Krank Amplification Revolution 100 head

This amp is very versatile for many styles, you can get a lot of different tones, but it is best for metal. 2 channels (kleen and krank) krank channel is insane, but you can get a lot of different tones out of it, kleen channel is very good for a high gain amp, lots of clarity and doesn't distort at high volmues. Some good features that would be handy are having a channel selector on the amp, instead of having to use the footswitch, and a better effects loop. I use this amp for gigging and for band practice. Never had to turn it past half way for any venue or prac.

I use a schecter 007 elite 7 string with this amp, you get a very bullsy sound from it and it's great! I don't use any booster pedals, all i use is a boss NS-2 but I'm getting a maxon OD808 to make the krank channel have more clarity. This amp is very quite(with hum and other sounds) other guitarist in my band has a 6505 and my krank is a million times quieter. I've even gigged with no noise reduction pedals and it was great. I play in a deathcore band called orphans of the sky, it suits our style very well.

I've had it from about 6 months or so, no problems yet. I've accidently not plugged the amp into speakers and played it( that's not good for a tube amp) and it didn't really do anything. Built quite well too!

I emailed them once, where fast and helpful

I've been playing for about 6 years now, It's my only tube amp and I don't have a backup and I don't think i would need one. If it was stolen i don't think i would buy another one, only reason is that i think the krank amps are very overpriced and a lot of cheaper amps are as good, if not better then this(6505) for a lot cheaper. The only reason i bought this amp was because it was only $900 and it retailed for $3500, so i thought it was a sweet deal. The thing i love about it is that no-one else i know has a krank amp and it's kinda cool to be different, it's not like a peavey 6505 which everyone has.

2005 Rev1 100w.

2 Channels - Krank/Kleen (footswitchable)

Sweep Knob - key

FX loop

4 12AX7
4 6L6




Tone of the Gods

Guitars:

ESP Eclipse II - Motor City Pickups
Gibson SG - Custom Dimarzio Distortion (A8 mag)
MIM Fender Strat - Custom Dimarzio

Cab:

4X12 - Wharehouse Veteren 30's

VERY VERY versitile amp, especially with useing the sweep knob. That is the key to this amp. I keep it at around 2 and get a nice THICK ballsy tone ... a very airy unconpressed feel, kinda like a Bogner. Though moved up to around 4-5 get's me a nice cutting tone. Reminds me alot of the Metallica's Master tone. 6 and up can get really high like a 5150, though I really don't prefer it. If I wanted a 5150 I would've got that. To me it's the middle ground to Mesa's heavy bottom and Peavey's harshness.


The clean is one of the best I've heard, very articulate and clear.


I play Stoner Rock/Metal with this through beast of an amp and couldn't be happier.


This thing can go from Floyd to Zepplin to Alice in Chains to Metallica to the most BRUTAL metal you can think of.



Soon I want to get a 82' JCM800 or the new Nineteen80 to run with it.

I've cracked her open and checked her out and everthing looks really nice inside. Clean work and not a mess. I've talked to Patrick and Chris at the factory about the problems they had a while back. What happened is that on the first batch of heads the transformers had weak ears and would snap under heavy use(back of a trailer and a mother load of potholes). Chris reassured me that mine was built after the fix. I've had no problems whatsoever. I've changed the preamps and soon will be changeing the power.

I really like the guys at Krank. The forum is great, if anyone has any problems Patrick is usually there to help out right away. Very dedicated to their artists, but most important everyone else too. I never feel like I'm being talked to like Im a 5 year old.

I know I've give'n it a 10 throughout, but in my experience with this amp and company I feel it deserves it. I've played Mesa's, Soldano's, Peavey's, Marshall's, Bogner's, Fender's and Orange, but hands down the Krank Rev1 is my favorite. It has everything I need and more.

Amp was made in 2005, and it rocks. It is a simple setup but oddly is rather versatile, Good preamp tubes will see to that. It is a 2 channel amp but the "krank" channel has the second foot-switchable master volume, which is brilliant for boosting solos. The 2nd master even seems to effect the clean channel slightly, which is nice for good "kleen" fun! HA! I haven't used the effects loop and it has great clean headroom and power. The channels are only switchable with the foot switch so that kinda sucks and the build is pretty cheap but more on that later. Simple features suit me just fine. Maybe a reverb and a foot-switchable effects loop but I don't use the effects loop anyway,so I'm just bein' picky....

I love the sounds that come from this monster. I'm in a metal band but I could play in a country band with this amp if I wanted. The clean or "kleen" is superb for a high gain head and the distortion is articulate and clear, not noisy (mesa rectifier). It almost makes it seem less loud but trust me, it is NOT! Distortion can be as supple or brutal as you would ever need.

Now here's where you could get bummed.... I just bought my 2nd one and this thing, when it got here made some funny noises, the transformer looked like it was ready to fall out, so I took it too my tech who opened it up to find practically the ENTIRE preamp circuit board needing to be resoldered, every single tube socket needed at least 4 of the 9 pins resoldered, luckily the wafer thin circuit board wasn't cracked, the transformer was nearly thrown from the chassis, so he fabricated some "L" brackets to remount the transformer. My tech, very politely informed me of how cheaply this amp was built. He has made it roadworthy with alot of resoldering and fabrication but I'd have been scared to take a stock one on the road and subject it to any kind of real punishment. NOW it's built like a tank!

I had one before, sold it, then realized how much I missed the sound, especially for recording. Even at low volumes this thing sounds thick n' meaty, and I bought another one to find it basically in shambles. Oh well it works now and kicks arse! I've been playing 17 years and own and have played a number of cool amps. This sound is indispensable to me. Hopefully they are building the newer ones a bit more solid.

1st thing!! And I think that most think this way of Krank amps. I thought I would be buying a total metal insane gain heavy tone amp. I see all the Line 6, Marshall,Mesa amps being used and really wanted to be different. Krank using artists just sounded badass and Krank is advertised that way. I was looking for that Pantera sound -very versitile massive crunch to dark sounding clean sounds. I own the combo version,bought it used and I am very pleased up to a point. $900 was a steal from a Guitar Center and the only reason I bought it. I was playing an old 80's Laney Pro-Tube but I am a huge fan of Dimebag\Pantera and wanted to get away from that low budget Marshall tone I had . I did not have Mesa type $$$ so they were out of the question. I played it loud for 10 minutes testing it out since it was used but looked brand new and just had to buy it. Volumewise it rocked the store!!! Make sure you do also. This is not the metal monster you would think but I noticed that right away so I took a gamble that this Revolution would do more when I figured it all out. I play heavy funky rock & roll (not hardcore metal but that is the tone I was looking for) and I do a bad impression of a Zakk Wylde type style. This amp is great for this but I am not sure it would quite work for anything heavier. Get the Krankenstien I guess??? I have not tried one. You need a footswitch to change the 2 channels and that design really sucks. The 2nd Krank channel volume is a godsend. Works great!!! Put the gain on 10 for sure and then find a sweet clean tone.Many tones to choose from.Your rhythm /lead channels have the same EQ-A REAL BOOST and you can boost the lead channel at say 2 and the 2nd volume at 10 which you would never do.100 watts and plenty loud. 2x 12's (Eminence speakers) are doing fine after 40 gigs so far. Weighs a ton!!! (95lbs) I do not use the effects loop. No reverb on this amp. Save some money and paint the grille with chrome spraypaint and save $100. My combo gets attention just because it looks mean.

All my guitars have Duncan JB's (strat,LP,Dimebag) and there is no noise with the gain up to 8-some at 10 where I use it. If you are mic'ed live or in the studio the gain at 8 is all you need(10 is still my choice) Super clear sound. NOTE-This does not have face peeling gain\distortion!!! Just a great tone if you can actually get to turn it up past 4. Its very loud and volume sensitive tonewise.. not good at all for quiet home use which also sucks. (on the krank channel only)

I worry about the footswitch breaking down (without it and you have a 1 channel and you better hope its the one you want because there is no button or ANYTHING to switch them) and after 40 gigs I have had a cracked wire problem and I better be buying a backup pedal soon. Solid pedal with a 15 ft cord but I quess its how well you take care of it. I just throw it in a gig bag so I'm most to blame?? The casters\wheels on the combo really suck bigtime. I already had to replace them because they fell apart after rolling the amp around for 2 weeks. Krank admitted it & Krank would not help with the casters even under warranty. Go to Home Depot and upgrade. $50.00

I email and they answer quick but I only have had caster problems. No opinion about the head components but I am sure they will be quite helpful. I inquired about the company and how the amps are built and its really a small handemade shop. They offer a tour by appt only. If ever in Arizona I probably will go.

I really like this amp for my regular band but I think the Krankenstien is probably the way to go to cover everything I wanted from a amp. They only make that in a head and I have been dragging 1\2 stacks around long enough to know that they are overkill.I would buy the combo version if they would build one.. I thought that this amp would have that massive gain channel that I would have to set at 6.... but that gives you a fender amp clear fuzzy tone. If you want that Mesa type distortion this is NOT your amp. Crank the gain to 10 and it gets cooking pretty good but you will not get that Dimebag tight crushing sound. He played a Revolution and had Krank soup it up. A Van Halen-ZZ Top- Rock & Roll tone is what you get PLEANTY of. It is really nice to have a quality amp with is own distinct tone afterall. I live in Chicago with a million other guitarists and everyone knows Krank but I do not see them used often. It draws the metal type guitarists attention quite a bit. I wish I could give it a 10 in one of these catagories but Mesa is still the king and Krank amps are the same price. Had I paid the $2000 new amp price I would have taken it back asap just because of the gain situation but for $900 this thing would really be hard to part with. Its a great amp for the right purpose.

Bought it late 2006, so maybe produced this year (don`t really know).
2 channels, 100watt,chrome front.
effects loop WITHOUT switch for stompboxes (the updated version does have a loop volume, why not the first version?)
Kleen channel without gain knob (again the updated has some sort of extra push for that, why not in the first version?), volume treble, middle, bass
4x5881 power amp tubes, 4x 12ax7 preamp.
very versatile eq-section on krank-channel (the sweep-control is excellent!): presence (also affects kleen), gain, b.,m.,t.,sweep, 2 Volumes (great thing).
a useless line out and ohm-selector for cabinets (4-16)
This is not that much!

using esp m2 and gibson l.p.
play sort of alternative-metal-rock-thing. Played this amp live, rehearsal and in studio. Played it for more than 1 year.
This amp is NOT noisy! Rally not. You have to craank the volume very loud to get (that`s what every high-gain-amp does at some point) a feedback. Very little hum!
Since it has only 2 channels it is not the most versatile amp, but:
You get a decent clean sound (good enough for my needs) and the clean channel reacts very well on drive pedals. Plugged a guv`nor and tube screamer in front of it, great crunch. While working in studio I found out that the kleen totally cranked provides a very well chrunch as well!
The krank channel has ALOT gain, more than enough for all needs! it is possible to push it a little more by boosting it with a tube-screamer but this will not really effect the amount of gain it saturates the tone more. It is a very crunchy sort of gain which i like alot, you need to push the poweramp to get it really well. No way to get a good sound below volume on 9:00.
It has its own sound and as someone mentioned about the pedal it is the same with the amp it has a little feel of a chainsaw - awesome!!!
It grindes a lot. The bass is very tight, great for detuned but also for standard tuning.
If you turn the sweep all the way down it will get a little muddy and bassy like those mesas (you will never really cut through with that sound!) and it gets sort of shrill when it is turned all the way up (reminded me on old slayer).
One thing should be said: you have to like the sound of the 5881 tubes, they have a very own sound. The jcm-900s got these and also the laney gh-50l and 100l. I never heard the new revo+, but 6550 tubes...i think they will destroy a lot of definition and chainsaw-grind!
So, you can get a very brutal sound. If you trun the presence down and the sweep up it gets a little more fluid but don`t expect too much.
You also can get some sort of old-school metal sound but you will not get a great crunch tone on the krank-channel.
The krank channel IMHO only sounds good when gain is turned up more than half. Before i bought it i played a engl powerball. this amp wasn`t my taste. although it has a noise gate it did always noise, very very much noise. I played in a band with 2 guitars, the other one had a very midrangy tone. so you need to have an amp that cuts through. with the powerball you can decide wether you are loudern or quieter than all the others. forget the engl about that! also the engl is not that versatile in high-gain-section. in fact i only liked the crunch channel after 2 years of playing the pb!

no problems yet

answered very fast all questions

been playing for 12 years.
played it with engl cab (v-30s), great combination.
i love the high-gain sound.
wish fx-loopit had a control or switch for stompboxes and a crunch-channel or a gain control for clean.
compared it to engl invader,powerball, peavey 6505 (also nice crunchy gain but you ONLY CAN PLAY AT BEDROOM LEVEL WITHOUT A NOISE GATE!!!!), laney gh 100l, mesa rectifier.
I bought it for its superb krank-channel and the absence of annoying noise. after the powerball i did`t want any amp that only works with noise-gate because they suck tone, all of them, really!!!
i liked it more than the mesa because of its bass-response and the crunchier gain.
As the others mentioned it IS a very pricey amp. You have to love the tone so never buy the Krank if you didn`t hear it before!
I love the sound, most of the others hate it! It is a highgain amp keep that in mind, no useful crunch without stompboxes except cranking the kleen and that simply too loud.
Great Amp.

a clean channel and a distortion channel. a master volume controll and an effects loop.pretty basic.biggest pain in the but is you need the pedal to switch channels which is just stupid in my opinion

the klean channel is pretty plain and lifeless,good for effects I suppose but im not really and effects junky so it doesnt do me any good and at 1600 dollars u should be getting something more than this especially when theres only 2 channels.The distortion channel is what most people rave about and I thought it was pretty cool at first and I still think it is if you play fat detuned power chords but for everything else like playing solos it sounds so dry and buzzy and I have had this amp for 2 years so dont tell me I dont know how to tweak my amp.After playing this amp for such a long time I began to realize while it sounds like it has alot of distortion it really doesnt,it lacks that smooth liquid sustain iv heard out of other amps and I love to bend so its a big deal to me.Just very dry and shrill . I will hand it to this when it come to big meaty power chords but thats it.the thing is noisy as hell too

pretty damn reliable played it for 2 years beating it up and forgetting to plug in the speaker cable(very bad idea).It kept going but finally craped out on me and i had to get new tubes and some soldering done(most likely from not plugging in the speaker cable that one time woooooops.)The sad part is i dont trust it anymore because I dont trust repair guys cause everytime someone I know gets new power tubes the amp starts actin funny odd smells and way too much heat being generated.there is a lack of good repair techs in my area, massachusetts.so im scared now to play it which is why im lookin at the randall v2 with a tube pre amp and solid state power section

theyve answered all my questions when iv emailed them took alittle while though

iv been playing for about 5 or 6 years iv owned alot of gear I play blues,rock,classic rock,some jazzish stuff,hardcore, grindcore,deathmetal and frankly this amp doesnt suit any style fully.if it were stolen id only be pissed that I didnt get the chance to sell it and make some profit.what really makes me mad is they just came out with an "upgraded" version of the revolution that has a boost button for the clean giving it "sparkle" maybe like a fender which would have been nice in the first place for shmucks like me who wasted money on the original only to be smacked in the face

made in '03 I think, this amp is 2 channel + a second master volume which is GREAT for lead playing all foot-switchable via included foot-switch. I haven't used the effects loop, but it's got one. The amp is PLENTY loud enough, though it is not as loud as a pre-500 mesa dual recto, it is also not as shrill and painful AND it has the boost "channel" or "half channel". I needed the boost. It's hard to find on amps in this price range!

Ok, this is where knowing how to play comes in handy! The clean or "kleen" is great, not Fender great but for high gain amps GREAT! It has enough glassy goodness and gobs of headroom to make even jazz cats smile. There is no hint of breakup until it is REALLY too loud (and I've played in HARD metal bands!) The distortion or "krank" channel is brutal in it's own right but not over saturated mesa brutal. It's much more honest to your playing. If you suck, you'll suck. If your clean and smooth and tight, the amp lets you know. There is no where to hide in this amp, which I like. I didn't know what I was missing playing Mesa's. The distortion is, again, brutal, but combines clarity with the crunch, again, hiding nothing but making fast passaged sparkle. Some would say it's not enough gain. I would say your nuts for saying that! This amp shreds HARD!! It has a little more noise than my triple rectifier had but I traded the triple recto for the Krank, so there! If you dial down your volume on your guitar you can get a decent slightly dirty ever bluesy sound on the Krank channel. The second master is what sold me on these amps. That and the sheer simplicity of the amp is perfect as I prefer to spend my time playing guitar rather than taking hours to dial in sounds (something we all must do anyway, but this amp makes it easier than most.)

Haven't had it long but I pulled it apart to check it out and it's so simple and seems of solid build that I intend to beat the crap out of it, with high hopes!

Hopefully I'll never find out!

I've been playing almost 16 years. I play lots of different types of metal and LOVE shredding. That having been said, I have also busted my ass learning to play jazz and although I'm not too good at it (jazz is the ultimate hardcore music!!) this amp satisfies my need for that killer warm clean sound. It isn't quite as sweet a clean as my fender but massacres my mesas in that department! I like the distortion better too, even for the bluesy stuff and I love my blues. I've been amp searching for a long time and although the search is endless this amp is sexy and would be worth replacing if I could find a good deal on one! It RIPS

I think everyone else has pretty much covered this one. I tihnk I have the 05 one. Basic 2 channel operation, All Tube, 4 12ax7 in the preamp and 4 Sovtek 6L6 in the power amp section. 100 watts. "Krank" channel has Sweep and Presence knobs, 2 Volume knobs, Treble midrange and bass knobs and a gain knob. The "kleen" channel has a volume knob, and a Treble, midrange and bass knob. 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs, FX send and return and foot switch which switches between channels and the 2 volumes. Not very versatile. Its either clean are crazy gain.

Not bad sound quality. The clean channels is pretty good. I use bareknuckle pickups and they really help the clean sparkle. You can make the cleans pretty high without distortion.

The Krank channel has good bass response, but the highs at times can be a little shrill. I play grindcore and this amp does alright. Very crunchy tones. Noisy if you dont use a noise supressor I have a boss NS-2.

Heres where my MAJOR beef with this amp lies. I have had it for about 2 and a half years now and I have been giging with it ever since and it has already exploded on me twice, each time costing me over 500 dollars to fix. They boast hand made botique tube amp, bullshit. For as much as I paid for this amp I should have minor problems with this after 3 or 4 years. The pedal, which seamed to be durable enough, Also has broke twice. When I went to buy a new one they took forever to send it and they didnt even respond to my emails. I play in a touring grindcore band and I need my equipment to be roadworthy. THIS AMP IS NOT.

I have sent emails to them a few times before and sometimes i have gotten response and sometimes I have not. WHen I did they seamed friendly enough.

I have been playing guitar for about 6 years now and this was pretty much my first all tube amp.

If it were stolen or lost I would not buy another one.

They Sound isnt have bad when its working.

I wish this amp had been built to hold together. You shouldnt buy an amp because of hype. This one has alot of it. I dont think they really care about putting out a quality product though.

Ill be selling this amp.

As been stated below. 2005 model.Two channels all tube. Wish it had reverb and a 50/100 watt switch.

Now this is where it gets tricky. The sweep knob effects the sound so much, and so do pick-ups in your guitar. Seems to sound better with active EMG's. As far as distortion goes, look who is playing a Krank amp. So if your looking for hard core metal amp this would be it. Not for blues or jazz. The Kleen channel is better then you would think from such a brutal amp. Either channel can sound a little thin and bright sounding. You just have to take some time with it, to dial in the right sound. By the way, it is extremely loud. Your going to need a hot plate of some sort. In other words, not for the weak at heart. So the rating I'm giving for this amp is based on the sound this amp was intended for. Brutal!!!!

No problems at all.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

Been playing for over 25 years. I have many amps at my disposal. I would choose this one for hard core metal music. I was lucky enough to be able to pick it up used. Seems to be a little over priced new. Considering no reverb. Love the fact it has a boost for leads. Wish more amps had this feature. I don't think if I had to have only one amp, this would be it. Kind of a one trick pony. But still a great amp that seems to be built very well.

Two channels. 100W. 4 6L6 power tubes. 4 12AX7 preamp tubes. Impedance output selector. USA/EUR voltage selector (hidden, but there is!). Effects loop with NO mix knob. Presence and Sweep (a kind of parametric EQ that interacts with the gain, presence and EQ) knobs. On Krank (Distortion) channel: 3 band EQ, 2 master volumes and gain knob. On Kleen (Clean) channel: 3 band EQ and volume.

Kleen tones are really clean. Not boutique sound, or as good as Diezel Herbert's clean tones, but far better than Boogies, ENGLs, and so on. It doesn't break easliy.
But the best of this amp is not the clean channel, but the distorstion. Here this baby really smashes almost all amps that I have listened to or played. It has a lot of mids, even when you put the typical V EQ. Is like you mix a Bogner Uberschall with an on-steroids Framus Cobra. Maybe it has no as much gain as a Crate BV120H/150H or the Diezel Herbert, but for sure, you won't notice it due your bleeding ears.... All the controls have a wide range of usability, and when you interact EQ with gain, presence and sweep knob, the character of the amp changes from crunchy sounds to a hi-gain monster.

The bad on this amp is not having an effects loop mix knob. As you increase master volume of the channels, the loop receives more and more signal, so you can easily overdrive any FX unit you have there. The tip is turn up master volumes (7-8), turn down FX unit input and control the volume with FX output volume.

Both channels are switchable as well as two amster volumes of Krank channel. If you control your effects via midi, you can also switch channels with a midi switcher or even through the midi footcontroller (as Behringer FCB1010)

Patrick is a cool guy that helps you so much. Good support!

I owned several amps: from Rectos to Crate, ENGL, Triaxis, Pods, SansAmps, ADA...and tested almost every amp I saw on the shops: Diezel, Bogner, Framus, Boogie, VHT, Rivera, Marshall, and the Krank Revolution is one of the best, not the best of all, but capable to be on my top 5 beside Diezel Herbert, Bogner Uberschall, Rivera Knuckelhead, VHT Pitbull and Mesa Boogie Roadking.

Everything you would need from such an amp. Three channles (the gold standard these days) Good controls with sturdy knobs and easy to read. The Contour and Sweep knobs are an amazing accomplisment in this amp. You can get some very impressive tones from this amp. Many of which mimic almost to a tee some very famouse high-gaim amps! Also the kleen channle is very impressive for such am amp. Not as bright as my Hot Rod Deluxe but does a standup job during shows!

This amps distortion is out of this world. Turn to a gain channle the amp has a strong demanding gain at just 3 and 4. "Krank" this thing up to about 7 or 8 and it forms this Randallish high gain sound but with much much more warmth and power. I don't even play metal or hardcore but i find myself cranking this thing up to 8 and wailing some dimebag rifts just to bring a big smile to myself. I love it!

Very well made... don't be discouraged by past reviews. I had one of the Top tube amp techs in the country look at this thing when i had a problem with a bad connector. He was very impressed with the upscale components in this amp. Said that it's similar to amps costing much much more than $1600.00. The issue with the connector was that the line out must not have any load when a connected. the guy that owned it before me accidently plugged the speaker cable into the line out and burt the input. Sent it to krank fixed it no problem!

Fantastic! Super nice guys with lots of knowledge of these amps! Sent my amp back for an input problem, out of warrenty i must add. Fixed it and told me now to worry about the cost... all they charged me was a $20 bench fee. I've never paid less than $45 for a bench fee! Very impressed! Very!

I think this amp is a very high quality piece with fantastic sound and it would surprise me grately if someone bought this and was dissappointed!

2006 model
metal
2 channel, footswitchable, loop
needs no more features for me
i have used it in the studio and on tour and it is great for both

Pretty good range in tone using the sweep control(which i think many people havn't quite figured out yet)it is more suitable for high gain rock and metal.
The distortion is about as brutal and loud as it gets if you know how to dial it in.
I use Ibanez and Esps with Emg pickups.
The Kleen channel is great..crystal clear and doesn't break up.
It is one of the most quiet high gain amps i have ever heard(in regards to unwanted noise)

I have had no problems with it after months of touring.

I have contacted Krank customer service for various things like to order an extra footswitch and some spare tubes(awesome prices)...I don't know what the previous reviewers problem is?...They said they would do any service my amp needed if out of warranty...they are super helpful guys..they even said they would do any mods to the amp for very reasonable prices.

I have been playing for over 12 years.
I own too much gear to list.
If it were stolen or lost i would get another one a.s.a.p.
It fits my style perfectly and gives me a unique tone that i have been after for many years.
The previous reviewer is clearly mistaken because these amps ARE made with quality parts and mine as well as many other owners i have talked to have been flawless.
The trick to these amps is using the sweep control and the eq. If balanced properly you can get a ton of different sounds.
Many people who are not satisfied with this amp just haven't spent the time to learn how to use it.
I regularly get asked after shows "how do you get your krank to sound so brutal? mine/the one i played doesn't sound anything like that." Also "i can't turn the sweep control past 9:00 without it sounding thin"...i just tell them that they need to forget everything they have done with previous amps and just turn the knobs a little..and to not be afraid of turning up the mids.

I think the amp is a 2006.
I play metal and love many of the artists on the Krank amp roster.
Yet I have many issues with the amp and feel totally ripped off of at least $900!!!

The sound quality is OK. Meaning if you are 13 years old and all you do is mash you sound with heaps of gain, you will love it. The only thing is that your audience won't be able to tell what the ehck you are playing.
I have had several amps throughout the years and the Peavey 6505 I have crushes this amp.
But please read the reliability section for the AWFULL TRUTH about this amp.

The amp broke down after 1 week in the studio, not even gigging. Fortunately I took the amp to a well known custom amp builder and repair guy in the Chicago area to get it fixed and possible modded.
When he opened up the amp I felt sick.

This is not a handmade all USA amp like advertised. Most of the components inside the amp are chinese and we A/B'd it with a $400 B52 head and it is almost identical in components and wiring!
The only difference is that the B52 is $1000 cheaper in price to buy.
The only thing good about the amp were the tubes, which by the way though, blew after a week of use in the studio so they must have installed faulty ones.
Buyers beware. KRANK is ripping you off.

I originally called KRANK for support and weren't that helpful and couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me if my repair was under warranty or not.
Also they told me that the shippinf expenses were on me. To ship this head out UPS Ground is over $50 one way. Another $50 to return it. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I already spent $1300 on this head, the shipping cost me more than having it repaired out here! On top of that, Krank did mention I might have to pay for labor!

Why so many artists are supporting these guys is beyond me!

Krank amps are chinese equipped overpriced junk. I fixed mine up and sold it for $400. I took the loss but now at least I have a GENZ BENZ EL DIABLO which is a monster of an amp.
It sounds way better and is more versatile and reliable.
Krank Sucks!

My Krank is one of the early versions, though I don't know the exact year. I play Punk/Metal/Funk and the Krank almost covers them all. The only place that I find it lacking is that the Kleen channel has so much headroom that there is no way to break it up with just a guitar. Also, there isn't any middle of the road option for distortion. There is the SUPERKLEEN channel, and the BONEKRUSHINGKRANK channel.

Another feature this amp has that I find invaluable is the dual effects loops. This makes switching from kleen w/effects to distortion w/no effects a breeze! (no tap dancing ever again!!!)

I use this amp in my band and we play club gigs. Plenty of power!

I really love the sound of this amp. The secret to the tone is the SWEEP knob.

I use both a Gibson LP and an American STD strat through this amp. The Kleen channel w/the strat may not be as warm as I would like, but face it, this is no tweed combo.

The amp is so damn quiet with and without pedals that you wouldn't know it was on if there wasn't a light. No noise suppressor necessary for stop/start metal riffs.

This amp is a great complement for my band's sound as the other guitar player plays with a Marshall JCM800 and scoops his mids.

I purchased this amp in a blown state. The tech who fixed it said that the whole power section was blown out but he repaired it and I have had no issues with it at all ever since.

I've emailed Krank before and received a response from Tony Krank himself within 24 hours. He gave me tube suggestions and was very friendly and helpful. Can't wait until they have more traffic on their message boards, though.

I've been playing for 18 years and have never had an amp that I love as much as this one. If it were stolen I would surely get another one just like it.

I love the dual effects loops, the krushing sound, the noise free operation.

The only thing I miss on it is a crunch sound that isn't so brutal, but a tubescreamer can fix that right away.

Don't let anyone talk you out of trying this amp out if you're curious. Many people will hate on this company due to stupid reasons, but don't believe the hype. I'm now a Krank soldier for life!

this amp is great, the dirty channel is unbelievable i honestly can't see how they have got a heavier sound of of the Dime Krankenstien... The features on this amp are all i need, i couldnt ask for more all i want is clean and dirty and it does all that and a bit more... 2 channels with a boost on the dirty channel for solo's etc...

the kleen chanel is possible its weakest point but depending on your guitar and its pickup situation you can still get an awesome crisp tone loud as you like without breaking up...
The dirty channel is where its at with this amp, its unbelievable from blues to funk to metal to death its all in there...
I play alot of different stuff with this amp and it covers it all 100% of the way, every note on the guitar rings out even when playing bar chords on the highest gain...
i say f"ck the Boogies and Marshalls step up and get yourself a Krank just check out the site to see some of the artists using these babies

no probs yet, hold thumbs (Approx 2yrs old)

e-mailed them for a footswitch and had one delivered within a week from the US, great service

great amp, only thing i can say is mabey its too loud, i'd kind of like to hear the clean have a bit of break up... but that's just being picky... this truly is an awesome one of a kind amp they sure know what they're talking about at Krank, and probably the only amp manufacturer making their cabinets from solid wood, and not cheap shitty plywood. (just shows their dedication)

This amp has two channels, Kleen and Krank. An effects loop, a foot pedal a voltage selector and speaker ohm selector. The two best features are the 2 master volumes (perfect for setting up a solo boost level and standard level) that are switchable on the pedal and the EQ shaping sweep button which allows you to sdjust the sound from sub shattering bass to shrieking treble.

To be honest thats not a lot of bells and whistles but it has all i need to get the range of sounds i use from clean through to rip your throat out raw and all at 100w's of pure tube power.

The design of the amp is modern and looks as mean as hell, like a cornford on steroids, i chose the blacker than black version. The best bit of the design is the front grill which looks great and allows air to go through to the tubes (visible)

This amp is primarily designed for rock and metal so jazzers should probably look elsewhere. The clean channel stays clean upto 95% of its travel which is great but it doesn't give you any raunchy break up. The krank (dirty) channel is where it is at though. This channel is so well executed that with the slightest of adjustments you can achieve any rock or metal sound. The levels of noise are low (especially compared to my marshall dsl 401) but i still use an isp noise gate just to shut the rest of my pedalboard up.

Because of this amps focus on rock and metal i have found that i don't need any distortion pedal except 1. I use a maxon OD-9 in front of the clean channel to bring about breakup and allow me more tonal variety that wouldn't otherwise be there, it works really well.

I use this amp with a Japanese tokai LS-65 that has bareknuckle miracleman high output humbuckers, the amp and the guitar work really well and with the eq sweep, i can get rid of some of the les paul dark tone when i want to lighten my sound up a bit.

I have had this amp 6 months and so far (touch wood) all is well.

There are only 2 distributors of this amp in the UK so it would be tricky to solve issues with it so i will only give this amp an 8 for customer support. Krank never really got back to me when i emailed them so a bit disappointing really.

I love this amp and so i have tried to be as honest as possible without going on about its best features. The nearest comparison in the uk for sounds was the mesa boogie dual rectifier and as much as i like mesa boogie stuff. They seem a lot more complicated (i like to dial a sound and let it go!!) and due to import costs they are over ?2000 just for the head. This amp cost me ?1299 new from sounds great music so although expensive, it is a relative bargain for a pro quality touring head. I bought it despite the people moaning about the proliferation of krank stuff on the forums. In my opinion these people need to find the time to form there own opinions on the sound of these amps and stop slating them because they have bought an engl, mesa or marshall. we all like different things and the bottom line is if you like metal or rock try this amp side by side with the competition. you will like it i am sure.