VIDEO / AUDIO: 2010 LA Amp Fest - Hemispheres Recording

[Gainzilla]

Hey guys I have taken some real criticism and some very hurtful things have been said. I know some of you guy's favorite amps didn't sound so great but I can't control everything. I did my best to show the amps in a good light. Anyway, I'm considering pulling everything off the web, I know people have probably downloaded stuff but I make records for a living and for my crew's recording skills to be questioned in a public forum isn't good for my profession. Bottom line.

I ask one thing out of respect for me, if I take it down if you've downloaded it please to not post it on the net or on a forum, just keep it for yourself.

James

I havent seen anything that could be considered hurtful James but things like this are subject to opinion both good and bad, you had to know that right? Hell , every guitar player,producer,engineer, musician etc etc under the sun is subject to criticism just like everything else in life. The very nature and point of what you sought to accomplish here was to invite criticism!!!(perhaps there is something else behind the scenes that I have missed and if thats the case, that sucks but I still stand by what I said..

Call me crazy but you went through alot of work and expense to do this, IMHO you should stand behind it and not worry about what others have to say. It almost makes me think that you maybe in the wrong profession if some negative reviews bother you.Pulling the whole thing is kind of uncool IMHO but ultimately, theyre your vids and yours to do with as you please...

I for one appreciated the hell out of what you did and bummed that I cant listen to the other parts that I didnt get to. I got to hear some great amps, I got to hear amps that I dont like sound great ,amps that I like sound not so good LOL!!! and a whole host of amps that Ive never heard before. This was a GREAT thing and I hope that you reconsider...

 

[Mailman1971]

I was watching it live and LOVED IT!
Been playing 28 years....and this like the greatest thing I have seen for gear being tested!!
Better then Namm to me!

Everyone should be thanking James and the crew for doing this and take the ones they didnt care for with a grain of salt.
Not Slam on the people that worked their ass of on this project.

Total Dick move!

But what one guy loves....one guy is gonna hate.
Thats just the facts.

James.....I thought it was awesome and thank you for doing this amp fest.
I enjoyed it.

Dan

 

[rupe]

This is a shame. A big F you to all the whiners. There is no absolute fair way to do this, there will be criticism no matter what way its done. What was not fair ? Same speaker and mics for all the amps. I have been around major records being recorded for the last 22 years. Every record for distorted guitars used a v30 or 25 watt greenback in a marshall style cab period. No other kind of speakers or cabs at all. In fact most of the time it was a vintage 30. For one a amp should not be that hard to dial in a good tone and the way it was miced obviously worked for many many of the amps. So happy scrooge day to f'n everyone who caused this.

Great post and quite telling IMO. James obviously knows what he's doing...I don't feel that's even debatable. Any amp should be able to sound good through through the speakers and cabs used...once again I don't feel that's debatable.
I think what we may be seeing is that several amps that many people like, and which may illicit some "ooohs, aaaahs, and " from the gallery when heard in isolation, simply don't hold up for many of us when going head to head with the competition. How often are there this many of the "heavyweights" in the same room? I feel some got exposed for exactly what they are...not quite as good as many would like to think. One particular model that sounded decent but not stellar to most of us was even being dialed in by the builder...what excuse could anyone possibly have?
No doubt that tone is subjective, but there are still a few qualities are a near universal for most players.

 

[luxxtone]

Hey guys I have taken some real criticism and some very hurtful things have been said. I know some of you guy's favorite amps didn't sound so great but I can't control everything. I did my best to show the amps in a good light. Anyway, I'm considering pulling everything off the web, I know people have probably downloaded stuff but I make records for a living and for my crew's recording skills to be questioned in a public forum isn't good for my profession. Bottom line.

I ask one thing out of respect for me, if I take it down if you've downloaded it please to not post it on the net or on a forum, just keep it for yourself.

James

I havent seen anything that could be considered hurtful James but things like this are subject to opinion both good and bad, you had to know that right? Hell , every guitar player,producer,engineer, musician etc etc under the sun is subject to criticism just like everything else in life. The very nature and point of what you sought to accomplish here was to invite criticism!!!(perhaps there is something else behind the scenes that I have missed and if thats the case, that sucks but I still stand by what I said..

Call me crazy but you went through alot of work and expense to do this, IMHO you should stand behind it and not worry about what others have to say. It almost makes me think that you maybe in the wrong profession if some negative reviews bother you.Pulling the whole thing is kind of uncool IMHO but ultimately, theyre your vids and yours to do with as you please...

I for one appreciated the hell out of what you did and bummed that I cant listen to the other parts that I didnt get to. I got to hear some great amps, I got to hear amps that I dont like sound great ,amps that I like sound not so good LOL!!! and a whole host of amps that Ive never heard before. This was a GREAT thing and I hope that you reconsider...

I think when your skills come into question, and those skills are how you make a living, you can get a little freaked out if others are going to see that and question your abilities. I know at least some of this came from another thread on this forum where the recording technique was put in question, as opposed to the amps actually sounding the way they do when recorded, good or bad. If an amp you love didn't sound as great as you thought it would thru a V30 and mic'd in a professional studio, dialed in by the owner or builder himself, then..............

 

[James Lugo]

Well guys after getting so many emails and PMs I decided to re-upload the songs to soundclick and make the videos public again. I appreciate all the kind words and I want people to hear this stuff. What a long strange trip it has been...

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

 

[King Guitar]

Well guys after getting so many emails and PMs I decided to re-upload the songs to soundclick and make the videos public again. I appreciate all the kind words and I want people to hear this stuff. What a long strange trip it has been...

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

the right move.

 

[Mailman1971]

Well guys after getting so many emails and PMs I decided to re-upload the songs to soundclick and make the videos public again. I appreciate all the kind words and I want people to hear this stuff. What a long strange trip it has been...

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

Awesome!
Dude I would be SO FRAZZLED if I went thru that work you guys did.
I hosted a small ampfest at my place....was trying to get everything "perfect" as I could...
wanted it to be the best I could. WE had a blast......and honestly that was worth it for me.

 

[charveldan]

Right-on Brah, fuck the haters.

 

[petethorn]

Ya I don't know how anyone can fault James for anything here, this was a big effort on his part and his studio/recording techniques are all pro- I was there, it was just go from one head to the next, through the industry standard V30 and Marshall-type cab, bam bam bam one after another. What you hear is what it sounded like. If you don't dig the way an amp sounded, and your panties are in a bunch about it well tough f-in luck cause I'll vouch, that's the way they sounded in the room. For the most part I was really impressed with most of the amps there.

 

[::fred::]

Well guys after getting so many emails and PMs I decided to re-upload the songs to soundclick and make the videos public again. I appreciate all the kind words and I want people to hear this stuff. What a long strange trip it has been...

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

You made the right decision, man. All of us shouldn't suffer because of a bunch of unappreciative assholes.

Though, the soundclick link says: This account is currently under review.

 

[James Lugo]

Well guys after getting so many emails and PMs I decided to re-upload the songs to soundclick and make the videos public again. I appreciate all the kind words and I want people to hear this stuff. What a long strange trip it has been...

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

You made the right decision, man. All of us shouldn't suffer because of a bunch of unappreciative assholes.

Though, the soundclick link says: This account is currently under review.

They just released the music on soundclick, it was a glitch in the Matrix.

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

 

[James Lugo]

Ya I don't know how anyone can fault James for anything here, this was a big effort on his part and his studio/recording techniques are all pro- I was there, it was just go from one head to the next, through the industry standard V30 and Marshall-type cab, bam bam bam one after another. What you hear is what it sounded like. If you don't dig the way an amp sounded, and your panties are in a bunch about it well tough f-in luck cause I'll vouch, that's the way they sounded in the room. For the most part I was really impressed with most of the amps there.

Thanks Pete for posting and for coming to the event. It's always good to see you.

p.s. Love the Scumback demo. I tell everyone your Scumback demo of the Friedman amp when you say 'now dig it' on the HBE section was my inspiration for all of this. When I heard that I thought 'now that's an f'n demo.! Peace

 

[petethorn]

Ya I don't know how anyone can fault James for anything here, this was a big effort on his part and his studio/recording techniques are all pro- I was there, it was just go from one head to the next, through the industry standard V30 and Marshall-type cab, bam bam bam one after another. What you hear is what it sounded like. If you don't dig the way an amp sounded, and your panties are in a bunch about it well tough f-in luck cause I'll vouch, that's the way they sounded in the room. For the most part I was really impressed with most of the amps there.

Thanks Pete for posting and for coming to the event. It's always good to see you.

p.s. Love the Scumback demo. I tell everyone your Scumback demo of the Friedman amp when you say 'now dig it' on the HBE section was my inspiration for all of this. When I heard that I thought 'now that's an f'n demo.! Peace

thanks man!

 

[Ancient Alien]

I think what JL did was awesome.
Grant it, some of the recording sounded like total ass, and nothing like what the amps sounded like in the room, which is to be expected by anyone with half a brain.
If anyone is going to judge an amp by an internet clip, then you have bigger problems than you know.
I can understand both sides of this because JL did put a lot into organizing this event with a ridiculous amount of amps, and there is no way in hell even the best of the best engineers with the best gear can get a perfect sound dialed in on the fly, let alone in a few hours per amp.
I personally know what some of those amps sound like in person, and no clip in the world is going to capture what is happening in the room.
Some of the clips did no justice to what they actually sound like, but that is to be expected unless it was a year long recording session with enough time to properly record everything.
I didn't see anything offensive posted either that would hurt anyones business.
You can see this on almost every amp builders website, a clip will never do an amp justice.
I viewed these clips as a huge amp fest with a lot of people and a lot of amps having a good time, nothing more.
If I was to judge an amp by these posted clips, I would never buy any amp.
But then again, I am not stupid enough to make a finalized decision on a major purchase off any clip.
People need to plug into an amp and play it within their own guitar, cabinet, cables, effects etc in order to know if it works for them.
I just don't get why either side of this would get upset in any way.
Seems pretty immature and childish.

 

[James Lugo]

Ya I don't know how anyone can fault James for anything here, this was a big effort on his part and his studio/recording techniques are all pro- I was there, it was just go from one head to the next, through the industry standard V30 and Marshall-type cab, bam bam bam one after another. What you hear is what it sounded like. If you don't dig the way an amp sounded, and your panties are in a bunch about it well tough f-in luck cause I'll vouch, that's the way they sounded in the room. For the most part I was really impressed with most of the amps there.

Thanks Pete for posting and for coming to the event. It's always good to see you.

p.s. Love the Scumback demo. I tell everyone your Scumback demo of the Friedman amp when you say 'now dig it' on the HBE section was my inspiration for all of this. When I heard that I thought 'now that's an f'n demo.! Peace

thanks man!

No prob.

I just listened through the clips, man some great amps. Every time I hear it something else hits me. I hit a couple of notes on the Dirty Shirley that are just killer and the second clip of the Hiwatt, which I think is just labelled Hiwatt Custom 100, man the rhythm tone that starts it out is just insane. Also the #2 clip of my 71 Super T has some great moments and I was diggin the heavy low end of the QR. And one day I gotta get an Ugly 18!

 

[James Lugo]

Oh I didn't even know that Henning is from a forumite. There you have it, hangs there with Friedman, Wizard et al. I guess that should be kinda motivating for you to keep it up

Definitely VERY motivating! It was great just having my amp in that company!

Steve, didn't say it yet in here, but mentioned in the other thread; your amp sounded killer! Great work on that thing man!

Thanks, man!

I did man, realy did. When they dialed that gain...to me it was like wow. That's massive and it seemed the whole sweep was usuable.

Granted it's hard to tell every nuance from a vid but to me...it seemed the amp has alot of headroom, is percussive as well with fat mids. Regardless I dug it...a very reminiscent tone yet all it's own. I mean...a modern plexi with gain. Sweet amp. Kudo's.

Very cool! That is very much what I was going for - still wanted to maintain the Marshall roar and give you the option of stock plexi levels of gain if you want that.

Steve

Thanks so much Steve for being a part of it. I just listened to your clip and it was cool that it started out real low key and then I think Mark started to open her up and you could hear the roar of the amp. Great job.

 

[overthemountain]

Thanks for putting everything back up James! We all owe you for the time & expense you took to do this- very cool of you to bring your talents to the masses.

 

[zz666]

Thanks for putting the clips back up James - love your work - RESPECT

 

[rupe]

Grant it, some of the recording sounded like total ass, and nothing like what the amps sounded like in the room, which is to be expected by anyone with half a brain.
I personally know what some of those amps sound like in person, and no clip in the world is going to capture what is happening in the room.

Ya I don't know how anyone can fault James for anything here, this was a big effort on his part and his studio/recording techniques are all pro- I was there, it was just go from one head to the next, through the industry standard V30 and Marshall-type cab, bam bam bam one after another. What you hear is what it sounded like. If you don't dig the way an amp sounded, and your panties are in a bunch about it well tough f-in luck cause I'll vouch, that's the way they sounded in the room. For the most part I was really impressed with most of the amps there.

So a guy who wasn't there knows more about how things sounded in the room than a pro guitarist (noted for great tone) who was there? Interesting

 

[Anonymous]

Oh I didn't even know that Henning is from a forumite. There you have it, hangs there with Friedman, Wizard et al. I guess that should be kinda motivating for you to keep it up

Definitely VERY motivating! It was great just having my amp in that company!

Steve, didn't say it yet in here, but mentioned in the other thread; your amp sounded killer! Great work on that thing man!

Thanks, man!

I did man, realy did. When they dialed that gain...to me it was like wow. That's massive and it seemed the whole sweep was usuable.

Granted it's hard to tell every nuance from a vid but to me...it seemed the amp has alot of headroom, is percussive as well with fat mids. Regardless I dug it...a very reminiscent tone yet all it's own. I mean...a modern plexi with gain. Sweet amp. Kudo's.

Very cool! That is very much what I was going for - still wanted to maintain the Marshall roar and give you the option of stock plexi levels of gain if you want that.

Steve

Thanks so much Steve for being a part of it. I just listened to your clip and it was cool that it started out real low key and then I think Mark started to open her up and you could hear the roar of the amp. Great job.

Thanks, James! I feel honored to have been a part of it and you guys did a great job with this incredible project. I'll be in touch after the holidays about the other project we discussed!

Steve