KMD XV100SD Amp

[slayer]

Hey guys, I have a chance to buy one of these in near mint condition. It looks awsome and has some of the biggest Transformers I have ever seen in an amp Any good? Junk? Tone? Your thoughts? Here is the AD.Thanks-Jack.


KMD XV100SD amp head, 1987, was top of the line at the time. Made in England. 100 watts of truly earth-shaking power like a Sunn model T, uses 4 6550 power tubes (or KT88's.) I've owned since new, everything works great, never needed anything except new tubes. New 12AX7EH pre-amp tubes. Separate EQ and reverb for each channel, effects loops front & rear, custom cover incl. $$$$ shipped with 4 new JJ KT-88's (installed & biased,) or $$$$. shipped w/4 n.o.s. GE6550's installed & biased. (a new matched quad of GE's, if you can find them, can bring upwards of $250. )

[slayer]

No one has any experience with this brand or model? Jack.

[arjacobson]

I cannot recall if my buddies kmd head was the same but he had a 50-60watt kmd head in the late 80's. It was a hybrid tube amp(had power tubes solid statepreamp i believe) Fucker was HORRIBLE- It had the harshest sound ever- I had to use it for a backup one time and it was the biggest POS i have ever used. We tried everything with his-plugged straight in/pedals/rack stuff. If this is the same model type they ARE built like a tank and seem to never break down(damn it LOL). The cabinet that came with the head was a superheavy particle board POS that sounded just about as good as the head. Best thing that ever happened to the cabinet is my buddies basement flooded in 93. We waded down stairs and here was the cabinet floating around.. NO KIDDING...... My advice is stay away from the kmd stuff. Thre is a reason you don't see too many around anymore. SORRY Jake

[slayer]

I appreciate the response The one I am looking at is all Tube and was part of a Professional series and even has front Effects loops jacks and the largest Transformers on earth I will get some pics and post them Jack.

[slayer]

Here are the pics:

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/amp_1.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/KMD_amp2.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/KMD_Amp3.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/KMD_Amp4.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/KMD_Amp5.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/KMD_Amp7.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/jackgraner/KMD_FSwitch.jpg
I am awaiting a better back pics of the options and imputs back there.

Jack

[slayer]

Better way

[arjacobson]

nice shape!! It doesn't look like the one my buddy had. If it sounds good buy it!!! I have an older custom Kraft amp that i literally had given to me and although it is a uncommon model it sounds killer for clean/blues stuff. Tube amps are the only way to go..........

[lerxstcat]

I cannot recall if my buddies kmd head was the same but he had a 50-60watt kmd head in the late 80's. It was a hybrid tube amp(had power tubes solid statepreamp i believe) Fucker was HORRIBLE- It had the harshest sound ever- I had to use it for a backup one time and it was the biggest POS i have ever used. We tried everything with his-plugged straight in/pedals/rack stuff. If this is the same model type they ARE built like a tank and seem to never break down(damn it LOL). The cabinet that came with the head was a superheavy particle board POS that sounded just about as good as the head. Best thing that ever happened to the cabinet is my buddies basement flooded in 93. We waded down stairs and here was the cabinet floating around.. NO KIDDING...... My advice is stay away from the kmd stuff. Thre is a reason you don't see too many around anymore. SORRY Jake

Just so you know, if the room floods, ANY speaker cabinet will float if it's sealed and not ported. Even ported cabs will float unless the speaker has a super-heavy magnet.

A lot of musicians learned this the hard way during Katrina, watching their cabs float out the door and into the Gulf.

[slayer]

Bump

[Twisteramps]

Don't judge an amp by the size of transformers or just because it's tube. Not a good idea IMHO... all large transformers mean for sure is that it will be heavy as hell. See what they sell for used, and use that as your guideline whether or not you should get it. I wouldn't pay more than the going rate for ANY amp that I wasn't sure about, because you could get stuck or lose your ass on it. If you can get it for less than going rate, then try it and see what you think.

These amps disappeared pretty quickly... I'm guessing tonal coffin, but you never know. The Headshell looks cheap as hell too - makes a Crate look like a Bogner by comparison. Just my opinion.

Pete

[PowerTube]

I had a chance to buy one of those in a store that was going out of business. If I remember correctly, it was $400.00 and some change for the head, but I just bought the 4x12 cab:


I'm not 100% positive that you're looking at the same model I could have bought. This one was a hybrid, except it was a solid state preamp with four power tubes, the opposite layout of most hybrid amps. I thought it sounded really good, though.

[PowerTube]

I cannot recall if my buddies kmd head was the same but he had a 50-60watt kmd head in the late 80's. It was a hybrid tube amp(had power tubes solid statepreamp i believe) Fucker was HORRIBLE- It had the harshest sound ever- I had to use it for a backup one time and it was the biggest POS i have ever used. We tried everything with his-plugged straight in/pedals/rack stuff. If this is the same model type they ARE built like a tank and seem to never break down(damn it LOL). The cabinet that came with the head was a superheavy particle board POS that sounded just about as good as the head. Best thing that ever happened to the cabinet is my buddies basement flooded in 93. We waded down stairs and here was the cabinet floating around.. NO KIDDING...... My advice is stay away from the kmd stuff. Thre is a reason you don't see too many around anymore. SORRY Jake

Yeah, mine is definitely particle board! Fortunately, it's never gotten wet.

It did come with four Celestion 70-watt speakers, though, which is what I was really after and I've been extremely happy with the sound.

[slayer]

OK fellas, very good points I appreciate your help. The price is $425 Shipped with New NOS GE 6550 tubes biased or $375 shipped with New JJ KT88`s biased. Thanks-Jack.

[arjacobson]

power tube........

Powertube- Years ago my buddy had one of those cabs also- he used his with a 2210 marshall- If you ever get a buzzing noise from the cab just reinforce the back- he did that with his and it served him well for years. It was played at a very high volume level for LONG periods of time. jake

[lerxstcat]

So Jack, out of curiosity - if you've never heard one of these, what makes you think it would be a good amp for you? If the price is the thing there are known amps within that range that we know to sound good. You had an Ultra combo before and you could probably get an Ultra Plus head for $425 shiipped. So I just wonder why you want something that virtually nobody would know what you had? I would guess even if it's awesome, if you ever had to sell it you'd eat at least $100. Just a couple of thoughts...