# Krank's



## Rossness (Mar 18, 2011)

I was playing on a Krank revolution and thought it sounded pretty cool. Does anyone have experience with Krank amps. I don't see them around me too much. Are they good/ bad?


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## loktide (Mar 18, 2011)

warning: you'll get a lot of replies of people claiming how shitty and solidstate-sounding krank's are without ever having played one.

i've never played one myself personally, but the general consensus (ouside of this forum) seems to be that they sound and record pretty good. most people seem to have issues with how the amp 'feels' (ie how it reacts to your playing), though. 

i'd strongly encourage you to try one out before buying since a lot of people don't seem to dig this amp.


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## hutchman (Mar 18, 2011)

Well my brother and other guitarist of my band has a Krank rev+. I have to say it sounds really good. I don't know why people hate on it so much. Really tight lows. Very punchy. The cleans are quite good as well. Not a very smooth sound though (if thats what you want). Awesome for metal riffage.


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## Larrikin666 (Mar 18, 2011)

They're decent. Their initial run of amps were quite disappointing to a lot of people. The "+" amps that came out a few years later seemed to be a nice improvement over their first efforts. I had an original Krankenstein, and I hated it. However, I'm using a Krank Rev Jr at home for practice now, and I'm very pleased with it.


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## signalgrey (Mar 18, 2011)

i did some tracking with A Krank from the + series and i really liked it actually. Their advertising was always awful and i hated most of the artists on the roster BUT...it sounded pretty tight and clear.


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## Inazone (Mar 18, 2011)

A lot of people don't like Krank amps because it is tough to get the super-saturated distortion tones they expect from an amp associated with Dimebag. I've played a Krankenstein numerous times, and it's actually a very "clean" amp, not very forgiving of sloppy playing. Although it wouldn't be my first choice for a gigging amp, it's fantastic for recording solos or layered rhythms.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 18, 2011)

Krank get a lot of hate because thier original run of Rev series amps where pretty mediocre, and overall not the best engineered (as in noisy). They quickly made some changes to the circuit and now I'd say they make some pretty solid, yet highly underrated amps.

Not to mention thier advertising and promotional methods rubbed a lot of players the wrong way. 

They aren't for everyone, but if you're looking for something very different from the typical Modded Marshall or Mesa tones they're a pretty affordable and great option. As others have said they tend to be on the dryer side of things.


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## TMM (Mar 18, 2011)

loktide said:


> ... but the general consensus (ouside of this forum) seems to be that they sound and record pretty good. most people seem to have issues with how the amp 'feels' (ie how it reacts to your playing), though.



+1 this is exactly how I felt about the Krankenstein. I've played it a few times now - it's not one of those amps that can't sound bad, but it can be made to sound good. My 2 big issues with it were 1) I didn't like the responsiveness at all, and that's #1 priority for me when looking for an amp, and 2) the pinch harmonics were really nasally and 'constricted'; sharp, cutting, clear pinch harmonics are either #2 or #3 priority for me. So, while it was a decent amp, it was a major fail for me. Bi-failing?

On the upside, the cab was a monster. I'd love to have one of those if I could find one at a decent price.


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## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 18, 2011)

hutchman said:


> Well my brother and other guitarist of my band has a Krank rev+. I have to say it sounds really good. I don't know why people hate on it so much. Really tight lows. Very punchy. The cleans are quite good as well. Not a very smooth sound though (if thats what you want). Awesome for metal riffage.





4ARM | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos

Yeah, a bit of shameless self promotion, but if you listen to the samples, I'm proud to say that half of the recorded tones were recorded with a Krank Krankenstein... an amp which admittedly at first I was extremely reluctant to tell anyone about.


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## blackrobedone (Mar 18, 2011)

I've owned the Krankenstein + and the Rev (1st series). The Rev sounded ok, but not very tight. Heavy but a little messy - in the same ballpark as a 6505, I'd say. The 'stein was tighter and in general sounded better. It wasn't as tight as say, a VHT UL, and it had more saturation and sustain than that amp. However, Krank really needs to revamp their eq and especially the presence controls, as anything above 2 on presence sounds awful IMHO.

BTW, search the forums for my other posts about the Krankenstein and see all the flames and neg reps I caught off it. (e.g., "You go ahead and play your Krank, we know you like them so much, loser!") Guess I was vindicated in hindsight though, from all the positive comments about Krank now.


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## poopyalligator (Mar 18, 2011)

I briefly had a krank rev, and it was a decent amp. I personally thought that it was a bit noisy, and a bit solid state sounding, but it was still a pretty good amp. Would i own one again? probably not. Would i say that krank makes a bad amp? Definitely not.


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## Goatfork (Mar 18, 2011)

Amon Amarth
Brendon Small (Dethklok)
Dimebag

'nuff said.


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## geofreesun (Mar 18, 2011)

i use my krank rev jr at home and my 6505 doesn't get played. you should check them out~


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## xCaptainx (Mar 18, 2011)

The Krank Rev+ is AWESOME. I had one with my old band ANTAGONIST A.D. | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos 

check out twelve twenty two, misery, golden years (intro riff is krank) they were all done with a 5150 one side, krank rev+ on the other.


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## evilsaint (Mar 19, 2011)

I have Krankestein (5881 version) and Rev. Jr PRO.  I totally agree with "presence sounds awful" statement. 
http://powerdragon-powerdragon.blogspot.com/search/label/Krank 

I took some pictures from my Krankestein PCB, I wonder is that possible to easily 
mod it back to Revolution, just swap the VR pot and flip the switch ?

Two different values of presence knobs.






"Rev <=> Dime" switch


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## TRENCHLORD (Mar 19, 2011)

I to have the Rev JR and find it great with my mesa 212 cab. It's just perfect for those short practice sessions where you kinda hate even firing up the big rig. That built in boost is nice as well.


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## Scar Symmetry (Mar 19, 2011)

I've heard great tones out of them, but dialled in by people who *really* knew what they were doing.


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## GATA4 (Mar 19, 2011)

For what it's worth, The Black Dahlia Murder recorded their album "Miasma" using Kranks. In fact, I would venture to say that they still use Krank (they've recorded two albums since Miasma, and the "Nocturnal" guitar tone sounds very similar) but it's hard to say.

I am personally not a fan of that tone at all, but it did record well and I'm sure a majority of people like it.

I HAVE NEVER PLAYED THROUGH A KRANK


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## Larrikin666 (Mar 19, 2011)

GATA4 said:


> For what it's worth, The Black Dahlia Murder recorded their album "Miasma" using Kranks. In fact, I would venture to say that they still use Krank (they've recorded two albums since Miasma, and the "Nocturnal" guitar tone sounds very similar) but it's hard to say.
> 
> I am personally not a fan of that tone at all, but it did record well and I'm sure a majority of people like it.
> 
> I HAVE NEVER PLAYED THROUGH A KRANK



They stopped using Kranks after Miasma. Nocturnal was a 5150, Invader, and Dual Rec. Deflorate was all 5150 III.


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## GATA4 (Mar 19, 2011)

Larrikin666 said:


> They stopped using Kranks after Miasma. Nocturnal was a 5150, Invader, and Dual Rec. Deflorate was all 5150 III.



Damn, that's a crapload of different amps to be using on one album...and they're all staples of metal haha.


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## SSK0909 (Mar 19, 2011)

I used to own a Rev1. 

Awesome clean sound, but didnt care about the krank channel.

Now let it be known that I don't like djent tones and prefer dark and raw tones, so it's probably just a preference thing. But I really found it to be shrill and had to make some extreme eq adjustments just to accept the tone, but I started looking for a replacement amp from day one.


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## Rossness (Mar 26, 2011)

I just took the plunge and got a Rev Jr. Pro. I hope it works out.


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## slayerrulesyo (Mar 26, 2011)

TMM said:


> On the upside, the cab was a monster. I'd love to have one of those if I could find one at a decent price.




Yes, the Krankenstein cab was pretty awesome. Nice and beefy, and I usually don't like Eminence speakers. I've seen them pop up as low as 250 on my local craigslist; my other guitarist snatched that one right up


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## slayerrulesyo (Mar 26, 2011)

Scar Symmetry said:


> I've heard great tones out of them, but dialled in by people who *really* knew what they were doing.



If you don't go too extreme with the sweep and presence control, kranks can sound really good. It does take a bit of tweaking, though. And I never really liked how they sounded at low volume either (unlike my Mesa which sounds good at... well any volume)


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## ire_works (Mar 27, 2011)

I've always found Kranks to be a very dry sounding amp. I've played revs and krankensteins a , but still found a real lack of warmth out of the amp , especially trying out next to a 6505 at Axe music was a really eye opener for me. even at low volume it seemed to have real noise issues as well.

I have no problems with the cabs , but i'm sure you can buy a much better cab for less price.

I would advise against them , but then again , thats just my playing technique and musical preference. I would definitely not count them out until you've played and felt one yourself.


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## warlock7strEMG (Mar 27, 2011)

the Rev+ and Stein+ are beastly!!! stay away from the older non + models tho, not that they are bad, but the +'s are sooooo much better!!!! Kranks are fairly dry, somewhat unforgiving amps but they are also extremely clear and aggressive. using an OD helps make them sound not so dry and gives them a more fluid, forgiving feel. the older versions got really harsh really easily and were kinda a pain to dial in, but with the right settings(volume up at least halfway, OD boosted, treble and presence below 4, sweep at about 4, gain at 4.5, mids 7, bass 7) even they sounded huge, tight and and mean as fuck!!! the + versions still have that same fundamental tone as the originals, but having bigger transformers and a 6550/KT88 power section tamed some of the harsh high end/presence, gave them bigger but even tighter lows and just gave them an overall thicker sound.

the aggressive nature of the Kranks make them actually really really good for Djenty type tones and bein so clear and tight, they are amazing for 7 and 8 string tones. but i find them to be good for pretty much any type of metal, even modern deathcore stuff. they are fairly versatile too, so they do non metal tones pretty nicely too. the Rev+ and Stein+ are fairly similar amps tonewise and one can pretty much pull off all the same tones as the other but i prefer Stein+. it has a bit more gain and its voicing seems to gravitate more to the lower mids, making it a little ballsier for modern metal tones. it also has a global master volume so u can dime the power amp volume and use the channel volume to control how loud it is for the ultimate power amp saturation but at a somewhat reasonable volume.

oh yeah, and i almost forgot, they have nice clean channels, and the + models cleans stay clean no matter how loud u turn them up thanks to the 6550/KT88's. and the Krank channel is fairly quiet/noiseless too, u cant really tell its on when ur not playing it. only time it gets noisy is if you use too much gain, also gets a lil noisy with a boost but that's to be expected


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## Gryphon (Mar 28, 2011)

I have a Rev Jr Pro 50 watt model and people always compliment me on my tone when playing out, both through the 1x12 Krank speaker and I just got a 4x12 Valveking cab that I just started playing it through (can't wait to upgrade it with WGS speakers).

That said, there is an "aggressive" sound to the amp that I'm sure doesn't work for everyone's style. And for as much gain as there is, they are still surprisingly articulate. The clean channel is more than satisfactory as well. I'd love to get a full-size Krank head, but would really have to come across a good deal on a used head being as the price of a 6505 new vs a + series new.


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## warlock7strEMG (Mar 28, 2011)

Gryphon said:


> I have a Rev Jr Pro 50 watt model and people always compliment me on my tone when playing out, both through the 1x12 Krank speaker and I just got a 4x12 Valveking cab that I just started playing it through (can't wait to upgrade it with WGS speakers).
> 
> That said, there is an "aggressive" sound to the amp that I'm sure doesn't work for everyone's style. And for as much gain as there is, they are still surprisingly articulate. The clean channel is more than satisfactory as well. I'd love to get a full-size Krank head, but would really have to come across a good deal on a used head being as the price of a 6505 new vs a + series new.



Yea I almost forgot to mention that the Rev and Stein Jr Pros are really good amps too. Lower wattage makes them somewhat decent for practice amps, since they get the power amp saturated earlier they start to sound better at somewhat low volumes. But they work just as well for live/band practice use, esp thru a 2x12 or 4x12 cab.


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## MaxStatic (Mar 29, 2011)

Kranks? I fucking approve!!!!!!!!!







Think about the song Condemned from As I Lay Dying, that is the sound. You have to play clean and tight or it sounds like shit. There is no forgiveness for fret bafoonery and you can't play it quiet without it being icepicks. 

I also find that it is particularly fond of active pickups and really tight strings i.e. no floppy sag ass butt churning going on here. Also, like a Mesa, be careful with "extreme" settings as you will get enough hiss to freeze yo piss. 

I've had really good results with V30 speaker cabs, not so much with T75's. These are just my simple observations though.


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## Gryphon (Mar 29, 2011)

MaxStatic said:


> Kranks? I fucking approve!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

Yea, mine hisses like a mofo with the gain above 8 (not that one could really need more gain than that).


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## bulb (Mar 29, 2011)

I have spent a lot of time with a Rev1, Krankenstein, Chadwick and the Nineteen 80.
I have to say that i have generally found their amps to be very disappointing, to the point where at times i wondered if it might be faulty or something.
They are very shrill and thin sounding, the midrange voicing is strange at best and that knob that changes it really just goes from strange midrange boost to very scooped.
Probably the best one i have played was the Chadwick, though it should be noted that the Rev1's clean channel is actually pretty good, but i highly doubt people are buying a Rev1 because they need a good clean channel haha.
The Krankenstein seemed very undersaturated in its gain, making even a VHT seem saturated in tone, a maxon in front fixed that, and that was probably the best high gain sound i heard coming from a krank.
If you are sure you want one, i highly reccomend staying away from the cabs, stick to a darker sounding cab as it should counteract the piercing high end that seems to plague these amps.


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## HighGain510 (Mar 29, 2011)

Haven't played them but the biggest thing that killed any interest in them for me was when they first came out they were doing stuff like posting shill reviews on H-C and other sites bragging about how AMAZING their amps were. For those that don't get what a shill review is, basically the guys that worked for the company were posting glowing user reviews about their amps and praising their company's customer service as if they were a legitimate customer (which most of them were not obviously). Any company that resorts to bullshit like that to try to sell their equipment can go fuck right off in my book.


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## Papaoneil (Mar 29, 2011)

HighGain510 said:


> Haven't played them but the biggest thing that killed any interest in them for me was when they first came out they were doing stuff like posting shill reviews on H-C and other sites bragging about how AMAZING their amps were. For those that don't get what a shill review is, basically the guys that worked for the company were posting glowing user reviews about their amps and praising their company's customer service as if they were a legitimate customer (which most of them were not obviously). Any company that resorts to bullshit like that to try to sell their equipment can go fuck right off in my book.


 
agreed


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## warlock7strEMG (Mar 29, 2011)

HighGain510 said:


> Haven't played them but the biggest thing that killed any interest in them for me was when they first came out they were doing stuff like posting shill reviews on H-C and other sites bragging about how AMAZING their amps were. For those that don't get what a shill review is, basically the guys that worked for the company were posting glowing user reviews about their amps and praising their company's customer service as if they were a legitimate customer (which most of them were not obviously). Any company that resorts to bullshit like that to try to sell their equipment can go fuck right off in my book.



It was one guy that worked for Krank that did this and he was actually fired from the company because of it. They even posted something on their site and in several forums regarding the incident. Yea it was fucked up and shady, but Krank can't be held responsible for what one shitty former employee did. They actually make decent products and are a legit company that has come along way. The Rev+ and Krankenstein+ are 2 of the most underrated but badass amps I have ever played on. The Jr Pro heads are also a force to be reckoned with.


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## MaxStatic (Mar 29, 2011)

I hadn't heard about the review thing, shitty. Glad dude got fired but hey, damage was done ehh?

Tell you guys what, give me about an hour or so and I'll try and record mine so you can see what I'm talking about as far as sound goes.  I'll do a AILD song...badly, and a Periphery song...done even worse, to show the difference and how it fits one kind of tune and not so much the other. 

I think for the Bulb sound, this is NOT the amp you want and it's confirmed by the man himself. Charlie don't surf and Krank don't djent, what can I say? 

Be back in a few.


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## Wookieslayer (Mar 29, 2011)

mmm Krank



below all Krankenstein



leads are SLO here




and I believe there have been mixes of Krank in Arch Enemy & Chimaira


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## MaxStatic (Mar 29, 2011)

All your fail are belong to us.....

For a multitude of reasons, the vids turned out shit, one for having to turn amp down so it didn't clip cam mic into the realm of fizzgig, another for my chitlens begging me to come play thus effecting my already shitty playing, and last the fact that in the room the difference is I-FUCKING-MENSE while on these vids is negligible. 

Trust me, the AILD tone is there and the djentyness is not so djenty.

I feel I must apoligize to Misha and the guys for butchering the opus that is Racecar, sorry. 





If you are into ultra compressed, scooped, tight gain, check out a Krank. If you like more mid range and growl, maybe not your amp.

I forgot to add, I ALWAYS use a TS in front of my amps. Pretty much set up the same every time with gain low to off, tone about noonish and level maxxed out.


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## shogunate (Mar 29, 2011)

Miasma was my least favorite BDM album, simply because it has that terrible no mids super compressed metal tone. I love listening to the songs live though  

However, every band I've seen live that used Kranks either didn't know shit about dialing them or they just sounded terrible at full volume. I saw As I Lay Dying, not a terrible band IMO, but the point was during their set the guitars literally just sounded like screeching sheet metal. Metal is not a good sound when you want to play metal 

I've played them and they CAN sound good, but it's VERY easy to make them sound terrible. Like most amps I suppose (cough cough rectifiers), but it's very difficult to get them to sound warm or round. 

Not bad sounding amps if you know what you're doing, if you like it, get it. If not, don't and everyone else can shut up


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## Thep (Mar 29, 2011)

I recall when they first came out and Guitar Center was stocking them like crazy. I was a novice guitarist back then, but my Guitar Center ventures with their initial runs of products didn't impress me. I'd love to give them another go, but haven't seen one in ages.


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## xCaptainx (Mar 29, 2011)

HighGain510 said:


> Haven't played them but the biggest thing that killed any interest in them for me was when they first came out they were doing stuff like posting shill reviews on H-C and other sites bragging about how AMAZING their amps were./QUOTE]
> 
> The guy who did that got fired, then worked for Randall. Hence why so many artists moved to them too.
> 
> ...


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## MaxStatic (Mar 29, 2011)

Since we're chatting about the CS dept, I can vouch for Krank too in that regard. I got my Rev+ off of Amazon for a steal, must have been clearing out that quarters stock or something, I digress.... At any rate, UPS fucked the first one up, badly. The box looked like a gorilla had sweet, passionate, make up sexy time with it, liquid explosion and all. <pause for the visual to set in> 

The amp looked sort of ok but I heard loose parts when I pulled it out of the packing material. 

Turns out it wasn't parts of amp it was parts of tubes, several of the power tubes had been dislodged in only what I could call a major fall and had broke off the center alignment pin thingy. That's what I heard, several of those pin thingies floating around. 

I contact both Amazon and Krank and the dude at Krank was like "man I'm real sorry to hear about that, would you like me to send you a new set of power tubes and see if that does the trick? You need preamp tubes too? You in a hurry, I can overnight them..." I'm like uhh, that's real nice of you but it's not your fault, let me see what Amazon will do. I was more or less calling them to see if I should install the iffy tubes and turn it on from a safety standpoint.

Amazon had one more instock so I sent the bitch back for a replacement. Second one showed up on nice and purdy. Dudes at Krank don't know me from Adam and they were going to sort me out proper for something that had NOTHING to do with them or the quality of their amps. Don't remember the guys name but he was friendly and helpful. Thanks Krank and FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUG YOU UPS!!!!!!!!!!!

For what it's worth, I dig 'em, for some stuff. For other stuff, well I have other amps for that. If you can, try before you buy unless you get a steal of a deal.

Alright, I'm done now.


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## Eric Christian (Mar 29, 2011)

I played Krankenstein + for about half an hour in a boutique room at a local music store about a year ago. It didn't have the gain I thought it should have had for the name and image it was supposed to have. It sounded strange and was hard to get pinch harmonics out of it. It reminded me of an average Marshall but without the fizzy tone. Bottom line it was just a loud amp with no character and even at low volumes it hissed quite a bit and popped a little now and then. Plus, it wouldn't give me that good kind of sustaining feedback (think early Slayer) just a shrill squeal. It didn't help that I tried calling them just to see if I could get a hold of someone to ask them to tell me why I should buy their amp and all I ever got was an answering machine and no one ever returned my calls. And they never returned my emails either. Good luck getting any kind of help if you should happen to buy a Krank amp.


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## xCaptainx (Mar 30, 2011)

The Kranks are very low saturation, mid gain overdrive. I'm not suprised you couldnt do pinch harmonics easily with them, it's very tricky to do them without a wall of gain! I used me Krank Rev+ with a maxon OD808 and the Maxon was the secret sauce for pinch harmonics! 

I never played my Krank quiet so I cant comment on bedroom/guitar shop levels, but loud it sounded AWESOME.


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## Gryphon (Mar 30, 2011)

xCaptainx said:


> The Kranks are very low saturation, mid gain overdrive. I'm not suprised you couldnt do pinch harmonics easily with them, it's very tricky to do them without a wall of gain! I used me Krank Rev+ with a maxon OD808 and the Maxon was the secret sauce for pinch harmonics!
> 
> I never played my Krank quiet so I cant comment on bedroom/guitar shop levels, but loud it sounded AWESOME.


 

Not sure about the 1 series, but on the Rev Pro Jr (and I think the + models for full size heads), you can run a small patch cord between the FX loop send and return and control the volume with the FX Loop volume control. I run the master gain at about 7-8 on the front and can still use it at bedroom levels with the FX Level at about 8 or 9 o'clock.


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## Jinogalpa (Mar 30, 2011)

Gryphon said:


> Not sure about the 1 series, but on the Rev Pro Jr (and I think the + models for full size heads), you can run a small patch cord between the FX loop send and return and control the volume with the FX Loop volume control. I run the master gain at about 7-8 on the front and can still use it at bedroom levels with the FX Level at about 8 or 9 o'clock.



agreed, i run my krankenstein Jr. with a short patch cord in the fx loop too. Thats a good trick  
then it's ready for bedroom and the gain is still enough for my taste.


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## Danxile (Apr 21, 2011)

I've noticed that on this amp (Revolution series original) the louder it gets, the better and fuller it sounds. I've never recorded with the amp itself, as i usually record with a POD XT but the sound really doesn't compare. How do i mic this amp up where i can get the full sound of the amp without overloading the mics?


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## Gryphon (Apr 21, 2011)

Danxile said:


> I've noticed that on this amp (Revolution series original) the louder it gets, the better and fuller it sounds. I've never recorded with the amp itself, as i usually record with a POD XT but the sound really doesn't compare. How do i mic this amp up where i can get the full sound of the amp without overloading the mics?


 
I've never recorded anything, but I know Andy Sneap says he records his with an SM57 no more than 1/2" off the center of the cone.


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## rd_777 (Apr 21, 2011)

I use to own a krankenstein and a krank rev jr. loved them both! The stein is very tight and is great for a metalcore sound. Everythin can b heard through it, mistakes etc. the rev jr has an amazing clean channel but for a boost use a ts9. I think the prices for kranks are too much, but they r a reliable amp.


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## Andromalia (Apr 21, 2011)

Wookieslayer said:


> and I believe there have been mixes of Krank in Arch Enemy & Chimaira




Where did you get the info that Amon Amarth used Krank amps for this album ?


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## Wookieslayer (Apr 22, 2011)

Andromalia said:


> Where did you get the info that Amon Amarth used Krank amps for this album ?



1:10


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## MaxStatic (Apr 23, 2011)

As I said, you have to play tight with this thing. You can hear every mistake I made in my vids, mistakes that would have been hidden and muffled on my Mesa. Of course it would have helped to have a metronome so I wasnt speeding up the whole time but I digress....

You also have turn it up. In my vids I clipped the cam when I turned it up to the right level so its a little nasaly. 

I stand by that they can be good amps, when cranked, boosted, and played well. My 2


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## Shabadoo (Apr 25, 2011)

I'd like to add that a tube change does this amp wonders. I found that some JJ 12AX7s did wonders for the whole shrillness issue and really gave it a much smoother tone. I also found that Tung-Sol 5881s improved the cleans, gave them a lot more character.


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## evilsaint (Sep 8, 2011)

I've messed around with those internal switches today.
I was totally blown away by mixing "REV" and "DIME" positions together. 

Guitar Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Krank Krankenstein (5881 version) Review


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## Wookieslayer (Sep 9, 2011)

evilsaint said:


> I've messed around with those internal switches today.
> I was totally blown away by mixing "REV" and "DIME" positions together.
> 
> Guitar Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Krank Krankenstein (5881 version) Review



Nice! Always wanted to give a Krankenstein a proper go! Oh, and nice LOG riffing


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## Hellbound (Sep 9, 2011)

Just my opinion on Krank amps...
I don't care for them not because they sound like a piece of shite...but because they do not have that particular tone I like.
I love the smoothness of a Mesa Dual Rec and really love the Engl Fireball 100. Now to me I think I would enjoy the Krank amps more if I was into Marshall's. To me Krank amps are just too harsh...it's that simple. Cosmetically Krank amps look like toy amps bought from Toys r Us,lol...but cosmetics are not important. 
I have tried loving Krank amps but after owning the Revolution and a couple others I always ended up sending them back to musiciansfriend. I just cannot get that smooth in your face powerful clean distortion like I can easily get from a Mesa or Fireball100...if that makes sense.


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## DrakkarTyrannis (Sep 9, 2011)

evilsaint said:


> I've messed around with those internal switches today.
> I was totally blown away by mixing "REV" and "DIME" positions together.
> 
> Guitar Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Krank Krankenstein (5881 version) Review



I'm interested in learning more about the switch in the amps. Do you know if this is on the later models? And do you know if the Rev has the option to switch to Dime specs?


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## evilsaint (Sep 9, 2011)

Wookieslayer said:


> Nice! Always wanted to give a Krankenstein a proper go! Oh, and nice LOG riffing


 
Thanks man. 



DrakkarTyrannis said:


> I'm interested in learning more about the switch in the amps. Do you know if this is on the later models? And do you know if the Rev has the option to switch to Dime specs?


 
I have only original Krankenstein and Rev Jr. PRO on my hands, but I bet Krankenstein+ should have those switches on board.

And I didn't see those switches inside Revolution.





Picture from Krank forum


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## spattergrind (Sep 10, 2011)

I have a Rev 1 and it is pretty good. I prefer the growl of my 5150 better, but I would say that Kranks are very good at getting a thrash or low gain tone. I actually played it today and played the intro to "Spheres of Madness" and it suited it very well. The sweep knob has so much affect on the tone also. It can get very shrill with tons of high end if your not careful.

Deciding whether or not I want to sell it.


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## ibanezRG1527 (Sep 10, 2011)

theyre alright. not really my thing though. they never handles 7 strings very well but then again, they werent meant to. so its not their fault. for thrashy stuff, theyre awesome. but since i hate thrash, theyre fairly useless to me. 

very good build quality though, even in the cheaper ones


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## BalboaFL (Sep 10, 2011)

I bought a Krankenstein1 and Krankenstein cab on the same day. I had it for 2 years and ended up selling the head. I can't say enough about the cab... It's tight and punchy with perfect low end. It really projects most of the sound forward. I love it. The head was alright.. It was raw and thick without a boost, kinda like a corrosion of conformity tone.. With a boost it could put out some amazing djent tones. It wasn't very versatile which is why I sold it..


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## maxoom (Sep 11, 2011)

I`m getting along with my Rev jr 20 watt and Rev jr Pro 50 watt just fine.I had a 5150 for 12 years and I really don`t miss the hiss machine one bit.I prefer the Krank Rev type tone far more touch sensitive and articulate than the over saturated 5150 tone.
The Rev 20 watt is a good practice amp but the RJP 50 is a great amp overall.
5150 does crunch like hell though I`ll give it that.I like my modded XXX head way more than the 5150.


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## MrGignac (Sep 12, 2011)

id really like to try out the new 200w little hybrid head they have that has a tube preamp, but like a car amp powering it. they are decently priced as well. has anyone played one?


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## jd267 (Mar 1, 2013)

evilsaint said:


> I've messed around with those internal switches today.
> I was totally blown away by mixing "REV" and "DIME" positions together.
> 
> Guitar Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Krank Krankenstein (5881 version) Review


I no this is old but has anyone else messed with these switches in the krankenstein before? krank said extra wiring needs to be done and not to do it?


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Mar 1, 2013)

Tried the Stein, didn't care for it, but then again, Dime didn't get it all from the Krank, he used his Siggy MXR also.

Tried the Rev, prior to the release of the Rev+, nice, just not enough gain at that time.

I dig the Nineteen 80, plenty of gain on its own, pull the highs back, pump up the mids, and its like a nice modded Marshall/Splawn tone with some more thunk & hair.

Michael Wilton has a great tone with his Nineteen 80 now that GT is no longer twisting things in his favor.


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## Talmaci (Mar 1, 2013)

I love Revolution's sound... but only at home, when I'm playing with computer. When I was playing in the band my Revolution drowned in the mix...


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