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Post by bradtfw on Jun 7, 2011 7:43:39 GMT -7
I don't really want to start a new thread since the content won't be to incredibly new, but here it goes anyway...
After the honeymoon phase I am just not connecting with my Hiwatt DR103.
I play mostly alternative/punk/rock in "drop D" with a Les Paul. I'm finding that my Hiwatt has essentially no low-mid depth when palm muting. When I try palm muting in drop D the low end disappears (regardless of where I position my picking hand) and I am left with only upper-mids.
I suspect that the Hiwatt frequency range avoids low-mids to keep the low-end tight. It has none of that traditional depth that a classic Marshall offers, and it certainly doesn't have the rounded Fender (6L6) depth.
When I palm mute an open D (in drop D) it sound more like 'clack clack' and not 'chug chug'. Haha, I know that sounds ridiculous, but that's what I'm getting.
When I first heard those deep lows and that cutting presence it seemed supernatural, but then I soon realized that this was at the expense of a huge chunk of mid range.
My question: does the KT-45 share this in common with the Hiwatt? If the preamp determines the low-mids, does it have any obvious frequency 'chunks' missing?
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Post by ktommy on Jun 7, 2011 8:59:38 GMT -7
Hi Brad, I recently became a KT45 owner and lover, plus I had the chance to play it side by side with a DR103... After two months with this fabulous machine I'm getting more and more skeptical bout the similarity to the Hiwatt sound. Thing is though, if you crank the hell out of it you'll get that amazing live at leeds sound, but we know that's a recorded sound (and the KT45 can give you that flavour) and that's not what a Hiwatt is all about. Nor is the reason why a lot of dudes love Hiwatts. People love them because of the massive clean headroom they can provide an for their ability to be almost neutral with whatever pedal you play through. The KT45 is a different beast for sure. I'm not saying that is better: the custom 50 and 100 are almost mythological amps and they deserve their fame, but to my ears they aren't even comparable. They are tight and uncompressed in a totally different way. When I first plugged the guitar into the KT I heard a clean tone that I've never experienced before: it's a clean-clean, but is chimey and balanced, it has massive tight lows, consistent mids and astonishing highs. Really far from the DR. The interaction between mids and highs is what makes the magic happen. That being said, I play a lot of drop D stuff with a wampler plextortion, both alone and stacked into a Timmy OD, and man it rocks!!! Not to mention heavier stuff such the Triple Wreck... When I plugged my pedals into the Hiwatt I couldn't hear anything "juicy"...everything was extremely dry and crisp, whereas the KT45 gives me balls, juice and depth, which is exactly what you need when you wanna CHUG (I definitely get the CLACK - CHUG dispute). Plus, the tone stack is amazingly effective to compensate what your pedals lack or to tame some unpleasant frequency: strange thing to say, as lots of people discard the KT because it doesn't have a conventional EQ section. Anyway, regardless of how good it sounds with dirt boxes, I find myself playing clean more and more, cause god it's good!
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Post by troutstrat on Jun 7, 2011 9:55:21 GMT -7
+1 for the KT-45
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 7, 2011 10:27:10 GMT -7
Hi Brad, I recently became a KT45 owner and lover, plus I had the chance to play it side by side with a DR103... After two months with this fabulous machine I'm getting more and more skeptical bout the similarity to the Hiwatt sound. Thing is though, if you crank the hell out of it you'll get that amazing live at leeds sound, but we know that's a recorded sound (and the KT45 can give you that flavour) and that's not what a Hiwatt is all about. Nor is the reason why a lot of dudes love Hiwatts. People love them because of the massive clean headroom they can provide an for their ability to be almost neutral with whatever pedal you play through. The KT45 is a different beast for sure. I'm not saying that is better: the custom 50 and 100 are almost mythological amps and they deserve their fame, but to my ears they aren't even comparable. They are tight and uncompressed in a totally different way. When I first plugged the guitar into the KT I heard a clean tone that I've never experienced before: it's a clean-clean, but is chimey and balanced, it has massive tight lows, consistent mids and astonishing highs. Really far from the DR. The interaction between mids and highs is what makes the magic happen. That being said, I play a lot of drop D stuff with a wampler plextortion, both alone and stacked into a Timmy OD, and man it rocks!!! Not to mention heavier stuff such the Triple Wreck... When I plugged my pedals into the Hiwatt I couldn't hear anything "juicy"...everything was extremely dry and crisp, whereas the KT45 gives me balls, juice and depth, which is exactly what you need when you wanna CHUG (I definitely get the CLACK - CHUG dispute). Plus, the tone stack is amazingly effective to compensate what your pedals lack or to tame some unpleasant frequency: strange thing to say, as lots of people discard the KT because it doesn't have a conventional EQ section. Anyway, regardless of how good it sounds with dirt boxes, I find myself playing clean more and more, cause god it's good! SOLD! Great reply. Thank you for taking the time to explain the differences between the KT and the DR. I also appreciate that we share the same tuning and desire to achieve heavy, but clear tones. I will probably keep the Hiwatt, because it is hard to find a 1975 DR103 and a matching 1974 SE4122 with Fanes. Also, that tone is totally unique and Ideally I would like to run it in conjunction with other amps to achieve a really wide tonal range. I just bought a Les Paul 1960 VOS, so I might have to wait awhile before I buy a KT45... I can't make it to Z-Fest, so I really need to find a local dealer with a KT45. Maybe if I ask the Doc really nicely I can visit the shop and try one. I'm only 2 hours away from Cleveland, OH.
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Post by ktommy on Jun 8, 2011 3:09:56 GMT -7
Dude you're lucky to live there...musically speaking I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic and in the wrong country of Europe (Italy and R 'N R are far away from eachother). It wasn't easy to get a Z and of course I bought it first, then I tried it. Luckily it's that good... Plus, you already have a ZBest, which is cool also because the entire rig is kinda half the weight and size of a half stack...and so big sounding! If you have the chance of visiting the factory don't miss it!
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Jun 8, 2011 4:18:48 GMT -7
I'll agree with what's been said before. The KT has a lot of HiWatt type tones in its DNA but there's a great sparkle and more "life" in the tone. That's where the "HiWatt crossed with AC/50" thing comes in. Also I think the KT "feels" better at lower volumes than the HiWatts.
Brad, have you ever owned or tried a Delta 88? It doesn't have the clean headroom that the KT does but talk about chunk....wow.
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 8, 2011 6:11:20 GMT -7
Dude you're lucky to live there...musically speaking I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic and in the wrong country of Europe (Italy and R 'N R are far away from eachother). It wasn't easy to get a Z and of course I bought it first, then I tried it. Luckily it's that good... Plus, you already have a ZBest, which is cool also because the entire rig is kinda half the weight and size of a half stack...and so big sounding! If you have the chance of visiting the factory don't miss it! I mistakenly planned a vacation on the Z-Fest dates, but I hope to make it there sometime before Z-Fest 2012. It is nice to already have the Z-Best and not to mention a Fane-loaded Hiwatt 412. I think that it would be really interesting to hear the KT-45 through that cabinet.
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 8, 2011 6:14:26 GMT -7
I'll agree with what's been said before. The KT has a lot of HiWatt type tones in its DNA but there's a great sparkle and more "life" in the tone. That's where the "HiWatt crossed with AC/50" thing comes in. Also I think the KT "feels" better at lower volumes than the HiWatts. Brad, have you ever owned or tried a Delta 88? It doesn't have the clean headroom that the KT does but talk about chunk....wow. I haven't had the pleasure to try a Delta 88. I've heard you speak about them very fondly. Perhaps some day I will be able to locate one. It really sounds like the KT-45 is my top choice. I've been looking for that mix of a vox-like preamp and a Marshall/Hiwatt power section. Something that is chimey, but bold and punchy.
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Post by eliot1025 on Jun 8, 2011 8:06:17 GMT -7
Gear Man Dude did a demo of the KT45. It's posted in another thread in this section. You can hear the chime, crunch and articulation but not the clean or the big bass. The Z site used to have a nice clip of the KT45 done by David Grissom. Maybe you can still find it somewhere. It has a fantastic cranked sound.
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 8, 2011 8:59:27 GMT -7
Gear Man Dude did a demo of the KT45. It's posted in another thread in this section. You can hear the chime, crunch and articulation but not the clean or the big bass. The Z site used to have a nice clip of the KT45 done by David Grissom. Maybe you can still find it somewhere. It has a fantastic cranked sound. I saw that. It was cool to see someone actually demo the KT-45. I think that there is a little bit of distortion coming either the recording device or from his guitar. It seems really grainy. Almost all of his videos share this quality. His demos are good in spirit, but the audio never sounds as good as say... ProGuitarShop. Anyway, that is neither here nor there.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Jun 8, 2011 16:41:31 GMT -7
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 9, 2011 5:39:24 GMT -7
Thanks for the link. I remember hearing that some years back, but I thought it was long gone. I'm really excited about the prospect of getting a KT-45. Just out of curiosity, has anyone used their KT with a Telecaster? I saw the videos from The Bright Light Social Hour and he is running a tele into to "cranked" Route 66. It sounded great to me. The Route 66 has the same preamp as the KT-45 right? I'm guessing that the Route 66 has a little more rounded low-end with plenty of low mids. I'm sure the differences have been covered ad nauseum elsewhere, but the Route 66 could be an option as well.
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 14, 2011 9:31:38 GMT -7
I couldn't make it to Z-Fest this last weekend, but I did manage to try-out a KT-45. I was in Chicago, so I stopped by Make N Music. They have an amazing selection of Z and other high-end gear.
I tried the KT-45 through a 1x12 with a V30 and a 2x12 with G12Ms. They both sounded great. I either need to sell something or save, but I am definitely getting a KT-45!
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Post by timford on Jun 21, 2011 1:29:17 GMT -7
Did you try it next to the 66? and what did you think? I'm guessing I'm going to end up with a 66 and 28 in the long run (played all but never together). Just like the simplicity and purity of this tone platform.
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Post by bradtfw on Jun 21, 2011 6:45:52 GMT -7
Did you try it next to the 66? and what did you think? I'm guessing I'm going to end up with a 66 and 28 in the long run (played all but never together). Just like the simplicity and purity of this tone platform. I was already pressing my luck by trying the Z-Wreck, KT-45, multiple cabinets, and different guitars. I didn't ask to try the Route 66, because they seemed pretty busy. I did however try the 66 in Detroit last weekend. Even with my Les Paul it didn't seem as dark as some people led me to believe. The 66 had a rounded low-end with plenty of low-mid depth. At low volumes it reminded me of my Remedy. Trying the Route 66 honestly just made me more confused. I think that either one would work for me. I think that I prefer the more cutting tone from the KT-45, although I was partial to the big rounded low-end of the Route 66. I'm always attracted to the low-end of a KT-66, 6L6, or modern 6V6. I like how rounded and percussive it is. However, when I want power tube saturation I almost always prefer the sound of EL34s. Problem solved, get them both!
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Post by bradtfw on Aug 2, 2011 5:42:24 GMT -7
I just bought a 2003 KT-45 from a fellow forum member (thanks Ches)! This particular example had JJ EL34s (not E34Ls) and a JJ 5AR4 rectifier.
I finally had the opportunity to play it last night. I used my Tele with Fralin Blues and ran it into a Z-Best with 2xG12Ms...wow! The attack is really wonderful sounding when using the tube rectifier. Still plenty of low-end and punch, but with a subtle compression that smooths the top-end.
I still need to play with this some more, but it is looking like this will satisfy me for some time!
So, I would like to take it back to the stock tube configuration, just so I know what the Doc intended it to sound like. I don't have a bias probe, so I'll have to take it to someone. Does anyone in Northwest/Central Ohio want to help a Z-brother out?
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Post by timford on Aug 2, 2011 21:24:40 GMT -7
Big congratulations!
Can't wait to hear how you go with it over the next few months.
So many Z sounds, so little 'real' time to savour them.
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Post by bradtfw on Aug 3, 2011 5:36:37 GMT -7
Big congratulations! Can't wait to hear how you go with it over the next few months. So many Z sounds, so little 'real' time to savour them. Thanks! The KT-45 does everything I want the Hiwatt to do, but it is so much smoother (especially with a tube rectifier). The Hiwatt lacks so much midrange and it can really sound harsh as a result. I tried the KT-45 through my Fane-loaded Hiwatt cab and it sounded alot like the DR103. Those Fane speakers really compliment the Hiwatt sound by cutting the same frequencies...it is rather annoying really I've come to actually prefer my Hiwatt trough my Marshall cab with G1265s. I haven't been able to try the KT-45 with my Marshall cabinet, but I'm sure it will be great. Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted on the post-honeymoon phase.
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