Not a knucklehead user but I've owned a M-100 head and currently own a TBR1-SL. I believe the SLs and knuckleheads are voiced pretty much the same. Fantastic amps aren't they?

You being a Mark IV guy know well the "minute adjustment = big change in sound story"...as I'm sure you've figured out, same same with Rivera amps. All the push/pulls and gain stages and the way the eq structure is designed can drive you mad. I run my Crunch side pretty scooped and add mids and boost with a tone bone classic. I don't use over the top gain on mine, but enough to really get that modded marshall feel going. It's a different tone from the Boogie Nomad 45 altogether. You can get them to sound close to one another if you want, but why do that. The Rivera fills the space between boogie and marshall like a glove, with better cleans than both of them, and most fenders.

While I can't help you with specific eq settings due to the differences between yours and the TBR series (I've got a TMEQ and a slope funtion on the mids, sortof weird but useful), I would suggest running a little less gain than you feel is required then just crank the bejesus out of it...stand back and grin. 8O

 

The cleans are absolutely amazing... I've never been a big fan of the Mark IV's R1 channel, but the Knucklehead is another story altogether... I'd put it head-to-head with my Fender Deluxe Reverb for warm & punchy clean tones!

I'm also really getting into channel 2 on the Knucklehead... the gain structure reminds me of the Mark IV, but it's warmer, less brittle. Lows and highs seem much more balanced.

I'm struggling most with channel 3 right now... partly because of the shared EQ with channel 2. Much like the Mark IV, I just haven't found the EQ sweet spot that works well in both channels. C3 is much more trebly, almost razor-like, but turning down the high-end makes C2 a little too dark. I'm sure I'll figure it out given enough tweaking...

Other things I'm really digging about the Knucklehead now...
1) Built-in boosts for each channel--not like the "solo" power amp boost on the Mesas, but rather a preamp "gain" boost. Almost eliminates the need for my tube screamer. I kinda wish I could control the amount of boost, but then again, do I really need more knobs?

2) Killer reverb... much more "dimensional" than the Mark IV's reverb. I like being able to set reverb levels for cleans & distortion separately.

3) The built-in MIDI control (channel switching, boosts, reverb, FX loop) almost makes it worth the cost of admission alone.

Oh well... this will be a good week to test drive the amp... I have a jam session tonight, band practice Thursday, auditioning new band members on Friday, and a big band gig on Sunday. Now if I can squeeze in some recording time on Saturday, I'll have all the bases covered!

--B

 

Ohhhh, you got one of the brand spanking new ones...duh, reverb!!! The old versions didn't offer it. So you got three channels of fun, sounds nice.

Don't know what to tell you about the shared eq with the added gain on the 3rd channel...sounds almost like you need an eq pedal in the loop to help dial it back. Monkey around with presence and focus controls (I think the knuckleheads have that) those really have an effect on the timbre of the gain channels. Rivera customer service is legendary so I wouldn't hesitate on giving them a call if you get stumped on that third channel.

The other side of the coin is that you've got another great amp (Mark IV)to rely on, so that 3rd channel could be considered more or less disposable, still you'd like it to be useful. Now you need one of the new Voodoo Lab amp switchers (any combination of up to 4 amps) to run all that great stuff.

I totally agree with you on the clean tones. Even through closed back cabinets it's just amazing, wouldn't know what to do with an open back cab loaded with Jensen's!!

 

Yeah, I probably haven't spent enough time fiddling with the presence & focus controls yet... I dialed the focus down a bit last night and it seemed to make the lead channels a little more approachable, so that's probably where I should start.

Also, I posted a message to the Rivera discussion board, and they pointed me to the following thread with some suggested KHR settings...
http://www.rivera.com/board/?topic=topic1&msg=5956

It's funny... when I bought the KHR at Guitar Center last night, I also bought a Morley A/B switch (for a completely separate project... I wired up my Mark IV and Deluxe Reverb to it so I can get real Fender cleans with real Mesa crunch/lead tones). So for a while I was using the A/B to run the Mark IV along with the KHR... that was a pretty sweet combination. I love head-to-head amp tests! I'd love to A/B it with a Nomad 55 as well (and conveniently there's one in my basement!)

--B

 

What's your take on the Morley for running dual amp setups? You getting any ground loops or loss of tone? Just wondering if all the hype around the tonebone switchbone and the Voodoo Labs switcher is just hype or is there a significant difference in tone.

 

I know that Riveras absolutely love front end boost pedals like the Crispy Creme or other treble boosters. Chris Duarte endorsed Rivera for a while and he got some amazing tones using some really cool pedals.

 

Now granted I only have a day's experience with the Morley, but I haven't noticed any tonal degradation yet, and also haven't had any ground loop issues (which I was used to from some of my old electric guitar w/ piezo into 2 amp setups--I had my Ebtech hum eliminator ready to go just in case...). For $50 it's hard to beat... since it's a Morley you know it'll probably last forever. I even had a Tube Screamer and Crybaby in my signal chain along with the Morley A/B, and didn't notice much variation.

Tonight I took the Rivera to a jam session. Perhaps it was the room (or perhaps just me), but I really struggled with it all night (harsh tones, inconsistent volume levels, etc.) Then I got home and wired it into my rig in the basement (consists of a Bad Horsie, Crybaby 95Q, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, G-Major, and Ground Control). After making a few tweaks, I was getting some amazing sounds out of it. Can't wait until Thursday when I can test it at band practice, head-to-head against my bandmate's Nomad 55 (I'd think they'll complement each other quite well).

--B

 

Well, after a couple weeks of fiddling, I ended up returning the Rivera last night and using the money to pick up an Egnater TOL100 combo. While I really liked the flexibility of the Knucklehead, and the clean channel takes the award for "best I've ever played", no matter what I did channel 3 was always too harsh for my tastes. After playing the Egnater, which is smoother and warmer (though admittedly not as good clean) than the Rivera and still MIDI-controllable, I knew I'd found what I was looking for. Financially the Egnater seemed like a lot more amp for the money ($250 less for a 100w 4-channel 2x12 Egnater, compared to the 55w 3-channel 1x12 Rivera).

But, before I completely leave Rivera land... a funny story. I jammed with the Rivera standalone for a couple nights before I got the energy to haul it down to the basement and hook it up to my FX rig (basically a G-major and a couple of pedals). So I plug the G-major in to the Rivera, set the levels, engage the FX loop, and nothing comes out. Strange! So I fiddle with the knobs for a while, and still no sound. Then I dig up a different set of cables, rewire the FX loop, still nothing. So I drag my Mark IV downstairs and plug the G-major into it, and everything works fine. :? Roughtly an hour and a half later, I'm left thinking the amp has a bad FX loop.

As I thumb through the Rivera manual, I look at the picture of the back panel and notice that the FX loop send & receive jacks and level knobs are in the opposite order than they are on the back of my amp. Spooky! So out of sheer curiosity, I plug the Rivera FX return into the G-major input and the G-major output into the Rivera FX send, and magically all my FX work. Makes me wonder how many Knuckleheads left the factory with the send & return jacks and level knobs mis-labeled!?!

--B

 

Cool, glad you got something you'll find more useful...I wouldn't be a fan a shared eq for a third channel either, if I want three channels I really "want" three separate channels that don't share a thing. That's what I love about the nomad 45, three channels that are like three different amps, completely different sounds and capabilities.

I've never played a TOL before but they get rave reviews...enjoy, sounds like you indeed got more for your buck. If you get a chance to lay down a track or two, give us a taste. That is assuming you even have any guitars left after the fire sale... :lol: What are you using these days?

 

The funny thing is... the Egnater has shared EQ between channels 1&2 and between channels 3&4. I guess in some ways, I've gotten used to it with the MkIV's shared EQ between R1&R2. But anyway, with the Rivera, it was hard to tell if it was an EQ issue or just the way the gain stage was designed... regardless of how much I fiddled with the EQ I couldn't get the harshness to go away. In a lot of ways, channel 3 on the Knucklehead is very rectifier-ish... no matter what you do to a rec in terms of gain & EQ, there's a distinct tonal "harshness" that's near impossible to get rid of.

I'll throw down some TOL samples next week once I get it retubed and biased... I bought a set of EH preamp & power (EL34) tubes for it to replace the stock tubes (who knows how old they are?).

BTW, here's what I'm using now guitar-wise since the "Great Ibanez Liquidiation of 2004"....
http://www.jemsite.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=30727&highlight=

--B

 

Greetings.

I was looking aroud for informations about this amp, since I'm thinking about getting one soon.

Unfortunately, Rivera's site is being remade, so, some information is still missing (like user manuals and sound samples). Then I would like to ask you guys if someone could answer me some few questions:

1. Even coming with the Headmaster (am I right?), can you use ANY midi controller with it? I mean, am I gonna be able to control boosts, reverb and channels with, say, a FCB1010 (wich I'm using)?

2. Is the user-manual available somehow? I would like to understand better it's Midi control.

3. Is there some sound samples available? Or maybe one of you guys could be kind enough to share a few of yourselves? =)

Well that's it! Thank you guys! Please gimme some help!
The lack of information about this amp (probably because it's new...) it's a shame, since it seems to be a really good amp.

Best Regards!
Uriel