Re: HK Grandmiester 36
I got one a couple of weeks ago. The following is a review that I posted on another web forum a few days after taking it home. It all still rings true. LOVE this amp!
So after swearing-off "small iron" (tube amps less than 50 watts), and circuit-laden channel switchers last year... I thought I'd likely be going with classic styled amps like Fenders and Plexis from here on out. Have owned lots of great boutique amps over the past couple of years. Bogners, VHT, Engl, Lickliter, and more. All were great, but I felt like there was too much going-on in there and wanted to simplify by tone chain. Main two amps over the past year have been a Marshall 2203X and Straub Hurdy Gurdy (blackface, 2X6L6, P2P). Both simple, single-channel amps that sound great.
And then, I plugged into a Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister. Holy crap this thing can cover a lot of ground! My local dealer (long-time friend) sent me home with the last one they'll have for at least a month and I proceeded to wring this thing out. Used 4 different guitars (MM Morse Y2D, Dean Soltero USA, Sterling Luke, and Schecter Damien C7 Elite).
Started with some country stuff. As usual, the H&K amps always produce awesome, glassy cleans. (I used to gig a 100-watt H&K Triamp Mk I in a country rock band and it was awesome... but HEAVY!) Anyways, back to the Grandmeister... push the boost on for some hair. Add some chorus, reverb and delay to taste. All very pristine. Favorite guitars in this mode were The MM Y2D and Sterling Luke. Plenty of spank, chime, and glass here. Played through a bunch of Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, etc. Had been considering joining another country/rock band lately and this amp would be perfect. Sure... it's overkill for that. But it's got the tone, and more features than you could ever fully use... so why not?
Then on to crunch rhythm and lead programming. This took me longer. At first I felt that the tones were a bit loose, spongey, flubby, and grainy. But [despite my disdain for the buzz-kill of spending time tweaking instead of playing] after some quality time tweaking I had tightened-up the rhythm crunch and leads and was really liking them. Did some dry patches, as well as ones with reverb and delay for leads. I like OD on an amp to have immediate response. So once I'd found those tones (found them in the Lead and Ultra modes with the gain rolled-back, and the volume punchy enough to be "spanky")... I went through the Dean Soltero USA (LP-style) and really loved the crunch and clarity, yet fluidity that I was hearing as I did lead work.
And lastly, I pulled-out the Schecter 7-string, dialed-up an awesome scoopy patch on the Ultra channel and channeled my inner teenager. The thing was tight and inspirational as I played numbers from Halestorm, Evenescence, Chevelle, Saliva, etc. I was VERY impressed with the HUGE tone this thing was delivering through my V30/H30 loaded Line6 4X12. Later, for band practice I used my Egnater 1X12 cube and this amp still sounded awesome. I've never really cared for that cab until now!
I'm convinced that there's NO ground I couldn't cover with this thing. It's small, fits in a small carry bag, has all kinds of features like the Redbox DI, scalable wattage (silent, 1, 5, 18, and the full 36 watts -- programmable to EACH of the 128 patch locations!), etc.This thing is PERFECT for someone who has to cover a lot of ground, but needs to keep his rig compact and possibly quiet (though it will get loud as hell!).
I HIGHLY recommend that you check them out if you are curious in the least. Makes sure you understand how to operate the FX and tone controls. I've got the FSM432Mk III footswitch that goes along with the amp and it's perfect.
Take it from a guy who has owned many of the great buotique tube amps... this thing is legit! The only real question in my mind is durability/reliability. There's a WHOLE lot of stuff going-on in this tiny (yet chunky) head. it generates a decent amount of heat, so I've been running a small fan on it to keep it cool. Between it being made in China and doing so many things... I'm a bit wary of it breaking-down. So I'll be taking a spare to gigs. If I continue to be high on this amp and it becomes my main gigging one, I'll eventually get another to have as a spare.
Also, I didn't cover the fact that you can create and save patches on this thing via an iPad or iPhone app. I don't have any Apple products (nor will I), so that feature isn't of any use to me. I'm hoping that there will eventually be a Droid app for it so I can use my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone and Galaxy tablet.
Btw... the output tranformers in this thing are BIG for its 36 watts. They're every bit as big as the trannies in many of the 50-100 watt heads I've owned. So that's a good sign.
Pic of the head on my Laney LT212 cab...
Just a little addendum... after two weeks I still love the tone and features of this thing. It sounds great and could not be handier. I used to think that if I ever got the call from some big name rock/country touring band to hit the road with them, I'd grab a couple of Shivas and put a rack together. At this point I'm thinking that I'd just take a half dozen of these things out and a couple of 4X12s and call it good. It really is that good! The gigs are starting to line-up for me for the summer, so I'll have plenty of opportunity to see how it stands-up to the grind of that.
