Members Tommy Horrible Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 First off, both a great amps, and even though they are both aimed at high gain sounds, they sound completely different. The 2203KK. I was playing with through a Marshall MF400 oversized 4x12 cab with Celestion GK 100s and a Gibson Les Paul Studio with a Bareknuckle Painkiller in the bridge. First without the beast engaged I A/B ed with with my 2203x which I consider to be the loudest and best made amp I own. I was a bit scared at first of the KK after I bought it read on the internet that's it's power section was no at all like a Classic 2203, and was in fact identical to that of the JVM, except with KT88s. Well I can now say the 2203kk is indeed worthy of being called a true 2203. It reacts exactly the same way in almost every fashion as the 2203. I was kind of shocked it didn't have noticeably more low end than the 2203x due to the KT88's. IMO the 2 amps couldn't sound more similar. The 2203x might have had a touch more upper mid presence, and the 2203KK might have had a touch more low end and low mids, but I don't think I could honestly tell the difference in a blind test between the 2 amps, the differences are that subtle. With the Beast in engaged the 2203KK morphes into the best boosted 800 thrash tone I have ever heard. The boost itself adds a tone of low mids and with the master volume up past 10:00 is unbelievably punchy, tight and clear. The noise gate is phenomenal. It kills all the noise from that amp dead. It's unbelievable actually and just what you need if want to play Slayer riffs with a 2203 wide open. A good example is the second riff from piece by piece. No matter what guitar or boost i used that riff would always feed back when I played it at full volume. No more, the gate on the 2203KK makes it so you can play riff and still keep your feed back in check. It's unreal how well it works. Marshall should incorporate this gate into every high gain amp it makes. Basically for classic 80's thrash tones the 2203KK > 2203x + ISP decimator + ZW OD, which had always been my set up before. And it's just plug and play. No more having to worry about bringing pedals. Huge Win. 5150 III. I played with through a Marshall 1960 loaded with Green backs and the same LP studio with the BK PK in the bridge. First let me say this amp isn't really my cup of tea, but it's great amp and I can totally see it's usefulness and why people will love it. This a Metal amp. It's metal, metal, metal sounding. I've never heard a amp sound more aggressive or authoritative playing down picked 8th note riffs on the low E. This thing chugs. The let down is it really doesn't sound much different than my Peavey 6505 on the lead channel. It is voiced different for sure, it's much more scoopier and bigger sounding, but unfortunately to my ears, it's pretty much just as fizzy, and contrary to what I said at first blush in another thread, and I what I hear said a lot about this amp, I feel the 6505s lead channel might be a tad clearer, it's surely more focused and punchy. That being said, if you want a focused clear unfizzy high gain amp, get a Mark IV. This thing is far removed from that. It's aggressive pissed off scoopy metal machine that packs a huge wallop. This amp is going to be my go to amp in my studio for hardcore metal bands. This thing delivers the pissed off metal sound in spades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rock Hardness Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 What about the clean channel of the III? I tried it and it was gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdgeOfDarkness Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 Pretty much my thought on the KK compared to the 2203x.Just needs a loop installed and a 2 button switch to turn loop on/off and beast on/off .It'd be the perfect amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 I got a pretty good facsimile of my 2203 with channel 2 on a 5153. It was missing bite, but i could work with it. Both are great amps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JerEvil Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 How does the build quality feel on the KK? Would it bring a good gnarly Marshall punk rock tone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tommy Horrible Posted July 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2012 How does the build quality feel on the KK? Would it bring a good gnarly Marshall punk rock tone? Build quality seems fine. Plastic posts, no PTP wiring, but it doesn't seem to affect the tone. As far as a punk rock tone, hell yeah. It's {censored}ing 800 with a built in boost and noise gate. I way more into Mesa Marks lately for Punk, but {censored} yeah 800's with boosts are super punk win sauce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tommy Horrible Posted July 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2012 What about the clean channel of the III? I tried it and it was gorgeous! I don't ever use the clean channel on amps o: I still don't think I've ever dialed in a clean tone on one of my Marks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted July 29, 2012 Members Share Posted July 29, 2012 Pretty much my thought on the KK compared to the 2203x.Just needs a loop installed and a 2 button switch to turn loop on/off and beast on/off .It'd be the perfect amp. I would but this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members magh8 Posted July 29, 2012 Members Share Posted July 29, 2012 Pretty much my thought on the KK compared to the 2203x.Just needs a loop installed and a 2 button switch to turn loop on/off and beast on/off .It'd be the perfect amp. my feelings exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dxxcel Posted July 29, 2012 Members Share Posted July 29, 2012 The let down is it really doesn't sound much different than my Peavey 6505 on the lead channel. It is voiced different for sure, it's much more scoopier and bigger sounding, but unfortunately to my ears, it's pretty much just as fizzy, and contrary to what I said at first blush in another thread, and I what I hear said a lot about this amp, I feel the 6505s lead channel might be a tad clearer, it's surely more focused and punchy. That being said, if you want a focused clear unfizzy high gain amp, get a Mark IV. This thing is far removed from that. It's aggressive pissed off scoopy metal machine that packs a huge wallop. I agree it's not a completely different sound than 6505, but I'm surprised you find it scooped or lacking clarity (I've never found any of them to sound fizzy but it's all up to preference). I have a 5150III and a block letter 5150 and I don't consider the III to be scooped more than the 5150, i think the mids are shifted just a tad lower. I can say on my 5150III the clarity is amazing. Even on red channel with gain at 7 I can hear every single note in a chord. This is where I feel the amp really outshines the older models (5150/5150ii). I run mine through an oversized Mesa Cabinet w/ V30's. I'm very interested in playing this through the matching cabinet at some point, just waiting for a local shop to get one back in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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