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  #1  
Old 09-09-2019, 12:10 PM
Jinder Jinder is offline
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Default In praise of the Hughes & Kettner Era 2 amp...

Hi all,
As I mentioned in another thread, I've had something of a troubled voyage through the world of acoustic amps in the last few weeks (Mesa Rosette which wasn't loud enough, AER Domino 3 with a faulty pad switch on Channel 3, AER Compact XL which was too nasal and honky for vocals, Schertler Roy which was too sensitive gain wise for my mics/vocal), and my final roll of the dice (after returning all four of the former) was the Hughes and Kettner Era 2.

I figured if it didn't work out, I'd give up the amp quest and buy a new pair of QSC 10.2s. However, I'm SO glad I stuck it out and rolled the dice on the H&K...it's an absolute beast.

For an amp rated at 400w RMS/600w Peak, my initial impression of the H&K was that it isn't as loud as I expected when sitting next to it, but in reality (and in live situations) it has absolutely startling projection and dispersion. I've never had to turn the master past 1pm, and have spent the past weekend playing to rooms of 80-120 people.

It's a very smooth amp which employs a type of subtle limiting compression which is more musical (to my ears) than the more squishy manner in which AER amps compress their output. It has superb dynamic range and headroom, and takes percussive playing and looping in its stride. For example, I regularly play a cover of 'The Weight', and for the solo section I loop up rhythm guitar, a percussive part and a pitch-shifted bass part, then solo over it with overdrive, delay and compression. The H&K handles this stuff with aplomb and sounds huge-it's designed to be capable of doubling as an upright bass combo, so it has a TON of bottom end on tap when required.

Vocally it excels too-The Shape and EQ Shift switching along with the very musically voiced three band EQ offer enough shaping to accommodate for any difficult room acoustics and make both vocals and guitar sound distinct, crisp and yet warm and full at the same time. The main issue I had with my AER Compact XL was the vocal tone, the Domino was very good but the XL suffered from a thin, nasal vocal quality that had that "telephone" tone, especially when the amp was raised off the ground. The H&K is huge and lush sounding in comparison.

I'd say the H&K is as close as I've heard to a high quality powered speaker with a very high quality and versatile mixer system onboard. Very similar tonally to the Schertler Roy, warm and lush but crisp and defined with great clarity and colour.

At just over half the price of the Domino, I think the H&K represents superb VFM. It has a pole mount too (something I wasn't looking forward to DIYing into the Roy), and I may consider getting a second Era 2 to run as a pair of powered speakers for when I need to fill a very big space.

Obviously reliability wise it's too early to call, but it feels solid as a rock and seems to be road tough. I'll certainly be putting it through its paces over the coming months so will report back, but in summary, at this stage it's an absolute winner.
__________________
'67 Gibson J45 (K&K)
‘81 Eko Ranger IV (weird factory Electra pickup)
'95 Gibson Dove (MagMic)
‘97 Martin D18GE (Sunrise)
‘01 Takamine EAN46C (Palathetic and CT4B)
'02 Takamine EAN20C (Palathetic and CT4BII)
'15 Gibson SJ200 Standard (Sunrise)
‘19 Vintage Paul Brett Viator VC Classical
‘20 Sigma CF-100 copy (Sunrise)

Capos by G7th, amplification by AER.
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  #2  
Old 01-11-2020, 06:44 AM
Rockin'Robin Rockin'Robin is offline
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Still in honeymoon with the Era 2? How would you compare it precisely to the Roy?

I have the Roy atm and find it is perfect for listening to music in the living room, and guitar tones are great. Vocals are maybe a bit on the dull side but a high boost helps. I'd like a more flattering low-end for my voice too. Lastly I find that the reverbs are not great especially for vocals, I'm still liking my Mic Mechanic 2 more.

Aaaand it's big and heavy !


Hope you can chime in.
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  #3  
Old 01-15-2021, 10:18 PM
Audie Audie is offline
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Just ordered one.
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Old 01-16-2021, 08:04 AM
AeroUSA AeroUSA is online now
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I agree. Great amps!
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  #5  
Old 01-16-2021, 11:02 AM
jpino jpino is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Audie View Post
Just ordered one.
When do you think you’ll receive it? Also can you type up a review for us once you’ve gotten to play with it, please? I love my Fishman Mini but I’ve been looking at the Era 2 for getting a more unaltered tone from my custom acoustic with “natural” sounding pickups.
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  #6  
Old 01-16-2021, 11:16 AM
AeroUSA AeroUSA is online now
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The Era 2 and the Elite Acoustics were the best amps I played last year. I also like the EON compact for portability and convenience.
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  #7  
Old 01-16-2021, 05:42 PM
Audie Audie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpino View Post
When do you think you’ll receive it? Also can you type up a review for us once you’ve gotten to play with it, please? I love my Fishman Mini but I’ve been looking at the Era 2 for getting a more unaltered tone from my custom acoustic with “natural” sounding pickups.
Should be next month. Will do on the review. I love my existing sound system, I just do not want to carry as much around anymore. Hughes and Kettner products have always been top notch so no surprise it ended up topping my list.
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  #8  
Old 01-17-2021, 10:53 PM
jpino jpino is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Audie View Post
Should be next month. Will do on the review. I love my existing sound system, I just do not want to carry as much around anymore. Hughes and Kettner products have always been top notch so no surprise it ended up topping my list.
I hear ya!
What’s your existing sound system?
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  #9  
Old 01-24-2021, 12:06 PM
meb meb is offline
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Jinder - Do you get enough gain when using the Sunrise, or do you use
a preamp when using the sunrise/ERA-2 combo?

Same question for your K&K?

Thanks for the review....this sounds like a nice piece. I am considering the
ERA-1.

Thanks.
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  #10  
Old 10-05-2021, 07:20 AM
Jim Ether Jim Ether is offline
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Default Hughes & Ketner Era 2

Quote:
Originally Posted by jpino View Post
I hear ya!
What’s your existing sound system?
Hi Audie, 'have just joined this forum in the hopes of getting some answers from someone who has bought the H & K ERA 2. 'Have been using AER Domino 3 (200 watts) for the past 7 /8 years, as a monitor, getting the on stage sound I want and then feeding to 2x RCF 1400 watt FOH speakers. For the past 6 months, the clip lights on the amp have been more frequent on both mic. and vocal channels when playing large venues; noisy weddings and parties, resulting in distortion. I find it quite frustrating to hear that I should "turn it down" - no help whatsoever if one cannot get the clarity and subtlety on stage!
Just wondering if the H & K era 2 (400 watts) could, in your experience, solve this problem? I am aware that 400 watts does not equate to double the power of a 200 watt, but will it have the oomph necessary to deliver the clarity without distortion?
Jim Ether
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  #11  
Old 10-05-2021, 07:48 AM
Jim Ether Jim Ether is offline
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Default H and K Era 2 vs. AER Domino 3 ?

Hi Jinder - Interested to follow your journey/search for the perfect amp, and have been thinking about the H AND K era 2. 'Have used AER Domino 3 (200 watts) as a combo/mixer for on stage sound (solo performer) for the past 8 years and then fed it through to 2 x 1400 watt RCF speakers. For the past year I've been noticing the clip lights on both mic and vocal channels have been increasingly more active, particularly when playing larger functions (up to 300 people), thus resulting in distortion.
Based on your experience of the Era 2, would you reckon that the extra 200 watts from the H and K could solve the problem of clipping/distortion and give me the clarity and volume I feel I need on stage?
I am aware that 400 vs. 200 doesn't provide double the power, but just wondered if the extra headroom could solve this issue?
Any other advice/ tips (aside from "buy a couple of hearing aids") gratefully received,
Jim
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Old 10-05-2021, 10:09 AM
lkingston lkingston is online now
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I rarely need that much power, but I have a Schertler Roy (400 watts and a seven channel mixer). It really sounds wonderful and can easily do many jobs where you would swear you need a trucked in PA system.

The Elite Acoustics D6-58 gets a heck of a lot more use though.
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Old 10-05-2021, 12:32 PM
Jim Ether Jim Ether is offline
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Default Ikingston reply

Thanks for your post - I've resisted the calls to go down the mixing desk route, trying to minimise the amount of boxes, cables, footprint areas, variables (things that could go wrong) on stage, and keep it as simple as possible, whilst always striving for that clear sound (even if it is in a pub full of yeehahs!).
Interesting that the Roy is working for you, and I'd be most grateful if anyone else out there could share their views/opinions/experiences of using a 400 watt combo amp (esp. H and K era 2) as a rudimentary mixing desk/monitor whilst not experiencing clip light overload, and then chucking out the sounds to the PA speakers?
Jim
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Old 10-05-2021, 02:43 PM
lkingston lkingston is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Ether View Post
Thanks for your post - I've resisted the calls to go down the mixing desk route, trying to minimise the amount of boxes, cables, footprint areas, variables (things that could go wrong) on stage, and keep it as simple as possible, whilst always striving for that clear sound (even if it is in a pub full of yeehahs!).
Interesting that the Roy is working for you, and I'd be most grateful if anyone else out there could share their views/opinions/experiences of using a 400 watt combo amp (esp. H and K era 2) as a rudimentary mixing desk/monitor whilst not experiencing clip light overload, and then chucking out the sounds to the PA speakers?
Jim

The Roy sounds great, looks great (I have it in the natural wood finish), has decent dispersion because of the MTM design. I do have some issues with it however:

1) It is about 49 pounds. That is a heavy load to put up on even a short pole.
2) It doesn’t come with a speaker stand mount. I put one on it. It is pretty much a necessity IMHO.
3) The mixer is rudimentary compared to the D6-58. Mono out. Two channels have sweepable mids. Three don’t. There is no way to set the gain structure as you can on the D6-58 for maximum preamp level (only EAE seems to do this in a combo amp).
4) The reverb sounds a little segmented if you listen to it close to the amp (though the natural reverb of a room evens this out).
5) Two channels have notch filters, but they are only switchable between the exact frequencies of 150Hz and 240Hz. This sort of helps, but I would love to be able to tune them in more closely.
6) Perhaps my biggest issue with it is just the idea of 400 watts in a cabinet that is close to you. Yes, there are times when you need that kind of volume, but when you do, the chances are pretty good that you would be better served with a lower powered amp pointed at you as a monitor and a higher powered amp in front of you pointed at the audience.

Good points of the amp compared to the D6-58:

1) It can easily handle gigable amounts of bass, like if you are using a looper, background tracks, a bass player, a stomp box kicks, etc..
2) It sounds like a subwoofer system.
3) It has this cool feature where it high passes the amp speaker, but still provides full frequency output from the line output. This is important since it produces so much bass, that you can run into problems where the low frequencies are giving you phase problems with the house PA subs. It is also useful if you want to augment the low end with a subwoofer, or are sending the line out to a PA column with its own subwoofer.
4) It is all analog (if you care about that sort of thing).
5) All the control is right in front of you. There are no menus. Every function has it’s own knob or switch.
6) The high frequency driver is way tougher. It looks like a piece of military artillery! It is designed to drive at high output levels.
7) Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Roy is how the sound is consistent from the lowest level to the highest. The D6-58 is like an AER Compact 60 in that it really needs to be pushed a little in order for the bass frequencies to come out. With the Roy, when you turn it up to where you are barely hearing it, you can already feel the bass in your chest! The balance between highs and lows is perfect, and it stays that way right up to levels that are painful.
8) The Roy can definitely go louder. With the D6-58, I can easily turn it up to the point where I can hear it being overdriven, but with the Roy, that level is somewhere quite a bit louder than my ears can stand. I have never heard the Roy distort or strain. I don’t really need that kind of volume, but the headroom is there in case I ever do!

While I am tempted to sell the Roy because it is big and heavy and I rarely need that kind of level, I haven’t because:

1) I know that as soon as I do, I will get a gig where I need that kind of power.
2) I need to have a spare amp anyway. Due to past experiences, I always have spares of everything. One lost gig can cost way more than extra equipment!
3) I will lose a bunch of money as compared to what I paid for it.
4) It really is a beautiful amp. I bought it to replace a Bose L1 mk ii system, and it really does that in a way that a smaller amp simply cannot. The D6-58 will handle almost every kind of restaurant or bar gig, but the Roy will easily handle a hotel ballroom or a decent sized outdoor area. The D6-58 needs to be plugged into a hefty powered speaker to do that.
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  #15  
Old 10-06-2021, 02:44 AM
Jim Ether Jim Ether is offline
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Default In praise of the Roy 400 watt

Thanks again for your detailed review of the above.
I remember owning a Schertler 400 watt amp which I boought second hand, and I did have feedback issues with it, and, as you say, it was a beast to haul around!
The Hughes and Ketner Era 2 delivers the same power but weighs in at around 20lbs less, and I'm still wondering if there are any owners of these out there who use it as a mixing desk/monitor before feeding the sound out to the FOH speakers?
Jim
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