# Peace of Mind (Krank Revolution review)



## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2006)

Short version: I don't like this amp 

Although I'm in love with my ENGL Fireball, I was always curious to try out a Krank Revolution head. When I got my ENGL, I was choosing between it and the Krank Rev. I briefly had a Krankenstein, which was cool for rhythm but not much else. No, it didn't 'suck', was just too solid-state/plastic sounding on leads (Krankenstein has solid-state circuitry in it). I had always heard the Revolution head was more "tubey" (it doesnt have any ss circuitry) and many of my favorite guitarists/records use it, so although I'm elated with my ENGL, I figured I'd buy one new, compare it extensively, and if it didn't blow me away I'd return it.

So from 5:00 to 11:00 tonight I tested it out at our studio. Guitar was my Carvin DC747, which has a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge (alder sides, maple neck-thru). Also used a Jackson COW w/ EMG707 and my Rico Jr Custom with it. Cab was my usual Mesa 4x12 w/ V30s. Used it with an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808 and a TC Electronic G-Major. Also tried it without any of these in the fray.

To my my shock, this amp really sounds no different than the Krankenstein. The cleans are warmer, and there's less fizz in the lead channel, but other than that, it's the same grainy solid-state sound w/ no dynamics. I messed with every possible knob/configuration possible, and no matter what, the tone was extremely boring. Like the Krankenstein, powerchords on the low B string were brutal and tight, but single notes anywhere on the neck were sterile...terrible playing dynamics and sustain... it feels like the amp fights you, whereas on the ENGL or my bandmates Mesa, it practically plays itself, and it rewards you for your technique. Notes just don't sing, the tone is clear and the amp is punchy, but it just doesn't feel or sound very good at all.

I thought I'd put my Tung-Sol 12AX7 that I use in my ENGL in the Krank to see if that helped - nope, basically no difference. Perhaps the tubes in the Rev aren't very good, or perhaps the amp would sound better with the Krank Rev cab (I doubt it), but I really don't see how all these bands are coaxing good tones from this thing. I've been able to get great tones from almost any decent tube amp out there, and yes a big part of tone is in the fingers, but this thing just fights you to the death.

Needless to say, I will be sending this back shortly. The good news is that it made me appreciate even more how incredible my ENGL is. I never soured on it, I was just curious if I made the right choice when I opted for the Fireball over the Revolution, and now I know. Peace of mind is cool


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## Ryan (Dec 19, 2006)

I only read the first paragraph and ive decided you must be an eccentric millionaire... haha

Edit: Just clicked the link in the 2nd paragraph, and its not helping your defense...


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2006)

Nah, although the amp I got was $1599, I bought it from AMS using their 5 month plan. So it was something like $320 to try it out for a month. Or in this case, a day or 2. 

I guess I could have put a summary in the front saying "Bottom line: I don't like this amp".


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## Ryan (Dec 19, 2006)

haha well, i read the whole thing of course, just giving you the play by play..
I was actually interested in KranK for a little while too. So its cool wen someone described how they sound in depth. So AMS has no problem refunding that whole amount to you? Or did you pay $320 just to try it?

And that didnt help my ENGL gas at all! :/


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2006)

Ryan said:


> haha well, i read the whole thing of course, just giving you the play by play..
> I was actually interested in KranK for a little while too. So its cool wen someone described how they sound in depth. So AMS has no problem refunding that whole amount to you? Or did you pay $320 just to try it?



AMS has a 45 day return policy. When I return it, they will refund the $320 (was free shipping). Basically, it will likely cost me $20-30 to ship back the unit to their NJ warehouse (UPS Ground Boston to NJ = cheap). So, I would have lost $20-30 but it's worth it to me for the peace of mind of knowing I have the best possible amp out there (for my tastes/budget).

PS: People say the ENGL sounds processed, and on many records featuring ENGLs, they do kinda... but mine really doesn't. With the right tubes (the Tung-Sol in v1 helps) and setting it's glorious. The Krank if anything sounds processed.


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## Ryan (Dec 19, 2006)

Thats so cool. I think id have a better time with a Vetta II though. I could have some serious fun with one of those  I wonder how the ENGL patch sounds on that amp boosted with a TS808..


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2006)

Ryan said:


> Thats so cool. I think id have a better time with a Vetta II though. I could have some serious fun with one of those  I wonder how the ENGL patch sounds on that amp boosted with a TS808..



I just like to try out as much gear as possible, it's cool to know what's out there so you can know how to best find your sound. I have never liked digital amps much, but I've heard some impressive tones from some of those amps as of late, so I'd never say never. I don't have a lot of experience with the Vetta II or the HD147... I had a Pod Pro and Behringer V-Amp and hated both. I do have a Behringer GMX212 combo I use at home which for reasons unknown sounds great (actually resembles a tube amp). So, I'd be open to try anything, even a Line 6.


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## Mark. A (Dec 19, 2006)

Thanks for the review dude, there's a new Rev 1 head at my local store, I might go and try it out with to see if I agree.

Just one more thing, I'm thinking of getting a carvin so if you could add me on AOL or msn etc that'd be cool, addresses are in my profile.


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## LordOVchaoS (Dec 19, 2006)

I hear that the secret is to set the sweep control on 10, presence on 0, everything else noonish and tweaked to taste. Did you try that?


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2006)

LordOVchaoS said:


> I hear that the secret is to set the sweep control on 10, presence on 0, everything else noonish and tweaked to taste. Did you try that?



No but I can't imagine that would help, because the main problem with the amp is not its tone, it it its responsiveness and feel, or lack thereof. As a Dual Rectifier owner yourself, I can basically promise that you'd hate the Krank. It plays stiff and as plastic as they come. The fundamental tone is alright, it's just... I really don't know exactly how to articulate it. But it was the same problem I had with the Krankenstein. Pretty good rhythm tone, but a terrible feel.

That being said, tomorrow at my band rehearsal I might fire it up and try that, but I really don't think that will make a difference. I've tried just about everything BUT what you suggested.

PS: One thing I forgot to mention, the fx loop doesnt seem to work right. Firstly theres no fx level control on the back, just a send and retur - no knobs. When I put my G-Major in the loop, you get sound but its chocked and there was a giant volume drop off...and the tone was horrible. Even with the G-Majors output/input volumes cranked, still doesn't do it. It's not my cables or anything, it's the exact setup I use with my ENGL and used with my other Mesa gear.


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## kmanick (Dec 19, 2006)

I don't know how Andy Sneap gets these things to sounds a s good as he does.
I've never read one good review of them.
so let me ask you, does this thing have a master vol/channel vol layout?
if yes did you try diming the master volume and controlling the overall volume from the channel?
I run my B-52 that way and it sounds like a different amp. (now I only run it like that-hence the hotplate)
did you try "kranking it" ?-no pun intended maybe these need to be run wide open?
I wish I had known you were trying one of these out, I have a 16 ohm hotplate, I could've run it by so you could open the thing up full and seen if there was 
any difference.


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## Drew (Dec 19, 2006)

kmanick said:


> if yes did you try diming the master volume and controlling the overall volume from the channel?
> I run my B-52 that way and it sounds like a different amp.



Worth noting is that it varies from amp to amp - my Nomad ALSO sounds night and day different with the Master up and channel back, but for leads I prefer it with the channel cranked and master running low - it's smoother, more saturated sounding, and spongier, whereas the channel half-ish and master to taste sounds crunchier and edgier, better for rhythm but less so for leads.


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## eaeolian (Dec 19, 2006)

kmanick said:


> I don't know how Andy Sneap gets these things to sounds a s good as he does.
> I've never read one good review of them.



I am almost 100% convinced that the amps the endorsers (and Sneap) get are not what you can buy. Nevermore's sounded decent, but not great - however, a couple of other (non-endorsed) bands I've seen with them sounded like crap.


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## kmanick (Dec 19, 2006)

Mike, when you guys played with Nevermore were there any Mesa's on stage?
In the more recent pictures I've seen of them there always seems to be one or two on stage again. (but the Kranks are still up there too)
I'm also not convinced that TGE is all Krank either, I would'nt be a bit surprised to find out that Sneap blended tracks of Kranks and Mesa's together to get that "big" sound he got on that CD.
pic from the recording session of TGE (a little of everything  )


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## bulb (Dec 19, 2006)

kmanick said:


> Mike, when you guys played with Nevermore were there any Mesa's on stage?
> In the more recent pictures I've seen of them there always seems to be one or two on stage again. (but the Karanks are still up there too)
> I'm also not convinced that TGE is all Krank either, I would'nt be a bit surprised to find out that Sneap blended tracks of Kranks and Mesa's together to get that "big" sound he got on that CD.



He did, its part krankenstein and part mesa racktifier.

One thing that got me curious is that i saw a life once lost live and their guitar tone was amazing, now their sound guy obviously did a great job, but the amp was sounding great to me, ultra crunchy and he stuck what looked like a maxon 808 in front of it too. makes me wonder if i shouldnt give it another shot haha.



eaeolian said:


> I am almost 100% convinced that the amps the endorsers (and Sneap) get are not what you can buy. Nevermore's sounded decent, but not great - however, a couple of other (non-endorsed) bands I've seen with them sounded like crap.



That wouldnt surprise me in the least, i know that the best mesa recto i have ever played was an endorsee's triple.


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## eaeolian (Dec 19, 2006)

bulb said:


> That wouldnt surprise me in the least, i know that the best mesa recto i have ever played was an endorsee's triple.



Yeah, but unless it's been factory modded - which they usually won't do unless your name is Petrucci or DiMeola - it was a stock amp, just an especially "good" one.



kmanick said:


> Mike, when you guys played with Nevermore were there any Mesa's on stage?



Jeff was definitely using the Krank when we played with them (Broderick was using the Krank cab, and his Powerball.) Jeff has managed to get good tone from everything he's used, but this was by far his worst live tone of the many times I've seen/played with them. FOH was OK, but the stage sound was crap.

When I saw them opening for Opeth, neither Smyth or Loomis sounded especially good, to my ears, anyway. Steve told me they were still using the Mesas in Europe, since Krank's distro there was weak and they couldn't get anything fixed if they needed to.

Another good example was when I went to see Cellador - not only did the Krank sound like crap, but the other guitarist's Dual was just swallowing it. They were about equal volume (I ducked inside the FOH speakers to see if it was just the mix), but the Dual was just completely dominating it. It didn't sound good by itself OR in the band setting.


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## Hexer (Dec 19, 2006)

recently saw Arch Enemy live and they were both using Krank fullstacks. when I heard the guitars on their own during soundcheck I thought they didnt really sound very good but the band sounded pretty good so I guess they were set up to blend well in the mix and/or their sound-guy did a really good job.

TGE sounds pretty damn Rectifierish to me. the sound is good, but it has the exact "problem" (well, its a prefference thing of course) that amkes me prefer ENGL-sounds over Recto-sounds generally: the rythms sound full and heavy, but the lowend is pretty loose and it just lacks the agressive crunch. I really liked the Mesa-sound for leads though when I tested a Recto.

never had the chance to test a Krank so far (you dont see many in germany) but they actually sounded pretty good on Musikmesse (but who would show of a "bad" sound at such an event?) didnt put a crack in my ENGL-love though.

btw: NEVER go to the Sneap-forum on UM and ask for amp-advice if your not already shure you want either a Recto or 5150


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## eaeolian (Dec 19, 2006)

Hexer said:


> btw: NEVER go to the Sneap-forum on UM and ask for amp-advice if your not already shure you want either a Recto or 5150



Never ask for recording advice unless you want to use one, either.


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## Hexer (Dec 19, 2006)

eaeolian said:


> Never ask for recording advice unless you want to use one, either.



lol, how very true!

well, you CAN ask if you intend to use a POD to do demo-recordings and SIMULATE one of the two on the POD


oh, and you also may loose a few points for not using EMGs


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## metalfiend666 (Dec 19, 2006)

eaeolian said:


> I am almost 100% convinced that the amps the endorsers (and Sneap) get are not what you can buy.


 
Looks like a Krank, guts of a Recto

[action=metalfiend666]just made that up, but it sounds plausable from what he's heard.[/action]


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## spooky breakfast (Dec 19, 2006)

speaking of rectums, how come you can't find mesas anywhere online except their site? and whats the diff between a double and triple?


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## LordOVchaoS (Dec 19, 2006)

spooky breakfast said:


> speaking of rectums, how come you can't find mesas anywhere online except their site? and whats the diff between a double and triple?



Mesas aren't sold online at all, only in stores. 

50 watts and an extra rectifier tube.


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## zimbloth (Dec 19, 2006)

I'm late but I want to respond to some of the things posted earlier:

1) The Krank Revolution only has 1 volume control. Even if it had the master/channel volume setup like the Krankenstein, it wouldn't matter. I've tried everything, this amp is just a dud. I used it with the TS808 with the proper settings, good cabs, cables, everything... doesn't matter.

2) I'm convinced Mike is right, and the Kranks endorsers get are different than the ones sold in stores. I love the tone Arch Enemy gets both live and on record, and I like the sound on This Godless Endeavor too...but this amp's tone is extremely grainy, bland, and the amp has ZERO responsiveness/dynamics - which is the main problem. It fights you to the death. I've been through tons of high-end tube amps, and I've never encountered one that hinders playability and tone like this. It's like the anti-Mesa/Peavey/ENGL.


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## Rick (Dec 19, 2006)

metalfiend666 said:


> Looks like a Krank, guts of a Recto
> 
> [action=metalfiend666]just made that up, but it sounds plausable from what he's heard.[/action]



Wouldn't be surprised if that's how most pros do it.


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## skinhead (Dec 19, 2006)

Man nice apreciation, but i want a test about the sound, to listen out that "plastic" sound on solos.

Did it work for rythm guitar player? or sucks for all?

Did you buy it or was from a friend or a store?


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## kmanick (Dec 19, 2006)

rg7420user said:


> Wouldn't be surprised if that's how most pros do it.


 
me either. A few years back I had a friend of mine was working on the pro ski tour, and I found out that a bunch of the skiers were using their favorite skis with the topskin of their endorsement ski company painted on.  
Money talks, you never know, those Kranks onstage could have mesa guts in them.


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## zimbloth (Dec 20, 2006)

skinhead said:


> Man nice apreciation, but i want a test about the sound, to listen out that "plastic" sound on solos.
> 
> Did it work for rythm guitar player? or sucks for all?
> 
> Did you buy it or was from a friend or a store?



It's not really good for anything. Palm mutes and power chords on the low end sound pretty cool but really anything else sounds and feels awful. I bought it brand new from a store, was never taken out of the box.


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## metalfiend666 (Dec 20, 2006)

LordOVchaoS said:


> Mesas aren't sold online at all, only in stores.


 
Well you can buy them online over here. Gotta be some advantages over the gigantic price hike we have to endure


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## Hexer (Dec 20, 2006)

I've heard a lot of fucked up things about Krank (like faked good reviews on Harmony Central and stuff like that) so I wouldnt be very surprised to hear that the endorser-amps are different from the "normal" amps

oh, and we can order Mesas online here, too they are damn expensive though


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## noodles (Dec 20, 2006)

There was always the way Soilwork did it at Ozzfest: the wall of Kranks hid the two 5150 halfstacks they were really playing through.

With the price of a new Peavey 6505, there is absolutely no reason to ever even consider a Krank. If you need three channels, the XXX and JSX also smoke a Krank. I'd play a POD direct into the PA before a Krank, and I don't think my hatred for Line6 is a secret.


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## eleven59 (Dec 20, 2006)

noodles said:


> There was always the way Soilwork did it at Ozzfest: the wall of Kranks hid the two 5150 halfstacks they were really playing through.
> 
> ...there is absolutely no reason to ever even consider a Krank.



Actually, Soilwork had the right idea about Krank. The only good reason to consider them is the fact that they look pretty cool, and when you can get a crapload of them for free, it increases your coolness factor by about 10, and your metalcore cred by about 15. And, as long as you don't have to actually play through them, you'll still sound great through your usual amp, safely tucked out of harms way off-stage.


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## Cringles (Dec 20, 2006)

i own a krank myself, at the time it was a choice between krank and tech 21. But i love mine, i get the sound i want from it, took me a while to get the sound i wanted, i play music along the lines of dillinger,sikth,meshuggah and converge. Gets the job done for me. And about the krank reviewing there own stuff, on a interview they did say, at the start of the company, a few guys reviewed there own amp, and have since be fired from the company. Krank is a 'hit and miss' i enjoy there amp anyway


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## zimbloth (Dec 20, 2006)

I happily sent the Krank Revolution back to AMS today. For the record I tried that "trick" LordOvChaos spoke of, sweep at 10, presence at 0. Whoever told you that was full of shit bro. That sounded is completely muffled and unusable. Even if you boost the mids and treble, the presence on 0 = no highs. Even if you just barely put the presence at 1 its shrill. This amp is fucking garbage for anything other than power chords, in my opinion. At first I thought it kinda sounded cool but the more I played it, the more I realized how lifeless and fake the tone was. When I switched back to my ENGL, it was like going from a Marshall AVT20 to a VHT Pitbull.


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## dpm (Dec 20, 2006)

Worst tube amp I've ever tried


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## zimbloth (Dec 20, 2006)

dpm said:


> Worst tube amp I've ever tried



I'm convinced those tubes are just there for decoration. Honestly this death metal band across the hall from us have Blue Voodoo stacks that sound 100x better than this.


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## noodles (Dec 21, 2006)

dpm said:


> Worst tube amp I've ever tried



I dunno, I plugged into a B-52 that was pretty fucking bad.


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## Jeff (Dec 21, 2006)

zimbloth said:


> I'm convinced those tubes are just there for decoration. Honestly this death metal band across the hall from us have Blue Voodoo stacks that sound 100x better than this.



Ouch. that's pretty bad.


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## HighGain510 (Dec 21, 2006)

I've heard that Shadows Fall does the same trick (puts the Krank wall onstage and mic's the real amps behind those cabs backstage!  I've heard Joe Bonamassa does the same thing... it's actually pretty common from what I've been told. Ah well, that's why you play stuff for yourself and let YOUR ears decide... unless you're like me and have ears that change every couple weeks!


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## LordOVchaoS (Dec 21, 2006)

zimbloth said:


> For the record I tried that "trick" LordOvChaos spoke of, sweep at 10, presence at 0. Whoever told you that was full of shit bro.




 The guy that said that is an old school Marshall guy but all of his recordings I've heard sound amazing! I despise Marshalls but this guy gets good tone out of them so I figured he knew he was talking about. I sometimes wonder if there isn't a broad variance in tone between Kranks of the same model. No way could people have such differing opinions on them if they were consistent!


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## zimbloth (Dec 21, 2006)

LordOVchaoS said:


> The guy that said that is an old school Marshall guy but all of his recordings I've heard sound amazing! I despise Marshalls but this guy gets good tone out of them so I figured he knew he was talking about. I sometimes wonder if there isn't a broad variance in tone between Kranks of the same model. No way could people have such differing opinions on them if they were consistent!



I'd think that, but I've tried 2 Krankensteins and now the Rev and they all sound (and unfortunately) play the same. But who knows


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## Jeff (Dec 22, 2006)

My buddy use to roadie for a band touring for Journey back in the 70's. Neil Schon had amps with "Peavey" on them because he endorsed them; but inside it was just Marshall guts.


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## JMad81 (Jan 9, 2007)

Jeff said:


> My buddy use to roadie for a band touring for Journey back in the 70's. Neil Schon had amps with "Peavey" on them because he endorsed them; but inside it was just Marshall guts.



So why do people sign deals with companies if they dont like the amps. I mean, if you are going to have a wall of Kranks but use 5150s/6505s behind them, why not just get endorsed by Peavey and get the amps they want for free? (it seemed like a lot of 5150 bands signed with krank when they came out)


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## zimbloth (Jan 9, 2007)

JMad81 said:


> So why do people sign deals with companies if they dont like the amps. I mean, if you are going to have a wall of Kranks but use 5150s/6505s behind them, why not just get endorsed by Peavey and get the amps they want for free? (it seemed like a lot of 5150 bands signed with krank when they came out)



I'm guessing because it helps with exposure and promotion of the band. I personally don't understand it. Everyone knows 5150s sound 100x better for metal (or anything) than Kranks, but I'm guessing it's just for the reasons above. I also know that Krank makes their endorsees special custom versions of their amps tailored to their needs, there's zero chance that Michael Amott's Krank Rev head is the same one I had.


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## noodles (Jan 9, 2007)

JMad81 said:


> So why do people sign deals with companies if they dont like the amps. I mean, if you are going to have a wall of Kranks but use 5150s/6505s behind them, why not just get endorsed by Peavey and get the amps they want for free? (it seemed like a lot of 5150 bands signed with krank when they came out)


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## EdgeCrusher (Jan 9, 2007)

What kind of Krank does Brendan use for the Metalacolypse recordings? I really like his tone.


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## eaeolian (Jan 9, 2007)

Jeff said:


> My buddy use to roadie for a band touring for Journey back in the 70's. Neil Schon had amps with "Peavey" on them because he endorsed them; but inside it was just Marshall guts.



Yeah, he was legendary for that stuff. That's why paid endorsers don't really mean squat to me - I'm more likely to trust the opinion of someone on my level, who still has to buy it.


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## JMad81 (Jan 9, 2007)

eaeolian said:


> Yeah, he was legendary for that stuff. That's why paid endorsers don't really mean squat to me - I'm more likely to trust the opinion of someone on my level, who still has to buy it.



So some endorsers actually pay the artists? I always thought the people that are endorsed get the stuff for free. No wonder people seem to love amps (like engl for example) that famous bands dont seem to use much live (or atleast dont show that they do).


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## Jason (Jan 9, 2007)

JMad81 said:


> So some endorsers actually pay the artists? I always thought the people that are endorsed get the stuff for free. No wonder people seem to love amps (like engl for example) that famous bands dont seem to use much live (or atleast dont show that they do).



yeah its like paying for a commerical on tv. same thing.


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## zimbloth (Jan 9, 2007)

EdgeCrusher said:


> What kind of Krank does Brendan use for the Metalacolypse recordings? I really like his tone.



Eh its probably a Revolution, it sounds like one. I think the Metalocalypse tone is pretty bland, it sounds OK but like ive said before... the problem with Kranks is the feel more so than the tone.



JMad81 said:


> So some endorsers actually pay the artists? I always thought the people that are endorsed get the stuff for free. No wonder people seem to love amps (like engl for example) that famous bands dont seem to use much live (or atleast dont show that they do).



Yeah I mean, if you're familiar enough with an amp, its easy to tell whos really using it or not. I can always identify a Mesa on a recording, and now that I have an ENGL, ive beginning to recognize those too.


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## noodles (Jan 10, 2007)

EdgeCrusher said:


> What kind of Krank does Brendan use for the Metalacolypse recordings? I really like his tone.


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## zimbloth (Jan 10, 2007)

^ Happy 8,000 Dave. Too bad you wasted it on a Pod photo


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## noodles (Jan 10, 2007)

To tell you the truth, I didn't even know I was close.


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## Jeff (Jan 10, 2007)

zimbloth said:


> ^ Happy 8,000 Dave. Too bad you wasted it on a Pod photo



Why? At least it sounds better than a Krank!


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