New Amp Arrives

[Johnny Mac]

Looks and sounds like a monsta amp Nick!  :twisted:  :twisted: So the midi features, can you program all your settings and step on a foot switch to get those tones? I bet it would sound like one of 'The Goat Of Mendes's' deep and resonate burps with your pigged up explorer plugged into it! The focus feature sounds cool. I have a 3 way switch for speaker damping on my Powertone and on ultra low cranked up on channel 2 with the gain around 6.5 it's brutal. Too much gain seems to take the punch out of the bottom end. The ultra gain channel is great for soloing but for riffing and chugging with a Miracle Man or Cold Sweat the less is more approach seemed to work. We will have to A/B them and anything else we can get our hands on one day!!

I hope you get tons of hellish fun out of your amp Dude! It sounds like and looks like a ffing animal!!  :twisted:  :D  8)

[Eric]

Very cool amp review.

I have one question did the Rivera not like the Painkillers at all or whas the Painkiller not manly enough for the 3rd channel?

[Dakine]

Very cool amp review.

I have one question did the Rivera not like the Painkillers at all or whas the Painkiller not manly enough for the 3rd channel?

HAHAHA, that was my 'warped' sense of humor. It loved the Painkillers. Was abit of a pun/play as Slipknot play Knuckleheads, Stone Sour (Jim Root, Josh Rand) play Knuckleheads, and Warpig is so brutal/downtuned sounding (or can be) was me being humorous is all :)

Indeed, more than my Boogie or Engl did, the Rivera is WAY different with each and every guitar/pup combo, you can really tell (like a slap with a wet fish) what kinda music ya wanna play to make everyone harmonious, guitar/amp that is :)

JM, the midi controls such things as channel, reverb, boost,cut,contour etc. but NOT actual levels (there again not sure even the Diezel does that, then again if it does that may explain the extra Grand or so it costs :)).
The midi will control the Rocktron I am planning on getting though :)
In fact think it has summit like 160 channels poss. Loads of 'banks' and then the individual channels.

Focus is real cooll and I need to play with the Modern/Vintage and Power settings more, they really sculpt the tone very noticably. It's kinda like, 3 channels, 3 boosts = 6 channels, then Vint/Mod, High/Low power = shoot, hate math, what 24+ (vint+mod+1,vint+mod+2,etc., ya'll do the math LOL).

Really looking forward to a dedicated cab now, to really let rip  

[dave_mc]

what's the vintage/modern button do, just out of interest, nick? Is it like a subtle thing, or really obvious thing?

I know on mine the pentode/triode button (which your amp also has) kind of can be thought of as a vintage/modern button as well, in that triode is a little springier/more compressed/less tight/more vintage sounding (as well as doing the expected lowering of the volume).

:drink:

[Dakine]

Dave,
same thing really, changes the output signwave, but is VERY evident tonally. Also, having the High/Low power switch adds to the mix as well (also there are High/Low inputs on front for the guitar lead). It's kinda like British/American, almost EL34 and 6V6 in same amp, clever guys the Rivera's.
I thought it would be like the Boogie I have, Vin/Mod, but I must say it 'chews up and spits out' the Boogie for tonal change. Sure the Boogie does it but the Rivera does it way better with more of a defined different tone (whereas the Boogie sounds more,hmmm, false is only way I can put it at this minute). The Boogies, Modern switch (it has clean/pushed on Channel 1 and Pushed/Vintage/Modern on Channel 2, or basically) is like a seperate gain stage, whereas on the Rivera it's a different tonal range entirely.
Guess that 'may' be one of the reasons for handmade - mass produced? Dunno, just know (back to automotive analgies I know, but that's where I grew up), Boogie = Honda/Acura NSX, Rivera = BMW M series. Just does it better with less fuss, more feeling and more panache :)

[dave_mc]

^ excellent, thanks for the info, nick. So the rivera gets a hearty thumbs-up, then?

:drink:

EDIT: with all these extra options, I'm kind of wondering why I didn't look into one more when I was buying. I'm pretty sure I checked their website and discounted it for some reason. There was the obvious reason that I couldn't get to try one easily, but I think I had already decided that it wasn't one of the main contenders. I'm stumped as to why, now...

 :?  :lol:

[Dakine]

Dave,
me thinks alot of it must be 'fads'.
Sure I fancied a Diezel, but then again everywhere (forum wise etc.) you go, it's all Diezel this Diezel that.
I researched and to be honest, the specs are sooo simialr to the Herbert. Whats more, it's been around alot longer.

Now I appreciate all amps have their own signature tone, but hell, at this level, hand made, custom/topgrade parts etc. Ya gotta really look to see if you are paying for a name or product or 'newest thing on the block'.

I am very satisfied thus far. It is the most 'organic' amp I have played thus far (bit like changing to BKP's). I Love my Boogie and still Love/Loved my Engl, but neither are as 'alive' as the Rivera. Actually, both the others are almost abit too 'sterile' compared to the Rivera. Now, sterile is good, it's like a Dude Ranch Horse, ALL horse, but knows what to do without much input. The Rivera is a Mustang, ALL Horse, but requires taking by the reins and taming, but boy does it then repay ya :)

I have NO idea why Rivera is not more prominent. It so happens my local (half decent) lil shop in Salisbury is a dealer, but heck they only have the small combo's. Maybe Rivera should make themselves even more 'exclusive' to entice 'that' type of buyer ;)

Look how many Artists record with and use them, it's not a 'flash in the pan'. Oh well, we shall probably never know.

[Johnny Mac]

The Penthode/triode on my amp has something about vintage sounding on half power. To be honest I only notice the lack of head room on the clean channel, which is useful with a HBE Dos Mos plugged into the front. It gives you a dynamic dirt when you need it by digging in. The power screamer sounds cool too in front of the clean channel. Man our gear is similar! I've just got  to get a few weeks graft under my belt and I'll get the Schecter Omen 6 pimped up with a Warpig and MQ. I'm thinking of getting distressed black. Like the bashed up example that looks like it's been got at with an angle grinder and a couple of wars!

Cool review by the way Nick! I would go with a dedicated cab as it would have been designed with it in mind. Do you get options on which drivers you can have?
How does it compare with your other amps? Which Boogie do you have again? Blimey listen to me with me Spanish Inquisition! :lol:

[Dakine]

JM,
when say 'dedicated cab' I mean one for the head (right now am having to play it through the Boogie combo's speaker :(  ).
I have a Mesa Boogie Recto Verb single rectifier. Also, well my mate is buying it (hence the new Rivera, and it's at his place) Engl Screamer 1/2 stack.

Rivera cabs have V30's but am going with summit different I am pretty sure;



one of these me thinks.

The Rivera cab is built well and tweaked for the Knucklehead, but it's hellish costly and have read/heard some amazing things about the G-Flex.

As for Knucklehead vs. my other amps;
It is more organic than either. The Boogie has great cleans, can sound very vintage (although it is loaded with 6L6's right now, it will self bias to EL34's if needed) and has buckets of gain, but it sounds kinda more sterile and contrived than the Rivera. This is not a bad thing, just a Boogie thing.
The Engl again is good cleans and rock and plenty of gain, however you can tell it's not such a well built amp. It is'nt physically as solid or well put together, it's a brighter sound and much less articulate and defined, great for riffage and chugging but not in same league as other two when clarity is involved.
I am not getting rid of the Boogie, but the Rivera (thus far) covers all bases and in many respects, WAY above the other amps in class of tone. The cleans, well I will have to record some (when get my gear back) are simply amazing. Basically the difference in available tones in the Knucklehead are very defined and , seeing as it is a high gain amp, frankly astonishing.
Nick

[dave_mc]

Dave,
me thinks alot of it must be 'fads'.
Sure I fancied a Diezel, but then again everywhere (forum wise etc.) you go, it's all Diezel this Diezel that.
I researched and to be honest, the specs are sooo simialr to the Herbert. Whats more, it's been around alot longer.

Now I appreciate all amps have their own signature tone, but hell, at this level, hand made, custom/topgrade parts etc. Ya gotta really look to see if you are paying for a name or product or 'newest thing on the block'.

I am very satisfied thus far. It is the most 'organic' amp I have played thus far (bit like changing to BKP's). I Love my Boogie and still Love/Loved my Engl, but neither are as 'alive' as the Rivera. Actually, both the others are almost abit too 'sterile' compared to the Rivera. Now, sterile is good, it's like a Dude Ranch Horse, ALL horse, but knows what to do without much input. The Rivera is a Mustang, ALL Horse, but requires taking by the reins and taming, but boy does it then repay ya :)

I have NO idea why Rivera is not more prominent. It so happens my local (half decent) lil shop in Salisbury is a dealer, but heck they only have the small combo's. Maybe Rivera should make themselves even more 'exclusive' to entice 'that' type of buyer ;)

Look how many Artists record with and use them, it's not a 'flash in the pan'. Oh well, we shall probably never know.

yeah. I've only tried the little pubster, it was quite nice, but it's kind of their budget model (at £600!). I haven't tried any of their high gainers. They definitely have a good reputation, though.

Maybe i discounted it because it only had two channels... I guess I must have missed the specs where it had all those footswitchable options- or maybe the 100 watter doesn't have all those options or something.

I dunno.

:drink:

[Dakine]

Dave,

Knucklehead = 2 channel (older ver. no reverb and no midi, which believe TO had)

Knucklehead Reverb  = 3 channel + midi

Tre = Newest, 2 channel

Seven/KRMT = Joint newest (Mick Thomson Sig.) 2 channel

Indeed, the KR may not have been around when you looked.

[dave_mc]

^ yeah, I think it was the older one around when I looked at the start- i definitely seem to remember it being just 2 channel

:drink: