Two Rock Bi Onyx vs Akoya.

[Stratoben127]

I'm looking at a few Two Rock amps right now and I am thinking of getting either a 100 watt Bi Onyx or a 50 watt Akoya. I currently play a 100 watt John Mayer Sig-based amp with more gain that I love but I'm looking for something that is a little more versatile as far as clean and dirty capabilities go. I'm a single channel amp guy for sure and want any channel switcher to be able to clean up with picking dynamics and my volume knob but I want to be able to go from thick, slightly breaking cleans to Warren Haynes kind of smooth overdrive with a Fendery feel. I play humbuckers most of the time.

The Bi Onyx seems to be able to get the most gain and I like having the flexibility of both channels being separate but it seems that the two channels are very different, one being very clean and one being much more dirty and aggressive. I like to keep a smooth Fendery base tone all the time.

The Akoya seems great as far as cleans go and I love every feature especially the tremolo, but I can't tell if it will get that smooth, Dumble-y overdrive. It's supposed to be like a Super Reverb kind of thing and I own and love a BF Super but that's not what I'm looking for in this amp. I'm looking for a similar feel but thicker.

 

[TheThickness]

Bi-Onyx owner here. The two channels compliment each other really well. The gain channel has a pretty huge range. I can dial it in to sound very similar to the clean channel on lower gain settings or wind up the gain for some pretty aggressive tones. Right around 2 to 3 o'clock on the gain knob things start to get aggressive. Right between 12-2 o'clock is where I like to leave the gain for the smooth overdrive tones you described. I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

 

[sfarnell]

I've played both. I prefer the Akoya. It's very Fender like. built on a steel chassis. More balanced between clean and lead. I don't think that the Bi Onyx has prototypical Two Rock cleans.

The most balanced newer two channel TR is the Coral IMO. Prototypical TR cleans and a fantastic lead channel. More of a D style amp than the Akoya.

 

[TheThickness]

The Bi-Onyx definitely has its own thing going on but the cleans are most certainly cut from the same cloth as any of the other Two Rocks I've ever played. They all have their differences of course but overall the Bi-onyx has that Two Rock sound and feel on the clean side without a doubt. However, I do agree that the Bi-Onyx is a slight departure from classic Two Rock D-style clean tones. Looking at the Two Rock website it looks like they have discontinued the Bi-onyx. Several dealers still have stock but take that for what you will.