Koch Multitone

This is an update of my previous review, which I believe is directly below this review.

3 channel 100 watt head with a solo boost function and reverb. Speaker damping, direct recording output, 50 / 100 watt output selector, 2x4-2x8-1x16 speaker outs, 1x serial and 1x foot-switchable parallel effects loop make up the rich feature set of this amp...in a nutshell.

Great set of features!

Ok....I gave this thing a strong rating on sound in my previous review but now I need to revise this rating. This sucker's a big fat 10...hands down, no question. I'd even give it the ol' spinal tap '11' rating if I could.

I recently changed the preamp's tube configuration with a JJ ECC803s in V1, Tung-sol gold pin series (cryo-treated) in V2 & V3 and a Groove tube 12AX7-R as the power tube driver in V4. (4x JJ KT-77's make up the power section.)

Prior to changing these tubes (the only constants here are the Tung-sols, which didn't get changed) I had some noise (popping, hiss, etc) and an annoying electric 'zap' that came through the speakers every time I took it out of standby. I tried out MANY tubes and couldn't completely clean this amp up. I falsely concluded that it might be the amp and that this was related to what I perceived at ther time as possible quality control issues at Koch. Wrong.

I had the amp checked over by a local tech whom I trust 100% and he said this amp was built very well and I should have no concerns with its build quality or reliability on a stage. His only critisism was the footswitch...which could really be improved on. It doesn't reflect the quality of the head. The footswitch looks and feels a little cheap...though it works well and shouldn't break if handled carefully.

OK...Back to the sound. I had this thing running through a THD hotplate and into the Koch 4x12 cab last night with my Soldano Decatone head and EVM-equiped Soldano 4x12 side-by-side in our studio and compared them. I had just changed the V1 tube to a JJ ECC803s.

Wow. That's all I can say....WOW!!!

Both myself and my bass player (who also owns the studio) were of the opinion that the Soldano would be the clear winner in this comparison and would exhibit a better tone overall in all channels. Wrong again! Dare I even say this?....The Koch sounded better to the both of us. There....I said it. It's true. The clean was cleaner and warmer than the Decatone...like a classic fender, the drive channel was like an old Marshall bluesbreaker and the OD channel was hot-rodded Marshall heaven. HUGE ballsy tone. There was much more versatility between the Koch's 3 channels than there was with the Soldano Decatone (Also a 3 channel head). The Soldano was like 3 settings of the same amp (3 great settings, mind you)....but the Koch was like 3 different amps in one head.

I was impressed with it before but I'm totally blown away with this amp now. There's absolutely no doubt Koch deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the other legendary boutique amp makers such as Soldano, Diezel, Bogner and Mesa Boogie. The sound is top-notch in all 3 channels.

I had doubts here before but they've been appeased since then. The Koch is road-worthy and gigging without a backup wouldn't worry me too much at all. Although gigging with a backup is always recommended no matter what amp you have. Things happen on the road...especially with tube amps. The footswitch needs to be built more heavy-duty....but that's about the worst of it. Other than that...solidly built.

Koch has always responded to my emails over the years. (I've owned a Pedaltone for years) It may take a few days but they always reply. The canadian distributor, 'Audionova' are great. They stand behind all their products and value their end-users out there who are using their gear. They fixed my Pedaltone (also a Koch product) free of charge long after the warranty expired. A class act.

I've been playing for about 26 years. I have had lots of great gear over the years and currently have the afore-mentioned Soldano and Koch Multitone as well as a Mesa Boogie Blue stripe Mark III combo and an Orange Tiny Terror (AWESOME little amp and a GREAT buy! I'll be reviewing that one next!). For guitars I'm using a Les Paul Standard, a PRS standard 22, a Godin LG signature, an Eric Johnson Strat and an 80's strat with Evans pick ups. All sound fantastic with the Koch...and all sound like a different guitar is being plugged into the amp...as it should be!! The Koch lets the true tone of your guitar shine through!

This review is for a Koch Multitone series I 100 watt head with 4x12 Koch speaker cabinet. The series one is a slightly more basic version of the series II which has replaced it. 3 channels...clean and 'Drive' channels share the same EQ controls (B,M,T) but each have independent volume controls and channel 2 of course adds the 'Drive' (gain) knob. Both these channels have the EQ in the input (pre-gain) stage. The 3rd channels has its own B,M,T controls plus Gain and Presence controls. The EQ does its thing in the output stages (post-gain) in this channel to help tame and shape the enormous amounts of gain available in this channel. A speaker damping switch offers a 'hi' and 'lo' damping choice and helps to get either a vintage (lo) or a more modern (hi) attack to your sound. There is also a footswitchable rythym volume and reverb level which is active for all channels. The reverb is sacrificed when using the parallel loop located on the back panel. This sacrifice enables you to insert and remove your effect/s of choice at will via the reverb on/off switch on the foot controler. There is also a serial loop which is not foot-switch controlled. There is a 50-100% power selector and a 1/4 recording output jack with speaker simulation which is voiced to a 2x12 cab. 2 x 4ohm, 2 x 8ohm and 1 x 16ohm speaker outputs as well as a channel selector switch are also located on the back panel. I do wish it had channel selector jacks available for use with a controller. Otherwise, a very well-featrued amp.

This amp sounded pretty good when I purchased it from the western Canada Audionova rep here in Vancouver BC. The clean was great, the drive channel was very cool and the gain channel was 'ok'. However, after spending lots of time and money properly rebiasing and retubing this amp I can now say it sounds awesome and deserves the 10 rating I give it for sound quality on all 3 channels now. I tried a wide variety of pre and power tubes in this thing and was never simultaneously impressed with all 3 channels until trying the following combination:

JJ ECC83s in all 4 preamp sockets

JJ KT77 in all 4 power tube sockets

I tried, the Groove Tube mullard 12ax7's and the Tung-sol gold pin reissues as well as Ruby EL34's, Koch EL34's, Groove tube 5881's, Electro-harmonix 6L6GC and EL34's...and Sovtek 5881's too. I tried MANY tubes out and the best and most articulate performance were with this combo. After changing to the KT77's and letting them burn in a while it was a whole other amp...IMHO. This amp has a bouncy, shimmering clean that is very close to a Fender vintage clean. Pure heaven when you kick in the reverb which is lush and warm. The 'Drive' is a convincing plexi growl. A smooth vintage overdrive that will pull you in and make you play for hours. Smooth, slightly broken up tones I've looked for a very long time jumped right out of this excellent channel. The response to the guitar's volume knob takes you from a warm, pushed clean to an AC/DC crunch at will. Very, very impressed with the clean and Drive channels on this amp...oustanding performance and makes this amp worth every dime even before hearing the gain channel's ballsy roar.

And yes...that was a forshadowing! The gain channel is pure rock & roll! There is plenty of smooth, creamy gain available and the articulation is clear and focused even at high gain settings. You will hear the notes in your chord work! The mids are voiced smooth...not harsh like on many amps....so you don't have to tweak for hours to tame it. The bass response is huge and I recommend bass settings of about -4.5 for best results. Otherwise it can get boomy and conflict with your bass player's frequency range...turning you both to mud.

This amp is fantastic....great pro-quality sounds from all 3 channels. The Koch cab handles it all with ease and sounds way better than many cabs I've heard. The koch-designed Jensens sound a lot like vintage 30's and the 14-ply construction really helps to make this cab absolutely sing.

I have to admit to being marginally impressed with aspects of the construction of the amp's circuit boards and overall wiring. PCB's in tube amps aren't necessarily a bad thing (and are the norm now, really) as long as the wiring and soldering that goes along with it is solid and well-done. That said, plastic harness-connectors fitted with low-gauge computer-grade wire kinda scare me when seen inside a high power tube amp. Tube sockets that are mounted directly to the PCB's themselves bother me....especially at $2000.00+ price points. My Soldano Decatone is another pricey amp that also has uses a PCB based construction and design....but the surrounding wiring job to and from the PCB's and transformers in the Soldano puts the Koch to shame. Period. Also, plastic 1/4" input jacks that are mounted directly to the PC board for every single available instrument jack on the unit...including speaker outs...is disappointing to me. I have a pedaltone that has had some problems because of these jacks. I don't like them. For this kind of $$$, I want some more heavy duty jacks!! I would have to say I would probably hesitate to gig this without some kind of a backup for these reasons. I am also seriously contemplating having the construction and components upgraded by a qualified tech after the warranty expires.

At this price point I expected more when I opened this up and had a good look at the guts.

Audionova are great...no concerns at all with Mike and his crew. Very helpful and they back the products they carry. Koch have always responded to my emails in the past in a very timely manner.

This amp sounds GREAT!!! Some of the construction is disappointing for the money these go for. The cab gets a solid 10 and the amp gets an 8 because of the quality issues...but a solid 10 on sound. I have a couple high-end amps and owned many others... and the Koch walks tall among them for sound quality.

No update

Update.
I have chosen to update this review as I mentioned in my first review from about 3 years ago.
The sounds from this amp far exceed my expectations. Clean, chime, semi break-up, vintage growl, 80's crunch, jazz/fusion, full on metal this amp exceeds with a unique voice.
To update I would like to mention that anyone owning or considering owning this amp should definetly take advantage of it's ability to use many different types of tubes with ease. Mix and match your power tubes and fine tune the preamp tubes.
Also never forget to use the dampening switch go from tight ( hi ) to loose ( lo ) attack. I also use this amp's triode ( 50% ) and penthode ( 100% ) modes aswell. If you use the dampening switch and the triode pentode alone for tonal changes it's like having 4 amps in one. Triode is more classic sounding so try this with lo dampening to start and Penthode is more modern so try this with Hi dampening to start. Mixing and matching gives very cool results.
Modern and classic Marshall, Fender, and Vox style tones. Mesa Boogie and Soldano also come into the picture. I own a Soldano and I can get the third channel of this amp to sound very very close... Cool!!!
Best of all this amp retains a unique quality that makes it sound like no other. This is truely a Multitone amp.
Anyone wanting to contact me on settings see my info below.

Update.
My main reason for this update is this topic.
I would have to say after owning this amp for nearly three years it is absolutly releable. I have not had a problem with it yet. Built like a fortress this amp allways delivers.
On occasion I have had popping sounds from this amp but I found this to be the Electro Harmonix preamp tubes I was using... they do not last that long. I now prefer Groove Tubes and Sovtek for my preamp tubes.

Update.
Absolutly without a doubt exceptional. The folks over at audionova (see www.audionova.ca ) Mike and Noraseng are great at what they do. Emails are always repled to quickly and phone calls are not a rarity.
Keep up the good work guys Koch users really appreciate it. A great amp needs great support and Koch has that going on in spades.

Update.
BLOWN AWAY!!!
With so many boutique amps out there it is tough to make the decision to drop the $$$ on any amp so do what I did is what I'm gonna suggest. Take your time and go and try as many of the great amps you hear/read about. I've tried Badcat, Matchless, Orange, Tophat, H&K, Bogner, Marshall HW series, Fender, Roland, etc... I bought the Koch and I'm still Blown Away.

3 channel wonder. to many features to list

well. i sold my marshall tsl to get this or a bogner shiva. the store that had the shiva was closed on a sunday so i got this. i have had it 4 years now. i was kinda let down after really playing it. i was ready to sell it after i got a mesa stiletto but decided to retube it with 6l6's. HOLY SHIIIIIIITTTTTT!!!!! wow, i'm blown away with it now. i put in jj teslas and its a little noisier but man,o man, this thing kicks ass now in all channels. i have a soldano avenger and just got a vht cl50. i run them thru my marshall vintage 30 cabinet. i would have to say this is the most brutal distortion of all these 3 amps. on 50 watts it's better for lead but on 100.......omfg!!! anything above 60% distortion level will be hissy though. but u don't need more than that! the clean is punchier with 6l6's too. a fanastic clean sound. this is the most versatile great sounding amp i have tried. period. oh, and the amp sounds better to me at 4 ohms than 16. so be sure to try it on that. it's just too much on 16. oh, and the "crunch" channel that everyone else refers to is actually a blues channel. it's awesome as well but i wish the eq was separate from the clean channel. to much bass will kill it.

broke the footswitch but it was my fault i had to take it in to a shop and they got the schematics to rewire it. i emailed them and no reply. just remember if something goes kaput you will have to probably send it to europe to get it fixed, that will take alot of time and$$$. a hard amp to come by in the states.

see above

well, see my review for the stiletto trident. i just traded it for a vht cl 50. worth it? HELL YEA!!! and this koch now is the king of my soldano,vht and koch trio. if it got stolen i might try the powertone 2 from koch only to see how much more brutal the distortion can get. i will put a soldano avenger review up soon but i am waiting 'till i get the marshall 1960 b cabinet with 75 watt celestions. it sounded waaayyy better than thru my vintage 30 4 12 cabinet. i can tell u that i am a very lucky guy to have 3 kick ass amps. these are the top of the high gain hill and the clean and blues channel are top notch on the koch. the koch now sells for 1700.00 american but i still give it a 10 'cuz the soldano sells for 1550.00-a 1 channel amp. the vht is 2 channel high gain only for 1700.00 new. the koch is 3 great channels with 6l6 tubes. you can even mix the tubes if u like! with so many features it blows my mind!

MADE IN 2004 THIS TANKBUILT HEAD IS THE MOST VERSATILE I EVER OWN,3 CHANNELS WITH SOLO SWITCH FOR EACH CHANNELS,BETTER REVERB THAN WATH IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST (FENDER),I CAN RUN THE AMP WITH 2 POWER TUBES FOR 50 WATTS AND 4 FOR 100 WATTS,OR 2 EL32 AND 6LC FOR DIFFERENT TONES ,CAN PLUG ANY CABS WITH IT, I'M USING IT RIGHT NOW WITH A lINE6 2x12 CELESTIONS NOTHING FANCY AND THE JOB IS WELL DONE,2 EFFECTS LOOPS,RECORDING OUT,

I'M USING THIS HEAD WITH A TOM ANDERSON KOA HOLLOW DROP TOP WITH H3+
SAIR SAI PICKUPS AND SOUND FANTASTIC,1ER CHANNEL VERY CLEAN WTH TONS
OF HEADROOM WITHOUT BREAKING UP,2ND CHANNEL IS LIKE HAVING AN TAB MORE OVERDRIVE BUT YOU CAN DIAL MUCH MOORE,3THRD CHANNEL IS THE BEST OF ALL WITH THE GUITAR VOLUME YOU CAN GET SOME CRUNCH TO HIGH GAIN AND IT PICKS YOU PICKING DYNAMIC VERY COOL

I WOULD USE THIS AMP WITHOUT BACK UP BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS AMP, THESE GUY AT KOCH CARE FOR ALL THE DETAILS AND YOU CAN SEE IT AND HEAR IT

BEFORE I BUY THIS AMP USED I EMAIL SOME QUESTION TO KOCH AND THEY RESPOND TO ME THE DAY AFTER,THE COMPANY IS NEW SO THERE TO MAKE YOU SATISFIED,AND FOR THE SERVICE IS NEAR MY HOUSE IN DORVAL CANADA

I COMPARE THIS AMPS TO BOGNER SHIVA,MESA BOOGIE,DEZIEL HERBERT FENDER TWIN FOR THE CLEAN.THE ONLY THIHG I DONT LIKE IS THAT IF I PLUG SOMETHING IN THE LOOP I LOOSE THE INTERNAL REVERB OF THE AMP BUT I CAN LIVE WITH THAT

Amp is little over a year old. 50W,Three channels, 2 loops, boost or cut on each channel, spring reverb, tpo/side handles, full/half power switch, direct out with speaker simulator. I use it for everything from Country to Blues to Rock-very versatile.

I use an American Standard Strat, '62 re-issue Tele. Channel One is super clean with lots of headroom ; transparent highs and nice bottom end. Drive Channel is my favourite; shares the same EQ, but has an extra sizzle-goes from clean to crunch, but has a wonderful air with single coils. Perfect for Dan Huff Matchless tones with the Tele; SRV/Hendrix Tones with the strat. Channel three has more EQ; goes from clean to full saturation. Usually have to bring this master up further than the others at gig volume; could use a bit more mid for my tastes, but killer anyway.

Had to replace preamp tube early; it's a long way from Amerfoot to Calgary. I've had it for over a year; gets used weekly, been across the Country twice in the back of a Semi; no problems. Haven't changed the tubes yet.

Haven't had to contact them yet; I hear they're easy to get a hold of; helpful.

Been playing for 30 yrs.I've had Boogies most of my life; always wanted a Matchless and an old Fender. This seems to give me all these and more in one amp. Beautiful reverb, looks great, built well, real thick cover. If it got stolen or destroyed I would buy another right away. To get a boutique three channel tube combo with 2 effects loops, reverb and "wheels" for under 3,000.00 seems like a great deal.

3 channel,reverb,solo boost,nice direct out.Very powerful.Like reverb and solo switches on foot control.Could use slightly more agrresive EQ.Covers many styles of music.

Fender stat,#11 slinkys.Play blues,rock,some metal.Also like clean instrumental ballads.This amp has massive headroom.Reverb has to be one of the best.Distortion great at lower levels,below 60% gain,gets muddy wound tight.Got to test it right beside several different marshalls,peaveys,mesas and fenders.From clean to moderate distortion, it blew them all away without question!

Have had trouble but found out it was the electrical socket in my house.Loose neutral wire.No trouble since.

I know,Im not supposed to write all good stuff,but there really isnt that much bad.Talked to Mike and Noriseing at Audionova.They couldnt have tried harder.They said Dolph Kotch was going to call me about my amp-yeah right.Well HE DID!

Been playing 24 years,one of the best amps Ive ever heard.I own a full pa, small 1800 watts,but it sounds good.All EV pa.Crate and mesa amps dont get used much.Would like better eq and the possibility of a recto voice.

I play just about anything from Country to heavy metal. Amp seems very versitle but definately stronger on the clean side. If you appreciate the tone of the guitar coming through strong, then this is a great amp for you.

I play a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Fender Strat Delux. I am now thinking of getting a maple necked guitar to suit the strong tones that come through this amp.

Volume is fading in and out. Not sure why. May take to a shop to check it out. I bought it used, so it may need biasing or a general tune up. Otherwise it sounds great.

I just started a Koch group on the yahoo website. Check it out if you would like. http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/kochamps/

Newer model Koch multitone 100 head (tube). Older stock but was refurbished by amp tech prior to sale. This one has all the current features; speaker dampening, halfpower(triode) switch, series and parallel fx loops, rhythm/solo vol switch, recording out, 16/8/4 ohm outs, and five button footswitch. 3 channels footswitchable with master reverb. I use this amp for rippin country guitar smack in many different venues with a variety of cabinets and it always gets mic'ed. At 100 tube watts it's plenty loud but I use a powerbrake to really crush those tubes:) I give it an 8 for features because the clean and crunch channels share the same EQ.

This amp see's Tele's and Les Pauls on stage and everything else when at home. The name says it all-Multitone, it is what I always thought my 5150 II should have sounded like. It has enough versatility for most rock applications but if you want real Metal I suggest the Koch Powertone. The clean channel sounds plain at normal house levels with no break-up, but on 5+ with the powerbrake it sounds alot like my 64 bassman amp (blackface) the notes are not quite as fat and the lowend is more subtle but more convincing than most other clean channels at high vol. Crunch channel is where I spend my time on stage, it has seperate vol and gain from the clean channel. Wide variety of tones here, clean to Led Zep style overdrive. I run the gain on 5 and the volume on 7 then use the powerbrake for overall vol. This makes the notes fat but clear for dirty country then I use a super OD or a TS 808 for leads. For heavy country (don't laugh) I leave the OD on and use the vol boost for solo's. The third channel really has the widest variety of tones ranging from comp clean to very heavy rock via a 'dual gain' knob. I only rock out on this at home but you can bet it sound best when the vol is past 5 and the powerbrake is on. The presence control is very effective here. Other than microphonic pre tubes this amp has given me no trouble, I had mine refitted with 6L6's power tubes to clean it up a little while still stompin those tubes but when they die I may go back to the EL34's. I rate this as an 9 because the channels really complement each other with incredible overlap.

As above; no problems or stage let-downs with this unit. When close to home I never bring a backup but travelling I always have the Bassman. I should mention the refurbishing had to do with some caps/resistors being of low quality on NOS amps like mine, but since then flawless. I give this a 7 because of quality cotrol issues and the fact that they're built half way across the world and you're better off to settle you problems with a local tech

I have never dealt with the company personally but a friend who has a Powertone recently ordered an extension for his footswitch which took forever to get here of course and cost three times as much if he would've had one built locally.

I have been playing about 15 years and have many guitars. I play this head mostly through a closed back 212 with a G12H30 celestion and a C12K2 jensen (figure that one out) but it sounds equally good thru 412Mesa oldschool and a 410 tweed. Gods tone is this head and the original 212 oversized cab from the Bassman with jensen purples. I compared this amp with mesa's rectifier series and the old 5150 II that I used to own. This amp is kind of middle ground as far as the Hi gain channel goes, mesa was too fuzzy/fizzy and the peavey was too raw and open. If it went missing I might look at Bogners Shiva6L6 or some other hi wattage class A amp because of my pecadillos with the powerbrake. Peace

This amp was made in 1997, the serial # is 35, written in ball point pen. I like to play what ever is on my mind, so everything is what I play. 3 channels very nice reverb, Boost switch two effects loops(don't know why), two drives and stereo outs. The newer ones have more features. I only give 7 because the newer ones have more stuff.

I use a USA strat and an SG. If I can't get it with that than I need too practice more. This amp dose it all. I find it responsive for an amp with high gain. It dose get the creamy vintage sounds and the newer sounds that the kides love. I do not find it trebaliy as others have said. It crunches and growel, but I never got that big belching sound like an old marshall on 10. Then again nothing on earth beats the crap out of you like a superlead on 10. I find the amp dose fender sounds as well as new Hi gain sounds. This is not rare but amps that can do this cost a lot of money. As did this one.

It is a sensitve, but would you want somthing like a handmade, imported, hi performace piece of eqipment. Made like a truck or a Merceadies. Take care of your gear and it will take care of you.

Have never called them, I have not needed too.

I have had lots of gear. Been playing a long time and would hate too lose this one. If it were stolen, I don't think I could replace it, it's one of the first ones made. I would try to find one like it but wish me luck.