Fractal Audio AMP models: Comet 60 (Komet 60)

yek

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* EDIT: Up-to-date information is available in Yek's Guide to the Fractal Audio Amplifier Models *
Komet60.jpg


Comet 60: based on Komet 60

After Dumble the most expensive guitar amplifiers are Trainwrecks. Those boutique amps in their remarkable housings were created by (the late) Ken Fischer. He designed amps for Komet too, which are held in high esteem and are similar to the Trainwreck amps.

Let’s check out Komet’s cool statements:

“The Komet is a 100% new design, but is built along traditional Trainwreck methodologies. Like all "Wrecks", the Komet is a single channel amp. It has NO reverb, master volume, effects loop, foot switches, pull pots, transistors or chips ANYWHERE.”​

“The amp should produce about 50 to 60 Trainwreck watts of power. The amp must have plenty of headroom. The amp must use a 5AR4/GZ34 tube rectifier for the feel and sound this tube creates without the mushy sag usually associated with tube rectification. The amp's bass response must be big, bold, clear and tight. The amp's touch response must be adjustable from gradual, like a fifties or sixties amp, to fast, like a Trainwreck amp. The amp's workmanship is to be second to none”​

The Komet 60 is Komet’s flagship amp model: It comes stock with EL34 power tubes but you can swap these for other tubes. It delivers 50-60 watts.

“The Komet 60. Our first amplifier and our flagship model. Sleek and streamlined. In many ways - the ultimate tonal chameleon. Designed by Ken Fischer in 1999. This multifaceted amplifier has the ability to operate on several different tube types. Each tube selection allows the player to travel into a different tonal universe.​

The EL34 stock factory setup immediately dials you into the benchmark English era of rock and roll. Switch to 6L6s and you're in the 1960's American rock zone. EL34s, KT77s, 6L6s, 5881s, KT66s, KT88s, 6550s, - your tube choice ultimately decides where you wish the sound to take you. You can expect complex harmonics, bold & clean focused clarity and aggressive when pushed. Pedal friendly ? - you bet! The Komet 60 will always have an immediate, balanced full tonal range, no matter which power and pre amp tube selection you choose.​

The front control panel is simple and intuitive. Volume followed by a standard 3-band EQ, a presence control as well as a high cut control. The high cut control operates within the power section of the amplifier and thus allows the user to darken and shape the overall tone of the amplifier without affecting the equalization of the preamp section. This solves the common problem of the loss of gain and clarity when turning the treble control down in the preamp.​

On the back control panel you will find The Touch Response switch. This Trainwreck Engineered circuit enables the musician to alter the amplifier's touch response characteristics to suit their playing style. A simple flip of the switch allows the player to choose between a fast, or a gradual response to one's picking dynamics and guitar's volume control settings. The Touch Response circuit is not an extra gain stage or gain boost circuit. Instead it works by magnifying subtle changes in pick or finger attack along with subtle changes in guitar volume. This circuit allows those players who prefer clean tones to run the full range of dynamics without breaking into unwanted distortion. A blues player can play on the edge of distortion easily going from clean to blues overdrive using pick attack as the controlling factor. An over the top player can go from clean to scorch using the fast setting. The slightest change in pick attack or guitar volume setting will translate into huge changes in dynamics and power. To sum up, the Touch Response circuit lets you choose the response and feel you want and makes your amplifier capable of playing every style of music."​

So the Komet 60 is a single channel amp, without Master volume, with a single input.

The controls are Hi Cut, Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume. The Hi Cut control isn’t available in Fractal Audio’s model.

The amp has a Touch Response switch that lets you choose between Fast and Gradual sponse. The model is based on the switch in the “Fast” position. You can replicate the “Gradual” position by by decreasing Input Trim to .250.

This amp doesn’t need a lot of EQ-ing. I have everything at default, except for Input Trim (see above) and Input Drive at around 4.​

Komet builds 4x12 cabinets with a choice of the following speakers: G12H, G12M (greenbacks), AlNiCo Blue or Gold, or G12-65. Take your pick from the stock cabs.



 
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Great - I will have to give this one a try.

It is cool that you featured Simons videos - He is a great (Danish) player with lots of great gear demos on his youtube channel - now we just need to convince him to go fractal :)
 
I find it strange that the manufacturer explicitly says the Touch Response switch isn't just gain, but the suggestion to replicate it is simply to alter the gain (Input Trim). Someone here isn't being totally forthcoming! :p

Love the amp, haven't played it since long before Quantum. Time to start her up again!
 
How come I can only like Yek's 1st post one time :)

I love my real Komet 60 to death - and I love the model in my Axe.
The K60 might be my favorite amp ever, so perfect for so many styles and guitars.

IMO the Komet pairs perfectly with Greenback speakers (GB), G12H and for some things G12-65.
I use mine mostly with pre Rola G12H and Scumback M series speakers (pre Rola GB derivative).

Simons videos are really great and showcase many of the beautiful tones that the K60 produces. A+ demos for sure, and make sure to also check his other videos.

Personally I much prefer the K60 to the Concourse, but thats subjective taste.

My introduction to the Komet line was playing a Komet Concorde in a studio and lusting for it, like I've never lusted for an amp before.
An deal opened up for a K60 and I bit the bullit and have been happy ever since.
The Concorde is also a fantastic amp, a really great rock amp, but the K60 is more versatile and nuanced (IMO anyway) and will rock with the best of them.
 
Love the touch sensitivity of the amp. I have one preset with this amp - a pretty good crunch setting. The demos inspired me to try and get the various "speeds" into a couple of scenes in the preset. The playing & tone in the demos was killer too!
 
Thanks, I appreciate it :) I am a huge amp geek, but who knows, maybe I will go Fractal one day...

Simon - big thumps up for the great Komet demo videos - I've seen them so many times since you first made them.
You're videos have inspired me to get certain tones from my K60 that I might not have found otherwise.

If you'd like to try the Axe Fx just shot me a PM and we'll set something up - I'm relative close to you.
 
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This multifaceted amplifier has the ability to operate on several different tube types. Each tube selection allows the player to travel into a different tonal universe.​

The EL34 stock factory setup immediately dials you into the benchmark English era of rock and roll. Switch to 6L6s and you're in the 1960's American rock zone. EL34s, KT77s, 6L6s, 5881s, KT66s, KT88s, 6550s, - your tube choice ultimately decides where you wish the sound to take you. You can expect complex harmonics, bold & clean focused clarity and aggressive when pushed. Pedal friendly ? - you bet! The Komet 60 will always have an immediate, balanced full tonal range, no matter which power and pre amp tube selection you choose.

This is very counter to discussions that we've had on these forums where it's been said that power tubes don't have a "sound". So would the tonal differences this is speaking of actually be a result of the reaction of the other components to switching tubes without changing anything else?
 
I guess that what Cliff meant, was that tubes have no inherent tone of themselves. Its their impact on the electrical circuitry (damping) what leads to a difference in tone. In the field the change in resulting tone is (understandably) translated as the tone of a tube.
 
I guess that what Cliff meant, was that tubes have no inherent tone of themselves. Its their impact on the electrical circuitry (damping) what leads to a difference in tone. In the field the change in resulting tone is (understandably) translated as the tone of a tube.

^This

Its the effect of the different tubes in a particular circuit. Everything in the amplifier's signal path and internal construction (parasitics) contributes to how different tubes might change the tone.
 
How many amps do you have?! :)

Yek - I assume that was a question for me ?

In the begining of 2013 I had around 50 amps, mostly vintage amps, many collactable, some boutique amps and a few off the shelf "pedestrian" amps - I liked and used all of them, naturally some got a lot more use than others.
Early spring 2013 unfortunate events meant that I had to sell almost all of them, the bulk of my guitar collection, and most of my other belongings to raise alot of cash quickly.
I keept my Axe Fx and a few favorite amps and guitars, but have since added a few more amps and 2 spare Axe fx's.

So, a the top of my head I currently have 5-6 heads (the 6th one is incomming), 2 combos, 2 rack preamps, 1 rack poweramp, two 212 cabs (and a 3rd 212 incomming) and a 112 cab - plus my Axe Fx rig(s)

Wanna buy an amp - a few of mine are for sale :)
 
Yek - I assume that was a question for me ?

In the begining of 2013 I had around 50 amps, mostly vintage amps, many collactable, some boutique amps and a few off the shelf "pedestrian" amps - I liked and used all of them, naturally some got a lot more use than others.
Early spring 2013 unfortunate events meant that I had to sell almost all of them, the bulk of my guitar collection, and most of my other belongings to raise alot of cash quickly.
I keept my Axe Fx and a few favorite amps and guitars, but have since added a few more amps and 2 spare Axe fx's.

So, a the top of my head I currently have 5-6 heads (the 6th one is incomming), 2 combos, 2 rack preamps, 1 rack poweramp, two 212 cabs (and a 3rd 212 incomming) and a 112 cab - plus my Axe Fx rig(s)

Wanna buy an amp - a few of mine are for sale :)

Wow! :cool:
 
Really digging this amp, and to think I would've never even glanced at it had it not been for this thread haha. Out of curiosity does switching power tubes in the axe model give the same results as the real thing as they claim?
 
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