Drive King 15

Using the same pre-amp circuitry as it’s bigger brother the new Drive King 15 offers the same features and options as it’s stablemates but with a lower power output stage based around a pair of Russian made, long-lifetime EL84M military spec pentode valves. Aimed at the home and studio player and at guitarists who play live with a lower stage volume this amp has the huge tonal spectrum of the Drive King 100, 50 and 26 and offers all the same options - Reverb, FX Loop, Variable Headroom and Cabinet Simulated output and several foot switch configurations.

• 15 watt single channel all valve amplifier

• Valves:- 2 x EL84M, 4 x ECC83

• Switchable cascaded gain stage for touch sensitive sustain and overdrive.

• 3-position Voice Switch

• Bright Switch

• 3-control equaliser - Highs, Mids & Lows

• Studio quality Reverb

• Post FX Loop Master Volume

• Valve buffered dual level FX Loop with Trim and full Bypass

• 5-position Variable Headroom

• Cabinet Simulator output

• Head - 515mm x 231mm x 214mm, 11kg

• Combo - 550mm x 470mm x 235mm, 16kg light with neo speaker

• Choice of finish, tolex colours, oiled and waxed hardwood.

• Build options and foot switch configurations to suit every playing situation

The Drive King is a single channel valve amplifier with a foot switch-able cascaded gain stage, studio quality reverb and five position Variable Headroom. The signal path is all valve from input to output. The reverb signal is produced using a high quality DSP and codec and mixed with the dry guitar signal in the analogue domain just before the power amp.

The pre-amp has a three control variable equaliser with ‘Highs’, ‘Mids’ and ‘Lows’ for shaping the tonal response. These controls are designed to provide exceptionally usable tone over the their whole range. There is also a Bright switch for further extending the high frequency response. The cascaded gain stage adds a further pair of triodes to provide a smooth dynamic overdrive. In addition the 3-position Voice switch offers further tonal options when the ‘Drive’ section is enabled - Bright, Normal and Full.

The FX Loop is foot switch-able and offers two operating levels to suit either pedals or pro rack equipment. The trim control allows level matching between the engaged and bypassed modes and can also be used as a foot switchable clean boost with up to 6db of gain available. When bypassed, either with rear panel rotary switch or the foot switch, all the associated buffer circuitry is bypassed too.

The five position Variable Headroom allows the maximum power of the amplifier to be lowered down to less than 1 watt for power amp saturation and compression at lower volumes. This ability to blend pre-amp and power amp saturation and compression makes the Drive King 15 a hugely versatile amp. For studio use the simpler feature set is all that’s needed to produce gorgeous clean, crunch and over-driven tones.

For home use the reverb adds extra dimension to the sound and for players who use time based effects the FX Loop is a must.

And for live use and for recording the all-analogue Cabinet Simulator output is a handy way of getting really great tone without mic-ing a cab.

The Drive King 15 is available as either a 1x12 combo or a head. Matching speaker cabs are available in several sizes (click here for details of these) and there are a number foot switch units to suit:-

• Single Button - DRIVE

• Two Button - FX LOOP & DRIVE

• Two Button - REVERB & DRIVE

• Three Button - REVERB, FX LOOP & DRIVE

  Plus:-

• Pedal Power - 9v @ 600mA regulated and isolated center negative to supply power to your pedals from the amp.

• Built in Overdrive - a four-knob soft clip Overdrive pedal built in to and powered from the foot switch (requires Pedal power)

Prices start at £2790. All meticulously designed and hand built in the UK. Contact 633 Engineering for more details.