Hughes & Kettner Guitar Effects

Hughes and Kettner is a German guitar amp company that started in the mid 80s. Today they make a wide range of guitar related things from amps to accessories. This is a Hughes and Kettener overdrive pedal called the Tube Factor. The Tube Factor features two gain modes which make it more versatile. It has a softer mode called Factor 1 and a heavier mode called Factor 2. The Tube Factor uses a 12AX7 preamp tube for the Factor 1 voicing. Factor 2 uses a diode circuit for more gain. The Tube Factor has 3 knobs One for Drive another for Output and the last for voicing. UTILIZATION The Tube Factor is strongly built using medium gauge metal with plastic side panels. The design has a recessed area for the controls so it is very hard to break a knob or pot if you drop the pedal. If you open up a side panel you can see that the Tube Factor’s design is based off of two circuit boards: one to hold the preamp tube socket and related components, the other for the primary circuit itself. The Tube Factor is designed so that you cant really change the tube inside it because the electronics inside are quite delicate. SOUND QUALITY Maxing out the Voicing knob produces a sound that sounds like a modern scooped gain amp with most of the mids removed from the sound. If you turn the voicing knob the opposite way you can get a more bluesy sound. Factor 1 produces a nice gradual overdrive that is dynamic with your attack. At some settings Factor 1 can sound a lot like an Ibanez Tube Screamer. Factor 2 produces more modern overdrive sounds. The Factor 2 distortion is very smooth and it is not noisy. OVERALL OPINION This is not a "one good sound" only pedal. Blues, rock, and metal players will all find great sounds from the Tube Factor. The Tube Factor is well designed and sounds good in all of the settings.

The Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere is rotary effect guitar pedal. As the name states, the pedal is Tube based and it has 1/4 inch connections. It is not rackable, as it a foot pedal and is powered by the power supply that comes with it. The pedal is bigger than most, but it is built like a brick and extremely sturdy. UTILIZATION The configuration of the pedal is pretty easy to follow. You've got knobs for drive and output, and another knob for rotor balance with each extreme being HF/LF, its kind of like a tone knob. There are then buttons for bypass, breaker, and to set how slow-fast you want the rotary to go. The end result is a sound similar to that of a Leslie speaker cabinet. The manual for this is well put together and is helpful when learning all the ins and outs of this pedal. SOUND QUALITY I sound quality of the rotary effect on the Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere is the best I have heard when it comes to pedals. It is rich and fat in tone and is an awesome emulator of a Leslie speaker. The tone is clear while the tubes provide for a warm, fat signal. It is easy to get a quick good signal from, and has a good amount of versatility. Overall, the sound quality of this pedal is awesome. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere for about a year and I have found it to be the best rotary guitar pedal out there. It is easy to get an awesome sound from it and the tubes provide a great deal of warmth and fullness. While this pedal is about double the price than the Boss RT-20 rotary ensemble, the sound is much better in my opinion, and I think the RT-20 sound pretty great! While the price will drive most away, this sound quality on this is worth it for professional players looking for an effect like this. Highly recommended to all interested in making your guitar sound like it is being run through a Leslie cabinet!