Speak to me now of the H&K Tubemeister head

[draelyc]

Either the 18 or 36 watt model, though I'm more interested in the 36. Experiences? Thoughts? Concerns?

Thanks!
C

[shane159]

I played the 36 at my friends studio a few weeks back and was very impressed. The amp that blew me away while I was there was the Orange TH 30, so I ended up getting one for myself. The H&K was killer though, and had a good thick drive. The Clean was pretty good, but was a little lifeless to me. It was also fairly loud for only 36 watts, but the Orange had such an amazing clean and was crazy loud, so that was the one reason a went for the Orange. If I was the only guitar player in my band , I would have considered the H&K for sure, b/c I favored it's drive a little more than the Orange, but the headroom and cleans were much better on the TH30. The H&K 36 also took pedals very well, in fact my Box of Rock sounded fantastic through it. Overall, it is one of the best lower wattage amps I have played and had a fantastic drive tone, but the Orange just blew me away with its clean, and me using mainly pedals for my dirt, it just ended up being better for my needs.

[draelyc]

Awesome review, Shane ~ very helpful to me! Thanks, brutha!

[shane159]

Another observation I made when I played it was that I liked it through 2x12 Avatar contemporary cab with V 30's more than running it through a GB loaded 4x12. It just sounded very big a full through that cab. I played it in a 1960A with Greenbacks, and I was shocked that the 2x12 sounded so much fuller. I almost think something may have been wrong with the GB cab, b/c it was like a tin can compared to the 2x12 V30 cab. I am honestly gassing for one now thinking back about the drive channel, but I swear the Orange TH-30 might be my favorite amp I have owned to date. I highly recommend giving one a try if you ever get a chance, the cleans are fantastic and break up very plexi like and you can run the amp at either 30,15, or 7 watts. The Drive is great too, I just don't play much high gain anymore. Sorry to keep gushing about the Orange being in your H&K thread, but I am very happy with it to say the least.

[draelyc]

Naw, it's totally cool, because in full-on amp-search mode now, so I'm all about hearing of amps I might not have been aware of or considered otherwise. Again, much appreesh!