Tone Taste Test: Komet 60 and Div13 FTR 37 heads ...

I should have my FRT 37 head hopfully on Friday. I will post a comparison to my Komet, both will have NOS tubes. Sounds like the /13 for my Strat and Komet for my humbucker guitars!

 

The majority of what I play with my 37 are Les Pauls. I'm not getting any humbucker flab anywhere. The bottom end is the best part.

I do use the matching 13 cab... and there is a difference with this amp. It's very responsive to different cabs and speakers.

The 37 does add some extra dimension with single coils though. More sparkly and blooming. It makes a strat sound like a strat should... (then again, it makes my LP's sound like they should too. Fat!)

 

DFW members ...also see thread started by Colt in Amps and Cabs section..."Any love for d/13 in DFW"?

Kiwi, thanks for the summary...all good fun!!

Jemlite, thanks for noting the differences in cabs...I would love to hear my FTR37 through the matching cab...anyone in DFW have one?

 

So $$ value aside, would you trade your Clubman for the Komet?

Just curious - I've got a Clubman and a couple of Komets

 

The Komet is a Great with a capital G amp. I love mine and consider it one of the finest amps I've ever played, much less owned.

Jorge, that headroom is tuneable to a large extent, depending on tubes and speakers. That's one of the many charms of the Komet. While it retains its own unique voice (somewhere between a Hi-Watt and a Trainwreck Express), the timbre, response and headroom are malleable by careful component swaps and playing technique. Headroom is incresed, for example with some preamp tube swaps to lower gain varieties. The overall response and bandwidth is altered by output tube choices. And the cab/speakers naturally impact the response and bandwidth, as well.

I run mine with a mish-mash of Mullard and Amperex 12AX7s, a pair of formely NOS GE 6L6GC tubes and a Mullard GZ34. Mine is run through a goofy psychedlically painted JCM 1960A 4x12 (no tolex) with 70s G12m "blackbacks" (1777) and old stock basketweave grill cloth. This is a classic sounding Marshall cab with rich mids, good thump and enough high end to be lively, but not fatiguing. The Komet is run in either fast mode (+/- Teese RMC3 wah) with an Echoplex EP3 or in gradual mode with a small pedalboard. I run a Kometbrake in parallel for a ~3dB volume hit when needed. I use a '63/'64 Strat ('59 neck and middle, '63 bridge pups), a Kelley Snakehead Esquire (Kelley pup), '99 LP Std (Rolf neck/Voodoo 59 bridge) or a Chapin "Slow Burn" Hawk (Tom Holmes neck, TV Jones Powertron bridge) and use a hybrid picking technique.

Using my equipment and settings that vary with room, I get plenty of headroom and shimmer and bounce in gradual mode, transitioning into OD (or hard distortion with pedals) with playing dynamics, or I get a mild breakup to screaming lead tone in fast mode with a mixture of picking technique and judicious use of the guitars volume knob and tone knob(s). Its all there.

Check out Knopflers latest for glorious clean tones from the Komet. Its all there, really. Just depends on how you run it and play it.

BTW, mine has steadily improved upon playing. Even with fresh tubes and all that...the amp feels like its burning in (less now than before, but still...). It ages well, like many finely crafted instruments.

I found the Komet really benefits from careful listening. Ken Fischer is said to have listened to the whooshing sound of amps with no input signal to hear their general character and to determine "what the amp wanted to be". Then components could be altered or the layout tweaked to get it all to gel just right. The Komet layout and components are great, but a similar approach to dialing it in is worthwhile...listening to the amp without an input signal and turning knobs. Swapping around cabs and listening to the noise. Tube swaps. Cords. Etc. Then the guitars. Really rewarding..lots of fun. Slow, but worth it once you get back into making music and away from "just listening".

Tickled pink, I are.

I have been lucky to play and own many great amps. The Komet does not do "everything", so I very much enjoy using other amps for other sounds/vibes or if I can't run teh Komet where it perform best (i.e. loud enough). But in terms of general quality of construction, sound, handling, vibe, and how it fits my style, the Komet is really, really Great. Really.

 

I have to agree. Having owned a Komet and the 37, my observations are that the 37 extends at least an octave lower that the Komet.
Using humbuckers with the 37 produces huge tight bass without a hint of flab, at least the way I have it set up, using the D13 2x12.

Don't know why someone would get flabby bass with the 37, but possible explanations include a preamp tube issue, of maybe the humbucker is too hot and just overloads the first gain stage.

YMMV, of course.

 

Likewise, I was just wondering yesterday how Rik was... hope all's well, Dr. R.

JC

 

Excellent and constructive observations - very much appreciated!

 

I was never happy with the low end of the FTR37 either. It did have some nice top end complexity, like the Komet. The 9/15 I played was the same way in the low end, not my thing. I do love both amps for cleans to edge of breakup tones, but once in full on distortion, I just don't care for 'em.

 

Hey Mike!

What's shakin? Drop me a line Bro!

Cheers

Nigel

 

Hola Juan! I'm fine. Bizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeee but fine. Back in SoFlo for a bit...back da road in September. Hope you all are well up in the midatlantic. Tell the folks at el Jefe's "hey"!

 

Rik,

Your Callie has found a permanent home!!!

Thanks Dr!

Nigel

 

My pleasure, Nigel! Glad you dig her.

 

I have one coming. I have heard this amp referred to as the best Fender Deluxe and then some. Years ago I had a BF deluxe, like a 66 or so and I brought it to Jimmy Somma, complaining of flabby bottom. It checked out fine but he explained to me that you never want to run the bass control beyond 3 on these amps and to roll back the treble to 5.5-6. I did and it sounded great, no more flab and plenty of bass.

 

Now THERE is an amp! Jimmy builds a HELL of an amp. I had an FTR, which I totally dug. My Roaring 40 leaves me wanting nothing. Different beast but the "type" of response is very similar. The Sommatones are right up there in terms of quality of build and tone. You are near Jimmy, did you check out his amps? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Oh and talk about "from the crypt"!!

 

Cool report. Thanks for posting. Those are two and that I would love to add to the collection someday. I have a Divided by 13 LDW 17/39 that is just awesome.

Interesting note on the 6v6s getting flabby with HBs. I only have two 6v6 amps, a Victoria 518 (5F1 Champ) which flabs out pretty quick but, in a good way. Then my Bad Cat Panther 35 (4x6v6s) is a different story. It's much tighter, for obvious reasons. A little bit of flab when cranked hard but, in general it's pretty tight.

WOW: I just realized this post was 11 years old! Still a great report and relevant info.

 

Jimmy is a great guy and does build an amazing amp. He moved to Texas recently so I don't see him any more. He is sorely missed in Jersey.