Krank Amplification Chadwick Classic Guitar Amplifier Head (50 Watts)

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zZounds Gear Experts Say...
Switchable output impedance. Push/pull series effects loop with volume.

The Chadwick is a "fully Kranked" version of the classic British tube amp ala JMP/AC-30, but with more tone and more muscle. This baby pumps out 50 watts of classic tube tone laced with incredible harmonic overtones and warmth. The Clean channel is big and fat with clarity and power and features both Gain and Volume controls so you can dial up anything from perfectly clean to crunch. The Drive channel features 3 gain stages (variable Gain, switchable Drive, and Volume) with a very trick Envelope circuit that drives the power tubes harder at low volume levels. Both channels feature very smooth Bass, Mid, and Treble EQ controls that enhance your sound rather than change it. Any player from classic rock to hard country will fall in love with this amp fast.

Features:
Switchable Speaker Outputs 16, 8, and 4 ohms

Line out

2 premium Sovtek 5881 power tubes

3 premium Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 preamp tubes

Push/pull series effects loop with volume

Gain - This controls the amount of distortion or overdrive generated at the front end of the preamp section.

Drive - This adds gain in the middle of the preamp for more distortion and overdrive. Pushing the Drive switch in increases the gain in the circuit.

Envelope - This controls the amount of gain in the last stage of the preamp. Turned down, the envelope will sound cool and bright. Increasing the Envelope will increase sustain and make the amp sound a bit softer. It's best to start in the middle and check out both directions read more with this control. Note that if either the Gain or the Envelope is turned all the way down the amp will make no sound.

Shift - This switches the tone of the Drive channel between 1 of 2 preset values. In the 'out' or 'off' position the circuit flows normally through the EQ section. Pushed in and activated, Shift allows more mids and lows through the circuit and makes the tone controls slightly less active. Simply put the Shift control switches between Classic Tube and a Modified Tube amp. Krank Amplification thought both sounded great so they figured they would give you both options and let you choose what suits your style best.

Optional
The Chadwick is a great match for the Revolution 4 x 12 cabinet with 4 Eminence V12 legend speakers.
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Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. (2 ratings)
Submitted January 16, 2006 by a customer from hotmail.com

"It's NOT a marshall. . .WHO CARES!!"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
The only amps I would wrather have all cost over twice what I paid for this. you know, Bad cat, Bogner, all that good stuff. I really think that I found MY tone with this amp, something that sets me apart from the mesa and marshall masses. There are only a few small things I'd change about it, but thats the case for anything I play. I'm very picky about tone, especially MY tone. I like this amp a lot, and It'll be with me for a long time.

Sound
Well, I don't think it sounds like an old marshall at all. I don't know how it could be expected to, without EL34's. I think it fits in better with the newer classics. in between a marshall JCM2000 and a mesa rectifier, if you ask me. Takes some work to understand how all the controls interact, but that just means that once you DO understand them, you'll be able to dial it in exactly how you want it. It does have a lot of "fiz" in the distortion, like a rectifier, but thats just an inevitable side effect of more gain and a modern voiding. Clean is beutiful, but doesn't crunch as much or as well as I like.

Features
Great features. Included single button footswitch, power cable, all that jazz. Prefer 2 parallel speaker outs with impedence selector (a-la Marshall), but the seperate outs work for me. I would love to change the frequency on a couple of the EQ controls, but I've learned to get around that. would also like a prescence control, but I got it sounding read more good without it, I just like to use the prescence control to tailor the sound to different rooms. Tubes are unprotected and exposed, but you shouldn't be throwing this thing around anyways! Has everything I need.

Quality
Great quality out of the box. opened her up to make sure the tubes were pushed all the way in (no springs to hold the tubes down, would like that). anyways the chassis is very clean and super solid. The pots all turn smoothly, with just enough resistance to let you know there's quality in there. I think it'll last as long as I keep taking care of it.

Value
I think you could spend a lot less and get a similar sound that would work, but I have no problem with the cost of this amp, I think it's worth it. That is, IF this amp is right for you. In the end, you do get what you pay for, and this is the case.

Manufacturer Support
I have no idea, but it's a small company, so I would hope that it would be relatively easy to contact them if there was a problem.

The Wow Factor
looks cool, not overstated, very classic tube amp cosmetics with a modern touch that sets it apart. I wish I had been able to order this direct from Krank, so I could get it in purple or something cool like that. It's OK, my cab is white, red and black, so this works.

Musical Background:
member of a serious band

Musical Style:
power pop-rock, pop-punk
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