• Findom_DeLuise [she/her, they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    The 6505 MH is one of those EL84 jobs -- IIRC, you hate those, so you probably won't like this either. The 5150 Iconic is better overall, does that block letter chugga-chugga a lot more easily, and it sounds like they just released an EL34 version recently that addresses some of the complaints with the 6L6 model's voicing. As for the MH, yeah, you can EQ out the EL84 honk with a 7- or 10-band in the loop, but I'm also worried about reliability on mine. I've had it open and didn't see any visibly leaking electrolytic caps and the power tubes look fine, but it sure as hell acts like something in the power amp stage is near the point of failure. With no guitar plugged in, I can make the red channel oscillate just from internal circuit noise by turning the pre-gain above 3 and the post-gain anywhere past 5. Some amount of that is normal on a 5150/6505, but this is pretty absurd. Maybe it's just worse on the mini head because of PCB layout or something.

    The Kraken is great! I was eyeballing the preamp pedal version at one point until I realized it was just a 5150 clone on steroids, and I've already got that covered. I was looking for something JCM800/JMP-adjacent, and ended up going for the Carvin X1 preamp pedal to pair with that Blackstar power amp. It's pretty cool having a Fender blackface clone for a clean channel and a hot rodded-to-hell-and-back JCM on the lead with a switchable 5-band EQ, but mine also seems to pick up local radio stations. I'm remembering why I mostly stick with solid state heads; I can see the fucking broadcast tower from my front yard.


    Edit: Oh yeah, the Laney. The Ironheart was their attempt at a "modern metal" amp -- it's closer to a Dual Rectifier/5150/SLO circuit than any of their legendary doom metal/Marshall clone stuff (Supergroup, Pro Tube, GH100, etc.). Funny thing is, the EQ section on it is so absurdly tweakable that you can pass it off as a Dual Rec or a 5150 just by fiddling with a few (well, a half dozen) knobs. Unfortunately, something about the output wattage control causes the amp's "sweet spot" to move around drastically depending on where you set it, so it can be an absolute pain in the ass to get dialed in. And the "boost" feature is just a flat volume boost with no bass/treble cut, so it can cause the input buffer stage to fart out if you already have a drive pedal in front of it. And I think mine needs some solder joints reflowed on the green channel because heat from the power tubes causes some intermittent volume drops. Amazing cleans, though, and the distortion is brutal once you get it where you want it.