FEATURE
LA Amp
LA Amp
LA Amp
Show 2009 Show 2009 Show 2009
One of the best gear hangs of the year takes
place every year in LA. Dozens of amp companies descend on the Airtel Plaza Hotel (
technically in Van Nuys) and turn it into a tone buffet
for the hundreds of people who show up,
guitar in hand, ready to plug in and wail away
on the latest offerings from established boutique builders, larger companies and complete
unknowns who are trying to make a name for
themselves in the industry. Luthiers, pedal makers and accessories manufacturers are there
too, not to mention a host of LA-based monster players who help demo gear or just drop
by to play what’s new, but for the most part
the LA Amp Show is all about the amp builder.
By Joe Coffey
Along with its sister event, the NY Amp
Show, the LA Amp Show is one of the biggest gatherings of amp builders that is open
to the public. In many cases, the actual guys
whose names are on the front of the amps are
www.premierguitar.com
there—Reinhold Bogner, Andy Fuchs, Richard
Goodsell, etc.—sitting in a hotel room, just
hanging out. They have their marquee amps
with them as well as their newest lines, and
quite often a prototype of what they’re working on next. You basically go from room to
room and test-drive the amps of your choice
under the supervision of the actual builder, or
in some cases a company representative who
had a hand in the design. It’s a cool way to
get the 4-1-1 on an amp right from the people
who know it best. It’s also a good opportunity
for builders to get feedback on their gear.
People who have attended Amp Shows long
enough know that feedback from previous
shows have played a role in helping builders
tweak their next designs. Not too shabby for
an experience that costs twenty bucks, eh?
Some people took advantage of the opportunity to ask David Channing of Channing
Amps about the amps he builds for Jeff Beck.
Others plugged in and cranked up the Dave
Friedman-built Marsha Brown Eye that Jerry
Cantrell had on stage just a few nights earlier.
Some attendees played around with prototypes of the Egnater Tweaker and the Bogner
3-channel Goldfinger. Of course, people just
hung out just to hear cool amps and see what
was going down.
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There was more going on than we could get
to, unfortunately. As you could imagine, we
took our time in many rooms and ended up
missing the chance to hang with some of
the exhibitors. Too many amps, not enough
time—ah, what a sweet dilemma. As if that
wasn’t enough, there was also a panel discussion, a jam, and giveaways. We did see
plenty of stuff to like, however. Here’s a sampling of what we came across at this year’s
LA Amp Show…
