Guitar Amps (cont'd)
Click here to watch our
Musikmesse 2011 video of the
Stark Amps Stark 1
(Left) Stark Amps Stark 1
This handsome little point-to-point-wired head features
a delectable textured-grid covering and knobs for Gain,
Drive, Treble, Middle, Bass, Presence, and Master. It can
run off EL34 or 6L6 power tubes for 20, 35, or 50 watts
of class AB power, and its single-channel design is made
more versatile by a boost feature that’s activated via the
front-panel toggle or a footswitch. Rear-panel features
include an XLR direct out and a serial effects loop.
stark-amps.com
Click here to watch our
Musikmesse 2011 video of the
Koch Jupiter and Startrooper
Click here to watch our
Musikmesse 2011 video of the
Orange Dark Terror
(Above) Koch Jupiter and Startrooper
Koch Amps’ two new hybrid amps—the Jupiter and
Startrooper—pair a 12AX7-driven preamp with a solid-state power section. Each has two EQ-sharing channels
and a boost function. The Jupiter summons biting cleans
and brawny blues-rock distortion via a 12" Jensen with
a neodymium magnet, while the Startrooper uses a Koch
12" speaker that’s voiced like a Celestion Vintage 30 to
prime the storm trooper in you for higher-gain applications. koch-amps.com
Orange Dark Terror
The Terror just keeps getting more terrifying. A stroll by the bright and
sizable Orange booth found us ducking a barrage of gain-charged riffery
from the new Dark Terror. Like its blockbuster predecessor, the featherlight
head doles out 15 class-A watts (switchable to 7) via two EL84s, but its
tone stack—which is controlled by Volume, Shape, and Gain knobs—has
morphed in a way that enables insanely dynamic switches between all-out
Norwegian black metal evilness and cleaned-up bluesy wailing.
