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Post by edoetsch on Aug 5, 2008 10:25:26 GMT -7
I was sort of afraid the KT-45 would be reissued because it has me asking this:
I have a Route 66 and love it with Pedals. Since I want a mostly clean sound when dirt pedals are off, I have always wondered whether the discontinued KT or Delta might be better amps for me because I will have more clean headroom and still get that great pedal sound.
Though I know the front ends for each of the Fixed Biased amps have the same tubes, they are not the same.
Is there more similarity between the Route and KT than say the Z-28 WRT the front end and pedal "niceness"?
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Aug 5, 2008 15:53:20 GMT -7
In my opinion all four amps (KT45, Route 66, Delta 88 and Z28) are very "pedal friendly" due to the EF86 front end and gain structure of the preamp. There are slight differences in the preamp circuits of the four amps, but they all take pedals really well.
However, things change a lot when you get to the power supply, phase inverter, and output tube sections of the amps. The KT45 has the most clean headroom by far. If you're looking for the amp with the most clarity, definition, and headroom for a "pedal platform", you couldn't do any better than the KT.
The Delta 88 might have the least clean headroom of them all "on the knobs". By that I mean that unless you keep the bass and treble controls really low, the amp gets dirty very quickly due to the phase inverter design. However, since it has the highest output of any of the amps, even with the bass, treble, and volume set relatively pretty low, it's still decently loud. Mine puts out over 100 watts. It still has nowhere near the headroom of the KT45 which comes it at around 70. They're totally different amps.
The 66 and 28, in my eyes, are sort of similar in that they can have "decent" clean headroom with the knobs set lower or get crunchy with all the controls up at 3:00 or more. However, they're still not going to be as clean as a 45 or as dirty as an 88.
In my opinion if you're looking for a killer clean sound and you're going to use modulation and dirt pedals for your "other" sounds you couldn't do any better than a KT45.
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Post by Curt on Aug 5, 2008 19:25:52 GMT -7
Yup, I've had'em all and Phil nailed it.
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Post by bluzman on Aug 5, 2008 19:59:47 GMT -7
I love it when decisions are re-enforced without asking!!!
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Post by brad737 on Aug 6, 2008 7:12:37 GMT -7
I have both the Route 66 and the KT-45. I find them to be similar-sounding amps, and both are extremely pedal-friendly.
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Post by dock66 on Aug 6, 2008 7:44:59 GMT -7
Phil always comes up with words to describe them well. ;D Very nice post.
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Post by Curt on Aug 6, 2008 17:42:37 GMT -7
I have both the Route 66 and the KT-45. I find them to be similar-sounding amps, and both are extremely pedal-friendly. With all due respect, Brad, it is my opinion that your outa your mind. Tone, feel, response, output, break up type and level, the list is long of differences I feel/hear between the two amp models.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Aug 6, 2008 18:32:59 GMT -7
I have both the Route 66 and the KT-45. I find them to be similar-sounding amps, and both are extremely pedal-friendly. With all due respect Brad, here's my last word on the subject. Doctor Z has always said that buying a used amp is an iffy proposition- you don't know where it's been or what's been done to it. Your KT45 that you're talking about (previously owned by Perry Roper) was shipped across the country a couple of times before you got it. From your description and pictures from when you recently had it for sale, it's currently equipped with EH 6CA7's. Doc designed the amp using GT EL34LS #6- a very different tube. Also, it's probably not biased the way it came from the factory. The 66 in question is also used, correct? The same thing would apply unless it went through Doc's shop for a thorough go-through and retube. So, at this point you're comparing two unknown quantities. When I was at the Z Shop last month I got to do a very thorough comparison between a SS rectified 45, a tube rectified 45, and my freshly Z-approved 66. Everyone in the shop at the time (Z, Brent, Juan, Mark, Amy and myself) agreed that the two KT's were worlds different from the 66. The 66 has a softer attack, a much more pronounced midrange, distorted *much* earlier, has much less treble, and has less overall volume than the KT45s.
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Post by Phil's "Z" Enabler on Aug 6, 2008 18:40:34 GMT -7
I must second the fact that the KT-45 and the Route-66 sound totally different. If I can tell the difference, then it is not subtle. I noticed that Phil had changed amps during his amp testing in the shop and I wasn't even looking.
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Post by Jan on Aug 6, 2008 19:54:12 GMT -7
Love the amps...but do they have to be so LOUD? Shiny. Pure poetry. There is a song in there somewhere. ;D
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