cam
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by cam on Mar 14, 2010 11:07:29 GMT -7
Been on the board a long time, have had a Maz 18, Z28, early Stingray, and an RX. Just took in on trade my 1st Z in several years.... a 1 month old KT-45. DAIUM!!!! What a great sounding amp!! After last night's 1st gig it is so good it is in the #1 amp spot! Question though.. I've read all the posts and it seems a couple of the Fav speakers are the Thames or GB's... I have a 112 Mesa Roadster oversized cab w/ small oval port in the back. It has a V 30 and I've tried the Emi Tonker in it... the KT seems like a very bright sounding amp and I like to tone that down a bit by swapping for the right speaker, instead of going for a 212 or 410 cab. I need to cover the Country and heavy 80's Rock bases..... Any 112 speaker suggestions? Seems with the V30 or the Tonker I have to run the Treble at about 2.5 and the Bass at 7+... I'd like to get the Treble and Bass levels more balanced.... thanks guys! Cam
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Post by timford on Mar 14, 2010 15:11:05 GMT -7
Hi Cam,
Sounds like you know your way around a z amp pretty well. I'd like to know what you think of the z28 versus the kt45.
Speaker wise I'm using a 50W 15" weber blue alnico which I bought for my el84 amp. Webers are probably a good choice as they can make a 50W speaker for almost any of their speakers. I'd like to hear the Thames as well, and then it's a matter of ceramic or alnico. They are good for asking questions of, and finding the best speaker for your requirements as well (I haven't contacted them since Ted passed on though).
I found the amp really bright to start with. Found I had to fiddle with the guitar knobs which was something I really hadn't done much before (mainly volume and tone all the way up with other amps, and adjust the amp). I can drop the tone on the guitar to taste, but I've also been turning everything up high (amp settings all at 3 or max etc) and dropping the guitar volume down and controlling it from there, and some of treble drops out there.
I can't remember how much difference it made treble wise, but I found that some NOS el34s and a tube rectifier modified the amps sound in a way that my ears are very happy with. Smoothed things out a lot I think.
I'm still in the honeymoon phase and am trying everything. I'm going to try a weber 15f150 this morning which should be very clean.
Have fun and stick around,
Tim
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Post by jbriggs13 on Mar 14, 2010 20:24:18 GMT -7
Hey Cam, While I don't have a KT at the moment, I've owned two over the past three years. I first had the KT matched up with a 212 open back cab with a ceramic 50 watt blue dog and silver bell. Amazing speaker configuration with the KT!!! Very balanced and never had any issues with the treble. Let me also say, I only play humbuckers. . . That does make a difference in brightness. I moved on to a 112 open back cab with a 50 watt alnico blue dog. Much softer and compressed than the ceramics. . . But also took away from the KT's punchiness. So I moved onto Doc's 210 cab. Let me tell ya. . . Very punchy. The bass never got flabby, but I found the high end not as forgiving. That's just my opinion though. I will say I had a Route 66 with a Celestion G12-65 for about 6 months. Eventually, I just felt the amp was too warm for me. But when I plugged the KT into the G12-65, Wow! I was really impressed with the sound. That speaker, or a ceramic Weber, would definitely be my vote for a single 12" with the KT. The G12-65 has been described as a higher powered greenback with a bigger bottom end. It seems like a lot of people on here love the KT with greenbacks. Personally I want to get another KT and a 210 cab with the Celestion 10" greenbacks. They are rated at 95db and IMO would probably sound pretty awesome with the KT! Anyways, hopefully I didn't get too confusing. Good luck with the search.
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Post by timford on Mar 14, 2010 22:45:35 GMT -7
Tried the 15f150 this morning and much prefer the alnico bluedog. With the power I was putting through it the 15f150 broke up and just didn't sound great. The bluedog held it together nicely and remains at the top of my pile for the time being. I also preferred the bluedog through the 15f150's amp too, a blackface princeton clone.
I'm also keen to try a 210 with greenbacks and will be trying a 210 with golds that I am making soon for somebody else. Once I have a 210 cab made up for myself I might keep an eye out for a couple of the docs 10" speakers, but am not sure I need the efficiency of either the golds or z's with the kt45.
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cam
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by cam on Mar 20, 2010 7:56:22 GMT -7
Sorry guys... been off the grid for awhile! Thanks for the responses... the g12-65 seems to be a warmer speaker from what I hear and might match well. I really don't want to get another cab right now so I may start with the G12...
Any other suggestions in a 112 format are appreciated.
Cam
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Post by muzacman02 "Jamie" on Mar 22, 2010 6:08:51 GMT -7
1x12 Open or Closed Celestion Gold or Eminence Redfang For sure 2 Thumbs up Cant go wrong there will cover alot of tones, Downfall?? Not cheap! But worth every penny, and can handle the Power!!!
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cam
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by cam on Mar 22, 2010 14:17:07 GMT -7
Hey Tim do you find the Bluedog tames the highs?
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Post by timford on Mar 22, 2010 22:56:28 GMT -7
I am really liking the bluedog, and yes, I do think it makes the highs a lot sweeter than the other speakers I've tested so far. I like the sound of trying a blue and silver 12 or 10, but I'd also really like to hear a Fane type speaker.
I'd probably go with the alnico again. I've got the 2 10 golds now and need to make the cabinet, so I'll be real keen to hear what these are like too. The ceramics I've tried so far have been a bit 'schrill' in the highs, but the biggest difference for me was mucking around with tubes and guitar controls.
I struggled with the ss rec and original 34s, but also my strat needs some work on its volume kit. I think the cap is a bit big and lets too much treble dominate where my nocaster ri and heritage 535 are pearls.
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cam
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by cam on Mar 23, 2010 14:37:16 GMT -7
Cool man... thanks everyone Haven't decided which route I'll take speakerwise ... I'll just keep the highs turned down to about 2 or 3 for the time being
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Post by timford on Mar 24, 2010 6:18:46 GMT -7
or drop the guitar volume and tone and crank the amp a bit higher I was doing that a lot more again with the original tubes. But it does take a lot of playing around with. So much different to my other amps (that now seem kind of pale in comparison). I'm often using my guitar volume between 3 and 9, and dropping the tone knobs where relevant, especially the bridge pickups. Way I started was this. I wanted to see what the amp sounded like with amp controls all on 3pm or flat out with my 535 and sub malicious feedback. So I set the amp there and adjusted the guitar to suit. Didn't do this until I'd swapped the tubes out though, so not sure how it would have sounded with the jjs and ss rec. But do try if you haven't already. It's nice to be able to crank it and get those really thick sounds.
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phunktion
New Member
Behind a guitar, mixing board, or espresso machine.
Posts: 39
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Post by phunktion on May 11, 2010 8:32:09 GMT -7
In my experience, turning the tone knobs up higher sweetens the desired frequency range. I run my treble up around 2 o clock and bass around Noon-1. At lower volumes it helps the highs overdrive a little, seems to mellow them out. Tone knobs on the guitar and my volume pedal are valuable too!
Digging the speaker recommendations and experiences here!
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