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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2019 23:06:57 GMT
It distributes presents MartinB . But it does another thing too....it adds top to the signal after it has emerged from the power tubes. In other words, once the whole signal has gained it's tone there is one more chance to give it some top if it seems that it needs it. All the other eq twisters operate on the preamp. So, combined, there is a baffling array of possibilities. No wonder Che fancied the tone controlless Champ-alike. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 0:41:40 GMT
One problem solved:
the 'clean' knob adjusts the volume of the clean channel
the 'volume' knob adjusts the volume of the lead channel
the 'gain' knob only applies gain distortion to the lead channel
So it is possible to balance the two channel volumes.
The eq section is shared so that will be a compromise. Might be an idea to use an eq pedal on one of the channels (probably the lead one), but that will mean hitting two pedals at the same time when switching channels. Hmm, some learning to do here to get everything to feel like second nature.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 6:47:52 GMT
Have no idea about Volume between the Clean and Gain channels sorry. I ONLY use the Clean channel (if I need lead sound I stomp on my CKK Lunar Drive). Still Im sure you can set that as there is a Clean's Volume knob, Gain's Volume&Gain knobs, Master Volume  would be difficult not to be able to balance out the two channels |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 6:51:38 GMT
The eq section is shared so that will be a compromise. Might be an idea to use an eq pedal on one of the channels (probably the lead one), but that will mean hitting two pedals at the same time when switching channels. Hmm, some learning to do here to get everything to feel like second nature. Please do your self a favor and stop thinking EQ fiddling for each channel (this is an all tube amp) and find that AMP's Sweet Spot and let it be there. Sure you might want to adjust the Treble for a certain guitar you are playing but the Mids and Bass are usually the same , on about 3. I only use presence to about 4 on cleans and not at all if driving the sound. The Bugera sure looks cheaply made right  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 9:39:51 GMT
I've read a lot of reviews that suggest the eq section does not have a lot of variation adjustment either side of the sweet spot so I suspect I'll not be able to do much either side of setting it there and moving on. The Presence knob does sound like the one to play with, and I know from experience on the Peavey Classic, that it can interact quite surprisingly with the other eq knobs. Add in the 'mid boost' button and the 'normal'and'bright' inputs and I'm sure I'll find a happy sound.
I do intend to use the drive channel though. If it doesn't sound good and usable it's not for me. I already have a beautiful clean sound in my Champ which also has another drive channel that's unusable, so I've spent a bit of time and money searching for something to do the overdrive well without resorting to pedals. This amp will be used live and I need simplicity in setting levels and leaving them there.
It really is very nicely built, Che, but with an astounding weight to it. I used to swing a Selmer head around and it has nothing on this. I wonder whether it is the components or the cabinet material? I know particle board can be overly heavy. This thing weighs more than my entire Champ combo. Oh well, at least I'll be nicely balanced waddling them into a venue.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 10:16:53 GMT
I think the EQ section is very similar to the Fender Deluxe Reverb I've tried. You could turn things and not get radical stuff happening but rather nuances. I love the fact that I can crank the Bass on my V55 and get a nice fat sound without having that boomy effect you get on solid state or god forbid modeling amps like Katana!
Im glad you've got this one to try it out. Either its for you or not. Im thinking to buy this very head once I get that money back from Music Store!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 11:39:03 GMT
It would be good for you to try this head through your V55 speaker @chedapapa . I'm wondering how much difference you'll notice. I've put a speaker cable together and hooked up to the Champ's speaker now and managed about an hour of fiddling. I've found all sorts of adjustments on the eq that sound fine in my room unaccompanied by any other instruments and seemed to have settled for a bass below 2, mids at 4 and treble at 3 situation at the moment, using bright alnico 5 single coils and bridge humbucker on the Pacifica. I tend not to want the mid boost on nor the presence knob beyond 1. I seem to prefer the pentode mode and have found a slightly more smooth overdrive distortion using the master control maxed out and the distortion channel's volume down around 3.5. This is the way the Katana sounds better too so I thought I'd A/B the two amps for clean and crunch. What I noticed, skipping between the two, was a similar response but a much more 'open' sound from the Bugera, but this has always been my observation when comparing the Katana with my Champ as well. I really wonder how much difference the Champ's speaker is making to all of this (which is the main reason I went for the head version, to really make comparisons between the three amps fair). I guess the fairest thing to do now is to plug in the Katana to my Champ's speaker as well. But here I have a question, speaker and amp aficionados, can I have a second amp attached to the spare lugs on a speaker at the same time, even if the other one is in standby? If I do will I need to adjust the ohm impedence? Or will this all lead to disaster?  |
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 11:46:43 GMT
I take it you are proposing to connect the Champ's speaker to the Katana amp.
But just for clarification:-
-1. Are you disconnecting the Katana's speaker?
-2. Are you disconnecting the Champ's speaker from the Champ amp?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 12:00:14 GMT
Thanks for offering to help here saltee. I can't find any info online about what those extra lugs on speakers are for nor how to use them.
Here's the plan:
1. Wasn't planning to disconnect the Katana speaker. I had assumed that plugging in to the speaker out socket would bypass the amp's speaker. Perhaps this is not the case and that socket is for an EXTRA speaker? In which case I certainly would disconnect the Katana's. I'll bet they are soldered on. Let's take a look...hmm, one is, typically! But, tragedy of tragedies, I just realised I was looking at the manual for the Katana 100; my Katana 50 doesn't HAVE a speaker out!!! So I'll have to do two things, unsolder the earth terminal and make up a special cable, I have plenty of lamp wire here and it's a VERY short run.
2. I have disconnected the speaker from the Champ amp because I had no idea what those extra lugs were for and didn't want to assume I could just connect the Bugera to them.
Why is there nothing online about these 4 lug terminals? I guess they are exclusively for chaining together speakers as in a Fender Twin?
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 13:00:06 GMT
Ah yes - there is no speaker out on the Katana 50. The is none on the Katana 100 either but (unlike the 50) the latter does have a Line Out.
Sounds like what you want to do is
- disconnect the katana speaker by pulling the connectors off the speaker lug (I could be wrong but I dont think and de-soldering is required).
- connect the katana speaker wires to your made-up cables which are connected on the other end to the Champ Speaker. Keep an eye on the polarity of each wire.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 13:00:28 GMT
Wow, it was interesting to swap to that favourite tele of mine. As I've said before, I have no idea what it is, have never looked inside to see if the pickups are alnico or not. I only know that it has some kind of bell wire for the harness. It was like hooking up with an old and perfect friend again. It just does what I want it to do and snaps and bends and barks away as I want it to.
Great to play into the Bugera, both clean and crunchy. Into the Kat I can hear it responding very like the Bugera but there's less shimmery shine. It definitely seems to have a natural tubey-like response but there's a lack of crystal depth and, as Che has said, it has no detailed bottom end. To be fair, I haven't gone into the Tone Studio to adjust any global eq, and I won't until I've stuck it through the Champ's speaker and cab because, as I've always suspected, that Champ has a marvelous clean sound to it; bigger and bassier without boom, as you would expect from a Fender amp with a bigger cab than the Katana.
I'm not down on the Kat and it's been great to compare the two because now I can hear what reviews have said about it. To me, it certainly responds like the all tube Bugera but what it then puts out seems to lack the detail that would match it. It's all going to come down to that speaker, so that comes next when I can get to my soldering equipment. If it IS just the speaker and cab letting the Kat down then it bodes well for line out recording use (I've given up on USB - a truly nasty and shocking experience).
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 13:00:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 13:10:28 GMT
Ah yes - there is no speaker out on the Katana 50. The is none on the Katana 100 either but (unlike the 50) the latter does have a Line Out. Sounds like what you want to do is - disconnect the katana speaker by pulling the connectors off the speaker lug (I could be wrong but I dont think and de-soldering is required). - connect the katana speaker wires to your made-up cables which are connected on the other end to the Champ Speaker. Keep an eye on the polarity of each wire. No speaker out on the KAT 100 either? Oh well. I notice it's only the 100 head that does. Might be an option. The Kat 50 needs the earth terminal desoldering and a new cable making up from the Kats leads to the Champ. I can't use the Bugera's lead because it is 1/4" mono jack to two spades. Although I suppose I could tape the Kat's ends to the jack just temporarily. I'm not risking those extra lugs and certainly unplugging the Bugera before doing any of these tests before I become so confused that I switch th Bugera on with no load at all on the amp! It'll happen. I know it will!    |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 13:19:14 GMT
Nice to see that video, saltee, but it seems he's making a hell of a fuss and extra work about nothing. No need for that box. You just need the Kat's end spades to slide onto some male terminals on an extension cable. Might want to wrap some tape around them to isolate them from each other but that's all. For my purposes I don't even need to do that. I can just crimp some extension wires on and I'm off. Silly guitar geek.
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Post by salteedog on Jan 31, 2019 13:21:06 GMT
Still not sure why the Katana needs desoldering, Jump to 7:12 on the video above and you can see Andrew just unplug the leads from the speaker.
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