PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits
the Lapdancer Guitars room. In this segment, we get to hear from Loni
Spector, creator and the main-man behind the Amp Shows, talk about his
line of custom, one-off solidbody electric guitars made under the
Lapdancer brand name that started out over 10 years ago as a lap steel
guitar company.
Lapdancers electrics are unique takes and spins
on classics like T- and S-style guitars, including the Holecaster that
is a T-style guitar with dozens of holes in it to reduce the guitar's
original hefty body weight, two T-style guitars loaded with TV Jones
Filter'Tron pickups, and a S-style guitar that commemorates the Amp
Shows that Spector has been running for years.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits
the Far East Electric room. In this segment, we get to check out their
Phoenix Type 1 Overdrive stompbox. The pedal celebrates 6L6GC/5881-based
tones and features a Fender Bassman-type tone stack with its controls
including Volume, Presence, Treble, and Bass.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits
the Longhorn Amplifiers room. In this segment, Joe chats with Longhorn's
Terry Wright about their model the Texas Blues. Powered by a pair of
KT66 tubes, the Texas Blues head from Longhorn Amps kicks out 50 watts
of burly tone. The rear panel provides dual 10-turn pots that allow
players to individually bias each output tube. This is especially handy
for using non-matched, vintage tube sets. Using the amp's test points,
you can quickly re-bias the head for 6L6, 6V6, EL34, KT88, and 5881
power tubes. In addition to a standard input jack, the Texas Blues
offers an alternative FET input that adds a clean boost to either the
Clean or OD channel.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the Rude Mood room. In this segment, we get to see and hear the Rude Mood combo amplifier.
The Rude Mood is a product of nearly 2 years of research, design, and development culminating in a guitar amplifier unlike ANY other on the market today. The Rude Mood was created for the working musician who demands the highest quality performance out of their equipment. Whether you are searching for the perfect classic rock crunch, high-energy modern grind, round full jazz or blues, this amplifier does it all. The magic happens when you blend YOUR signature sound so that the audience can hear you - not just an effects pedal.
The Rude channel is based on a Marshall Plexi with an all-tube, Class A construction with a pair of 12AX7 preamp tubes and an EL34 power tube powering up to 19 watts.
The Mood channel is based on a classic Fender voicing with an all-tube, true Class A construction with one 12AX7 preamp tube, a 6L6 power tube, and cranks out 20 watts of power.
The cabinet uses two Weber 10" speakers. The Rude side comes through a Weber vintage ceramic speaker and the Mood comes through a vintage alnico speaker.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he swings by the Surreal Amplification room. In this segment, we get to check out a custom C.M. 50 head in action.
Surreal's amplifiers are built similar to vintage amps, for instance, when you are running this amp in the non-master volume configuration, you have only two tube gain stages just like the original Marshalls and Fenders. As with the original non-master volume amps, this setting gets nastier as the volume is cranked. Low to medium levels provide a relatively clean bluesy tone. Maxed out is brown tone city with EL34's. There is a Post Phase Inverter Master Volume that can be used in this setting to create additional overdrive. Clean players will love the Jazz Boost option for a smooth, warm, smokey jazz tone perfect for ES335 type guitars.
It can come with a Surreal Stage setting that adds yet another tube gain stage to the party. Now you are entering the realm of hot-rodded and modded, boutique amp heaven. It's called the Surreal stage due to the fact that the classic rock tone is retained but the gain is over the top. Another tonal option is the Slope control that sweeps through the mid range. Using this control in conjunction with the Resonance control, almost any tone you can dream up is at your fingertips. The presence control has a slightly wider range than most presence controls just in case you need more bite. The half way point on this control is equivalent to the full position on most.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where we get to check out Ugly Amps two newest product--the Ugly 100 head and the BIGFOOT Gain Booster pedal. Ugly Amps generally produces small wattage amps like their popular Ugly 18, but at this Amp Show they stepped into the full-size amplifier arena with their Ugly 100. Also, they showed off their first pedal creation the BIGFOOT. The BIGFOOT is a gain booster with a full EQ also a bypass for the tonestack and an extra boost can be added. They say it works well with the Ugly 18 like adding the high gain channel those amps don't have.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the Metropoulos Amps room. In this segment, we get to see and hear their new Metropoulos 1967 Pinstripe Cab Demo played through a '66 Replica 45/100 head.
The 1967 True Era Replica Cabs are contructed from their proprietary reverse engineering of vintage Marshall speaker cabinets. The addition of EC Collins' reproduction pinstripe grillcloth fabric completes the 1967 cosmetics. Cabinet structure, hardware, and parts are based entirely on a set of vintage 1968 Marshall straight and slant cabs. Precise measurements of every part of the vintage cabinets were converted to CNC plans that allow them to produce true replicas. In addition, they fabricate their own proprietary cabinet hardware and metal parts. The process, hardware, and finished product are completely exclusive to Metropoulos True Replicas.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the VHT Amplifiers and AXL Guitars room. In this segment, we get to see a prototype from both companies--a VHT Special 6 Ultra head and a Badwater USA S-style guitar.
The VHT Special 6 Ultra is based on the Special 6 head that was released at last Winter NAMM, but has an EL34 power tube. The Badwater USA prototype is based on the popular Badwater import series created by AXL last year, but now they are bringing the guitars from their privately-owned Chinese factories and having them assembled, fret-dressed, and fitted with high-quality components in their California shop.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the Jule Amplifiers room. In this segment, we get the chance to get up close and personal with Jule's Paycheck 15 head.
Boasting some of the most unique heads at the show, Jule Potter showed off his Paycheck amps. Hand-built in California, the all-tube Paycheck is available in 40 or 15 watts with an all-steel, powder-coated chassis. The 40-watt features dual 6L6s, while the 15-watt uses dual 6V6s. Both amps use Russian 6SL7 preamp tubes. The amps retail for $1285 (40-watt) and $1185 (15-watt).
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the Egnater Amplifiers room. In this segment, we get to see and hear about the newest additions to the Tweaker line--the Tweaker 40 and Tweaker 88 heads.
Known for bringing prototypes to Amp Shows and using experienced player feedback to further tweak their latest designs, Egnater did more of the same by unveiling prototypes of new versions the company's popular Tweaker amp. The Tweaker 40 is a two-channel head with dual 6L6s. The channels are identical and each features a set of the standard Tweaker controls (Tight/Deep, Bright/Normal, and Hot/Clean), while adding a Mid Cut/Normal mini toggle, plus a Master Volume with Vintage/Modern mini toggle. The two channels share an EQ with a USA/AC/Brit mini toggle. The Tweaker 88 features the same preamp with two KT88 power tubes. The Tweaker 40 and 88 are set to retail around $600 and $800, respectively.