2007 AMP SHOW
Even better than last year, lots of great amps and people to talk amps with. The AMP SHOW has expanded to New York as well, and has quickly become the place to go if you want a chance to try out the latest and greatest in amplification. Unlike a standard trade show, the AMP SHOW allows you to turn it up and try out amps at a realistic volume. We're looking forward to the 2008 show, and hope to see you there.
VAN NUYS, May 2006 THE 2006 AMP SHOW!!!
The 2006 Amp Show in Van Nuys (LA) is a terrific and unusual venue...presented at the Airtel Hotel and Convention Complex, and hosted by Loni Schecter, this one of a kind event transforms ordinary hotel rooms into trade show display booths. Beds are removed, and the result is a huge space easily twice the size of a standard trade show space. Moreover, there are no volume restrictions- allowing players to try amps out at a realistic volume. Contrary to assumptions, there's no problem with noise levels due to the hotel room soundproofing. It's a great idea, and we thank Loni for coming up with it!
Open to the general public, The Amp Show allows trade show access to everyone- resulting in a great time for all. It's nice to see players of all ages and skill levels trying our amps. We'll be there next year and hope to see you there as well!
Check out their web page for info and pix:
NEW HAVEN, March 5, 2006 - Connecticut’s Vinny Cervoni, founding member and guitarist in Bluzberry Pi and guitarist in Shakin' Not Stirred, was the first East Coast musician selected to endorse RC Davis Amplifiers. Cervoni, who catapulted Bluzberry Pi into the semi finals of the Connecticut Blues Society Blues Challenge in 2005, met Rob Davis, who builds the amps, at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California in January. The four-day show, produced annually by NAMM, the International Music Products Association, is the world’s largest musical instrument trade show and the site of major new product launches and live music exhibitions.
Intrigued by the hand crafted, point-to-point wired tube amplifiers, Cervoni plugged in a Stratocaster, as well as a Les Paul guitar, to check out the sound. He played some blues riffs, a few chord progressions, a few nine chords and a major and a minor for good measure. Then he rolled back the volume and tone on the guitar and played a jazz chord progression, mixing in some thirteen chords, as well as major and minor sevenths.
“I was quickly impressed with the amp’s response, and how it translated my every touch of the guitar,” said Cervoni.
The amps are hand crafted by Rob Davis, a drummer in San Francisco who owned a repair shop in the San Francisco Bay area for 20 years. Davis performed factory service for various manufacturers, and watched the pool of vintage amplifiers dwindling rapidly. Aware of escalating costs and the tendency of vintage amps to be high maintenance, he started RC Davis Amplifiers in 2003, when a client asked him to build an amp to replace a vintage one that had been breaking down repeatedly.
His goal was not to create a better sounding design than a vintage amp, but to build a less expensive replacement for a vintage amp with a comparable sound.
“These amplifiers are really geared towards the gigging musician who can no longer afford to (take and) lose his or her vintage amp on the road and desires a quality amplifier for performance at an affordable price,” he said.
Davis selected Cervoni for an endorsement because of his reputation as a guitar player, as well as his enthusiasm for the RC Davis Amplifiers. That enthusiasm is evident when Cervoni explains why he was impressed by the amps.
“In this day and age of amplifiers with too many controls, too many channels, and too many sound changing options, I had been searching for a simple amp with a great sound,” he said. “On these amps, the controls are simple. There are only four knobs on the face of any of the amps - bass, middle, treble, volume. The reverb control knob is on the back of the amp, which comes with a foot-switch for the reverb on-off. What is great, is there is a knob on the foot switch which acts the same as the knob on the back of the amp; just reach down and turn the knob to increase or roll off reverb.”
Using the RC Davis 30 watt and 50 watt amps has simplified Cervoni’s life on the road, while creating the sound he needs, whether he’s playing originals in Bluzberry Pi, or cover songs with Shakin' Not Stirred.
“With the amps I had been using, I always left home the foot-switches,” Cervoni said. “I used the clean channel on the amp and changed sounds with the various pedals on my pedal board. To switch to a ‘dirty channel’, I kick in the Blue Tube pedal on my board. For leads or solos, I kick in the Bixonic Expandora pedal. With the RC Davis 50 watt head, I dial in a clean sound and use my pedal board to make the different sounds I might need for a cover gig.
“For the original music in my repertoire, I can rely upon one good amp sound and get it by dialing in the right amount of ‘dirt’ on the RC Davis amps. The mid control is much more active than on most amps. It almost acts as a gain control, boosting mid, and allowing a very active sound at most volumes. To get rich, complex distortion, I turn up the volume. It's some of the most musical amp distortion I've heard in a long time,” he added.
For more information on Bluzberry Pi or its debut CD, “Search for Something Sweet,” www.bluzberrypi.com. For information on Shakin' Not Stirred, www.shakinstirred.com. For more information on RC Davis Amps, www.rcdavisamps.com.
Contact: Mary Lou Sullivan
Phone: 860-742-1492
Email: mlsullivan@snet.net
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Here's a past review from them...
GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2004:
RC Davis 50
San Francisco-based amp maker Robert Davis has introduced the model 50 ($1,600), a 1x12 reverb combo that features two 6L6 output tubes, a 5AR4 rectifier, two 12AX7s, and two 12AT7s. The 50 is handwired in classic point-to-point fashion without any boards, and its ceramic tube sockets are bolted to the plated steel chassis. Controls for the 50 are arranged in a slightly unusual manner, with the Bass, Middle, and Treble knobs located to the left side and the Volume control almost dead center. The Reverb control resides on the back panel along with the extension-speaker and reverb-footswitch jacks.
Incorporating elements of Fender and Marshall circuits, the 50 delivers bright, meaty distortion tones through its 12" Jensen Mod speaker (it’s also available with four 8" Jensens), and the amp’s dynamic qualities allow you to get good clean tones when you turn down your guitar. The passive EQ (which is based on a Fender Pro’s) provides rather dramatic tone shaping thanks to Davis’ use of a midrange circuit that raises the gain (when you max the knob) to the point where the EQ curve is similar to a Marshall’s. The footswitchable reverb adds spaciousness to the 50’s tones, and though I preferred leaving it off for grindier stuff, it definitely gives the 50 some blackface mojo when you need it.
—Art Thompson
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