speed2dirt
Butterball
I know the Rivera Knucklehead doesn't seem to get too much love around here, which I don't understand. I played a 2002 EL34 Knucklehead Reverb a couple months ago and was amazed at how versatile it was. I know Joe talks about how versatile his older Bogner Ecstasy is, but I literally thought to myself, how can anything be more versatile than this?! I should have bought it, but went home to think about it and it was sold when I returned.
Anyway, I've been keeping my eyes open for another Knucklehead that would have that same tone and versatility. In the process, I realized there are a lot of different Knucklehead models, all of which are named very similarly. A quick call to Rivera's sales line and I had it all straightened out (thanks Rich!). Just thought I'd list the differences here for anyone that might be interested.
Knucklehead - lower gain, sluggy, saggy (Soundgarden)
Knucklehead II - no power section break-up, geared toward the low 7-string, nu-metal (Korn, Staind)
Knucklehead '55 - only available as a combo, smooth distortion, generic late '80s, commercial tone (Chicago)
Knucklehead Tre - thick, sustain, more bottom-end, more modern metal voiced, Uber/Diezel-ish (Shadows Fall)
Knucklehead Reverb EL34 - only 3-channel Knucklehead, '80s hard rock/metal tone, less bass, no mud, biting mids (black metal)
Knucklehead Reverb 6L6 - same as above but with a "fizz mod", more Dual Rectifier-ish
KR7 - Mick Thompson signature, Knucklehead Reverb with slight tone changes to midrange, more Marshally, more gain but also smoother (Slipknot)
Anyway, I've been keeping my eyes open for another Knucklehead that would have that same tone and versatility. In the process, I realized there are a lot of different Knucklehead models, all of which are named very similarly. A quick call to Rivera's sales line and I had it all straightened out (thanks Rich!). Just thought I'd list the differences here for anyone that might be interested.
Knucklehead - lower gain, sluggy, saggy (Soundgarden)
Knucklehead II - no power section break-up, geared toward the low 7-string, nu-metal (Korn, Staind)
Knucklehead '55 - only available as a combo, smooth distortion, generic late '80s, commercial tone (Chicago)
Knucklehead Tre - thick, sustain, more bottom-end, more modern metal voiced, Uber/Diezel-ish (Shadows Fall)
Knucklehead Reverb EL34 - only 3-channel Knucklehead, '80s hard rock/metal tone, less bass, no mud, biting mids (black metal)
Knucklehead Reverb 6L6 - same as above but with a "fizz mod", more Dual Rectifier-ish
KR7 - Mick Thompson signature, Knucklehead Reverb with slight tone changes to midrange, more Marshally, more gain but also smoother (Slipknot)
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