Koch Twintone

The Twintone is the bigger brother to the studiotone. 2 full independent channels with their own EQs and El34 power tubes as opposed to EL84s. Tonewise, a change and more versatility feature-wise.

High and Low inputs
50 watts at 8 or 4 ohms
2 channel preamp, footswitch selectable
Classic clean channel
Post EQ overdrive channel with four gain stages
Dual-Drive control
Four 12ax7 preamp and two EL34 power amp tubes
Buffered effects loop DC coupled, serial signal level -10dBV
Solo/rhythm volume, footswitch selectable
Auto power soak
Headphones & recording outputs
Speaker simulating filter, passive 12dB/oct.
Accutronics classic model reverb
One 12" Koch VG12-90 speaker
2 speaker outputs, switchable 4 or 8 ohms
2-way footswitch included with LEDs
Option: Head version
Dimensions (cm) combo: 50w x 47h x 28d - head : 50w x 28h x 28d
Weight Combo: 23kg - head : 14kg

UTILIZATION

Again, very simple to use, laid like a regular amp. There's also the DI recording out which is useful (but doesn't sound THAT great) and a built in attenuator which is quite useful too. I think these are available on nearly every one of koch's amps.

SOUNDS

The sound is different because of the El34s of course. The cleans are cleaner and the distortion is warmer and rounded than the studiotone. Of course there's less break up too when you crank the clean cause of the El34s. But aside from that I can't really say that the tones are TOO different, they definitely have the same vibe and the same, let's say, DNA. If you get a chance to play both of them side by side of course you will notice the differences but you will definitely feel the same vibe from both amps. It just depends on your needs in terms of features and how much clean headroom you want that would depend on which amp to go for.

OVERALL OPINION

Another amazing amp from Koch. Though it has the same soul, it's definitely improved upon with more headroom and separate EQ channels for both clean and dirty channels. All the same as the studiotone with the great tones, the power soak, and the recording out with cab emulation.

A very very very worthy amp!!!

Koch is a company based out of the Netherlands and has been building great quality amps for musicians around the world. They have a good reputation as a simple guitar amps that are full of tone. These are high gain monster and they aren't sweet innocent clean amps. Koch is somewhere in between with their gain style and voicing structure.

The original Twintone had only two channels. Those two channels had one clean and one gain channel. It was not a super high gain amp but a decent Marshall style British type high gain. There isn't much else that changed at least that was completely noticeable.

UTILIZATION

SPECIFICATIONS:

* High and Low inputs
* 50 watts at 8 or 4 ohms
* 2 channel preamp, footswitch selectable
* Classic clean channel
* Post EQ overdrive channel with four gain stages
* Dual-Drive control
* Four 12ax7 preamp and two EL34 power amp tubes
* Buffered effects loop DC coupled, serial signal level -10dBV
* Solo/rhythm volume, footswitch selectable
* Auto power soak
* Headphones & recording outputs
* Speaker simulating filter, passive 12dB/oct.
* Accutronics classic model reverb
* One 12" Koch VG12-90 speaker
* 2 speaker outputs, switchable 4 or 8 ohms
* 2-way footswitch included with LEDs
* Option: Head version
* Dimensions (cm) combo: 50w x 47h x 28d - head : 50w x 28h x 28d
* Weight Combo: 23kg - head : 14kg

SOUNDS

This is a two channel amp one dedicate to clean and one for the distortion. What is different to this amp is that it has a middle EQ for the clean channel. Most amps I come across and especially Fender has only volume, bass, and treble. There usually isn't a middle control knob for the clean. That is a simple but great features to have.

The distortion is kind of honky to me. I don't really like the tone of it all that much. It sound small and boxy. The tone of the clean is too but not as noticeable as the overdrive channel. The distortion I feel with the OD and OD+ switch just muddies up things. It isn't very pleasant to hear.

OVERALL OPINION

This amp has been discontinued and replaced with the Twintone ll. You can find them on the used market but I would take the Twintone ll because of the boosted overdrive channel 3.

They are great for the clean tone but I wasn't that impressed with the distortion channels. I would recommend this amp to a blues based player and not a hard rock player. It will sound good in a pop or mild rock setting and do fine. To me this amp is just ok.