G
gritstogroats
Active member
Introduction
So for those who saw my crab amp post moments ago. Yes. I got a fuck ton of gear in a short period of time. It's a problem. So much so my wife who doesn't even play guitar heard me talk about synergy amps and said I was a jackass for not getting that off the bat and taking up so much space.
Just to clarify. I just explained what synergy was hasn't really seemed like my thing idk. And by taking up so much space she means me existing not my gear. Jk. It's both.
Lichtlaerm is something I got hot and bothered by when the videos started coming out. So many things I've passed on or meh. I can't say why exactly but this this just called to me.
It's described as a 2.5 channel amp. Personally I'd say 4 but that's just like my opinion man.
Aesthetics
The maker Daniel is super flexible here. If anything im only a bit frustrated i didn't know how crazy he was so I could have explored all the wood choices and bare. Also instead of a handle at top of amp. You have two openings. It looks better. You can stack or transport easier. And moving is safer. That said. Esp with kt 88s the amp gets warm so. I do feel there is potential there to burn you with the right wrong move. And concern about dust so I cover up nightly.
Front of amp
One master volume, one presence, one resonance, one gate knob.
There is a defeat switch which cuts preamp section. It's just you, resonance/presence and master volume. And the pedal you plug in.
Noise gate
I rate high. It's super responsive. Does a better job that most of what I've tested before. That said. It does seem to buffer your signal so may slightly alter your sound. And for me it can't always be on. My clean is too clean can cut the sound. Or doesn't do quite enough for gain. I use my existing noise gate front of amp. Both set on low its perfect no issue.
Switches
Loop switch
Store switch.
Everything Footswitch and midi controllable.
Eq for clean and the vintage (0.5)/lead (1) channel(s). Mids treble bass volume gain. Clean has a brilliant or warm switch. Gain has a cut knob and 3 way voice switch. Ill do details in a bit.
Back panel
Two jacks for a 4 ohm (or two jacks for two 8 ohm), two jacks for a 8 ohm (or two 16 ohm) or a single 16 ohm jack.
Line out with line level knob.
Fx loop that is tube buffered. It does do a better job than a lot of my other amps but I'm not a huge fx loop guy.
9v to add a cord for pedal.
Bias adjustment external
Thru and midi
Sounds
Eq/front
In general the eq is the same across channels. I think presence is very unique and awesome. If I turn the treble down to 10 o clock. I can max out the presence on a vintage setting and love it. If I turn eqs to 3 o clock maybe add a little cut. I can keep presence down and it cuts. Idk it's very versatile and tweakable.
Resonance bass it you cut too much it's trouble. Cut knob removes some low end. But even so. Pull those back too much and you do get a much more vintage sound.
Mids and treble are cool af. Cuts so much. And can cut mids and still cut. Although I really enjoy frequency so I keep.
Like clean, gain takes pedals great.
Clean
Clean is marketed as fender hiwatt meatsmoke inspired. I only played fender from the list. I am happy with this clean.
Brilliant and warm give you a shit ton of range. And the eq let's you use that range exceptionally well. It's pretty responsive in this channel.
It won't get like dirty when you crank up gain just louder a touch of grit maybe at least with kt88s.
Bass/resonance at 1 o clock. It punches.
It gets chimey it gets bluesy or looser. It takes all pedals front of amp very well. Idk why but I love to see how amps react with friedman be od pedals. I can pretty much max out the pedal and it sounds good. Previous winner here for best friedman be od pedal was engl e670 sefe on its own defeat switch.
Brilliant is high end boost and bright switch it kicks things up a notch. Warm is fender tone I'm used to. Feel wise it's a tiny bit tighter than say a blues jr iv in the feel of playing. But it's good.
As stated noise gate may cut sound if used alone on low settings. That said there really isn't a reason to keep it on with cleans. Use midi or a switch/program settings.
Gain channel vintage
The bite switch and vintage switches dictate the sound and make huge differences so that's how I will designate. Bite=top middle bottom. And vintage vs lead.
Vintage, top
I can get a British, vintage, marshall, charged sound. The mids/upper end hit the right freqencies. more vintage sounds take work amp veers to aggressive easily. But keep gain 9-11, mids and treble maybe 2 o'clock. Resonance presence and bass to taste. Probably the key here. I get closer to that classic sound with cut knob at 12 it does the right things.
Lead, top
I imagine like a soldano. Never played. But for the promethius. It's brighter. You can tweak for sizzle or fizz. **
Vintage middle
Mid setting vintage.. is a bit tubbier less gain actually sort of more organic. I added a shit ton of description to last setting because I thought It was tough. And using that to get A sound. This is a setting to get my sound and add pedals.
Lead, mid
Sort of more organic. A bit tubbier or thicker but. Not actually tubby. It's also the platform to tweak my sounds.
Vintage, bottom
Thick. Will remind you of recto and ksr with this aggression. But so much tighter and less fizz than rectifier. It won't get as open as a ksr but it will get way more eq, aggression. Keep thickness more with more gain if you want. Idk it seems like a lovechild of a few amps and they got it right this time.
Modern/lead, bottom
Pretty much the same except more liquid sound and gain. Also I can get cool palm mutes here and lead/top with the right top end. Love it.
And overall
This amp is think with kt88 and 6l6 is 150 watts. It's by far the loudest amp I have. I can crank my other amps or at least get to 50%. This combo I've only been able to do 25% volume max. So may be missing some qualities or when it opens up.
Some other notes
1. The lcfr speakers are very very good here. That said I feel like there was a 150 watt model of fan 10 or 20 years ago long since discontinued that is so similar. Name is escaping me. But hesu demons and dv-77s also phenomanal. I wanted to mention because one of the top 5 videos to date in terms of views/impact said something about low end. It doesn't get boomy unless you dry. It doesn't get loose unless you really try. But there is no shortage of low end.
2. This amp handles very extreme whether clean or death/sludge/metal core covers of apt on repeat. Impressive on its own. But covers everything in between really fucking well. I was worried I'd be limited. A sterile clean and a driftwood channel that's it. I get some very solid cleans, I can get less compressed/more organic sounds even marshall classic, or i can have different flavors of high gain which yes includes a more standard high gain similar but a lot more.
3. Price when i bought it: Mesa boogie dual rectifier reissue is similarly priced.... you can have that. Or something handwired from Germany with bells/whistles, good customer service, and great parts. Given the price range this was a deal. Or get like a soldano or mezzabarba for more.
Comparisons
You have a lot more options here. Ill do greatest hits here.
1. Engl e670 sefe: similar with tightness. But so much more control over sound/eq. And the eq pops so much more. Engl is more processed. Mids sort of stuck. Presence can get harsh. It's an engl sound! Love it but yeah it's not going to deviate too much esp with its eq. That's also why I love it.
2. Ksr: similar with gain. Ksr can get much more open and/or airy esp low volume on this amp. Lichtlaerm has so much more eq. More sculpting and versatility. Can get as aggressive or more.
3. Mesa dual rectifier: similar with gain. Can get similar presence and thickness/fatness. But prometheus again more versatile and doesn't have limitations or flub of mesa.
4. Evil Joe (hot rod marshall
i think evil joe has the best single clean sound. But isn't versatile there. Prometheus is 2nd best and can give me multiple really good cleans.
Evil Joe can give me more flavors of marshall. I will be keeping it for this. Versatile with British. Prometheus gives me British/marshall sounds. But it gets aggressive quick, modern and gain quick. It's apples and Oranges.
That said i have loved plugging in prometheus to power amps. Evil joe is my fav. Feel knob in particular just kills with prometheus.
----------------------------------------------------
Hope to have sound samples. For me in particular for clean, vintage, and modern. In psrticular modern was worth it. Gives me huge range and new ranges to work with. Worth every penny.
----------------------------------------------------
So for those who saw my crab amp post moments ago. Yes. I got a fuck ton of gear in a short period of time. It's a problem. So much so my wife who doesn't even play guitar heard me talk about synergy amps and said I was a jackass for not getting that off the bat and taking up so much space.
Just to clarify. I just explained what synergy was hasn't really seemed like my thing idk. And by taking up so much space she means me existing not my gear. Jk. It's both.
Lichtlaerm is something I got hot and bothered by when the videos started coming out. So many things I've passed on or meh. I can't say why exactly but this this just called to me.
It's described as a 2.5 channel amp. Personally I'd say 4 but that's just like my opinion man.
Aesthetics
The maker Daniel is super flexible here. If anything im only a bit frustrated i didn't know how crazy he was so I could have explored all the wood choices and bare. Also instead of a handle at top of amp. You have two openings. It looks better. You can stack or transport easier. And moving is safer. That said. Esp with kt 88s the amp gets warm so. I do feel there is potential there to burn you with the right wrong move. And concern about dust so I cover up nightly.
Front of amp
One master volume, one presence, one resonance, one gate knob.
There is a defeat switch which cuts preamp section. It's just you, resonance/presence and master volume. And the pedal you plug in.
Noise gate
I rate high. It's super responsive. Does a better job that most of what I've tested before. That said. It does seem to buffer your signal so may slightly alter your sound. And for me it can't always be on. My clean is too clean can cut the sound. Or doesn't do quite enough for gain. I use my existing noise gate front of amp. Both set on low its perfect no issue.
Switches
Loop switch
Store switch.
Everything Footswitch and midi controllable.
Eq for clean and the vintage (0.5)/lead (1) channel(s). Mids treble bass volume gain. Clean has a brilliant or warm switch. Gain has a cut knob and 3 way voice switch. Ill do details in a bit.
Back panel
Two jacks for a 4 ohm (or two jacks for two 8 ohm), two jacks for a 8 ohm (or two 16 ohm) or a single 16 ohm jack.
Line out with line level knob.
Fx loop that is tube buffered. It does do a better job than a lot of my other amps but I'm not a huge fx loop guy.
9v to add a cord for pedal.
Bias adjustment external
Thru and midi
Sounds
Eq/front
In general the eq is the same across channels. I think presence is very unique and awesome. If I turn the treble down to 10 o clock. I can max out the presence on a vintage setting and love it. If I turn eqs to 3 o clock maybe add a little cut. I can keep presence down and it cuts. Idk it's very versatile and tweakable.
Resonance bass it you cut too much it's trouble. Cut knob removes some low end. But even so. Pull those back too much and you do get a much more vintage sound.
Mids and treble are cool af. Cuts so much. And can cut mids and still cut. Although I really enjoy frequency so I keep.
Like clean, gain takes pedals great.
Clean
Clean is marketed as fender hiwatt meatsmoke inspired. I only played fender from the list. I am happy with this clean.
Brilliant and warm give you a shit ton of range. And the eq let's you use that range exceptionally well. It's pretty responsive in this channel.
It won't get like dirty when you crank up gain just louder a touch of grit maybe at least with kt88s.
Bass/resonance at 1 o clock. It punches.
It gets chimey it gets bluesy or looser. It takes all pedals front of amp very well. Idk why but I love to see how amps react with friedman be od pedals. I can pretty much max out the pedal and it sounds good. Previous winner here for best friedman be od pedal was engl e670 sefe on its own defeat switch.
Brilliant is high end boost and bright switch it kicks things up a notch. Warm is fender tone I'm used to. Feel wise it's a tiny bit tighter than say a blues jr iv in the feel of playing. But it's good.
As stated noise gate may cut sound if used alone on low settings. That said there really isn't a reason to keep it on with cleans. Use midi or a switch/program settings.
Gain channel vintage
The bite switch and vintage switches dictate the sound and make huge differences so that's how I will designate. Bite=top middle bottom. And vintage vs lead.
Vintage, top
I can get a British, vintage, marshall, charged sound. The mids/upper end hit the right freqencies. more vintage sounds take work amp veers to aggressive easily. But keep gain 9-11, mids and treble maybe 2 o'clock. Resonance presence and bass to taste. Probably the key here. I get closer to that classic sound with cut knob at 12 it does the right things.
Lead, top
I imagine like a soldano. Never played. But for the promethius. It's brighter. You can tweak for sizzle or fizz. **
Vintage middle
Mid setting vintage.. is a bit tubbier less gain actually sort of more organic. I added a shit ton of description to last setting because I thought It was tough. And using that to get A sound. This is a setting to get my sound and add pedals.
Lead, mid
Sort of more organic. A bit tubbier or thicker but. Not actually tubby. It's also the platform to tweak my sounds.
Vintage, bottom
Thick. Will remind you of recto and ksr with this aggression. But so much tighter and less fizz than rectifier. It won't get as open as a ksr but it will get way more eq, aggression. Keep thickness more with more gain if you want. Idk it seems like a lovechild of a few amps and they got it right this time.
Modern/lead, bottom
Pretty much the same except more liquid sound and gain. Also I can get cool palm mutes here and lead/top with the right top end. Love it.
And overall
This amp is think with kt88 and 6l6 is 150 watts. It's by far the loudest amp I have. I can crank my other amps or at least get to 50%. This combo I've only been able to do 25% volume max. So may be missing some qualities or when it opens up.
Some other notes
1. The lcfr speakers are very very good here. That said I feel like there was a 150 watt model of fan 10 or 20 years ago long since discontinued that is so similar. Name is escaping me. But hesu demons and dv-77s also phenomanal. I wanted to mention because one of the top 5 videos to date in terms of views/impact said something about low end. It doesn't get boomy unless you dry. It doesn't get loose unless you really try. But there is no shortage of low end.
2. This amp handles very extreme whether clean or death/sludge/metal core covers of apt on repeat. Impressive on its own. But covers everything in between really fucking well. I was worried I'd be limited. A sterile clean and a driftwood channel that's it. I get some very solid cleans, I can get less compressed/more organic sounds even marshall classic, or i can have different flavors of high gain which yes includes a more standard high gain similar but a lot more.
3. Price when i bought it: Mesa boogie dual rectifier reissue is similarly priced.... you can have that. Or something handwired from Germany with bells/whistles, good customer service, and great parts. Given the price range this was a deal. Or get like a soldano or mezzabarba for more.
Comparisons
You have a lot more options here. Ill do greatest hits here.
1. Engl e670 sefe: similar with tightness. But so much more control over sound/eq. And the eq pops so much more. Engl is more processed. Mids sort of stuck. Presence can get harsh. It's an engl sound! Love it but yeah it's not going to deviate too much esp with its eq. That's also why I love it.
2. Ksr: similar with gain. Ksr can get much more open and/or airy esp low volume on this amp. Lichtlaerm has so much more eq. More sculpting and versatility. Can get as aggressive or more.
3. Mesa dual rectifier: similar with gain. Can get similar presence and thickness/fatness. But prometheus again more versatile and doesn't have limitations or flub of mesa.
4. Evil Joe (hot rod marshall
i think evil joe has the best single clean sound. But isn't versatile there. Prometheus is 2nd best and can give me multiple really good cleans.Evil Joe can give me more flavors of marshall. I will be keeping it for this. Versatile with British. Prometheus gives me British/marshall sounds. But it gets aggressive quick, modern and gain quick. It's apples and Oranges.
That said i have loved plugging in prometheus to power amps. Evil joe is my fav. Feel knob in particular just kills with prometheus.
----------------------------------------------------
Hope to have sound samples. For me in particular for clean, vintage, and modern. In psrticular modern was worth it. Gives me huge range and new ranges to work with. Worth every penny.
----------------------------------------------------
