Koch Amps

[PRS-DAD]

I just bought a Koch 100 Watt Multitone Combo amp and find it has a great sound.
Just now getting into using it.

Anyone have any experience with these?

[aleclee]

I just bought a Koch 100 Watt Multitone Combo amp and find it has a great sound.
Just now getting into using it.

Anyone have any experience with these?I only have two complaints about my MT:

It's really heavy
The clean channel is too clean (partly because it has no real gain control.

[Sherpa]

PRSDAD - congratulations, you got yourself a great amp,IMHO.

While I agree with Alec that the clean channel is *very* clean, I happen to like it because it takes to overdrive pedals, PODs and the like very well. This might be sacrilege to some, but it works for me. OTOH, I do enjoy the sound of a pushed clean channel with no effects, and bought a Koch Loadbox attenuator last year to sweeten the clean channel somewhat when driven hard. As long as the attenuation is no more that 40%, this solution works well for me.

Regarding the pre-eq and post-eq drive channels, I love them. If you have a lazy afternoon to spend tweaking the amp and listening or recording the results, I bet you'll find that the MT can do just about anything quite well considering it is a very versatile amp. The eq controls are very sensitive and interactive. Try the post-eq channel with 3/4 drive, 1/2 presence, 1/4 treble and mid, 3/4 bass, on the neck 'bucker - does that tone remind you of anyone - regardless of hair loss under the hat?

The only negative points I would mention are, as Alec mentioned, the weight (I have a 50watt MT 2x12 combo, weighing in at 35 Kg including the cover), and the fact that I do not care for the clean channel when playing an active pickup-equipped guitar through it - icepick city.

Again, I happen to like the Roland-like clean sound of the MT, but I can understand how that might not float everyones' boat. OTOH, running in triode vs. pentode mode will mellow the clean channel out somewhat, but you can expect to eat tubes rather quickly.

In terms of build quality and dependability, I have nothing but good experience to date.

Enjoy getting to know your MT. I hope you have understanding neighbors...

[SteveK]

I replaced 2 Mesa Boogies(Mark III and IV) with 2 Koch amps. I had a Multitone 2x12 100 watt combo for gigs, and a Twintone 1x12 50 watt combo for practice and jams. Great amps and very versatile. The middle channel on the Multi really does a good job for bluesy crunch. I've since become a Fuchs afficianado, and have replaced my Koch amps with his amps. But the Koch amps were...and ARE terriffic also!

[Chiba]

I've never played one of their combos, but the Twintone 50w head I picked up a few weeks back is rapidly becoming my favorite amp. I'm one of the people that love the crystal-clear clean channel. It's more JC120 than Twin Reverb, and I dig that. My only complaint would be that at low volumes it's a bit woofy/bassy - but then again...that's what the "Bass" knob is for :)

In response to the post below :) (I figured I'd just add it here instead of making a new post) I'm running my TT through a Mesa 3/4 closed-back 1x12 wide-body cab, with their proprietary 90w speaker. Probably contributes to the additional low-volume bassiness a bit, but at higher volumes it sounds really good.

--chiba

[Sherpa]

I've never played one of their combos, but the Twintone 50w head I picked up a few weeks back is rapidly becoming my favorite amp. I'm one of the people that love the crystal-clear clean channel. It's more JC120 than Twin Reverb, and I dig that. My only complaint would be that at low volumes it's a bit woofy/bassy - but then again...that's what the "Bass" knob is for :)

--chiba
Hey Chiba what kind of a cabinet are you running your TT through?

[PRS-DAD]

I figure that if Mr. PRS himself used one, they must be pretty decent.

[partytrain]

I've been playing a Multitone 100 head through a mesa 4X12 for years. It is by far the best thing that has happened to my tone since prs itself. When I was amp shopping a few years back, and called Eric Martin and ordered a triple rectifier. He told me that I really owed it to myself to try one of these new amps he just got in. Even though I had never heard of the company before, I had Eric send me the multitone. Wow! It didn't take me long to recognize why Eric suggested this thing. I've had tons of compliments on my tone. It kind of summed it up when I was in the studio. I plugged it in and started strumming on the clean channel, before I got to EQ the thing, my producer turned around with wide eyes. Needless to say, he now has a koch sitting in his studio.

[Peter]

The MT is my current #1 amp. Like the clean - and I will try out some overdrive stomps with it, never done that before - but I suppose with single coils it might be a bit TOO clean. Roll back the guitar's tone control a bit and it mellows the clean channel enough for me.
Lately I've been punching up the overdrive channel with a stomp box, which gives the tone a nice amount of "cut" for live work.
The gain channel works for me because it doesn't sound quite like anything, or anyone, else.

But it is heavy! And loud! I haven't even worked with it in pentode mode.