Victory Parade
Richie Kotzen signature amp is unveiled
When Richie Kotzen gives his name to signature gear it means something, and in the past it’s resulted in some special collaborations with the likes of Fender, Cornford and Tech 21. Now the Winery Dogs frontman and solo artist has teamed with the UK’s Victory Amplification on a single-channel 50watt head that’s sure to be a treat for tonehounds.
Kotzen had previously partnered with Cornford on the RK100 head, proving a hit with players, but the new Victory RK50 (Combo £1,649, Compact Series Head £999) finds Kotzen re-establishing his working relationship with former Cornford and now Victory Amplification chief designer Martin Kidd.
“The initial discussions were for a unique approach to a 1x12 combo of around 40-50 watts,” explains Kidd. “Richie is a big fan of the low-end response and feel you get from the power stage of a Marshall Super Lead-style circuit. For the front end, he wanted to rival his Cornford RK100 in terms of gain, yet have enough range to roll back to pushed clean and crunchy rhythm sounds. He likes to control things directly from his guitar, and also using his signature Tech 21 RK5 Fly Rig, so his only requirement in terms of gain or channel switching was a simple preamp boost that we achieved with valve gain staging.”
The reverb and tremolo on the RK50 further adds to the potential appeal and versatility, too. “Even we’ve been surprised at how many styles the amp seems to suit,” adds Martin, “but hearing Richie play it live is where the biggest smiles happen.” www.victoryamps.com