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Post by drumrec on Nov 12, 2021 2:36:26 GMT -6
Have two pieces and they serve me very well. Replaced to "T4B Kenetek's opto-attenuator modules" in both. Great value for money  |
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Post by phantom on Nov 12, 2021 9:25:36 GMT -6
It reacts like a LA-2A. It doesn't have the box tone of one though. In what way? The LA-2A has an uncanny ability to tame the top end of a microphone / smooth it out (sorta the whole point for me), something the WA-2A I bought at one point didn't seem capable of doing. I have worked and listened to some La2a. Some of them can tame the top end, but especially the newer ones by UA adds a nice sheen to the sound. On some voices it can get a bit sibilant. |
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Post by 000 on Nov 12, 2021 11:10:17 GMT -6
The shortcomings of this unit can really be mitigated with a swap of the optical cell and tubes. I have one that gets a lot of use over here - absolutely destroys plug-ins - and sounds damn good. Maybe not quite the same weight as an original - but that can be made up elsewhere.
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Post by craigmorris74 on Nov 12, 2021 15:30:01 GMT -6
It reacts like a LA-2A. It doesn't have the box tone of one though. In what way? The LA-2A has an uncanny ability to tame the top end of a microphone / smooth it out (sorta the whole point for me), something the WA-2A I bought at one point didn't seem capable of doing. It has a slow attack, and what I would describe as a 2 stage release where the first part is quick, but the last part is really slow getting back to no gain reduction. Something like an ART VLA doesn't have that release characteristic. The VLA when dialed in a certain way can sound like a LA-4. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2021 19:02:21 GMT -6
In what way? The LA-2A has an uncanny ability to tame the top end of a microphone / smooth it out (sorta the whole point for me), something the WA-2A I bought at one point didn't seem capable of doing. I have worked and listened to some La2a. Some of them can tame the top end, but especially the newer ones by UA adds a nice sheen to the sound. On some voices it can get a bit sibilant. Before I replaced them with some Stam SA-2A's for profit I had 2X UA re-issues and an original Teletronix, every one of them did the same thing. Even the original UA plugins (legacy) managed to do what an LA-2A does (even if they tended to dull things), none of them caused "sibilance". Not saying they sounded exactly the same but the core concept carried over. Just on a side note, how expensive are these things nowadays? Even the re-issue, sheesh. Anyway, what has that got to do with the KT-2A? Can it mimic this function or not? |
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Post by Ward on Nov 12, 2021 19:34:40 GMT -6
but is it really better than an Alesis 3630 or ART Tube MP/C?
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Post by drbill on Nov 12, 2021 20:55:02 GMT -6
but is it really better than an Alesis 3630 or ART Tube MP/C? Ummmmm.....yeaaah. Way. |
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Post by phantom on Nov 12, 2021 21:13:14 GMT -6
I have worked and listened to some La2a. Some of them can tame the top end, but especially the newer ones by UA adds a nice sheen to the sound. On some voices it can get a bit sibilant. Before I replaced them with some Stam SA-2A's for profit I had 2X UA re-issues and an original Teletronix, every one of them did the same thing. Even the original UA plugins (legacy) managed to do what an LA-2A does (even if they tended to dull things), none of them caused "sibilance". Not saying they sounded exactly the same but the core concept carried over. Just on a side note, how expensive are these things nowadays? Even the re-issue, sheesh. Anyway, what has that got to do with the KT-2A? Can it mimic this function or not? We are probably experiencing the same sound with different interpretation. And no, the KT2A does not have that color to my ears. At least not stock. |
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Post by earlevel on Nov 23, 2022 13:46:34 GMT -6
Reanimating this thread, but holy smoke, my 2A-KT order of July 2021 just shipped. Sweetwater said a truckload came in, was immediately gone. Price has risen $80 since, but of course they honored my order price.
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Post by craigmorris74 on Nov 23, 2022 17:20:48 GMT -6
Reanimating this thread, but holy smoke, my 2A-KT order of July 2021 just shipped. Sweetwater said a truckload came in, was immediately gone. Price has risen $80 since, but of course they honored my order price. I still love mine, it does the slower opto/tube amp thing really well for me. |
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Post by ericn on Nov 23, 2022 18:03:31 GMT -6
Reanimating this thread, but holy smoke, my 2A-KT order of July 2021 just shipped. Sweetwater said a truckload came in, was immediately gone. Price has risen $80 since, but of course they honored my order price. Oh the fun of dealing with Behringer! |
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Post by ericn on Nov 24, 2022 13:00:17 GMT -6
Reanimating this thread, but holy smoke, my 2A-KT order of July 2021 just shipped. Sweetwater said a truckload came in, was immediately gone. Price has risen $80 since, but of course they honored my order price. The only real complaint has been about typical B Word build parts quality, but those who understand are always “ I can buy how many of these instead of one ( insert favorite well built clone here). |
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Post by Vincent R. on Nov 24, 2022 13:23:46 GMT -6
These with the black lion audio mod are actually pretty nice.
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Post by Ward on Nov 24, 2022 13:26:11 GMT -6
Reanimating this thread, but holy smoke, my 2A-KT order of July 2021 just shipped. Sweetwater said a truckload came in, was immediately gone. Price has risen $80 since, but of course they honored my order price. The only real complaint has been about typical B Word build parts quality, but those who understand are always “ I can buy how many of these instead of one ( insert favorite well built clone here). I don't think even Bill Jones fantastic Kenetek T4 cell will make a KT2a sound or behave like an actual high end reproduction. But it works great in the Stam SA2a |
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Post by craigmorris74 on Nov 24, 2022 16:32:59 GMT -6
The only real complaint has been about typical B Word build parts quality, but those who understand are always “ I can buy how many of these instead of one ( insert favorite well built clone here). I don't think even Bill Jones fantastic Kenetek T4 cell will make a KT2a sound or behave like an actual high end reproduction. But it works great in the Stam SA2a Being devils advocate here, and curious why you think so. I understand build quality is different, but focusing on sound here (I have Kenetek T4’s in my dual LA-3A, and they’re spot on with originals.) |
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Post by jacobamerritt on Nov 24, 2022 18:12:03 GMT -6
I have a pair and use them a lot. Sound good to me, and build quality seems fine. Zero issues for me over a few years. Can’t say that about much of the ‘boutique and handmade’ stuff I have. Never used a real LA-2A, but it’s a decent little optical comp with some vibe. That’s all I wanted out of them
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Post by ericn on Nov 24, 2022 18:43:11 GMT -6
I don't think even Bill Jones fantastic Kenetek T4 cell will make a KT2a sound or behave like an actual high end reproduction. But it works great in the Stam SA2a Being devils advocate here, and curious why you think so. I understand build quality is different, but focusing on sound here (I have Kenetek T4’s in my dual LA-3A, and they’re spot on with originals.) It’s not the iron or resistors it’s the basic’s Caps leak , pots and switches wear out cheap tubes get noisy and microphonic. This where even Warm gets it a bit wrong, if you’re going to build a budget clone, I care more about the parts I know are going to wear over time rather than fashionable transformers. To give you an Idea there are still La2’s with the original pots, dare you to find an original Composer in professional use without noisy pots. |
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Post by Ward on Nov 24, 2022 19:20:15 GMT -6
Being devils advocate here, and curious why you think so. I understand build quality is different, but focusing on sound here (I have Kenetek T4’s in my dual LA-3A, and they’re spot on with originals.) It’s not the iron or resistors it’s the basic’s Caps leak , pots and switches wear out cheap tubes get noisy and microphonic. This where even Warm gets it a bit wrong, if you’re going to build a budget clone, I care more about the parts I know are going to wear over time rather than fashionable transformers. To give you an Idea there are still La2’s with the original pots, dare you to find an original Composer in professional use without noisy pots. You be a me to it, Eric! Build quality, and quality control are extremely important. Fashionable or not, upgrading easy components like the T4 cells to premium (in and of itself) won't evaluate the cheaper knockoff clone to the boutique standards. |
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Post by ericn on Nov 24, 2022 19:45:42 GMT -6
It’s not the iron or resistors it’s the basic’s Caps leak , pots and switches wear out cheap tubes get noisy and microphonic. This where even Warm gets it a bit wrong, if you’re going to build a budget clone, I care more about the parts I know are going to wear over time rather than fashionable transformers. To give you an Idea there are still La2’s with the original pots, dare you to find an original Composer in professional use without noisy pots. You be a me to it, Eric! Build quality, and quality control are extremely important. Fashionable or not, upgrading easy components like the T4 cells to premium (in and of itself) won't evaluate the cheaper knockoff clone to the boutique standards. Yeah I don’t think most end users have an understanding of “ estimated duty cycles” . Every switch or pot has this spec it’s an estimate of how many times you can use it before it will give up the ghost. I get that what some of these cheaper gear vendors use will be fine for some guys at home, but you put the KT label on something and the expectation is touring quality. For years KT was the standard for touring drive rack electronics. The thing with this modern SMD KT clone line is that your not going to be able to simply drop in a decent replacement pot, the cheap pots are designed for Behringer. |
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Post by drbill on Nov 24, 2022 20:02:32 GMT -6
It's not really a legit vintage style 2a, but it IS a more "modern" sounding 2a. I like it. Built fine for my usage. I'm sure it will break someday and I'll throw it in a dumpster. I've got a bunch of other 2a's - custom high end builds & AS that get used long before it, but it's nice to have around.
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Post by craigmorris74 on Nov 24, 2022 21:55:37 GMT -6
When mine breaks, I’ll drop a hard-wired circuit in my 2U case.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2022 22:30:40 GMT -6
You be a me to it, Eric! Build quality, and quality control are extremely important. Fashionable or not, upgrading easy components like the T4 cells to premium (in and of itself) won't evaluate the cheaper knockoff clone to the boutique standards. Yeah I don’t think most end users have an understanding of “ estimated duty cycles” . Every switch or pot has this spec it’s an estimate of how many times you can use it before it will give up the ghost. I get that what some of these cheaper gear vendors use will be fine for some guys at home, but you put the KT label on something and the expectation is touring quality. For years KT was the standard for touring drive rack electronics. The thing with this modern SMD KT clone line is that your not going to be able to simply drop in a decent replacement pot, the cheap pots are designed for Behringer. Anyone who has used an old ART VLA understands this! 10 years later, they would’ve been better with that digitally controlled FMR! Behringer ruined KT just like they ruined TC! Some of the newer TC pedals sound nothing like the older algorithms still available in plugin format if you have an older Mac or PC. You’re better off waiting for Relab to come out with the new version of his emulation than paying Behringer! |
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Post by Vincent R. on Nov 25, 2022 7:25:46 GMT -6
Here is a cool video comparing the KT2A, KT2A with the black lion mod, and the Audio-Scape Opto. I own the Opto and it’s a really wonderful sounding piece. My frequent collaborator owns the KT2A with the black lion mod so I’m familiar with the sound of that piece as well. Both of those are much better than the original imho. The Opto has a clarity with smoothness that I personally prefer.
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Post by thehightenor on Nov 25, 2022 7:45:08 GMT -6
I demoed an UA LA2A reissue for weekend and I was surprisingly underwhelmed with it, I thought it sounded quite vanilla.
I’m hoping the AS Opto has more of the vintage vibe of the 68 original design - I guess one needs the vintage iron?
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Post by Ward on Nov 25, 2022 10:22:38 GMT -6
I’m hoping the AS Opto has more of the vintage vibe of the 68 original design - I guess one needs the vintage iron? It does. It is TRUE to the original design, with every attention to detail and incredible QC. I haven't heard a single knock against it. |
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