Rabea Massaad: Victory Amplification VX The Kraken MkII 50-watt Tube Head Demo

Shop the Victory Amplification VX The Kraken MkII 50-watt tube amplifier head 👉 sweetwater.sjv...
Rabea Massaad dropped by Sweetwater, courtesy of Victory Amplification, to show off the latest incarnation of the company’s mythologically machined tube amp head: the VX The Kraken MkII. While Rabea’s riffs easily warrant a showcase of the 50-watt powerhouse, his chops aren’t the only reason he’s showing it off. In fact, Rabea was integral to the development of the VX The Kraken MkII, serving as a collaborator to expand its sonic scope with features that expertly balance new possibilities without sacrificing the characteristic core of its predecessor. How’d Rabea and Victory Amps do? Tune in to hear it for yourself!
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[@sweetwater]

Which mythical beast deserves a piece of gear named after it? What would it be and how would you design it? Sound off in the comments, and be sure to stop by Sweetwater for a detailed look at Victory Amplification’s VX The Kraken MkII tube head in both Lunchbox and Compact Sleeve designs 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/The_Kraken_MkII

[@codhcod4949]

cerberus, with presets like line6 spider's IV

[@codhcod4949]

Hydra, with each tube being different

[@jconner3891]

My mother. 😂

[@brandon5pennies]

Scylla

[@curtgray6976]

Apparently, I ordered this thing not long after yall were visiting sweetwater. I must say, the amp is absolutely addictive! I happily spent much of my free time the past week or so, just tinkering with it and seeing what tones come out. Ive been playing it out of a 1x12 cab loaded with an eminence governor, and so far have been so pleased with everything! Its impressive how you can get so many tones that would suit many, if not all genres and styles!

[@mattsikes919]

Love the sound. It sounds so articulate and clear even at gain. Has a massive bite to it, and the cleans are to die for. I'm hoping to pick up one at gearfest this year. Awesome!

[@jaykafcas4342]

That’s a clever way to set your rig up💯 Great demonstration. I’m diggin’ on the amp. Well done🤘🏻

[@TheCyberMantis]

I like the features. I like where it is built. It sounds really good. I would need a Boss SD-1 / OD808, a Fortin mini ZuuL, an MXR 10-band EQ, and some effects to go with this amp.

[@cardiacade]

Just picked up one of these. Absolutely love it. The clean channel is fantastic!

[@Darth.Shredder]

I love the compact size of Victory amps and the fact that most can still pump out the wattage. I am curious about the size of the transformer in such a compact box and if these have a tendency to get hot fast. Anyone have one that can comment?

[@ronaldcoleman9370]

I am impressed!!!!

[@user-sn3cs2hd8r]

This amp is no longer a one trick pony - nice work RM and team

[@user-sn3cs2hd8r]

Dude that trail off at 8:08 is awesome......

[@wizardsouthJP]

That Sabre appears to be what EBMM will be tweaking as his signature model - looks interesting - hopefully it won't have their old school 1 5/8 nut width but the 1 11/16.

[@vladzubac5360]

Thick monstrous tones!! Looove it!!!

[@Brennosguitarsandgear]

Well spoken and demonstrated Bea 👍🏽

[@timh4369]

Amp sounds great . Nice features

[@dividedbytimestudios]

Are you”those guys at victory” gonna make a V4 pedal update?

[@vijay6404]

I got this !! 😂

[@nittyguitar]

Rabea ❤

[@darkscribblings]

Dope !

[@alexdegiovanni1598]

I noticed there are two of the MKII amps on the website. One is a little more expensive. What's the difference?

[@bengirard1984]

The full headshell(with tolex) is a bit more expensive than the “metal” only version. It’s cosmetic only.

[@mrpositronia]

I'd like to have seen Mr Nick Bowcott give this amp a go too.

[@gori_maheswari8994]

Super

[@jerrymckenzie1858]

It does in fact CHUG!

[@abbrakadabra7943]

Is that the Andertons nothing to do with me mate, sorta, Victory amps?

[@RotterStudios]

How is it for metal? Compared to 6505 + ?

[@Balthazar130]

that's legit designed for metal, did you watch the video?

[@RotterStudios]

@@Balthazar130 I did - that's why I asked.

[@Meanguitarlicks]

What reverb is being used for this demo?

[@jonnydjackson]

Knowing what Rabea usually uses, probably a Strymon big sky

[@BudderChicken101]

@@jonnydjacksonI think he says he used a quad cortex for all FX in this video

[@waynegram8907]

What does the Presence SHIFT do?

[@TheCyberMantis]

He explained it. It "shifts" the frequency range of the presence knob. Very useful feature.

[@waynegram8907]

@@TheCyberMantis yes he did but shifting the frequency range of the presence does what? I guess its better for metal chugging type playing

[@TheCyberMantis]

@@waynegram8907 It makes the presence knob range darker or more high-end sizzle. One setting might be more upper midrange, and the other setting might be more in the upper-treble range. You would have to play with it to know what you like best. The point is: it gives players more options to dial-in the sound they like. Instead of just having the presence knob in only one fixed range. ( Like most amps have. )

[@codhcod4949]

[@angusorvid8840]

Good amp, but I'd rather hear a demo in standard tuning with a lower output pickup and more of a brown sound or the cleaner distortion I know the Kraken is capable of. Amp demos like this, while good for the metal crowd, don't really help sell the amps to a larger audience. Rabea is a great player though by any standard. I just think this demo needs to either spend less time in the chuggy metal zone or be longer to accommodate more moderate and classic rock settings. The Kraken is great for metal, but it's also great for so much more.

[@BudderChicken101]

Sounds like you should check out the sheriff line of amps instead

[@HVACRTECH-83]

They make other amps for those other tones you're talking about. This amp is geared towards metal more than the others and it's just an added benefit that it actually has a usefull clean

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

And this is where Rabea cracks America :)

[@BeatsAndGuitars]

Noooooo Rabea…don’t let the weight come back!! You’re a monster man please keep grinding it out!!

[@Stereostupid]

Maybe he's found a happy balance !

[@QuarkLeptonTheOriginalRecipe]

You seem like a very self important person who probably has an opinion about everything. Why did you feel compelled to body shame this person?

[@BeatsAndGuitars]

@@QuarkLeptonTheOriginalRecipe I’m not body shaming. Just trying to be encouraging. Is there perhaps another way to do that? Never said I was important…I love Rebea. Why did my comment bother you so much?

[@jconner3891]

@@QuarkLeptonTheOriginalRecipereally think he want body shaming. Just encouraging ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Balthazar130]

@@BeatsAndGuitars Let's put it simply : telling people on the internet that they should not let the weight come back will never be encouraging. Unless you're asked, don't comment on people's appearance. Simple as that.

[@sonofploppy]

you forget the Anderton family

[@chelrob2]

Brittle, anemic, weak sounding. A touch of mids go a long way. Give that knob a bit of a turn mate.

[@chelrob2]

Fuzzy scratchy annoying tone

[@dazfarrell]

You designed nothing!

[@TheCyberMantis]

Yeah, it would be nice to bring out the design engineer, so he could talk about circuits and components. But most people don't understand that stuff anyway. They just want to know how it sounds, and what all the little knobs do. As for me... I want to know how it is built, and where it is built. These things cost money.

[@bassyey]

"Designing" anything with players usually just means the player saying "hey I want it to sound like existing amp". These guys barely know anything about circuit and electronics. It's more of like decision making and how/where to market the product they're contributing.

[@TheCyberMantis]

@@bassyey They get to voice their opinion about what features they want on the amp. And also some of the EQ curves. And maybe how much gain it has. And yeah, they usually end-up trying to compare it to some existing amp they like. B said the VX sounds like a 5150, so there ya go. That was probably the starting point.

[@Stereostupid]

He meant the style of circuit and I believe he did get to pick that its his amp

[@HVACRTECH-83]

Man,jealousy is oozing out of your soul my dude. 😢😢

[@donjoseph73]

That guitar seems outa your league

[@michaelgriffin5304]

Ha! You've never heard of Rabea Masaad? He is an absolute beast. That is literally his signature guitar.

[@BudderChicken101]

It’s his signature guitar!