Archive for News
Designer Of Some Of Peavey’s Most Popular Amps Starts His Own Company
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When you hear the name James Brown you may think of the Godfather of Soul but to us amp geeks that could also mean the man responsible for designing some of Peavey’s most popular amps like the VTM60, Classic 50, Classic 30, Delta Blues, 5150, 5150II. He then went on to for for Kustom Amplification and did the Kustom Coupe 36 and 72 as well as few others.
James has now started a company with the idea of getting the customer involved with the design where he takes players ideas, and implements those ideas married with his vision and skills to make pedals and amps.
James Brown “I’ve just launched a new chapter in amptweakdom…..I’m still working part-time at Kustom Amps as their Chief Engineer, but I’ve started a new company with the intent of building handmade pedals and custom amplifiers: Amptweaker.
My website development is a work in process, and I’m working on a bunch of product ideas, but I’ve adopted a rather unique approach to product development………I’m asking people what THEY want me to build. I plan to start off this project by working on some pedals, since they’re a little quicker to develop, and I’ll use this to fund my custom amp project also in process.
So today I’m soliciting ideas for pedals that fill some need we all have……but for some reason nobody makes. The payback for giving me your golden ideas is that they might actually get built! Just go to www.amptweaker.com and click on the Suggestion Box. There are also links to Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter if you’re into those.
Any help you can give me by either giving me your 2 cents worth at www.amptweaker.com and/or by passing this around to fellow guitarists would be greatly appreciated. If I can get some folks thinking about this pretty quick, I should be able to hit the ground running.
Thanks….
James Brown ”
Sounds like a very cool idea. I wish James best of luck in his new venture.
Richie Kotzen: New CD
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Outside of the guitar world I’m not sure a whole lot of people know who Richie Kotzen is. That’s a real shame because he’s a very talented musician. Richie’s career has ran the span from releasing several solo albums on Shrapnel to playing and recording with Poison and Mr. Big to fronting his own bands. Richie has a new CD coming out on September 9 called “Peace Sign”. If it’s anything like his past releases it should be full of great rock tunes, his smokie vocals, and unique guitar work blazing through out.
You can find out more info and order Richie’s new CD here on his web site: Richie Kotzen Official Site
Check out this video the shows what a great multi-intrumentalist he is.
Paul Gilbert Performing A Doors Cover
Posted by: | CommentsOne thing that makes Paul Gilbert so cool in my book is that while he can play super fast and clean, he knows when to shred and when not to. It’s probably pretty easy once you’ve made a name for yourself as a super shredder to kinda stay in your comfort zone but over the years Paul has evolved into a much more rounded player. Here is a really cool cover of the Doors “Light My Fire” that Paul performed at a Guitar Center in California.
Be sure to check out the new live DVD of the recently reunited Mr. Big “Budokan – Reunion Tour 2009″ in Japan.
Nashville Amp Show: Channing Amps
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Another builder that to me had some very good sounding amps was David Channing from Channing Amps. David has 25 years experience as an electrical engineer and in also very good player. He demoed his CL45 that Jeff Beck is now playing. It features 2 pre-amp channels (normal, bright), tube rectifier, Mercury Magnetics transformers, custom Unified Turret Board™ construction, 2-pan chassis design for maximum pre-amp shielding, top quality cabinetry and appointments. The amp had very natural voice and let the guitar’s tone shine through. The tone was thick with very nice top end. It reminded me of what I think a JTM45 should sound like. The amp didn’t have a lot of gain on its own which is to be expected since most JTM45’s dont until you get them brutally loud but the CL45 had a nice bit of grind at ddecent volumes and took pedals like a champ.
Get more info on the CL45 and the other models at:
CHANNING Amplifiers | Hand Built Classic Guitar Amplification
