suspect that it’s not just great tone that makes
this particular amplifier so highly regarded. In
fact, it is sturdily built and has great tone, but
it also possesses an uncommon versatility and
real workhorse simplicity. That’s ideal for any
kind of bona fide blues, jazz, or straight-up
rock ‘n’ roll, of any era.
nicely saturated dirty tones at respectable
levels—but this amp does have plenty of
power, and it really shines with some volume.
The head and cabinet version of the KR- 12 is
basically the same handwired amplifier as the
combo; the pine cabinet and aluminum chassis
construction are both top notch, and there are
a number of thoughtful details that add to the
amp’s appeal, such as the large, comfortable
handles, and the extra tall legs on the head, so
it sits sturdily on top of the speakers without
wobbling. Both head and speaker cabinet are
covered in black tolex with salt-and-pepper
grille cloth, giving it a clean, classic look, and
since the whole rig is only 33" tall, the control
panel is on top of the head rather than on the
front, saving you from having to crouch or bend
over in front of it to make adjustments.
The 50-Watt amplifier uses three 12AX7 preamp tubes, two EL34 output tubes (it can also
run 6L6s), and a 5AR4 rectifier, and has two
inputs for the Normal channel and two for the
Gain channel, in four increasing gain stages.
The control panel includes large chickenhead
knobs for Volume, Master Volume, Treble,
Bass, Middle and Presence, as well as On/Off,
Standby and ground switches, and an amber
indicator lamp. The accompanying 8-ohm
2x12, open-backed pine cabinet uses dovetail
joint construction and carries a pair of 12"
Celestion G12H30 speakers.
Plugging In
I tested the amp with a Nash S- 63 Strat-style
with Lollar pickups, a Fender Road Worn Tele
and a Hamer Talledega Pro. The KR- 12 excels
at big, clean tones: they’re warm and clear, with
loads of headroom and full of nuance—they’re
good enough to make the amp worthy of a
recommendation almost on that alone. With just
a guitar plugged straight into Normal 1 and the
rig set up for a slightly-pushed clean, you can
easily hear the tweed-era inspiration—and you
could be forgiven for guessing it was running
6L6s. The mids are warm and forward, and they
pick up a thick, sweet saturation when you push
it harder; the highs ring out, and there’s plenty
of oomph in the low end. The tone is balanced
and very sensitive to pickup selection and touch.
The Hamer’s humbuckers were lush and smooth,
going from mellow, woody jazz tones to fat, full
and bluesy. The notched tones from the Nash
were nice and quacky without being thin.
recommendations Louis offers for achieving different gain structures by using the included footswitch or ‘jumping’ channel inputs with a few
types of overdrive and boost pedals—a Hermida
ZenDrive and Mosferatu, an Xotic BB+ booster
and several BSM treble boosters. Cascading
gain stages lent the amp a great crunch, sustain
and harmonically rich distortion, and the particular voices of the different pedals came through
without muddiness. Truth be told, though, I
actually ended up spending most of my time
playing the KR- 12 with nothing between the guitar and amp but a 20’ Elixir cable. There are lots
of possibilities to try out, so you’re likely to find
more than one setup that suits you.
One of Louis’s personal touches is the
Damping control, which allows you to change
the amount of negative feedback in the
power section using a potentiometer on the
rear of the chassis. From the tightest damping to the most open, the control changes
bloom and volume of notes appreciably,
along with the feel and response of the amp,
offering additional versatility to shaping the
amp’s tone and performance characteristics. There is no reverb, trem or effects loop
here—but I wouldn’t argue with those who
say they’re not necessary. The Master Volume
control this KR- 12 provides is updated from
the original design; Louis began using it in
more recent combos to better accommodate
the different gain stages of the preamp. It is
very useable, making it a simple task to get
Plugging into the first Gain input and cranking up both volume knobs about two-thirds
of the way, I hit a sweet spot that made me
stop thinking about how good the clean tones
were. When it’s really working, the tweedy
sound of the amp begins to give way to the
more recognizably British flavor, with a distinct
midrange grind, a smooth, even breakup, great
dynamics that cleaned up with the guitars’
volume knobs. The Hamer produced a growl
and bite, and the single-coil guitars went from
lean, raw tones with lots of harmonic saturation
at the top to howling and thick, depending on
the pickups used. The most exceptional trait of
both the KR- 12’s clean and overdriven tones,
though, is the decisively punchy attack, which it
maintained with every guitar. The Tele’s bridge
pickup, in particular, came through with a sting
and sizzle I hadn’t heard from it yet, while the
string definition and clarity remained.
The Final Mojo
There’s no mystery why Louis Rosano’s amps
are among the favorites of so many tone purists. The latest version of the KR- 12 delivers on
its promise of simplicity and true versatility, with
tone to spare. These are great things to have in
an amp that can establish an identity of its own
in a musical environment so heavy with tradition.
It stakes out a tonal territory that’s not based on
any single style of vintage amp, it does a lot, and
it’s very good at everything it does.
Buy If...
you’re looking for an ace stage
amp that will deliver any of the
classic tones you want from it.
Skip If...
you need lots of modern features,
or you’re looking for a carry-around combo.
Rating...
4. 5
This amp is also capable of delivering the big,
blooming bass that makes for genuine old-school blues tones. I tend to prefer the low end
a little tighter sounding, and I had no problem
reining in low end simply by tightening the
Damping contol. While it may not be the best
choice for bone-crunching, high-gain metal,
there is enough gain on tap to pull off all but the
hardest rock. I experimented with several of the
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sound clips of the amp
in action
Louis Electric
MSRP $3495
louisamps.com
