Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

[Rex_Rocker]

I've got a Krank Rev Jr. I love it, but it struggles a bit at full-loud-band volumes. It does get loud enough, but the low-end kinda starts falling apart turned that high. I want to get a stereo setup through my 4x12 so that I can squeeze a little bit more volume, and I want an amp that compliments the Rev Jr.

I want something around the same wattage so that both heads balance well. I, however want something a bit more creamy in the mids, less dry/attacky, more saturated and squishy, and less emphatic on lows and highs. I still want a mean-sounding amp, though, so I'm sure I don't want to go for something too vintage-y that's too honky without any thump or sizzle either. I want a high-gain sound. I also don't want something without a full-on tonestack like a Tiny Terror (which I find a little honky, anyway) or a Dark Terror. I've had amps with single tone controls, and I find they can be very limited. It's no big deal if it's single channel as I don't really use cleans much. As much as I dream about a Soldano Hot Rod 25, it's way out of my budget, so please keep the suggestions sensible in that regard.

So what is out there that's creamy, juicy, and saturated (I guess British-y?) but that can still bring the br00tz? How do you guys think an Orange OR15 or a Peavey Classic 20 would match up with the Krank?

[allbutromeo]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

You said Soldano Hot Rod, so I immediately think Jet City JCA20H or the 2 channel JCA22H

[BenPerkins]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

I've got a Krank Rev Jr. I love it, but it struggles a bit at full-loud-band volumes. It does get loud enough, but the low-end kinda starts falling apart turned that high. I want to get a stereo setup through my 4x12 so that I can squeeze a little bit more volume, and I want an amp that compliments the Rev Jr.

I want something around the same wattage so that both heads balance well. I, however want something a bit more creamy in the mids, less dry/attacky, more saturated and squishy, and less emphatic on lows and highs. I still want a mean-sounding amp, though, so I'm sure I don't want to go for something too vintage-y that's too honky without any thump or sizzle either. I want a high-gain sound. I also don't want something without a full-on tonestack like a Tiny Terror (which I find a little honky, anyway) or a Dark Terror. I've had amps with single tone controls, and I find they can be very limited. It's no big deal if it's single channel as I don't really use cleans much. As much as I dream about a Soldano Hot Rod 25, it's way out of my budget, so please keep the suggestions sensible in that regard.

So what is out there that's creamy, juicy, and saturated (I guess British-y?) but that can still bring the br00tz? How do you guys think an Orange OR15 or a Peavey Classic 20 would match up with the Krank?

OR15. Humbuckers sound great, obviously, but in my opinion the amp really shines when using P90s or single coils. I play a Tele with mine and can easily get an early Sabbath tone.




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[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

Thanks for the replies! Yeah! I forgot about the Jet Cities. They look great. Are they reliable and good quality?

The OR15 is really tempting. How does it sound at lower volumes? And at high full-band volume levels?

[FuseG4]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

Or15 sounds great at low volumes and nice and thick at high volumes. It's mean, somewhat vintagey. Has a fuzzy, grindy character but it's extremely versatile. Lots of useable gain without getting too thick or dark, punchy is good word. I like old led zeppelin, deep purple, black sabbath, ac/dc levels of overdrive but at the time I had the or15 had to keep the volume medium low-ish for neighbors, the amp was plenty "alive" and covered that stuff well at a reasonable volume but when you push it it's very reactive but with a lot of saturation.
It did sometimes make me yearn for the same kind of flavor but in a bigger amp though. I sometimes missed that "big bold and deep" sound of bigger tubes and transformers but then I'd never be able to crank it so it is what it is. Maybe a different cab would have helped, I had a 112 that was smaller. Would have liked the ppc112, they sound really good with that cab.

[dystrust]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

Thanks for the replies! Yeah! I forgot about the Jet Cities. They look great. Are they reliable and good quality?

The OR15 is really tempting. How does it sound at lower volumes? And at high full-band volume levels?

I have a JCA22H and it seems to be built reasonably well, but I don't think it's what you're looking for. In terms of tonality it's very similar to the Krank, so it'd be more overlap than complement. Take a look at the JCA22 Custom which was re-voiced by Martin Kidd of Cornford / Victory amps; it's supposed to be a lot more 'british' sounding. You'll also want to avoid the JCA20 since it only has the lower gain crunch channel. The crunch will do JCM800 type tones, but you'll need a boost for anything heavier.

[allbutromeo]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

I thought the JCA20H was higher gain modernish one
And the JCA20HV was the lower gain Plexi-800 style
I could be wrong though, I've only played through a couple of them at lower volumes before.

[dystrust]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

I thought the JCA20H was higher gain modernish one
And the JCA20HV was the lower gain Plexi-800 style
I could be wrong though, I've only played through a couple of them at lower volumes before.

The JCA22H is the 20H with the addition of the Soldano Hot Rod style overdrive channel. The 20H is very JCM800-like, while the 20HV is more plexi-inspired.

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

Thanks for all the replies, dudes!

I'm really liking what I'm hearing of the OR15. I'd really like to try one in person. How do you guys think it works for the down-tuned chuggah chuggah?

[Jacew]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

I've got a Krank Rev Jr. I love it, but it struggles a bit at full-loud-band volumes. It does get loud enough, but the low-end kinda starts falling apart turned that high. I want to get a stereo setup through my 4x12 so that I can squeeze a little bit more volume, and I want an amp that compliments the Rev Jr.

I want something around the same wattage so that both heads balance well. I, however want something a bit more creamy in the mids, less dry/attacky, more saturated and squishy, and less emphatic on lows and highs. I still want a mean-sounding amp, though, so I'm sure I don't want to go for something too vintage-y that's too honky without any thump or sizzle either. I want a high-gain sound. I also don't want something without a full-on tonestack like a Tiny Terror (which I find a little honky, anyway) or a Dark Terror. I've had amps with single tone controls, and I find they can be very limited. It's no big deal if it's single channel as I don't really use cleans much. As much as I dream about a Soldano Hot Rod 25, it's way out of my budget, so please keep the suggestions sensible in that regard.

So what is out there that's creamy, juicy, and saturated (I guess British-y?) but that can still bring the br00tz? How do you guys think an Orange OR15 or a Peavey Classic 20 would match up with the Krank?

That description nails the "Egnater tone" to a T. Specifically I would look at Rebel 20 mk2, which adds High Gain switch and couple of under-the-hood improvements. The two switches & full tone stack + tube type and watts pots add superb range for set-it-and-forget tone & feel adjustment. Plenty of juicy mids without dryness or hollowness, And more gain on the tap than you need for any "classic metal" even without the high gain switch in mk2.

Tweaker line is more vintagey and aimed classic Marshall/Fender territory so you don't want that.

[FuseG4]

Re: Which lunchbox head to compliment a Krank Rev Jr.?

Or15 will handle some chugga but cab will start to play a big role, you've got to not get the amp too pushed because when all is going full-tilt on the amp you really hear the fact that it's el84 if you're used to bigger tubes. The bass is not as "deep" or impactful and the power tubes breakup can get aggressive making things too creamy and saturated. Keep the power amp cleaner to get the most tightness on heavy riffs, and if that's not loud enough a bigger cab will scale it up. Considering it's a lunchbox I give it an "A-" grade for downtuning but in the grand scheme of things headroom matters a lot for deep, hard hitting, visceral chugging.