Victory Kraken VX Mark II - METAL LETS GO
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ต.ค. 2023
- Trying out the new Victory Kraken VX Mark II. I like to think they added a presence knob because of my earlier videos, but who knows. Anyhow, kickass metal amplifier with no need for an overdrive.
DISCLAIMER: Victory Amps did send me this amplifier for me to demo, but I'm sending it back as soon as the demo has been made. I'm not getting any money from trying gear, mainly to stay as unbiased as possible.
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I'm Ola Englund and welcome to my channel. A channel dedicated to guitar related gear with a focus on metal. I also play in the metal bands The Haunted & Feared and run a guitar company www.solar-guitars.com
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#metal #metalguitar #guitar @VictoryAmps #chug - เพลง
As a side note, I was using both presence button settings in this video. It made a bit of difference but I wish it was affecting higher frequencies. Still sick!
I was going to ask if you saw the presence switch on the back.
I use a victory v4 kraken with an eq in the loop and get some nice presence and depth out of it.
It’s a sweet gigging rig.
Ola Ola, sou guitarrista moro no brasil, meu sonho é ter uma sollar, mas no brasil fica impossivel comprar porq causa dos velores, ficaria eternamente grato ce a sollar guitars me desse uma guitar sollar. Tanks Ola the best.
I prefer the presence to affect what most consider absurdly high frequencies. Around 10,000 Hz.
Just use a MXR 10-band EQ with it. Problem solved. Every guitar player should already have one of those EQ pedals anyway.
“Still sick”
Got that signature Lee Anderton heavy tone.
Thanks for checking it out man! Although I think you missed out a few bits that would’ve helped you out in your tone search.
Firstly the presence shift would’ve given you the higher sizzle you were after. We offered two areas of presence depending on what guitars and tunings you’re playing. You needed to engage the presence shift to get that sizzle.
Secondly, you had the bass focus pushed in which acts as a high pass filter, therefore in a standard tuning it’d sound less bassy. That’s why your bass control was on full and you felt it needed more.
With it disengaged it has more than enough low end to compliment the high end.
Either way. Glad you liked the tone.
Note: seen you found the shift switch. It’s worth saying we don’t really want to recreate the same fizzy presence that a lot of other high gain amps feature. We wanna offer something different but still in the same ball park.
Personally not a massive fan of the super fizzy presence in a lot of high gain amps.
Either way. Tones in your video were great man.
It all comes down to preference of course. Like I said in the video it IS really nitpicking on my behalf, and the amp kicks ass! You guys did great.
Hey man I just bought the 1st VX Kraken amp. It rules dude! You did a great job.
@@OlaEnglundyeah man, 100% agree it’s all preference and I wasn’t knocking the high end fizz or sizzle btw just something I’ve always struggled to get right in the tones I go for. But I’m glad you dig it dude. Very proud of this little beast.
B is in the house! I am super picky about amps and their design/features, and where they are built. I literally can't find anything wrong with this new Kraken VX mk II! It has every feature I would want. It's not "made in China". You can use 6L6 or el34! You can bias it yourself from the back without taking it apart! It has a low-power mode! 50watts is plenty to drive a 4x12 cab. No top-end fizzyness! Bass-focus and presence-shift switches are nice to have! Effects loop is essential, gotta have it. It's compact, but the "lunchbox" version has lots of ventilation. ( The "head-shell" version looks cooler tho! ) The sound: excellent tones! All the channels/tones sounded killer. With an MXR 10-band EQ, and a few drive pedals... I could probably get any tone I would ever want out of this thing. From JCM800 to ENGL Savage! I had my eye on a BadCat LYNX, but I think this new Kraken VX mk II might have edged it out of the top spot in the 50-watt high-gain high-quality tube amp category! Sweetwater is now carrying Victory amps for the USA market! Sweetwater is where we Americans get our gear from. They are excellent. Good job on this one B! I am highly impressed with the new VX mk II amp! It definitely CHUGS! LoL!
@@RabeaMassaad hey bro my original comment was for you. The Kraken is awesome man.
Sounds awesome. The Purple light really ties the tone together.
😅😂🤣
The tone is in the light. ( Or as Yngwie might say... "The tone is in the donuts" )
😂
Forget the amp, that guitar Ola's playing is something else. Look at that subtle wood grain pattern. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a hardtail.
reading up on it, there's a presence switch at the back that you can engage to up the frequency of the presence knob.
When Ola says the presence could be higher, it means to me it's at the right spot. Ola always dials greats sounds but always a tad too much sizzle, almost fizzy to me. So I started questioning if had didn't have some hearing loss in the treble that made him dial so much trebles it sometimes sounds metallic.
He's sitting on the side of the cab. He's hearing much less highs since the speakers are 12inch and insanely directional at high frequencies.
Correct.
There’s a difference between room sound and the sound a mic pics up. Mics always add a lot of high frequencies you only hear if you sit straight in front of the speaker.
Metallic….. Metal…… hmm 🧐
Ola with the Bolt Thrower shirt...the man gets it.
You can't claim to be a legit metal fan without a Bolt Thrower CD in your collection somewhere. ( I don't make the rules. It is what it is. )
i know that's a modern metal amplifier tight af but even knowing this doesnt need a boost pedal i would like to see this boosted, because yes
Fasheezy +1
More is more.
It can be a 5150, I’m always going to clean boost it with a drive pedal lmao
I have the mkI and can confirm, it doesn't really need a boost. I was blown away when I first played it. Haven't tried it boosted but I bet it would be nuts!!
“Because yes” lol I feel you bro
The kraken is probably my favorite amp victory makes. Rabea did a great job designing this amp with the team at victory
That’s a great sounding amp. Makes me wish i was a kid again just starting out. Back in my day you had two choices: get a Marshall (and know someone that knew how to hot rod it) or get a Boogie. That was it. Now there’s a gazillion amps out there. Good time to be out and killin it.
No doubt! Almost too many choices now lol
we want to see more comparison videos with a mesa and some new amps your showing ola. Thanks again for the awsome video.
Love the Rabea-esque riffage on a Kraken for the opening. Very nice.
Love the vx100 super kraken. Can only imagine that this little brother is also excellent! Sounds good!
Victory Amps are awesome! I have the Earl V50 with a Victory 2x12 cabinet. Having independent reverb and gain controls for each channel is extremely useful. I’ve always wanted one of these little Krakens…it definitely chugs🤘
Dude this amp sounds amazing!
loved the subtle mention of the KDH outing Capt'n Lee as the co-owner! Great!!!! lol
I like this little monster! It sounds great! 🤘
Loved the co-owned by Lee joke, on point.
biggest improvement is the clean channel apparently, the original kraken pedals and amps are just insane high gain guitar heaven for me. my old rectifier is just used as a poweramp for the v4 kraken pedal since i have it and i prefere it over the mesa preamp. cheers 🎸🎸
What's wrong with the clean on an og kraken amp?
@@jamesmoses4066 it just has none dude, thats the reason why they have improved it. the og kraken is based on a jcm 900, so the "cleans" are .
@@Turbo-D oh i was thinking of the super kraken, since it has a dedicated clean channel
I haven't played through a Victory amp personally but they sound badass. I like that they are smaller than a standard tube head but the tone can still hold up to the big amps.
excellent review - victory amps have that dry type vibe to them but with some soul - nice amp - love the Chug
Bro this amp sounds so clean and so heavy same time, omg!
I think with the shift button on the back you can add a little broader presence
I liked the frequency of the presence knob, felt it was in the spirit of the British sound.
It sounds awesome and incredibly ballsy, but I can't blame your critiques! They are personal preferences, I understand and a lot of players would find this a plug-and-play type of tone...but after owning 5150s, presence and resonance knobs in general are super helpful for that final tweaking.
Oh shit, this is the most middy crunchy sweet and biting amp ever, and btw the presence is really amasing, MORE MIDS!!!)
Kraken is my favourite amp sound. Wish I could afford it! Also wish they made smaller, more affordable combo versions.
Waiting for people to profile this for my tonex 😎 love the super kraken sound, perfect modern metal amp
A damn good chug for sure. Sounds pissed as hell.
Thanks Ola!!!🎉🎉🎉
05:40 ‘that sounds pretty good’ - it sounds frickin amazing! 😆
Edit: Ola’s exact words a minute later, haha!
Sounds great!
Just read on the Victory site that there's a Presence Shift switch control to change the focus of the presence control to give more "sizzle"...
I did try it but didn't really help that much to be honest
@@OlaEnglund Noted. Thanks, Ola - good to know!
That tone man!
Yeah, thought of you when I saw the presence knob added, remember it was your only gripe with the Kraken before. This amp looks promising, instant competitor to EVH 5150 50W line I guess.
You're joking right? The 5150 blows this thing out of the water!
Just woke up and already headbanging
Love your grey shoes!
That’s what we call fast unpoxing 😊
And back in the box again 😮
for a 6L6 amp, it has a very british sounding gain structure. dig those wah-like mids too.
Did not know Lee Anderton was part owner of Victory. I guess it makes sense given how often they use them on their channel, like Chapman guitars. He's got his hands in quite a few business ventures. Doing quite well for himself. Anyway, those amps are solid. I like the Sheriff the most. For Kraken territory, I prefer a couple other high gain amps, but it still sounds quite good.
Yeah, it kind of got exposed by KDH, haha. He kept it quiet because he didn't want people to associate it too much with andertons, and instead have it stand on its own as a company. Makes sense, people might see it as a guitar stores own brand, like harley benton with thomann, which kind of gives off a cheap vibe.
Sounds awesome. Adding a T75 might make the highs a bit more piercing.
Let’s go brother 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Well I just bought one now thanks ola haha!
i would love to see this amp head to head with KSR Orion 45, Badcat Lynx 50 and the new Soldano Astro 20 its gonna be interesting lol
This version feels like they based it off of his plugin; which was a modified version of the original XD
Love that amp.
AWESOME
Really dig the fact they got it in this form factor. Just saw the pricing (1,419 GBP for the lunchbox & 1,579 GBP for the compact headshell) - guess it's a fair asking price given what they packed in this time around.
Amazing
Gnarly as f!#k I love it!!!
Enjoyed the KDH giggle :)
The Countess 2 later known as the Jack also makes for a really good metal amp
that opening riff is so damn tasty
Uncle chugola is at it again
Yes!
Perfect META amp!!!
Unrelated but the Bolt Thrower shirt is a major flex
Ola the whole idea behind the MK2 you completely missed.....on the back has a power soak knob for when you switch to crunch it keeps the volume at a level where you don't have such a difference when switching between clean and crunch.
Wow! Sound fricking good man! I agree it has a lot of an MT 15 (I own one of those) it reminds me of it. And in that sense 50W is shed loads and you wonder if a lower wattage would make sense and be possibile, to also lower the price point and to use it at home...how many of you play at home?
Those pedals you got out of the box...they were for you only, I should think they don't come with it neh!?
To be picky about the look of it - because it is important to me what I see in my little studio - the gold colour sucks, its tacky in my view and the handle sucks also, looks outdated on that type of chassis, kind of an afterthought I think.
Having said all that.... it sounds bloody good and I wouldn't mind one!...I just think 50w valves is too much for 'everyday' play.
Have a great weekend everyone and chug, chug
👽🤘
It does have an option to attenuate down to 9 watts so I can't see them doing a specifically lower wattage version. I'd be very happy to be proven wrong tho!!
Very good amp !
Nice to see thar lee watches ola
Love the show Ola 🤘🤘
I’ve always wanted the Victory red dwarf.
There is a presence shift button, and a bass focus switch too
Let’s gooo
nice review
Great now need this vs Lynx comparison
Would love to hear them layered together but overall the Lynx was richer to my ears and not as brash and dare I say not as boxy..I believe they both have their places
Hey @ola : you got your presence control 😊
8:39 yeah i have been trying to learn Tornado of souls' solo too.
Sounds great Even without any pedals in front.
Boltthrower tischa...hell yes!
This tone is Rabea in a box
Crushing
Good mix.
You made that AssKraken sound great.
Hi, Ola. How do you feel about Firebird guitars? I've never seen such guitars on your channel. As always, a great video.
Ola the man
Did u check the presence button on the back?
I did but it didn't added enough ,
“More is more” - Malmsteen
I increased the 8k frequency in my setup and it does sound a bit better.
awesome video, but can you please do a video on the Diezel Hagen and VH4, and some of the Bogners, Ecstacy pandora mod, twin jet, and obviously the Ultra Uberschall?
You don't want much do ya? 😆
Little pricey but sounds amazing. You get what you pay for! And that's not always a bad thing.
Please make the Chug Mute available to purchase. I want one for all my guitars. Please @OlaEnglund!!!
Sounds like a 6505 to me but maybe a slightest bit compressed and kept on a leash.
Would like to see it against the new 5150's.
🤘🤘
You should try Gain 1 with overdrive pedal 😊
I'm deaf and i like it 🤘🤘🤘
I fully understand why these boutique brands are so pricy; the small scale production and country of origin. *What kills me is they're now so abundant, the mainstream brands hiked their prices through the roof to match them.*
As with virtually all electronics, it's a sellers' market and consumers have no power over how much devices cost because there is always an abundance willing to pay through the nose.
*By this time next year, I am confident I will have a purely solid state, purely Class-A designed and built from the ground up that can rival tube performance, but it will be even better if I can get the thing on the market for a reasonable price.*
Would you try the IRIN Extreme Metal pedal? It was close to what I heard from Bolt Thrower.
Cool
I like the fact that Ola is able to play one single chord for long-long minutes and tweaking the equipment. (Really hate to listening endless shredders in testing vids)
Please do a review of the Diezel VHX.
In case you missed it,Ola compared it to a PRS MT15 which retails at 1/3 of the price, in my village at least. Great job "those guys at Victory "😂😂😂
15 watt versus 50 watt ? not a good comparison...
That voice at 3:47 😂😂😂
I agree about the presence comment
Well, release the kraken!
Why does it sound so much better in the mix?
VICTORY AMPS AND MESA BOOGIE ON TOP
Everyone needs a quick chug.
Ola your sig Kraken Head Bass knob should go to 11 or even 20! lol
I remember bea use to say he don't like the fizz or "sizzle" you called it