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Kendrick K-Spot Amplifier Review

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Kendrick K-Spot Amplifier Review

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Elvis

I bought a Kendrick Black Gold 15 about 10 years ago based on a rave review in Guitar Player Magazine and extensive research on the web.

…The K-Spot is a dream come true…

Kendrick Amplifiers - K-SpotIt is (was?) the best sounding amp I’ve ever owned or played through but it’s 15 watts (Class A) and I wanted something between 25-35 watts that could be heard over a loud drummer.

When Gerald Weber of Kendrick Amplifiers brought out the K-Spot a few years ago, I knew I had to have one.

I have been playing over 40 years, former pro. I play blues, roots rock, reggae, and melodic pop.

Features:

35 watts, two 6L6GC tubes; 4 12ax7 pre-amp/reverb tubes; GZ34 rectifier.

100 year old finger-jointed pine cab with immaculate nicotine tweed covering and a dog-bone style leather handle.

Floating speaker baffle, Kendrick ‘K’ logo on grill cloth as a beam blocker. One 12″ Kendrick Brownframe 8 ohm spkr, rated 85 watts.

Super long hospital grade power cord. Weight is only 35 pounds and much of that is the speaker!

3-knob tube driven reverb, gorgeous sounding and a Kendrick hallmark.

Mine also has a built-in Kendrick two stage attenuator, and it does a brilliant job of reducing volume without thinning out tone.

No effects loop and I prefer it that way. The amp takes pedals beautifully but I usually plug straight in with a Klotz “La Grange” cable I got from Gerald. This is one of those rare amps where using pedals actually makes it sound “smaller” and it just sounds too good all by itself.

Ease of use:

It has 4 (non-jumper) inputs with varying degrees of padding so I can find what works best for my sound with either single coil or humbucker equipped guitars.

It has chicken head knobs for Vol/Bass/Treble on a top mounted stainless steel control plate.

Everything I need and nothing I don’t! I do not like having 30 switches to mess with.

I love being able to carry my guitar in one hand and the K-Spot in the other.

Sound Quality:

Rich, overtone-laden sound even at low volume and quickly gets VERY loud for a 35 watt amp. The resonant cab with a sound-diffusing beam blocker makes it sound like the room is drenched in TONE.

The K-Spot is like the finest old tweed Fender but greatly improved.

It is whisper quiet even with a single coil guitar and me standing by my computer.

I live in a duplex with a cranky neighbour who seems to ALWAYS be home but I cranked it up at the seller’s house using my Esquire and it is the kind of amp that makes me a better player, it is that inspiring.

I play quality guitars. Feed the K-Spot a really good signal and listen to the overtones. Every note is in its own little golden halo, and every note is distinguishable even when playing suspended chords.

I could write a separate review just on the fabled and foot-switchable Kendrick reverb. It never sounds “tacked on” to the notes and never sounds splattery, either. It goes from subtle to full on Peter Green “Supernatural” and I have pinpoint control in dialling in precisely the sound I need for a given song.

Reliability:

Superb build quality using the finest components, designed by one of the world’s foremost amp builders.

Kendrick amps are known to be reliable and Gerald’s attention to customer service is legendary. He thrives on customer contact and almost always picks up his own phone.

Overall Rating:

I think this may be the last amp I buy for a long, long time. I still have my 1973 Twin Reverb that Kendrick “blackfaced” for me. It sounds awesome but it’s too heavy to lug around now and I need less clean headroom.

The K-Spot is a dream come true if you want a mid-powered hand-wired amp that can literally sound like a hundred watter but goes into singing sustain well below the threshold of pain.

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Elvis

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1 Comment

  • The Kendrick K-Spot is 35 watts not 15.

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