Koch Studiotone 112 Combo

Very versatile little combo;
Clean and overdrive channel with extra boost knob on that channel to cover the whole spectrum from fender clean to too much overdrive
A decent reverb
20W 2 * EL84 cathode biased poweramp
VG12-60 12" speaker specially designed for Koch made by Jensen that looks a lot like a jensen C12N
Recording output, output for slave amp etc.
It's a 2 and a half channel overdrive as the boost knob on the overdrive channel is just a on or off thing, so fixed gain and volume difference with the non boosted sound on that channel

Used it with various guitars ranging from telecaster to es335 style.
Sounds really good: the clean channel is really clean until you get into a very nice power amp overdrive.
The overdrive channel sound really good too: to my ears it doesnt lack any harmonics at all, nice touch sensitivity as it sound transparent when playing softly and doesnt sound hars when pushed into overdrive.
The only backdraw I had was a lack of loud and solid bass but what can you expect of a 20W 1*12inch combo! I solved it by using the output to a slave amplifier - a marshall superlead. This gave some hum due to ground loop problems as also stated in some forum but I solved it by using an audio transformer. Some people solve this the cheap way by not grounding one of the 2 amps but note that this is very dangerous; A tube amp should always be grounded.

I didn't track down the exact schematic of the preamp so I dont know if it's indeed solid state overdrive. Some people tell you that opamps and fets sound bad and tubes sound good but thats a too simple statement. Probably it's just that these tube fundamentalists never heared a good solid state overdrive, well I did and a also heared a lot of bad tube overdrive sounds as well as good ones. The only believe I still have is the need for a tube power amp and preferably close to or into power amp overdrive. Note that I will abandon this believe as soon as I hear a good guitar sound from solid state poweramp or from a digital signal processing / software overdrive.
Of course it's a matter of taste but keep in mind that there is no such thing as a good or bad component, it's all about the schematic around it and in bigger perspective, the combination guitar - overdrive - amp - speaker etc.

Early versions of the studiotone version1 had a well known problem of blowing the output transformer.
'my' amp indeed had this problem. Some windings in the primary of the output transformer were shortcircuited so the output was down to 1.5 watts.
The solution was simple: I emailed Koch. They only asked me for the serial number to check thats indeed one of those early ones and after that they sent me a new output transformer for free! They even offered me to install that trannie themselves but that was an easy job so I did it myself.
After that, the power was back at exactly 20W. I dont expect the trannie to break again as this is another type/brand that is probably the one is used in all the newer studiotone amps.

Excellent - read my story above.
The amp wasn't even in the waranty period anymore!

To me, the amp just doesnt have the looks but remember sound is something that's related to ears, not eyes and it's all pretty subjective anyway.
After solving the output transformer issue, i think this is a very nice and reliable amp. If short of output power: just use a slave amp and you'll have power amp overdrive at any volume above the 20W of the studiotone itself.

Honeymoon is over. I like the amp, but for some odd reason i was starting to notice a lack of harmonics in the overdrive mode. I decided to open up the amp and to my suprise....JFETS and OPAMPS in the overdrive circuit.

For $1600 I find it deplorable to use solid state clipping in the overdrive stages.

I'm dropping down my rating due to this. I can buy a fender blues jr and a chandler tube driver and get a better sound and real tube overdrive.

Again, this is my post honeymoon review. i really liked it the first night i played the amp, its different, aggressive, etc. The more i played though, i noticed the lack of harmonic richness that most tube amps have. I decided to open up the amp to see what could possibly done. To my horror i see JFETS staring up and me and numerous opamp stages. You never see JFETS in an amp unless the overdrive depends on it. Sorry Koch, to charge $1600 for an amp that doesn't have real tube overdrive / distortion is a crime in my book. Its going back to Musician's Friend this week.

Go to the website for features.

OK, i've been going through so many back up amps its getting ridiculous. I'm trying to keep it under $1000 and light weight. The amp fits all except for the price. Its light, has a 12" speaker, channel switching, killer clean, and great overdrive with one caveat:

I don't like the stock speaker. I'm not a fan of British sounding speakers and this one is good, but not my cup of tea. I'm running it through a 1x12 cab with an Eminence Red,White,Blues speaker. Great sound for me! Round milkshake like distortion, smoother mids and bass and a singing lead tone. Harmonics jump out with a roundness similar to the Dumble, Fuchs, TwoRock style of tone.

My main amp is a Fuchs ODS 50 and I can say that with the Eminence speaker change (which is what Fuchs uses now) this amp makes a nice compliment to the Fuchs.

Clean sound is somewhere between a Fender and a Vox. Gets very jangly with the "+" bright on. Very punchy and dynamic. One of the best cleans I've heard in a mass amp.

Distortion - Very heavy metal / hard rock sounding with the stock speaker. Lots of low end girth in the distortion. Crispy top end. Much smoother and creamier sounding with the RWB speaker change. A bit darker sounding but more my cup o' tea.

Pick your poison.

At 1500,its pricey. The premium you pay on this amp is the tone, flexibility, and compact size. Its very lightweight and would be much lighter with a neo speaker. I may try a Texas Lite or Tonker lite in the near future. I think a bypass cap change on the overdrive to something smaller would tame out the lows in the distortion, which will also smooth out the highs a bit.

In stock form its a great amp and expected at this price range. If it was under $1500, it would be a exceptional buy. Compared to a Mesa 5:25 w/12" ($1300), this amp kills it. The Mesa is way too nasally midrangey for my taste and heavier. I don't trust Mesa's QC anymore. 1 out of 3 mesa's I try at the Guitar Sinner always has issues.

A lot of features on this amp: recording (with cab and mic simulator) and headphone outputs, 3 chanels (clean, drive, more drive), effects loop, mid boost and treble boost, etc.

the recording output is not amazing, but very usefull when you don't have good recording gear.

i play this amp with a duesenberg starplayer 1998. it's the classic rock sound of the 70's. Crank the clean chanel and you'll have a great overdriven tone a la led zeppelin, cream, guess who ... it has very punchy and vintage rock tone.

great for rock or jazz.
forget the blusy tone, you wont get it.

this amp would get a lot room with a 2 12 cab.

i bought it a year a go, didn't have any major problems with it.
but i think the transformer is too small for this amp and it's getting way too hot. so i fixed a 115 volt fan on back of the transformer, witch is drilled in the freim of the amp with small brakets, so it stays cool. the job is very clean and NOW it sould last.

but without this modification, it would eventually fail... so i'm giving a 6.

great rock sound, small amp easy to cary.

IT HAS A TRANSFOMER PROBLEM AND YOU TO TAKE CARE CAUSE IT WILL FAIL.

I has all the features i was lookintg for, and that means a lot because
that's pretty much the only amp i could find on this planet that was versatile, easy to use, good tone AND a silent recording output. More on that later, that's a VERY important point.

You'll find amps with a better clean sound, a better crunch sound, a better distortion? But you will NEVER find an amp that can combine such versatile sounds and still sound good on every setting?. I went to the Namm Showw 2008 and tried pretty much every brand. Some Had a cool distortion but a soso-clean (mesa and all the american high gain famly), some could only deliver crunches (orange, vox etc...).
Koch was the ONLY brand that could just make an amp that sounds good, whatever you play. FOr that i give it a 9. I can't give it a ten because it's not a VOX AC30, it's bnot a Mesa bogie or plexi, but it combines the best of it, with rich, authenthic sounds.

Using the different modes, you can go from a modern type, fat and creamy distortion, to a perfect CLEAN, fender type , or vox type as well. There's a million of CRUNCH sounds you can get combining the modes, vintage, modern etc.
But more importantly, whatever you polay, the tone is rich and authenthic, makes you wanna play ovr and over.

A few problems,the outputs screw went of and i realised the jacks entries had a platic tube, which breaks. Broke 3. It still works, but well...

Talked to Mr Koch at the namm, the FAQ on their site is good, and he answered my emails.

In the past i owned Orange AD30, Bedrock 600 (still do), Carvin Legacy, Line 6 Duoverb, Vox Tonelab.
I have been playing on this amp for nearly 4 years. I bought if after trying the TWINTONE in a store in Madrid, Spain. I had a Carvin Legacy. I wanted to change because i needed a smaller, lighter, more versatile amp. More importantly, i was after a silent recording amp.
Since i bought this amp, i never even consider buying another amp.
This means i've found the right one. 4 years without even thinking of a new amp, can you believe that ?

To me, the POD and other amp simulators all sounded like cheese,
and i was convinced that i could record with a professional sound
at home, if i choosed carefully my gear. And here i am : Mac+Garage Band,a cheap M-Audio USB device, this Koch amp and ah ah ah ah !
My friends who paid the "full monty" (cubase+Mesa+shure+isolated walls=$$$$). They all sound like ****, becaus they don't really know how to record an amp correctly, and how to use cubase. I just plug my KOCH in my Mac, and push REC...
That's what a Home Studio should be about.
Keep your cash for the real thing, this is the best you will get
unless rick rubin and his crew decide to produce your album...

So here is my advice: buy this amp, it HAS what you're looking for.
You can play everything, on stage, or at home. Yes, at home.
Some people said it's too loud: guys, they built-in a silent ouptut just for you.. Use it ! Plug it in your computer, or a PA.

If someone steals this amp, i will try to find different amps with similar features, and try it, but for the price, it seems very difficult to beat.

If i had more cash, i would keep my Koch and go on holidays for a while instead of investing 3000$ for an amp that is probably not much better. I'd like a Mesa, or a VOX AC50, but i'm not ready to pay for it yet.

Here is my advice to everyone. Don't let the price decide for you.
Buying expensive gear will not make tyou sound better.
The most important is to be able to define what you need,
what you want, and what's important and inspiring to your playing.

Once you've done that, most amps will not fit the bill.
There's always an amplifier out there that can give you the right sounds for the right price. The Koch will !

Very versatile. Line out with speaker emulation. Does a decent job for rehearsals. Tone shaping switches really work as for the 3 tone EQ knobs. Lightweight about 30 lbs. Does every thing I wanted. Very very few can do all this and is easy to carry around.Wish I could toggle between 20 watt RMS to 5 watts RMS. Considering a THD HotPlate to get in full power tube saturation without annoying other band mates. This amps is surprisingly loud.

I was also looking for a higher gain amp and I got what I wanted. There are still higher gain amps out there but they become more specialized. This one can cover a lot of ground. A bit noisy on higher settings but can live with it no problems. A lot of bottom end if needed (from a single 12inch mind you). Sound is even better connected to a cab with 212inch celestion but I am looking at ease of transport.

Was a bit worried from the transfo issue. I have been playing it daily for 3 months at relatively high gain and volume and have no issue to report so far.. Looks a bit plain but very very made.

We have the noth american distributor in town and are supposedly very good.

Been playing actively for last 12 years. Latest amp was a univalve. Switch over to the studiotone for higher gain, ease of transport and advanced features. You can't be dissapointed with this amps. It does everything it's suppose to do if you can play loud enough. I would buy one the day after this thing is stolen.

hmm my 2:nd output transformer crapped out on me recently. When the first one broke i had to wait for about 3 months (thats right MONTHS) ,and pay big bucks, for the koch people to send me another one. Then it worked for about 3 weeks and then the second one broke. don??t know if i??ll keep the amp or sell it and buy something reliable. Looks like i??m not the first one to have an transformer go (judging from other reviews) which proves that these amps where built whith less than mediocre components and it pisses me of since its supposed to be a "high quality amp".

So when the first transformer broke down i emailed Koch severall times but they where obviously to busy to answere and then a 3 month wait for a frickin transformer... COMON!!!! ( I live in Sweden by the way and it was shipped from holland)

the main features have been described. It has a good range of sounds although its not for extreme metalheads. I was concerned that it wouldn't have the volume required, but it out does the Peavey Bandit I used before in terms of volume and in terms of sound there's a world of difference

the clean channel is stunning, I use it with an American Deluxe Telecaster and an Epiphone Sheraton II I just love it. The overdrive channel has pretty much put my distotion pedals to bed, I prefer the distotion from the amp. The amp is the envy of quite a few guitarists in the rehearsal rooms where we practice

so far no problems whatsoever

no need to use it so far

Already described

Sounds awesome, true. I love the clean and OD1 channel.
EQ works great, and the bright switch is a nice feature. I put it to 0 when connecting a tele or a strat, and to + when I connect a humbucker guitar.
I LOVE IT.

Now, I'ld like to draw attention to one point: This little thing is LOUD AS HELL.
It starts to sound good if you turn volume past 8 or 9 o'clock, but at that point it's giggable loud... NOT for your room at home.
Unless you intent to connect an attenuator(highly recommended), don't even think about getting this for your bedroom.

Don't know yet, but I've heard that customer support is unbelievable so I wouldn't mind if it breaks !!! :)

Heard nothing but the best. No personal experience though

I would definitely buy it if it was stolen.
I highly recommend this amp. Though, as I said, if you plan to use it at home, save some money for a good attenuator (a weber minimass would do it).
Nice tones out of this little thing!

Three channels, reverb, Fx loop & lots of recording goodies.

I??m absolutely in love with this amp. I play strats with John Suhr v60lp pickups and callaham blocks.
-The clean channel: crystal clean. Nice breakup if you crank the volume.
-The od channel: This is the channel i use the most(Gain at 12 ?? clock). Loads of great sounds, although be aware, since this is an class A amp the tone can get fuzzy and hairy unless you roll the tone knob down a bit on your guitar and roll the volume down to 9 instead of 10(The old Jeff Beck tip). Really nice crunchy sounds!!!
-The od+ channel: I dont use this channel. I use a crunch setting on the od cahnnel and i use a Xotic BB preamp for solo boost. the original tone is lost a bit on this channel i think.

This amp takes pedals pretty well allthough i didn??t like the sound of distortion pedals through the loop. Got a little muddy.
Oh I play in a blues/funk/rock -band

No problems allthough i??ve only had it for 3 months.

Never delt with koch.

For the money, This is one of the best amps out there in my op.
I??ve been playing for about 11 years and i??m somewhat of a gearfreak, constantly trying amps and pedals out. If it were stolen i would definitly buy a new. I??ve been playing fender amps for a long time (deluxe reverb, Blues deluxe & blues junior.) and this one beats them all.

2004 amp. EL-84 powered. Features extensively explained by other users.

Crystal clear in the clean channel. Nice reverb also. Silent and quiet.
Sweet and warm distortion in the other channels. More noisy.
Excellent for both single coils and humbuckers in all channels.
Loud with excellent note definition.
I try to play blues and classic rock. Perfect for that purposes.
I decided to upgrade it with buggle boys in the pre-amp and telefunkens in the power section. Even better than before.

I had a problem with the transformer. It was changed and the problem dissapeared.

Tech amp told me about the tranformer. Get in touch with Koch and they replied inmediately and sent to me a new tranformer for free (shipping on their side). The amp was out of the warranty period and they obviously knew it.
Excellent.

I have been playing for four years and I am 44, so I can not give advise to the more experienced people. I am currently playing with a custom strat and a heritage 150. Too loud for home practising. Excellent for small gigs.
I can say that I am really satisfied with the amp and in my opinion It sounds really good. If it was stolen I do not know would it be the next amp but for sure the candidates would have a powerful rival in the studiotone.
Two points less for the transformer, otherwise an overall 10.

I bought the amp from a store that had it on display for over two years. I found it out when it was necessary to have a repair done...still a great giging machine

The Studiotone is unlike anything I've used before (40 yrs of playing)...it does whtever its asked

I only had an output transformer go

Best service I EVER had...Period! A factory defective output transformer was replaced by overnight express...at no cost!

I'll never give it up

This is an update of my previous review.

I forgot to mention the speaker emulation feature through the headphone jack and the direct recording out. I think the speaker emulation sucks. I don't think it sounds anything like the sound actually coming out of the speaker. My hats off to Koch though for including this. I think that it does make the amp more flexible, and it's a great practice tool when you want to play the amp through headphones. But, I don't think I would ever use the direct recording out to actually record in the studio. But, I haven't used the direct recording out yet. If it sounds anything like the speaker emulation does through headphones, I won't. In my opinion, the speaker of an amp needs to push some air to get a good sound, otherwise it sounds like some cheap digital modeling amp.

I got to take the studiotone out to a jam session in a small club recently, and damn, this little baby rocks! I used it with a fender american deluxe v-neck strat with maple neck, through the following signal chain: guitar---AYA r-comp---Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah---Fulltone Soul Bender---Maxon OD-9 Pro+---amp, and a Maxon AD-999 analog delay through the effects loop. WOW!!! First off, I was able to play over a drummer and other guitar players with the volume of both channels on 4 or 5!!! This amp sounds great when you open it up louder. Seriously, I was very surprised. Much like any tube amp, if you crank the volume up more, it's going to push the tubes harder and make the amp sound better. Luckily enough, being that this amp is 20 watts, you don't have to push the volume too hard to get that great tube saturation. The mids on this puppy rock. It really cut through the mix. There was no hum from the amp and no noticeable popping from the footswitch, so now I'm sure that the reason I experienced hum at my apartment is because the wiring at my apartment isn't grounded correctly. Once again, I am going to say that this is such a great amp for the price and features. If you are looking for an amp in the $1000 or more price range, seriously, check this out. I have not heard or seen an amp any better for $1325 new from musiciansfriend that sounds like it. You want this one! Get on the Koch bandwagon! They are a quality manufacturer and their business needs to grow because of it!

As far as features go, Dolf Koch really put some work in designing this guitar for guitar players. Well done Mr.Koch! Two channels: clean and overdrive, with overdrive and overdrive+ modes. It has an effects loop, headphone jack, direct out, recording out, speaker emulation for headphones/direct recording, mid shift switch, 3-way bright switch, speaker on/off switch for silent recording/headphone playing, output to clean channel of another amp, spring reverb. This is not a metal amp, however, rock and blues aficionados will be very pleased by this amp. Very loud for 20 watts. No amp is perfect, so I do have 3 bones to pick. 1) the knobs are somewhat loose, meaning that they can be adjusted in advertently. Just brushing up against your pant-leg while moving the amp is enough to change your settings. 2) When switching from overdrive to clean there is a very audible popping sound from the footswitch. 3) With the overdrive+ setting selected, the clean sound's tone is noticably sucked away. That being said, still a great amp. Lightweight too. For features, gets a 10.

This is the most flexible amp for its size I have ever come across. The mid shift switch and bright switch really, really add to the flexibility of this amp. The clean channel has a lot of headroom, even at high volumes, for 20 watts. It doesn`t have the deep bass and rich, round sound of a fender twin reverb clean, but it is a usuable clean that has more of a vox type of sparkle. The distortion has a british voicing, with great midrange. The distortion maintains its clarity even with the gain wide open in the overdrive+ mode, with some hum, but not a lot of hum. I had a marshall tsl some years back that was the lousiest, noisiest lemon of an amp ever. This amp runs practically dead silent compared to that p.o.s. Still, not enough gain on this amp for metal, but very flexible nonetheless. This fits my musical style perfectly: rock and blues via a 2006 fender american deluxe maple v-neck strat. I have experienced hum with the amp, but only at my apartment, so I`m fairly sure that this is due to a grounding problem in my apartment, rather than due to the amp itself. If you get to open up the volume a bit on the amp in a large room, it sounds very sweet. I like to use a maxon OD-9 pro+ or a fulltone soul bender with the amp in overdrive mode to get some incredible sustain and thickness. Great sounds, but not perfect. I think the jensen design koch speaker is good, but not the best. I think that more clarity and better sound is still available to give this amp its optimum sound. The amp design itself is absolutely superb, and Dolf Koch is a genius for making this amp so loaded with features and boutique quality for such an affordable price. I would like to buy a 12' brown soun tone-tubby hempcone alnico blue speaker to replace the jensen koch.

This amp is built solid as a rock. I would use it without a backup, but bring a pair of matched koch tubes, and maybe even some preamp tubes. You don`t have to rebias your amp if you use the matched koch EL84s. Yet, no problems so far. But, tube amps are always finicky. Having a tube amp is like taking care of a living thing. You have to care for it properly, and it will most always act according to certain perameters, yet you never know when it will behave erratically. That being said, a better quality amp is always more reliable than mass-produced junk. Koch amps are high quality, and I expect this amp to be nothing less than reliable as long as I take care of it properly.

I have yet to deal with Koch, but that's primarily because I haven`t had needed their assistance. People often forget that the most basic part of customer support is making a product that needs very little customer service to begin with! So, until I actually interact with them, I`ll give them the benefit of the doubt and go with 10 here.

I've been playing since I was 15. I am an unrelenting gear freak. I am always checking out new guitars, amps, and effects. As such, if this were ever stolen, I would probably try another high quality amp, but, it would definitely be difficult to replace an amp so flexible in this price range. I currently live in Japan and I got this amp for a steal, because some shop in Tokyo needed to move this amp to pay the rent. So far, I have been very pleased. It is everything that I needed, and, it sounds great with pedals. Currently, I use a fulltone clyde standard wah, a maxon overdrive pro+, fulltone soul bender, and maxon AD-999 analog delay with all George L's .155 classic red cable with brass plugs. However, I plan on adding several more pedals as time and money see fit.


WORDS TO THE WISE: As a matter of preference, I feel that no amp is perfect and that good effects can make a huge difference in your sound. Buy true-bypass effects, unless you are buying effects that have high tech buffer circuitry that doesn`t suck tone (pete cornish, klon, moollon). Potted volume pedals do alter tone. Get the Buzz Feiten tuning system and use a Peterson strobostomp tuner for the most accurate intonation. You need a boost/line driver if you are using over 5 meters of cable with true bypass effects to maintain your signal integrity. You can't go wrong with Keeley, Maxon 9 and vintage series (post 2004), Fulltone, Xotic, Moollon, or Analogman. A good compressor will change your life and do wonders for your clean tone. The keeley is amazing, as well as analogman's comprosser, and AYA Tokyo Japan's r-comp. I currently have an r-comp on the way in the mail, and it may make enough difference in the sound of this amp that I will have to update this review. There are so many boutique amps around that you should do a ton of searching before you buy. Nowadays you can literally find any type of tone your a looking for, if you search hard enough. The internet is a brilliant tool for researching tone and learning how to be a better musician. Jimi Hendrix is god because he taught himself and changed rock music forever without the aid of the internet...unbelievable. Ciao, and happy tone hunting!

The studiotone is a flexable piece of equipment. I use it for giging and for recording, both with unbelievable results; Do I realy sound THIS GOOD ??????? WOW !.

OH man, read the rest of the reviews and you get a little bit of a feeling we (the owners) have everytime we flip the stand-by switch,......Awsome tone (if you have a good guitar !). The overdrive + mode is perfect ! Beter than a Marshall ! And the clean channel is bright like a VOX. It's a 20 watt amp, so if you need more headroom for the clean channel, just link it to an other amp ( like a fender twin ) and you can't believe your ears. Pure stereo tone !!! I don't need any effects no more, it sound awsome if you plug in a great guitar.

Well I've had a little problem with it. I'm dutch so I don't know the englisch word for it but for the ducth :" de transformator" broke down. The warrenty period expired, so I took it to the local repairman. He called Koch and they said they've made a mistake, so they replaced the parts FOR FREE !!!!! FOR FREE MAN !!!! I know that they have a great reputation for quality, so I think I just was unlucky !

Super !!!

This amp is the new version of Studiotone, built in 2005 in the Netherlands. Compared to the older model it has three gain settings for OD+ Channel. Others have covered the features thoroughly, so won't go into details here... but I must say it's really packed for such a small combo. Very versatile indeed!

Sound quality is where the Studiotone really shines. I play a custom made set-neck guitar with humbuckers and the combination is just fantastic. The clean channel sounds warm and breaks up nicely at higher volumes. It's kind of a mixture of Vox and Fender - shimmery on the top and round at the bottom. Onboard spring reverb is perhaps a bit lacking in depth, but still extremely usefull. Also the shared EQ is not a big deal since the amp is so incredibly well balanced.

While the Clean channel is great, the OD / OD+ channel is even better. It can deliver everything from a slightly overdriven rhythm sound to a full hot rodded Brittish crunch. And adjust the Mid-Shift and Bright swithes and you've got a sweet saturated California style lead. Just amazing harmonics and the overdrive never gets muddy - not even with the high gain settings. Very impressive.

Overall the Studiotone has an airy character and at times the amp feels almost transparent. It really let's your guitar sing through, but at the same time is unforgiving to bad guitars and especially crappy pickups. Plug in a decent instrument and the Studiotone becomes a small tone monster.

The amp is really well build and feels sturdy. Parts are top notch and for example the front panel knobs turn just silky smooth. For a tube amp it's also very quiet with minimal hum and hiss. It also has a nifty auto-bias feature, so you can throw in a matched EL84 pair when in need of change.

As others have pointed out, there is a "pop" when switching from OD/OD+ to Clean. According to Koch this is by design and it was a tradeoff they made for better tone. A bit of a bummer, but it's easy enough to get around. Just mute the strings before stepping on the footswitch.

It does run a bit hot, but that's nothing unusual for a small tube amp. And compared to a cranked Vox AC-30 it's still cool as ice.

I had a question concerning the effects loop level and e-mailed Koch. They replied within a couple of days and were very helpfull indeed. I'm sure they give fine customer support if you ever need it. And as a Dutch company, Koch is well represented in the EU.

I replaced my trusty Mesa/Boogie combo with the Studiotone and it almost feels like a fog or a blanket has been lifted. For the first time I'm truly hearing the sound of my guitar.

I'm amazed ever time I play this little big amp. Soundwise the Studiotone is nothing less than breathtaking! For a small 20 Watt combo it's also loud and can handle everything from bedroom practice to studiowork and even club gigs. The price is very reasonable too, considering the sound / build quality and features.

This amp was made in 2005. It is a very versatile little amp. Two channels plus an overdrivemode for channel two. 20 watts rms class A.
20 watts goes a very long way. All channels share the same eq. This may make one or two of you to hesitate considering buying or try this amp out. Dont!! You can get allmost any kind of sound out of this thing.
It's got a ton of features. 4, 8 and 16 ohm speakeroutputs. Effectloop, micsimulated lineout; four settings: mic on- or off axis, 1*12 or 4*12 loudspeaker. This is however the only beef I have with this thing. An amp lined to a PA sounds really crappy. I don't care what you say. I have tried every thing on the market; pod 2, pod xt live, vamp 2,
koch loadbox with lineout, yamaha dgstomp, and a bunch of amps with built in speakersimulators. They all sound crap, at least in a livesituation. Buy a 57 and smile all the way instead.

I play Fender standard strat, lonestar strat, Gibson Les Paul standard and a Gibson Les Paul with p-90 pu's. This amp handles them all. It is a little bassy whith the Les Paul's but souds great whith the strats.
The amp sound even better with a 2*12 celestion vintage loaded loudspeaker underneath it. The onboard speaker kind of farts out on louder settings.
The amp itself is very quiet. No hiss or splonges here.
I play in a coverband covering alot of music and i'm very pleased with the amount of diffrent sounds this amp produces.
The clean channel breaks up realy nice, but not too soon.
The dirty channel can get really dirty. Maybe not nu-metal but really close.

Is built really sturdy, but you should handle everything with care or it will break.

I've been playing for 27 years and I have plyed Marshalls, Voxes, Oranges and a lot of moddelingamps. If you give it time you can get som really good tones out off allmost any amp, tubes or solidstate but this thing sound great right away. Plug a deasent guitar into it and it will deliver the tone you want.

new model, built in 2005, three channels: clean - overdive - overdive plus (with 3-mode-switch: high, middle, low);
controls: volume clean, gain, od volume, bass, mid, treble, reverb, 2 voicing-switches (midshift, 3-mode bright switch: + o -), 12" jensen-speaker, 20 W rms, 3 preamp-tubes (12AX7) 2 power-tubes (EL84)class a;
footswitch, recording outputs with dummy-load and voicing-switches, headphone-output, speaker output: 4, 8 or 16 Ohm

I'm using an american-strat with seymour duncan PUs (bridge: JB jr & neck: Little59) & a Ibanez SA1260 prestige, my styles: from blues to classic rock with a little bit of punk & hard rock;
a very good sounding boutique-amp for all styles, very quit in OD-channels, clean channel near the classic fender-sound;
but there is one problem: if you switch from od to clean you've to damp the strings otherwise a crack will beat your ears;
in toto: little amp but great sound

I use this amp on gigs without a backup, very good quality like all Koch-amps

that's the point: no replies to my questions (via e-mail & fax)concerning the noisy channel switching; at last (with a little help of the dealer) I've got an answer (circuit arrangement) and the tip to damp the strings

I've been playing for over 25 year, I've owned a lot of gear like Fender (Twinamp, Blues Jr, Prosonic), Kitty Hawk Junior, Groove Tubes Solo45, Peavey Classic; I think it's one of the best little amps you can get, not so expensive like a Mesa Boogie, but you have the switching noise

Features of this amp were revealed in previous submissions by others.
All of these work fine.
Can be used for all music styles.

I use this amplifier with a Gibson Les Paul double cut and an Ibanez
520 QM GAB. The pickups of the Ibanez were replaced with DiMarzio Paff's.
Apart from the reverb, evrything sounds nice. I will nor compare it with other brands such as Mesa or Fender but with a little tweaking
one many a suitable sound.
The clean channel is crystal clear but get bluesier when turning the volume up higher. The two overdrives are great, nice tone and can be
pushed fron subttle tones to extremely dirty.
This amp has an output to a clean input of anothe amplifier. I do this with a Mesa Boogi. When both amps are set at the same loudness but with different sound colouring, the effect is really great.

Don't know, only have it a few months.

Never needed it

I have been playing for over 30 years.
Owned many differend amplifiers, now I only have a Mesa Boogi, a couple of practice amps and this Studiotone.
What I don't like about this amp is the changing of the tubes. Unlike a Mesa - where one can simply change the tubes in a couple of minutes - it wille take a little while to change the preamp tubes. They are, however, extremely well protected and I believe that this amp can take a lot of hard wear.
This amp does not sound like the Mesa - although I can get it close enough - the amps are different. The Mesa has a slightly better preamp (4 instead of three 12AX7 tubes gives the Mesa a slightly richer tone) but I think that the Studiotone is stronger.
Would I buy it again? Why not, it is great value.

Feature set has been well described already, however, don't allow the 20 Watt rating to confuse you that this product will deliver a little amp's sound. I haven't come across an amplifer as feature rich as this one for the price. The primary driver to purchase this product was the silent operation for recording. I don't know of another tube amp that has a built in amp simulator featuring two mic positions and two different cabinet types. Initially I was looking to buy a rack speaker simulator, but for the extra $500 you get a significantly better package that delivers more without the fear of having too high of an impedance that will damage your head or combo amp. I haven't seen too many product that will allow for all of this versatility as well as 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker connections.

Very bright on the clean channel, very quiet when idling and the standby switch is disengaged. This unit runs almost as silently as a solid state amp. Very easy to fine-tune for the sound from a classic Fender to a dirty British overdriven amp. This unit wakes up through the cabinet speaker at #2 (8 o'clock) on the dial where the sound has depth and dimension. A great deal of sound and volume at the 9 o'clock position certainly more than ample for most small venues.
This amp sounds great when plugged into a Celestion-equipped extension cabinet and changes the sound versus the stock Jensen that the combo amp is supplied with. Very good spring reverb unit.

Too early to tell whether or not this is going to be a positive experience. The product appears to be very well constructed with a heavy stamped metal cage screwed in to protect the power tubes. The foot swtich controller is made from heavy gauge stamped metal with a very well insultated cord that is permanently attached. This is much better than those I have owned from Fender, Marshall and one Mesa I borrowed with their associated amps. There is no noise evident when switching channels whether through the foot switch or the front panel. This is not been my experience with Fender, Traynor or Marshall.

I have received quick and prompt responses from their pre-sales team. Web site is well layed out. No post sales experience to report

Right now I can fairly say I would have purchased this unit again and wouldn't have bothered with the Traynor Custom Valve 40 I purchased 12 months ago. There isn't anything that this amp can't deliver for the type of playing I do. The sound floored me when I tried it. It can deliver great sound through an ES335, Les Paul or an American Deluxe Strat. This is a workhorse product well aligned with its mission which is studios and small venues. The multiple output options lend itself to going through other amps and using this one as a preamp or into a PA for flexibility and additional power

It's amazing what the people at koch put into this little package! Read the koch website for the exact specs; very versatile!

I play the studiotone in church, have the koch classictone at home. The studiotone has the typical koch sound, but sounds more like the classictone than the multi and twintone; less compressed. It reminds me of the classictone through a vintage 30 cabinet, but with less punch even though there's much more gain available. In my opinion the classictone sounds more refined and sweeter, but it's twice the price! (and wattage) There are no bad sounds from this amp, all the switches really make a difference in sound. It's loud enough for medium gigs and if not, bring an extra 212 cab and you're set. It's vintage and modern at the same time. What more can you ask for in a small tube combo? My new favorite small amp!

A description soundwise: fender blackface clean to pushed clean (bassman like but not as raw) Overdrive: a crossover between an older mesa and a jcm marshall. Not as gritty as the marshall, not as stiff as a mesa, but nicely inbetween. It's a classy 'neat' sound, it's not a barking old vox or plexi or fender tweed type sound. This amp is good for funk, jazz, blues, latin (like santana) 80's rock, 90's rock. Not raw enough for classic '60 or '70 rock for my taste (take one of the new hiwatts or marshall plexi clones or 65amps) and metal is possible but I think if you want a good metal amp; take the koch powerone or an engl.

feels really solid like all koch amps. I heard amp techs rave about the pcb quality of koch amps, and that if something goes wrong repair is easy. My koch classictone works fine since I bought it and I gigged with it once a week for a year: three stairs down, in the car, out the car, two stairs up, one stair down and the same thing reversed at the end of the night for a year. I guess the studiotone is no different?

Not all of my mails I sent were returned, but they seem to be very busy lately. Besides that: very friendly people!

I recommend this amp for anyone who's looking for a small amp that covers a lot of ground in sound. The extra features you're getting are a big bonus.

Bought this amp a couple of weeks ago. Dealer threw in footswitch and original Koch amp cover. Awesome features on this amp that was build in 2005 in The Netherlands :
- 2x EL84s in class A
- 20 Watts
- 3 Channels: Clean, Overdrive, Overdrive-Boost
- Passive Bass-Mid-Treble tone controls
- Two Voicing switches: Mid shift (2-way) + Bright (3-way)
- Single 12", newly designed VG12-60 Koch speaker
- 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs
- Speaker on/off switch
- Power Soak
- Line output,
- "To Clean Channel" output
- Recording output with speaker simulation filter
- headphones output
- Effects loop
- Accutronics spring reverb
- Footswitch input jack
Size: 44W x 23D x 42H cm
Weight: 15 kg

The amp sounds great through the Jensen built speaker, and also when using headphones. There is a powersoak which enables you to rock hard without disturbing the neighbourhood.

When I bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard in addition to my Fender USA Standard Strat I could not find the warmth and the depth in the tone I was expecting, so I decided to sell my Line 6 Flextone II to get a real tube amp. I mainly play at home, so I don't need too much power. I was totally hooked on the Hughes & Kettner 20th Aniversary Edition until my dealer suggested to test the Studiotone. Wow! Amazing tone. The clean channel provides the best tone I have ever found on any amp. Chords sound sparkling and bass tones rock! The Gibson sound is warm, and the Stratocaster really delivers the authentic Fender tone I thought I had with my Flextone. The clean channel starts to clip at 5, but the overdrive channel delivers a nice bluesy crunch, even at low volumes. The Overdrive + Channel is good for hard rock, nice distortion, never muddy. There is no noise, and don't expect a "pop" at switching; this monster is really silent when it has to. If youre style is trash metal this is probably not your amp, but I mostly play blues, classic rock and eighties hair rock and this amp really suits me well.

It is built like a tank. The valves are protected by a little cage so it is safe for us amateurs. I do believe it is save to gig without backup.

No need to deal with CS yet. The Koch website is very to-the-point. Try the FAQ to get an answer on The most burning questions about TUBES AND TUBE AMPLIFIERS, even if you are not considering to buy a Koch (hey, I was not considering to buy one until I took it for a testdrive).

I play for 20 years now. In addition to the LP and Strat, I still have my first axe, a 1985 Westone Spectrum, great guitar! I own a 15W Fender Champion solid state amp that I hardly ever use, but when my son grows up he can use it while practicing with the Westone. I use a Line 6 Guitarport for fun. I play a Simon & Patrick acoustic guitar and a beautiful Cort Artisan A4 bass through a Behringer BX1200 Amp. The Studiotone is a little dwarf with a big sound. If it gets stolen I will admire the thief for his good taste (and I'll pray that he will be arrested by a very violent cop). I'll bet that I will have it replaced even before the insurance money gets in! This is the best Amp I have ever heard. There are less expensive tube amps, but I do believe that price/quality is unrivalled. Congratulations to Dolf Koch, Holland rocks!

Features already listed by others.

VERY versatile features especially for a low power combo amp.

Use a 73 Strat and a newer US Fat Tele.

Amp is quiet. Clean Channel is very full sounding.

Distortion Channels are thick and unbelievable.

Intense tonal variation available.

Only complaint is the internal speaker. I was not very satisfied at first. Internal speaker was a little "cardboardy" sounding. Maybe that's why the guy who owned it before me sold it. Not very good.

Not bad for very quiet practicing, and actually used it with the internal speaker the first day in a very small club.

Sounded OK at lower volumes. Farts out at higher volumes using internal speaker.

So then I got home and plugged it into a 2-12 cabinet with a G12H30 and a Vintage 30.

HOLY CRAP! Like playing through a totally different amplifier.

This is an amazing little amp. VERY loud with those speakers. Amazing headroom on clean channel. Amazing articulation on the drive channel. The overdrive is nicer than a MESA. Not as much buzzy distortion. Very chunky. Palm mutes are focused but crushing.

You could play the average size club with this easily.

With the 2-12 cab, this amp can do Fender, Can do Vox, Can fkeep up with a rectified MESA in terms of sound (volume may be a prob, only 20 watts). I never use the mid heavy '80s Marshall sound, but it can do that too.

Jazz to Blues to Rock to Metal. Can do it all.

What's not to like. My new favorite amp.

Unknown. Just bought.

Unknown. Bought used.

Paying 40 years. Have had many Fenders, Tophat, Vox, Custom Handwired.

I have to say this right up there with the best of them.

A little better maybe because it is more flexible.

Bought it because a friend has a twintone. Heard that and thought it was pretty amazing after only a short listen.

Prefer lower power amps. So this is a better fit for me.

Wish it had a true extension speaker jack. As is I have to disconnect the internal speaker to connect cabinet. Not a big deal. Just pulling a jack out and putting one in.

Would buy again.

The Studiotone is aptly named as it has some great features for recording and can cover all music styles and do it right. The back panel is the feature rich area so let's start there. It has several inputs and is very unique in a couple of them. For instance you can jack in to the recording out (this is diff than the line outs) and select a switch that simulates a mic directed at the cone or directed off axis. You can also select if you want the recording out to simulate a 1x12 or 4x12. Another very neat feature is the 2 line outs. One is a standard line out while the second is for connecting to the clean channel of a second amplifier (mmmm the possibilites). But wait, there's more! What would you say if I told you they throw in a speaker on off switch? That's not all if you order today they will give you a headphone jack at no extra charge. This is all in addition to the standard FX loop and 4,8, 16 ohm outs. The front is easy to use- Channel switching with OverDrive plus it also has clean channel volume, OD volume with a drive knob, also Low Mid and Treble Dial. ButtWait that's not all It also has a Mid Boost switch, a treble boost switch and Accutronics reverb dial.... whew I am tired of typing. The best part is all of these features work and work well. I personally do not like the spring reverb but besides that this thing ROCKS. It has EL84's and when you kick in the OD plus, crank up the drive knob a little- wham, holy amplification Batman! I love the midboost in the clean channel to give that just breaking at the edge thick sound. Power? You want a kick in the pants? This little guy will do it! Very good for Blues, Rock and a thick jazz sound.

I play it with a PRS singlecut. It is the quietest amp I own. I have compared it with my Mesa and Blue Voodoo Crate as well as a Victorian and Fender. The distortion is what you make it. There are too many possibilities to go into but at it's dirtiest it's like a Mesa and it also has a cleaner, much gentler distortion I guess the best thing to say here is the drive knob really works.

I don't know that yet. I do know it has an extra fuse on board and the tubes do not have to be re-biased if you have to slap a new pair of tubes in.

No idea. I judge things alot on the quality of workmanship. Everything is tight and well manufactured

I am very excited about this amp. I cannot quit playing it and for good reason. It's rare to get an item and stay as infatuated with it as when you first got it, but I am.

- The amp was built in 2004
- 2x EL84s in class A
- 20 Watts
- 3 Channels: Clean, Overdrive, Overdrive-Boost
- Passive Bass-Mid-Treble tone controls
- Two Voicing switches: Mid shift (2-way) + Bright (3-way)
- Single 12", newly designed VG12-60 Koch speaker
- 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs
- Speaker on/off switch
- Power Soak
- The next 4 outputs take the signal from the speaker output: Line ouput, "To Clean Channel" ouput, Recording output with speaker simulation filter and 2 voicing switches, headphones output
- Effects loop
- Accutronics spring reverb
- Footswitch input jack (footswitch not included)
- Size: 44W x 23D x 42H cm
- Weight: 15 kg

The only thing i don't like about it, is that ists "only" 20 Watts

I use a Gison Les Paul Classic, standard humbuckers. I loved to play metal, and believe it or not, this small amp does the job better than a marshall. But -again- only 20 watts... With the gain turned up only a little, it makes a bluesy kind of sound, wich i love too. The (distorted) sound "cuts like a knife", and i mean that as a compliment. The distortion+ channel gives a real hardrocksound, and is never muddy, even with the gain on maximum. The clean channel is very clean, and gives an open, sparkling sound. The character of the guitar shines pleasantly through. It stays clean till high volumes.

Until now, no problems, and according to other Koch products, it must be okay.

I've been playing for 15 years now, and owened some Marshalls. 100watts heads, 4*12inch cabs.
I would buy it again, as soon as possible when it was stolen or lost.
Since i lost my Marshall-religion (I was a believer) i've tried (i think) most of the amp brands, (like Engl, Hughes&kettner, more Marshalls, Fender, Vox, Mesa-boogie and some i cant remember, not impressive) and ended up with Koch products. And in a direct confrontation the studiotone came out as winner. I love the sound, in combination with digital effects too.
But what i don't like is the small amount of outputpower.

Straight off the Koch website:
- 2x EL84s in class A
- 20 Watts
- 3 Channels: Clean, Overdrive, Overdrive-Boost
- Passive Bass-Mid-Treble tone controls
- Two Voicing switches: Mid shift (2-way) + Bright (3-way)
- Single 12", newly designed VG12-60 Koch speaker
- 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs
- Speaker on/off switch
- Power Soak
- The next 4 outputs take the signal from the speaker output: Line ouput, "To Clean Channel" ouput, Recording output with speaker simulation filter and 2 voicing switches, headphones output
- Effects loop
- Accutronics spring reverb
- Footswitch input jack (footswitch not included)
- Size: 44W x 23D x 42H cm
- Weight: 15 kg

As you can see tons of features. It's these features which drew me to the amp in the first place. I was looking for a good class A tube amp for bedroom practice and small gigs, and this one seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

First off: I do not own this amp! It was one of the many models in the ?800 - ?1100 price range I was experimenting with. My goal was to find a versatile amp which could cover anything from clean to hard rock and sounded good with my distortion pedals. On paper, this one had it all.

I've tried two of Koch's models to date; this one and the Twintone. If I had to describe their sound in one word, it would be "neutral". I used several Fenders (ranging from strats to thinline telecasters) and a Les Paul Studio. The clean channel is okay, but it just lacks real character. It doesn't sound nearly as good as even the cheaper Fender tube combos. I tried to add in some reverb to spice up the clean sound a bit, but to my horror, I found out the onboard reverb was terrible! Even the reverb on my cheap Marshall transistor amp sounded better. Definitely a let-down.
The overdrive channel is much better. You can take it from a bluesy growl to classic hard rock distortion. The last channel; the overdrive boost channel, was less impressive and sounded downright muddy with the Les Paul Studio I used with it. This channel is suited for modern hard rock and metal, though these styles aren't really my cup of tea. Still though, like the clean channel both drive channels lack a distinctive character and could be described as "dry". The up-side to this lack of tonal characteristics is that this amp very clearly expresses the character of the guitar you're using. It'd be the perfect amp for, say, someone who is making sound demo's of different guitars.

Its construction seems very sturdy, and Koch has built up a reputation for good reliability. However, since I just tested the amp I can't voice and opinion.

The bottom line is this amp didn't cut it for me. Here in Holland many guitarists are raving about Koch, and judging by the other reviews here on Harmony Central, you can't help but expect a lot from them. What I have noticed is that Koch amps seem to be favoured by veteran guitarists who want the character of their guitars to shine through without the amp 'colouring' the sound. Personally, I like this 'colouring'. I find nothing more enjoyable than playing some clean blues on a Fender Twin Reverb or Vox AC30, and ripping into some rock on a Marshall. These amps have a 'personality' which Koch doesn't seem to possess. Needless to say the Studiotone was eliminated from the test. I put it up against a Brunetti Maranello, which is more than ?100 cheaper, and the Maranello souned much better. Regardless, if you're one of those guys who is fanatical about your guitar, rather than the amp, the Stuiotone should definitely be worth a look.