[Magic Twanger]

Does anyone have any experience with these amps?

I played one yesterday and was surpringly impressed. Very Impressed.
I wasn't even in the "looking for an amp" mindset - however....

Cleans were very nice - full, clear - the clean (rhythm channel) channel can even get a bit aggresive - seemed more Bassman-like than Deluxe-like.
Reverb was nice - 2 knobs for lots of tonal options and control.

Lead Channel - was pretty slick.
Great note definition, big tone, loads of bass, lots of gain, lots of sustain - probably very good for Classic Rock, New Country Leads, some 80's hair rock, etc.

Both channels share the 3 band eq - which to me is usually a big no-no, but in this case it worked very well - both with humbuckers and single coils. Each channel has its own pull bright switch for a bit more variation.

Tube driven Fx loop - also very cool - although I did not try this feature out.

Boost feature available on each channel with controllable volume up to 10db - was the kicker for me.

I didn't try the whole scooped mids thing as that's not something I do - so I can't comment on that - it may not be the best choice for that style of playing - but I really don't know.

It was very 3-D sounding and sounded much bigger than most 1x12 combos that I heard or played through.

It seems like a very portable, versatile, gig-able tone monster - I will be taking one out on a gig this weekend to see how it holds up out in the "field."

Price point seems reasonable too. To me - much more usable than any of the Hot Rod amps or the Peavey Classic stuff - although they may be cheaper - I haven't checked in years....

Any comments or experiences - good, bad and ugly would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[david henman]

...i own a traynor ycv40wr, which i consider the top of this class. i'd also like to own a peavey classic 30. however, based on your review, and the looks of this thing, i'd like to test one out.

-dh

 

[Magic Twanger]

A review I posted on TGP.

Here's few thoughts after doing a gig with my buddy's Kustom '36 Coupe.

On this gig I played a variety of cover music from jazzy Nora Jones stuff to Disco, New Country to Guns and Roses - so I got to hear a pretty good cross reference of material.
It was a four piece band - Drums, bass, keys, guitar.

The gig was small to medium stage with great acoustics (lots of carpet and heavy curtains) so stage volume is fairly loud.

First, I set up the amp to what I thought were reasonable levels and good sounds - with no one else playing.
The guitar was a '57 RI Strat with Bill Lawrence 280's, 290's.

Clean Channel gain at 11:00
Master at NOON
Brite Switch on.

Lead Channel:
Gain at NOON
Master at 11:00
No Brite

Bass at 9:00
Middle at noon
Treble at noon

On these settings (when the whole band played) I got a little lost in the mix - especially on the lead channel.
Too brite on the clean channel and too dark and almost muddy on the lead channel.

The gig ended with the controls as follows:

Clean Channel gain at 2:00
Master at 2:00
Brite Switch OFF

Lead Channel:
Gain at 1:30
Master at 2:30
Brite Switch ON

Bass at 9:00
Middle at 2:00
Treble at 2:00

The clean channel and the clean boost were my favourite tones of the night - clean, powerful and glassy and with a touch of hair.
Certainly not a Deluxe Reverb tone, not Vox-y either - but sort of Bassman-y type of tone.
Good note definition and good clarity from both chords and single note stuff.
The lead channel was pretty thick, syrupy, loads of sustain - felt pretty compressed.
Not Marshall like - more of a Boogie saturated tone but different. Tons of bottom end. It was moving some air to be sure.

It was more of a distortion than an overdrive - if that makes any sense?
Again, good clarity and note definition with chords and single notes.

Lots of good compliments from my bandmates and sound guy - although they said it made me sound heavier than I usually am.
I felt the same way - not necessarily a bad thing - just different.

My regular rig is a '69 Deluxe Reverb or a '74 Vibrolux (ok, sometimes a Blues Junior) with a TS-9 and Clean boost.
My rig is great for clean tones but always a bit weak in the overdrive dept.

Back to the Kustom...
It was a very easy set up. Easy on the back.
Easy to find usable tones - easy to tweak on the fly.
Footswitch makes sense and is easy to see on stage.
Very user friendly amp.

Overall, I really liked it - great for a versatile gig like this one.

To me, It sounded incredible on its own - but not as great when the whole band kicked in.
I didn't notice the muddiness on the lead channel until we all played together - then it got a little difficult to dial it out.

I found myself playing on my bridge pick up a lot (for leads) - which is something I hardly ever do - just to brighten it up and help me cut through the mix better.

I would say that this amp would be a great consideration for those in the market for a channel switching combo.
Easily worth looking at for those who like the:
Fender Hot Rod;
Mesa F-50, F-30;
Peavey Classic;
Tech 21 Trademark 60;
Koch Twintone
and many others in that same camp.

Will I buy it? Unsure.
I need at least one more gig to tell for sure and I would need to spend a little more time with it - as I basically picked it up and went right to the gig...