View other reviews for this product:
King Loudness « Versatile gigger's amp »
Published on 08/09/11 at 17:58The Hughes and Kettner Statesman Dual EL34 is a 50w tube amp that features two channels, each that has a selectable mode to change the texture of the amp (clean channel has a "twang" switch for a brighter tone and the overdrive channel has an onboard gain/midrange boost for more punch). Each channel features its own EQ which is very handy for dialing in different tones.
The tubes in this amp are the fairly standard compliment of two 12AX7s in the preamp section and two EL34s in the poweramp section which should give a fairly good idea of the tones that this amp will ape. It also features a spring reverb and series/parallel effects loop. The full list of features is below:
Hughes & Kettner Statesman DUAL EL34 Oxblood Features:
Channels Clean + Twang, Overdrive + Boost
Oxblood Brown Tolex
Power 50 Watts
Poweramp 2x EL34
Preamp 2x 12AX7
Effects Accutronics Spring Reverb
Effects Loop Serial/Parralel selectable
Footswitch/Stageboard 1x FS-3N included, FS-2 as an option
Switching Functions Channels, Boost, Second Master; with 2nd FS-2: Reverb, FX-Loop
Special Features Second Master, Twang and Boost Mode, adjustable Reverb Balance, second Master
Equalizer 3-band EQ per channel
Speaker Outputs 1x 4 Ohms, 1x 8 Ohms/2x 16 Ohms , 1x16 Ohms
Suggested Speaker Cabinet STM 412, STM 212
Protective Cover included
Dimensions 678 x 254 x 253 mm
Weight 15,3 kg/33,7 lbs
UTILIZATION
This amp, though it's laid out very intuitively and effectively, isn't quite as simple to dial in as I had hoped on first impression. The clean channel is set up with a single volume control and an EQ that has bass, middle and treble controls. This is a pet peeve of mine, as I'm not a fan of clean channels that don't feature separate gain and volume controls to keep the amount of breakup at bay. It isn't quite as bad an offender as the Orange RV50 but it's still enough to irk me a little bit. The drive channel has the same layout as the clean channel but it adds a gain control in addition to the volume (Yessss!) To cap it off, there are presence and reverb controls to the far left of the panel.
It's a great sounding amp for sure, but dialing it in wasn't as simple as I'd hoped. Much like Mesa amps, it takes a bit of time to realize how the controls interact with one another. Though it doesn't have the learning curve of a Mark Five or Dual Rec 3ch, it still took a bit of time to dial in smoothly.
SOUNDS
I've tried the whole line of amps with various guitars from Gibson, Fender, Charvel, Ibanez, etc. I love the clean channel with a Tele for that classic country twang... The clean channel works well for country type stuff especially, but I also like it for jazzier/bluesier textures when using a Les Paul or Gibson ES335.
The drive channel is an interesting one. I approached the amp after using the company's Switchblade amps, which are very high gain... but I was soon to figure out that this amp is probably closer to a Dumble or other mid gain boutique amp as far as the amount of gain on tap, even with the onboard boost engaged. It's definitely NOT a metal amp... you would need a pedal of some repute to get it to those gain levels, but for those who want an amp that features a smoother, mid heavy tone that reminds me a lot of an older Boogie Mark I or boosted Fender amp, it's a great choice. With the gain and reverb dimed and with use of a strat or other similar vibrato equipped guitar I could get some really cool ambient Jeff Beckish tones that had a really pure earthy quality to them. So yeah, it's a great drive channel, but not what I expected (I figured it would have more gain and a bit more of a modern Bogner esque voicing).
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel that this amp is perfect for a player who maybe plays a lot of styles and needs a good versatile amp on a reasonable budget. It does a lot of different sounds considering the fairly basic feature-set, and I'm sure given some pedals that it would become a monster amplifier, even better than it already is.
The tubes in this amp are the fairly standard compliment of two 12AX7s in the preamp section and two EL34s in the poweramp section which should give a fairly good idea of the tones that this amp will ape. It also features a spring reverb and series/parallel effects loop. The full list of features is below:
Hughes & Kettner Statesman DUAL EL34 Oxblood Features:
Channels Clean + Twang, Overdrive + Boost
Oxblood Brown Tolex
Power 50 Watts
Poweramp 2x EL34
Preamp 2x 12AX7
Effects Accutronics Spring Reverb
Effects Loop Serial/Parralel selectable
Footswitch/Stageboard 1x FS-3N included, FS-2 as an option
Switching Functions Channels, Boost, Second Master; with 2nd FS-2: Reverb, FX-Loop
Special Features Second Master, Twang and Boost Mode, adjustable Reverb Balance, second Master
Equalizer 3-band EQ per channel
Speaker Outputs 1x 4 Ohms, 1x 8 Ohms/2x 16 Ohms , 1x16 Ohms
Suggested Speaker Cabinet STM 412, STM 212
Protective Cover included
Dimensions 678 x 254 x 253 mm
Weight 15,3 kg/33,7 lbs
UTILIZATION
This amp, though it's laid out very intuitively and effectively, isn't quite as simple to dial in as I had hoped on first impression. The clean channel is set up with a single volume control and an EQ that has bass, middle and treble controls. This is a pet peeve of mine, as I'm not a fan of clean channels that don't feature separate gain and volume controls to keep the amount of breakup at bay. It isn't quite as bad an offender as the Orange RV50 but it's still enough to irk me a little bit. The drive channel has the same layout as the clean channel but it adds a gain control in addition to the volume (Yessss!) To cap it off, there are presence and reverb controls to the far left of the panel.
It's a great sounding amp for sure, but dialing it in wasn't as simple as I'd hoped. Much like Mesa amps, it takes a bit of time to realize how the controls interact with one another. Though it doesn't have the learning curve of a Mark Five or Dual Rec 3ch, it still took a bit of time to dial in smoothly.
SOUNDS
I've tried the whole line of amps with various guitars from Gibson, Fender, Charvel, Ibanez, etc. I love the clean channel with a Tele for that classic country twang... The clean channel works well for country type stuff especially, but I also like it for jazzier/bluesier textures when using a Les Paul or Gibson ES335.
The drive channel is an interesting one. I approached the amp after using the company's Switchblade amps, which are very high gain... but I was soon to figure out that this amp is probably closer to a Dumble or other mid gain boutique amp as far as the amount of gain on tap, even with the onboard boost engaged. It's definitely NOT a metal amp... you would need a pedal of some repute to get it to those gain levels, but for those who want an amp that features a smoother, mid heavy tone that reminds me a lot of an older Boogie Mark I or boosted Fender amp, it's a great choice. With the gain and reverb dimed and with use of a strat or other similar vibrato equipped guitar I could get some really cool ambient Jeff Beckish tones that had a really pure earthy quality to them. So yeah, it's a great drive channel, but not what I expected (I figured it would have more gain and a bit more of a modern Bogner esque voicing).
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel that this amp is perfect for a player who maybe plays a lot of styles and needs a good versatile amp on a reasonable budget. It does a lot of different sounds considering the fairly basic feature-set, and I'm sure given some pedals that it would become a monster amplifier, even better than it already is.