Koch Multitone 2X12 Combo- Opinions?

[Donk70]

My Twin just doesn't cut. I have long said that Fender doesn't understand OD or distortion. While watching the PRS DVD I fell in love witht the sound Paul was getting out of his Koch. What I'm looking for is a amp that will cover a wide variety of different styles from Country all the way up to a Heavy Metal distortion. Will this amp beable to cover all those tones?

[Jhigley]

I have the Koch Twintone which I think is basically channels 1 and 3 on the Multitone. I can cover everything from country to metal and everything in between. The drive channel cleans up fairly well (not like the clean channel) with the volume control on my guitar.

Jeff

[Sherpa]

In one word - yes - though the Multitone has that extra crunch channel that really becomes addictive if you play blues rock or even fusion - you might want to check them both out with your own guitar before making your mind up. Either way, they're great amps IMO. I wish KOCH mounted their tubes/valves on the chassis rather than on the board, but Their PCB boards are quite heavy-duty and Dolf Koch has stated on the earlier forum that the boards were extensively tested to ensure their structural integrity from a heat cycle and flexing standpoint. Unless you change the tubes/valves weekly on the road I wouldn't worry about it. I've had no problems to date with my Multitone 2x12 combo. Good Luck in your search

[Scott Peterson]

I owned and gigged a Multi-tone 212 for about 4 months with my rock covers band.

The cleans are not Fender cleans at all; they are more on the JC120 trip of modern clean. VERY clean.

The second channel was where I lived a lot; lots of great crunchy tones and pushed tones.

The third channel is very unique and very high gain. Plenty of cut and punch; thoroughly modern in tone though.

The Multi-tone was a great amp but nothing about it sounds vintage to me; it has a very unique tonality to it. I liked it, but opted for my Rivera Rake and ulitimatley the Bogner Shiva as my go-to amp. Your mileage may vary.

I liked the amp very much, but the end tone didn't end up being "my" tone.

My main knock on the Multi-tone is like *any* big tube 212 combo; it is major heavy. It has casters, and needs them.

Just my opinion and experience.

[Peter]

What I'm looking for is a amp that will cover a wide variety of different styles from Country all the way up to a Heavy Metal distortion. Will this amp beable to cover all those tones?
Yes. It's three very useful, and distinct, channels. I use all of them, all the time. I agree with Scott's take on the tones. And the weight. But at least it rolls. I don't put the clean channel quite in the JC range, but it is definitely modern clean.
The tone controls, plus the drive, gain & presence, have range. The volume cut is handy.
It's got the triode/pentode switch, and in triode mode it's not quite as ridiculously loud and somewhat more vintage. But if it's pure "vintage" you want, it's not the amp for you. For what you need, I would definitely recommend it.

[Sherpa]

I definately agre with Scott and Peter - if you're looking for vintage sounds the Twintone or Multitone will not get you there. There is a "Vintage-toned" Koch model out in 2x10 and 4x10 combo formats, which I believe is called the Classictone. I've heard good things about it, but have not yet tried it out for myself.

[Oldgtarz]

I've been playing Multitones since 1999, and it's a great amp (#33)! Of course it helps that Dolf Koch is only about an hour drive from me. I've had Dolf customize my multitone to make it a little more 'smooth' and 'vintage', just to make it my 'Tone'.

The Multitone is very versatile, chan #1 is clean but the tone controls are really interactive. Chan #2 is the boosted version of chan #1, the tone controls are shared between #1 and #2. Channel #2 has gain and volume, and the gain controls takes you from clean to heavy drive, and anything in between. Channel #3 is the hi-gain channel, but the gain control takes it from mild crunch to very metal scream.

The multitone will suit most players given the chance to discover the amp. When I just got it, I took it to a rehearsal room, just to discover the sounds it has. Just started tweaking the knobs when playing until I found the sound I want. All I had to do since, was remember the settings I liked...

Switchable Reverb and Master volume on the five way footswitch are very usefull options for the gigging guitarist. I set up the channel volumes with the master volume switched off, just to determine the maximum volume for that gig. With the master volume switched on I set the master volume just under the maximum volume, (set up this way you won't get any unpleasant surpises when you switch the master volume!)

[Sherpa]

Hey Donk - did you do the dirty deed?

[Donk70]

Nope. I'm still looking at all my options.

[Sherpa]

Nope. I'm still looking at all my options.
Good move, Donk. If I were back in the U.S. I'd definately check out a Bogner Shiva and a Top Hat Club Royale before pulling the trigger on the Koch, though I love my Multitone (Bogners and Top Hats are tough to find here and very expensive).

There's also a huge difference between a 1x12 and 2x12 combo in terms of the projection and breadth of sound to my ears. I'm sure you're well aware of this, but comparing the Koch Twintone to the Multitone blew me away in that respect, even on the clean and post-eq channels which they each have. Neither one was "better" IMO, but *really* different.

Have fun checking out all of your options, and be thankful you're in the U.S. where the pricing is a lot more reasonable!

JP