KSR owners! Speaker cab choices?

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Fitrocker33

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Hey guys-

I’ve had my Ares for a couple of months now and dig the character of the amp as a 2nd flavor to my 5153.

I’m noticing that while it is pretty tight unboosted, it still seems to need my 808 in front to tighten it up to optimal levels. I THINK people claimed these amps really didn’t need a boost, but may be using different cabs than I am with diff. Speakers.

I’m using a Mesa traditional 4x12 with v30s, but I hear a lot of praise for the v30/creamback combo for these amps.

Is there really that noticeable of a tonal difference between these speaker combos?

Am I actually missing out on something better here??

I’d like other fellow ksr owners to provide some feedback regarding their experiences.

Thanks!
 
Not an owner but I tested a Colossus at a friend's place through a bunch of different cabs. Sounded the best through a Soldano front-loaded quad (Eminence V1216 speakers) surprisingly. Sounded really good through a Friedman quad as well (GB+V30). OK through a Marshall 1960AV.

It didn't gel with his Mesa OS quad at all, really dull sounding through it.
 
Firstly, Congrats on one hell of an awesomely nasty amp! Love my Ares :thumbsup:

I agree with the Ares needing a boost to tighten it up. I use a Ts9 "clean" boosting mine. Every amp I own/have owned has required a "clean" boost to get me the attack and tightness I like except for the Engl Savage 120. The Savage had the perfect tightness and attack plugged straight in. Tightest amp I've ever played/owned right there.

As far as speakers/cab, I'm playing an Ares through an EVH 412 loaded with the EVH (a.k.a. Heritage greenback) speakers, and it sounds absolutely AMAZING! In fact, this cab/speaker sounds amazing with all of my amps. Big tight lows, aggressive grindy but balanced mids, and sweet highs. Like it better with the Ares than the G12-K100 loaded 2x12 I use to play the amp through.
 
I have a gemini and I've tried the following combinations...

Wizard cabs - J75/v30, Alnico Cream/Creamback H75, all Alnico Cream,
Friedman cab - Greenback/v30, Scumback M75/H75
Diezel FL cab - all K100s, all Creamback H75s
Bogner RL cab - all v30s, v30s/Creamback H75s
Splawn cab - v30s/Creamback H75s

Those all sound pretty good, but the the best by far is...

Fryette Fat Bottom cab with Fane F70G speakers. It sounds perfect and razor tight. I really think the Gemini works best with a front-loaded cab.
 
I just sent the Juno off to Jason F (Killertone). While I had it I played it through all my cabs which are:

• Splawn 2x12’s w/Creamback 65’s
• Marshall MF400 w/K100’s
• V Boutique 2x12 w/Redbacks

Sounded noticeably different with all the cabs. My favorite is the Redbacks.

Now oddly enough for recording with the Torpedo Studio, I used a V30 cab from HopPole Studios Nd it sounded righteous and InHATE V30’s.

I didn’t find the amp needed a boost for heavy tones through either the cabs or Torpedo.
 
Gemini owner. I never use a boost. Sounds great thru every cab i play it thru.

I must be easier to satisfy than most. I dont consistently tweak my tone. I dial one up,and go for it.
 
Ares owner here, never use a boost and it kills through every cab I've played it through.
The Ares may sound better to some boosted, but it by no means "needs" one. Boosting may tighten amps up, but it can also make them thinner sounding. The Ares has a thick, full tone, somewhat reminiscent to a VH4 IMO, that makes it great plugged straight in.
 
I run the crunch and lead channel gains at about 1 o clock on my Ares. Oddly, I have the bottom knob @ only 9o clock and the top at just below halfway up. 3 band EQ is dialed to whatever guitar I decide to play that day. I agree that it doesn’t NEED a boost per se, but the low E tracking for palm mutes does sound a tad loose until I kick the mason on. I really want to try a different cab with it, but my local shops have nothing I’m looking for and I really don’t want to buy something unless I’m totally sold it’s gonna improve anything.
 
Fitrocker33":jihy4sgv said:
Hey guys-

I’ve had my Ares for a couple of months now and dig the character of the amp as a 2nd flavor to my 5153.

I’m noticing that while it is pretty tight unboosted, it still seems to need my 808 in front to tighten it up to optimal levels. I THINK people claimed these amps really didn’t need a boost, but may be using different cabs than I am with diff. Speakers.

I’m using a Mesa traditional 4x12 with v30s, but I hear a lot of praise for the v30/creamback combo for these amps.

Is there really that noticeable of a tonal difference between these speaker combos?

Am I actually missing out on something better here??

I’d like other fellow ksr owners to provide some feedback regarding their experiences.

Thanks!
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I would think that it would sound tighter through V30's than many other speakers. They're a pretty tight speaker. I've got 4 cabs that I've played my Ares through. Through my old Marshall with G12-65's it's very thick, warm, and a little loose, in a good way. I like a little sag/decay. Through my Splawn 4x12 with Greenbacks it's got more grit, growl, and bark, and it's a little tighter. Through my Marshall with Scumback M75LHDC and H75LHDC (X) it's tight and on the dark side. Killer low end. Through my Mills with V30's and G75's (X) it's tight, with big low end and a nice mid range bark from the V30's. That's a great speaker combo. Honestly, I really don't prefer the Ares with one cab over the others. It kills with all of them, just different flavors. Depends what you're shooting for. :thumbsup:
 
Beyond Black":3u94y7yn said:
Ares owner here, never use a boost and it kills through every cab I've played it through.
The Ares may sound better to some boosted, but it by no means "needs" one. Boosting may tighten amps up, but it can also make them thinner sounding. The Ares has a thick, full tone, somewhat reminiscent to a VH4 IMO, that makes it great plugged straight in.
Click to expand...

Agreed that this amp doesn't "need" a boost, I am the exception to the rule when it comes to amp "tightness". I like amps to be ridiculously tight I guess. I get the slight loss of thickness thing too, but I can usually eq that back in between the amp's eq and the old MXR in the loop which results in the ultra tightness I like and more than enough girth and thump.
 
I hate to say this but my 5153 red channel unboosted is tighter than the Ares with my setup. What I like about the Ares more than the evh is it’s got more clarity than the 5153 and the voicing is it’s own brand of pissed off and a good bit more “organic” than the 5153 as well. Makes keeping both in the stable justified.

Has anybody tried a fortin grind with a KSR? I can’t find any YT clips of people testing this combo either..
 
Gemini owner...

I don't like the H75 Creamback/V30 combo with the Gemini (sounds killer with my Wizards though)... not sure who started this "trend" but it doesn't sound that good with the Gemini... not bad per se, but not amazeballs either... sounds great with my Wizards... not so much with the KSR. The H75 is a high-powered Greenback variant.

Best cab/speaker combo I've tried with it is all V30s in a FL Diezel 4X12. As Matt said above, the KSR amps have soooo much bass/low end... they need a front loaded cab. Mandatory.
 
MetalHeadMike":bagdn7pc said:
Beyond Black":bagdn7pc said:
Ares owner here, never use a boost and it kills through every cab I've played it through.
The Ares may sound better to some boosted, but it by no means "needs" one. Boosting may tighten amps up, but it can also make them thinner sounding. The Ares has a thick, full tone, somewhat reminiscent to a VH4 IMO, that makes it great plugged straight in.
Click to expand...

Agreed that this amp doesn't "need" a boost, I am the exception to the rule when it comes to amp "tightness". I like amps to be ridiculously tight I guess. I get the slight loss of thickness thing too, but I can usually eq that back in between the amp's eq and the old MXR in the loop which results in the ultra tightness I like and more than enough girth and thump.
Click to expand...
Yes, I see what you're saying. I like a little, just a LITTLE sag. Just enough to hear a little speaker decay. Kinda like the tone on Master of Puppets on slow palm muted parts. It's sounds almost like the speakers are breathing or grunting, ya know? :lol: :LOL: The thickness of the Ares definitely lends itself to that. If I boost, I also try to eq the thickness back into it. I'll definitely be adding some low end and back the mids off a little.
 
Fitrocker33":14eca4t4 said:
I hate to say this but my 5153 red channel unboosted is tighter than the Ares with my setup. What I like about the Ares more than the evh is it’s got more clarity than the 5153 and the voicing is it’s own brand of pissed off and a good bit more “organic” than the 5153 as well. Makes keeping both in the stable justified.

Has anybody tried a fortin grind with a KSR? I can’t find any YT clips of people testing this combo either..
Click to expand...
I've also got a 5153 50 and I agree with you. The red may be as tight or a hair tighter than the KSR, but it's still soupier with less clarity. The KSR definitely has more of its own thing going on, has more character, and is more organic sounding. The highlight of the EVH is definitely the blue channel. I rolled a few preamp tubes and it made a good amp great. As you said though, keeping both is easily justified as they are totally different beasts.
 
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