Austin Speaker Works KTS-70 open/closed back and Vox Blue

M

MaxTwang

Experienced
When IRs and TMAs were announced for the Axe my first thought was "What mic and mic preamp do I need", since then I've acquired a few more mics and few decent preamps. I shot IR's using each of 8 mics with each of 2 preamps of an Austin Speaker Works KTS-70 in an Avatar closed back 1x12 and also a Vox Blue in an AC-15. Attached are zips with the IRs. I've also included some IRs of the KTS-70 in an Avatar open back 1x12 - these were shot with 1 mic in back and 1 or 2 in front. These will go up on Axe-Change shortly.

Mics: Earthworks TC-30, Behringer ECM8000 (ECM8k), SM57, Audix i5, Sennheiser e906 and MD421 II, Fathead I, Fathead II with Lundahl transformer

Preamps: Earthworks 1021, RME Fireface UFX

The KTS-70 closed back IRs mix well together and with other IRs, the Vox Blue mix well with each other, especially with the rear mic IR at about 40% and one or more front mics at 80 - 100%.

The KTS-70 closed back and Vox Blue IRs are named with the mic and premp. All mics were 2" cap edge except the Fatheads which were 10" in front. I've also included an IR shooting the back of the Vox with an Earthworks TC20.

KTS-70 closed back (works well with Wrecker and Buttery and mid gain): KTS-70_AvatarClosedBack_MicTests.zip

Vox Blue: VoxBlue_AC15_MicTests.zip

Here are the KTS-70 in the Avatar open back cab (try these with the ODS-100 preset, the fatter sounding IRs will bring you to the late 70's and early 80's).

KTS-70 open back: KTS-70_AvatarOpenBack.zip

These are numbered, but basically (with mix and mic position varied):
1, 2 - Front: MD421, i5, Back: TC30
3, 4 - Front: MD421, Fathead II, Back: TC30
5, 6 - Front: TC30, back: TC20
7 - 13 - Front: TC30, FatheadII, Back: TC20
14 - 16 - Front: TC30, back: TC20
17, 18 - Front: TC30, FatheadII, back TC20
19 - Front: TC30, back: TC20
20 - 24: Front: TC30, Fathead II, back TC20
 
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Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to make these.
I will try them tomorrow. Keep up the excellent work.
 
Thanks for sharing these - will try them soon.

The KTS 70 has been on my radar for some time, would love to try out a real one and I'm really looking forward to trying these IR
 
Thanks for posting those IRs. As I posted yesterday, I got a KTS-70 this week and I'm blown away by its tone.
 
Very kind of you to share! Some good sounds in here, for sure.

Got a couple of comments: your notes refer to the Behringer cheap-o measurement mic, which I have. I was kind of interested in seeing how that one held up against the Earthworks? Were you using it in the exact same position as the TC-30 on the closed back cab?

Also, the notes on individual IR's DO refer to a TC20...I assume another Earthworks, but that isn't mentioned in the main notes.

Thanks again!
 
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greiswig said:
Very kind of you to share! Some good sounds in here, for sure.

Got a couple of comments: your notes refer to the Behringer cheap-o measurement mic, which I have. I was kind of interested in seeing how that one held up against the Earthworks? Were you using it in the exact same position as the TC-30 on the closed back cab?

Also, the notes on individual IR's DO refer to a TC20...I assume another Earthworks, but that isn't mentioned in the main notes.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

It was the Earthworks TC30 ($770) vs Behringer ECM8000 ($55) question for IR's and Tone Matching that prompted me to do these comparisons - how much do we need to spend on mics to get good results. The $55 Behringer does a great job with IRs and TMAs, if you have a mixer or audio interface that has a mic pre and can supply 48v phantom power it's worth a look.

The mics were all in the same position (except the Fatheads), the speaker grill was marked and mic placement measured. The mics had different output and I tried to make sure they were "tickling the red" on the Axe the same, but there's no doubt some difference in the level of the IRs.

The TC20 is an Earthworks, I didn't have it the night I shot the IRs of the KTS-70 closed back and the Vox Blue front mic'd. The TC20 was used for the Vox Blue shot from the back (phase reversed) and in some of the KTS-70 open back IRs. Power amp for all IRs is a Matrix GT800FX.

I've attached my first IRs of the KTS-70 which were shot with the ECM8000 in various positions using the mic pre in a MOTU Ultralite interface, I also tested different speaker volumes at that time and found you don't need to crank it to get good results - I prefer shooting at lower volumes and use Motor Drive and Proximity in the Cab block to simulate higher speaker volumes.

20120421_Avatar112_ASW_KTS-70.zip
 
Oh man can't wait to test these out! Thank you for taking the time and your detailed notes! I am a very big fan of the ASW speakers, good stuff!
 
Resurrecting this thread, to spread my love for the ASW KTS-70.

Don't overlook this speaker if you're a fan of G12H30-ish speakers.
From cleans to high gain, it can handle it all.

And with 80 watts it's powerful enough to drive a 1x12.
 
In my experience with the KTS-70 it handles IRs quite well too. I was a bit shocked when I played presets with the cab block and how well they sounded thru my 1x12 ASW cab loaded with the KTS-70.
 
Haven't tried that yet. ASW does emphasize its broad freq range, but it certainly isn't flat.
 
no not flat, but it certainly doesn't sound bad. In the studio I've been micing both my ASW cab, Xitone cab, and going direct using presets with the cab block and have been pleased with the results. This week I've been messing with the Triptik models bypassing the cab block and it sounds fantastic thru the KTS-70. So many choices with the AXE.
 
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I had a KTS-70 and it killed with my Carol Ann OD2.

Looking forward to checking the IRs out.

Thanks for sharing

My old Carol-Ann OD2 (on left)

IMG_0396.jpg
 
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IRs being the trending topic, let's bump this thread for a couple of excellent KTS-70 IRs.
 
The KTS 70 can take any amp I've tried. Really enjoy a couple of the open back IRs with the USA Lead models and gain turned up!
 
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