Kahn Carry on amp head.. kinda cool

[harddriver]

Pretty much a Marshall amp preamp with power tubes related to 6v6's.

 

[Mailman1971]

Fixed for ya!

 

[harddriver]

Thanks man I was just in there trying to get it right. I came across this in another thread and though it was pretty neat. All housed in about the same size enclosure as an old THD hotplate attenuator from the looks of it maybe a tad bigger. Even has an effects loop, putting out 18 watts with two power tubes in true class AB pushpull output stage.

I think it sounds pretty darn good.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

Obid is crazy inventive. I dig it and at 6 lb it's perfect for what it is. Now $899 might be a bit overpriced but it is made here in the good old USA

 

[harddriver]

Obid is crazy inventive. I dig it and at 6 lb it's perfect for what it is. Now $899 might be a bit overpriced but it is made here in the good old USA

I dunno, with US hand built amps exceeding the 2,000- 3,000 dollar range he might not be too far off but I see what you are saying. Considering the market he is going for " the gigging musician", probably closer to what the Fryette PS2 is selling for, $699.00 would be more inline.

While at 18 watts it does not punch like a 50 or 100 watter it does have decent tone and some punch which is impressive considering the diminutive transformers needed to fit the enclosure. He also has a two channel model I'm guessing clean and overdrive channels.

It is one of the more interesting things in amps as of late...

 

[halebox]

Sounds great...Be sure to check the Bluguitar Amp1 too>>>>2 lbs 100 watts 4 channels hybrid tube solid state

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

Sounds great...Be sure to check the Bluguitar Amp1 too>>>>2 lbs 100 watts 4 channels hybrid tube solid state

That does sound great

 

[harddriver]

I agree the Amp1 sounds great too, I listened to other vids and it's pretty nice... but it still was a little lacking when you listen to how the Kahn Pak amp responds with feedback and some dynamics that seem hard to replicate without 100% tube path.

Don't get me wrong I could play the Amp1 all day and be happy...I had a S/S 75 watt Marshall that I loved dearly but it eventually blew up, it's since been gutted and turned into a tube 2203 circuit amp, plus all my tubes amps are still living with tube changes. I also thought the old Randall RG100 series had a great tone, I really don't know why they can't build that exact construction FET circuits anymore? I guess the newer Randall RG1503's are close but I feel their QC is crap.

Anyway... for a 100 watt compact floor full guitar amp the Amp 1 seems to check all the boxes for good tone and functionality. I was thinking how that Kahn would sound loaded down and then reamped by a Fryette PS2 Powerstation for a full tube amp fly rig.

Actually I thought your Amp1 clip rivals some of your previous Cameron and SLO tones... were you using any additional OD boosts into the Amp 1? I heard some clicking of footswitches when the amp was being boosted by something.

 

[BackCrack]

Thanks to this thread (and a recent 15% off sale by one of Khan's dealers), I now have a Pak on the way.

 

[halebox]

Actually I thought your Amp1 clip rivals some of your previous Cameron and SLO tones... were you using any additional OD boosts into the Amp 1? I heard some clicking of footswitches when the amp was being boosted by something.[/quote]
No boost. I'm gonna bring on tour and see how it does. The direct out cab sim is supposed to be great too. So Ill try a mix of speaker and sim. Still would like to try Kahn but not sure of 18 watts and I like channel switchers

 

[harddriver]

Thanks to this thread (and a recent 15% off sale by one of Khan's dealers), I now have a Pak on the way.

To me the Kahn sounds like a good gainy plexi/superlead, and that is pretty much what Obied said he modeled it after was his Marshall's, it does not say if it is two gain stage or 3 gain stages like a 2203 MV amp. It would be interesting to know. With the 15% I'd say that's in the ballpark for sure from what I am hearing. 18 watts should be enough for stage use in most places.

If you haven't checked out Wrath of Khan Obied's band he is a really good guitar player with a lot of great feel and instinct instead of exact note for note regurgitation, I watched a bunch of his vids and I'd pay to see his band if he was local.

Please update us when you get it and let us know how you like it.

 

[harddriver]

No boost. I'm gonna bring on tour and see how it does. The direct out cab sim is supposed to be great too. So Ill try a mix of speaker and sim. Still would like to try Kahn but not sure of 18 watts and I like channel switchers

I found your other thread on the AMP1 and I thought you said you had the Amp 1's onboard programmable boost's to come on with each channel. Kahn has a two channel PAK but he only has one clip of it but channels are footswitchable, even the single channel PAK has a built in boost that is footswitchable.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

No boost. I'm gonna bring on tour and see how it does. The direct out cab sim is supposed to be great too. So Ill try a mix of speaker and sim. Still would like to try Kahn but not sure of 18 watts and I like channel switchers

I found your other thread on the AMP1 and I thought you said you had the Amp 1's onboard programmable boost's to come on with each channel. Kahn has a two channel PAK but he only has one clip of it but channels are footswitchable, even the single channel PAK has a built in boost that is footswitchable.

That first clip sounds great!

 

[harddriver]

Thanks to this thread (and a recent 15% off sale by one of Khan's dealers), I now have a Pak on the way.

Hey BackCrack!!! did you get your Kahn Pak amp yet?

 

[BackCrack]

Yup. It's fricking cool.

 

[harddriver]

Yup. It's fricking cool.

Can you elaborate on your experience? Does it sound like a Marshall? Is it noisy? Does it take pedals well? Does it feedback like a normal Marshall? Have you used the effects loop on the pak, if so how well does it sound?

C'mon now inquiring minds want to know...

 

[BackCrack]

Clean channel is like a Bassman/Bluesbreaker mix. Not a bunch of gain but has a warm midrange. Dirt channel sounds like a very healthy JMP but with more gain on tap. No loud noise or hiss in either channel. The clean channel master is the global, and the dirt channel master is for volume matching the two channels, so a slight learning curve on that. No ftsw came with it but any two-button will work for changing channels and toggling a mid boost. I actually prefer the mid boost on all the time. Both channels take OD and swirly pedals great. The loop sounds great with a Boss DD7 in it with no volume loss. This little sucker gets as loud as my Atomic 16, loud enough for any club gig if your drummer isn't a caveman. If you crank the amp with the gain all the way up on Ch.2, it will go into feedback (just like the amp it's sitting on in the pic), so just dial back the gain a smidge. Overall, the tones are Marshall. The plastic carrying case it comes in is a little smaller than a Makita cordless screwdriver case. In the case, it also comes with a standard detachable power cord and two spare NOS 6AQ5 power tubes in their own boxes.

 

[harddriver]

Sounds like you got the two channel model...thanks for the in depth review I really appreciate it. I know I liked what I initially heard on the few YT clips but your review tells me it probably exceeds my expectations in performance and features.

I think Kahn is right in there pricewise as well, It is a full featured 22 watt Marshallish amplifier that is miniaturized, I like the fact that is it is traditional Marshall topology ie. Three gain stages I am assuming like a JCM/JMP but with an effects loop and built in boosts. I would have to definitely consider this amp if I were still playing a lot, it checks all my Marshall boxes and then some.

The pic you attached isn't showing up on the page BTW. I also feel he should be shipping footswitches with his amps, c'mon now.

 

[BackCrack]

Sorry about that. Yeah, the 2 ch...

edit: the second Khan showed up yesterday. I love these little guys.