Krank Krankenstein

[BLS_Infernus2.0]

Overview

All-tube, hand wired circuitry with brilliant tonal innovations designed and voiced by Dimebag Darrell himself! It has the clarity and saturation of a tube amp. The unique feature about this little demon is it also has the harshness of a tube amp, which is generally a favorite of metal players. The reason I checked this beast out is because Metallica is using it for there live shows and in the studio for ther 9th studio album. All I can say is that this amp doesn't dissapoint.

Features

- Krank EQ sweep on the Dime distortion channel
- 4-Premium Sovtek 5881 power tubes
- 4-Premium Electro Harmonix 12AX7 preamp tubes
- Kleen and Dime channels with separate volume and 3-band EQs per channel
- Selectable 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker output
- Line out
- Push/pull series effects loop with volume control
- Made in the USA

Functions/Controls

In the Master control area is has a master volume and a master presence control knob. The Dime (distortion) channel has a sweep, bass, midrange, treble, master 1, master 2, and a gain control knobs. The Clean channel has a volume, treble, midrange and treble control knobs.

Sound

The Krank Krankenstein when used with the Krank Krankenstein 4x12" cab it nothing but a perfection in sound for metal and rock. The amp has an amazing distortion to it and it is almost orgasmic. The Clean Channel could use a little but of upgrading but it is fine but if you are a clean sound whore then this isn't the amp for you. I would recommend using a MXR M-134 if you aren't liking the Clean Channel. That would improve the Clean Channels sound to the point of perfection. The amp is very versatile in it's metal tones. It can get you that Dimebag sound very easily but it can do so much more. It's metal sound range is anywhere from Death/Black Metal to Thrash to Hard Rock/Rock to Progressive etc. The list of tonal versatile goes on. With the right guitar you can easily get blues, jazz and more clean sounding type of music. I would again recommend the MXR M-134 to help the cleans out though. The clarity on this amp is unbelievable though. You can hear every note you play no matter how much you crank you amp up. The defination of this amp is amazing as well.

Overall Rating

I would give this amp a 4 out of 5 simply because they could improve on the clean channel. Other then that this amp is a wet dream.

Personal Settings
Master:
Volume 3
Presence 7

Dime Channel:
Sweep 5
Bass 5
Midrange 4
Treble 6
Master 1 3
Master 2 5
Gain 5

Clean Channel:
Volume 2
Treble 6
Midrange 6
Bass 5

P.S. I will list my MXR M-134 settings upon request

[guitar_face]

Good review. Nice to see a real review here instead of silly noobs spamming the forum up.

[BLS_Infernus]

no problem...I think I may do a review of the MXR M-134 as well

[Avenged Rocker]

im saving up for this half stack i heard the krankenstein at samash and this guy was riffing on it at i fell in love with this amp, thanks for the review nice job

[full_bleed]

thanks for the review.:thumb:

[prone07]

Good review, but when you say it has the "harshness"...do you mean fuzzy top end or presence. I would find this to be unpleasant. For instance, Mesa amps can be dialed in too harsh if not careful. Is this what you are talking about?

[BLS_Infernus]

yes...there is no fuzzy top end with this amp. It's all crystal clear.

[prone07]

yes...there is no fuzzy top end with this amp. It's all crystal clear.
Sweet...ok, so it can nail the modern distortion sound, and you said the cleans need a little work...what about in between distortion sounds. Guitar One said this amp was a one-trick pony, while Guitar World said the exact opposite.

[prone07]

nevermind, I guess you already answered that in your review.

[Erock503]

hey BLS, good review. I'm looking at heads to buy, and I was considering the Krankenstein or Revolution, but I haven't been able to hear either in person yet. Closest GC is 3 hours away. I want something that can get close to the Mesa dual rec modern sound, but with a little less of that high gain fuzz that's so easy to get. I also like a lot of definition in the low end crunch. Mainly I'm really only interested in the high gain sound, if the clean is even "decent", it's fine for me. From your review, it seems like exactly what I'm looking for. Would you recommend it over the Revolution or a dual/triple Rectifier?

[BLS_Infernus]

Well the Revolution doesn't have the orgasmic distortion that the Krankenstein has but it has better cleans then the Krankenstein. Both produce massive amounts of low end tone if wanted.

Now in comparsion to a Dual/Triple Rectifier they are a bit different. Krank has a more SS harshness tone to it then Mesa has which works great for high gain. It has great definition and clarity. I presonally like Mesa over Krank because they are more of my thing but after reading what you want I would recommend the Krank over the Mesa.

[Erock503]

^thanks man, that's sounds like an acurate asessment. A lot of people have been telling me not to get the Krank, and I bet it's exactly that SS quality that turns them off. I really have to hear one in person, the people who actually own them seem to really like them. I really don't want to sacrifice too much warmth for definition, but I really want a tight bottom end for the music I play. Thanks for the info BLS. :thumb:

[BLS_Infernus]

Erock I hope you are seeing this video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5663865137248359773&q=krankenstein

[Cool Beans]

Well it's nice to know Metallica will have decent tone this time round :/

Nice review, the Krank looks nice.

[Erock503]

wow, thanks for that link man, it sounds a hell of a lot more versatile than other people were telling me. I wish I had seen this a few days earlier, lol. I ended up just ordering Framus Cobra head and cab last week. I got it at a great price, so I can unload it without taking a beating if I don't like it. The Krankenstien will be on my short list to check out though if I dump it. Thanks bro.

[BLS_Infernus]

No problem. I wish I got that video out to you earier though :lol:

[Soul_Under_Arrest]

Good review. I myself have played it and it was pretty mean. The clean tone was decent but it needs some milking.

[headshrinker]

Lol its funny cos now we know this is a load of bollocks!

[Lieutenant Dan]

:lol:

[Triangle]

Really? I don't get it..

[Slipknotmxr24]

Really? I don't get it..
cus bLs is a load of BS. he never had any of the gear he just made up everything, it was all fake. really sucks if someone listened to him and went to buy this on his review, goes to show you that you need to try sh*t yourself and not buy based just on others opinions :(

[MegaMustaine]

:lol:

[Soul_Under_Arrest]

I don't think the guy is saying he owns it but just tried it. Doesn't mean he didn't go out and try it.

I myself have play the Krankenstein and it's pretty sweet but like he said, needs work on the clean tone.

[HNLzero]

No, he's full of shit.

[mnemonic]

someone hack his account and start posting randomly