rivera k tre head

[rainwhenidie]

Am i deaf or does the patented foundation control do nothing to the sound of this amp. Rivera guys please chime in, if there are any left? Is this foundation control just another marketing gimmick like a presence control on some amplifiers. Lol. Not knocking this amp i like what im getting from it so far just cant help but think i should be getting more. Havent really cranked this past 2 yet. Just finished retubing. It had a bunch of noise that i figured would go away with new tubes which it did. But still the foundation control seems useless. Also boost function is very minimal. Seems to just add typical high gain noise. Which i can get from a boost pedal. Has anyone had similar experience? Its easy to get a huge thick sounding wall of distortion out of this amp without the help of pedals and without alot of gain. But ive heard same can be done with a cheaper more versitile kr 55. Maybe i just destroyed my ears and cant hear it but its described as a boost in the low end gain so i should be able to feel a difference. Any help/thoughts on this matter is appreciated.

 

[rokket2005]

The gain boost is kind of useless IMO, but if you are going from rhythm to lead it might be enough for more sustain, a little more round etc. Turn the amp up to 4.5 or 5 and then use the foundation control. It does make a diffference, albeit not super noticeable especially at low volumes. It's more for tuning the low frequencies to a certain cab as I understand it.

 

[rainwhenidie]

Thanks that is just what i was hoping to hear. Will just have to setup my rig in the garage and crank it then. Cause ive tried e standard and ive tried dropped b. Didnt hear or feel a difference in the foundation from 1 to 10. I agree with you about the onboard boost. Just a reason to put another pretty light on the faceplate or maybe make up for lack of features when compared to other knuckleheads. Wonder if there is any mods for this?. Will try crankimg the amp and reply with an update. Any other knucklehead users out there?

 

[rabies]

My S120 head I turn up to 3/10 at the studio. That's already satanic loud trust me (at least with newer tubes and my tubes are 3 years old now).

Riveras are supposed to have high gain with tonal definition so you can play and hear jazz chords with loud gain volumes. They are very good deals used but mine does not have a foundation or deep control or similar.

seems like few pros actually use Rivera but supposedly Depeche Mode does...

 

[rabies]

Typical over-priced MIA units....

 

[rainwhenidie]

Well im just gonna forget the foundation knob exists for now. These heads are to damn loud. Lol. I always loop a riff on on my amp and try to play along on my drums to test my levels, tone and didnt need to get passed 2 before i got to loud. And im getting pretty damn close to the tones i want without it. Though i think id be a bit happier with a 50 watt 3 channel kr 55 as i find myself using less and less gain to find my sound. Thanks for the input guys always appreciated. These amps dont seem to get the credit they deserve prolly the 2000 dollar plus price tag. But they seem to sale used for less than half that.

 

[rabies]

But they seem to sale used for less than half that.

Never buy a new Rivera, you'll lose a lot of money on the used sale. Low demand in used market somehow...

 

[Crunchtime]

Had a K-tre and it was a nice amp. Great build quality and tone but not what I was looking for.

Gotta say, that thing was resale kryptonite.

 

[rainwhenidie]

Haha i can only imagine. Maybe better luck on another forum. With the money i got invested in it im happy enough. Ive got a solid hifi sounding poweramp section that is versitile and allows me to experiment with tubes. Which is important to me. Been playing around with different tubes in it. Theres so little about these amps online so for those who own one and care to know, so far this amp naturally has scooped sounding mids and lots of low end so: the tubes that came in it i believe were from rivera they were very tired sounding which was awesome for low gain leads real singy but unforgiving to mistakes. With wing c el34s i seem to get that abrasive distortion without alot of highs just a different sounding distortion. great when im in dropped a or b though to much for a standard tuning. Jj E34ls brought the midrage out which was nice for a change since the mids are naturally voiced darker than most, but the low end got to flubby for me. 6l6s smoothed out the gain structure making the distortion more familiar especially in a standard/dropped d tuning. The cleans were great with all the tubes slight differences but all very usable. Im gonna see what other tubes i can get my hands on. So little info on these out there maybe this will help. Feedback appreciated.