This weekend, I played clinics for Bugera amps at the Musik Produktiv Messe, and it really was a cool event. Not only did I get to play quite a bit, I also had a chance to meet and hang out with some great players, such as André Hilgers (drummer of Rage… thanks for the talk, man! Too bad Victor wasnt there as well!), Jürgen Steinmetz (bassist of Silent Force), Mattias Ia Eklundh, Sascha Gerstner of Helloween (fellow Dean-Endorser) and many others.
On stage, I played two Bugera halfstacks. To my left, there was a 333XL (3 channel all tube amp with EL34 tubes), to my left I had a 6262 (2 channel all tube head with 6L6 tubes). It was great to have those on stage, very enjoyable as I ran them in stereo, so it was LOUD.
By the way, the guitar I used most of the time (other than the Dean Michael Schenker V and the Dean Soltero SL) was a Dean Vendetta 4.0 with two of the brand-new Dean pickups… a Vinnie Moore “Shredhead” in the bridge position, and a Michael Angelo Batio “Hands Without Shadows” in the neck position. Those pickups absolutely rock, so if you can, check them out.
I cut back a bit on explaining too much of the amps, since I was up there to let people hear those amps, which I think is the most important thing. I did have some very interesting conversations with people who were interested in details though, and I hope everyone enjoyed the performances.
Other than some of my own songs, I also played my version of “All Along The Watchtower” plus some other tracks.
I also was around at the Behringer booth (distributor of Bugera), answering questions, playing a bit in between.
It was also fun to see and hear Mattias and Sascha play, and there sure were a lot of great players around. Id like to thank the Behringer team for the great cooperation, everyone at MP for making the event happen, everyone who lent a hand setting up the gear at my clinics (schedule was tight, so when some friends helped set up the amps, it helped a lot to stay on schedule), and everyone who attended the clinics, I hope you enjoyed it!
