Koch Powertone

I have had my Powertone for over a year now and I simply will never have to buy another tube amp. It is my new best friend. It has three very distinct channels with a solo/ rhtm volume option overall. The effects loop works like a charm and keep my few pedals very quiet. I predominantly use this amp for pretty much everything I do in the studio with my band, Sixes and Sevens, and I use it live with my cover bands Los Bastardos and Signs Of Life. We cover a lot of Heavy stuff and modern classic rock. It pretty much is the perfect amp for the way I play. This amp has everything I need and then some. Not to mention headroom for days!!!

Guitarwise, the question is what haven't I thrown at it? Everything from my Telecaster to my Strat to Ibanez 7 string to my Switch guitar. It really captures the escence of all of my guitars. I'm convinced that the input section of the amp has some "magic" going on. It really keeps thing simple and clean going in and yet ,on the other hand, this amp is capable of creating some complex tones in the pre-amp section. I mostly use humbuckers and hum-cancelling single coil pick-ups with this amp. A few of my guitars are equipped with a single coil switching option ( a la Fender Big Apple wiring where the fourth position is the neck humbucker in single coil mode)and stay pretty quiet even for a single coil mode. I can pretty much get any sound that my twisted mind can dream up with this amp. The gain is just hellacious...and I used to use a Peavey 5150 markI before!!! The gain is actually way more useable as it doesn't much out and end up sounding like bad mexican food the next day.

Reliability issues? None. I have been pounding on this head since I got it. From my guttural seven string stuff to my shredding solos, it just laughs at in face of the aural abuse that I dish out. I haven't so much as blown a fuse. Just follow the golden rule for tube amps...use good quality tubes and have a good, qualified tech bias the amp properly for the grade of tubes that you want to use. It's common sense people. There should a freakin' "11" rating in this category. 'Nuff said.

I'm in Canada and our support comes from Audionova, who are amazing and actually know about all the products they carry. They have a tech named Noraseng who simply is one of the greatest amp techs on this side of the planet. For warranty repairs, he is the man with the master plan. You guys should hear what he does with a Multitone and a set 6V6's. After demo-ing the amp for Audionova at Canada's MIAC show, I really got a sense of how great a tech he is and how eager he is to help people. Sheer brilliance, folks. Fortunately, I've never had to repair it and if I do, there are some great techs in Toronto...take your pick, we all have our faves. Warranty? I don't really look at warranties unless I'm buying a car or structural components like windows for my house. I believe that this product is warrantied for a year and you get 90 days on your tubes...pretty standard.

I've been playing for over twenty years. I've played every kind of amp out there and this is the one for me. I've had Boogies, Marshalls (I still love them, too, Peavey and so on and so on, but the Koch Powertone just has that sound that I've searched for my entire guitar playing life. I would've signed up for live Ebolae testing on humans to get this amp. I would compare the clean sound to the thickest, juiciest Blackface sound, the Gain sound to the sexiest of hot rodded Marshalls and the Ultra Gain to a Bogner type of lead sound. The only thing that I would do different is instead of series/parallel FX loop, I would've liked three separate FX loops for each channel and maybe a master loop. Sort of like on the Laney VH100R's, which I looked at, but I'm not going there. I'm really pleased with the way it is laid out. You don't need a degree in aeronautics to figure out how it works (see Mesa Roadking manual). Once I heard this amazing head, I simply had to have the Koch Powertone. I'm currently saving for the matching cab...gotta have the continuity, baby, and I'm all over it like stink on a monkey.

Im going this review down one at the time. This one of the more versitale amps around. I have for almost two years now and have played a lot of different styles with it like pop, rock, punk, funk, nu-metal and old school metal and is can do all that perfectly. It has 3 channels, clean, distortion/crunch (depending on the setting) and lead. Reverb , 2 volume settings for boosting a solo, parallel and serial effect loops. 4 , 8 and 16 ohm outputs and a recording output. This is 120 watt's of pure tube power.

I'm using a Yamaha SG featuring seymour duncan JB (bridge) and Jazz Model (neck) and a homemade stratocaster with an EMG in the bridge.
Enormous tone range from a sweet kitten to Satan himself. Only downside is you really have to know how to work those EQ's, this is not an easy amp to master. I know at least 5 people in the neigbourhood who also play Koch and they all say i takes a great deal of time to know how to get a great sound out of these babies. But once you do, it's the ultimate reward, damn they sound so great.

I bought this one second hand, and the only problem i had a few times was that the switchpedal jumped to a different channel without tapping it. But i hated that bulky pedal from the start, it's big and offers a lot of cool functions, but I'm only using 2 out of the 5 switches, so i made my own switch pedal featuring one switch (clean/lead). So i deduct one point. It the amp itself is as sturdy as a tube amp can possibly be.

Since I live in the netherlands where they're built, it offers me the ultimate customer support i can call them up and they help me with every problem and give all the info i need. Fast response on the email side. I asked them for schematics of the foot switch and 7 pins din plug, and next they there were some nice pdf's in my mail box. I never encoutered such a good customer/product support.

This amp is just my amp, i don't need a overpriced mesa boogie, i wouldn't even trade it for one if i could. It's nice to have an extra amp for different sounds, like an Orange, but this is my main amp and it always will be even if i got offered a free soldano,bogner, mesa or diezel. I went back to they owner of this amp and demonstrated my setting and i he was blown away about how good it sounded, so even if it's not a Koch you can make almost every amp sound good if you're able to try some uncoventienal settings.

3 channels : clean, gain, ultra gain and and the solo/rhythm switch as well as a serial and a parallel loop were the features that made me decide I'd have a go with this thing. Mine dates from 2000. It's a shame though the presence does not work on the clean channel.

I play a 1991 USA Fender Stratocaster, pretty stock, most of the times. Guitars with humbuckes tend to sound very massive unless you use the lo-input. I bought this amp when I switched from a regular rock band to grungerock. Now I play 80's rock it still works very well. No shortcomings here, even when you play older rock'n'roll songs and want to get an authentic sound. I don't have a problem with noise, but that's maybe because I don't use tons of gain. Gains are usually on 4 to 5 these days. With a Strat plugged in the clean channel is unlikely to distort. If on the gain channels you use low gains, high volumes and low presence settings, you can get that singing blues tone. Great for traditional rock'n'roll or these subdistorted/compressed 80's guitarsounds like in Boys of Summer.

The solo/rhythm switch on my pedal gave up after three years. Now the reverb switch won't go off. That was a little disappointing. When I ordered a new switch the help from Koch was great, they don't mind you installing stuff yourself and provide wiring sketches. You have to check the power tubes before turning it on after transport. Because of the way they hang in there, they could be a little loose from time to time. Also I found that the first tubes were worn down quite fast. I plug it in weekly and I don't play very loud, perhaps I should. Since it didn't let me down on a gig so far, I'm not looking for anything else.

Every contact I had with the company was good. Rowin is a nice guy. During the warranty period the amp performed without a hitch. I am lucky to live not too far from Amersfoort/Netherlands so I can visit the company quite easily. I bought the amp at Kees Dee's in Amersfoort. He doesn't mind me doing direct business with Koch.

I had a Marshall JTM610 before this one, it wasn't bad but I missed a little more power and solo/rhytym switching as well as an extra channel. So for me the Powertone was a real step forward. It's easy to use. When I bought it I compared it to a Marshall Anniversary JCM something which did not have a proper clean channel and an ugly rip in the gain/lead channels. Other amps were a Soldano, very yellow, very nice, but not as versatile, like you play leads all the time, a Bedrock, very crude. Hughes & Kettner aquarium head, gain channel with no dynamics, like you'd plug directly into a console from a guitar through a stomp box distortion, well, a little better than that. The compared amps were all 100 to 120 watts. None of them were as versatile or as clean on the clean channel as the Koch. Fenders were not very well known for their gain channels, so that was out of the question. The Peavey 5150 did not exist then; I heard recently it hisses like a dragon. The clean channel could use a litte compression if u use a Fender guitar. Too bad there's no built in power soak. I am planning to buy the Koch powersoak if the direct sound is OK. The recording output sadly enough depends on the volume settings. The amp becomes very loud before any useful level is reached. Plus it doesn't sound too great. The only thing I hate about it, is its weight. But I say, let's play it while I'm still young. I guess any of the compared amps are no lighter than this baby. The price I stated includes a Koch TS412 4x12" cabinet, I thought it carried Celestion speakers. Sometimes I wish it could sound just a little tighter. Maybe I'll try another cabinet with 4x10" or a combination of 10" and 12".

Read above, it has all the basics you need, and they`re easy to use.
The only comment I have is that the rythm and lead is difficult to get right and in balance.(but it is better on the Powertone II)

I use only Gibson SG`s on this amp, and I play mostely Rock/Metal on it.
With the clean channel I`m very satisfied, because most tube-amps like Marshal and Mesa etc. have clean channels that can make you cry if you`re a emotional person.
The gain channel is perfect from blues to heavy duty rock, is has lots of headroom and a low punch you can comb your hair on your legs with.
The Ultra gainn channel works beautifull for heavy duty rock to mega-metal, and again with that superb punch in it. The setting of the ultra gain can be played with, for example if you get your setting right (ultra gain on a lighter level) you can really get a beautiful "in your face" AC/DC Crunch.

I had some problems at first with my tubes, but they where solved in no time.
I play about 60 times a yeat, and I Really crank this F....er up to the max.
So overall it`s pretty reliable, I never had to stop a gig.(knock on wood)

I come from holland so if I need something or some info it`s real easy for me to get in touch with Dolf Koch or my dealer.
And as I said, I had some problems at first with my tubes, but they where solved in no time.

This Powertone is in my possession for four years now, and with pain in my heart I have to sell it, because of a new love in my life THE POWERTONE II.
I had a heavy rockin` four years with it, and I expect to have another four rockin` years with the new powertone II.
After trying a s...load of amps I still think KOCH is one of the leading amps in Rock, the powertone in general.

Covered earlier. three channels, shared eq on gain and ultra gain, but no problem

To the ones who said it doesn`t sound good. Most folks who get the PT will probably get it for rock/metal sounds. Which it does very well. To those who hated it, IMO you either have very peculiar tastes, or you got a broken amp, which you could return, or get fixed. It is called a warranty, and the dealer should do this for you.

I`m into nice cleans, good rock sounds and brutal metal. It can do them all.

Don`T know. I haven`t bought it yet, but it looks very sturdy. Nice metal cage for the power tubes, and solid all over.

Very helpful, both the Norwegianm dealer (tre45, excellent folks) and koch themselves. They`ve answered all of my questions quickly.

I got the amp in 2001. 3 channels, 12AX7/EL34 tubes, clean/gain/ultra gain channels, reverb, several cabinet outputs, hi/lo damping, parallel + seriel effects loop. You can use a midiswitcher to switch channels if you buy the optional midi interface box. Footswitchable reverb and gain boost is great but it would be nice to have footswitchable hi/lo damping and an extra gain boost so you don't have to use the master volume for the boost function.

I play a strat-copy with 2 Kinman single coils + 1 Seymour Duncan 59 humbucker, alder body, rosewood fingerboard, built by danish guitar company Rahbek Guitars (http://www.rahbekguitars.com/). Great guitar !

I mostly play rock, hard/heavy rock and metal and the amp can deliver all that. The clean channel is very clean, maybe not as "glassy" as a Fender but very satisfying and warm. The tone doesn't break up undtil you push it to the maximum and still it is pretty clean.
The gain channel can go from light crunch to a nice, tight heavy rock sound and the ultra gain channel can go anywhere you want to go. Actually, the lighter settings on the ultra gain channel are really good but I usually have the ultra gain level set on 1 o'clock. The gain channel level is at 12 o'clock.
I get great sounds with my single-coils and my humbucker, from clean to ultra heavy with a lot of different sounds between the two extremes. Although we play hard rock I use the clean channel a lot, probably more than your average hard rock guitarist and it responds nicely to the different levels of attack I abuse my guitar with.

I have used it for 8 months now and the amp is very reliable. I used it recently when playing a local rock-club in Copenhagen and several people mentioned the great guitar sound. It performed admirably just as it does in the rehearsal room. I expect to use it on many gigs in 2003 and I have no reservation about gigging with it without a backup. The amp just oozes quality and reliability.
Since I have only had it for 8 months it only gets an 8 but if it is performing as well in 6 months time after a lot of gigging, I will give it a 10.

Koch are very helpfull when you email them. The sales department always answers your emails. The shop I bought the amp from has a good relationship with the Koch boys so I expect to buy more from Koch in the future.

I have been playing the guitar for 16 years and before that I played the bass guitar. I have owned amps from Fender, Laney, Carvin and have also owned equiptment from Marshall, Rocktron, Alesis and many more. I love buying new gear ! :-)

At the moment I'm using my Rahbek Guitars strat with the Koch Powertone Head, a 4x12 Marshall Greenback-equipped cabinet and a T.C. Electronics G-Major multieffect. I use a Digicorp GCX-Switcher to switch midi-channels on the G-Major as well as the amp and I can get any sound I need using this setup. It's a cool setup !

I would probably compare the ultra gain channel to a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier but it is very difficult to tell which is the better. When you consider the difference in pricing between the 2 amps you realize just how good a deal this amp head is.

Next year I may buy a Powertone II head since it has some new features I like. I will probably use both amps (my switcher allows you to connect several amps and switch between them) in the future.

I like the options the Powertone has, though recently we compared it to Boogie's new Road King and the cabinet switching on that beast, compared with the possibillity to cut back on output power (120 watts really is very loud) would be a nice extra.

I play a Parker Fly and a Paul Reed Smith hollowbody through the Koch, mostly everything from rock to balls-out Slipknot-esque insanity. And though I have tried, I cannot seem to be able to get a bad tone out of this beast.
Working in a guitar store, I get a lot of opportunity to try outdifferent things, and though I would prefer using a Soldano slo, with a Diezel and a budda switchede together, I can't afford that. In it's price range, the Koch kicks anybody's ass, and I really don't understand what some of the people below are complaining about.

We've had some problems with the earlier Kochs, with the Ruby tubes, but we found out they were crap, and so did Dolf (Koch) after we told him this.
Having sold over twenty of the things, I still havent had anyone return on or have heard about serious problems.
I have difficulty believing the people below who say the amps are shit construction-wise.

I gig this thing twice a week, no backup whatsoever.

We have a very good relationship with Koch, problems are always taken care of fast and sufficiently.

I have played Peavey, Mesa and even Fender at some point, but until I can afford my ultimate Setup (see sounds) I'm sticking with the Koch, I love it to death.
People who don't like this amp should realise that it's way more versatile than a rectifier, is a lot louder than a Marshall or a Peavey, it beats the crap out of all these in the clean department, and it's price is real good.

Powertone Koch
AKA Biggest Peice of Garbage Ever

This amp broke down on the first gig. I came here and found that Koch's are crap. Wow thanks for ganking me for 1100 dollars. I hope your company gets more review like this, because you make SHIT.
WHILE THIS AMP SOUNDS GOOD, but good tone can't replace your emotions when you hit a doublestop bend and it CUTS THE F OFF. Serviced by a local tube man (50 yrs) experience (no changes to circuit just voltage measurements and diagnostics) He said it looked like it was made by a highschool student. Overall: DON'T BUY THIS JUNK UNTIL THEY MAKE THEM BETTER. VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET.

Marshallish. Only worked for 20 minutes after I Bought It.

Wouldn't -EVER- Buy this piece of crap again.

this one is from dec. '01, it's a 120 watt with 4x el34 tubes. the channels are, clean, gain and ultra gain. reverb and solo rhythm switch that boosts the master volume, 5-way footswich, effect loops and 2x4 ohm, 2x8 ohm and 1x16 ohm speaker outputs. quite complete I would say. And another thing; it looks great.

the sound is the reason why I purchased this amp. I use it with an Ibanez ergodyne guitar, which is going to be replaced by a Gibson sg std. in the near future. I play old school hardcore, sometimes also metal and rock and roll, the amp is versatile enough to play it all. I really like the clean channel because it just won't distort, also on higher volumes it still sounds great, one of the main reasons why I got this one. The gain channels are also doing what they're supposed to do, and how... I've compared this top with H&K, marshall, peavey, Engl, rivera and mesa tops, and only the rectifier amps has got more gain but they are way less versatile compared with the Koch. Another advantage of the Koch is that the gain channels already sound great on low volumes, the sound remaines the same, independent of what volume you're playing (usefull when you live in an appartment with neighbours on 4 sides). conclusion; very versatile and as hard and brutal as you can think of.

This one is six months old, it's mine since 3 months. It has never given me any problems or anything and I use it quite a lot. The only small flaw was that the jack input for 16 ohm speakers sometimes didn't work, took me about 2 minutes to fix it. I always use it without backup and feel very confident about it.

I dont'know, never had any problems but the factory is about 1,5 hour drive from here. 1 year warranty.

the previous owner sold it to me because for him the thing was too powerfull, he played 70's rock and really liked this amp but almost didn't use the gain channels. I've used this amp with marshall 1960 and greenback cabinets and also with the original Koch 4 x 12" cabinet, sounds great on all of them. before this one I used a H&K attax top, can't compare them. I've tried a lot of amps before I bought this one and think that only mesa boogie rectifier tops are even harder and more brutal, however they are a lot less versatile, have only 50 watts and cost about twice as much so..
all in all it looks great, sounds even better and is easy in use (unlike rivera amps for example). really like this amp.

The amp is from 2000 I paid 3395.00 Dutch guilders for it.the amp has 3 channels, clean, gain and ultra gain. tone control for the clean channel and tone control for the gain and ultra gain channel. Reverb, Solo Rhythm switch. Serial and parallel fx loops. 5 way footswitch.

I use the amp in many musicall styles but mainly Hard-rock and metal. it really is amazing the low end is tight, mids are clear and well defined and the high's are smooth. There is almost no noise at all this is most definate the quietest amp i have ever owned.
you can play any music style you want even Jazz if you like, Though the 412 cab i have with it asks me to play louder because it wants to work. This is the first all tube amp i own that has three great channels all usable. It is very tough to get the clean channel to distort you usualy do not want to play that loud. The distortion tones are awsome and there are many usable settings. I have fallen completely for this amp, my best amp ever.

never had a problem with it.

There is a 1 year warranty, I only hear positive words about the company and before I bought the amp they very very helpfull giving me information and finding me the right dealer. So I guess they will be great should there ever be a problem but I doubt i ever need them

I have been playing it for over a year now and I am still finding new great sounds, I am thinking of buying their Loadbox I heard some great stuff about it as I would like to have my sound on a lower volume. If it where stolen I would definatly buy a new one. I have owned mesa boogie's, Marshall's and recently an Engl(german) amp but none of them where this versatile the other amps had good sounds too but not on all channels and not this gooooood.