TONEfest ÒFriendsÓ 2008

 Clearwater-Tampa Bay

Comesee, hear and play the greatest amps, guitars, effect pedals and accessoriesever made!

Aug 15th and 16th, Friday & Saturday

Hosted at

FaithChristian Church

303 N. Myrtle Ave ¥ Clearwater, FL

 

PLEASE NOTE!!!

This yearsÕ Special TONEfest event is FREE Admission!  However we ask that you register in advance by filling out the Online Registration form.

 

Register In Advance HERE!

A donation to help with expenses is welcomed.

 

 

If you have never attended a previousTONEFest event then our goals are simple. We want to provide you theopportunity to come see, hear and play the worldÕs greatest Vintage and Custombuilt amps, guitars, effect pedals and accessories.  You will have theopportunity to hear these products demoÕd, speak with owners and builders, trythem out yourself, and meet a bunch of other great guitar-playing ampenthusiasts, just like yourself.

How We BeganÉ

In 2000 a small group Florida friendsgathered their vintage Marshalls, VOXes and Fenders together, and invitedinterested guitarists to come hear and try out these great old amps that theaverage musician rarely gets a chance to play. The event was an enthusiasticsuccess and in subsequent years Vintage and Boutique amp owners, as well ascustom builders from around the country, joined the events as TONEFest grew.Since that time other similar events have sprung up around the country, as thevintage gear revival continues to push the custom market.

Today the sources for vintage Marshalls,VOXes, Fenders, Hiwatts and others, are diminishing. And as a result, thedemand and value of these amps is rising. Similarly, new custom amp buildersare crowding their way into the marketplace, to meet the demand of a growingnumber of discriminating guitarists who are increasingly conscientious aboutgreat tone.

For this reason, events like ToneFest havebecome very important, as they provide the musician with an opportunity to notonly play and hear first hand, but to also compare these great amps that you'llrarely find in a music store. For several years we have recorded these amps andmade CD's available of the various sample clips of each of the amps that showedat our TONEFests. Also in previous years we published a non-scientific reporton how the amps scored with the musicians present. While the amp scoring wascompetitive, it was purely subjective, based upon how the players liked eachamp, as it compared with others in its class.  After 2005 we will nolonger competed the amps in Òshoot-outsÓ.  However, we still demo amps inlike categories for comparison purposes.

Finally, ToneFest is a time for players tomeet, make new friends, renew old acquaintances and generally have some funaround our common love of music.

Our GoalsÉ

The basic premise of ToneFest is verysimple.  We want to provide an opportunity to introduce players to theworldÕs greatest Vintage and Custom Built amps, guitars, effect pedals andaccessories, which they would otherwise seldom have an opportunity totry.  Most production amps are marketed through retail outlets, butvintage amps are out of circulation and custom boutique builds are usuallymarketed by word of mouth and over the Internet. Rare vintage guitars arebecoming harder and harder to locate, let alone hear! But we have them show uphere every year, at TONE fest.  Youwill also have the chance to play all the hot boutique stomp boxes thateveryone has been talking about, since a lot of our participants like to bringin their favorite custom pedals. And you never know whoÕs going to make a surprise appearance.

At a ToneFestevent we want 4 things to happen for our guests:

á      Exposure to gear through live demos

á      Opportunity to personally play them

á      Chance to meet internet forum friends and make newacquaintances

á      And of courseÉtryout gear, jam, and maybe go home withthat amp or piece of gear youÕve been wanting!

If You Plan ToAttendÉ

HereÕs what you need to doÉ

á     Download theRegistration & Gear ID Card form, send in your Registration and email it tonick@nickchamplin.com.

á     Make copies of the GearID card for each piece of gear you intend to bring.  These ID cards MUSTbe attached to your gear at all times while at TF (You can make up your own IDcards for your gear as long as it has the pertinent info).

á     Download the Amp DataForm if you plan on bringing an amp(s), and fill one out for each amp youbring.  These forms MUST be attached to your amps while at TF.

á     Download a copy of theActivities & Daily Schedule.  Read this thoroughly!  It containsdetailed explanation of the guideline for our event.  

For more information please feel free tocontact Nick at nick@nickchamplin.com

Thank You