NWB - Community Blog

05 May 2009

Hughes & Kettner Switchblade

Filed Under : Gear

Posted By : Bad Horsie (Mick) | Comments : 19

Hughes & Kettner Switchblade short review

I just bought a Hughes & Kettner Switchblade and thought I'd give folks in hear the heads up about it. I got the 100 watt 2x12 combo and run it through two 2x12 celestion driven cabs.

I cannot recommend this amp enough.

4 amps.

Clean:Mesa MKIIc+ design
Crunch: Marshall JMP Plexi.
Lead: Marshall JCM800
Ultra: Boogie/Soldano sounding

I won't waste time trying to describe the sounds with words like "glassy", "chewy" or "crushing" as it would take all night.

This thing is the best amplifier I have ever owned, including plexis and JCM800s I've had. I'm in the process of selling my Mesa Boogie MKIII Simul class combo that has been my workhorse for 11 years.

If you get chence to try one, do so. You owe it to your bank manager. lol

Comments

# Posted by Scott - Metalleeka - 06/05/2009, 11:10 (GMT)

you're a very bad man :-)
Almost sh!t myself on Monday having a play with it :-)

So how many people have you convinced to go and buy one already???
Me, Mark, Rob for starters lol

What time did you finally drag Mark out if the unit on Monday?

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 06/05/2009, 11:19 (GMT)

lol. About 30 mins after you went bro. HUGE sh*t eating grin on his face.

Sexy beast ain't it? >:o)

# Posted by Scott - Metalleeka - 06/05/2009, 11:55 (GMT)

it rocks like a m*therf**ker \m/

Had a quick gander on ebay, purely for curiosity purposes only you understand and the cheapest one I could find was a "store return" with ex-demo foot pedal for £1089.

Maybe after the hols :-)

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 06/05/2009, 12:13 (GMT)

You must understand that as far as your good lady is concerned it is NOT MY FAULT. :os

# Posted by Kingpin (Keith) - 06/05/2009, 20:27 (GMT)

I have the head version,and is the second switchblade I have owned, just be careful with the footswitch, its a midi cable and they tend to go open circuit in one of the strands, both the amps I had did this and is a common fault.When the footswitch fails there is no way to change channels. On both amps I replaced the cable using a rocktron gold plated 7 pin midi cable (from thomann) and bought a din socket and put it in the footswitch. A simple mod but allows you to stow the cable separately and it is much better quality than the stock cable. Awesome amp that for some reason I dont use much as I use the vetta 2 head which for a cover band does pretty much everything at the expense of tube tone though.Im thinking of going overboard and getting a Radial amp switcher that allows you to use a transistor head(The vetta) and the valve head (H&K) with one 4x12 (I have the H&K cc412 cab with 4 x V30's) overkill for a pub gig but it will look AWESOME LOL. Problem is the switcher is £220 - bummer.

http://www.tonebone.com/tb-headbone-vt.htm

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 06/05/2009, 21:46 (GMT)

Thanks for the heads up on the cable mate. I've been using an X3Live through the power stage of my Mesa combo for a while now. Fancied a change, and this was it. The X3 is pure backup now.
Might find someone that can do the footswitch mod for me as I suck at soldering/wiring. :o)

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 07/05/2009, 15:43 (GMT)

Man, The switchblade AND the vetta on top would look like a light show all in itself!
Have you considered two 2x12's and a splitter box for the guitar....?

*dribbles*

# Posted by Kingpin (Keith) - 07/05/2009, 19:04 (GMT)

The H&K cab is a stereo cab so I could feasibly run one amp into one side and the t'other into t'other if you get my drift but then you lose the balls of the 4x12.might try it again, its certainly cheaper! As I have done this mod twice now I wouldnt mind doing it for you if you get the stuff, or just be very very careful with the existing cable, I was but it still failed.The only thing wrong with what is a very very good amp. Try putting a volume pedal in the loop,very flexible rig!

# Posted by Kingpin (Keith) - 07/05/2009, 19:06 (GMT)

by the way, would have to put the H&K on top of the vetta, air vents for the valves you know, never cover those vents and if you didnt know already (and sorry if Im telling you how to suck eggs, make sure you turn it on in the correct order ! Doh...youve been using a mesa....doh...what am i saying...sorry mate.

# Posted by Hare Of The Dog - 07/05/2009, 19:11 (GMT)

looks like that Ben Affleck can play a fair bit.....

Rob

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 07/05/2009, 19:21 (GMT)

Thanks Kingpin, I appreciate the offer mate! I'm generally EXCRUCIATINGLY careful with my gear, so I'll keep it as is just for now. Was also thinking about getting a midi extension for it. It's not massively long, is it? Fnar.

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 07/05/2009, 19:22 (GMT)

Ben Affleck? Is this an in joke? :o)

# Posted by Samsara - 08/05/2009, 13:37 (GMT)

Yes, I was caught out by the footswitch cable, failed on my bands first gig, but I just resoldered it and put lots of shrink wrap around the connector and cable so it couldn't flex and it's been fine since and that was over two years ago.

It is a bloody great amp though, I love it. Also used by a certain Alex Lifeson on stage.

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 08/05/2009, 13:45 (GMT)

We need to start a club. 8o)

We rehearsed on wednesday night and I got a perfect Zakk Wylde sound from it.

Although I have changed my live sound 5 times in the space of 2 weeks. lol!

# Posted by James - Metalleeka - 08/05/2009, 14:32 (GMT)

re: Ben Affleck

its a reference to the german guy in the youtube vid ;-)

# Posted by AndyBassOrGuitar - 08/05/2009, 14:41 (GMT)

..He does look a bit like Mr.Affleck doesn't he!? lol

# Posted by Samsara - 08/05/2009, 16:24 (GMT)

By the way if you go on the H and K website there's a doc on there with loads of presets defined, I've tried some and they sound great.

PS I don't look anything like Ben Affleck..unless he's recently started to go bald and put on weight...and wear specs..

# Posted by Hare Of The Dog - 08/05/2009, 17:25 (GMT)

Posted by THE LAZZY BAND - 08/05/2009, 14:41 (GMT)

..He does look a bit like Mr.Affleck doesn't he!? lol

****************clink (the sound of a penny dropping) lol*************

# Posted by Bad Horsie (Mick) - 09/05/2009, 14:54 (GMT)

lol @ Ben Affleck reference!

I've tried some of the presets on the H&K site. They are indeed cool. I LOVE to fiddle though. ;o)

You need to be Logged in | Registered to add a comment

Blog Search

Follow NWB on Facebook and Twitter

Help Support NWB - Find out how.

Shopping online? - Select your stores, enter search text, and click go!

Cottam Guitars

10% Discount for NWB members, email max@cottamguitars.co.uk

Bakehouse Studio

Accrington's cosy project studio. Book online 24/7. Use code NWB20bc110301 for NWB members special 20% discount.

Pinned Posts

Who's On?

Latest Comments

Hot Posts

Community Blog Guidelines

Be nice: Even if you disagree with someone, you need to keep your tone civil and reasonable.
Keep on topic: Please keep discussions relevant to each topic and avoid multiple topic posts.
Don't Spam: Show restraint with your posting frequency. We're all doing cool stuff on NWB, but if we post about it too much, it can be distracting.
Respect the Moderators: The entire Community Staff were users once, just like you. We try very hard to answer everyone's questions, so please be cool.