After an 18 year vacation from my involvement in audio/GAS gear; having raised a family and had a successful career as an equipment engineer in the interim, I find myself still fascinated by James Bongiorno's designs.  It is interesting that, as with many of the designs produced during the formative years of high-end audio, the GAS Ampzilla and Thaedra still command the interest that they do.  This says more than any number of words might to validate the classic nature of Jim Bongiorno's creations. 

During the High-end’s formative years our shop was an authorized repair service center for both GAS and Sumo (as well as many others), which provided access to factory technology and support services. This access coupled with our own personal interest and fascination with understanding these designs produced an in-depth understanding of their intricacies that few, if anyone, outside of Bongiorno himself still possesses.

Our original business started in 1975 in NY as the service shop for Audio Breakthroughs in Manhasset (on Long Island). This lasted a couple of years and by 1978 we found ourselves leaving NY for (of all places) Boise Idaho, which at the time was a really nice place to live with a thriving audio community.  The other attraction was that there was zero competition with endless possibilities. We set up shop as Eagle Audio Repair in the bedroom community of Eagle and went to work.  When GAS closed in 1985 (I believe) we started running ads in the back of the Absolute Sound as GasWorks by Eagle Audio and it wasn't to long after that we moved the shop into Boise and changed the name to GasWorks. 

GasWorks had two incarnations: We were of the first incarnation that created the business and we were involved until 1991.  The second version continued into the late 1990's with a different more business-like approach. 

The original GasWorks stepped in when GAS closed it's doors as the only real service options for the original GAS owners and did very good business for quite a number of years.  We provided general repair services and modifications based on customer requests which were popular at the time.  The downside was the business model was very communications dependent, which consumed a large portion of each week.  I need to point out that this was all created and ran before the internet came into the picture, with all communications taking place over very expensive long distant phone calls and snail mail letters. 

My original assumption was that past some point the reputation would take over and the need to personally describe and sell each job would pass and things would become more productive.

By the late 80's it was clear that that was not going to happen and worse yet, the average customer was getting more input through the magazines and community and what they were looking to have done to their gear made less and less sense to me. Installation of Gucci wiring and Wondercaps as coupling caps in PCB based transistor gear...  Bypass capacitor farms.  Gigantic connectors where even the stock connectors had barely enough room, you get the idea. All at the expense of the things that we did that made a real difference. Daily challenges were the norm and by 1990 a change was needed, any change.

The change came when a long time friend and associate agreed to purchase and take over the helm of GasWorks in late 1991.  Karl took over with the full realization of the level of burnout that I was experiencing and to his credit was able to pickup the ball and run with it with very little assistance on my part.  I had secured an equipment engineering position with a local semiconductor manufacturer and was fully occupied with my work and adjusting to the corporate world for the next few years.  I don't remember doing anything technical as far as audio goes for the next five years.

Karl's approach to my long list of customers, that were use to my extended conversations, was to get right to the point, this is what we do and not much discussion past that.  He created a web presence for GasAudio and I believe ran it with great enthusiasm until life and reality took its toll on him as well. 

Which brings us to 2009, 18 years later, the kids are grown, I have the ability to down shift and I find I'm still in love with my music and the equipment that gets me closer to it.  So here I am.

Mike and Lynn

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Last modified: 08/07/10