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It does. The 45 watt version is equally interesting, but weighs about 20 kg.
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08-29-2020 02:35 AM
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I really like the classic se 6, but i can't really demo one somewhere (except ordering one and sending it back, which i don't like doing). I can demo the jupiter 45 nearby, which i will do this week. I don't like the 20 kg's, but on the other hand: it'll be for home use.
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
For home use, who cares about weight? I regularly use an Ampeg VT-22 at home,- it sounds glorious, weighs 88 pounds, and I don't care. I do not move it at all except to vacuum behind it, and it has casters.
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Well, I have had the Jupiter Jr since late July and put in at least 35-40 hours of playing into it at home. The summer has been a bit crazy so I have been away from the forum a lot, I have a couple of unread private messages, sorry about that.
In short, I am very happy so far. The delivery was delayed a couple of times (not because of Thomann).
In the beginning it felt a bit cold and odd to me since I bought it sight unseen, a risky move to say the least. But my gamble paid off!
I feel it is a good workhorse amp that can do lots of styles including jazz. The cleans sound nice to my ears. Previously I have tried the Koch Studiotone and Twintone mark twos, and the Jupiter 20 has that Koch vibe to it. To me, there's a lot of definition of the notes in good way that's familiar from my previous tests with Koch amps. I play a Telecaster and a Jaguar with low-gain pickups.
The built-in attenuator is very useful, I can get nice singing leads at a bedroom volume (I can hear my upstairs neighbor coughing).
I think you could do small gigs with this amp, there is a lot of extra volume in the can. It takes pedals well too, sometimes I push the Hot (overdrive) channel with a Boss OD-3 for solos.
A couple of quibbles/nitpicking:
- The digital reverb sounds good to me. Spring reverb nuts will probably disagree, but no complaints here. It just responds a bit oddly to my guitars. Somehow it interacts weirdly with the Jag, if I have the reverb at noon with the Tele, the same setting sounds lower/kinda detached with the Jag. Maybe due to the inherent plinkiness of the Jag with lots of moving parts where the energy dissipates? Or that could be my broscience talking. Either way, the reverb is fine but I will get a Strymon Flint at some point for an ampless rig/recording. Interesting to compare reverbs then.
- I had certain notes flub out/sound really strongly with my Jag (E flat) with the amp. I solved the problem by lifting the amp on a chair, now it's fine and I can hear it much better.
- Koch touts it as a three-channel amp, IIRC. The "third channel" is the boost setting on the Overdrive channel. In reality this is a preset gain boost that seems kind of superfluous to me since you can't adjust it and it's buzzy. Doesn't bother me and I don't use it. In general, it feels that there is a lot of gain on tap but it sounds best to me on the clean to mid-gain settings. It gets buzzy in the high gain settings IMO.
- There are very few good demos of this amp out there, Koch likes to show off the super-gainy settings but they should showcase the other range too.
At this price, this amp gets good marks from me! A great "practice amp" for home use and I could take it for gigs as well. I considered the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb, but paying circa 500 euros for an amp assembled in the Netherlands vs +1000 euros for an amp made in China makes the deal sweeter.
I recorded a couple of iPhone clips today, let's see if I can upload them even though they don't do it justice.
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The main difference between the 20 and 45 watt version seems to be the contour switch. A nice option in my opinion, but how is the 20 watt version voiced? Somewhere in between?
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Here I ramble through Satin Doll, warts and all.
Here with the Tele, I started learning Jon Herington´s chord melody arrangement of Fagen´s Maxine on Wednesday so the execution is not yet there.
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
Can’t say how the 20 and 45 compare in terms of voicing. For home use the 45 would feel like overkill size- and weightwise to me.
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45 watts is no overkill. The little jazz that i use right now is 60 watts. No problem.
i can buy the 45 for under the price of the 20. Used that is.
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For the little apartment I inhabit, I wouldn't want a bigger amp. I doubt you can go wrong with either and am guessing they are basically identical save for a few details.
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My hope is that the contour-switch is not a detail. We'll see.
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I bought the jupiter 45.
First impression is very good! Great sound right out of the box. No getting used to or setting anything up. EQ on neutral and it sounds brilliant. With a little tweaking it still sounds brilliant. The OD on this thing is delicious. With the gain on one a clock you get this overdriven sound that feels clean if you don't dig in to much. I love it.
It's good it comes with a dimmer, because it's freaking loud for 45 watts, probably because of the 12 inch speaker? I play with the dimmer on 1. And that is as loud as my little jazz on 12 'o' clock.
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After a few hours playing through the cool channel i can comment a little more on this amp. It's hybrid, but it could fool me. It feels and sounds like a tube amp. They did a very good job on this. The dimmer is excellent. On any level you get pretty much the same sound (ofcourse it comes more alive on higher levels).
The cool channel has a gain knob. It should ad a touch of gritt to the sound when maxed out. Maybe it is because i play on low volumes, but i can't really hear any. It seems a teeny tiny little more edgy.
The EQ on this amp is subtle. No dramatic changes. Like it should be. The switch that shifts the middle frequenties is very nice. Some may argue that is it also subtle, but subtle enough to make a difference. Switched up, the sound gets more beef. I like it that way, but switched down it's more fenderish (scooped). Maybe a little mellow, but very usable.
PS: i played the cool channel with the gain pretty high and at a higher volume. The gritt is there. You just need to play the amp louder than practice levels.
PS: slowly learning more about the hot channel. this channel responses more to the contourswitch. Both settings are very nice, although the midheavy setting seems to be more suited for my taste. The boost delivers lot of axtra punch to your tone. Back in the day when i played rock/funk i would have really liked this little swich. At home it is pretty useless and since i'm pretty much play jazzstandards right now . . .Last edited by Marcel_A; 09-18-2020 at 10:14 AM.
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Oke, a new insight.
Playing the Hot Channel with the gain very low (around 10 o clock) makes it pretty much a clean channel with a bit more punch than the cool channel. The countour switch should be up, because otherwise it sounds too thin.
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
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I guess so, but this is the first time i tried that. Before i was in need of a good OD, so i wouldn't sacrifice that in order to get a second clean channel.
This startrooper seems pretty much like a Jupiter.
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
Last edited by Hammertone; 10-18-2020 at 03:05 AM.
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Originally Posted by Hammertone
Whoever thought Startrooper was a good idea? It would be a name my son (ten years of age) would like, maybe.
Anyway, Jupiter sounds more distinguished.
Another thing: did you refresh those tubes? Does it really matter if you don't? Koch states that you need to buy Koch-tubes, but i don't really understand why?
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
Last edited by Hammertone; 11-20-2020 at 05:06 PM.
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Wow, this amp really delivers.
The cool channel is has a nice balanced sound which can be spiced up with the contour switch in the 'up' position (more and heavier mids). I leave the tone controls pretty much at 12 o clock. The gain and master can be uses for a little grit, but since i use it at lower levels, this is not really happening for me. The sound is really good. Comparing it to an all tube amp and a decent ss amp, i would say halfway you come across the jupiter.
The hot channel is brilliant. Gain pretty much on 12 o clock and it produces a nice overdriven sound that can be toned down to a more or less clean sound when i play soft en gentle. The contour switch spices things up instantly and the boost brings the sound more into Eddie van Halen territory. Especially when i switch to the bridge pu.
And it is very easy to achieve these different tastes. It's really a matter of the two switches. When i flip the boost switch i bring down the master because of the neighbours, but that's really all it takes.
The two switches, boost en contour on it are worth their weight in gold.
But they are very little.
Yes, but you know what i mean . . .
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
Very nice.
I am searching for a SE 6, because i have a feeling that amp is more up my alley, but until then i am really enjoying this Jupiter.
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The good news is that they appear to be making them again. The SE-12 is also worth grabbing if you can find one - same amp, literally, but with power switchable between 12 or 4 watts. Old ones are in the same box as the SE 6. New ones are in a bigger box.
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The 45w Jupiter has the contour switch which goes from "scooped" to "not-scooped", right? So does the 20w (sans contour switch) have the "scooped" EQ or is it more of the non-scooped/marshall-like EQ?
Last edited by TheGrandWazoo; 10-14-2021 at 10:16 AM.
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So i have been on the look out for new amp for a while now. I sold the Jupiter 45 a while back. It was too big and heavy.
I intended buying back another smaller amp, but that sounds a lot easier these days then it really is. Not much available in stores or on the second hand market.
Anyway, after a few months playing acoustically i can finally pick up my new amp: the Koch SE 6.
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Originally Posted by Marcel_A
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@Hammertone
Is there a big difference between the el84 or the 6V6 in the SE6?
Favorite Jazz guitarist book
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