I'm lucky enough to work about 15 mins from Andertons so popped in during my lunch break today.
Had been meaning to try some of the compact Victory amps for ages, so that's what I did. Had the V30, BD1 and Kraken.
Obviously I didn't have that much time to play each so didn't play with many settings. Played each through a 2x12 victory cab with Creambacks.
Tried the V30 first.
These seemed to be universally slated when victory started but I thought this amp sounded great! All settings on noon, the clean was lovely (admittedly quite bright) and the overdrive channel had more gain than you could need. 9 o'clock gave a really nice rock crunch. Overall felt the amp had great presence and sounded very similar to my Cornford MK50. I reckon it would sit nicely in a band mix.
Then tried the BD1. Just dreadful. I couldn't get any combination of the controls to sound anything other than mushy. Just sounded like the sound had a blanket over it. Maybe I was doing something wrong...
Then the Kraken. This was the amp I had most hopes for as everyone seems to love them.
Struggled with this a bit as well though. Unlike the BD1 I could tell there were some good tones but seemed to either need more work to find them or maybe more volume to open the amp up a bit. Was just missing a bit of clarity to my ears at the volume I was playing.
General thoughts on the amps... they are ridiculously loud!! Even in the single ended modes, the volume does;t really seem to go down. I also didn't like the low power mode on any of the amps.
Just a few thoughts for anyone interested. If I get one it will be a V30. Although an MJW of some sort for similar money would still be a better buy! Can I deal with the 7/8 month wait time though...
Comments
If you were missing clarity...were you using the Gain II channel? Gain I is where the clarity's at, and it gets amazingly filthy with high-ish output pickups. I only use Gain II for solos, to be honest; I like my rhythm tones more "hi-fi".
Yep, there's certainly no mode on the Kraken which is playable at home volume even through a 1x12". Once you get the master up above 2, the differences in the modes become very apparent.
I did accidentally play a whole gig in 15W mode, and didn't notice.
Yes, I probably am thinking of Gain II.
More gain than I'd need but very good. And yeah, loud! Apparently the volume taper is a touch too sensitive..
I never tried the low power mode, shame it didn't sound as good.
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