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So, I finally got to try out my new Powerball and Framus 212 cab at practice volumes this week. I only had about an hour to dial it in and get some sound out of it, but I'm really happy so far. The clean channel is very good, almost Fender-y. You can get a nice glassy single coil tone with it (with a single coil of course). The crunch channel, which some have said isn't very good, was fine to me. This amp is pretty easy to dial-in imho, but I can see that some people would have a problem getting a good tone out of it because of all the knobs and switches. It's very versatile, and there are a lot of contour and tone shaping controls that really effect to the tone. If I try, I can get a so-so tone out of it, but when dialed properly it sounds awesome. The low and hi lead channels have huge gain available, so far I am really digging the lo lead channel. Boosting the low end with the depth punch knob really lets it chunk out thick, heavy chords. The Framus cab is very tight and has good low-end extension. The speakers are definitely not yet broken-in, so I know I haven't yet reached the sweet spot. It's pretty quiet for a high gain monster, the noise gate works really well (I have the V2 which has an improved noise gate). The tone shaping capabilities are very good, though the semi-shared EQ has some limitations. Nothing major though.
I haven't played with the FX loop yet, cause I don't currently have any. Imho, this amp does not need a boost pedal at all. I tried it with my DK2 with passive Seymour Duncans and also a friend tried his Fusion loaded with EMG's... and both sound fantastic through this amp. This is my first all-tube amp, and I was amazed at the dynamics... set it up for thick distortion on the crunch or lead channels, then roll back the guitar volume and it cleans up very nice. No need to switch channels most of the time. All of the channels are voiced differently and you can even get a nice distortion tone on the clean channel with the gain turned up and the guitar volume on 10. It will do scooped of course, but it can also get nice singing leads with a lot of midrange, especially in focused mode. It's not a one-trick pony and the versatility is great. It is a tweaker's amp no doubt, but if dialed in properly it can nail some great tones. I feel I'm still unlocking the full potential of this amp. I couldn't be happier with it at this point. 9.5 out of 10 so far. The .5 point deduction is because nothing is perfect, and because the 2nd master volume is useless without a foot pedal. I plan to get the Z-5 custom foot control for this amp.
I haven't played with the FX loop yet, cause I don't currently have any. Imho, this amp does not need a boost pedal at all. I tried it with my DK2 with passive Seymour Duncans and also a friend tried his Fusion loaded with EMG's... and both sound fantastic through this amp. This is my first all-tube amp, and I was amazed at the dynamics... set it up for thick distortion on the crunch or lead channels, then roll back the guitar volume and it cleans up very nice. No need to switch channels most of the time. All of the channels are voiced differently and you can even get a nice distortion tone on the clean channel with the gain turned up and the guitar volume on 10. It will do scooped of course, but it can also get nice singing leads with a lot of midrange, especially in focused mode. It's not a one-trick pony and the versatility is great. It is a tweaker's amp no doubt, but if dialed in properly it can nail some great tones. I feel I'm still unlocking the full potential of this amp. I couldn't be happier with it at this point. 9.5 out of 10 so far. The .5 point deduction is because nothing is perfect, and because the 2nd master volume is useless without a foot pedal. I plan to get the Z-5 custom foot control for this amp.