zoooombiex
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so i'm currently doing a little shootout of an opal and a K&M custom to see which i'm going to keep and which gets sold. i thought i'd post my thoughts in case they can help anyone else looking at a two rock.
Custom: 100 watts, running at 50 (pulled 2 tubes, 1/2 impedence at amp end)
Opal: 50 watts
Tubes: both using Philips 7581A
Cab: 100 watt fane alnico, wired series for 16 ohm.
Disclaimer: the following is all subjective and anyone is welcome to disagree
Clean Channel: the custom wins this pretty clearly. very clear and glassy - almost fendery without the reverb. this is the first amp i've ever liked without any kind of reverb or delay - the cleans are that rich and complex. in comparison, the opal's cleans are still good - and can be dialed in to get pretty close to the custom. but i find the opal to be much more middy by nature - requiring more highs and less mids to match the custom. a little darker and not as glassy. although the opal can be dialed in to get close to the custom, doing this also affects the overdrive channel - which then ends up being a bit brighter and thinner than i'd prefer. i'm aware that there are some internal trimmers for the opal's drive channel that may be able to compensate for this, but i haven't had a chance to open it up yet. i'll certainly post a follow-up if/when i get a chance to check this out.
Drive Channel: the opal wins, but not as clearly as the custom won the clean channel. don't get me wrong, before i got the opal the custom was blowing me away with its smooth drive (and still does, for that matter). but the opal is just a little different in a pleasant way - its tone is almost lighter and richer at the same time. it's definitely more responsive to playing strenth and will chime away with light playing. i know people always describe this amp as "fast" - but i don't really know what they mean by that. however, after playing the opal i would agree that "fast" is a good word. picture two amps - one where you have push the sound through the amp to the speaker with the force of your playing; and picture another where your sound glides effortlessly from the guitar to the speaker like it's skating on ice. that's how the opal feels - like you're guitar is directly connected to the speaker. the amp's not in front of you getting in the way, it's right beside you moving in stride. (i hope this isn't too foofy sounding, but it's an interesting phenomenon that is hard to describe with words...).
Reverb: opal has it built in, but i think i prefer to keep it WAY down - almost off. custom sounds great with a little reverb pedal in the effects loop.
Conclusion: i'm stuck with both amps. i want the custom's clean and the opal's drive. Enter the onyx - will this amp solve my dillemma? i've heard it's supposed to have the best cleans of all the two rocks (most fendery, anyway). how does its drive channel hold up in comparison? to the custom & opal?
thanks!
~chris
Custom: 100 watts, running at 50 (pulled 2 tubes, 1/2 impedence at amp end)
Opal: 50 watts
Tubes: both using Philips 7581A
Cab: 100 watt fane alnico, wired series for 16 ohm.
Disclaimer: the following is all subjective and anyone is welcome to disagree
Clean Channel: the custom wins this pretty clearly. very clear and glassy - almost fendery without the reverb. this is the first amp i've ever liked without any kind of reverb or delay - the cleans are that rich and complex. in comparison, the opal's cleans are still good - and can be dialed in to get pretty close to the custom. but i find the opal to be much more middy by nature - requiring more highs and less mids to match the custom. a little darker and not as glassy. although the opal can be dialed in to get close to the custom, doing this also affects the overdrive channel - which then ends up being a bit brighter and thinner than i'd prefer. i'm aware that there are some internal trimmers for the opal's drive channel that may be able to compensate for this, but i haven't had a chance to open it up yet. i'll certainly post a follow-up if/when i get a chance to check this out.
Drive Channel: the opal wins, but not as clearly as the custom won the clean channel. don't get me wrong, before i got the opal the custom was blowing me away with its smooth drive (and still does, for that matter). but the opal is just a little different in a pleasant way - its tone is almost lighter and richer at the same time. it's definitely more responsive to playing strenth and will chime away with light playing. i know people always describe this amp as "fast" - but i don't really know what they mean by that. however, after playing the opal i would agree that "fast" is a good word. picture two amps - one where you have push the sound through the amp to the speaker with the force of your playing; and picture another where your sound glides effortlessly from the guitar to the speaker like it's skating on ice. that's how the opal feels - like you're guitar is directly connected to the speaker. the amp's not in front of you getting in the way, it's right beside you moving in stride. (i hope this isn't too foofy sounding, but it's an interesting phenomenon that is hard to describe with words...).
Reverb: opal has it built in, but i think i prefer to keep it WAY down - almost off. custom sounds great with a little reverb pedal in the effects loop.
Conclusion: i'm stuck with both amps. i want the custom's clean and the opal's drive. Enter the onyx - will this amp solve my dillemma? i've heard it's supposed to have the best cleans of all the two rocks (most fendery, anyway). how does its drive channel hold up in comparison? to the custom & opal?
thanks!
~chris