HeHasTheJazzHands
Well-Known Member
I almost bought it last night.
KSR Ceres - 3 Channel Preamp Pedal
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johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
I remember there being 53 left when I put the deposit down but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get shuffled or something.
rokket2005
Well-Known Member
Noticed after I was done shooting/editing that my background was in focus more than I was, oh well
I have timestamps in the comments on yt
I have timestamps in the comments on yt
johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
Great job! Thanks. I preferred the VHT the most but I’m a little biased as out of those 4 amps I prefer VHT anyway. You could really hear the tightness from that VHT power amp while the Mesa sounded looser and more woolly. The EL34s vs 6L6s probably play into that too. I could also hear how much more the VH4 compresses vs the VHT.
rokket2005
Well-Known Member
The Vh4 is actually a VH4S, so it's only 50w compared to the 150w and 100w of the others. Probably plays a part in what you're hearing as far as compression. It's definitely darker sounding than the other three.
protest
Well-Known Member
Kyle posted a pic on Facebook of 40 nearly finished units last night
DickyTripleD
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I got a message from him this morning about enclosures, so he's probably not far off catching up.
johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
Did he mention if they were shipping soon? I was hoping to receive mine by this weekend but maybe it's good I don't so I actually go outside and re-seed the yard.
DickyTripleD
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I'd say they're shipping tomorrow or Monday, but that's just a hunch. I'd say you'll safely be able to go out and spread your seed in peace. Lol.
40! Nice! That's a good number of Ceres to be completed. I'll check his Facebook. Or Maybe its the same on his KSR Instagram stories I saw earlier.
johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
Shipping notice received!!
DickyTripleD
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Me too! Exciting times.
johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
Received #58 not #47. The pedal looks great. The lasering etching is fantastic. I was only able to try it late last night using the cab filter out of my BigSky and headphones. That said, it sounded awesome. I agree that the clean channel could use more volume but it’s a really nice rounded clean sound. It will definitely suit my needs. The drive channels have so many different gain sounds in them just about the only thing you can’t get is fuzz.
I’m hoping to play it through my Powerstage 170 and 2x12 today. After that, I can give a more in depth review.
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johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
I spent a good amount of time yesterday with the Ceres into the Powerstage 170 into a Genz Benz G-Flex 2x12. I know it's still very early in the honeymoon phase and the Ceres is amazing.
The clean sounds nice and full so there's no ice pick tones or anything like that. It does get a little woolly and dark on the neck pickup if you have the tone down low but it's still a cool sound. I kept the volume cranked and the tone at about 1 o'clock. It seemed to sound best there for my setup and balanced best with the gain channels this way.
I really love both gain channels. These are the sounds I've been searching for. Each channel can take on many shades of OD/Distortion and not once did it sound or feel like I was not playing a tube amp (even though there are no tubes in my chain). It's just so dynamic and organic sounding. I don't know what kind of FET magic Kyle has going on inside of the Ceres but it's unreal. My favorite setting for the Rhythm channel is gain 1/2 way, bright off, bass at 1 o'clock, mid at 11 o'clock, treble at 1 o'clock, Feel up, Mode in Colossus Lead. It's a really nice full crunchy sound. Turn the gain up and it destroys! My favorite setting for the Lead channel is gain at 2 o'clock, bright on, bass at 1 o'clock, mid at 1 o'clock, treble at 11 o'clock, Feel mid, Mode in Artemis Red. It's a thick heavy distortion but with enough mid character to punch through and also have some pretty liquid leads.
An additional note on the gain channels and pedal in general. It is extremely quiet (at least in my setup). Even with the gains cranked and me standing in front of and facing the speaker cabinet there's no hiss or squeals. It's all controllable feedback when you want it.
The clean channel of the Ceres takes fuzz pedals really well and much to my surprise the gain channels stack amazingly well with fuzz even with gains cranked up.
One negative...Even though my board is powered with a Strymon Zuma on certain Timeline engines (Digital, Ice, Trem, etc...) I get a high pitched whine unless I turn the Timeline's Grit knob all of the way up or all of the way down. I know this problem tends to occur with non-isolated power supplies and Klons in front of the Timeline but it is present with the Ceres there too. I'm not sure if there is a charge pump in the Ceres or not but it's present no matter how I wire up the power cables on the Zuma. Note that the issue does goes away went the Ceres is set to True Bypass. Maybe the Zuma isn't as isolated as it should be? I don't know but it's easily fixed by changing the grit knob position and is no way a show stopper. The Ceres is far too good for this to stand in the way.
All-in-all the Ceres is an amazing pedal and it really feels like it's the preamp I've been searching for. I can't wait until the rest of you get yours and get to experience it!
Board pic cause why not??
The clean sounds nice and full so there's no ice pick tones or anything like that. It does get a little woolly and dark on the neck pickup if you have the tone down low but it's still a cool sound. I kept the volume cranked and the tone at about 1 o'clock. It seemed to sound best there for my setup and balanced best with the gain channels this way.
I really love both gain channels. These are the sounds I've been searching for. Each channel can take on many shades of OD/Distortion and not once did it sound or feel like I was not playing a tube amp (even though there are no tubes in my chain). It's just so dynamic and organic sounding. I don't know what kind of FET magic Kyle has going on inside of the Ceres but it's unreal. My favorite setting for the Rhythm channel is gain 1/2 way, bright off, bass at 1 o'clock, mid at 11 o'clock, treble at 1 o'clock, Feel up, Mode in Colossus Lead. It's a really nice full crunchy sound. Turn the gain up and it destroys! My favorite setting for the Lead channel is gain at 2 o'clock, bright on, bass at 1 o'clock, mid at 1 o'clock, treble at 11 o'clock, Feel mid, Mode in Artemis Red. It's a thick heavy distortion but with enough mid character to punch through and also have some pretty liquid leads.
An additional note on the gain channels and pedal in general. It is extremely quiet (at least in my setup). Even with the gains cranked and me standing in front of and facing the speaker cabinet there's no hiss or squeals. It's all controllable feedback when you want it.
The clean channel of the Ceres takes fuzz pedals really well and much to my surprise the gain channels stack amazingly well with fuzz even with gains cranked up.
One negative...Even though my board is powered with a Strymon Zuma on certain Timeline engines (Digital, Ice, Trem, etc...) I get a high pitched whine unless I turn the Timeline's Grit knob all of the way up or all of the way down. I know this problem tends to occur with non-isolated power supplies and Klons in front of the Timeline but it is present with the Ceres there too. I'm not sure if there is a charge pump in the Ceres or not but it's present no matter how I wire up the power cables on the Zuma. Note that the issue does goes away went the Ceres is set to True Bypass. Maybe the Zuma isn't as isolated as it should be? I don't know but it's easily fixed by changing the grit knob position and is no way a show stopper. The Ceres is far too good for this to stand in the way.
All-in-all the Ceres is an amazing pedal and it really feels like it's the preamp I've been searching for. I can't wait until the rest of you get yours and get to experience it!
Board pic cause why not??
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Epstein
Member
Speaking of the MS-3, are you able to cycle through the gain channels and the clean channel with the MS-3? I have not received my Ceres yet, but I did manage to get a fantastic deal on one of those Boss units and I am enjoying the incredible flexibility that thing has to offer. If the channel switching on it can somehow cycle between the 3 channels it would be my entire rig.
0rimus
Well-Known Member
Ya know, that's my plan too. It should be as simple as using a TRS 1/4" output jack from the MS-3 to a 1/8" channel jack the Ceres uses. I hope.
I bought a special cable as well as a pack of 1/8" to 1/4" TRS plugs... Yet to receive either lol.
I'll report back when I get one or the other
I bought a special cable as well as a pack of 1/8" to 1/4" TRS plugs... Yet to receive either lol.
I'll report back when I get one or the other
DickyTripleD
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Speaking of not receiving anything, USPS is killing me. From Ohio, to Kentucky, to Illinois, it's just getting further away from the Canadian East Coast. Lol.
johnnydeformed
Well-Known Member
USPS has some weird routes in order to hit their Hubs. Hope you get it soon!
