VIDEO / AUDIO: 2010 LA Amp Fest - Hemispheres Recording

[petethorn]

I am surprised there was no PT100. I thought it was on the list. Pete Thorn should have taken his.

It was on the list, not sure who didn't bring it.

yea I saw it on the list so I didn't even think to bring one. Then I arrived, noticed it was absent, made a sad face.... and shrugged... got over it and went on a beer run with Bogner and Friedman.

 

[petethorn]

Once again, it should be noted- these were amps mic'd well through high end pres, and the standard Marshall/V30 cab configuration. Not sure how the recording chain can be faulted here- it's how you'd record guitars on a record. I'd personally have the 57 closer to the cap than I saw it in the room, because I like that, but that's completely subjective.

I actually think it matters less what an amp "sounds like in a room" than it does on a mic- as has been stated, the rest of the world is gonna hear the mic'd sound (be it on a recording, through a pa, etc.) so the amp better sound good mic'd!

I also think it's fine to base an amp buying decision off a GOOD clip.

 

[MARK1970]

I am surprised there was no PT100. I thought it was on the list. Pete Thorn should have taken his.

It was on the list, not sure who didn't bring it.

yea I saw it on the list so I didn't even think to bring one. Then I arrived, noticed it was absent, made a sad face.... and shrugged... got over it and went on a beer run with Bogner and Friedman.

I was going to take mine, but I saw it on the list. I had my ice chest loaded with a case of Heineken and New Castle. I wanted to get there early. Friday I was in jury duty and was informed I would have to return Monday for a criminal trial that would last at least two months. That info stressed me out so much, I got really sick. I had Finals on Monday aswell. It looked like everybody had a good time. James did an outstanding job at the least. I hope he does another in the future.

 

[Nico]

I am surprised there was no PT100. I thought it was on the list. Pete Thorn should have taken his.

It was on the list, not sure who didn't bring it.

yea I saw it on the list so I didn't even think to bring one. Then I arrived, noticed it was absent, made a sad face.... and shrugged... got over it and went on a beer run with Bogner and Friedman.

Thats too bad I really wanted to hear the PT-100. We will wait until the new version then...

Surprised that Reinhold Bogner didn't bring a single Ecstasy...

 

[Gainzilla]

I also think it's fine to base an amp buying decision off a GOOD clip.

Withat all due respect and deference to your talent and experience Pete, Im going to have to disagree with you on this point. Personally, I think that there are a bunch of other factors involved when it comes to finding an amp that works for oneself, mahy of which boil down to personal preference and the subjective nature of the whole shebang.

First off, not everyone is a recording musician, some guys are doing the weekend warrior gigging thing and others are just home players. In those cases, I think that how an amp sounds in a room is a factor. Speaker choice obviously contributes to that as well as cabinet choice. Then you have the guitar, the pickups, particular pedals and FX that a player favors( what I call the nuance factors, subtle compression? EQ? a little reverb or delay? etc) I understand that what youre looking for initially is a great core tone because there is little to no point in polishing a turd. Another factor is the players hands, you know, Finger tone. Im not going to get into the whole tone is in the fingers vs tone is in the amp debate because I think that theyre both contributing factors IMO.

Another thing that clips dont provide is anything on the feel factor which is a big thing for alot of people, I know that it is for me.

Personally, Ive been burned by buying an amp based on a clip because I didnt consider the above factors. Its my opinion that those factors are a huge part of what makes us all identify with what we individually like in an amp. In James's clips, there were amps that I didnt like that sounded great and amps that I liked that sounded terrible. What do you chalk that off to? If we assume that The recordings were done with good technique, then there has to be other factors at work.

My take on James's project is this, It was an awesome undertaking that introduced me to a whole bunch of amps that I have never heard before and it piqued my interest in many of them. If anything, it was an introduction that I thoroughly enjoyed but for me, the only thing that Im going to trust is my own ears, with me playing through my gear with my fingers before I make the decision to spend the clams.

Like I said Pete, Im in no way trying to shit on your shoes. Youve introduced me to alot of cool stuff and I value your opinions in a big way but I think that you might not have considered the bigger picture... Just my .02

Kage

 

[mentoneman]

...as i buy a carl martin plexitone based on pete's recommendation and his clip solidifies the deal....

pre internet media days, people used to rely on written reviews to hunt down cool gear, or word of mouth, or if you were lucky a demo over the phone. ie very inaccurate vague way to shop. TGP thrives on verbalizing about exotic gear, and if the all tone poets on there could play as well as they expound verbally, we'd have 5000 robben fords and eric johnsons. but it's normally the $15k guitar rig and the .50 cent player.

this place is different---sorta more "my zendrive sounds nothing like robben ford when i'm banging out inna gadda davida on my triple recto and bc rich warlock"

i think youtube clips can be highly accurate examples of what gear can sound like. PT's demos are killer because he's killer. awesome player, killer recording gear. if he was lame it wouldn't matter how great the gear was, it would sound lame. a great player brings out the nuances that make boutique gear special and can demonstrate why the product is worth the price tag. i enjoy watching his demos all the way through, and i can't say that for most. and he keeps the talking brief and concise.

guys that talk for the first 3-5 minutes of any demo i just bail on. most of the time they do that because they can't play squat. and oddly enough that usually means the recording quality is hammered too. there are tons of ways to find out that technical info about the piece of gear on the web. play the stupid thing so i can hear it!

but there is truth to Kage's post...there have been guys who have purchased egnater tol 100s, mojave amps, and tc gforces based on clips i've posted, then scratch their heads when they can't achieve tones they heard me pull on my clips with a hint of disappointment. i always say the same thing. my tone is a culmination of the sum of the parts...gtr woods, pickups, pedals, amp, tubes, cables, cabs, speakers, touch, ears, experience....i spend months, even years with gear honing it in to achieve results i desire. wich doesn't bode well with the instagratification generation.

i've had people play my rig and get it...and not coincidentally they are normally guys whose playing i admire, and they have the touch and approach to extract the goods, and fall in love with the tones they can achieve, and then there are others who hammer right through the tone like frankenstein in ballet slippers and destroy the dynamics and look at me like "meh..it's alright" and it's like watching a 2 year old with a stradivarius or a 16 yr old driving a lambo....

 

[Anonymous]

...as i buy a carl martin plexitone based on pete's recommendation and his clip solidifies the deal....

pre internet media days, people used to rely on written reviews to hunt down cool gear, or word of mouth, or if you were lucky a demo over the phone. ie very inaccurate vague way to shop. TGP thrives on verbalizing about exotic gear, and if the all tone poets on there could play as well as they expound verbally, we'd have 5000 robben fords and eric johnsons. but it's normally the $15k guitar rig and the .50 cent player.

this place is different---sorta more "my zendrive sounds nothing like robben ford when i'm banging out inna gadda davida on my triple recto and bc rich warlock"

i think youtube clips can be highly accurate examples of what gear can sound like. PT's demos are killer because he's killer. awesome player, killer recording gear. if he was lame it wouldn't matter how great the gear was, it would sound lame. a great player brings out the nuances that make boutique gear special and can demonstrate why the product is worth the price tag. i enjoy watching his demos all the way through, and i can't say that for most. and he keeps the talking brief and concise.

guys that talk for the first 3-5 minutes of any demo i just bail on. most of the time they do that because they can't play squat. and oddly enough that usually means the recording quality is hammered too. there are tons of ways to find out that technical info about the piece of gear on the web. play the stupid thing so i can hear it!

but there is truth to Kage's post...there have been guys who have purchased egnater tol 100s, mojave amps, and tc gforces based on clips i've posted, then scratch their heads when they can't achieve tones they heard me pull on my clips with a hint of disappointment. i always say the same thing. my tone is a culmination of the sum of the parts...gtr woods, pickups, pedals, amp, tubes, cables, cabs, speakers, touch, ears, experience....i spend months, even years with gear honing it in to achieve results i desire. wich doesn't bode well with the instagratification generation.

i've had people play my rig and get it...and not coincidentally they are normally guys whose playing i admire, and they have the touch and approach to extract the goods, and fall in love with the tones they can achieve, and then there are others who hammer right through the tone like frankenstein in ballet slippers and destroy the dynamics and look at me like "meh..it's alright" and it's like watching a 2 year old with a stradivarius or a 16 yr old driving a lambo....

Yeah... and then there's a certain fellow on metro... comes here once in awhile... can't play for shit, yet he nails a certain player's tone all day long and I can easily tell the tone is there in his clips. He's spent tons of time on his gear honing it in to achieve those results, he just hasn't spent a fraction of that time honing his chops/timing. Too bad, because if he was interested in making music, he'd have a hard time doing so. However, he spent the time to get that tone and I can hear it in spite of his playing.

You don't have to play like Pete to get a particular tone. If you want to actually play music though, it would certainly be ideal...

Steve

 

[James Lugo]

I am surprised there was no PT100. I thought it was on the list. Pete Thorn should have taken his.

It was on the list, not sure who didn't bring it.

yea I saw it on the list so I didn't even think to bring one. Then I arrived, noticed it was absent, made a sad face.... and shrugged... got over it and went on a beer run with Bogner and Friedman.

I was going to take mine, but I saw it on the list. I had my ice chest loaded with a case of Heineken and New Castle. I wanted to get there early. Friday I was in jury duty and was informed I would have to return Monday for a criminal trial that would last at least two months. That info stressed me out so much, I got really sick. I had Finals on Monday aswell. It looked like everybody had a good time. James did an outstanding job at the least. I hope he does another in the future.

Thanks man. I couldn't sleep last night so I perused some of the clips. It brought back a lot of memories of the day. It was so great to have all 80 amps being played at full volume in a big room and everyone who wanted to be in the room could hear them first hand. I wanted to hear a new Hiwatt so I went today to Truetone and they had a Custom 50 but I couldn't turn it up, kind of a drag.

As far as if clips are a useful tools when listening to amps or not useful, it's easy if you think they're useful then listen to them if not then don't listen to them. Pretty simple. I think for a lot of guys who don't live near great guitar shops this is about as good as it gets. That's actually what prompted
these events, years ago when I started beta testing mics, pres, eqs and compressors for many pro audio manufacturers and doing reviews and assisting in the final sonic tweaks I started adding sound clips to the reviews and guys really liked it, especially guys in satellite cities that didn't have fat credit cards to just throw down on a bunch of gear and test and return what they didn't like. What I was doing was as good as it got for them and a welcomed service. As far as if I'll ever do this again...whoa! Not sure, it was pretty brutal on many levels. I wouldn't ever do it the way I did it this time. I would only demo amps I approve of. So amps in ragged condition would be passed over, for everyone's sake; me as the host, you as the listener and the manufacturer as the dude trying to sell them.

James

 

[wheelman]

I don't think I disliked any of the mod squad. Good stuff.

 

[shredhead666]

Bogner Solo 70 Twin Jet was my favorite. It sounded awesome in those clips.

How much do they cost? I don't see any info about them on Bogner's site.

 

[rafterman1969]

I favored the Wizard, and the Jet City 100. How do you hold such an event without the Cornford MK 50H II?

 

[Rev]

Bogner Solo 70 Twin Jet was my favorite. It sounded awesome in those clips.

How much do they cost? I don't see any info about them on Bogner's site.

It did sound good in the room and on the clips. I bet that amp will be at NAMM this year as an up an coming model.

 

[shredhead666]

Bogner Solo 70 Twin Jet was my favorite. It sounded awesome in those clips.

How much do they cost? I don't see any info about them on Bogner's site.

It did sound good in the room and on the clips. I bet that amp will be at NAMM this year as an up an coming model.

I've never heard a Bogner amp I've been 100% thrilled with - the top end is usually just not happening. But this one... this might be the one they got right

 

[racerevlon]

James -- any word on when the clips might be going back public?

How's NC treating you? Hope all is well--the moving vids look both fun and crazy--the stuff stories are made of.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[racerevlon]

Hard to believe it's been a couple of years since that harrowing day, and yet I wouldn't trade it for anything. The people I got to meet and see, especially fellow RT members, was priceless, and worth schlepping 8 or 9 heavy-ass amps down there.

What held true then holds true today, and I learned a lot. My Diezel Herbert, which everyone expected to be about the top of the heap, just didn't record well. Granted, I had it set up for way different speakers, and you can't re-dial in three minutes, so it was what it was. This was reinforced when I took the Herbert to rehearse with my band and the Herbert got totally lost in the mix. That's when I posted about the difference between solo tone and band tone. My Splawns and Jet City Amps cut through my band mix better than the Herbert. Doesn't make the Herbert a bad amp in ANY way. I still miss that amp. But I needed the right tools for the job. So much came out of that day we could talk about it for another day/week/etc.

I miss James and his awesome "rock 'n roll," positive attitude, even when things weren't going exactly right. I miss Jason, Diego, and the countless others who jumped in, volunteered, and sweated doing the "grunt" work of moving amps around and constantly changing speaker connections. I miss Pete Thorn's great outlook and sense of humor, and wish he could have stayed and played through the amps instead of having to play the GIBSON AMPHITHEATER that night. I miss the humility, friendliness, and camaraderie of master builders like Friedman, Bogner, and all the guys who brought their own amps and gave us ALL the opportunity that we'd otherwise never had.

This thread is long. But I feel at some places it veered off track and lost sight of the big picture. James accomplished something I haven't seen done before or since. Eighty-ish amps professionally recorded in one day with two different players, supporting volunteers, and great-quality video.

Focus on the positive, don't waste your time on the negative, and revel in the fact that you got to be there or got to see the video Rich (mightywarlock) so graciously streamed from his iPhone.

I hold those who helped make the event a success in the highest of regards.

And a special thanks to James, not only for putting the event together and pulling it off with time to spare, but suffering the slings and arrows that came after the postings. I hope you're flourishing in your new digs and have fond memories of the day as do I. Miss ya brother!

Cheers,

 

[glassjaw7]

James' amp fests have been some of the defining moments of my time here at Rig Talk! Pretty cool how you can feel the brotherly love and excitement even on this side of a computer screen. I miss those days...good times.