Tell me about the Peters Chimera

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fearhk213

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This head has me interested. From what I gather it is a high gain monster, but beyond that I don't know much about it.

-Is this head on the compressed or open side?
-Does it have a saturated or more of that clean gain structure?
-Is it tight or loose? (What I mean is whether it's in the Nitro or Uber vein)
-Does it have a clear punchy low end?
-How well does it clean up with the guitars volume knob?
-How is the note definition doing 5-6 note chords with lots of gain?

I'm not looking for a "this amp destroys that amp" kind of response here, but in case anyone cares to draw any comparisons the other high gain beasts I'm most familiar with are: Dual Rect, VH4, Herbert, Nitro, HG Jose, Uber, and Powerball.

Thanks,
Frank
 
fearhk213":2zgqdgwj said:
This head has me interested. From what I gather it is a high gain monster, but beyond that I don't know much about it.

-Is this head on the compressed or open side?
-Does it have a saturated or more of that clean gain structure?
-Is it tight or loose? (What I mean is whether it's in the Nitro or Uber vein)
-Does it have a clear punchy low end?
-How well does it clean up with the guitars volume knob?
-How is the note definition doing 5-6 note chords with lots of gain?

I'm not looking for a "this amp destroys that amp" kind of response here, but in case anyone cares to draw any comparisons the other high gain beasts I'm most familiar with are: Dual Rect, VH4, Herbert, Nitro, HG Jose, Uber, and Powerball.

Thanks,
Frank
Click to expand...

Frank,

PM psychodave.(or maybe he will se this and reply) He tried the amp at the ampfest and methinks that he can answer most if not all of your questions.
 
fearhk213":2urlk5fi said:
This head has me interested. From what I gather it is a high gain monster, but beyond that I don't know much about it.

-Is this head on the compressed or open side?
-Does it have a saturated or more of that clean gain structure?
-Is it tight or loose? (What I mean is whether it's in the Nitro or Uber vein)
-Does it have a clear punchy low end?
-How well does it clean up with the guitars volume knob?
-How is the note definition doing 5-6 note chords with lots of gain?

I'm not looking for a "this amp destroys that amp" kind of response here, but in case anyone cares to draw any comparisons the other high gain beasts I'm most familiar with are: Dual Rect, VH4, Herbert, Nitro, HG Jose, Uber, and Powerball.

Thanks,
Frank
Click to expand...

Good questions,I would like to know that aswell

Arild
 
James won't answer these in the thread. I tried this with almost the exact same questions on HCAF. Your best bet is to give him a call.
 
mhenson42":1z3hpr3d said:
James won't answer these in the thread. I tried this with almost the exact same questions on HCAF. Your best bet is to give him a call.
Click to expand...

Most builders will not answer any questions there and for good reasons.
 
Digital Jams":1o5wyxoh said:
mhenson42":1o5wyxoh said:
James won't answer these in the thread. I tried this with almost the exact same questions on HCAF. Your best bet is to give him a call.
Click to expand...

Most builders will not answer any questions there and for good reasons.
Click to expand...

There, here or anywhere. He won't make comparisons to his amps relative to any similarities to other amps. If you want that, you'll have to call him.
 
I wasn't looking for him to make direct comparisons, I know that's not good PR for him. That's why I didn't directly ask him in the thread. Plus, I know he posts here, which is why I said I'm not looking for "this amp smokes that amp" type responses. I threw out the amps I was familiar with so if someone else has experience with some they might be able say something like "the amp goes for the tighter vibe more like the Nitro than the Uber" or "it is more open so it doesn't have that Herbert compression going on." I was really just looking for a good reference point for the amps vibe, not a Chimera vs. All Other High Gain Amps thread.
 
PM Kurtsstuff. He had a Chimera and has owned tons of other amps to compare to it.
 
I can answer the questions you asked without drawing direct comparisons to other amps if you don't mind. It's actually what I'd tried to do on HC recently, but people kept wanting me to say "it's like amp X this way and amp Y that way". That's the sort of thing I'd like to avoid, the direct comparisons. Direct comparisons open a can of worms, because 1) my amps aren't really that much like most others and 2) I don't want to offend any company who makes amps, or people who own those amps.

-Is this head on the compressed or open side?

Open. It has enough compression to sound aggressive, in the right way, but sounds quite open overall. All "high gain" amps (what we refer to as "high gain" amps) have compression, but this definitely sounds more open than a lot of other modern high gain amps.

-Does it have a saturated or more of that clean gain structure?

It's a careful blend of the two. I wanted to make it clear enough so you could hear notes in complex chords, but also capable of enough saturation that people wouldn't say "it's not high gain enough for me" (which was the case with the previous modern high gain model, the WarHawk, which is now discontinued).

-Is it tight or loose?

It's tight enough for the modern aggression and doesn't require a boost pedal to keep it focused enough. But it's also responsive despite that. (This is the answer that made a couple people confused on HC, but it's true. The amp actually does have the right balance in this regard.)

-Does it have a clear punchy low end?

Yes but you can also make it darker/warmer. The controls on the amp allow for that (damping, modern/vintage, depth).

-How well does it clean up with the guitars volume knob?

If you consider that it's a modern high gain amp, it's very good at it. However if you compare it to a vintage (lower gain) amp design it's not even close to as good for that sort of thing. This is still a modern high gain amp and it has its limitations. :)

-How is the note definition doing 5-6 note chords with lots of gain?

It's considered excellent and that's one thing my customers notice right away. It was designed to do that.

If there's anything else you'd like to know about the amp from me, feel free to email or call. I can also phone you if you want (my long distance for North America is free).

-James
 
+1 to what James said = exactly what I was thinking after reading teh question, except I've never really rolled off the vol. for cleans. It's what I thought the K-Tre, VHT I had before it should've sounded like.
+ Does it have a saturated or more of that clean gain structure?

It's a careful blend of the two. I wanted to make it clear enough so you could hear notes in complex chords, but also capable of enough saturation that people wouldn't say "it's not high gain enough for me" (which was the case with the previous modern high gain model, the WarHawk, which is now discontinued).

To my ears the Chimera has, as I've heard described a "wide grain" (open/clear), type of gain. I need to :confused: (not to you James, but those that said it) about the Warhawk not having enough gain, to my ears I think it has a "tighter grain" of gain lol which makes it seem as saturated in some contexts, but less oomph than the Chimera. BTW I've got kstuffs old one and a Warhawk model.

One of the best things about his amps are how they feel when you play them - superb!! :rock:
 
James,
Thanks for the input, or not, since it only feeds into my gas :doh: :D . Seriously, it was really helpful. :rock:
 
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