Gear Feature - KranK Amplification
 
I decided to have my first Gear Feature with Krank Amplification for a couple of reasons.  First, I have an interview posted this week with 17 year old guitar phenom Dario Lorina, of the Jani Lane Band.  He swears by Krank, and he sounds AWESOME live and recorded.  Also, because they were so friendly, and accessible to work with.  Chris Catero from Krank was super friendly, and more than willing to answer some questions to help us get better acquainted with the company. 

I will get you better acquainted with the gear, with some pictures and descriptions of some of this impressive stuff, and Chris will even let us know what is upcoming from Krank...		  

KranK Sounds

Revolution

 Les Paul Standard/KranK Revolution

 PRS/KranK Revolution

Charvel/KranK Revolution

Les Paul Custom/KranK Revolution (drop B)

 Les Paul Custom neck/KranK Revolution
 

Chadwick 50


 Chuck Diddle

 Da Da Da

 E and A

 Mayer

 Steeeev

 Strum

 Touch Sense
 

Krankenstein


Krankenstein clip by Andy Sneap

Pantera....Damageplan
 

Read KranK Reviews


Krank Artists


KranK Dealers
 

All sounds and sights taken from the KranK official website.




 

   

 
Darrin: When was Krank founded? Who founded the company?

Chris: Krank was officially founded in 2003 when amp designer Tony Dow teamed up with financial backers Ira and Jody Dankberg to produce the Revolution amp he had been making out of his garage for local Phoenix musicians. Eventually entrepreneur Martin Chan bought out the controlling rights to Krank and helped turn the company into what it is today. We've been told my many longtime music instrument industry associates they've never seen a company grow in popularity so fast and we're really proud of that. It's a homegrown company and virtually everyone working for Krank is a player so there's a lot of love that goes into to all facets of what we do which I think has made a big difference.

Darrin: What were some of the first products released by Krank?

Chris: The Revolution Series One, now known as the Rev Series One, was the flagship amp of the company. Basically it's the amp that Tony always wanted as player and never could find so he made it! He's a old Van Halen freak and was trying to achieve that type of sound and somehow along the way developed an amp that was original in tone and a lot of players dug. The amp is a huge seller and still the most popular head we make though the Krankenstein is a very close second. The Rev has undergone minor changes over time since the originals but it's the same basic tone. Also around the same time the company put out the original Chadwick 50W head. This was a single channel version of today's Chadwick and has been a popular hard-to-find amp as not that many were put into production. George Lynch is one player who was lucky enough to grab one of these.

Darrin: Who were some of the original endorsed artists for Krank?

Chris: Well there were quite a few more Phoenix-local musicians who were "endorsed" but the man who pretty much set the tone for the players to come was Dimebag Darrell. He's definitely true "O.G." endorsee! Once Dimebag came onboard it gave the company a legitimacy that it hadn't had before as he was true guitar hero (a term that gets thrown around way too much with guys nowadays). After that a lot of players started paying attention who Dime had influenced and was touring with, like Matt and Jon from Shadow's Fall who came on thereafter.

Darrin: Are there any new products on the horizon from Krank?

Chris: Yes lots coming up this year! We debuted at this year's winter NAMM the Rev Jr. micro stack which is an all tube 20W version of our Rev stack. It has two 1x12 cabs that feature the same poplar construction as our big cabs and will actually serve dual purpose as they will handle a 100W head in the studio or for smaller gig situations. It also looks killer and was definitely a hit at NAMM! Also we debuted a new overdrive pedal called the Krankshaft which a lot of players have been asking for to hotrod their lead tones. Then sometime later this year we'll be bringing out a practice amp, hybrid solid state/tube head and matching cab, and a bass rig.

Darrin: What are the main things your endorsed players love about Krank?

Chris: Obviously it starts with the sound. We've had a ton of players switch from whatever they were using to Krank simply because we have a very big and unique tone to offer. The parametric sweep on our heads seem to be the thing most players gravitate towards as it's a unique feature that really allows you to dial in those big fat lows with clarity. Plus the fact our cabs are oversized and optimized to capture those lower tuned guitar voicings of today have been a lot of the reason players have come to Krank. The looks of the amp too have had a lot to do with it as well. We make a very cool looking amp with lots of upgrade options that doesn't come with really high boutique prices. Most companies offer only one thing style-wise; we let you be you. I do have to address one huge misconception about us in regards to artists. We seem to get accused by our competition a lot that we have so many artists because we hand out free gear to everyone. That is absolutely not true! There are a long-term couple artists who have gotten some things from us but I can count them on one hand and have fingers to spare. We'd be broke if we did what we're accused of! Our artists pay for their gear because they love it. That itself I think speaks volumes for what we do.

Darrin: What separates Krank from the other companies? What is your mission statement?

Chris: Well I think what really separates us first and foremost is we make a great product that connects with players. If you don't have the product then you're already fighting an uphill battle in today's competitive market. Secondly we've done some really aggressive and out of the box marketing branding Krank. Third we kind of luckily in some instances and smartly in others put ourselves in the right place at the right time. When we came out and what we've done since which has been a combination hard work and x factors. It's kind of funny as we've seen companies blatantly try to imitate us in look, marketing, all sorts of things. I guess they say imitation is the highest form of flattery right? Well if you don't do your own thing though it can also be pretty costly... :)