Busted Gear

I got quotes from other repair shops and they were a joke, Rich did it for half the cost and even cleaned it up for me too. Really good guy and he did a great job

I took my Korg MS-​20 mini to Busted Gear after the volume stopped working out of the blue one day. I dropped off the synthesizer and after a week with no contact I decided to call Rich Diemer, the owner. Rich had yet to start diagnosing the problem, but promised to start. It was at this time that he started telling me it that the synth had been worked on previously, but I assured him that it was purchased brand new and no work had been done. After repeatedly told me it had been worked on and didn’t appear to be listening to me at all. I was unconvinced that he would even try to solve the problem but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. After another week with no call I had to reach out to Rich again. This time he told me he had taken the synth apart but still had yet to diagnose the problem. He said he was going to call Korg to see how much a main board would cost. I asked him if he knew what was wrong, and he replied no. He said he would get back to me. I finally got a call back saying it would be ²⁄₃ the original price of the synth and take 10 – 12 weeks. I asked to pick up the synthesizer, which I did, but I was charged a $ 70 bench fee and still had no information as to why the volume of my synth was not working. After two weeks he failed to do anything but make a phone call to Korg, something I could have done for free. I took the synthesizer straight to Valley Sound, less than 10 minutes away, and they were 100% easier to deal with. They assured they would diagnose the problem, which they did within a week. The problem was the volume knob, which they informed me was a $ 10 part. Their bench fee is $ 40, and they have great communication. For the same price that Rich at Busted Gear charged me to do absolutely nothing I had my synth fixed by the wonderful people at Valley Sound in less than 2 weeks. Don’t waste weeks of your life and your money at Busted Gear, they are lazy and don’t give a damn about their customers.

Richard Diemer of Busted Gear (a.k.a. Richard Diemer Amp & Keyboard Repair) is the real deal. I’m so tired of electronics repair places that quote you hundreds of dollars and take months to get your gear fixed. Richard is one of those guys you know who just has a passion for his work, having grown up in the analog era, he’s a rock star for repair (and has probably met most of them as well).
I brought in my Korg Karma keyboard that had a key that was not playing. Richard opened it up, cleaned out the insides and fixed the issue in about a week without even needing to replace a bunch of stuff. Total cost? $ 142.50. With other places quoting things like $ 600 to repair (more than the cost of the keyboard that I originally bought used) it’s nice to know that there are honest repair people like Richard out there who will do an honest job for a reasonable fee. I would easily recommend Richard and Busted Gear for any of my musical instrument and amp repair needs.
Also, just to show you how magnanimous of a guy Richard is, check out his website at
to see breakdowns of the various repairs he’s done. He’s not afraid to reveal some of the magic behind the curtain and share his expert knowledge of electronic equipment. It’s that kind of display that reveals how much he really knows about equipment (and why you probably don’t want to attempt a lot of it yourself — let Richard handle it and you’ll be fine…)

Good afternoon from LA! I’ll admit it — I’m a drummer by trade and that’s nothing unique, however I had this keyboard — and something wasn’t right with it. A mutual musician friend of mine says I know of this technician expert in Studio City, and jots me a number to dial (818)… «Diemer Amp and Keyboard Repair, Rich speaking.» and then me on drums «Yes, I have this keyboard and by definition it’s not working so can you take a look see?» and Rich steps in to ask what’s wrong with it and as I try to describe the problem he already has some idea what’s up with it and of course I have no idea because I’m a drummer by trade so he says ‘bring it on in and I’ll take a look at it’ and I agree with this invitation because there is NO BENCH FEE! and we’re off to a very good start, plus he was also very encouraging so I take the time to drop it off. Ok. Within that week, his diagnosis is simple to understand and that it can be repaired and more importantly affordable vs. buying a brand new board and Rich having thus already opened up the machine has nearly half the work done already and that made it easy to say ‘Yes. please proceed to replace the damaged part’. And today my familiar keyboard is working 100% thanks to Diemer Amp and Keyboard Repair also known as
which further explains the legacy behind his legit. –GH

Rich at Richard Diemer Amp and Keyboard repair is so on point. For the longest time I was bringing my synths to Greg at Audio Rehab but after he sent me away with a keyboards he said was only good for parts I found Rich. Rich took in the the synths and didnt even really seem to struggle. He just called me up about a week after bringing the keyboards in and said they were ready.
And at a better rate than Audio Rehab.
I highly recommend his shop. I have nothing to complain about whatsoever