Koch Twintone Head

Clean & OD Channels. Reverb on both, non switchable. Effects loop. 50 Watt EL34 tube amp. You probably know the rest. I use it for live gigs about 7 - 10 times per month.

As reference, I own a Triaxis rack rig with both the 20/20 and the SimulClass 2:90 power amps, Carr Rambler, Blackface Fender Super Reverb and Deluxe Reverb, Hot Rod Deluxe, Blues Jr., Dr. Z Maz 38 Sr., Laney TT50, and have had lots of other amps that are now gone like Boogie Mark I, II, III & IV, Rivera Chubster, etc..... Not bragging. I know a lot of guys have tons of gear. Just telling you so you know what else I own that I compare my Twintone to. Also, I don't really care if an amp is hand-wired or Circuit Card built. I only care if I like it and if it's been reliable for me. I gig about 10 times a month. It sounds great. The Clean channel suits all of my guitars, both single coil and Humbucker equipped depending upon which input I use. The OD channel is addicting. There is a lot of variety if you work the Gain and Volume controls and the tone controls. That's why I like the Head because I set it up on a Restaurant Tray stand next to me on stage so I have access to the controls. With low gain settings I'm in OD territory with a nice warm crunchy sound and as I raise the gain I just put more hair on it until I get a nice saturated lead tone. The head is a great compact size. This has become my main amp. I use it with a variety of pedals and am pretty happy with it.

Again, I know the old handwired vs. circuit card argument and have read reviews about the construction, and bad tranny's and all that stuff. I do remember a few years ago there was some talk about the tranny's failing on these. I think they resolved that. I'm knocking on wood right now but all I can say is I bought my Head used and put over 100 gigs on it in the last 1 1/2 years and didn't even change the tubes yet, which is uncommon for me. I have to rate it pretty high based on my own experience.

No Experience with it.

Been playing since 60's and gigging steady since the 70's. I'm a gear hound so I'm always looking for something better. I like programmable gear but this amps tone has been hard to beat as far as channel switching amps go. I have some single channel amps but the lead channel is nice to have. It's been hard for me to find a two channel amp where I like both channels. With this amp I do.

Not sure what year the amp wa made. Seems to be a versatile amp.

2 channel, clean and overdrive with reverb and an attenuator. Also included is an effects loop and headphone jack. I mostly play live and I haven't played this one out of the living room yet. 2 el34 tubes and 3 12ax7a tubes with a fot switch.

Use a strat with single coils and a reveremd with dual humbuckers. Clean sound is chimy very pleasant. overdrive channel has plenty of gain but is too harsh. doesn't clean up well. sounds somewhat of a fuzz. there is hair on the notes, so to speak.

this is where things get weird. Upon initial inspection, the amp appears to be made very well with a metal cage housing the 2 el34 output tubes. However, the output and power transformer are cheap junk. No quality transformers here. The main board is not point to point all plugs, tube sockets, pots are soldered to the pc board. the power transformer was attached to the chassis with only to screws. One leg of the tranny looked like what was going to come off. I had to find some screws and ratchet it down. Another concern is that you cannot contact Koch directly as it is being sold via a distributor to the music stores. This causes some concern. Would I use it without a backup? No!!! Whould I buy another if this was stolen. No, I would save a few bucks more for a well built amp.

none

To overpriced for a mass produced amp.

The Koch Twintone is a 50 watt tube amp switchable to 25 watt. It has 2 channels, effects loop, headphone output, recording output, footswitch, reverb, normal/boost volume and 2 outputs for speakers.

At first I thought the 50 watt woudn't give me enough power... hehe... just turn it up to 4 and that's enough! I'm in a band which plays songs like Muse, Foo Fighters, QOTSA, etc. This thing can go loud!

I use this amp with a Epiphone Les Paul Studio and the clean sound is just amazing. I first wanted to buy a Fender Hot Rod Deville because of its beautifull clean sound but my main sound is the overdrive. When I tried the Koch I was amazed, what a sound!

When you turn the gain below 5 and you play pretty calm the overdrive sounds almost clean... very transparant! (depending on your guitar) When you need more gain you just give your guitar a harder play and it screams!

When I bought the amp I tried it with a PRS and a Gibson Les Paul. The PRS sounded perfect when overdrived but the Gibson Les Paul gave me a less nice sound. But that's probably what you do or don't like.

When I play with the band in a little room I have to turn the bass a bit down. Otherwise it becomes a bit messy due all the frequenties in the room of the two guitarists and bassist.

I also have a auto-wah, a chorus, a digital delay and a super overdrive, all boss. My last amp gave me a irritating sound while using the overdrive but the Koch gives me a perfect rockin' overdrive!

I have a two 12" speaker cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. They say... yes they say alot... that the new speakers from Jensen are less good in sound. But you and I probably won't hear it after all :-)

The amp was built in 2002 (as far as I know) and it never broke. It has been played for once or twice a week I believe. The tubes never been replaced.

As far as I have heard from users and friends Koch has a perfect customer support back in Holland. Don't know how it is in other countries.

I did not rate it because I have no personal experience.

I play the guitar for six years and this amp is the best I have owned. If it were stolen I would probably buy a Koch Multitone because it's three channels...

Personnaly I dislike the looks a bit, but I really don't care about that. It's the character of the amp :-)

I tried a JCM 900, a JCM 2000TSL, a Fender Hot Rod Deville and I've owned a Valvestate 100 head&speaker and the Koch has the best overdrive sound of all. I think the Hot Rod has a better clean but after the Fender I choose a Koch.

El ampli tiene lo suficiente para cubrir todo lo que yo necesito. Es bastante versatil teniendo en cuenta que su so esta destinado a grupos de muy diversos estilos, pero para metal moderno no me convence demasiado ( ni me importa porque no me gusta y ya tengo otros amplis orientados a esa onda ). Al contrario que otros modelos mas actuales este tiene una entrada activa y otra pasiva es de los primeros que hicieron, el resto de controles son los que se ven en otras descripciones. Lo que menos me gusta es que el nivel de reverb es general para ambos canales pero su sonido es muy amplio y de lo que mas megusta en el ampli. La reduccion de potencia es efectiva e inclusoa mitad de potencia con solo 25 W cubres perfectamente su utilidad tanto en directo como en los ensayos. Trae de casa 2 valvulas Ruby EL34 de potencia y 3 ECC83 de previo y una 7025 como priumera de ganancia, he provado con otras valvulas NOS y el mpli mejora considerablemente pero la satisfacion queda tambien garantizada como viene de casa.
En su interior se ve todo realizado con una gran limpieza y perfectamente acabado.

Yo uso guitarras Gretsch y Gibson, para mi gusto se comporta mejor con la Gretsch...pero es que la Gretsch es mejor guitarra que la Gibson sin lugar a dudas, sin tendencia al acople, perfecto para sonidos rockeros tipo AC/DC. El ampli es silencioso sin apenas ruido de fondo. La tendencia a ser con un sonido demasiado alto en medios es facil de corregir con los potenciometros que son muy efectivos y es muy facil conseguir un buen sonido al poco de enchufarte.
El canal limpio es muy limpio y para saturarlo hay que darle fuerte, el canal saturado tiene toda la distorsion que yo pueda necesitar y hasta ahora nadie le ha puesto reparos al sonido, ha gustado tanto a profesionales de primera fila ( que han sido los mas sorprendidos por un ampli con ese sonido a un precio tan economico ).
Las mayores variaciones las he hido constatando con diferentes bafles tanto Peavy 5150, Marshall 1960AX, H&K y el vertical 2x12" de Koch con altavoces vintage. Hay veces que uno busca diferentes tipos de amplis olvidando que igual de importante es intentar con distintos tipos de bafle, se ha comportado perfectamente con el Marshall y con el Koch siendo estos sus bafles mas indicados.

El ampli esta muy muy bien hecho, se ha convertido en mi principal tanto en ensayos como en directo ( y tengo bastantes amplis y muy supreiores ), su peso y tama?o son ideales para no cansar ni al mas flojo , sus acabados son buenisimos tanto esteticamente como interiormente. Y aqui se le da mucho uso, horas diarias y aun no ha dado el mas minimo problema, al contrario que otros "supuestamente" mejores

Sencillamente perfectos, responden a todos los emails y dudas. Me vino sin instrucciones y no solo me las enviaron sino que me mandaron esuqemas para ver algunos asuntos que tenia en mente para experimetar un poco con el. Se ofrecieron a enviarme el pedal de cambio si no aparecia en el distribuidor y ellos mismos le llamaron ( y misteriosamente aparecio el pedal...estos distribuidores....), sencillamente perfectos y muy amables, cosa que no se puede decir de otras compa?ias.

Llevo tocando desde los 80, hice mi carrera de musica y siempre he tenido bastante claro el tipo de sonido que me gustaba y este ampli ha sido el que mas me ha sorprendido de cuantos he tenido. Tengo tambien H&K Vortex, Marshall 6100 Aniversario ( el limitado ),Marshall 8240, Peavy 5150, Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier...este ampli es el mejor para mi gusto.Si me lo robasen me haria con otro sin dudarlo aunque soy de los que le gusta ir provando cosas nuevas.
Un ampli muy recomendable para los amantes del buen Rock y Rock and Roll

is't very easy.
the cleane channel sounds great even if the 3bands EQ isn't turnd. it's always great.
for blues and rock is the overdrive channel heaven on earth.
ik play metal so for me the overdrive channel is less interesting.
50 watts but a sound! soooo much volume from only 50 watts for 2 el34 tubes ( svetlana ) and 4 preamp tubes ecc83 or 12ax7

great!

i have an ibanez rg7 420 ( 7 string ) original pickups ( 2 humbuckers ) and a hartke 410 guitar module xl serie cab.
boss metal zone , dod death metal and metal master by digitech
boss chorus ce-5
for clean sound, the hartke is working so good
but de low 7th string tones are nog coming out de cab very bright.
boss metal zone sounds like sh*t
death metal sounds a bit better.
but the metal master is the real heavy sound.
teh sound of famous gitarists are for me , dimebag darrel of pantera
and with de metal master you'll get the sound of him with the twintone
metallica sound of '' one '' is also easy to get out of it
twintone , try it and let it convince you , because it will!

ooooo yeah
when i was drunk one time, i threw my twintone head from my cab 60 cm from de ground
and it wasn't broken,
also the tubes wearn't broken . that's f*ckin' reliability !!!!!

yes very
emails are quickley being answered
custom modifications only costs 20 euros
and new tubes are cheaper if you buy them at koch's
and the factory is only 40 minutes driving from my house
YES I'm LIVING IN HOLLAND!! ahhaha

* metal
*almost for 4 years
*i would buy the koch powertone II head
*i love everything about it, cleane chaneel is my favorit.
bass on 7 mid on 3 tremble on 8
* i also tried a marshall jcm 600 , 60 watt
butt the twintone has more volume and 10 watt less power,
that's an amp!
* a better distortion channel for metalsounds like it's bigger brother the powertone II head ( that head blowes the triple recifier away )

I don't need tell you what the features are since everyone else has mentioned them

I'm using a custom built C.S. Dudgeon, a G&L Legacy Special, Parker Mojo, and a Parker Mojo Flame Nightfly. I play Rock, Metal, Country, and play a lot of fingerpicking. It works with everything. It is very quiet, even the distorion channel when it's turned up. Most amps have a certain "Sound" that they produce. Sure you can cut/boost the EQ, but most amps have a "Preset Sound". The Twintone Head/Combo only has Treb, Mid, Bass on the clean and the same for Overdrive, plus Presence, and gain. I can create every sound that I want to with this amp. It is simply unbelievable how many tones this amp can produce.

I distribute these amps and have never had one amp come back for repair. Have helped some people with Tubes that needed to be replaced (the common tube change) and it's always been a cinch.

I deal with Koch on a regular basis and they are always helpful and kind. Dolf and Edwin are top class and its a pleasure dealing with them.

I have been playing since '87 and have had tons of gear. Koch is the best I have ever played. That's why I sell them. If it was stolen, I would buy a new one. That simple. What do I love about it... Everything. It is my dream tone. I cannot understand why people buy amp after amp looking for their "Tone" when they can just buy one of these. I cannot think of anything that it should have. It's perfect jsut the way it is. I would love to try throwing in some 6L6 powertubes to hear how that would sound. Most EL34's sound a little loose in the bass (Twintone comes standard with them) but the EL34's in the Twintone almost sound like 6L6's. Explain that!

My only comment is... Why bother wasting time and money on other gear when this perfection is on the market? GO to your dealer and ask for a demo. These are also a cinch to sell into shops as they even say that they sound great. Shops also say that they sell more guitars because of these amps. People plug in to them and the guitars that they play sound like they should. One guy here in Sweden bought a PRS at a guitar show where he played it through a Twintone for a while. When he got home the guitar did not sound as good as he was using his amp and gear. I got a call from his friend that said he needs a Twintone... Surprise Surprise!

This thing does so much for a two channel amp: Reverb, effects loop, solo/rhythm boost, 1/2 power cut, recording out that's actually decent, and a headphone out.

Awesome rock amp. one of the best clean tones I've ever heard. plus, the fact that there's only volume on the clean channel means maximum headroom and only power tube distortion. Distortion channel is really, really good for leads. If you keep the gain under 12 o'clock, it's got great rock rhythm tones. Really crisp with single coil. It's kind of a dark sounding amp, so I usually play the treble and presence pretty high. When the gain gets really high it gets a little noisy with feedback, but that's life. Not too great for really chug-a-chug-a heavy metal stuff, but great for rock, blues, fusion, that sort of thing.

not sure, only had it a short time because it wasn't ideal for my style.
Paul Reed Smith uses them for his band, and he's a picky guy, so I'm sure they're solid.

never dealt with them. they're dutch. itsn't that weird?

If you're looking for a really versitile 50W head with all kinds of options, this is a great amp. Played next to a Bogner Shiva it held it's own, and is way less expensive.

After spending six months looking for a new amp, I heard the Koch Twintone head with a Koch TS112 cabinet, and was BLOWN away. This sounds MUCH better than the Twintone combo! and I tried them both next to each other. The head with TS112 cabinet sound much more open than the combo.
My demands for an amp are difficult : 1) All Tube (got sick of solid state) 2) Still great sound at low volumes 3)Capable of great rock and metal sounds 4)Switchable power output (for home use) 5)Small and great looking (orders from girlfriend!).
Well this Koch Twintone's the only one wich has it ALL !!

I listened to the Brunetti (great sound too!), Engl screamer 50 and some 1000 euro Marshall combo's , this thing beats them all....BY FAR!. Okee, it's a little more expensive, but in another way it's not, because the Twintone is the only one wich has a Power soaker built in (expensive feature I found out).
The reverb sounds great but is always present (if in use), but hell turn it of and use a seperate one. Recording out, headphones out, rythm/solo volume switch and FX-loop. All I need.
It's a 2-channel amp (clean and...well...heaven), at first I was a little dissapoined there wasn't a 3rd channel. But as soon as the guy in the store hocked up a T-rex Mudhoney with booster option, I had my 3rd channel. No need for a heavy 100 watt Multitone without power soak. So for features it still gets a 9.

The other reviews clearly explain it all. Perfect clean and distortion is just HEAVEN. All I can say is : Just listen to this amp and TRY not to buy it. (I failed that last part.)

It looks and feels rock solid, 2 year full guarantee (except tubes) and since they say Dolf Koch only uses the best parts available (unlike Marshall) I believe it's very reliable.

Great !, I phoned them with some questions and they explained everything very good. No hurry, No Sales person without technical knowledge, very nice.

Overall this is the best price/performance amp I can find. It just sounds AWESOME !!

I bought my twintone head about a month ago, together with the matching 2x12 horizontal closed cabinet. You probably already all the features it has know from the other reviews, so I'm not spending too much time on that. The 2 channels satisfy 95% of the needs I have playing in a ska/rock band. I use a couple of extra pedals (way, my old Boss overdive/distortion and a digital delay) and the amp handles this very nicely. The rhythm/solo function is very handy, although I do not use it too much. The small top and seperate cabinet make this amp very easy to transport, which is nice, because I gig with it about every weekend. The 50W power is more than enough. During band rehearsals I run the amp on half power (great feature!), which is more than enough. During shows I usually use all the 50W. I have not used the headphone output yet, since there is no need for that (we have our own rehearsal studio). The reverb control is situated on the back of the amp, which is strange, but not really annoying. The reverb itself sounds just like my Fenders. However I never set the control past 3 (out of 10) since that is too much. It is not (foot)switchable, but I do not really care. I'd give this amp a 9, because it is the best amp I have encountered yet in this price-range. But who knows what will be built in the future?

I mainly use my american standard Telecaster, with a standard pick-up configuration. I defenitely wanted a seperate EQ for both channels, which is not something that is standard on any amp. Both EQ's work very well and give you a broad range of tones.

The clean channel is very nice. It is not as bright as a Fender, but it is way better than most other amps. With the volume at about 10:00 o clock (which is already very loud!), a smooth and warm power amp distotion comes into play. Especially the half-power option makes this sound useable since the volume stays enjoyable.

The overdrive channel has a special dual-gain, which pumps up the gain in two stages at the same time. Its dial ranges from 0 to 20, say from clean with a nice tiny edge (3) to ultimate metal (15) or beyond. Between 5 and 10 you can get many different types of usable overdrive/distrotion which are all very useful. Since the EQ is behind the gain stages, it is a bit hard to get those older creamy distorion sounds used in blues etc but it is possible. The sounds are more than useful for everything from classic rock to heavy metal. The tone controls actually do a lot. The dynamics are great and solo's sound really full and warm. The gain knob is a bit sensitive to set. Both channels are very quite (no noise) compared to other amps or stomp boxes!

I do not know about the Americans, but I hardly meet any (small) bands who gig with back-op amlifiers over here in Europe. I never use one. The construction of the amp is rock solid and the finishing is flawless. Since the amp costed some amount of money I had a flightcase made, which also has extra room for cables etc.

I have nevber changed the tubes yet, but one great thing about Koch is that they number there tubes, so you can replace the tubes without the need for re-biassing. If there is need to rebias, there are 2 control points inside the amp, so you can do it yourself using a Voltmeter. All in all I would say this amp just radiates the word "Quality" !

Warranty is one year, but I never had to deal with the company.

I have been playing for about 10 years now, and the last 2-3 years I have been doing shows with my band about every week. I used to play on a Fender Super 112, of which a found the clean channel a bit too bright and the crunch channel totally crap. I also wanted to switch to a 2x12 setup. (Actually, I'd say the Twintone head combined with a 2x12 sounds way better than the combo.)

If insurance pays for it (since I'm broke now) I would by the Twintone again; otherwise I would not have bought it in the first place. This amp is really a very versatile and all-round amp, usefull in many different musical styles...

First of all I'll begin by saying that I have had the amp for nearly a year now and I have had enough time to form myself a (I think) qualified opinion to post a review. Also this is not a "rave" review, so don't be fooled if you don't see all 10's, this is a GREAT amp, but I'll try to make a useful review, not just "hype".

Let's go with features: the amp has two channels - clean & dirty - switchable by pedal. Clean channel has volume, treble, mid, bass controls and Dirty channel features gain, volume, treble, mid, bass and presence. I also has reverb (good one) and a great facility that all Koch amps provide: the rhythm volume. This is a potentiometer that allows you to dial a rhythm (lower) volume selectable from the switching pedal, and it is very nice for making yourself heard during a solo. It's very versatile for a two channel amp, but it scores a 7 because of two things it lacks of that would give it a 10. The reverb and rhythm volume controls are placed on the back of the amp, and the reverb cannot be activated/deactivated by pedal, what means that it is hard to change their values during a gig, for instance, and what is worse, once you select a reverb value with the potentiometer on the back of the amp you've got to use it in both channels (I wish it was selectable so I could turn it on just when using the clean channel) .

Other features are a serial effects loop (that serves as a direct input to power amp as well) and an internal power soak that allows you to use the amp at 50w, 25w or disconnected from the cabinet without risk of damage. Also has a headphones out for silent practice and a simulated line out that is one of the best I have ever tried (I never mic the amp during gigs, when I need PA I just use this output direct to the mixing board). It also has a 4/8 Ohm selector to match the impedance of diferent cabinets (I use the vertical 2x12 from Koch that nicely pairs the head).

Other data you probably already know is that the amp uses EL-34 and 12AX7 valves (with "bias number" from Koch, which guarantees that you do not need rebiasing when changing tubes as long as you use new ones with the same "bias number"). The tubes come nicely hooked in spring retainers and protected by a cage to avoid burning your hands or breaking them by accident.

Y use the amp for classic and southern rock, and fits this style perfectly (with gain at 10:00... more talk on that later). Use it always in the 25w mode that provide enough volume for most gigs. More than enough features for me and the style I play, I just wish the reverb was selectable and the reverb and rhythm volume controls were in the front side of the amp instead of the back. I could also use a third channel for the leads , I use the dirty channel with soft OD for rhythm work and then I don't have enough gain for leads or slide (even with solo volume). I solve this problem using a boss blues driver as clean boost (gain=min, level=max) and it works great. I could have bought the Multitone (three channels and also solves some of the problems I point), but I love the small head and vertical 2x12's configuration for its portability for the gigs (the multitone is standard head with 4x12's or twin reverb like 2x12's combo)

All in all the amp is very well finished (thick vinil and thick wood) and it's also beautiful (retro-looking with a very nice silver grille cloth). Potentiometers have a high quality feel to them... I recommend you the factory tour at the Koch's site (www.koch-amps.com) for an overall view and some tecnical details. You can also download a manual from the site that's very complete and also provides nice settings.

I use the amp for classic rock and southern rock with a US Fat Tele and a LP equipped with Tom Holmes pickups (terrific pups btw). As I pointed earlier suits that style perfectly, you get keef sounds easily and allman's and skynyrds leads instantly. The amp is very well balanced and the tone controls are very responsive. It isn't a bit noisy even at the most extreme settings, and channel switching is absolutely silent.

Let me tell you that even when I use the amp for this purposes, it is capable of provide a much more broad set of sounds, I never put the gain past 11:00... so imagine where can it get to. Scooping the mids and putting the gain at about 3:00 you've got all that metallica and nu-metal stuff... lots of gain. And the gain is responsive, is not that when you pass 12:00 there is no more, it keeps growing until the pot is maxed. Very responsive knob also, you've got to be very "precise" setting it, I dial all the sounds I need between 10:00 and 11:00 in the gain knob, the spectrum of sounds goes from Keef a-ronk at 10:00 with the tele up to southbound's lead and all kind of slide work at 11:00 with the LP.

The clean channel stays clean up to 12:00 or so in the 25w mode, and that is LOUD. Very nice fendery clean sounds, from frequency balanced to funky compressed or country twang depending on how you set the EQ controls (here the suggested settings come in handy). Reverb sounds great with this channel, once again I wish I could only activate it when using the clean channel. With the clean channel dimed and more mids you get great power amp distortion sounds, but they are way too loud to be useful (you will need a hot plate or something like that if you plan to use this setting).

One thing I must tell you is to allow some speaker wearing before making severe judgements of the sound, mine started to sound MUCH BETTER after a couple of months of use (I use the cabinet equipped with Koch-Jensen speakers, earlier ones brought celestions I think)

Been using it for about a year without any problems, never broke down or showed any "strange" behaving.

I have gigged without back up until a month ago when I bought a Fender Pro Jr for home practice that now I take to gigs. But I have never needed a backup for the Koch.

Never needed to be repaired so I cannot tell about the repairs, I think the warranty is for a year (don't remember exactly right now)

The online customer support is great, I e-mailed them with questions many times (about the amp and other Koch products) and always answered quickly and were of great help. Very kind too. In my experience very good customer support.

I've been playing for about five years now and performing live for about three. Currently I own a US Fat Telecaster, a LP with Tom Holmes pickups, a Fender Pro Jr. amp and for pedals a Boss Blues Driver (that I use as clean boost) and a Carl Martin Compressor & Limiter (for the slide work).

If lost or stolen I would buy it again, maybe I would consider the Multitone (for the third channel), but I guess the size will lead me once again to the Twintone.

I love the sound, the looks and the portability. I hate that the reverb is not switchable and that the controls of reverb and rhythm volume are not in the front (as I have said about a hundred times in the review). I also wish it had a third channel... but then again that is the Multitone ;-)... I can live with the clean boost approach for soloing

I compared it to a Marshall JCM900, Hot Rod Deluxe, ENGL screamer, ENGL Ritchie Blackmore, Peavey Classic 50, H&K Vortex and many others... the Koch was the best for my style. If you play rock'n roll sincerely I can't imagine you disliking this beauty.

Lastly if you want to hear the amp you can download 4 songs at my band's website that were recorded using the Koch (Don't Be Late, Give Me, LYH '72, Soul Window) http://sugarmountain.hypermart.net

I would like to add that if I had followed the trend in these reviews, the amp could easily have scored 11's in all categories, but I've tried to write a useful report not a bunch of..."hey... I can't believe how good this sounds... it's the greatest amp ever... and I've owned tons of vintage marshalls, hiwatts and fenders, believe me this is waaaaay better...", that's why there are no 10's... there must be place for something better that I don't know, this 9's mean that it's perfect for me.