Mario's Extreme Electronics- DJ and audio repair — Local services in Miami

I have used Reflections for years for repairs of amplifiers and two way radios.

I found them by default. Years ago, Fender referred me to Florida Electronics for factory authorized repair work on a Hot Rod Deluxe. Florida Electronics claimed to have done a "full diagnostic" and billed Fender accordingly, but the power tubes red plated as soon as I got home and turned the amp on. They obviously had done no testing at all of their repair work. It eventually took three trips for Florida Electronics to fix that amp.

Then, Florida Electronics tried to squirm out of a factory authorized warranty repair by telling me a tube was bad. I knew it wasn't because I had tested it - like I do every tube - for output, transconductance, etc. on an old Hickock. The problem is that factory authorized warranty repair work pays a low hourly rate. You, the off-the-street consumer pay a much higher hourly rate. They'd rather bill you at the higher rate. The amp actually a bad relay - a repair covered under warranty. Florida Electronics had my amp for almost a year before they finally fixed it.

For my next amp repair, there was no way I was going back to Florida Electronics. A local guitar tech referred me to Reflections. Charlie, the old owner ran a great shop. Bill was a top notch tech: honest, highly competent and efficient. They worked on plenty of my amps and my two way radio gear. Once, when one of their guys did a so-so job, Bill had to go in and do a major repair. Bill and Charlie worked with me.

Mario, the current owner is a genuinely nice guy who continues to run a good operation. He seemed a bit overwhelmed at first. He jacked up their rates. This some repairs cost prohibitive. I held back on getting repairs done that I would have had done before just because of the higher repair costs. Then Bill retired shortly after Mario took over. Things were changing.

The operation is still the best electronics repair shop I've dealt with in Greater Miami. I've had Reflections work on several guitar amps since Mario took over. The repairs were done right and on time. In each case Mario gave me an estimate of when to expect the repair and then called me personally to let me know when my item was ready. They have always been timely. I had one minor issue with one repair, but I trust Mario to be fair and work with me if ever there is a problem. He always has.

This is the best, most reliable electronics repair shop I have found in Greater Miami. I'm...

A nightmare. The first time I went there was to repair a guitar fx processor that wasn't working. After 3 weeks they told me it seemed fine and worked perfectly well. So I picked it up, brought it home (no charge) and it still didn't work. I called them up and someone else told me that they hadn't gotten around to working on it and didn't know why I had been called to come get it. A year later I brought in an Ibanez RG and their guitar tech had never seen a 7 string guitar before. He even asked me if it was some custom work. I wanted the intonation improved and changed so I could play downtuned to an A instead of a B. He said it would be a little problematic because that would mean tuning the G string to an F and guitar tuners only tune the notes "eadgbe". He told me this after I dropped it off and left, otherwise I would have told them nevermind. When I went to pick it up (3 weeks later) he showed me the tuner he was using. It was one of those plastic $15 ones they give away at guitar center whenever you spend $100 or more. He also did a lousy job. A few months later I took it somewhere else and they told me that the binding post looked cracked. Like someone had done...

This operation is incompetent and highly unprofessional. I brought my GK 800 RB in to be repaired. They started by telling me that it would be finished in one week. Then I was told that my part hadn't come in yet, then I was told that it was some other problem. This went on for MONTHS! The problem was that the story over time kept changing. Apologies kept coming but nothing would materialize. Finally it got to a point where I was following up and given new dates only to find out that the dates would pass and no phone call to me was received. This went on for over a year!! Finally, I just gave up. I've never heard back from them.

Even worse is that another friend of mine (one of Miami's finest bass players) brought an identical amp in to be fixed (GK 800RB of which they are supposed to be an authorized repair shop) and when he got his back the very same problem existed. In other words they did nothing! Be careful when you deal with this operation and if you do business with them make sure to protect yourself and...