VICTORY V4 THE KRAKEN

If you want to get your amp tone the old-fashioned way but need it in a pedalboard-ready package, you should try Victory’s V4 The Kraken. Though it looks like an outsized stompbox or preamp, the V4 is in fact a fully functioning 180-watt amp with a valve preamp and Class D power stage that weighs less than two bags of sugar. As reviewer Nick Guppy wrote in his original review: “V4 The Kraken is all about gain, based on the original Kraken amps designed in collaboration with Rabea Massaad.” Built-in cabinet simulation by Two Notes is part of this impressive package that adds up to a high-gain tone tool that is way more versatile than its monstrous moniker suggests.