SFW
Well-known member
So I finally got to play with the H&K Tube Factor that I recently purchased on eBay. Had it at practice. For those who are not familiar with this unit, it is a tube OD/Distortion pedal. The housing for this pedal is HUGE! (My only real complaint) and it has a wall wart adapter- as it runs at 12v 700ma. Once you kick it in, it takes over the amp.
I was using my Les Paul loaded with a Duncan 59/JB into the Tube Factor to my Carvin Legacy's clean channel. Marshall 1960AX (greenies)
The OD section was very crisp and warm. You could dial in just some slight breakup, or punch it out to some nice JTM45ish crunch. It is very responsive to pick attach and volume knobs changes. Controls are Drive, Volume & Voicing. The Voicing knob acts as a contour sweep. Full CCW, it is very mid heavy and perfect for cutting solos. Sweep the knob CW and you start to bring the mids to a more balanced point. It also features two foot-switches for turning the pedal ON/OFF and to switch between OD and Distortion.
The Distortion section, with the voicing set around 1 o clock sounds very much like a good JCM 800. It has slightly more gain than a stock JCM 800 as well. Great from hard rock rhythm work. I used my EH Soul Preacher to goose the input of the TF and was able to get those perfect screaming 80s tones that we all nut over. Once again, the Distortion section was very responsive to pick attach and the guitar's volume knob.
I am highly impressed with this unit. We recorded some jams last night, so I'll post some clips as soon as I get them mixed down. For a great OD/Distortion into a 100% clean amp, this is hard to beat. Yeah, they ain't cheap, but it's worth every penny tonewise. If you get a chance, check one out!
I was using my Les Paul loaded with a Duncan 59/JB into the Tube Factor to my Carvin Legacy's clean channel. Marshall 1960AX (greenies)
The OD section was very crisp and warm. You could dial in just some slight breakup, or punch it out to some nice JTM45ish crunch. It is very responsive to pick attach and volume knobs changes. Controls are Drive, Volume & Voicing. The Voicing knob acts as a contour sweep. Full CCW, it is very mid heavy and perfect for cutting solos. Sweep the knob CW and you start to bring the mids to a more balanced point. It also features two foot-switches for turning the pedal ON/OFF and to switch between OD and Distortion.
The Distortion section, with the voicing set around 1 o clock sounds very much like a good JCM 800. It has slightly more gain than a stock JCM 800 as well. Great from hard rock rhythm work. I used my EH Soul Preacher to goose the input of the TF and was able to get those perfect screaming 80s tones that we all nut over. Once again, the Distortion section was very responsive to pick attach and the guitar's volume knob.
I am highly impressed with this unit. We recorded some jams last night, so I'll post some clips as soon as I get them mixed down. For a great OD/Distortion into a 100% clean amp, this is hard to beat. Yeah, they ain't cheap, but it's worth every penny tonewise. If you get a chance, check one out!
