PETERS HYDRA AMP VIDEOS: With various guitar/pickup combos

[firejack]

Hey all.
Haven't been on here much the last year or so due to fatherhood.
But just thought I'd post some quickie demo vids of my Peters Hydra I recorded over the weekend.
Note that the only changes I was making to the Hydra's settings were tweaking the High control of the overdrive channel.
All other settings were exactly the same for each guitar.
Also, I had my Zoom H4n setup to record the audio but I forgot to double-press the record button (it's been a long time since I recorded anything).
The audio seems to have come out ok with the HandyCam's onboard mic, but I'll make sure the Zoom H4n is actually recording next time.



First up is my PEAVEY WOLFGANG with STOCK PICKUPS.
The pickups have too much output for my tastes (and will be swapped out soon).
But for an all-out gain assault, this guitar is hard to beat.
This guitar is at it's best when playing screaming leads or melodic soloing:

Next is my PARKER MAXXFLY RADIAL with BARE KNUCKLE NAILBOMB and APACHE pickups.
Although I didn't play much clean with it, this guitar is really nice for cleans.
It's also great for high-gain tones, although in this clip it doesn't sound as percussive as it did in the room:

And finally here is my PARKER NITEFLY RADIAL with BARE KNUCKLE HOLY DIVERS.
This guitar has to be the perfect all-rounder with the Holy Diver's versatility combined
with coil-splitting options, plus it has the Piezos built into the tremolo as well:

 

[firejack]

One bump and then it dies a horrid death in the RT abyss.

 

[dass101]

Every time I hear a Peters clip I am amazed by them, I really wonder why these amps aren't more popular. Too bad you don't have some properly mic'd samples.

 

[firejack]

Every time I hear a Peters clip I am amazed by them, I really wonder why these amps aren't more popular. Too bad you don't have some properly mic'd samples.

Yep same here man.
And don't worry, I'll have some mic'd clips and also impulse file clips in a song context soon.
Cheers mate.

 

[Gsxrbusa]

I will bump this all day bro. Killer amp and playing. Nicely done. I like the 3rd guitar best. Sounds heavenly.

 

[firejack]

I will bump this all day bro. Killer amp and playing. Nicely done. I like the 3rd guitar best. Sounds heavenly.

Ha! Hows things good buddy.
That Parker Nitefly/BKP Holy Divers combo is killer.
Love the way that thing sounds through the Hydra.

 

[Robotechnology]

James knows good tone. I love the Hydra channel paired with KT88's! Tell me how you're syncing the video to the audio. Looks like a zoom audio recorder is doing the mic'ing. That's what's missing from my videos (the ability to record at higher sound pressure levels) and I want to correct that asap.

 

[Gsxrbusa]

Did you guys see this Hydra vid?

 

[yngzaklynch]

Yes but can it do heavy tones? Obviously I kid. That is a tone that'll tear your face off. Killer tone and playing!!!

 

[duodecim]

One bump and then it dies a horrid death in the RT abyss.

Nah. This forum is weirdly random. Some threads get hundreds of posts out of nowhere, and some get going much more slowly. It's as if you have only 2-3 replies, nobody bothers to read the post, but once you hit a certain number, everybody just wants to join in on the action. It's like a hive mind.

I've seen those clips the moment you posted them on YouTube. I remember you had a lot of great clips playing original songs on another Peters amp – some pretty tasty playing.

You make those amps sound great, too bad I probably won't ever get to try one of them over here to check them out for myself. Hmm... you live in Australia? Did you buy your amps based on some initial clips only?

 

[pstar]

peters amp are very good. they need more exposure.

 

[firejack]

James knows good tone. I love the Hydra channel paired with KT88's! Tell me how you're syncing the video to the audio. Looks like a zoom audio recorder is doing the mic'ing. That's what's missing from my videos (the ability to record at higher sound pressure levels) and I want to correct that asap.

What you are hearing in these clips is actually the handycam's onboard mic.
I set up the H4n to record the audio, but didn't double press the record button.
So I played and swapped guitars for a little over an hour thinking I was capturing everything on the H4n.
I was gutted when I stopped playing and checked the results.
However I was surprised to find that the handycam's mic actually managed to do a decent job of representing the tones I was hearing in the room.

Ordinarily though, when I do get separate audio footage here's how I proceed:
- When I begin recording I make a reference mark by clapping a few times in full view of the camera.
- After I finish recording one whole take, I upload both video and audio tracks into the Video Editing Program.
- I mute the video camera's audio track.
- I then try to line up the separate audio track with the video track by aligning the clapping reference at the beginning of the session.
- When both video and audio track's clapping marries up, I save the progress and that's it. Done. Voila!
From then on I can splice, edit and butcher the clip with extreme prejudice and the audio will always be synced.

BTW, I tried KT88's in my Hydra and they really weren't my thing.
In the end I settled on SED EL34 =C='s.
I guess I'm just more of an EL34 kinda guy.
I'm a sucker for that midrange bloom they give.

 

[firejack]

Did you guys see this Hydra vid?

Yes but can it do heavy tones? Obviously I kid. That is a tone that'll tear your face off. Killer tone and playing!!!

One bump and then it dies a horrid death in the RT abyss.

Nah. This forum is weirdly random. Some threads get hundreds of posts out of nowhere, and some get going much more slowly. It's as if you have only 2-3 replies, nobody bothers to read the post, but once you hit a certain number, everybody just wants to join in on the action. It's like a hive mind.

I've seen those clips the moment you posted them on YouTube. I remember you had a lot of great clips playing original songs on another Peters amp – some pretty tasty playing.

You make those amps sound great, too bad I probably won't ever get to try one of them over here to check them out for myself. Hmm... you live in Australia? Did you buy your amps based on some initial clips only?

Oh wow thanks mate.

I had tried and owned quite a few valve amps before getting my Gryphon.
And yeah my first Gryphon purchase was based on clips pretty much.
But I could tell from the clips that the amps had a unique sound that would suit my playing style.
Plus I did extensive research online looking up user opinions and reviews.
It was very difficult to find any bad feedback about Peters amps.
And finally I chatted to James Peters for a couple of hours on the phone (yup, he called me long-distance from Canada) about his amps and if they would suit me.
Haven't felt the need to try any other amp since.
I did upgrade from my Gryphon model to this Hydra model, but that was only because my Gryphon had shared EQ for each channel, and I badly needed separate EQ's. And after speaking to James again about how I was using the Gryphon (he had heard the clips of me playing the Gryphon) we both thought the Hydra might be a better fit for me.
And so now I have my Holy Grail amp.

 

[firejack]

peters amp are very good. they need more exposure.

Agreed.

 

[university81]

really nice tones there,

i was curious, is there a big quality/tonal difference between the nitefly and the maxxfly?

or which do you prefer out of the two?

they look and sound great

 

[firejack]

really nice tones there,

i was curious, is there a big quality/tonal difference between the nitefly and the maxxfly?

or which do you prefer out of the two?

they look and sound great

Thanks Uni.
They are very close in tone and identical in quality.
The Nitefly is marginally punchier, but it's splitting hairs between the two.
They both have very bright and punchy natural tone. Really resonant guitars.
It's impossible to pick a favorite... maybe the Nitefly due to the Lime Green paintjob.

 

[Scuba200ft]

Five years ago you couldnt touch a Peters because they sold in two seconds...I still have a 3cp1 Wolverine, a 10 watter he made for a short while. Its a monster.

The gear community is very fickle, and there is always a flavor of the day. The Peters Hydra, Jp-50, etc...Can hang with ANY amp made and certainly any amp clips posted here.

On top of that he's a great guy.

 

[Scuba200ft]

Oh, and as far as master volumes, i've never used a better one.

 

[firejack]

Five years ago you couldnt touch a Peters because they sold in two seconds...I still have a 3cp1 Wolverine, a 10 watter he made for a short while. Its a monster.

The gear community is very fickle, and there is always a flavor of the day. The Peters Hydra, Jp-50, etc...Can hang with ANY amp made and certainly any amp clips posted here.

On top of that he's a great guy.

Yup he is a champion.
Do you have any clips of the Wolverine?
I've only ever found one clip on YT and the sound quality is lacking.

 

[firejack]

Oh, and as far as master volumes, i've never used a better one.

Again, couldn't agree more.
These clips I posted were done at moderately loud Television volumes.
I use my Hydra for live playing, band practice and bedroom practice.
It's the only amp I own.