Victory SUPER KRAKEN Review & Demo! A Wonderful BEAST!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

So, what do you guys think???

[@TVoltG]

Been looking at these just yesterday. Very cool. Looking forward to hearing this through my monitors when I get home. Hope you enjoyed Spider Man.

[@riheg]

Sounds great to me. Even w out a tube screamer. 👍🎸🎵🎶

[@acinemastare]

How would you say this compares to a block letter 5150? I know this was what the circuit was someone based on.

[@riverstone5994]

I like it. Crunch sound surprised me. Very nice. Setting the bar for demos as usual!

[@vfam825]

Are all those amps in background yours? 🙂

[@Heka41]

Great to see a ''metal'' amplifier that actually doesn't need an OD out front.

[@TonyPaj]

Same with Peavey Invective I heard.

[@Bognerman14]

Any amps don't need an OD or boost but many guys prefer to have a boost or OD, for many reasons.

[@TonyPaj]

@@Bognerman14 i like both on my EVH 5150III 50W 6L6 Stealth, if I want a chunky low end tone, i’ll disengage my OD pedal but if I want that midrange djenty tone, i’ll leave my OD pedal on

[@Bognerman14]

@@TonyPaj Yes, I love that flexibility an OD provides for any amp! :)

[@Chugg.Norris]

No metal amp "needs" a boost. WHat they need is players who arent total noob dipshits when it comes to dailing in a tone and understanding how tthe tone controls affect eachother on different amps.

[@KIL-Drake]

I'm more of an Orange guy: big lows, thick mids, aggressive highs (in some amps), and monstrous distortion (in some amps). But the VX Kraken has always appealed to me, especially Gain 2. Super nice and exactly what I'm looking for in a more "American" type of sound. This is one of the best sounding and well thought out amps out there, thanks to the addition of those boost and bass switches for those who need it. Yeah, if Orange didn't exist, I'd seriously consider buying this amp just for that Gain 2 channel. It's amazing. I really wish I could try it out using the gear I have. One of these days. Oh, and those riffs, wow... *chef's kiss* seriously, some of your best work.

[@coolchib15]

Came for the amp, stayed for the riffs. Killer playing man!

[@allmeridians8005]

As an owner of the VX100 I really appreciate your in-depth review and the range of tones you've shared. I've had the opportunity to gig the Super Kraken a couple of times and it really delivers, especially with all the immediate tone options using MIDI. Most recently I've been exploring and enjoying various levels of distortion on Gain 1. It's very organic sounding and inspiring some great riffs. Cheers!

[@Benn.singersongwriter]

I'm interested to buy this amp but was wondering if it's easy to find a setting for clean and gain channel? I have to change a lot between those channels and this one has only a shared Eq for both channels.

[@wakjob961]

Rabea should be proud of this amp. Every demo, plus on his own channel this amp always sounds great.

[@kadestorm]

Excellent beast. I really like the rounded aggression and focussed low end on this amp, a good part of credit to the tone shaping options. The bias testing and adjustment access points being external is an added bonus that’s greatly valued. If I had to have a criticism, it would be that Victory are perhaps a bit too eager to keep going for that smaller form factor, when they could easily get away with a slightly larger housing, thus allowing them to accommodate more EQ shaping options, such as a full dial for depth/resonance and presence, among other options.

[@X9Eric]

Thank you for making a great video covering this beast. Some sic unique tone happening at 12:46!

[@X9Eric]

Hey Jon could you please share which amp like best overall for for metal between the Marshall DSL100HR, Victory Super Kraken VX100, or ENGL Fireball 100? I looking to purchase one of them and really value your ownership insights!

[@tobins6800]

That low tuned guitar sounded massive. Not the usual anemic type as per usual, also piercing. It sounded amazing. What I'd like to see is what other amp pairs with it.

[@Bognerman14]

It still works even better with an OD out front. I love amps that work great with OX pedals, this way you have a huge, fat tone if needed and then you use an OD or boost for leaner or tighter sounds. It's why the old Dual Rex's are so amazing. Great demo.

[@ringchamp6543]

Thanks for using the tele, sounded great. Great riffs as always

[@callumvernon7053]

Yeah man! Glad you like it so much... I love how these amps sound super huge in the low end whilst also sounding super tight. It also takes pedals really well too!

[@RomanRotten]

I have a VX The Kraken and it’s an amazing amp indeed! Great video as always!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Awesome and thanks! :)

[@CircleofShit]

Dude Im gunna buy one, whats the difference between those midi fx pedal ports and the normal ones thats on the VX? Will I be ok be using pedals on the mini VX Kraken?

[@RomanRotten]

@@CircleofShit I guess FX loop is the same in both amps, so yeah you can definitely use effects. The midi control is on the big brother only and it isn’t an fx loop;) cheers

[@CircleofShit]

@@RomanRotten woah dude thanks for the super fast reply. Im a total guitar noob as Im a drummer but starting a band playing guitar lol. So with the mini kraken I can plug in a distortion pedal and fx pedals? Cheers for your help dude.

[@RomanRotten]

@@CircleofShit notice that vx has not a dedicated clean channel compared to a big bro! So could be a problem to use a main distortion tone from a pedal. But why you are going to buy kraken if you want to use a dist pedal?;)

[@MRxr400]

love the crunch tone. clarity, low drive, but really powerful tone. also, your riffs are pretty cool.

[@svenzia]

effin quality amp and effing quality showcase. always thumb up this channel. goood woooork as always!

[@thibautwillems7939]

Komt het meeste tot zijn recht met de 7 & 8 string. Een top demo zoals gewoonlijk!

[@borhksalduero9259]

This amp is aggressively awesome!! Good demo mate!! Love it!!

[@brrblack497]

You made me spring for the ENGL Fireball 20! lol. I'll just pick up a 2nd hand Kranken pre-amp and do the 4-cable thing. This amp is sweet, some good shreddy, bluesy tones as well as the chugs. Great review as always, well done sir.

[@szabolcsrapp4279]

Hey Jon, a great video again, thanks a lot for this. I realized one thing while watching this latest demo, you write AWESOME riffs, songs if you will, but this part of the videos goes often unnoticed. Here is my idea: how about a "tutorial" or an in depth episode, which focuses on the HOWs? I mean you take a piece of gear (any amp) and then explain your though process: what type of riffs you will write, how do you do write them, how you get to the settings you show us in the final video, what works with that specific gear and what does not etc. like a behind the scenes episode. Thanks and cheers!

[@PedalScience]

my god so many nice tones, excellent riffs and playing as always

[@MickH60]

A Phoenix and a Kraken, what a pair of beasts..!!!

[@smeemusic]

I already can't afford all the cool stuff I want and you gotta go and show us this badass thing!? No for real this amp sounds freaking sweet.

[@smeemusic]

Hell i love the clean channel example you have here. I like my cleans to have a bit of grit in it. Adds so much depth and character to the tone.

[@Marcelo_B_159]

Another great video Jon!

[@posic3073]

Dude I love it when you bring out the steph carpenter guitars. My next purchase is that purple one with double humbuckers. Sikkk amp too, sounds really good

[@xthexadvantagex]

This is actually so impressive. Just all around

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Cheers!

[@EmptyKingdoms]

I'm impressed you dared re-compose one of your earlier songs (the second on this video), reusing the palm mute to chord intro, then going into a new riff.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I never think about that tbh so I'm sure I re-use riffs, chord structure and rhythms all the time.

[@EmptyKingdoms]

@@SonicDriveStudio Oh, yes! I meant: for some time, you used the same songs. Earlier videos, I think a year or two ago. And the second song on this one started with the same riff as an earlier song from that era (yes, I follow you with that much passion, cherishing your progress, your loss of weight, and so on). Glad you replied. Keep up the great work.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

@@EmptyKingdoms thanks man! Yeah I still reuse songs from time to time. It would be a shame to use them only once.

[@Dreadzombie]

glad you like it! im going to dig around in mine as the noise floor is still a bit high for my liking oddly enough

[@john2turbo]

love your riffs

[@jewelcheese]

Sweet. I’ve wanted one for quite a long time

[@logankinsey9413]

Awesome tones! My only gripe with this amp is the lack of a presence knob, but like you said a little EQ goes a long way. Have you messed around with any boost pedals in front of it yet? I find it can become too compressed sounding if you push the front end hard.

[@danielpatrickswain]

I have been researching for my first valve amp and this amp definitely got my attention but I think I'll go with Orange. What puts me off with this amp is the cleans distort a little it sounds like.

[@mjlagerwerf]

That.............. sounded awesome!!!!!

[@Sinisterbvnny]

Damn, man. You get a nice tight mix with that 8 string! Any suggestions for mixing that 8 string range? Awesome video, as always! 🤘

[@oscarcastellon7398]

Jon great work. i would love to see you give the York Audio Orange pack a try for some demo. Their unidyne captures are awesome. Also a Bogner Uberschall with it but thats a hard one 😅

[@rd_rae]

The 7-string with emgs killed it

[@gingerleyham]

Would love to see what the MIDI switching is like! How easy it is to set up and if there's any delay when you change settings. I'm in the process of figuring out the best way to do it live and the ENGL Z12 seems like the best option for what I need, but willing to consider other options!

[@schwarz.leandro]

That's an amazing amp. Here in Brazil the're not sold but some day!!!!

[@petersymons3427]

what a beast of an amp

[@luiza177music]

Would love to see you review/play the Jack/Countess mkII from Victory. Or really any other Victory amp too...

[@JackStolz]

This is my favorite 5150 style tone. Killer demo as usual.

[@DougErapps]

Fuck that sounds good....! Great demo!

[@alegutierrezmusic]

For me the clean sound is better than other metal amps like ENGL or Mesa Boogie and the 8 string guitar sound awesome 🤘

[@Bognerman14]

I often hear this amp has a treble haze over the tone. Do you hear that? Is it forgiving? Dry?

[@progpogs]

Need you to get the vx mini head now of this.

[@lexvogelaar834]

Awesome! This little amp sounds.... not little at all! Great tones and great playing, thanks Jon 👌. Also, concerning the presence, how would you compare this amp to the Randall Diavlo?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I think this is much much better than the Randall tbh. Much meatier!

[@lexvogelaar834]

@@SonicDriveStudio Thanks for replying Jon. This amp goes on my shortlist 😁.

[@jetvanderkrogt679]

Wow, great amp!

[@jmanpop]

Awesome tones as per usual! Any chance you could review the newest PRS Archon amp? Really curious what it'd sound like with the One Song, One Amp treatment.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Would love to!

[@NikkiSebastian]

I thought my next amp is fireball 100W but after this video my face is melting for that Victory sound. Downside of this is the clean channel for me, it aint that clean and bright so i dont know actually what to do now. How about video Kraken vs fireball?

[@gregtees9995]

You need to review the pedal that comes with it too, ie can the fx loop be switched on and off from the pedal, and can you switch from one channel to another while having the fx loop free.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I have done a video on the pedalboard amp version of the Kraken

[@mindful__gardener]

Nice telecaster love it

[@Rob0tacon]

How does this compare to an Orange Rockerverb, in your opinion?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Very different. I might compare them one day

[@Burkhimself]

Was this based on the 5150 ? I hadn’t heard that. It does sound fairly Marshall-y, which I like….sounds freakin killer…..not as scooped as I expected…..mids are good.

[@johnnyappleseed2277]

Hey how are you doing today? How do you play guitar like that??? I want to play guitar just like you. You sound soo awesome.

[@alexvdlinde7208]

Hi Jon, awesome video as always! Question: is this amp capable of loud stage volume cleans without any breakup, if you keep the gain I low and use one of the masters only for the clean channel?

[@markpenney46]

i own one of these. the main tones are great , definitely has its own sound. but i do have my negatives, these are my personal findings with the amp. clean channel, who cares lol both drive channels for me have a white noise sort of layer over the distortion that i cant listen to for more than 10mins without switching it off. biasing higher did help a bit though. awesome at home at lower levels, higher the volume the worse this gets for me. running 4x12 OS mesa v30 cab, maybe this set up just isnt for me. no presence knob is a shame and would possibly help this, the amp is quite dark and to dial this furr off the top just darkens it even more. i havnt played with tubes, all are stock. the bass cut at the back really cuts the bass and takes all the balls out of the amp. i play drop c 11 - 56 usually with a prs tremonti. i bought this amp thinking it would cover all for me and just turn up at a gig and plug and play, i still prefer an od over the pre amp focus, just more tunability , its not that its bad, it does works well, i think the crunch is based on a jvm channel 3? i think, the main channel was based off a 5150 i believe. but dont take my word for it, try one for yourself. if your a 5150 kind of guy then its possible perfect for you.

[@Soloist1983]

I need a Kraken Mk2 to exist, with a presence control 😁 love the sound but wonder if I might run out of high end to cut through in some situations 🤔

[@BetonBenni]

Maybe you could try the kraken preamp pedal, though an amp with presence control?

[@JesterDyne]

WTF? The 8 String Part sound like the Guitars on Mick Gordons Doom Soundtrack... nice! I like the "American" Character without being to midsy or to scooped. But it is also smooth... damn i want that thing. But i really want you to review some cheap 90s Transistor Shit-Brick... your Demos always sound so awesome. I think you can a Marshall MS-2 sound good...

[@TheKLeifheit13]

Dood. Yes. I wanna see a 90's Bandit or XXL on here to see how they compare to these superhuman amps Jon has been reviewing.

[@JesterDyne]

@@TheKLeifheit13 A few Weeks Days ago i recorded my 1997 Hughes & Kettner Edition 1 Transistor Combo with some IRs... I was shocked how good it sounds on the Lead Channel. 15 Years ago i thought the Lead Channel sound like shit... i had no idea to boost it and used it as a Pedal Plattform to practice. I think the same thing would happen with those Peavey Transtube Combos from that era everybody had

[@metalmeister3054]

Is gain one and Gain two on the regular kraken and super kraken identical?

[@Chonism]

you are the best songwriter.

[@NinecoreNeil]

Haha looks like my KZbin knows what my Facebook is doing mate 🤣

[@nickd3905]

If you were forced to sell all your amps but one which one would you keep? Oh and under 50 watts. Love all your videos btw.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I..... Can't.....choose....

[@nickd3905]

@@SonicDriveStudio I am starting to think you have a youtube channel just to get more amps, not getting more amps for the youtube channel. I think we need a rehab for people like us.

[@liguanafreak]

Hey man, do you know if i can use it in a "60w cabinet" with using only the low voltage?

[@kevinc8554]

so cool!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Haha you found it early! It's coming out tomorrow. Glad you like it :)

[@jasonjansen9556]

Never heard a tele sound so massive!! Wat tuning qas it in? What gauge strings...thanks

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Drop D. 10s Elixir

[@incendiesproductions]

How would you say the Super Kraken compares with something like your Orange Rockerverb?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Pretty different. Kraken is more modern metal voiced on the Gain II channel

[@milanmihalov5791]

When are you going to test AMP1 Iridium Edition?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Don't know but I'd love to

[@milanmihalov5791]

@@SonicDriveStudio Thanks for you videos ........... you can check it here : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZO2qXZrmZ10ms0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmO2f4V3h8ybp68 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpXLdIOwbbBopc0

[@andybungert]

No more money as I ordered the Revv 120 Mkiii but damn that sounds ballsy :)

[@chuochingwu]

Have you changed the pickup of Gibson LP Custom?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

No

[@Bognerman14]

What speakers or sims used?

[@neighbourhoodmusician]

This amp is great it just seriously hurts for a resonance and presence control. It has literally everything else but it's hard to balance the tone when using live.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

A simple eq pedal in the loop could fix this if it's an issue

[@neighbourhoodmusician]

@@SonicDriveStudio Aye. I just couldn't make this one work for me, even with an EQ. It's a shame as it's a beautiful and well made amp. Just not for me.

[@petersymons3427]

the tele sounds so good with it . match made in hell

[@ankigonzalez]

Almost the perfect rock metal amp

[@Gautier_14]

Two drive channel but no dedicated clean channel !

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Clean mode on the Gain I channel

[@slash196]

I can't really put my finger on why, but I've never liked the Kraken sound. The cleans are thin and the gains are like a shaken-up can of Diet Coke: all fizz and no body. Just my ears of course, and who knows how they even hear anymore.