Vai Academy 6.0 - 2022, Las Vegas

vetteboy79 said:
Worth noting that almost no one at any of the jams uses a pedalboard/fractal/etc. Just grab the cable and go. The amps are generally decent and it's more about just playing and hanging out than making everyone wait while you set your stuff up.
Click to expand...
Thanks. That was gonna be my next question. OMG, dry?? But I need my 80% CPU-taxing, kitchen sink preset!
 
unix-guy said:
And Larry's jams are usually Larry plus 2 others with bass and drums, improvised stuff. My favorite!
Click to expand...

One of the only things that sucks about these events is that you can't do everything, and unfortunately Larry's jams fall into that category for me so far :confused: will have to change that if I come out for this one!
 
TSJMajesty said:
Thanks. That was gonna be my next question. OMG, dry?? But I need my 80% CPU-taxing, kitchen sink preset!
Click to expand...

Stuff I played through was pretty much dry, but is wasn't an issue. For whatever reason I thought it would be a high volume of lower quality gear/sounds, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good stuff it sounded. Doing the "Pass the Cable Around" jams in Stig's room we were running into a PA through a Boss floor unit (GT-1000?). Nothing fancy just a higher gain sound with a little reverb and delay. I liked it, and it responded well to the volume knob and picking dynamics to clean up when called for.

For the jam with Vai, I believe it was totally dry, but still sounded good. At that particular jam they had 2 Marshall half stacks so one could set up while the other played, to keep things moving quicker. In this instance, one of them had an attenuator or something that Boss was promoting so the amp was being run harder and I thought sounded better, so I lined up for that one, lol.

One dude got up there and something happened to his guitar and it quit working. Steve let him borrow one of his, which was awesome. I almost hoped my active pickup's battery would die so I could play it too :)
 
Dale LeClaire said:
In this instance, one of them had an attenuator or something that Boss was promoting so the amp was being run harder and I thought sounded better, so I lined up for that one, lol.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was the Waza Tube Amp Expander.

It definitely sounded better.

I can't remember for certain but I think at Vai Academy 4 they used Katanas, which I thought sounded surpassingly good.

For that one I didn't sign up for a particular night to jam with Steve... And they put me on the first night, after a 10-ish hour drive to Palm Springs. I was beat and super nervous, plus had no idea what to play until I stepped on the stage but it was great as soon as we started playing.

Steve and the band go out of their way to make sure you're having a fun and musical time when you play with them.

And Steve is a beast after doing workshops all day to play until 1-2am to make sure everyone has a chance to play!

You guys can search for the Vai Academy 5 thread. I think a number of us posted jam videos.
 
unix-guy said:
Last time I was roomies with @fremen, jammed with @Larry Mitchell, hung out with @hippietim, @shawnb, @Dale LeClaire and others.
Click to expand...

I really enjoyed hanging with the homies above. Vai 5.0 was a fantastic experience. I was so nervous to get on stage, I couldn't even keep timing but Steve and band figured me out really quickly and as soon as I was about to hit notes that wouldn't be quite right they changed the key and made it right. I was so nervous I couldn't even crack a smile but Steve started making jokes with his notes and got me to loosen up at the end. Most jams were about 3 minutes but I look at the video of mine he gave me over 5 minutes.

Jammin with Shredanie and meeting Doug Doppler and so many others was a true experience.

Unfortunetely I injured my back 6 months ago and have been bedridden unable to sit stand or walk, or play guitar until only 2 weeks ago. I'm not ready to bank on whether I'll be ready to attend this time around or I would in a heartbeat if for no other reason than to hang out with everyone again.

If you get a chance to go I really recommend you do. It's a very unique experience.
 
shawnb said:
If you get a chance to go I really recommend you do. It's a very unique experience.
Click to expand...
As I said to somebody before, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity that you can actually do more than once (assuming you can afford it).

When I went to The G4 Experience I never imagined being able to do something like that again. Then I went to Vai Academy 4.0... then 5.0 :)

Hope you get better soon and maybe we'll see you there!
 
We read all the time fro Steve that he would practice for 10 hours some days. I always wondered how the heck? But when you see him jam and adapt to every personality you realize the way he learned to play guitar wasn't by reading a book for 10 hours, it was by playing against a backing track or something learning to match the notes, keys, make music and just play. I practice that way now, too. It's much more liberating than a book.
 
Does anyone know if I can get a discounted ticket if I already live in Las Vegas and don't need to stay at the venue?
 
nhgtrman said:
Does anyone know if I can get a discounted ticket if I already live in Las Vegas and don't need to stay at the venue?
Click to expand...
In past camps there has been a "commuter" option (I think that's what it's called) for those who don't want to stay onsite.

I would suggest you contact them. They're generally pretty helpful.
 
unix-guy said:
In past camps there has been a "commuter" option (I think that's what it's called) for those who don't want to stay onsite.

I would suggest you contact them. They're generally pretty helpful.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I did reach out to them before writing my comment, haven't heard anything yet 🤞
 
Alright - I am officially booked!

Very excited to experience this event once again, see some old friends and meet some new ones!

I've been hoping for Dreamcatcher (and suggesting to them) to get Joe Robinson at one of these camps for a while, so I'm very happy!
 
I really wish I could go but after 6 months of being bedridden I can only walk again the past couple weeks and I'm unsure if I'll be up for such an event. But if there's a VA7 I'll go for sure!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom