Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

[BloodRose]

So, whats the verdict on these?? Any of ya'll have one?? I did a search and seems like a bunch of guys were very interested.. Any trigger pullers??

It looks killer, has some cool features, has got some great mag reviews and the clips Ive heard were good. Id like more detail on the tone avail as the Night train had all the above too, but the tone on that one just isnt what Im looking for. Also curious about the reliability on the HK?

So many lil amps.. Id like to have a jet city, a tiny terror , the carvin V3, the mesa mini rec, the other mesa, rev jr, the HK.. But.. no can affordie.. I really like my Tweaker but want to know about this HK

 

[DankStar]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

uber bought one, seemed to like it - sold it I think.

phantasmagoria has the OEM dealio.

 

[Artie]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

Wow! Looks killer. My friend has the H&K 20-watt tube Edition series.

It's a cool amp. :cool2:

 

[Kam]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

I'm pretty sure it's going to be my next amp. It has all the features I want, the reviews are very promising, the clips sound good and every H&K amp I've played has been out-****ing-standing.

I'm kinda in the same boat as you, though. I've never played one and I doubt I'd get the chance to play one before ordering it. More details and reviews would be awesome. :friday:

 

[robertkoa]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

I think the 36 Watt is going to sound better - it has 3 12AX7s instead of 2.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

Wow! Looks killer. My friend has the H&K 20-watt tube Edition series.

It's a cool amp. :cool2:

Another Edition Tube 20 user here (my main practice amp). Cool amp, but a couple things to keep in mind about it:

1. Active tone controls are different; more powerful in ways, but really its own thing in terms of tone. It definitely does not sound as warm or organic as passive tone controls.

2. The clean channel is CLEAN. This channel doesn't have a master volume, so it really doesn't offer any breakup or edge tones at anything resembling reasonable volume.

3. The dirty channel is DIRTY. Classic rock lives at around 10 o'clock on the gain knob and I've never used it higher than 2 o'clock.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

uber bought one, seemed to like it - sold it I think.

phantasmagoria has the OEM dealio.

And I'm loving it...I have'nt played as much guitar in years lol. It sounds/feels fantastic..


...But I don't think mine really has anything to do with the tubemeister, design-wise (apart from the glowing blue plexiglass front). For one thing, it was out a couple of years before the tubemiester. Apart from that, it has three 12AX7's, two different sets of controls (EQ/Vol) for each channel (which interact, so for instance, I can tweak/colour the gain channel's mids with the clean channel's EQ controls, boost higher-mids or lower-mids and also manually adjust the input level & the amp's response (loose/fat/open/tight/compressed etc). NO DI out/dummy load etc...so I think they're two completely different amps. They definately sound a whole lot different too..

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

So, now that some time has gone by, anyone else had some experience with th Tubemiester 36? New Guitarworld gives it a stunning writeup and Utoob vids sound pretty dang good..

 

[sixstringsamurai333]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

I'm hoping to get one for review from our local suppliers once they order more in, so hopefully I'll be able to offer a personal opinion sometime in the near future!

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

cool!! One thing thats a bummer tho.. The price is right in the ball park of the 5150 III 50 watt. Hmmmm will be hard to chose the HK over that..

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

I made a recent NAD post about the Tubemeister 18 head. I've only had it for a couple weeks, but here's the honeymoon report:

Everything is still all lovey-dovey with this amp. It sounds great and is very touch-responsive. The tonal options can almost be a little overwhelming at times - it's easy to forget the controls don't have to be pegged for it to sound good. I've already found several golden nooks-n-crannies on the dials, and quite a few familiar sounds too. It can be a lot of fun to surf feedback and kick a few harmonics with this thing.

The clean channel, while no Fender, is nice all the way up to just a hint of crunch at max gain and volume. The lead channel gives good classic rock, and switching on the drive brings it into metal-ish territory. It bonds well with my pedals, too, although I'm still reconstructing my pedal board around the new amp. (Didn't have to think about no stinkin' "effects loop" with my Blues Jr.!)

I have used it at all three power settings. 1W seems a bit too loud (through a 4x12) for bedroom practice. I think I'm going to make a 1x12 cab for it. I found that I needed to go past 5W up to 18W to really keep up with the band at rehearsal. It doesn't sound very different at lower wattage levels, so the attenuation is guilt-free.

It is small and easy to transport. The included carry bag is very snug, so I have to make sure to check the setting of the attenuator switch after I unpack the amp. The blue LED lighting is cool looking, but is no good for reading the position of the knobs so I'll probably change the knobs at some point.

My cheating heart has already wondered if I should have gone for the TM 36 instead. The 18 is loud enough for my purposes, but I do miss having reverb on tap and I think having separate EQ controls for each channel might be useful. Besides, I'm an incorrigible gear slut.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

sounds cool! ALL the utoob vids of all of the tubemiesters sound awesome.. The features are great too.. my only thing is that the 36 is about the same price as the 5150III so which to choose????

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

sounds cool! ALL the utoob vids of all of the tubemiesters sound awesome.. The features are great too.. my only thing is that the 36 is about the same price as the 5150III so which to choose????

Weren't you just getting rid of a bunch of guitars because you were struggling financially?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

Weren't you just getting rid of a bunch of guitars because you were struggling financially?

That has nothing to do with tone! LOL

 

[Aceman]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

I have such a boner for those amps! I think the 36 would be awesome. But I'd be glad to have any of them!!!!

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

Weren't you just getting rid of a bunch of guitars because you were struggling financially?

Yes sir. A)doesnt mean I cant window shop. B) I have a friend that will be purchasing an amp and Im tryng to help him make a well informed decision.
C) And lastly, if my sitch doesnt improve, I may have to sell and down grade amps too.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

Yes sir. A)doesnt mean I cant window shop. B) I have a friend that will be purchasing an amp and Im tryng to help him make a well informed decision.
C) And lastly, if my sitch doesnt improve, I may have to sell and down grade amps too.

Sorry to hear that. I hope it gets better for you soon and I hope I didn't come off as an ass.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

My bud and I went to GC to day and molested a TM18. Man, that was a pretty nice sounding unit! Was plugged into an orange 1x12 or 2x12. We were both REALLY impressed. ALOT better than the 5 I played. Can anyone thats played the 18 and the 36 comment on how much diff those 2 are? My pal is pretty sold on the 18, but we wonder if the 36 is really worth the extra $$ tonally as he doesnt need much more output than the 18. Im assuming the 36 would def be giggable. Nice lil roar on that 18 and sounded nice at the lower settings too!!

 

[sixstringsamurai333]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

I'm reviewing the 36 at the moment. The advantage is in extra flexibility from separate Clean/Crunch/Lead channels, unlike the 18 which only gives you Clean/Lead (+boost). Add to that the extra headroom that a 36 watter will have above an 18W. Also, for the power soak, the 36W allows you to MIDI program an individual power setting for EACH channel, rather than just a global one as on the 18 - so you can set your Clean channel at 5W, with your Crunch Channel at 18W and your Lead channel at 36W, and so on.

Also, 36 has reverb.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Hughes and Kettner tubemiester

verb would be a big plus IMO! Im MIDI tarded, but that channel assignment sounds pretty cool! I had a blast with the 18. Got the typically "woolly" tone I find el84 amps give, but seemed to give an ability to dial out the "woolly". Played a charvel charvel dk2 with emgs thru it and a EVH. And it was singing pretty nice with the mids dialed up.

Id love to know how much diff tonally, if much, the 36 is. To see if its worth the extra cash. My bud is budget conscious too.. I know the 18 is a world better than the 5, IMO.