LA AMP SHOW

     Thanks to my good friend Ed Thomas for making sure I was aware of the LA Amp Show, and in attendance one early Saturday morning in October.
     This is definitely like porno for anyone as thrilled as I am by the concept of hand-made tube guitar amplifiers. The secret location in a hotel near the Van Nuys airport was set up with each different manufacturer in their own hotel room, providing some semblance of privacy and sound isolation. Even so, the same people you hear at "Guitar Barn" (y'all know who I'm talkin' about) managed to find the place and perform their time-tested versions of crunch classics at full volume. Deep Purple would have been proud.
    But on to the amps.
    I'm reticent to give reviews of each manufacturer, as there were so many good choices, and it would be unfair to choose one above the rest, but here are the high points for me.
    The folks at Brown Note amps had me plugging in right away, and were only slightly confused when Ed insisted they find an amp to plug in the bass side of Blackie (my Warr Artist 12), so they could get the full effect. Since it was too early on Saturday morning for anything extremely complicated, I started with a 12-bar blues. The amps were just wonderful. I have been experimenting with guitar-side pickups in Blackie, and the amps seemed quite comfortable with the output and frequencies they were getting from my tapped strings.
   The whole thing was  going OK, when guitarist Chuck D'Aloia joined in, and sent it to the next level. Fortunately, Loren from Brown Note got some of it on video, and posted it on You Tube. (See Above).
What an honor it was to play with Chuck, who was brought in by Brown Note to demo the amps. His talent is obvious to anyone who views the video, and I'm planning on stealing all his great licks! Seeing and hearing the video convinced me that I am on the right track with my pickup experimentations...
    Don at Club Amps spent a lot of time with me explaining why the amp you choose was dependent on the sound you ultimately wanted. His amps were made specifically for certain types of music, and each had it's own wonderful flavor. I thought the smallest was perfect for intimate jazz gigs.
   Carr Amps were very nice. I have had some previous experience with their products, and find them quite  enjoyable. Great tone and selection.
   Schreyer amps found a special place in my heart with their Moonlight Twin, a sweet-toned amp with 2-10" speakers. It had the most subdued, but still very present, high end that seemed to compliment my tapped strings quite well.
    At some point, it became all too much, and there was nothing left to do but pack the guitar in the car, and dream of how I could afford to buy a few of these wonderful amps.
    A week later, I had the pleasure of playing Lone Wolf amps at a party in Simi Valley, and the list grew even longer.
   This really could get out of hand!
Jim Wright

www.shreyeraudio.com
www.clubamps.com
www.brownnote.net
www.carramps.com
www.lonewolfamps.com