Speaking of Rivera......K-Tre content

[SpiralArchitect]

Hey guys

anyone other than Joe_Steeler around here have a K-Tre?
I just bought one and just waiting for it to get here, anyone have tips or tricks with the amp they can share, or even pics of your rigs with them? what cabs work best with the amp?? right now I have a splawn with the x pattern of speakers and it soudns good with my Uber but I plan on using them both??


let me know?!!!

Thanks

CS

[SpiralArchitect]

anyone??

[markD]

i use the old rivera M/S amps. i DID have a KH2 reverb, but it was WAAAAYYYYYY to loud and beastly for me, my band AND my music. it was cool, but WAY too much gain for me...and it had to be the LOUDEST amp i have ever played in my entire life. it made my JCM800 2204 sound like a 1 watt sissy amp, and that thing was FEROCIOUSLY loud and untamable....

hahahaha, i will gladly stick to my 120 watt S120. it gets the jump done perfectly!!!!

[Dave L]

I have played the K-Tre, with the matching 4x12, a few times... enough to have a grasp on it, anyhow... and if it´s your first time owning a Rivera you need to keep in mind to play loud and set the dials with your ears instead of your eyes. Rivera tends to voice the tone controls a bit different from what people are used too, so when people dial in the settings they´re used to there´s a good chance it´ll sound like crap. Other than that the Tre is pretty simple as Riveras go, so just fiddle around with it for a few days and enjoy! It´s a goddamn beast, but also remarkably versatile.

The Splawns are great cabs, so if the Tre works good with it too I suggest you get a headswitcher... one less cab to carry around, and both heads available via footswitch. Unless you´re gonna run them at the same time, that is!

EDIT: Oh, yeah, one thing that I believe isn´t in the manuals and also could be potentially helpful is that the loop is at unity gain with both send and return at 7.

I have the first Knucklehead (the K55) and the "original" Rivera - the TBR1. You wouldn´t believe the trouble I had understanding the TBR when I got it... apart from the regular set-up it has an additional gain control and a five-way mid-notch... but after a few weeks I finally started getting some heavenly tones! So don´t lose heart if you can´t just plug and play... there are tons of good tones in there, just waiting to be found.

[SpiralArchitect]

DaveL

Thanks for the responce! I've actually owned Rivera before and I understand how they work in terms of the whackyness with the switches and push pulls and such, I had one of the older TBR-1SL rackmount heads probably similar to yours. I LOVED the clean channle, but the Gain was not for me as it was less of what I was looking for.
I alsohad one of the old power amps! thing was killer but a million pounds hahaa

In terms of the tweaking! I have an Uberschall and I had to set it completely different than you would normally set an amp, so thankfully I've abandoned the idea of how an amp "should"be set!

thanks SO much for the tip on the loop, I really was wondering that as I havn't found theRivera Tre manual, only a standard knucklehead manual, so It's hard to know!

anyhow thanks guys!

c

[Dave L]

If you have tweaked a TBR, you probably won´t have any trouble with the Tre. Apart from the unthinkable amounts of gain and brutal available (way too much for me!), what impressed me the most was how usable it was when backing off the gain a bit... I got pretty close to the "classic hot rock" leads of my beloved K55, and a friend of mine managed to find some killer heavy blues in there as well. The power and massive low-end doesn´t disappear at lower gain, and doesn´t seem out of place even in less brutal tones either.

[SpiralArchitect]

DaveL

Thanks again man! I was wondering about the tonal clarity and tightness of the gain.
In all the clips I heard I sensed an overall crispyness not a sizzle per se, or a buzz or even a fuzz, but at the same time It could have been just the youtube clips, but There is a certain similarity to Dimebag's tone on The Great Southern Trendkill in those clips, so it should suit me just fine!

if I like it alot and I think I will I might even dump the Uber and get a second as a backup, or even the reverb version as I love what the Uber does, but there is still something about it, it's very limiting.

anyhow, I can't wait to have this amp! this is a big week of gettin gear for me!

anyhow thanks Dave for the info!@

Cheers

C

[Dave L]

The tonal clarity is extremely good, as are the dynamics. I can´t really judge how tight it is, since I don´t do the extreme chuggachugg stuff... I certainly didn´t find it loose, but I´m not sure it´s as extremely tight as a VHT or VH4.

[SpiralArchitect]

Dave

thanks again!

and I don't want a super tight tone anyhow, There is a looseness that I like as I don't need or want a VHT or VH4 type tone anyhow!

It should arrive tomorrow! I hope!

Cheers!

C

[Dave L]

I´m sure you´ll be happy with it! I haven´t heard a bad thing about it, and I definitely understand why people seem to like it so much. And for being so modern it has a bit of a cool, older vibe to it if you let it... I suppose that´s what I like about it... and I would be getting one if I needed something heavier than my K55.

[sl2lover]

Ive had mine about 5 month's now and have no regrets at all! Its' built for metal thats for sure! Not as dynamic as my KR100 though. I would not recommend it for an all around amp! Just metal, or for the straight up clean channel! It is very bassy, compared to any other amp ive tried as well! As far as quirks.....the effects loop, n it's adjustments suck! i couldn't get a decent sound through it, so i run all my effects before it etc... It also didn't have enough high end treble(presence) note though that i like my sound very bright!!

[SpiralArchitect]

sl2lover

you don't like the loop? Wow, I'm the opposite, the loop sounds killer for me! compared to my other amps!

anyhow the Clean channle is amazing and with a pedal in front it does blues VERY well!

anyhow I love it, see my other thread for my new updated Rig!

Cheers!

C

[SpecialEdYaay]

What kind of gain structure does the Rivera have ? Tight, foccussed like a Mesa mark series or kind of fuzzy/soft like an Uberschall ?

[SpiralArchitect]

It's very close to the Uber in gain structure, but I don't find the Uber to be fuzzy and soft? thats the last thing I would callt he Uber, I do find the K-Tre hates my Splawn cabinet so I've got 2 Vader cabs on the way!

C

[SpecialEdYaay]

Well I mean fuzzy/soft in that the Uber's gain is more of a modern, spread out wall of sound with not as much pick attack as some other amps. By foccussed I mean the attack envelope to the notes is much more contained and the sound of the pick hitting the string is very pronounced. E.g. certain Modded Marshalls, Mesa 2C+.

Where does the K-Tre fit between those extremes ?