NGD: H&K Access and VS-250

technomancer

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In a blast from the past I picked up the classic (and rare) Hughes and Kettner rack rig of yester-year, the Access preamp and matching VS-250 power amp.

The Access is a very rare preamp, and I was happy to be able to pick one up in good condition. The Access came with two different sound modules, A and B. The one I picked up has version 2.01 of the more desirable B sound module.

The Access has 3 channels: Clean, Tube 1 ("Crunch"), and Tube 2 ("Lead"). The Clean channel is clear and chimey and simply will not break up, period. Tube 1 can go from a nice rich clean up to JCM800 gain levels, and does fantastic in-between just breaking up tones. Tube 2 is just thick, mean, rip your face off gain. Add to that one of the coolest interfaces ever and three programmable effects loops. I love this thing. I even got a nice jazzy clean dialed in on Tube 1.

The VS-250 is a pretty unique power amp, and is even rarer than the Access it was made to pair with. It's 2 50 watt channels, driven by 4 EL84s each. Each channel has 2 presence modes and each channel can run in Pentode or Triode mode. Triode mode drops the power to 25w per channel.

Now on to the pics (I even took a gut shot of the Access for those that are in to that stuff :lol:)

Front photos, I'll get these racked up as soon as I grab some kind of effects processor
IMG_2703.jpg

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Access top
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VS-250 top
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Access Gut Shot
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You can also see TMM's thread on the H&K Access here: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/gear-equipment/145689-ngd-rare-h-k-content.html
 

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redskyharbor

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Looks sweet man, nice to see something other than an AxeFX or an Engl. Personally I didn't even know H&K made any rack gear. Should definately get some clips up. :hbang:
 

TMM

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So I take it you're liking the Access? Hope so. I'm kind of missing it when it comes to leads.

What's the VS250 like? How does it compare with the VHT you had (have?)?

Side note - anyone know how close the date was of the Access's manufacture vs when the show Knight Rider came out? Just curious.
 

technomancer

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Sorry guys, I've got no way to record right now :lol:

TMM: It's hard to compare the two as I only used the 2/50/2 with the Axe-Fx and have only used the VS-250 with the Access :lol: That said this is the first power amp I've had with EL-84s and I'm liking it. Even if I move the Access later I'll probably keep the VS-250 and pair it with a Sarno Revelation preamp for clean stuff. Also keep in mind I'm playing at home so I'm not really pushing the power section on this stuff at all.

I'm tempted to do the vintage rig and pair this up with an Alesis Quadraverb :lol:
 

ShadyDavey

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Sorry guys, I've got no way to record right now :lol:

TMM: It's hard to compare the two as I only used the 2/50/2 with the Axe-Fx and have only used the VS-250 with the Access :lol: That said this is the first power amp I've had with EL-84s and I'm liking it. Even if I move the Access later I'll probably keep the VS-250 and pair it with a Sarno Revelation preamp for clean stuff. Also keep in mind I'm playing at home so I'm not really pushing the power section on this stuff at all.

I'm tempted to do the vintage rig and pair this up with an Alesis Quadraverb :lol:

Hey, decent processors. I used to run one in the loop of my Marshall 30th Anniversary and it subsequently found it's way into my rack :)

You can still pick them up quite cheaply.....would be very in keeping with the vibe as well. Do eeeet!
 

technomancer

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Hey, decent processors. I used to run one in the loop of my Marshall 30th Anniversary and it subsequently found it's way into my rack :)

You can still pick them up quite cheaply.....would be very in keeping with the vibe as well. Do eeeet!

Yup, considering it :yesway:

If you're going to go vintage, do it all the way: pick up a TC 2290.

Not looking to spend $900+ on a delay right now :lol: I'm looking at some of the lower price stuff, maybe a Yamaha SPX900 or 990, one of the older Alesis units, something like that.

The TC M-350 is under consideration as well since all I'm looking for in this setup is some reverb for cleans and delay for leads.
 

ShadyDavey

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Also used the SPX models back in the early 90's - lots of reasons to recommend them as great units with a certain vintage cachet.

Really looking forward to a clip or two...:)
 

Andromalia

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Get a Digitech DSP 256. Th3 real vintage stuff. Plus, it's decently black and will coordinate with the rest. :D
 

technomancer

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Actually, I also saw someone selling the pair (Access + VS250) recently - it went pretty quickly.

Cool, it really is a nice pair.

On another note, I wish the guy that's now relisted the stage board for these for a THIRD time would get realistic with his pricing.... it didn't sell TWICE with a starting bid of $199.99 and BIN of $224.99 so he relists it a third time with a BIN of $349.99 :wallbash: :rofl:
 
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