The 2008 LA Amp Show: Part Deux
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Digitech
Digitech was featuring their new line of stomp boxes, the “Hard Wired Series” featuring: (you guessed it) true by-pass. The thing I really liked about the pedals was the smooth on/off button. It was not like the traditional type you find on stomp boxes; it maintained the same style as previous Digitech pedals, but now with a real by-pass.
The pedals in the range are: Stereo Reverb, Stereo Chorus, Stereo Delay/looper, Metal Distortion, Tube Overdrive, Valve Distortion, and a Chromatic Tuner. All of the pedals sounded great through the little combo they had in the room, though I would like to hear how the Metal Distortion fares against a half stack with a little volume behind it. Of all the pedals I think my favorite piece was the tuner--I have a thing for good tuners and I am always on the look out for a stomp box tuner of high quality and flexibility like the Digitech.
A cool little extra is a rubber cap that you can put over the knobs so you don’t accidentally change a setting (have a look at the gallery for a snap of it). It is a small thing, but a very smart addition.
They also brought along a tractor-trailer! Out behind the hotel Digitech parked their massive mobile concert stage and had live music featuring Digitech gear.
Simple Amps
The concept for single amps lies in the idea of an amplifier with nothing but a volume knob (though they do have a model with a tone knob) and old world circuits that are refined for more modern applications (reliability, tone, etc) with a focus on being “touch sensitive.” This means that you leave your hands off of your volume knob and you allow your hands and fingers to determine the volume and gain as you play. If you want a little break up in your tone, simply dig into the note in a more aggressive manner.
I love the idea; and I like that they are doing something different in the amp game. We will have to keep an eye on what these guys are up to.
Lone Wolf Amplifiers
Lone Wolf was showing off the new Outlaw 18, based around a plexi head. The two channels (dark and bright) are wired “on” so you can blend them via the volume knobs (as opposed to the normal Plexi method). What you get is a range from clean to classic Marshall Plexi tone.
Nice looking amps to be sure. I found the “all the way up” sound to be the strongest tone on this amp and for 18 watts this thing is LOUD. The distorted tone had a cascading ring that made chords sustain on and on.
Lone Wolf amps are hand wired and USA made.
Kaliphoria Music
They were showing two products, the “Session King” Combo Amp and the “Ear Candy” Reverb unit.
Though I originally mistook it for a head, the Ear Candy reverb unit was very interesting. It takes the idea of the original Fender Reverb to a whole other level. So, if you can believe it, the unit has two reverb tanks in it! It has a short tank and a long tank that allow you to blend both tanks to produce a rich sounding reverb. It sounded very full and rich to my ears and it has a large amount of control options with it. All in all a very cool product.
The Session King was a versatile combo that delivers a range of tones with a nice sounding drive (especially when drenched in reverb). The cool thing about the amp is the amount of tone shaping controls so you can dial in your own sound.
Bugera Amplifiers
Bugera makes a line of reasonably priced amplifiers aimed primarily at the hard rock crowd. The amps have a high gain and low gain input depending on what you're in need of. Amps include a foot switch and come in a head and cab or as a combo.
2 channel amp with 2 modes (essentially two gain stages where you can kick in a second set of 12AX7s). The lower gain setting has an early Marshall rock sound to it (think 70’s metal) and the hi gain mode brings us into some seriously saturated tones.
For a head that costs only $500 - $600 it is a really good deal. Digital reverb (though not my favorite) sounds all right, I just prefer the real thing. The amps are designed in Germany and made in China so the price point is very low. Quality seemed to be above the price tag as was the sound. If you are looking to get into a two mode amp with gain to spare and are on a budget you really need to check these out.
www.bugra-amps.com
Red Iron Amplifiers
Red Iron has hands down the most unique heads out there. I love the use of mesquite wood, the red chassis inside and simple control layout: volume, tone, and a master volume. That’s it!
The T-Rex was my favorite of the three amps that Paul Sanchez had on display. The T-Rex is the high gain member of the Red Iron family. It yielded a very smooth distortion that would negate the need for a stomp box, you can just rely on the amp's tone.
The “Mil-Spec” head has an interesting foot switch feature that allows you to by-pass the tone controls so you are tapped right in to the tube. Paul refers to this head as a "platform for pedals" as it has plenty of headroom and a sweet tube tone to complement any Fuzz or overdrive.
A very solid sounding group of amps with killer looks, Red Iron amps are point to point wired and 100% hand made in the USA. I really would love to get my hands on the sweet sounding T-Rex!
Xtis Amplifiers
Xtis are very sexy looking amps with loads of custom appointments. Every part of the amp is beautifully finished, from the custom grills to the control panel. I love equipment that has this kind of attention to detail.
The amazing build quality of these amps is complimented by features like:
• Mercury Magnetics Transformers & Choke: Manufactured to XITS Specifications
• El Dorado Hand Stitched Leather handles Manufactured to XITS Specifications
• ASW 12” Speakers (Alnico or Ceramic) Manufactured to XITS Specifications
• NOS Allen Bradley Carbon Composition and PRP Resistors
• SOZO Tone Capacitors
• Mallory Filter Capacitors
• PEC Carbon Photometers
• Azuma Tube Sockets
• Analysis Plus Speaker Wire
• 5-Part Aluminum Chassis is milled one at a time
The circuit is “True Point-to-Point”. No circuit boards or turret boards are used in the construction, I included a shot of the inside (from the Xits website) for you to check out (I warn you, it will cause you to drool and apply for a credit increase).
It is products like this that really blow me away. I love the look, I love the sound, and I need more disposable income…
Soultone Amplification
Soultone Amplification has an interesting operating concept: “Clone the vintage tone, not the circuit.” Their idea is to build amps that sound just like the classic amplifiers of yesterday, but with improved reliability, lower noise, and modern features (like an effects loop.) The build construction is also unique; one very interesting feature is the boards these amps are built on, as they really don’t require solder to work! It would take far too much to explain it here, but the website has all the information you could want on these awesome amps.
The look of Soultone amps is clearly taken from the classic amps they are referencing, but with some amount of stylistic updates. I love the faux snakeskin on the head and cabs (at least I hope it’s faux!). All of the appointments on these amps are first class!
The Soultone room was rather full when I wandered through it, but that gave me a good chance to really hear all of the amps. I can tell you that from what I was hearing, these amps really do sound faithful to the originals, with all of the growl and girth you would expect. The tone was thick, full and LOUD! These amps really do rip.
Soultone amps have looks, tone, and are handmade with the latest tech and years of experience. You need to check these amps out!
Fender Amplifiers
Fender was not showing anything too new at the amp show. I did not see the very cool Relic amp that the custom shop makes--too bad, I love the look of that amp. They were showing off their large and vestal line (in both performance and price point) with all the classics accounted for.
I do love the new EVH amp, it has an awesome tone and the channel switching is first rate. But the thing I really want to see from Fender is some high-end, hand made Custom Shop amps. One can dream…
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