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Post by ebagjones on May 17, 2018 18:34:25 GMT -7
Hello all! I recently ordered a KT-45 head to replace my Hiwatt SA212 combo. I plan to use it like my Hiwatt, which was used as a big bold clean and overdrive/fuzz pedals for dirt. My question for anyone who has played both, is how comparable is the midrange between those two amps? I find the best dirt boxes on my Hiwatt are mid-scooped pedals like the BK Butler Tube Driver, Fuzz Face, Big Muff etc. Scooped pedals tend to play well with mid-forward amps and vice versa. Are these pedals also the best fit for the KT45 or should I be shopping for pedals with a different EQ? I do have a Barber Compact Direct Drive that sounds good with basically anything, but like to have some variety. Thanks!
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Post by wraparound (Steve) on May 17, 2018 19:54:37 GMT -7
For what it’s worth as a former Hiwatt owner I think you’ll be fine. Always wanted to give the KT-45 a spin, so I will be interested in what your experience is. Actually the brief try I had with the Route 66 reminded me of many of the tones I valued most from my Hiwatts. But I will tell you everything the Doc voices with a nod to a particular type of amp has his own recipe on it. And believe me he knows what the original Hiwatt, Vox, Fender, Marshall amps sound like. I think you may find the tone stack to be even more responsive than the traditional B-M-T-P layout. Congrats on your order!
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Post by ebagjones on May 18, 2018 9:30:57 GMT -7
Thanks for the info! It’s funny you mention that - part of what attracted to me to the KT vs the Hiwatt was the simplified tonestack. I always felt like I was tweaking the Hiwatt controls. I’d be completely flustered with a Mesa, I like simple controls. I think that’s why I like Skreddy pedals, I’d rather have someone with a talented ear dial in the usable tones so I can spend more time playing, not tweaking. I also feel like the Hiwatt is a dry sounding amp and the KT in the clips I’ve heard sounds comparatively livelier. Maybe it’s that EF86?
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Post by modernfiction on May 21, 2018 9:02:47 GMT -7
Hey ebagjones, I've been new to the KT-45 head for the past 4 or 5 months now and I use it as my clean platform for my pedals. I currently have a 1x12 Z cab with a Celestion G12-65 in it. I think a lot of tone is shaped with your speakers when using the KT-45. I'm super picky with my sound and straight out I feel amp is too thin when the treble and bass are at 9:00 even, when you go to boost the bass to fatten it up you lose the definition a little. Bothered me for a while but I use a Fromel Shape EQ Pedal (Buffer/EQ) and I roll out some of the mids and just take the treble down a hair the tone is AMAZING! not to sound cheesy but it just sings perfectly. My go to overdrive is the Tim which sounds great on any amp or a DR. NO Power Driver (Check him out, his pedals are great), and my main distortion pedal is the Lovepedal Provalve. Just my flavors of choice.
Anyway lol... I think your idea of mid scooped pedals is on point... but if you like some that don't initially mesh with the KT I'd suggest an EQ pedal to adjust the MIDS completely across the board... literally!
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Post by ebagjones on May 21, 2018 10:54:03 GMT -7
Thanks for the great info! So, if I understand you correctly modernfiction, you’re hearing a bit of a mids hump in your KT-45, at least with your cab and g12-65 speaker? That would work out great for me. Most of my pedalboard is built for a mid-heavy amp. I have a strat with an onboard active midboost that hasn’t been used for a while because there was always plenty of midrange in the Hiwatt, but I could always bust that out too if needed. My favorite sound is when I can take a dirt pedal with a robust low end and crisp top and smooth it out with a healthy dose of midrange, creates a huge full spectrum singing tone that is hard to beat.
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Post by modernfiction on May 21, 2018 11:29:56 GMT -7
Yeah the mids should be right in the ball park for you then and it's true what a lot of people say about the tone stack, it's really easily adjustable with a lot of range.
Any recommendations on some of your favorite pedals btw? I'm a pedal junkie so I'm always looking into people's suggestions.😁
I'm hoping to put a Celestion G12-65m or 75h creamback in my 1x12 soon to see what that combo unleashes in the KT. The 65 creamback was a suggestion by Dr. Z. Should be a nice match!
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Post by ebagjones on May 21, 2018 11:47:16 GMT -7
Well as much as I love pedals I love the Butler Tube Driver best. Caveat though is that it can sound like garbage on a lot of setups. Without the right EQ it can sound flabby on the bottom and fizzy on top. What I like best about it is that, while it tops out at medium gain, you get the endless sustain and harmonics of a cranked fuzz. This is perfect for me as a lead player. I’m also a huge fan of the Barber Compact direct drive which has a similar gain range but is really smooth and has a lot of presence. Both are roughly in the Plexi/JTM tone range but don’t blanket your sound like a lot of Marshall in a box pedals, they allow your rig to shine through.
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Post by ebagjones on May 24, 2018 16:47:11 GMT -7
Hello again! I received it today. I spent about an hour with it this afternoon. I was playing a strat and using an Avatar horizontal 2x12 cab with Avatar/Fane H75 speakers. Some observations... 1) it is loud - not only is it louder than the 50w Hiwatt Combo, but it’s considerably louder than my 50w Plexi bass spec. Like Twin loud. 2) it’s incredibly easy to dial in. I was impressed with how good it sounded in almost in every configuration. Also, of all the tube amps I’ve owned this seemed least volume dependent on sounding good. 3) re: the midrange, it seemed to be oddly fixed in a slightly but not overly boosted postition. Maybe my ears are tricking me but I thought the treble and bass would scoop the mids when cranked but I didn’t hear that. 4) Tried it with a Barber Compact Drive, a Vick Audio Tree of Life, a Butler Tube Driver, and a Ball Big Balls low gain Ram’s Head variant. All sounded amazing except for the Tube Driver. Sounded unnaturally dry and surprisingly bass-y for what many call a bright amp. Overall I’m very impressed and I think this can easily take the place of my Hiwatt because it sounds the way I always wished the Hiwatt sounded in my head.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 24, 2018 23:20:51 GMT -7
Glad you are liking the KT 45 - now you'll need to figure out what your next Z will be!
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Post by modernfiction on Jun 4, 2018 4:44:17 GMT -7
Hello again! I received it today. I spent about an hour with it this afternoon. I was playing a strat and using an Avatar horizontal 2x12 cab with Avatar/Fane H75 speakers. Some observations... 1) it is loud - not only is it louder than the 50w Hiwatt Combo, but it’s considerably louder than my 50w Plexi bass spec. Like Twin loud. 2) it’s incredibly easy to dial in. I was impressed with how good it sounded in almost in every configuration. Also, of all the tube amps I’ve owned this seemed least volume dependent on sounding good. 3) re: the midrange, it seemed to be oddly fixed in a slightly but not overly boosted postition. Maybe my ears are tricking me but I thought the treble and bass would scoop the mids when cranked but I didn’t hear that. 4) Tried it with a Barber Compact Drive, a Vick Audio Tree of Life, a Butler Tube Driver, and a Ball Big Balls low gain Ram’s Head variant. All sounded amazing except for the Tube Driver. Sounded unnaturally dry and surprisingly bass-y for what many call a bright amp. Overall I’m very impressed and I think this can easily take the place of my Hiwatt because it sounds the way I always wished the Hiwatt sounded in my head. That's great to hear! This amp is most definitely a shape shifter. I recently upgraded my 1x12 from a Celestion g12-65 to a Eminence 12" Red Fang Ceramic (Custom shop from the Alnico version). A killer speaker and just in that little swap my amp has a whole new character, especially regarding the Mids. With the Celestion it always sounded thin and I had to scoop the mids to get the amp to sound full regarding the lows and highs. The Eminence Red Fang just sounds huge and sounds better straight through rather than any EQ setting I could configure. But I definitely see what you mean about the Mids, especially with the new speaker, They're right there and seem to be pushing but when you hit a full chord they're not in the way or overbearing of the lows and highs, it just growls with a lot of Umph!!
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