bobbymack
Silver Supporting Member
- Messages
- 1,505
Well, it's been about 6 weeks or so I guess since I got my Deluxe 30 head, beautifully finished by Simon after about a 3 1/2 month wait...
As I said in an earlier post, I wanted to spend some time with the amp and play a few gigs with it before going off and gushing all over the thing. As background, I play in a classic rock / variety band, 2 guitars, bass and drums. I generally gig with an R7, R8 or R9 Les Paul, all equipped with WCR pickups (Darkbursts and Goodwoods). I do alot of rhythm work, some leads here and there (when Hoss is tired...)
I'm a big EL84 fan, and have been through alot of them - Bad Cat Cub, Trace Elliot Velocette V12R, Bruno UG30R head, Traynor YCV20WR, Gibson (Trace) Goldtone RVH30 head, VHT Super 30 etc. All are gone except for the Velocette (a killer grab and go 1x12), and the RVH30 which is now my backup. Most of the others lacked headroom, couldn't stay clean when hot, etc. In the case of the Bruno, it was a stunning amp but just had to be so damn loud to really sound its best, which was brutal on stage volume...
I'm running the amp through either a Marshall open back 1x12 Bluesbreaker w/ Scumback SA 75, or an A Brown 2X12 open back with original hemp Tone Tubbies (both sound great). I also have a Bob Burt Antique Pine V Front 2X12 on order, coming soon but Hurricane Dennis...
OK, enough already. The Kingsley's clean channel is simply superb, rivalled only by the Bruno. Rich, detailed, extremely touch sensitive, and headroom to spare even with the HB equipped guitars. Chimey, bell like tones, clarity without ice. Absolutely fantastic when set on the edge and using the vol knobs on the LPs for clean to dirt -- it stays clean and detailed with complex chords, and breaks up great when you dig in and / or dime the vol. The Kingsley boost pedal also works great as a lead boost, probably the best I've played because of the gain knob on the pedal and the fact that ir delivers a boosted mid punch in the gut rather than a fizzy harsh trebly boost common in so many others. As I still gig with a pedalboard (Clyde, Rat II, DD5, TC Chorus, Tim), I've found myself living in the clean channel as it offers extra gain / headroom vs the gain channel. For most tunes I just run the Tim set for pretty low gain, just a bit of grit. I'll use the Kingsley Boost or the Tim Boost for leads, punch chords, etc...
Tone controls are intuitive, and its easy to find sweet spots with just a few tweaks. The bright switch is great for lower volumes or dark guitars / rooms. Reverb is rich but not over the top. The half power switch is great for rehearsal / playing at home, with no difference in tone to my ears. I don't care for the triode setting, but I've never played an amp with a triode setting I did like...
The gain / master channel is very similar tonewise, and would be easy to use if I chose to gig sans pedalboard, which is a definite possibility with this amp. I wouldn't hesitate to play a gig with just the amp and it's boost pedal (though I need delay and chorus for a few Floyd tunes etc, which is why I take it). That said, I am definitely glad I didn't opt for the D32, as I like simplicity and believe the channel switching capability would be rarely used (by me).
Oh yeah, the EQ bypass switch kills for certain tones and tunes, and gives a nice gain boost while taking you pretty close to D*mble territory...
Suggestions? Not many, but a few thoughts would be: 1) perhaps make the EQ bypass footswitchable on the Boost pedal, might make a killer (though different) lead boost option; 2) add an internal fan or at least cut a hole in the grille cloth baffle, this thing runs hot!
I have played around with tubes, and am running it with a quad of Mullard Blackburn power tubes, Mullard 12AX7s in V1, V2 and the phase splitter, and an RCA 7025 in the reverb driver.
Bottom line for me? I think the search has ended...
As I said in an earlier post, I wanted to spend some time with the amp and play a few gigs with it before going off and gushing all over the thing. As background, I play in a classic rock / variety band, 2 guitars, bass and drums. I generally gig with an R7, R8 or R9 Les Paul, all equipped with WCR pickups (Darkbursts and Goodwoods). I do alot of rhythm work, some leads here and there (when Hoss is tired...)
I'm a big EL84 fan, and have been through alot of them - Bad Cat Cub, Trace Elliot Velocette V12R, Bruno UG30R head, Traynor YCV20WR, Gibson (Trace) Goldtone RVH30 head, VHT Super 30 etc. All are gone except for the Velocette (a killer grab and go 1x12), and the RVH30 which is now my backup. Most of the others lacked headroom, couldn't stay clean when hot, etc. In the case of the Bruno, it was a stunning amp but just had to be so damn loud to really sound its best, which was brutal on stage volume...
I'm running the amp through either a Marshall open back 1x12 Bluesbreaker w/ Scumback SA 75, or an A Brown 2X12 open back with original hemp Tone Tubbies (both sound great). I also have a Bob Burt Antique Pine V Front 2X12 on order, coming soon but Hurricane Dennis...
OK, enough already. The Kingsley's clean channel is simply superb, rivalled only by the Bruno. Rich, detailed, extremely touch sensitive, and headroom to spare even with the HB equipped guitars. Chimey, bell like tones, clarity without ice. Absolutely fantastic when set on the edge and using the vol knobs on the LPs for clean to dirt -- it stays clean and detailed with complex chords, and breaks up great when you dig in and / or dime the vol. The Kingsley boost pedal also works great as a lead boost, probably the best I've played because of the gain knob on the pedal and the fact that ir delivers a boosted mid punch in the gut rather than a fizzy harsh trebly boost common in so many others. As I still gig with a pedalboard (Clyde, Rat II, DD5, TC Chorus, Tim), I've found myself living in the clean channel as it offers extra gain / headroom vs the gain channel. For most tunes I just run the Tim set for pretty low gain, just a bit of grit. I'll use the Kingsley Boost or the Tim Boost for leads, punch chords, etc...
Tone controls are intuitive, and its easy to find sweet spots with just a few tweaks. The bright switch is great for lower volumes or dark guitars / rooms. Reverb is rich but not over the top. The half power switch is great for rehearsal / playing at home, with no difference in tone to my ears. I don't care for the triode setting, but I've never played an amp with a triode setting I did like...
The gain / master channel is very similar tonewise, and would be easy to use if I chose to gig sans pedalboard, which is a definite possibility with this amp. I wouldn't hesitate to play a gig with just the amp and it's boost pedal (though I need delay and chorus for a few Floyd tunes etc, which is why I take it). That said, I am definitely glad I didn't opt for the D32, as I like simplicity and believe the channel switching capability would be rarely used (by me).
Oh yeah, the EQ bypass switch kills for certain tones and tunes, and gives a nice gain boost while taking you pretty close to D*mble territory...
Suggestions? Not many, but a few thoughts would be: 1) perhaps make the EQ bypass footswitchable on the Boost pedal, might make a killer (though different) lead boost option; 2) add an internal fan or at least cut a hole in the grille cloth baffle, this thing runs hot!
I have played around with tubes, and am running it with a quad of Mullard Blackburn power tubes, Mullard 12AX7s in V1, V2 and the phase splitter, and an RCA 7025 in the reverb driver.
Bottom line for me? I think the search has ended...