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Hartke Kilo club
- Thread starter AdamR
- Start date
Well got my Kilo today and so far I'm very impressed. I've run it through the following cabs:
LDS 610 (sealed)
Ampeg 810e
Dually 215
Bassic 115
It sounded great through them all but I like it best through my sealed 610 and 810. I had it in bridged mono most of the time and the amp was luke warm at best so I guess that's a good thing? I want to eventually rack it but I was a little hesitant after reading all the trouble with excess heat, etc. running mono.
I found the "shape" knob to be interesting. It adds some nice bottom when I'm running some OD. The master seems to have a VERY gradual taper on it. The amp doesn't seem to get going until at least 5 or 6. After that, whammo. I ran the passive EQ at 2-10-0 and seemed to be fairly "flat" to my ears. I do like a lot of midrange in my tone though.
Anyways, more to come as the honeymoon phase begins.
LDS 610 (sealed)
Ampeg 810e
Dually 215
Bassic 115
It sounded great through them all but I like it best through my sealed 610 and 810. I had it in bridged mono most of the time and the amp was luke warm at best so I guess that's a good thing? I want to eventually rack it but I was a little hesitant after reading all the trouble with excess heat, etc. running mono.
I found the "shape" knob to be interesting. It adds some nice bottom when I'm running some OD. The master seems to have a VERY gradual taper on it. The amp doesn't seem to get going until at least 5 or 6. After that, whammo. I ran the passive EQ at 2-10-0 and seemed to be fairly "flat" to my ears. I do like a lot of midrange in my tone though.
Anyways, more to come as the honeymoon phase begins.
Congrats. You should be very pleased. I have decided to keep mine for the long haul. I'm assuming you have not had any reason to disassemble it yet, which is good. But after some period of heavy use check that all 4 fans are working. You may not be able to see all of them with the cover one though. There are 4 total. One each is mounted at the front of the transistor heat sink which is forcing air in through the heat sink. The other two are each mounted on the side of case near the exit of each heat sink. These are exhausting the air previously forced through the heat sinks.
Mine were originally not working but I did not know it. Took me a while to determine this because I was informed I was not putting enough load.(not sure that was true though). Regardless, I did not do any damage to either amp. I am a do-it-yourselfer. I found the thermostats defective and jumped them out to keep the fans on all the time. No problem for me. If your fans never come on consider having this checked in warranty before you blow any output transistors.
Good Luck
Mine were originally not working but I did not know it. Took me a while to determine this because I was informed I was not putting enough load.(not sure that was true though). Regardless, I did not do any damage to either amp. I am a do-it-yourselfer. I found the thermostats defective and jumped them out to keep the fans on all the time. No problem for me. If your fans never come on consider having this checked in warranty before you blow any output transistors.
Good Luck
2-10-2 is how I have my 3 band set also. The graphic is set in a frown peaking at 500K. Not the greatest tone solo but man does it cut
My Kilo's sound has improved through tube rolls going from the stock sovteks to TAD 7025s. Today I installed three Tesla E83CC's and noticed right away that these tubes were a significant improvement. The sound really reaches out and hits you and I didn't even start pushing it yet... that must be what all the 3-d effect talk is about. It is basically the way I expect a great amp to sound now. Maybe in the fall, I'll try mixing some tubes to see if there can be any more improvement. All I know is that I'm set to rock with my band this summer! Have a good one! And by one, I mean Kilo!!! Ha ha ha!
A bit of an update if any of you guys are still using your Kilo. I used mine last night again for 3-4 hours at a fairly loud volume. Rock, not country. Still going into a 4 ohm 8x10 cab bridged mode. No smoke, no smells, no excessive heat.
I suppose its future looks good.
I suppose its future looks good.
Awesome. We rehearse for about 4 hours on Fridays so mine gets a good work out. I cant wait to get it fixed so I can run it bridged.
Can try to explain the change of character in tone with these tubes? I think mine sounds great With the Stock tubes. Just curious to know what to expect when I have to replace them some time in the future.
I am very satisfied with my Kilo and 410s Hydrive. Not a single issue yet, sounds great (so versatile it is just a joy to play with it) and looks great. Doesn't cost (that) much either. A great choice of gear!
The stock tubes sound good. The Tesla tubes sound similar in warmth, but with much more punch. The TAD 7025s's have a hard woody tone which was really noticeable in the mid-high notes. The trick is to find the best mix of tubes for the best sound... something like a TAD in v1 and Tesla in v3... v2 is overdrive so maybe the stock tube there. I haven't done enough tube mixing yet, but hopefully I can in the near future.
I would like to try a different tube in the v2. Just to find out if the overdrive can get a different character.
The stock tone of this amp provides more tone capabilities than my declining playing skills can take advantage of.
Most of us can agree on that! It is so great that I have to question why it isn't a huge seller. It is that great.
I've never been a good guesser but I will offer one anyway.
The Class D fad is not going away. There are many very good or better tube-pre/ss-Class D power amps that may have as much power as this one (regardless of specs).
I have to admit the choice of features and options make this head extremely flexible and it does sound very good. Mine has no noise whatsoever. I bought it initially for the power and price. Also overheating was an early issue. Other than that I think it is very solid.
The Class D fad is not going away. There are many very good or better tube-pre/ss-Class D power amps that may have as much power as this one (regardless of specs).
I have to admit the choice of features and options make this head extremely flexible and it does sound very good. Mine has no noise whatsoever. I bought it initially for the power and price. Also overheating was an early issue. Other than that I think it is very solid.
Agree totally with your point on features, flexible, sounds very good, power and price. They are really good selling points to me.
I have had zero issues with mine. That is a big relief! I know I can just fire it up and trust it.
