KSR Amps; what are the differences between them all?

PurityS.L.G

PurityS.L.G

Well-known member
I'm particularly interested in the Juno since it seems to be a hot rodded British style amp according to the KSR webpage. Is my assumption correct? Can any owner of this amp tell me about it? Would a Ceriatone, GZ or Headfirst suit me better for a modded Marshall tone?

As for the other models, its a little hard to get an idea of the differences between them all tonally. I can clearly see the differences of switching options with each model but the tone descriptions are a little vague.
 
The Juno is listed a KSR interpretation of a hot rodded Marshall....but I really didn't get much of that vibe from playing one. Still alot smoother and with much less upper mid grind and attack compared to a good Marshall or modded Marshall. If I were going after that tone/feel, I wouldn't go KSR.

I have played the Gemini a bunch and currently own a Colossus with the Wood mods. Both fit in the camp of "modern high gain channel switcher" both in functionality and tone. I am really digging my Colossus: definite similarities to the Soldano/Recto amps, but can be set up tighter (although it doesn't get as tight as my Uber Ultra or Wizards).
 
Haven’t tried the Juno, but owned a Gemini and played a Colossus and Orion 45. I didn’t play any of them side by side, but they all seemed at least to be in a similar ballpark/flavor with different features. None would be what I’d recommend for a modded Marshall type sound. They have a good aggressive, throaty low mid growl on powerchords that I give props for, but like many very recent amps they sound to me very cardboard-y, filtered (lack of warmth or richness to the tone) and the notes don’t connect well when playing leads or melodies and the overall feel of the amp I find disconnected/not satisfying. JMO

For a modded Marshall type sound I’ve liked best just a good modded or boosted vintage Marshall and for a similar-ish but still different enough flavor my Friedman Marsha and early SLO
 
Yeah nothing British or Marshall in any of the amps. The Juno is a cool amp though. I’ve got a vid on my channel that goes through it pretty soup to nuts.

I had a Gemini for a long while and honestly never bonded with it. Lots of features but felt tonally “non-descript” but not in a way I liked.

I have the Orion. Also a cool amp that I seem to like better than the Gemini, but it’s also up for sale.
 
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The only Marshall-ish side of the Juno is the Clip mode. It's a great amp, but still more in the modern/tighter Slo-Recto camp.

The Colossus and Juno are my favorite KSR amps that I've owned or played that you can get standard. My Custom Gemini is my favorite overall, but that's because Kyle built it with the mods I wanted.
 
I bought @JerEvil Gemini from him a couple years ago now and still have it. Personally I like it. Build quality is top notch and it's something different from the rest of my arsenal. I can see where it won't be everyone's cup-o-tea and Jer saying it's tonally non-descript. It has some of it's own character, just not enough where it fully stands out above similar sounding amps. With all the switching and voicing options its forte is versatility and covering a lot of ground. But that can also give off a jack of all trades; master of none type vibe. It's not a bad sounding amp by any stretch though.

If you're looking for full on modded Marshall tones from something that's not an actual Marshall, Headfirst Alta is your best bet. Jason really knows his tones and nailed them in the Alta. It does everything from vintage to modern tones and everything in between. I can't recommend the Alta enough.

Ground Zero is a great amp as well, but with the latest revision has moves a little more away from Marshall tones. The overall character and upper mid grind is there, but there's more low mid growl than what you'd typically get from a Marshall. The Hellion is another I can't recommend enough, but may or may not be what you're specifically wanting.

The other GZ option is grab a Marshall have have Jeremy do the MOAB mod to it. No direct experience with this, but all the clips I've heard scream modded Marshall. So far everyone seems to love it.

I have no experience with Ceriatone, but haven't heard any bad things about them. I know Nik has several different flavors of Marshall in his offerings. So it's probably more a matter of which Marshall tone do you want over does it sound like a Marshall.
 
I have an Orthos 2 and played a Juno for a while. I didn't think they were all that different, same kind of tone, slightly different flavor/texture. Just my opinion of course, while I like the Orthos, I wouldn't be chasing any KSR for what I'd call "classic" modded Marshall tones.

On the other hand, I have a Ceriatone King Kong and it rocks for tones like that. Super nasty upper midrange bite and lots of switchable options. Feels really versatile too and covers a lot of ground, plus really tweakable if you really wanted to get into that stuff.
I haven't had a Headfirst but everything I've heard sounds amazing on them. Also have to plug Splawns, they have a little more unique feel to them which I like but might not appeal to everyone, but I'd highly recommend at least trying to find one to try out.
 
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