KSR ARES 50 Anyone own one... need opinions

[dawnofdreamx97]

This is the video that grabs me. I was concerned it wouldn't cut as well in a mix compared to other amps I've owned.

Awesome band ! You guys sound great man.

All i can say is the ceres pedal I own is incredible. It sounds and feels like a tube preamp. I really dig the way the 2 gain channels are voiced. One is great for tight rhythms and the other is smoother and a little squishier for leads. The clean is also very usable as well. I also just grabbed an eros boost and that thing is super cool to, so flexible. I have a pa50 on the way , should be killer, I want to try one of kyle amps soon , the ares looks awesome.

If his amps are anything like the pedals I have then they gotta rip.

 

[ClintN667]

Awesome band ! You guys sound great man.

All i can say is the ceres pedal I own is incredible. It sounds and feels like a tube preamp. I really dig the way the 2 gain channels are voiced. One is great for tight rhythms and the other is smoother and a little squishier for leads. The clean is also very usable as well. I also just grabbed an eros boost and that thing is super cool to, so flexible. I have a pa50 on the way , should be killer, I want to try one of kyle amps soon , the ares looks awesome.

If his amps are anything like the pedals I have then they gotta rip.

The PA50 is a game changer with the Ceres. When I had an Orthos I ran the Ceres through the loop and I gotta say I prefer the Ceres and PA50 vs the Orthos or the Ceres through the Orthos' loop.

The PA50'S top and bottom controls responds just like the amp but the NFB really really works well with the Ceres.

Kyle has said that the Ceres with the PA50 is how he fully intended the Ceres to sound and I believe him. My Mark IV may go up for sale soon and that's been my favorite amp for quite awhile.

I had serial number 3 of the Eros but sold it. I had just gotten the Deadweald Duality drive right before the Eros and I ended up selling all my boosts. Now I'm running the Duality DX ->ceres -> carbon copy ->pa50 and this is my rig for the foreseeable future. Its killed my amp g.a.s. Now I'm just g.a.s.'n for new guitars

 

[psychodave]

I sold a few KSR amps for my friends widow. I felt the Ares sounded the best, but compared to the hype and other amps I owned, I was disappointed with how they sounded.

That said, I'd love to check out their preamp pedals

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

The PA50 is a game changer with the Ceres. When I had an Orthos I ran the Ceres through the loop and I gotta say I prefer the Ceres and PA50 vs the Orthos or the Ceres through the Orthos' loop.

The PA50'S top and bottom controls responds just like the amp but the NFB really really works well with the Ceres.

Kyle has said that the Ceres with the PA50 is how he fully intended the Ceres to sound and I believe him. My Mark IV may go up for sale soon and that's been my favorite amp for quite awhile.

I had serial number 3 of the Eros but sold it. I had just gotten the Deadweald Duality drive right before the Eros and I ended up selling all my boosts. Now I'm running the Duality DX ->ceres -> carbon copy ->pa50 and this is my rig for the foreseeable future. Its killed my amp g.a.s. Now I'm just g.a.s.'n for new guitars

Nice, man. Are you ok not having an FX loop on the PA50? ...I need to check out the Ceres in person. It's the best preamp tone I've heard, for my tastes.

I sold a few KSR amps for my friends widow. I felt the Ares sounded the best, but compared to the hype and other amps I owned, I was disappointed with how they sounded.

That said, I'd love to check out their preamp pedals

@psychodave : Good feedback from you. What specifically didn't you like about the Ares compared to the other amps you owned, and which amps were those? Cheers.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I thought the ARES was super unique. Mids were some of the coolest I've heard, hyper aggressive/grinding. Great saturation/tightness/crunch and fun to play; wasn't stiff. Lots of available low end. Really really enjoyed that amp. I'd put in my top 5 for metal. Stands out in my mind as one of the more unique tones of the many amps I've had.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

I thought the ARES was super unique. Mids were some of the coolest I've heard, hyper aggressive/grinding. Great saturation/tightness/crunch and fun to play; wasn't stiff. Lots of available low end. Really really enjoyed that amp. I'd put in my top 5 for metal. Stands out in my mind as one of the more unique tones of the many amps I've had.

Sweet. Could you get it do to some rock and hard rock stuff with the Crunch engaged? I did see Subman Cometh do some videos of it doing a good dirty clean, which is what I do: I never play fully clean.

Also, did you gig with the Ares when you had it? Why did you let it go? ...Cheers!

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I actually was able to dial in some cool rock/hard rock tones...remember being surprised for a modern/high gain amp. Think that was through an LP studio with BK rebel yell in the bridge.

I didn't gig with it. Let it go maybe a year 1/2 ago.

 

[psychodave]

Nice, man. Are you ok not having an FX loop on the PA50? ...I need to check out the Ceres in person. It's the best preamp tone I've heard, for my tastes.


@psychodave : Good feedback from you. What specifically didn't you like about the Ares compared to the other amps you owned, and which amps were those? Cheers.

Lack of gain. I felt they all needed a pedal to bring the goods. Gain on the few I played felt only slightly more then JCM800 levels. They also felt a bit stiff. Keep in mind I'm comparing them to my Cameron amps.

The build quality was top notch and the lights changing with channels, etc was great.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Lack of gain. I felt they all needed a pedal to bring the goods. Gain on the few I played felt only slightly more then JCM800 levels. They also felt a bit stiff. Keep in mind I'm comparing them to my Cameron amps.

The build quality was top notch and the lights changing with channels, etc was great.

The ARES lacked gain for you One I owned had as much gain as an Uber if desired. No pedal needed, although I preferred it boosted as I do all amps. Could also be as compressed as an Uber if set that way or set relatively open/crunchy.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

The PA50 is a game changer with the Ceres. When I had an Orthos I ran the Ceres through the loop and I gotta say I prefer the Ceres and PA50 vs the Orthos or the Ceres through the Orthos' loop.

The PA50'S top and bottom controls responds just like the amp but the NFB really really works well with the Ceres.

Kyle has said that the Ceres with the PA50 is how he fully intended the Ceres to sound and I believe him. My Mark IV may go up for sale soon and that's been my favorite amp for quite awhile.

I had serial number 3 of the Eros but sold it. I had just gotten the Deadweald Duality drive right before the Eros and I ended up selling all my boosts. Now I'm running the Duality DX ->ceres -> carbon copy ->pa50 and this is my rig for the foreseeable future. Its killed my amp g.a.s. Now I'm just g.a.s.'n for new guitars

Saw your comment on the Classifieds thread. What do you like about the Ceres + PA50 over the Ares. Thanks!

 

[braintheory]

I sold a few KSR amps for my friends widow. I felt the Ares sounded the best, but compared to the hype and other amps I owned, I was disappointed with how they sounded.

That said, I'd love to check out their preamp pedals

I agree. I had a Gemini for a few years and also tried the Colossus model. Nice, versatile amps overall, but for my taste a bit synthetic sounding and next to the epic modded Marshall’s I had at the time, just didn’t hold up as well comparatively. Almost sounded like it was a recording of those amps. It did though have lots of big bottom end and growl, but I felt my modded Marshall’s still out growled it

 

[braintheory]

Lack of gain. I felt they all needed a pedal to bring the goods. Gain on the few I played felt only slightly more then JCM800 levels. They also felt a bit stiff. Keep in mind I'm comparing them to my Cameron amps.

The build quality was top notch and the lights changing with channels, etc was great.

I thought my Gemini had more than enough gain for me, but some modes on it were a bit dry and could benefit from a boost pedal. I’d call their feel dry more than stiff. I didn’t mind the feel, but wouldn’t say it felt great or anything

Of course a ccv will have a lot more gain, saturation and much easier to play feel. That’s kinda it’s main forte imo. Those amps are like polar opposites in feel

I actually thought the DAR amps I’ve owned had a lot of overlap with the Gemini although I never owned them all at the same time to compare. I’d probably say I liked the Gemini more than the Dar Forza, but less than the Dar FBM, but ultimately none were keepers

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

Nice, man. Are you ok not having an FX loop on the PA50? ...I need to check out the Ceres in person. It's the best preamp tone I've heard, for my tastes.


@psychodave : Good feedback from you. What specifically didn't you like about the Ares compared to the other amps you owned, and which amps were those? Cheers.

Just curious why you would need an fx loop with a power amp with no preamp ? What would the application be ?

 

[Devin]

Just curious why you would need an fx loop with a power amp with no preamp ? What would the application be ?

Was wondering the same thing....just slap the "loop fx" between the preamp and poweramp

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

I thought my Gemini had more than enough gain for me, but some modes on it were a bit dry and could benefit from a boost pedal. I’d call their feel dry more than stiff. I didn’t mind the feel, but wouldn’t say it felt great or anything

Of course a ccv will have a lot more gain, saturation and much easier to play feel. That’s kinda it’s main forte imo. Those amps are like polar opposites in feel

I actually thought the DAR amps I’ve owned had a lot of overlap with the Gemini although I never owned them all at the same time to compare. I’d probably say I liked the Gemini more than the Dar Forza, but less than the Dar FBM, but ultimately none were keepers

It's funny because , the ccv is actually only 3 gain stages and the addition of the jose master style clipping circuit. It really doesn't have as much gain as you'd think it does. It feels like it has way more gain when using the clippers.

 

[braintheory]

It's funny because , the ccv is actually only 3 gain stages and the addition of the jose master style clipping circuit. It really doesn't have as much gain as you'd think it does. It feels like it has way more gain when using the clippers.

Well I’m the least tech savvy guy I know, so I only can just go off of what I hear and I think you know what I mean. The ccv is super saturated and “gainy” by my definition with the diodes engaged even with both gain knobs around 9 o clock. Most other amps are way drier

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

Well I’m the least tech savvy guy I know, so I only can just go off of what I hear and I think you know what I mean. The ccv is super saturated and “gainy” by my definition with the diodes engaged even with both gain knobs around 9 o clock. Most other amps are way drier

Yea and what's interesting is the gain controls don't do as much as you'd think, especially with the bright switches engaged. The lower you put the gain , the more "sqwuak" you get from the bright cap in the circuit... certain settings are barely usable imo, anyone who's owned a ccv knows what mean by this. My other complaint was while using the heaviest clipping it really squashes the volume so much ....

 

[braintheory]

Yea and what's interesting is the gain controls don't do as much as you'd think, especially with the bright switches engaged. The lower you put the gain , the more "sqwuak" you get from the bright cap in the circuit... certain settings are barely usable imo, anyone who's owned a ccv knows what mean by this. My other complaint was while using the heaviest clipping it really squashes the volume so much ....

Well I tend to like it with gain knobs low like that and have at least one of those bright switches engaged. I like the squawk it has. It’s one of the things that makes it unique to me compared to other amps. Yeah I don’t like the volume squash either. I usually use the middle clipping, but all its modes have there place to me

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

Well I tend to like it with gain knobs low like that and have at least one of those bright switches engaged. I like the squawk it has. It’s one of the things that makes it unique to me compared to other amps. Yeah I don’t like the volume squash either. I usually use the middle clipping, but all its modes have there place to me

I always struggled with feedback and odd overtones with the ccv and the highest clipping setting when playing with my band. You had to crank the snot out of the master to get volume and if you tried to dial back the gain it would bring more bright cap in and sometimes make it worse, and turning them off takes away all the character. That and the bogus passive insert loop on the Schmidt Era ones .... I much prefer the aldrich mod in general honestly , the jose thing is cool but I don't like it when playing with a band....

 

[SomedudeinTX]

The ares was by far my favorite of the 3 ksr amps I had. It’s pretty savage

What where the other two? I had a Gemini I sold off in a fit GAS and would like to buy another KSR amp someday, just not sure if I want to try another Gemini or try something different.