2010 LA Amp Fest, Saturday December 11th.

[James Lugo]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

Mark has been nothing but the bomb with this. This had nothing to do with Mark or anyone specifically, it was an accumulative thing and has been resolved. Enjoy the clips and again, Mark Cameron has been nothing but supportive and very cool. Sorry Mark.

 

[Doubleneck]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

Mark has been nothing but the bomb with this. This had nothing to do with Mark or anyone specifically, it was an accumulative thing and has been resolved. Enjoy the clips and again, Mark Cameron has been nothing but supportive and very cool. Sorry Mark.

+1 Thanks for all your hard work James, You ROCK

Everyone else, leave Mark alone so he can finish my amp.

 

[overthemountain]

Anybody who had the nerve to flame Lugo over this shootout is a first class douche who clearly has no place talking about amps or recorded tone. Clueless and classless. How about just go away...this place doesn't want or need you.

This. JL went above & beyond with his own time & $$ to do this- I for one think he couldn't have set it up any better, from using the same cab to playing similar tunes for consistency- the whole thing was done top notch. Thanks James for putting everything back up. We appreciate you brother.

 

[Random Hero]

Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

I agree that people take gear way too serious. But also, and pardon me if what I'm about to say is considered to be speaking out of turn, but are people not allowed to have a negative opinion of something just because it took a lot of time and money to achieve? If it were really down to that, nobody would be allowed to have a negative opinion of a movie, even if it stunk. Isn't that taking it all a little seriously too?

It was obviously a huge undertaking considering the amount of gear used but nobody ever asked James to put on an amp fest so opinions both positive and negative are to be expected, right? This is a public forum where surely people should be able to express an opinion either way and not feel that they have to pander to somebody's ego in the fear that if they don't they'll be removed from the forum, correct? I haven't personally seen anything I would consider disrespectful so I can only go on what I've read but it all feels a little cliquey and if you don't toe the line you'll be removed in favour of those that do.

Maybe I'm wrong. No doubt I'll find out pretty quickly that I am wrong.

FWIW, I don't have a problem with the videos aside from I'd like to have heard more cleaner amps and less gain but other than that I thought it was a decent enough way of comparing a lot of - albeit quite similar sounding - high end amps.

EDIT: I should clarify, this isn't aimed at Mark.

 

[charveldan]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

I agree that people take gear way too serious. But also, and pardon me if what I'm about to say is considered to be speaking out of turn, but are people not allowed to have a negative opinion of something just because it took a lot of time and money to achieve? If it were really down to that, nobody would be allowed to have a negative opinion of a movie, even if it stunk. Isn't that taking it all a little seriously too?

It was obviously a huge undertaking considering the amount of gear used but nobody ever asked James to put on an amp fest so opinions both positive and negative are to be expected, right? This is a public forum where surely people should be able to express an opinion either way and not feel that they have to pander to somebody's ego in the fear that if they don't they'll be removed from the forum, correct? I haven't personally seen anything I would consider disrespectful so I can only go on what I've read but it all feels a little cliquey and if you don't toe the line you'll be removed in favour of those that do.

Maybe I'm wrong. No doubt I'll find out pretty quickly that I am wrong.

FWIW, I don't have a problem with the videos aside from I'd like to have heard more cleaner amps and less gain but other than that I thought it was a decent enough way of comparing a lot of - albeit quite similar sounding - high end amps.

Opinions are like assholes, everybodys got one & they all stink.

If you can back up your complaint about ampfest that's fine, otherwise people are jus whinning.

Last i checked nobody has done what James did, including NAMM. It is a privilege to be able to view his material for free, he did it for us.

 

[Random Hero]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

I agree that people take gear way too serious. But also, and pardon me if what I'm about to say is considered to be speaking out of turn, but are people not allowed to have a negative opinion of something just because it took a lot of time and money to achieve? If it were really down to that, nobody would be allowed to have a negative opinion of a movie, even if it stunk. Isn't that taking it all a little seriously too?

It was obviously a huge undertaking considering the amount of gear used but nobody ever asked James to put on an amp fest so opinions both positive and negative are to be expected, right? This is a public forum where surely people should be able to express an opinion either way and not feel that they have to pander to somebody's ego in the fear that if they don't they'll be removed from the forum, correct? I haven't personally seen anything I would consider disrespectful so I can only go on what I've read but it all feels a little cliquey and if you don't toe the line you'll be removed in favour of those that do.

Maybe I'm wrong. No doubt I'll find out pretty quickly that I am wrong.

FWIW, I don't have a problem with the videos aside from I'd like to have heard more cleaner amps and less gain but other than that I thought it was a decent enough way of comparing a lot of - albeit quite similar sounding - high end amps.

Opinions are like assholes, everybodys got one & they all stink.

If you can back up your complaint about ampfest that's fine, otherwise people are jus whinning.

Last i checked nobody has done what James did, including NAMM. It is a privilege to be able to view his material for free, he did it for us.

I presume that isn't aimed at me but if it is, what do I have to "back up", exactly?

 

[charveldan]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

I agree that people take gear way too serious. But also, and pardon me if what I'm about to say is considered to be speaking out of turn, but are people not allowed to have a negative opinion of something just because it took a lot of time and money to achieve? If it were really down to that, nobody would be allowed to have a negative opinion of a movie, even if it stunk. Isn't that taking it all a little seriously too?

It was obviously a huge undertaking considering the amount of gear used but nobody ever asked James to put on an amp fest so opinions both positive and negative are to be expected, right? This is a public forum where surely people should be able to express an opinion either way and not feel that they have to pander to somebody's ego in the fear that if they don't they'll be removed from the forum, correct? I haven't personally seen anything I would consider disrespectful so I can only go on what I've read but it all feels a little cliquey and if you don't toe the line you'll be removed in favour of those that do.

Maybe I'm wrong. No doubt I'll find out pretty quickly that I am wrong.

FWIW, I don't have a problem with the videos aside from I'd like to have heard more cleaner amps and less gain but other than that I thought it was a decent enough way of comparing a lot of - albeit quite similar sounding - high end amps.

Opinions are like assholes, everybodys got one & they all stink.

If you can back up your complaint about ampfest that's fine, otherwise people are jus whinning.

Last i checked nobody has done what James did, including NAMM. It is a privilege to be able to view his material for free, he did it for us.

I presume that isn't aimed at me but if it is, what do I have to "back up", exactly?

No, not you, i got into it with a couple jerk-offs on another forum, who were quick to slam James' material, but couldn't provide anything better.

Being subjective is one thing, we all do that, character assasination by picking someone apart is completly unacceptable.

 

[King Guitar]

What I find interesting is that the people who got uptight dont say: "Wow the brand X amp I love sounded terrible" they say "My brand X rules and couldn't possibly sound bad must of been the recording process that made it sound bad". Garbage in Garbage out.

Don't blame the messenger.

 

[glpg80]

been holding off on saying this because i dont want to be classified into the "if you think you can do it better" category...im also not saying that i want to own any of these amplifiers based on the videos. with tube amplifiers i have to play them first before i buy - just saying an opinion on what i heard recorded

i liked the VH4 the best, the rhodes amplifier sounded really good too. didnt care for any of the camerons. im not going to lie i didnt listen to the low gain videos yet - i skipped them for now.

the ractifier sounded the best out of the mesa's. i think georges SLO might need a re-cap depending on how old it is - new tubes and a bias wouldnt hurt at all either.

overall i cant believe the sheer volume of this ampfest. cool videos too. im really glad that the guy that owned the mark V (sorry i cant remember your sn) got mesa to hook him up on a repair. i felt really bad about his amplifier being blown at the ampfest

thanks for posting - always good to listen to amplifiers going to town.

 

[charveldan]

There are 2 things i've heard gripes about that i'm glad James did as well, they are ....a] that he played some of the same song/riffs with each amp, and....b] that he played power chords as well as leads.

I have a hard time making any sense of clips where a guy is just wanking at random.

Also playing at A440 & drop D, instead of heavy drop C stuff, my ear doesn't follow that very well.

 

[marvcus]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

Hey Mark -

I was super-impressed by the Custom 75 clips. The CCV was great, too. I never really spent too much time listening to CCV stuff because I would have to sell my left nut to buy one, but "eets vedy vedy niice."

 

[Nico]

I've read a few of those comments and I don't get it. So "your" amp didn't sound good to you with those settings and on that cab....who cares? All that matters is that you like it. I think the point of the shootout was to give people who haven't or will never be able to play them some idea of how these amps sound and he succeeded 100%. Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious.

I'm getting some emails from people that its me complaining.......its not......and I said that he should put the stuff back up.....too much work was put in to this by James to not put it up....and yes my amps sounded like shit..and I think looking back......I should have let James set the amp the way he would have... the amp sounded that way because of me not James......I was not used to that cab and I set it up too dark and had the master too low ......but thats on me....not James ......but these are just more clips you can check out.....along with others that are out there. This was not the last amp fest someone will have....I'm sure there will be more your right.......Some people take this gear shit WAYYYY too serious

Hey Mark -

I was super-impressed by the Custom 75 clips. The CCV was great, too. I never really spent too much time listening to CCV stuff because I would have to sell my left nut to buy one, but "eets vedy vedy niice."

I liked the Custom 75 as well! Along with the Dirty Shirley and Goldfinger. Nice amps for sure!!!

 

[mightywarlock]

im really glad that the guy that owned the mark V (sorry i cant remember your sn) got mesa to hook him up on a repair. i felt really bad about his amplifier being blown at the ampfest

I think i replied to this earlier, or maybe it was in the other thread...

Mesa covered me well on this.
I sent an email to the Rep who frequents the Boogie Board (whom I've spoken with before), that Saturday night, and he called me on his day off, Sunday, to talk to me about it, and make sure I was covered. Figured it was tube based.
I had my choice of shipping to Petaluma, or dropping off in Hollywood, so i chose Hollywood, and had the amp back on Wednesday. Blamed it on a bad EL34 taking out a resistor.
They replaced the tubes, and even gave me another set as backup.
Also told me, if I keep choosing to use EL34's instead of 6L6's, this could happen again, as the quality of EL34's is not up to par lately.

OK.


Regardless of this,
Mesa covered me very well, and I have no issues with them or the amp. It's all fixed up and back to normal again.

Mesa rep also stated he wish he knew about the Ampfest, as he would have passed it along to Randy, and they probably would have come down from the north with some amps, and possibly had Randy come check it out as well, as it's always good research with all those other amps in one place.

Now that would have been pretty cool.

 

[fuzzyguitars]

i thought that you sounded best when you were playing on the vht.

that amp and your playing style seemed to work well. it didnt sound like you were fighting it as much as some of the other amps that you playedl

im really glad that the guy that owned the mark V (sorry i cant remember your sn) got mesa to hook him up on a repair. i felt really bad about his amplifier being blown at the ampfest

I think i replied to this earlier, or maybe it was in the other thread...

Mesa covered me well on this.
I sent an email to the Rep who frequents the Boogie Board (whom I've spoken with before), that Saturday night, and he called me on his day off, Sunday, to talk to me about it, and make sure I was covered. Figured it was tube based.
I had my choice of shipping to Petaluma, or dropping off in Hollywood, so i chose Hollywood, and had the amp back on Wednesday. Blamed it on a bad EL34 taking out a resistor.
They replaced the tubes, and even gave me another set as backup.
Also told me, if I keep choosing to use EL34's instead of 6L6's, this could happen again, as the quality of EL34's is not up to par lately.

OK.


Regardless of this,
Mesa covered me very well, and I have no issues with them or the amp. It's all fixed up and back to normal again.

Mesa rep also stated he wish he knew about the Ampfest, as he would have passed it along to Randy, and they probably would have come down from the north with some amps, and possibly had Randy come check it out as well, as it's always good research with all those other amps in one place.

Now that would have been pretty cool.

 

[mightywarlock]

Did I play the VH4 that day?
Can't remember.

But yeah, the VH4 does work for MY style of playing. for the most part, anyways.
Brought it to the studio last week and had someone record it...while we were working on a new song. it ended up being different than this video, shortened in the middle where it gets long and different timing, but i posted as the camera died shortly after recording this (ran out of memory actually). But it definitely shows how a VH4 can sound i guess...
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=84495

 

[judedog]

major kudos to you james for doing this. thank you to everyone who contributed. this was obviously a lot of hard work.

 

[shredhead666]

Wow this thread is entirely too long to read in its entirety... Was the Friedman modded Egnater Rebel 20 there? What were people's impressions of it? How did it sound compared to stock?

 

[hunter]

Bump for an amazing initiative and thread!

Just listened again to some of these. Damn, everything Dave F. builds kills!!

 

[richedie]

When I listened PWE Event Horizon and Splawn won it for me! Anyone know where these clips are? Can't find em any longer.

 

[Nico]

I loved the Friedmans so much I ordered a Marsha

The Wizard kicked ass too!