Victory VX The Kraken

Godsticks are due to go into the studio in April to begin our fourth album, and we’ve imposed a deadline of January to submit song ideas. I tend to use plug-in amp-sims such as Peavey’s ReValver or Positive Grid’s Bias FX for demos, but given that I have a small home studio, occasionally I suppress my instinctive laziness and use the ‘traditional’ method of recording guitar.

Darran (Charles, co-guitarist in Godsticks) wouldn’t dream of mic’ing up a guitar cab since he acquired an Axe-Fx II. And while the authenticity gap between modellers and amps is diminishing, there is still a certain feel and tone that modellers are yet to deliver. More importantly, there’s not yet an amp profile for the Kraken on the Axe-Fx II, so I will have to plug into the amp!

For live work I’ve been using a Fractal FX8 for effects. The Kraken and FX8 have proven to be an inspiring combination – so much so that I chose to eschew the method of recording dry and adding effects afterwards, instead recording using both units. I’ve experimented with cabs, but the Celestion Vintage 30s-loaded 2x12 Victory cab is still the Kraken’s most sonically fitting companion. I opted for a Shure SM57 placed on the top speaker and I used delay and reverb (run through the effects loop). Despite having an enclosed booth for the amp and cab, I still used the low-output setting, which takes it down to a measly six watts. As I had a progmetal idea in mind, I used my eight-string Strandberg Boden with Seymour Duncan Sentient and Nazgul humbuckers.

I appreciate that down-tuned prog-metal isn’t to everyone’s taste, but the Kraken’s power, punch and clarity should impress guitarists from all musical backgrounds. Even though I’ve been playing an eight-string for quite a while, I still expect the low F# to sound sonically ‘murky’. But the Kraken harnesses any drop-tuned bass frequencies thrown at it and I found I could position it at the forefront of the mix, even with the bass set at 12 o’clock. I thought it strange that the bass frequency wasn’t all engulfing… and subsequently discovered that I had the Bass Focus button engaged! I wrongly thought this particular feature removed the bass frequencies, but the advantage of it in a recording situation has finally validated its inclusion!

As I do live, I used the second gain stage for the majority of the track and any concerns I had that the low-output setting would rob the Kraken of its trademark grunt and power were vanquished – the amp’s character transferred itself perfectly to the recording mic. That wasn’t the case for the cleaned-up sounds; in future, I’ll record those on the high-output setting for much needed headroom.

Lead guitar parts were also tracked from the second gain stage with just a slight tweak of the amp’s EQ and some delay added from the FX8. The dynamics were fairly even and smooth-sounding, especially considering how aggressive the Kraken can sound.

This is the best amp I’ve used for metal, and while the current trend for digital modellers could mean it’s overlooked, I think it has the potential to become a modern classic.