Krank Amplification Krankenstein Head

Tubes thats all Im going to say, either you love tubes or you dont.To me solid state just doesnt have enough balls to it.Randalls excluded

Ok here is where OPINION can differ.Most people that use this amp in some sort drop tuning Im sure but I play in standard E and it still sounds killer to me and I use the bridge pickup.If you buy this amp and think its too bassy then try using just your bridge pick up.I did however had to set the bass on the clean channel up to compensate for the bridge pickup but it sounds great too.

So far so good

Haven't needed it yet

Im going to give this amp a 9 only because it may not be your type of amp.Its not as versatile as say a line 6 but that what they make stomp boxes for.If you p[lay in any tuning give this amp a serious look and use the bridge pickup if you think it has to much bass.

This is a review for the original Krankenstien, not the + version. I bought mine second hand with the power tubes replaced by EH 6L6's, so I cannot comment on the original sound of the amp with the sovtek tubes. But with 6L6's.....

I play 60% metal and 40% everything else. This amp is far more versatile thn I thought it would be. All I have to do is turn the gain knob down and I have access to a whole host of sounds, 1/2 way is brilliant for rock 1/4 brilliant for blues or maybe a crunchy clean. And the best part is it still sounds awsome without having to change the EQ around from a 'metal' setting.

It works really well and is far simpler than having umpteen million flat sounding Line 6 esque channels. The simplicity of this amp is it's strength. I'd be quiet happy playing any kind of music with this amp.

There are 2 channel volumes on the distortion ('Dime') channel. This is very useful if you need a solo boost so you can be heard.

No reverb, but not a big concern since I have a boss reverb pedal which produces a better reverb than most amp's own.

I've got the original Krankenstein and I have to say I completely agree with shredd_r69 below. You must turn the master volume up very high to properely push this amp. The EQ changes so much with this. Anything below half and the amp is tinny and very unbalanced, the clean channel is very quiet compared to the gain.

However when you turn it up walla! The clean and distortion channels work very well together.

One thing I will say about this amp is that if you want it for bedroom practice then you will NEED a power attenuator, it is insanely loud!! I'm currently using a THD hotplate and I'm running it with the master on 3/4 and the channel volumes round about on 1/2. I'm running it into a Genz Benz G Flex 412 cab and I can get the brilliant clear distortion at perfectly acceptable volumes. Seriously this thing is stupidly loud!! I use the hotplate even when playing with a drummer, it's mad.

What pickups you use makes a huge difference with this amp, which I have also read elsewhere on this page. At first I only tried this amp with a pacifica with stock fat strat pickups. I thought the sound was nice, but lacking in gain, it sounded quite old fashioned. However I then brought my Ibanez back from uni with it's high output D Activator pickups. Huge difference! I think that valve amps are a lot more sensitive to thier input, as upposed to a solid state which I was using before. The D Activators gave a lot more bite and clarity to the sound. In my old amp (solid state) a change in pickups would not make such a large difference to the sound.

The sound is very good. Brilliant for metal rock, anything really. Very clear aswell, when you play a chord you can hear every string. It's good for soloing aswell, still has that distintive valve fizzle to it.

Good point; the amp is very quiet, hardly any hissing or fizzing even when loud but it still feeds back in that awsome way when you remove your hands from the strings...

I've only had this for 3 months so can't comment.

Never had to use them.

Summary-

If you want to be able to play this thing anywhere else than deep space then buy a power attenuator - THD hotplate works well.


Turn the master volume up past half!

My review was with 6L6 power tubes. It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has changed the tubes at all.

Don't know the year but it's the first version and not the +. It is a surprisingly versatile amp for as simple as it is layed out. I try and play jazz to blues to metal and this amp covers the territory with it's 2 channels and dual master volumes on the lead (dime) channel. The effects loop has a boost which is very cool, allowing you to boost up effects pedals to match levels. A great feature! This amp is insanely loud. The clean kills my rectos clean.

The distortion is brutal. I, like a few other reviewers thought the amp sounded thin and fizzy until I discover the secret. Turn the global master volume ALL THE WAY UP and adjust your volumes per channel. It makes the amp sound unbelievable! It crushes! It has the best metal distortion I've heard and does everything else good too. The clean channel, as previously mentioned, beats the rectifiers clean but it ain't no fender. Good enough and GREAT with a chorus! This is a SUPER quiet amp at ALL volume levels. It is shocking how quiet it is!

This amp is built to be roadworthy. It is hard as a clamshell!

Cool bunch of dudes....

Been playing for 17 years, this month and I've played ALL KINDS of amps and owned a bunch over the last few years. I replaced a krank rev 1 with this amp and ain't looking back. It sounds more lively and thick and has more gain than should be allowed by law!! The Rev 1 clean or kleen, may be a tiny bit better but that's it. I was never a huge pantera fan but dime had his **** together and this amp is proof that his sound, like all great artists was ever changing, growing and expanding, god bless his soul.

Not even reverb, and the channel switch is on the back. You know when most people lose or damage a foot pedal that really makes things suck. Pretty much just 2.5 channels. The only real feature is an extended scoop which they call sweep.

I took an hour trip because a sister store to a used gear place had this head. I was totally stoked. I had heard some of the stuff done with the Revolution head supposedly and this head was supposed to have even a little more gain. So I travel out there, grab an LTD with EMGs in it, and fire it up. At first I thought I was missing a setting or something. Then I played through it for a while tinkering and I got to Crate distortion level. Im not kidding... this thing sounds like a Crate. Anyone that is endorsing this amp deserves to be hated by their fans.

Word on the street is they break often and the company is of little help.

Heard not good things, along with pushing their cabinets which are inferior to pretty much anything out there. Find something with V30s or GT75s and another head to go with it.

I haven't played the rev yet, and some of the people I talked to said they actually like it, but stay the hell away from this thing. And if you do like the way it sounds, just buy a Crate Blue Voodoo, not that I think that its an admirable amp (for metal) either.

2 channels - clean and distorted, 100W. I wouldn't really consider this good for anything other than metal or hardcore - but that's not a bad thing :D

It's got an fx loop, and a neat little feature is that you can increase the bass response by just pulling the knob out and activating the loop. It's definitely got a ton of power - my band was always *****ing at me to turn it down.

It'd be nice if it was 3 channels so you could get a little versatility though - it's either clean, or full on destruction, nothing in between. That ended up being one of the main reasons that I sold mine a month ago, after owning it for a year and a half.

Bottom line, if you are getting this amp you need to have active pickups in your guitar for a good distortion tone that isn't a little thin. I tried a lot of different guitars through it, and the ones that sounded the best always had active pickups. The clean channel is great - probably the best I've heard - as the advertisements say, it's voiced so that you can get a hint of breakup if you push it and dig in with your pick. I really, really like the clean channel on it.

As stated earlier, probably best for a metal or hardcore band. The distortion is pretty crisp, so one definite advantage is that you can't get away with playing slop! Even with active pickups, every note in full voiced chords came through. I used to think this distortion was pretty good, until I heard an Engl Powerball. I've had my Powerball for about a month now, and the only thing the Engl comes up just a *tiny, tiny* bit short, is playing leads. Lead tone just smokes through the Krank. Other than that, channel 2 on the Powerball is very similar to the Krankenstein - but it still has 2 more channels of gain, so it is MUCH more versatile, and the distortion tone on the Engl destroys the Krank. Had I not gotten an Engl I would have rated this much higher.

For recording, this thing holds up pretty well. The other guitar heads that my band has are a modded JCM800, an Orange Thunderverb 200 (damn this thing is AWESOME), and a Mesa Triple Rec. The Krank consistently put out better recording metal tone than all but the Orange. The drawback, is that even though you can tweak it to get a decent amount of variation when searching for a good live tone, for recording, no matter what you do, it's going to sound pretty similar. For example, we A/B'd about 30 seconds with the gain at 3, and then again with the gain maxed out (turned to 11?) - and they sounded pretty much the same. Additionally, and I know it sounds wrong to say, but I think it has TOO much bass. Even with the bass turned all the way down, everyone in the band pretty much agreed that the Krank had just too much bass. I play with a Mesa cab, and I don't know if this is something that is drastically different with the matching cab, but it's definitely too bassy with a Mesa cab.

Pretty reliable, never had any issues with it.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing about 14 years. Probably won't buy another one, I do need to get a backup amp just in case, but that'll probably be an Ampeg VH 140C. However, any other high end amp I get will be an Engl. I wish I would have listened to the bassist in my band when I bought the Krank - he said to pay an extra couple hundred bucks and buy an Engl Powerball. Had I done so, I would have saved myself a lot of money, as the Kranks seem to depreciate a fair amount in a short period of time.

If you are thinking about buying one of these, trust me, buy an Engl Powerball instead. You will have the best tone in your town.

This is not a review, but simply a response to rubberdeskjohny's review of this amp a few rungs down the list here. Usually, I'm not moved to respond to someone else's opinion on gear, but something said in his review was so outrageously off-base it merits a response.

The paragraph I'm referring to is the following:

"The brutality of the sound is almost solid-state esque which does make me wander if this amp is a slightly self-defeating concept, seeing as many players wanting to attain this sort of sound would not be looking anywhere other than solid-state territory for example a Marshall MG as used by Wayne Static of Static X."

I currently own a Krankenstein, as well as other top-shelf amps, and also owned a Marshall MG250DFX combo for a brief three weeks. To suggest that the Krankenstein should be considered in league with a Marshall MG, in terms of distortion, is absurd. I bought the MG250DFX as an all-in-one amp for a potential cover project aside from our original band, and couldn't suffer it beyond three weeks. The clean channel was fine and the effects were passable, but the distortion was dull, dead, and lifeless, with a strange rubbery quality to it. It had enough gain to cover most genres, but it simply sounded like an amplified $25 distortion pedal. I traded it back in for a keyboard and bought a Peavey Valveking 112 as my practice/portable amp. The Vavleking buries the MG in terms of tone.

The Krank has huge gain, and is loaded with harmonics(something an MG can't replicate) and amazing tonal variances across the spectrum. The Krank distortion is miles beyond anything an MG can produce in terms of gain, tone, and clarity. It isn't a solid-state sound in any way, shape, or form. 5881 power tubes are from a different sonic world than EL34s, but the funny thing is despite the tonal and gain differences, all you have to do is roll back your guitar volume and you can get a classic rock sound.

I've also become a stronger believer in the Krank since it's been in the shop. Thanks to a transformer or power supply problem, the Krankenstein is in for repairs. Since then, I've used several of my old heads and one recently purchased head in it's place, just to see if the difference in tone is that stark. Well, it is, and in spades! In place of the Krank, I've used a modified 2001 Marshall Super Lead Plexi, a 1977 Marshall Super Lead, a 1987 Marshall JCM800 Model 1987, a 1987 Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553, a Laney 20th Anniversary AOR100 Pro Tube Lead, and a recently-acquired 1982 Marshall JCM800 20th Anniversary 2210 loaded with 6550 power tubes, and while they all sound great, none of them can touch the Krankenstein as far as gain and tone goes. The rest of the band has said the same thing, so it's not just me.

To each his own, but I believe you'll be sorely disappointed if you think a Marshall MG can get you anywhere near the tone of a Krank. I've had personal experience with both amps, and while an MG is a decent practice amp, it doesn't even sound as good as a Line6, and is more expensive to boot. I just listed six tube heads that many people would kill to have, and none of them can match my Krankenstein.

The features of this amp are real basic, you have a master volume, master prensesce,dime channel bass, treb, mid, master dime channel and gain. the kleen has a master volume, bass, treb, and mid.
Folks this is a point to point hand wired amp... nothing but pure tone made in tempe az. 120w with some big assed electro harmonics power tuber and pre amp tubes, and a bigger upgraded transformer.
I just gigged a small venue in san diego and it was a beautiful thing.. lets sat it was a hit for the evening
the only thig that might be better would be a seperate gane control for the boost channel.

I have found my tone that I have been looking for. I was playing through a line 6 pro, powered by a Marshall el34 50/50 dual mono block w/ a bbe sonic maximiser.
My tone hase been falling short and I had been shopping amps, I had looked at Boogner, Hughes and kettner, Framus, Carvin, Rocktron and marshall.. but my search ended with krank. I play metal with my band, but I do play clasic rock,80's,blues funk, country and this amp can and will cover all of the basses.
The Kleen chanel has a world of head room where I think even chet atkins would love to live, but the beautiful thing is when you are deep into the dime channel, and you roll off the volume on your guitar. watch out you van halen fans. Learn how to tune tube tone!

Only gigged once with this amp... but it appears to be built like a tank.

I recently emailed the folks over at krank, not with a problem but with a question. The question was.... I have recently bought a tc electronics g syatem and am going ti incorporate it in my rack with the krankenstein.. has krank tested this unit with the amp? And if so what is the best routing and set up of the amp?
I had sent the note on a friday evening and by tuesday morning my questioned was answered with help full tips.
I know that everyone is saying that krank employes persons to write these reviews.. but it dont think thats true.

I have been playing approx. 30 years and might I say that I still suck.. But I kan hear tone and this amp has it for days. If you want to smooth out the tone like a messa either buy a messa or change out the power tubes. But if you want a no frills balls to the walls amp with a awsome kleen channel this might be for you.
If my amp were stollen I would have to get another one barr none. Thank to the guys at krank and Dime for making an amp that makes me enjoy the guitar again

The krankenstein is a relatively basic amplifier for such a modern era which is refreshing by comparison to the mesa dual rectifier I tried against this in a direct comparison. The clean channel is surprisingly satisfying, particularly for an amp designed really to play heavy metal ala dimebag darrell. It's nothing like a patch on a Fender twin (obviously) but it isn't the slouch that some marshalls are for example...probably better for funk thank gilmour esque rip offs...
The two channels being clean and distortion mean you really need to get both right. There's no rhythm channel to fall back on so I'd encourage isntalling a boost pedal into your f/x line-up.

The amp is very powerful indeed at 100 watts and being the industry standard power level, with the sort of crushing distortion this is capable of seems more than enough for just about any circumstance.

I'm going to give it a 7 as considering the price, and relatively good basic layout, it seems a little lousy not to include a more flexible rhythm channel as well.

The sound quality is fairly good. The brutality of the sound is almost solid-state esque which does make me wander if this amp is a slightly self-defeating concept, seeing as many players wanting to attain this sort of sound would not be looking anywhere other than solid-state territory for example a Marshall MG as used by Wayne Static of Static X.

The amp does retain great clarity assumingyou set it up carefully which is a plus for fast lead playing with oodles of gain, which this amp certainly has.

I would say however that ultimately the soulfulness of the stereotypical tube amp is not present and this is a real turnoff. I think Krank fans who prefer such a quality should look to their Revolution head instead, if not elsewhere. This, for me, detracts a consdierably which is why I have not rated the quality of sound as high as I might have done.

It seems to be very solidly built, and I would have no more concern with its reliability than with any other high end tube amp. Time will tell...

I have never dealt with the company personally and never needed to, but their website is comprehensive and I'm sure my local amp dealer where I located one of these would help me adequately if I needed it servicing.

I have been playing for 10 years and teaching for 2 and have tried and owned various pieces of gear. Overall, I think this head is a good start by a relatively little known manufacturer, but it could be so much more. It certainly has a brutal edge to the sound which is quite distinct and this is great, but it seems wholely at the expense of soul and warmth which I think could be improved upon. I use a PRS custom 24 and it sounds very smooth with this straight through. Ultimately I don't think this amp is a longterm bet for me but I can imagine enough people are into this sound to warrant the outlay.

Personally I have played Marshalls, Bogners, Mesas, Cornells, Dr. Z Cornfords, Fenders, VHT's Orange, Engl's, Rivera, Randall, and I can think of at least a few amplifiers by some of these makers which I have liked more and have cost less. It's ultimately up to your own ears to decide and I would respect any guitarist more for having enough courage of their own convictions to buy what they want, rather than seeking the generally top rated amps out on a review site like this! Many highly rated amps are very different afterall!

100-watt all-tube guitar head; 5881 power tubes; 12AX7 preamp tubes; two independent channels with channel-switching(clean & Dime); dual master volume on Dime channel(footswitchable); Sweep, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master 1, Master 2, Gain controls on Dime channel; Volume, Bass, Mid, Treble controls on clean channel; 4/8/16 ohms selector, two speaker outs, effects loop with FX boost, channel switch button(bypassed when footswitch is connected), lineout on back panel

With a minor tweak, this amp is a monster! I bought this as a second tracking amp for the studio(main amp is a David Bray-modded Marshall SLP reissue), and it has now taken over as my live rig. The minor tweak I speak of is re-tubing the power section. The Krankenstein comes through with Sovtek 5881 power tubes, and I am not a Sovtek fan. So, when the amp arrived, I promptly purchased a quad of Tung-Sol 5881s and had it sent out for a re-tubing, biasing, and cleaning. It went out a beast, and came back a monster! The Tung-Sols tightened everything up and gave it a massive bottom end, much better than with the Sovteks. Krank would do customers one better by fitting their heads with Tung-Sol power tubes instead of Sovteks(Krank, are you listening?:) The Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 preamp tubes are my personal choice for all my amps, so there was no need to change them.

To the guy who said this isn't a hi-gain amp and it sounds muddy at any volume, I suggest you learn how to dial in a tube amp properly. Stop cranking all the gains and expecting perfection. The Krankenstein has as much massive, brutal distortion as you'll ever need, and it sounds even better when you hit the sweet spot and boost it slightly with a wah or something similar. You also need to spend some time tweaking the EQ controls, and the amp is extremely bright. Once I had it dialed it, the amp sounds huge. Rich, saturated distortion with every note cutting through like with razor clarity on the Dime channel. The low end this amp has is colossal. Harmonics leap out at you off of every note, and the sustain is endless. The dual master volume is something that every amp should have, eliminating the need for an outside lead boost. The tube complement lends to tight, focused lows and highs, and the extremely broad EQ control allows for a great variety of tones anywhere in between. The sweep acts as a voice shift between lows and highs. It's also much more than a metal amp; you can get any type of distortion you'd like, from blues to classic rock to metal and everything else along the way.

The clean channel is impressive as well. Tons of headroom from the 5881 allow you to push the volume without breakup. It's clean, clear, and chimey . . . what else could you ask for? It also has an independent master volume as well.

When my bass player walked in after I had my Marshall tweaked to perfection, he stated it was the best distortion sound he'd ever heard. Since plugging the Krank into my rig, the entire band has said it's the single best metal sound they've ever heard, and I have to agree. My drummer is in love with the tone I get from this thing, and flatly stated it was the most amazing metal tone he's ever heard, and this is coming from a guy who's played with many a guitar player using every amp under the sun.

Yes, the Krankenstein is best suited for metal, and will respond better to high-output pickups, based on the EQ band, but that's not to say you can't use it for other styles. It's amazingly quiet for such a powerhouse amp. It's much quieter than my Marshall with the Maxon OD9 Pro+ kicked on. For our band and my style, this amp is the one I've always waited for. It's amplifier perfection for my circumstances.

I haven't had a problem with it, so I can't really say. It's built well beyond solid, so I foresee no trouble. My tech said the electronics are top-notch, so I have little worry about reliability.

Again, no experience yet, so I can't rate it.

I'm a tone freak, and I'm blown away by what this amp sounds like. I'll admit I was a bit wary when looking into the Krankenstein. I read many a posting on amp forums claiming Krank had planted employees all over the place to give the amps positive reviews, and that they were garbage amps and sounded muddy and all the other nonsense. I heard the great-sounding clip of it on the Krank website, and also saw a few YouTube vids featuring a couple of knuckleheads who don't know how to dial an amp in doing Krank little justice. I decided to take a chance an wait for a used one, and I'm glad I did. For $821, this amp was a steal. heck, I'd say it's a great deal at the $1699 retail price.

I'm not a Krank employee, I'm simply a guitarist in a metal band singing the praises of this awesome amp. If you want to hear it, check out our website at sixthhousemetal.com the second or third week of September. We're recording a three-track demo on September 1st & 2nd, and should have the songs up shortly thereafter. If you don't want to take my work for it, go ahead and give a listen and hear for yourself. I'll be tracking with both the Krank and the Marshall SLP, as I'm laying down all the rhythms. By the way, Connecticut guitar legend Jimi Bell will be cutting a couple of solos on it, so go check it out and support us if you like it.

the features are quite good. the fx loop is a bit wired since i had mesa boogie triple rectifier so the loop is not buffered but can get it to work. The sweep controll is verry good since u can set up youre normal eq and then warm it up or can brighten it up. the two masters is verry handy if your playing in a covers band or in a originals band with 2 or more guitarsists since you can bosst for your solos's. it is loud as hell 100 watts! sounds louder my mesa was 150 watts and it sounds louder than that

this amp is for metal or hard rock but mainly for metal i'd say. the clean channel is superb considering all the amps i have tried that have compared to the mesa triple don't sound good the clean sound on the triple is crap cannot get it to sound clean at all. The clean sound on the krank sounds clean and brakes up at verry high volumes which is cool cause it sounds and is a valve amplifier. ha ha this is why i sold my mesa triple i've been wanting to get a high gain dfistortion sound from an amp that was tight. My mesa triple rec had the gain and the right eq but had a flabby sound to itwhen you get the bottom end and i have been playing around with it for 3 years the distortion on krank sounds tight when you pump up the bottom end you can get that master of puppets sound chugging to sound verry clear. and the best thing is that it is quiet the mesa isn't

the krankenstien is built like a tank. it has never broken down on me at all can rely on it

never had it repaired don't think i will but when i asked about the fx loop it took them a while to answer my question and they were verry contradicting in the e-mail which i didn't like.

i have been playing for about 8 yearsi am in an progressive metal band like tool if it were stolen or lost i'd claim it on ensurence lol it's also verry light in waight which is good the only i wish it had was a buffered effex loop other than that it sounds great

I was using ESP's vipers with active pickups EMG's in the music shop (billyhyde) and i am deffenitly getting this amp, im in a metal band and this is one of the best amps ive ever played.

Clean channel- the clean channel is very very clean, way cleaner than a marshall i think and tends to have a bit of dirt when Kranked up to high volumes which is good i think, a good varity of tone.

Dime Channel- this channel is amazing, theres so much varity with the EQ and its good because the EQ does so much..like if u just touch the knobs a little bit it changes. The most brutal distortion ive ever heard it is litteraly heart pounding and low volumes and can only sound better cranked up just like most tube heads. I also tryed the Krank revolution this amp is ok but soo talked up its not all that special i think the krankenstein is a much better amp with both clean and distortion channels

Built like a tank

I think the only amp that matches up with the Krankenstein is the Mesa Dual that is also a great amp i think the best metal amps around, the krankenstein is extremly loud and soooo quit in both channels i am so surprised with that much gain running though it its amazing. I deffiently recommed this amp for metal nothing else.

this amp is more versitile than i thought especially by looks. 2 channels, effects loop with db push, It has plenty of power for a 100w amp,two channels, hard to setup, but worth the trial and error

Ok i made a review too sudden for this amp before i set it up right and i apologize to all and know i dont work for krank or anything affilated with them i am just a student...I get the heavy sound that i was looking for with this amp...i first thought it was the amp,,, when it was the operator all along...the distortion is amazing and less noiser than any peavey or mesa. I use a emg 85 in the bridge and gives its a heavy chug chug shred to it. i really like for my music style i can get everything i want out of it.

this thing is still built like an ox. i would take it any where, it does not get overheated as long as you take care of it(ex.standby)I would most definately gig with this amp without a backup. the amp has never broke down only the tubes changed when i first bought it

Ok heres the kit and kabboodle...these dudes want you to get your tone that you want. I have emailed patrick at krank amps asking for help and he has supplied great information. they have always been there to help with questions of tubes and tone, i bought this amp blemished from musiciansfriend, so it didnt come with a warrenty.

I have not been playing long enough to consider myself the slightest expert, but i do know a little. If it were stolen i would most definatly buy another. I love the heart pounding brutal distortion, i dont like the fact of how hard it was to setup. I personally like this amp you may not but if you get it boost it with a od pedal and up the highs and mids, and youll be slammin.

Two channels, footswitch included, effect loop, i had this amp for six months. This is for metal and hardcore, good jazz cleans though. I use this amp to play gigs and sometimes practice on it. tube head

THis is talked up as a high gain amp, its not. The distortion is muddy not matter how you sweak the EQ or scoop the mids. I use emg 81 and 85. I hate this amp i cant wait to trade it. This amp is a gimic for american consummerism. i totally bought into it when i saw all the bands that use it. I have heard the ones they get are not even close to this amp.please dont buy this.

wow a ten yes even i said i give it a ten. it hasnt broke down on me, but ive only had it six months. the thing is heavy and solid. its built like an ox.i totally have confidence in the reliability.

one time i ordered new tubes for it and they were very quick about it, they are very good there and will awnser your question. Patrick is a nice and intelligent guy.

i been playing for seven years. If it were stolen i would buy another i would probley look into peavey or mesa. I love the construction and publicity and fake write ups this thing gets. If Krank was a good company they wouldnt have bs advertise all the time and trick the working class. Ever heard of Framus ,,,,,,slammin. I never seen one advertisement from them their amps speak for themselves. do yourself a favor do buy this. it not good at all for 1600 dollars.

Have had amp since Feb. 2006

Amp is best in class for what it was designed for. Pure high gain and ultra clear clean channel.

Fx loop and booster come in handy. And if you want super gain at low volumes pump up the fx boost and see what happens..

Sovtek 5881 power tubes and electro harmonics 12a7's for pre amp

Clean channel is great and breaks up nicely when you pump up volume.

The distortion is brutal and you have ability to adjust presence and scoop of distortion to get that dime tone, eddy van halen brown sound, or AC/DC crunch

and here is the kicker, very quiet ambient noise in either clean or dirty channels.

Still working since feb and not a problem yet (unlike my orange rockerverb 50 exerience)

Never had to use them!

i have been playing on and off for approx 20 years. This is my first amp purchase since my Peavey 5150 (which i still have and works)

If it were stolen i would get another and could only wish the worst case of colon cancer on who took it.

Love the tone. Would have liked a tube reverb, but that is just a very minor complaing

This amp is brand new straight from the manufacturer. It has one input and 2 channels. A "Dime channel" and a "Kleen channel". On the back there is an effects loop with an effect boost knob. Also a switch to change the amp from 4, 8, or 16 ohms depending on your cabinet. A button to switch channels is also located on the back of the head. Inside there are 4 Sovtek power tubes and 4 pre-amp tubes. On the front of the head is a very bright green power lamp, high quality control knobs all across the amp. It also comes with a footswitch to switch from Dime to Kleen and a "master" switch that lets you click on a "dime" boost during solo's. This is done by the 2 Master Volumes on the dime Channel that work with the Amps Master volume. So you can set one Master for rythym work and the other for the solo boosts. Great idea! There is no reverb on this amp.

Im using the head with a Marshall Mode Four 400 Watt Cabinet loaded with Celestions. My guitar is a USA Jackson King V with Seymour Duncan pickups (a Dimebucker in the bridge). I play in a Metal cover band on the weekends doing Pantera, Metallica, Sabbath, Metalchurch, Dio, Maiden, Priest etc...I'm using lots of gain on the amp and keeping the "sweep" control about midway for some heavy bottom end. This thing will rip your face off with gain!! AND when chunking thru some power chords and stopping...SILENCE. I was so impressed with how quiet this amp is with so much gain that I sold my noise gate, its not needed. I also sold my Zakk Wylde overdrive...this amp will give you some pinched harmonics that will curl your hair. Switching over to the Kleen channel is quiet and very easy with the foot pedal. I have the kleen channel volume almost on 9 and the kleen gets just that little bit of edge that Dimebag liked with his clean sound. This head was made for Metal period.

The amp is built in the USA and has all top notch stuff on it...the handle is made of thick leather and the tubes have plenty of room to keep kool. And it looks mean as hell!! As far as dependability I haven't had any issues at all with it.

Emails get answered promptly...I'm trying to get them to make us some covers for these amps, as they are pricey and need to be taken care of so no nicks appear on the tolex skin.

I've been playing well over 20 years. I play heavy metal. I used to use a Marshall Mode Four...The Krankenstein by far is the better metal amp. If it were stolen I would get another after I killed the guy that stole the first one. I would also consider the KRANK REVOLUTION amp also same amp with a lil less "Dime" but great heavy metal amp just the same.Im giving this a 9 as the amp is very expensive. Buying it with the cabinet will cost you over 2700 bucks. But...its worth it if you love yer metal and you love that Dime Tone.