New Amp: Diezel VH2

I’ve been watching this amp sit at a local shop for a while - one I’ve talked about before, and funnily enough, the same place I got my Diezel Einstein last year: Jimmy’s Vintage Music. If you are ever in the Tampa or Central Florida areas, I’d HIGHLY encourage you to go check out this shop. It’s run by one guy - Jimmy of course - and he maintains one of the best high end vintage guitar stores I’ve ever seen. I feel lucky to live close enough that I can make it out there occasionally, and now that he updates the site pretty often with new gear, it’s really convenient (I remember when he used to list occasional things on craigslist but you never really knew what he had in stock back then!).

Anyway, he’s had this VH2 for a little while. It’s an amp on my list, but I always figured I’d eventually get my hands on a VH4 someday so it was never a huge priority, especially for the prices I was seeing them for elsewhere online. After seeing the price drop on this one locally though, I had to jump on it, so I drove down there last week with a pair of Ibanezes as potential trades. I ended up keeping the guitars… no problem there, and I suspect Jimmy’s clientele are more into the classic Fender/Gibson type stuff. I have to mention that Jimmy is a really great guy to deal with - he was honest about what he could and couldn’t take in trade based on his regulars, and still gave me a really fair price on the amp to buy it outright. Let me put it this way, I’ve been there many times, and I’ve always left very happy.

No surprise, the amp is in pristine shape - original footswitch included. These have only been out for a few years, and this one is quite recent by my standards as a 2021 model. This is a two channel amp designed for a little more mass appeal, sort of your entry point into the Diezel sound for the low low price of $3000 brand new. A quick overview of the model lineup at the time of writing: The VH2 is the least expensive model in the lineup of “full size” heads, alongside the Hagen, Herbert, and VH4, all of which are $4000+. There is also a line of smaller form factor heads - but unlike other manufacturers, the smaller heads are still beasts, with the VHX and D-Moll sporting 100w power sections. The other “small” heads are the 45w Paul and BigMax (with the BigMax being the least expensive in that form factor at $2500 with only a single channel).

In short, if you want to get into the Diezel sound, the VH2 is the go-to amp for a lot of people just based on price and features alone. The VH2’s Channel 1 is based on the Paul’s clean channel, which is well regarded for a high gain amp. The real highlight though, and I suspect the main reason most are interested in this amp, the VH2’s Channel 2 is supposedly the same as the VH4’s famous Channel 3.

I’m not as familiar with the buzz around this myself - I’ve listened to some Tool, like a few tracks, but it’s not the tone I dream about late at night (that’s not to say it isn’t good of course). I also know Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan are big users of the VH4 in general, channel 3 included. I wouldn’t dare call it “overhyped,” but there is definitely a subset of guitarists who are a bit fanatical in their appreciation of the VH4 Channel 3’s sound and whoever uses it.

Okay, hype aside how does it sound? Well, I haven’t played a VH4 yet so I really can’t compare to that yet. I will say it’s a chunky sounding amp, but much brighter than the Herbert Mk1 when I A/B tested them. It also has far less gain than I expected, and a little less low-mid gut punch. I think I had in my mind it was going to be a heavy metal amp, and it can be, but it’s certainly less saturated than the Herbert for example, and it doesn’t get as gainy as my Einstein either. Of course, boosting with a tubescreamer sounds great, a la single channel JCM800, but this is no Marshall clone by any stretch. It’s hard to say really, because I need to spend a little more time with it to really feel out what it can do. It didn’t blow my socks off immediately like I felt the first time I played a Herbert, but I think a lot of that is just my approach to a new amp, where I crank the gain and rip out some heavy riffs. That’s not to say it isn’t an excellent amp for heavier tones, I think I just need to coax it a little bit more and admittedly I’ve been busy, so I’m only a few hours into spending time with it as I write this. It does get a little undefined with the gain too high, so that’s kind of limiting - in order to keep some clarity, I have the gain at about 1-2 O’clock, but that’s not enough saturation for my liking.

As for the clean channel, it’s an acceptable clean channel but it definitely doesn’t wow me. It’s very flat, and probably great for effects or with an EQ to shape your sound to what you want, but on its own it’s a bit plain. It does sound really good with the gain cranked up as a pseudo-crunch channel though, with very natural feel to the overdrive.

Construction, fit and finish, and quality are all absolutely top tier and it shows. The preamp tubes are PCB mounted but that never bothered me, but I know some feel differently especially in this price range. It has absolutely massive transformers, and my understanding is that these are the same ones as the full size VH4. Of course, it still has me thinking about the VH4 and wondering what I can get out of that amp’s Ch2 and Ch4… I guess that’s the point.

More pictures here

New Guitar: 1990 Kramer Proaxe Special in Pearly White

There have been a lot of really appealing guitars posted for sale lately, maybe everyone else like me who accumulated a lot of nice gear during COVID is finally letting go… or maybe this is another “found it in the closet” situation. I came close to pickup up a few but I really need to tighten my belt right now. Either way, someone traded this gorgeous pearl white Proaxe Special into GC and I jumped on it. I probably overpaid a little bit for this one, but this is a pretty exciting one - I’ve always got Proaxe money.

Proaxes were Kramer’s final hurrah just before bankruptcy and are very unique guitars. It’s really a shame they didn’t hold out for another year or two because I really believe these are some of the finest bolt-on neck guitars ever made. It may look like a more standard late 80s Kramer Pacer Imperial, but there are quite a few differences. This is the “Special” model, which has a more standard H-H pickup layout. There is also the “Standard” which is H-S and the “Deluxe” which is H-S-S. The vast majority of these were made in either solid black or black sparkle, which makes any color including this pearl white fairly rare.

The most obvious key difference is that neck - an ebony fretboard, 24 3/4” scale, and an extremely thin R1 nut width. There’s really nothing else like it, aside Nightswans maybe. It’s really a shame that before this guitar, and since, no one has made a really nice thin neck shredder quite like this - yeah I love my Ibanezes, Charvels, and more but they don’t quite have this feel. This particular example has a reversed headstock, just like the catalogs. I have another Proaxe with a non reversed neck so it’s cool to have both. this neck also has an absolutely stunning flame to it which looks amazing in the right light.

Moving on to the body, it’s equipped with a unique bridge as well - the recently discontinued Floyd Rose Pro. This was also the first guitar to have a Floyd Pro, and it’s a truly superb bridge. Adding to firsts, this is also the first guitar to have the Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis humbucker, which at the time of release was simply called “Trembucker,” which is also stamped on the bottom plate of the pickup. I absolutely adore these pickups, and I’ve had all 3 models now (this is equivalent to the original PATB-1, but there is also a PATB-2 and PATB-3 now). There’s something about it that just feels slinky, easy to play, but there’s still a lot of mids and punch so it’s not a scooped pickup either. The body is also unique, both because of its unique contours and shaping as it evolved from the 7/8 soloist body shape, but also its mahogany construction.

It lacks the 3 knob and mini-toggle of its Pacer Imperial predecessor, in trade for a larger standard 3-way switch and a simple volume & tone control layout. I do like those 3-knob Pacers, especially early ones that were configured as two vol one tone, but there’s certainly something to be said for simplicity and easy of use here.

Overall, this is one of the best playing guitars in my entire collection and come to think of it, I’ve never had a Proaxe that wasn’t incredible. I think that holds true for a lot of players, because they only made a few hundred of these at most and almost every one I’ve seen has its share of battle scars and playing marks. I really think almost every Proaxe has been played quite a bit, compared to other models where you occasionally find a pristine example, that’s much harder to find here. That doesn’t stop me from loving these though, and I’m so glad to have a pair of them. Now all I have to do is find one of the 5? 10? maple fretboard Proaxes out there.

One side note, if you have one of these and ever ship it, for goodness sakes, do not allow it to slide around inside the case. These headstocks are extremely fragile, moreso than earlier Kramers it seems, and it really pains me to see such a special neck that will never be produced again destroyed. Remember, it doesn’t matter how much padding you place around the headstock, if the headstock can touch the inside of the case when the body slides around, it’s as good as broken. Think of it like protecting an endangered species!

More pictures here

New Amp: 2005 Brunetti XL R-EVO II

I have been on the lookout for a nice Brunetti amp to try for quite some time, but here in the US they are quite hard to come by - and expensive when they do show up. I wasn’t too particular on the model, I wanted to get to “know the brand” and what makes in unique and sometimes that means casting a wide net, similar to the way I handled ENGL (which started as one amp and now I’ve had 9 of them!).

Brunetti has been making amps officially since 1993, starting with the Mille! preamp. This led to a full-size head version which is probably the best-known Brunetti amp on my side of the pond, the XL “Extra Lead.” The XL was a 3-channel high gain amp available in 2-power tube and 4-power tube configurations for 60w or 120w respectively. This design had a separate EQ for the clean channel, but the “boost” and “xl” channels shared an EQ, though they retained separate gain and volume controls, along with a few voicing switches.

Next in this lineage is the amp I have recently acquired, the XL R-EVO II.

This amp differs from the original XL, with separate EQ’s for all 3 channels, although lacking the front panel switches. Like its predecessor, it also has a unique physical feature; the 1U rack mount slot. I always thought this was a really cool idea, and the head box itself is not much taller than your standard Marshall style shell. It isn’t particularly deep, but my beloved Yamaha SPX90 fits perfectly.

So how does it sound? Pretty good! Cleans are quite scooped, bright and sparkly, but most importantly highly customizable with a lot of range in the EQ. I also love a clean channel with a gain control, so you can get a little bit of hair on it if you prefer a pushed clean tone. It’s very elastic feeling to play, and I have to say this is one of the best clean channels I’ve heard on a high gainer - it almost feels like there is a compressor on all the time and makes spanky rhythms and clean fills a lot of fun to play. The XLead channel really rips - super high gain, and super saturated tone. I don’t have a schematic but it really feels like it’s in between that SLO-5150/6505 territory, and it stays surprisingly together even with the gain near max. The Depth control of the power amp enhances this a lot, and interestingly the depth control all the way maxed (in the “extra” area) doesn’t flub out or overwhelm you, and adds a lot of low-mid punch. That’s not to say the bass is rolled off though, it’s full sounding and depending on your pick attack and/or speakers, it can get a bit squishy. I like this feel when playing, and it makes lead lines stand out really well, but it’s not going to do that ultra-tight Mesa Mark type sound (and I wouldn’t expect it to anyway). My sources tell me that the Mille! and original XL circuit is heavily SLO inspired, so that makes sense, and comparing this amp side by side with my Soldano Avenger I can hear some similarities, but the Brunetti is a bit more polished and polite at neutral EQ settings. I’d love to know the exact differences between the XL and this XL REVO under the hood.

Now the one issue - I bought this amp As-Is, with a non-working Boost channel. I was able to work out a very good deal and it was worth the risk… this won’t be the first amp to come through my hands that I needed to repair. Luckily, it seems like it’ll be an easy fix, as the entire amp sounds fantastic except the boost channel which has a loud buzzing sound (probably open ground from a cracked solder joint). I’ll take a look with my tech team and fix it right up.

Don’t worry, I didn’t let them actually touch the inside of the amp. Safety first!

Great amp to have in the collection, and now I really want to get an original XL, or one of the other cool older Brunetti amps like the 059 or Mille!.

It’s also worth mentioning that Brunetti is still in business and currently producing amps, cabinets, and effects pedals. In fact, there is a current production Mille being offered this year, as well as a flagship boutique head called the “Mercury.” Definitely worth checking out.

More pictures available here

New Guitar: '82 Kramer Pacer Imperial Transparent Blue

I have a real soft spot for these early Kramers, especially lately. I’ve been trying to get my hands on a few more models with Rockingers, Brass/Fulcrum trems, or even an ESP Flicker. This popped up used at GC and I figured I’d roll the dice and see how it turned out.

When it arrived, it came in its original tan leather case, missing the handle. This was common on these cases as the handle is plastic and a little loose at the joint - if it is in the wrong position when you pick it up, it’ll snap the handle off. It also had an old double creme Dimarzio in the bridge position… sadly with a dead coil. Luckily, I had the period correct spare Schaller humbucker, so I fixed it right up. Cavity covers are all missing, but it came with a strap with a nice smoky flavor. The body has a lot of bumps and bruises, along with several cracks in the clearcoat, but the neck is in much better shape on the back where I really care about it. The caked on dirt and grime is evidence this guitar was definitely played and was probably someone’s main gigging guitar for a long time.

In hindsight, I probably should’ve complained a little, but there’s some appeal to this one. It is a very low B serial number, with a rosewood fretboard which is pretty uncommon for the time period (most necks had Maple fretboards). I’m not a heavy whammy bar user, so I actually like the Rockinger “Edward Van Halen Tremolo,” and I also like the dulled brass appearance along with the gold Gotoh tuners. This bridge along with the twin humbucker pickups is what denotes this as an “Imperial” model, as opposed to the “Custom” which at this time was a 2-humbucker brass trem model.

Early Rockinger bridges like this had no height adjustment screws on the saddles, so they had to be removed to raise the string height. You can also tell by the locking mechanism behind the nut which has 6 individual screws, one for each string. Later Rockingers added height adjustment screws to the saddles and combined the high E/B strings into a single locking screw to reduce breakage.

I also love the sound of these old Schaller pickups, in this case a pair of hex-pole 2-in-1’s, which are a bit higher output than the Golden 50’s that were also common on Kramers of this period. Each pickup has its own volume control, which I really like, and a master tone. I actually prefer this setup to later Pacer Imperials which switched to a master volume + two tone controls by 1983.

Playability is excellent, although this is no modern shred guitar. Vintage sized frets and a fairly curved radius mean it has a very classic feel, with low action and a light touch and very spanky for a guitar with two humbuckers. It’s easy to think of the modern super strat as an HH or HSS guitar like this, with a pointy headstock and jumbo frets, but this is where it all started and for the time was probably one of the best playing instruments you could buy.

Minor cosmetic issues aside, another great one to add to the collection (and a serviceable replacement for my old pointy trans blue Pacer Imperial, which I sold back in 2021 and sorely miss).

More pictures available here

New Guitar: 1985 Robin Wedge Custom

This is a guitar I have long lusted after, and it’s been on the “wanted” list of my about page for years. They didn’t make many of these, and I’ve missed a few and regretted it. I finally spotted one online and pulled the trigger.

Robin guitars, based in Houston TX, was originally run out of a more regular guitar shop called “Rockin’ Robin Guitars,” which opened in 1972. By 1982, Robin had built their first guitars through Tokai in Japan (I still want one of these). By the mid 80s, they were having models made by ESP, also in Japan, and shipped to Texas for final touches or upgrades, and that’s where this model comes in.

In 1985, along with a handful of other more well known models such as the Medley and Ranger, came the Wedge. The Wedge had two different types - the Standard, which was a bolt- on neck, and the Custom, as pictured here. The Custom was a set-neck guitar, made from mahogany with custom triangular inlays and a fully bound ebony fretboard and headstock. The Custom could come as mine, with a fixed tune-o-matic style bridge, or could have a Kahler installed at Rockin’ Robin upon arrival to Texas. This model is where the pointy “blade” style reverse headstock first originated - early prototpes had the more rounded style reverse headstock similar to the Tokai models. This headstock of course made it onto future models and became the standard Robin headstock shape on models like the Medley all the way until they were discontinued. According to founder David Wintz, less than 200 Wedges were ever made between both models.

Robin transitioned to USA manufacturing in 1988, and by then the Wedge was long discontinued.

It’s surprisingly comfortable to play sitting down in the “classical” position, but it won’t sit straight across unless you squeeze your legs together. Standing up is much more natural, although on mine there is some neck dive as it’s a bit heavier than the body. Playability is excellent as expected of an ESP-made guitar from this era, and it’s quite similar to my Kramers (also ESP made) from the same time frame - that’s a good thing in my eyes.

This particular Wedge is in very good shape with minimal dings or scratches, but sadly it must’ve been dropped or fell down on the lowest point if the guitar is held vertically because a small piece of wood is missing. Someone sanded this down flat and repainted it, and they did a very good job of it because it’s hardly noticeable, but it is clear on a close inspection.

Still, I’m thrilled to finally have my hands on this rare beast, and especially with its original form-fitting case. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to find a case otherwise! It makes a great pair with my Ibanez XV500 as well - two radically shaped guitars, made in extremely limited quantities, from 1985. I suppose now I need a Kramer Triaxe. I particularly love the detail and beveled edges of the body shape, looking at it closer it has a lot more going on besides the sideways V-shape.

More pictures available here

I think this one definitely qualifies as a “totally rad guitar.”

New Amp: 2004 Soldano Hot Rod 50X Plus signed by Mike Soldano

I’ll admit, I splurged on this one and probably paid a little too much. I had my heart set on an Avenger, and I finally was able to check that one off my list just a few months ago. I thought my Soldano GAS was through, but when I spotted this red tolex, white chassis Hot Rod I decided it was worth a shot.

It has two less power tubes than my 100w Avenger, but gains an extra preamp tube for the effects loop. This amp design is closely related to the budget Jet City models such as the JCA50 or the JCA22 which I am intimately familiar with - I did my first ever amp circuit mods on a JCA22.

The first Hot Rod amps were basically more budget minded SLO’s, lacking the crunch mode and the large DeYoung transformers that made those amps famous, starting production in 1991 with the single channel 50w model. 100w models came later in 1994, and the plus version, like mine, started in 1995. These were made until 2005 before being replaced with an updated version for 2006, which removed the slave out from the rear and added a depth control to the front panel, sort of combining together the Avenger line and the Hot Rod line into one (aptly named the “Hot Rod Avenger”). There is also a Hot Rod 25, introduced in 2012.

The naming can be a bit confusing, but the original Hot Rod amps had two inputs and a very stripped down 6-knob, single channel design. The plus models added the second channel but sacrificed the low input. The Avengers first came out in 2003, and were similar to the single-channel Hot Rods, with the same two inputs and one channel, adding the depth control, and removing the effects loop along with a few tweaks to the voicing for more aggressive tones. This was during the era of ever-more-complicated multichannel amps, and a sizable number of guitar players really wanted that stripped down amp design, thinking even having the effects loop present negatively affected the tone - I’m not sure I believe that myself, but I’m sure that had a part in influencing the Avenger design.

Anyway, back to the Hot Rod. This is a great sounding amp, with the classic Soldano lead tone - bright, punchy, and extremely clear. It sports all Mercury Magnetics transformers. The “normal” channel also sounds quite good, although it shares the EQ with the overdrive channel so it does have some limitations there. Still, it feels quite natural when switching channels, keeping the same core tone with less gain and a hair brighter with the preamp knob set at half or below. The overdrive channel gets quite gainy but can be a little loose on the bottom end without a boost, but its open character means it’ll take that boost very well. I’ve played it a few times boosted with a Klon Clone and it takes the natural tone of the amp and kicks it into high gear, or alternatively using a Boss SD-1 or Tubescreamer and the bottom end tighten up while the mids get more prominent - great for solos or metal rhythms, especially with lower tunings. Truly a staple of high gain tones, and for good reason - and quite different tonally from its estranged family (Rectos and 5150/6505’s).

This particular amp was signed by Mike Soldano at some point, but it isn’t dated. I speculate that it must’ve been pretty recent, perhaps the amp had a health check in Seattle and that’s when it was signed. The amp is in absolutely minty shape so either way, it was very well taken care of.

More photos available here

New Guitar: Kramer Baretta I Claw Neck

I spotted this online and figured I’d roll the dice on it. It arrived in a case with no packing/bubble/paper inside or in the box either - by some insane stroke of luck, nothing was damaged (thanks GC). It’s a very early Baretta I, F39xx with the first run of Claw inlay necks.

Some quick history: The Baretta evolved from the Pacer Special as a single humbucker guitar built for straight forward rock and metal players - obviously heavily influenced by Eddie Van Halen. The first models actually called “Barettas” came out sometime in 1984, although there are some guitars that are very similar (the so called non-tilt “grails” from late ‘83, but there was never any official document calling them Barettas at the time). Pickups were originally Schallers but quickly became Seymour Duncan JB’s - always in reverse Zebra color. These Barettas initially had the tilt-back banana headstock shape, then the pointy with block logo in the early E1xxx plate range, then gained the Pyramid or “descending” logo somewhere around E9xxx. At the same time, a new body shape was designed for the Pacer custom - this is usually called the “sololist” or “sharp radiused” body - and by E7xxx this spawned a submodel called the Baretta II. These also started with the block logo pointy necks, then pyramid logos shortly after introduction. Neither the Baretta or Baretta II got recessed floyd routes until roughly E13xxx. Around this time, the Baretta was renamed “Baretta I” to follow the same naming convention with the Baretta II. Serial plates from around F1xxx until F3xxx were lost - never used on factory production Kramers, though these plates still pop up quite often as they were sold at the firesale or to various collectors. By the time the serial plates turned black (instead of chrome as before), the Baretta I and Baretta II both had recessed floyd rose bridges and additionally, a body contour carved out of the lower horn to improve upper fret access. The Baretta I retained this body shape from this time all the way up until Kramer went out of business in April 1990. Baretta II’s got one last upgrade, moving from the large soloist body shape down to the “7/8” sized dinky body shape by F5xxx, which had the same features (lower horn cut and recessed floyd rose bridge). Very late 7/8 bodies have the lower horn carved on both sides of the body - but that’s a topic for another day.

The first claw inlay necks with the 12th fret Kramer logo appeared in this F39xx range, and that’s what this guitar has. In fact, out of the hundreds of vintage Kramer’s I’ve cataloged over the years, this is the earliest factory serial number example I’ve seen of a claw neck. These necks were available all the way until the end of the Baretta in 1990.

For anyone interested, as an avid Kramer collector I do keep a catalog of Kramer serial numbers and guitars for sale, and reference the VK registry (which hasn’t been updated in a while - good thing too) along with archived forum posts and other resources. It’s fairly common for people to buy vintage Kramers and swap necks or sell other parts, so nothing is a sure thing anymore - it’s been 34+ years since any Kramer left the factory so who knows what could happen in that amount of time. I’ve done this myself, for example I swapped the maple neck from E8377 to my Deluxe E8192 - a relatively harmless change that is still completely period correct. However, there are people who don’t know or don’t care about period correct history so you have to watch out for things that are wildly off - and with Kramer, documentation was poor, catalogs didn’t reflect many changes or even whole models, warranty neck replacements and lots of other oddities and small batches mean that it’s a convoluted mess to collect these - plus the confusion attracts some bad actors who want to take advantage of the situation. There are some signs, patterns, and trends that can be tracked though - I can spot a modified guitar with great accuracy, unless the whole thing is exactly period correct in which case I don’t really care if a neck was swapped for another because there’s no difference - Larry Luthier could’ve grabbed either one in the factory on that day in 1987 depending on how many beers he’d had so why do I care now 40 years later exactly which neck it came out of the factory with. What does bother me is parts that are used way outside of serial range, for example a claw neck on a C-plate body or some other mismatch of parts that was never possible (ex. Pacer Deluxes were never available with claw necks or reverse headstocks from the factory).

Here’s the timeline for referencing these Baretta models. Remember that serial numbers are only a guideline, some were used out of order, one box pulled off the shelf first and so on, but it’s still a useful way to track feature changes.

• C32xx first year non-tilt “Barettas” released, very few made and quickly changed (apparently EVH didn’t like these being sold). Based on a Pacer Special with Ibanez Destroyer-style headstock (modified from a beak headstock neck).

• C45xx non-oversized non-tilt banana headstocks show up, not just on Barettas but rarely other models too

• C55xx angled banana headstock shape appears along with “Baretta” model name in catalogs and flyers. Beak headstock still in use for most models at this time, but eventually all models used the Baretta-style banana headstock shape.

• E0xxx Banana necks phased out for Pointy. Block logo, some missing “American” script on logo, some have one-piece or skunk-stripe construction before 3-piece necks introduced. Switch to Seymour Duncan pickups.

• E2xxx to E6xxx recessed back plates

• E68xx Baretta II introduced, uses large soloist body of the Pacer Custom

• E9xxx Pyramid logo replaces block logo

• E13xxx Recessed floyd routes appear

• F4xxx Claw necks and Baretta I lower horn scoop introduced (the Baretta featured in this post falls into this area)

• F45xx Soloist body guitars (Baretta II, Pacer Customs) get lower horn scoop

• F54xx Soloist body downsized to 7/8 “dinky” body, collared floyd arms show up on production guitars

• F94xx 7/8 body contours added to rear of both horns, similar to Proaxe

• G0xxx Proaxe introduced, mahogany 7/8 contoured body plus angled neck plate, and change to 24 3/4 scale

Hopefully that helps clear some things up for other collectors. Thanks for reading.

More photos available here

New Amp: Hughes & Kettner Triamp Mk 1

This is another amp I occasionally look for because I suspect it would be an amazing bang for the buck snag, especially with the current Mk 3 Triamp retailing for a whopping $4400. In contrast, Mk 2’s are hovering in the $1300 range and this old Mk 1 only ran me about $650. In particular I was waiting to find one that had either the original footswitch or the MSM-1 Midi controller installed - well I really lucked out because this particular one came with both!

It’s in pretty good condition all around, and it is a very heavy amp with a lot of tubes. These were available with either a quad EL34 or quad 6L6 power section - mine has EL34’s. The preamp contains 8x 12AX7 tubes, plus another 12AX7 phase inverter - so 13 tubes total. The only amp with more that I own are Mesa Triple Rectifiers, with 14 total tubes, though there’s a lot more in the power section there. Interestingly, the Fender Super-Sonic 100 also has 13 total tubes.

The previous owner did replace the back panel with a nicely cut piece of wood, which has the reverb tank attached to the back - this is normal for Mk1 Triamps, though the original back plate would’ve been a metal grate. I’ve never seen another amp mount the reverb tank this way, and the RCA cables go directly into the rear panel of the amp, where a master reverb control sits. I found the reverb to sound very good, although this is an aftermarket tank so I can’t comment on the factory configuration - but usually a bad reverb has to do with the circuit more than the type of tank itself in my experience. The drawback is that with a single mix control, it’s difficult to dial in reverb to your liking for cleans or light crunch tones without ending up with too much on your higher gain tones.

This is effectively a six channel amp as well, so it does make a few sacrifices in getting you there. These channels are separated into 3 “Amps,” where they have separate gain controls but shared EQ and master volume controls. I was pleasantly surprised at how closely matched the volume levels were between channels, but there are some issues especially on “Amp 1,” which is the cleaner side of things.

Amp 1’s two channels, A and B, are voiced noticeably apart. “A” is much brighter and spankier, but gets a very nice dirty tone with the gain turned up too. The drawback is that “B” is a bit darker and fuller sounding, so that shared master volume can be a problem here if you prefer two gain extremes - for example, using B as a crunch tone with the gain up and A for a very clean sound is not really workable in a live situation. With the controls near noon, they are closely volume matched though.

Amp 2’s channels follow the same basic voicing - “A” is brighter while “B” is darker and fuller. Both have similar amounts of overdrive available, and it seemed like anything but the most extreme settings kept the volume very close between them. This is definitely a British crunch inspired channel and the extra voicing/gain control is great for going from a rhythm or lead sound in that classic rock crunch realm.

Amp 3 changes things up a bit, with “A” being a bit of a “super crunch” channel (I’m hesitant to call it high gain, in the modern sense), while “B” is a much more saturated sounding high gain sound. It’s not really brighter or darker than A - maybe a little more hair on top - but a lot more gain available than A has even with A’s gain maxed out (which is still very tight feeling, impressive). Amp 3B definitely scratches my itch for instant gratification, it sounds and feels great to play, is voiced in a way that sounds great through both my V30’s and G12T75’s even with the EQ controls at noon, and gets saturated enough for classic metal tones and other heavier styles. It does not get nearly as saturated as many modern high gainers - this is no Diezel Herbert or Peavey 5150 kind of sound, it is much more polite than that. It also keeps it together a bit more, with less lows and extreme highs compared to something like a Rectifier or V-EQ’d Mark. I’d put it squarely in the more classic high gain territory and I’d prefer to use a boost on either A or B mode if I needed a more modern heavy sound. That doesn’t make it any less great sounding for what it does.

Here is the factory 7-button footswitch, which allows switching of any of the 3 “amps” and their A/B modes on the fly. The last button is for the effects loop, and this does not affect the Reverb - too bad. I figure they may as well have just done 8 switches so I could turn the Reverb off, and that single knob is a big limitation as I mentioned before. I haven’t used the MSM-1 yet, but I do wonder if the Reverb can be turned on/off via MIDI, which might solve the issue.

Interestingly, the Triamp Mk2 gives up its Reverb completely, so I figure others had the same complaints that I do about it. Personally I’d rather have the Reverb than not though, so while I haven’t played a Mk2, I’m very happy to have this Mk1. From what I’ve read, the Mk2’s main changes are related to the balance between Amp 1 A/B and Amp 2 A mode, so I wonder if that amp fixes my complaints about the volume differences when playing Amp 1 dirty. The Triamp Mk3 version solves that issue entirely by being a true 6-channel amp, where all channels/modes have separate gain, volume, and EQ controls, plus a noise gate. Apparently the Mk1 is more reliable as well, but that’s all hearsay - and judging by the very complicated looking internals of this amp, I’m sure it’d be a complicated amp to fix if something did go wrong.

Tangentially, these original Triamps came paired with a 4x12 cabinet that contained a quad of UK-made Celestion G12M25 Greenback speakers. I actually bought one of these cabinets earlier this month, but sadly the original speakers were all gone and replaced with some generic garbage so I had to return it. I’ve seen a handful of these Greenback equipped 4x12’s floating around in the $400-500 range, which these days is an absolute steal for that set of speakers, if they are still present. Eventually I’ll find one for myself, but I think it’s also worth noting that the original design of this amp was to be used with Greenbacks. I think that says a lot about why it excels so much in some of the more classic crunch and metal sounds. In contrast, the matching cabinet for the Mk2 switched to the more common V30 speaker, and the matching Mk3 cabinet is a H&K made speaker - no more celestions.

Overall, a really great sounding amp with great features.

More photos available here

New Amp: Rivera Knucklehead K-Tre

There are few groups of amps that are perpetually on my list to buy, with the end goal of eventually trying and comparing them all. One of those is the Rivera Knucklehead series, which started with a two channel amp which was more of a “Fender Clean + Slightly Gainier JCM800” kind of thing, back when that was a more novel idea. Next came the 3-channel Knucklehead Reverb, famously used on a handful of metal albums but most notably on Slipknot’s first few records, and sporadically since - this resulted in the KR7 Mick Thomson signature amp, which is the version that I own. Generally speaking I don’t like “signature” stuff, but I couldn’t refuse the price of the KR7 - but I’d have preferred a standard KR100.

While the 3-channel KR55 and KR100 amps were being produced, a new model called the “Knucklehead II” came out, which was a simpler design that was kind of a hybrd between the old and new Knuckleheads. The II had a fender-like clean channel, but instead of a crunch channel, the second channel of the II was an all out high gain monster. This amp seems to be pretty unpopular - someday I’ll find out for myself.

Then came this amp - the K-Tre. This is clearly based on the II, with the same headshell size and a nearly identical front panel. I didn’t realize quite how old these amps are - this one dates from 2006. The modern K-Tre Reverb is again another very similar amp, just adding a spring reverb single control for it, and that version is still available brand new today. In fact, according to the Rivera website at the time of writing, even this non-reverb K-Tre is still available, but I couldn’t actually find one for sale anywhere (whereas the K-Tre Reverb is readily available in stock at Sweetwater and other retailers).

Most chatter online is that the reverb and non-reverb K-Tre amps sound different from each other, with a few comments that the Reverb version is more aggressive and modern sounding. I have to wonder if this is a case where there were some circuit revisions along the way, so comparing a 2024 K-Tre vs a 2024 K-Tre Reverb would likely sound identical, but obviously comparing a 2006 K-Tre vs a 2024 K-Tre Reverb would sound quite a bit different because it has nearly 20 years of voicing, design, or part revisions since then.

I also think it is interesting that the Knucklehead II is considered one of the “bad ones.” It looks the same as the Tre, but the II has even more tonal shaping options - a master volume for the clean channel, and the gain channel has pull switches on all 3 EQ controls (Sweet, Scoop, and Bass Boost). The Tre’s (both my 2006 and current production) don’t have any pull controls on the gain channel. Not that more controls means better tone of course.

To make things even a bit more confusing, I’ve seen a Tre Reverb with a 1999 date code, but the earliest “II” I can find is from 2003. So I have to wonder if the “II” was designed to be an upgrade of sorts to the K-Tre models, but fell flat for whatever reason - voicing changes, or maybe the extra tweaking added by the pull controls just confused people. We guitar players are a fickle bunch, and plenty of amps have died unceremonious deaths due to “it’s complicated to dial in” perceptions even if the actual amp circuit and tone was identical to its predecessor (Peavey Butcher II comes to mind…).

So, convoluted history aside, this is a really awesome sounding amp. I find it unique sounding compared with the KR7, and definitely different than the Bonehead. The clean is no surprise - Rivera excellence - and the gain channel I’ve heard compared to a Mesa Rectifier which I can see, but the low end feels a lot different on the Rivera. It can get a little muddy if you aren’t careful with the Foundation control, but keep it in check and it tightens up nicely. Overdriven chords are extra chunky and it’s a little easier to play than the KR7, if that makes sense. It can do metal gain levels right out of the box, but a boost in front really helps keep that low end in check, so I wouldn’t pick this over say, a 6505 or Uberschall for the same basic type of sound. I’d actually put it in a very similar category to the Elmwood M90 I just picked up too, it’s an amp that has its own very unique voicing and sound, can do ultra high gain, but my favorite tones are somewhere in the “heavy crunch” territory, and I’d boost it for faster palm muted riffing. Now to try a II… and a Tre Reverb… and a K55…

More photos available here

New Amp: Elmwood M90

The first time I’d ever seen - or heard rather - an Elmwood was in an Ola Englund demo video (back when it was just “FearedSE”). I remember thinking it sounded awesome, added it to some metal playlist on my old youtube account, and promptly forgot about it for most of a decade.

But let’s face it, I have a lot of amps, so now it’s time to explore some of the more uncommon, less popular stuff. Sometimes that means quirky budget amps like last week’s Peavey Butcher, but this time, it’s this Swedish made monstrosity.

It’s a pretty small head, physically speaking, but plenty heavy with large and uniquely shaped transformers. This is the big brother to the Elmwood M60, and as far as I can tell the only difference between the two is that this M90 is a KT88/6550 equipped amp while the M60 sports a pair of either EL34 or 6L6 power tubes. Both have the same controls and features - two channels, each with drive/boosts, and a pair of master volumes. Later M60’s also have a pentode/triode standby switch for power tube operation - looks like the M90’s always operate in pentode mode.

This particular amp seems to have lived an interesting life - it was sold on Reverb over 8 years ago, and at that time it had the stock piano black plastic face panel. It was traded on TGP, this time with a new dark wood grained panel, behind a plexiglass front, and newly printed control names - before popping up again on Reverb in 2023 and then traded in to GC where I got it. It looks like they used the correct font, but they couldn’t replicate the “M90 Modena” logo that normally goes about the power and standby switches. Additionally, they misspelled “Drive” on both the channel 2 drive switch and drive amount controls - it’s a minor thing, but what a weird thing to screw up… why not just reprint?

Cosmetic issues aside, it’s a very good sounding amp. The clean channel is particularly exceptional, and adding the boost really feels great - a useful crunch setting without just sounding like a pedal, or some other sacrifice made to add some oomph to a channel that otherwise would prefer to be clean. The drive channel is very mids heavy, and can do heavier metal styles right out of the box with the boost engaged. This boost also seems to cut bass in just the right way, so it stays tight and focused just like using an external boost - I’d love to see a schematic on this one, and I’d be interested to know if this is a tube boost (I doubt it, I guess?) or a more pedal-like diode or opamp clipper.

This aggressive built-in boost with its adjustable control knob reminds me a little of a progenitor of the modern Driftwood amps. This Elmwood dates to somewhere around 2009, a solid 5 years before the first Driftwood amps came out. Of course that’s not to say that no one has ever put a tubescreamer-like circuit into an amp before or after this, just interesting the way it looks/feels on this amp.

This amp is no rectifier or 6505 clone that’s for sure though, for better or worse. That mids-forward sound, even when boosted, is always present. It’s a great amp for developing YOUR tone and sound, but it wouldn’t be my choice if I wanted to cover some classic Recto, Mark, 6505, or even Marshall sounds. I hate this cliche, but it truly is “kind of its own thing.” What this really means is that some people will just not like this amp, while others might love it - it’s more specialized than others in this category. I think it got a bit of a “metal” reputation, but I actually think the place it excels the most is in some crunchy modern hard rock, and I bet it would sound absolutely insane in stereo with a wider/scooped amp like the aforementioned Rectifiers.

More photos available here