John's Live At The Budokan sound

[TMKXL]

So I've just heard the CD, and I usually love his sounds, but I must say I'm not really satisfied with his sound on this one.
Yeah, his lead patch sounds decent, but his rythm tone is very electric, hard to describe, IMO too much treble and lacks a little depth/bass too, very harsh. Doesn't sound anything like his previous live sounds. And as I read in an interview, he and Mark Schnyder try to make his rig sound as his album as much as possible. Well, I think that that they were completely off.
I loved his sound on the LSFNY DVD, and Six Degrees tour, but this was bad. Anyone else heard the CD or watched the DVD? What did you think?




p.s: The Pull Me Under intro sound was awesome though, best clean I've ever heard!

[Jim Antonio]

Yep, i have to agree with you; The sound's not too defined and at times, he's buried by the excellent sounds of Jordan & Mike. He also appears too tight or stiff but maybe that's just me, hehe...

[marianozz]

still have to get the dvd, and every comment i read here and there makes me less willing...

[TMKXL]

The DVD is supposed to be the best Dream Theater has released, with commentary from every band member, different camera angle views and that kind of stuff. The gig was awesome, it's just John's rythm sound that isn't good.

[revsharp777]

Originally Posted by marianozz

still have to get the dvd, and every comment i read here and there makes me less willing...

Just get the DVD. Personally, his tone sounds fine to me. The DVD is excellent.

[Jim Antonio]

Oh yeah, the DVD is awesome, probably the best D/T has released. Personally, it's just something in John's sound that bothers Petrucci fanatics like me. But he's still full-on & if you can barely notice the nuances of his tone, it still sounds immaculate.

[Petie]

So what pedal is he using to get that playing-out-of-time-with-the-rest-of-the-band sound on Erotomania? I was pretty disappointed with that...

[marianozz]

Originally Posted by revsharp777

Just get the DVD. Personally, his tone sounds fine to me. The DVD is excellent.

Yeah, ill get it, today probably...

Its just the setlist, some disc problems i read about, and now Johns sound... lol...


i loved Metropolis 2000 too much

[zEr0]

I'm really looking forward for this DVD. Please don't start bashing it or I won't buy it... No, just kidding.

I just hope it's a great DVD!

[Carlo]

I liked the production of the DVD. They should have mixed John's guitars a lot loutder though!

[Rattlehead]

I've heard worse.
And anyone who even has a speck of interest in Dream Theater,and doesnt own this dvd,should be b!tch-slapped.

"He's got a feva"

"And his only prescription...is more cowbell."

[Ekim]

I was very disappointed by ToT, and thusly did not buy the Live In Boody-can.

But I just borrowed it and listening to the 5.1 mix in stereo, it sounds great. (That sounds weird, but it was the best way for me to listen on my A-V rig.)

It's very well filmed. I'll likely buy it sometime.

[mattyo5150]

I just have this to say about this dvd. It ****en rocks big time. John's tone is just pure John and I read this topic b4 I saw the dvd but now I have seen it I must ask whether the person who started it is on drugs, because JPs tone kicks on this even though he is drowned out at times by the rest of the band. He also manages to pull off the shredding outro to This Dying soul with what looks like apparent ease and I must say the rest of the band also looks like they are circus performers because at times I would swear that they are machines programmed to play with such precision and Jordans twirly keyboard stand was just further evidence of this to me I hope DT takes the time to come to Australia in the next few years bcos Mike's tendinitous is ****ing killng him and I don't wish to see MP playing in a neck brace ala AVH. Just my 2 cents.

[sam_at2001]

Originally Posted by TMKXL

The DVD is supposed to be the best Dream Theater has released, with commentary from every band member, different camera angle views and that kind of stuff. The gig was awesome, it's just John's rythm sound that isn't good.

Don't think theres a commentary on it - there is on the New York and double disc set though (the live in tokyo and once in a livetime).

That for me is the only downfall of the dvd - otherwise it absolutely owns. The Petrucci sweeps in Stream of Consciousness are scary - you can't really see his left hand move...it's like they just go to the frets instantly. Also, the multi-camera instrumedly is worth twice the price of the dvd alone...it's amazing!!!

[zEr0]

I bought this one a couple of days ago and it's not that bad but it doesn't OWN either.

Here's my humble review of what I liked and disliked about it:

Good things:

- I dig JP's tone. Don't know why some of you guys say it sux. Sometimes it's not loud enough but qualitatively it's a gorgeous sound.
- Great video (finally a musical DVD shot in Widescreen!).
- Great audio.
- No un-skippable introduction (main menu appears instantly).
- Multi-angle Instrumedley is great for didactic reasons.

Bad things:

-I hate the new looks of every single band member (except JM). JP looks like an ass with his new haircut. JR looks like an uglier version of Rob Halford. MP looks like one of the beatles, only fatter. Somehow I don't like JLB's hair either. It probably isn't a matter of disliking their looks per se, but it just seems to me like it's a whole new set of players playing DT songs. I don't know if anyone gets the same feeling but I hate it.
- LaBrie keeps singing out of tune FFS.
- No commentaries
- Lame add-ons
- Mediocre setlist

I'm a big DT fan and overall, I think the DVD is OK. It captures in video the ToT phase of DT's career (just as the other 3 Dvd's capture different times) and therefore some people will dig it more than others. I also think no serious DT enthusiast should be without it but my favourite will always remain the Metropolis Live Scenes DVD (probably because that's my favourite album).