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Post by eggman on Sept 15, 2009 15:43:40 GMT -7
Howdy,
Would any of you KT-45 owners be kind enough to compare and contrast the KT-45 with the Stangray? I'm not asking whether the KT-45 "blows the Stangray away" or anything like that. I'd like to hear from you your observations on the tonal differences, et al. Thanks!
Eggman
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Post by jbgtr on Sept 15, 2009 18:26:45 GMT -7
Both are incredible. End of story. I literally went to the store to buy a Stangray, with money in hand, but there was a used KT-45 at the shop. I wound up getting the KT. For a simple comparison the ray is more in the vox camp, the KT more Hiwatt. That's a very vague description. KT is very ballsy, but so is the ray. try them for yourself. its just a matter of taste. They both have sweet cleans and have some nice natural OD at higher volumes.
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Post by eliot1025 on Sept 17, 2009 5:29:58 GMT -7
That's interesting - when I heard the Stangray I thought it was less Voxy. I was in a small room and I was very close to the Stangray so that may have colored my judgement. I preferred the tone of the Ray except when cranked; at that point I preferred the KT45 crunch. A KT45 turned up to crunch levels is one of my all-time favorite amp tones. That sound thrills me. I like the Stangray better for cleans. It's fantastic for that. (The KT is great for cleans, too.)
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Post by drew on Sept 17, 2009 15:08:04 GMT -7
That's interesting - when I heard the Stangray I thought it was less Voxy. I was in a small room and I was very close to the Stangray so that may have colored my judgement. I'm glad to hear someone else say that first. Hohn (I think) had made a similar comment. Depending on the speaker and cab and settings I agree. When using blues or golds in an openback cab it sounds Voxish to me. But I have an over sized open back cab, actually had 2 different versions both are 3/4 closed back. Any way, when I load that cab with a weber blue dog alnico 50W speaker and add in my reverb pedal (room mate) the tone I get is almost Super Reverb'ish but with a better low end response. I'm talking killer low end grand piano strings hit with a ball peen hammer tones. I know it sounds crazy but it's what I hear. One of the reasons the ray ranks high on my list. I really do like the KT45 for great British crunch tones a bit better but I can't have it all.
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Post by teleric on Sept 21, 2009 11:43:10 GMT -7
Yeah, I think it comes down to wheather you want a clean amp or one that's a little crunchy. I've got a 6545 and to my ears (and based on what I've read here) that the 45 side is the same circuit as the KT. I also owned a 'Ray until about a month ago, but owned them both simultaneously for a couple of years. Here's my take:
The 'ray has the voxy/chimey highs with a thunderous low end (reminicient of a Fender Twin). It also has that magic "sparkle" that is what makes a 'ray what it is. No other amp that I've heard has the sparkle of a 'ray - there's no mistaking the tone of a 'Ray. One of the best (if not THE best) clean sounds I've ever heard. The "downside" is that your ears will bleed before the 'ray starts to break up. It's one loud mutha with quite a bit of clean headroom. Sounds great with pedals (for dirt). To my ears, the blues sound the best with the 'ray, followed by the gold and greenbacks. G12H30s are okay with the ray as well. I've seen the 'Ray referred to as a "one trick pony", but nothing touches it tone-wise for what it does. A remarkable sounding amp. I will buy another 'Ray someday.
The coolest thing about the KT is the tone controls and the way they interact with the master to produce dirt. You want clean? Crank the master and keep the tones low. Dirt? Crank the tones, and set the master accordingly. Lots 'o combos with just three knobs. The cleans aren't nearly as impressive as the 'ray, but the cleans are pretty good (very EL34-sounding cleans - go figure). Quite a few shades of Hiwatt tone in the KT, with a little vox thrown in (i thnk from the EF86). It has a mid (EL34) growl that the Ray doesn't have. Definitley not as chimey as the 'ray. Dirt can be found at much lower levels. Not nearly as "distinctive" sounding as the 'Ray, but sounds very good at quite a few different settings. To my ear, the KT sounds best with greenbacks, G12H30s, an alnico/ceramic combo with the gold, and G12-65s. Also takes pedals very well. It's hard to beleive that the KT is rated at 45 watts and the 'ray @ 30 as the 'ray sounds much louder to me. I don't like either amp with an airbrake, they both lose a lot of highs with the AB. (I generally don't prefer to use the AB with EF86 based amps). Speaker choice makes a much bigger impact with the KT. The 'ray seems to retain its sound with different speakers. In a nutshell: clean: 'Ray; dirty: KT45
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