Here's my honest review of my brush with a Krankenstein.....
I had the chance to buy one and the gent was nice enough to bring it by for a test drive. Good guy btw, but onto the amp
I had two cabs to play thru, a Krank Revolution 412 cab and
a Marshall 1960BV 412. My guitar was a ESP LTD SC-500 loaded with anniversary EMG81s
I also brought out another head to compare it to so I fired up my Rivera KTre
Started on the Krankenstein's clean channel which was bright and chimmey and very pleasant. Excellent cleans. Great! Onto the dirty. My first impression was that it was fizzy and thin sounding at low volumes. I started dialing in the controls to find the amps "sweet spot". I did improve but not to what I like, The sweep knob helps alot and turning the volumes up to around 3-4 really get the amp to sing but it still lacked that full sound, like it had a mid or low-mid frequency that was missing. Also the low end seemed unfocused. I previously had owned a Rev1 and sold it for the same reason.
To A/B the sounds, I plugged the Rivera into the Krank cab. Whoa, it was like a blanket was removed from the speakers. Full, rich, deep tones with a blistering distortion sound that was sweet, not harsh. I found myself surfing and riffing for 10 mins before I realized I had zoned out. Ok, ok....let try the Marshall cab and the Krank
Krankenstein with Marshall 1960BV - better than the Krank cab. The v30s provided a sweet sizzle and seemed to project the sound of the amp further across the room if that makes sense. Ok, maybe this is it.....So I A/Bed again with the Rivera.....
OMFG, this amp just kills....
The Rivera KTre thru the Marshall was just blistering metal, absolutely some of the hottest, smoothest gain on the planet. The Krank had been officially destroyed by the Rivera....Not even close
I felt bad for the guy cuz he was trying to sell this thing and I could tell on his face that even he knew the Rivera smoked the Krank hands down. We parted as friends, no hard feelings.
I've tried to like Kranks several times and I keep saying the same things about their amps. They are missing some kind of mid to low frequency, are very difficult to lead on and just seem kinda hollow sounding. I dunno, I'm not gonna bash them cuz I know alot of those guys and have alot of respect for Tony (which btw, his early prototypes sound amazing and are nothing like the production Kranks). I give props to small businesses that can be successful and Krank is very successful. Their Revolution cab pairs very well with my Uberschall.
My point is, it's all personal preference. What's good for me might be shite for you and don't be afraid to play what others may think is a piece of crap, if it inspires you to play your very best. I own several amps, which I will list at the end of this, and all of them have their weak spots (some smaller than others). Find what makes you chub up and then start cuttin heads with it. Don't worry about the faceplate on your amp/cab until someone else starts paying for them. Peace
Amps I own:
Engl Powerball - Unbelievably good, like sweet dark metal. Evil but so so good. Convinced it has a black magic circuit
Bogner Uberschall - very 3D sound, punishing metal tones, clean channel is just ok, not loud enough
Mesa Mark IIC+ - If you've ever heard "....And Justice for All", that's this amp. So sweet sounding, butter to play. Almost plays the leads for you
Mesa Mark IV - Not as good as the IIC+ but still ultra brutal, California metal sound. Loves pedals
Marshall DSL50 - Modern metal sound with Marshall flavor
Marshall 2205 - Classic marshall sound but needs to be turned up loud to really shine, more open and organic than the DSL50
Rivera KTre - read above
Peavey XXX - Can get kinda fizzy and squishy sounding but still very very good modern metal sounds
Peavey 5150 - More focused and organic than the XXX
Mesa Rectostein - an early 2ch Recto that I've modded to accept KT88s. Very wide sounding, ultra pure metal. One of my best (just replace the 4A fuse with a 5A and set the bias to 6L6)
Mesa Triaxis - a library of tone. Sounds amazing thru the marshall and Strategy 400 power amp. Not thrilled with the Recto channel, sounds muffled
Axe FX - super easy to dial in sounds, especially for recording but hasn't replaced the real things. Best clean sounds I own.
)
