have really helped me with my return to all things guitar. I love the older tube amps but they’re sometimes a challenge to keep them going- that’s how I found your channel! Thanks for the great content. And you have a cool hound too

Hello from England, as a guitar playing grandfather to six lovely granddaughters, I'm proud of you, and what you have accomplished. You are an inspiration to young women everywhere. Thank you for a great channel.

A Chicago area native - me too. You might remember a line of amps named Fatboy used by such notables as Santana and Beck. The designer and builder of these Fatboy amps was my mentor, colleague and is a good friend. We are both building and repairing amps to this day. You have a great story and I wish you continued success.

Great story, I was wondering how you got into this niche. Your love of what you do comes through and is interesting to all us music nerds. Keep it up!

fabulous stuff, keep up the great work

Fazio? That sounds like a good name for an amp

Congratulations on starting your own thing, I'm in the process of doing so myself for luthiery. I really dig the videos, super easy to listen to and watch. Cant wait to see more vintage stuff on here!

I love watching all your videos. Such much wisdom being shared. Great Karma here.

Great Journey 😊👍 It's not just your dedication to your Craft I respect, but how Humble you are about your knowledge. Your very layed back and very good about explaining what you are doing to each amp. And your work is very neat and clean. You show great dexterity and confidence in your work. I admire you 🙂. Please keep the content coming. I know it's hard juggling videos and business. But you are providing a wonderful learning experience for us DIYers. You are Appreciated!

Like Holy cow I'm so cool...my fucking amplifier is way older than you 😂

Your mentor told you, "Of course you can do this!" Never forget that, I'd say. You are going to be successful in this. Thanks for this video.

I love me some Uncle Doug. That guys the best. Love your channel too.

So you worked at ReVamp? Andy did an electrical restoration job in summer 2019 on my 81 JCM800 4104. It's still doing great!

Colleen - I am such a huge advocate for young people who have the desire and aptitude to go into a skilled trade like you have done. So often young people who do not have a desire to go the college route are not highly thought of, but nothing could be further from the truth. You do such amazing work - I only wish I could solder like you!! Have you ever thought of reaching out to a guy like Mike Rowe since he has such a platform for the world of skilled tradespeople? I think you would be great talking to high school kids and lighting a fire underneath some budding electronics technicians out there. I love your videos and love absorbing the knowledge you drop on us all. Keep up the great work!

Im not surprised your from the chicago area. I can tell by the proper way you talk. I know nothing about amps or electronics. But I really hate the board mounted crap in my blues jr. The amp sounds great. But the problems i have had are related to that. I had the jack replaced by Rigoni in Waukegan, You might have heard of him. He is the first person to tell me about board mounted stuff. Then uncle doug d lab and brad all complain about it. I wish I could get my amp changed but it is hardly worth the money. Some day maybe get an amp that is made properly. Whatever you do, dont work on a mesa boogie :) haha. Ask Brad the Guitologist.

Well you are quite a smart, talented young lady! You are just one of very few female tube techs. Welcome to the trade and it is good to see you. I will be watching for future videos. Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz

Chicago! I knew you didn’t sound like a native California native! Fellow Midwesterner here (Detroit). Keep it up 👍!

Wow, video posted 2 weeks ago, 5k subs.... today already 20k!, it looks like youtube algorithm is working great for you now. Congrats Colleen 👍

Congrats Colleen, awesome career path. I am a retired electronics tech and active bass player. I can relate to both very well! Keep up the great work!

What a lovely video. I taught design and technology in the UK for 38 years, although, I admit, I was never much of an expert in the electronics field. You are an inspiration. Such a great attitude and philosophy and a brilliant role model for the girls. I always find in technology it tends to be a case of "the more I learn, the less I know" and I definitely learned from my students every day. Almost all of my best students were girls and I was so proud of those who went on to pursue a career in technology. I bet your uncles are so proud of you. I'm retired now , but continue to learn about technology every day, and now I'm learning from you. Thank you.

Hi - just bumped into your channel and will have to listen later as its "late". One tip I heard about "tone" and replacing vintage power supply electrolytic capacitors. I was told the older capacitors even when new had higher ESR and inductance than modern electrolytics. So in order to emulate the old cap and effects upon "tone", a 100uH inductor with 5-10 ohms DCR would be put in series with each main cap. Single ended circuitry has a lot of interaction with power supply impedance(s)

Is she and her uncles related to Mike Fazio of Fazios Music in St. Louis Missouri by any chance? (Fazios Music got bought by Ernie Williamsons Music of Joplin Mo, which was a subsidiary of Springfield Music in Springfield Mo, and then Springfield Music changed it's name to Ernie Williamsons Music 🤷 don't ask me I can't even keep track of my own cat let alone this stuff, I just find it interesting) I live around Springfield and would love if they had amp/guitar repair/making/luthier lessons here, wind instruments too. I came from California about 7 years ago, it's an entire other type of beast there than here in lil ole southern Missouri.

I've been an audio tech for 44 years, and I've met lots of others. Never seen one as cute as you! It's great to see young people - especially young women - getting into the field. There are not a lot of folks who can do this or who even want to. Best of luck with your career!

Lol your super cool and fine. I’d just break my amp so I could bring it to you to fix it

Great Video!! You are a real inspiration for women in STEM. l am a hobbiest amp builder in San Mateo, CA with a 20 yo daughter in biochemical engineering at UC Davis. My daughter enjoyed helping me build a kit 1959 fender bassman while she was in high school. She’s curious and brave like you! +1 on uncle Doug!! I love that guy.

As my granddaughter would say "You Go, girl!!"

Kudos for acknowledging Uncle Doug - the 'Grand Gent of the Thermionic Valve' Enjoyed your content so far - here downunder we soulder not sodder , lol

yep, it was pretty obvious you weren't an "LA girl" by birth or growing up here. There's always something different about girls who are not from LA born and raised. lol

Chicago? You could've stuck around there and fixed Jeff Tweedy's amp(s)!

Dang, a complement from Uncle Doug! Nice. I actually selected this video thinking this was about how to get started in electronics. Guess it pays to read carefully. Good video, but would love to hear more about how to do this stuff. I've been working through Stan Gibilisco's "Teach Yourself..." book. Have a 5E3 kit I'll be assembling this summer. Know most of the basics, and how to solder (fortunately I've been doing simple repair work on my guitars and smaller electronics for years now). I'm kinda' stuck at the beginner's level of electronics. Thinking I should take some electronics courses at the nearby two year college, although I really don't care to deal with all the math, but will probably just have to bite the bullet. Thanks for the great amp videos.

Have you ever repaired an old VOX JAGUAR Combo organ? I built one in 1968 from a Heathkit. I'm amazed some people still want these.

Why don't you show and talk about your record collection? Have you ever checked out Bill Harden's guitar shop in Chicago? I myself own one of his Switchblades. He also makes effects and amps. But he's a very good luthier

Awesome story Colleen!!! My story is similar. Started off with retro 70's tube amp in early 2000's I used in my church band. When my next music project guitarist got a Mesa my brain became obsessed with tube amps. I got a rectifier head. Kept playing music. My dad has built tube radios and guitar amps since the 1960's. So when I got into guitar and amps I was really interested in building my own. He showed me the ropes. Then I did my first single ended 5 watt tube head in 2004. Then a 18 watt british high gain head. Took a break for awhile then I built a tweed deluxe. As of late I have started building again. Looking to build a high gain all tube practice head soon. In between building custom guitars too!! Lol soo much to learn. It's awesome seeing your expertise and learning from your videos. You are super talented!! Keep up the great work!! Oh yeah Uncle Doug is amazing!! I can watch his videos all day long.

Hi, I met you at Deltronics, small world. Great channel, thanks for the videos. Mike has been doing my work for years. I have 2 JBL 15" that need to be refoamed and they don't do that anymore

I started with a 5e3 7 months ago . On my 5th amp now. A hr deville - bassman plexi conversion, a marahall 1974 tmb , a hr deluxe- slash afd type conversion . And now a 5f2a.. It's hard not to obsess over this hobby. All the amps I could bever afford, now.i can build...

Fazio... I really like your videos. Informative and such. One thing I request is that the audio gets adjusted up a little bit. You're soft-spoken and sometimes hard to understand. It's nice to see a lady get into to electronics repair for a change and still maintain her femininity. Keep up the good work! IF you're getting KUDOS from UNCLE DOUG, the GRAND POOBAH of guitar tube amp repair, then you are most certainly doing it right.

Cool! I literally just came across this channel today. I like the stress-free attitude and thoroughness of the repairs.

You make me uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time ..you are not the gorgeous by vogue standards .. but as a NYC fashion/Beauty Photographer in the 80’s .. YOU ARE A GODESS .. but you need a Solder Sucking device and Solder Iron station ..worthy of your love for your furry friend

Wow I just found your channel and I find it very entertaining! I'm an old musician that builds guitars and repairs amps. I just watched this video and the shocker for me was when you said you are from Plainfield IL. My wife is from Plainfield and we live about 15 minutes south of Joliet in a town called Wilmington. Back in the 1980s, Joliet was a rich musician city and had many good music stores, Mr. Bill's Music and George Kay's to name a few. Keep up the great work! I enjoy watching your videos and I subbed to your channel!

28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28, KJV)

If reballing is possible i believe dijital amps can be fixable too. I believe they will be obsolete as in today's forms and someone will discover how kemper can be identical to a real amp and we will be paying 100 bucks to get the 2500 dollars kemper sounds. Yes that's how technology has worked so far. The smartphone you have today is way faster than a computer made 25 years ago. The 1gb slow af hdd was sold for 1000 dollars in 99s. And 1000 dollars in 99s is at least 1400 usd today imagine.. For 1400 usd you can buy some serious storage. Or look at ps5 xbox x, the performance they give is well worth it because you had to spend 1500 usd to match the performance in a pc. So yeah everything gets better and cheaper. Analogue is nice but no one can crank their amps to get the tone these days..

I just built a Bassman at Chicago School of Guitar Making! One of the best experiences of my life. I'm planning to work in the industry in North Dakota!

Hi, I'm from Ventura and I have an B&K oscilloscope, 2 sound generators and RCA VOM, Calendar meters. Old as 1957. I built the Heathkit sound generator.

You will have 100k soon, we are all sharing and liking. Hello beautiful dog.

You build amps... What do they cost...? My dad was from Decatur... Cool that your from Illinois.

I think it is EXCELLENT to see a woman being an electronics expert and working on audio amplifiers! You go girl! 👍💙💚 (I subscribed)

Hello Fazio Electric!! Great Video! Looking forward to many, many more repair videos from you, they are great to watch with breakfast a cup of coffee in the morning! 🎸👏👏😎👍💖

Where have you been all my life? ;D lol also my dog says hello! He also says get a proper dog! But yeah, as much as i understand Analog and Digital electronics, nobody thinks of being unable to repair the newer Digital systems if you don't have access to the files that program the custom logic.. Or you'll have to reverse-engineer everything, which isn't impossible but often likely not worth it! Or butcher another board or system that has those components working.. So either way you end up with total losses! I do have a head start on you though.. Nice to see someone else in love with Amps and analog.. and perhaps proper power supplies? ;)

You are quite impressive. I too am a huge music fan. I have spent the last 30 years in HVAC. I can fix a thing or two myself but I am an electronic infant compared to you! Keep up the good work! Your future is bright!

Almost 10K! I look up to you guys (+Uncle Doug, Brad, etc) who do this on RU-vid and even though I understand only 1/4 I still love watching!

Thanks for sharing your story. Very interesting. Very cool that you build and repair amps.

Nice channel. Are you a Pisces? Random question to a random suggestion by RU-vid's algorithm. I know I won't get an anwer, but I have a friend in the UK who looks exactly the same as you and she is. Suscribed, by the way!

I've got an Amp question ;) :Is it possible to run my Original Roland JC-120 with unplugged speaker cables without damage to the amp? The idea is to use the line out signal direct into audio interface silently! External output + attenuator would do the same?

Thanks for this info! I only recently started to watch you recently..I had wondered how you got to understand the jumble of wiring in an amp. My other fave watch in amp videos is Psionic Audio who also is very interesting. I wonder if you would recommend favourite amps?

I can't think of more satisfying feeling than 'discovering' new channel at just a couple hundred subs, just to see it explode after a couple of weeks. 'Told y'all, she's a real deal'. All the best!

I gotta feeling that I might send you my 1986 Carvin X-100 B for recaps and to fix the clean channel .... Hope to do business with you some day !!!!

Don't worry about the people complaining about audio quality. They are everywhere. I used to make videos and checked my videos on multiple sources and while it wasn't loud, you could hear it on the crappiest of small computer speakers. Some people just gotta take responsibility for their thing. Shout out to Chicago too! Miss my hometown sometimes as I watch CA burn up here in the north bay.

Hi just started watching... have a question, can you make an amp think a speaker is 4 ohms by using an 8 ohm speaker and 8 ohm dummy load or resistor attached to the speaker... Its a SS amp the amp will run at 8 but I figure if I sacrifice 1 or half a watt to the dummy load I can get 49 of the 50 watts instead of the 25 or 30 I would get by leaving it alone; Is this possible or am I just looking at it all wrong?

can you add new control pots on my 1987 GK 250 ML combo amp? speakers are still in great shape and the amp will work, but the volume control fades/cuts out.

Love your stuff /you are so right about so much to learn im on lesson 17 of Gerald Weber,s tube amp course /algebra /voltage dividers/ tone stacks circuit analysis was getting weary and overwhelmed finding you help keep the fire burning great instruction style cant wait to see you at one day .. be well and keep it coming ...

Us older techs had to go college, uni, and some of started off in tv repair shops. After 30 odd years in the repair trade..many of us would say start off with easy type simple stuff before jumping in to high voltage valve amplifiers and learn from others to guide you. Safe journey on in the amp world. Yes electronics is learn ohm's law and never run before we can walk...as taking on someone's pride and joy, messing it up can be costly experience!..

The 1% thing is the smartest thing you said in this video...the moment you think you "know it all" is the moment you won't...at 57 I'm still learning about amps (currently class D)...

That's kool, that's not really that long but you obviously learn fast, i thought your dad maybe played guitar or repaired old school amps...yeah,make your own brand & design your own amps...i know it's not easy but i think you would do alright....don't forget us bass players,we need good amps to..lol....we all keep learning every day for sure...can you not make it 2 amps, a bass amp as well as a guitar amp ?....their is a market for well made fair priced bass amps as not so many makers compared to guitar amp brands ....

Thank yhou for a great page. I happened to have a couple of amp,s. And I hear that you recomend start whit building pedals. And I wonder, what is the easiest pedal I can start whit, and then build me up on some else? What is the most difficult pedal I can build? (after a while) Have you tried to build Loop Pedals?

I have made my own guitars, built my own speaker cabinets, but I don't have the knowledge (or patience) to build my own amp. The last piece that would make me entirely self sufficient. And it's irritating me.

Cool, Nice Little doggy your never gonna need to buy any dog treats again,,All the amplifier packaging is going to be full of amazing Dog goodies :):)

Get in to something else. You are a smoke show with a delightful personality. I respect your skills. No offense. Just sayin...just.....sayin.... 😂😂🤣🤣

🗣I guess I need to get my Ampeg B15n Portaflex out of the closet that my dad bought for me when I was 16 yrs. old It needs another transformer because the original blew out. Only 30 watts, but there is no sound like one 🎼.

I got into watching amp repairs and builds because it interested me. I am not proficient enough to really work on them or build one. I was watching" Uncle Doug " for a long time , but i think he retired. He rarely puts out videos anymore. And the other guy , well he turned into a political talk show so i stopped watching his altogether. Glad to see someone else come a long. You also did a few vids about things the others didn't. Very helpful. Thank you, & good luck to you!

Trust me, you know much more than 1% of amp stuff. Keep up the great work and videos. Love watching them. You’re doing a kick ass job. This channel is going to blow up.

Really awesome...I studied electronics back in the 70s and started with tube electronics theory!

Thank you for all of the information you share. Your knowledge is very interesting and informative. I was wondering if you do any experience with working with keybords? I have a GEN keybord and some of my slides and dials that seem like they are probably just needing cleaning I live in the phoenix are so I imagning there is a lot of dust in the draw bars and etc. thanks please keep up the great work.

cool lap Dog like my lap cats .i am modding a seiko wkc-9000 .its a bit of a pain lay out was unexpected like the 2 2.5inch woofers hidden in the unit man its a crammed full unit but the journey must continue

That was one of the first things that came to my mind. Enjoyed your Vlog. c];-)

I'm still struggling to understand how a paperclip works, so watching you is fascinating.

One thing I notice about your videos is that you show a component you are about to install and then cut to the install where the leads are perfectly bent, exactly spaced for the eyelets and the component is perfectly centered between the eyelets. How about sharing your technique for this? I have my own, but am always curious to see how others do theirs. Your repairs & rebuilds take on a very professional look just by this one thing, (plus good soldering technique) which so many others miss. The person who mentored you did a very good job.

I hope you keep growing as well, but you have a very nice start. You're highly intelligent enough to do anything as you appear to seek knowledge of anything you do. I'm very impressed.

Thanks for turning me on to the Truth About Vintage Amps podcast with Skip Simmons! I only understand about a third of what they're talking about but it's informative and entertaining as hell.

The good thing about being a your own tech is the better you get the more knowledge is gain...and we even come across them times were we have to prove ourselves.. keep up passion..mm The likes of uncle Doug, d lab, even 12voltsvids.. etc we're all good engineers.