Rivera knucklehead demo 1

[cbertram11]

hey man ive noticed some riveras Knuckle heads nobs are on top instead of bottom? is there much diffrences in tone?

[noakwesterberg]

@cbertram11 Hmm, I have honestly not seen any of those so I can't really tell for sure, sorry.

[dewycatt2112]

Your a good guitar player". I like how you attack the notes with pricision!

[noakwesterberg]

@dewycatt2112 Thank you!

[dewycatt2112]

Dude", I"ve been watching these and other Knucklhead demos and still have to watch your others after this one. Godamn! you just finally convinced me that I"m gonna buy me a new Knucklhead Tre.Just the tone I"m looking for! Nice job! see ya at yer next vid Bro!

[noakwesterberg]

@dewycatt2112 Nice man, glad I helped in making a decision! I'm pretty sure you will be happy with the amp, they are very solid indeed. Looking forward to the vid too! Cheers!

[noakwesterberg]

@minpinful Yep, that cab was a Marchall 1960AV. Vintage 30's.

[Josh111597]

I got a question, i can NEVER hit a bend or vibrato on the 24th fret like that. What guage strings do you use? 0:26

Josh

[noakwesterberg]

@Josh111597 Hi Josh! On 25,5" guitars, such as this one, I use 10-46. On 24,75" guitars I use 11-48. Just keep bending and you'll get there!

[poprostudaniel]

I like your vibrato. This amp sounds very differently with every guitar you play, isn't it?

[noakwesterberg]

@poprostudaniel Thank you! Yes, I would say it responds very well to the guitar and pickup used.

[dimarzioooo]

Nice Tone i think Tonezone is the best dimarzio bridge pickup yet

[jnuhjnuh]

got a late 80's version rivera s-120 up on ebay right now... item number 300483224275

[Alltubeamps]

Hey there

Nice playing and nice sound.

Witch tube do you use and how are the settings on your amp?

Regards Nilsson

[noakwesterberg]

@Alltubeamps Regarding the tubes: preamp tubes are as following: 1 Ruby Tubes 12AT7, 1 Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH and 3 Sovtek 12AX7WA. The power amp tubes are Electro Harmonixs EL34's.

Cheers!

/Noak

[d9432h]

 Jack Daniel´s!!!!!!!!!

[Alltubeamps]

Hi there

I'm sitting in Denmark watching your great playing and nice sound.

Thank's for the good demos on the Rivera.

But couldt you please tell me or show how your settings are on the amp :)

Regards Nilsson

[noakwesterberg]

@Alltubeamps Sure! Channel 1, volume @ 8, all EQ's @ 6, boost on, focus & prescence @ 6 and master volume around 3 I'd like to remember. Thanks for your comment!

[megacharlie]

cool dude

[PrsFenderJackson1980]

I......HAVE.....THE....POWER!

[noakwesterberg]

@PrsFenderJackson1980 I do indeed ;)

[glaurung26]

Nice demo, I also like your Jack Daniels candle stick holder

[noakwesterberg]

@glaurung26 Thanks!

[cityofenvy]

Thanks for the great demos of this fantastic amp! They were instrumental (no pun intended) in my purchasing of a Rivera K-55 Knucklehead a couple of months ago. For what these amps cost, (used mine was $650 US) nothing can hold a candle to them. Thanks again.

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks! I'm glad that you're happy with your amp!

[sollyharr]

@noakwesterberg Hi N. Wot have you done to make your k55 sound better(pedals) Chris. ( i have got a GOOG VOLUME BRAKE AND A BINYANG OD10 TO PUSH THE SATUR AND TOP END ON MINE ,SOUNDS COOL!!) cHRIS

[noakwesterberg]

Hi! First of all, it's a K-100, not a k55. And second, the only pedal I'm using here is a delay in the loop. So all of the tone is right from the amp. I have considered buying an attenuator as well, 'cause it's just so frickin' loud when cranked, but I just never got around to do it.

[300jet]

Hey man, can you share your settings?

[noakwesterberg]

Sure! Channel 1, volume @ 8, all EQ's @ 6, boost on, focus & prescence @ 6 and master volume around 3 I think.

[richedie]

Does this head have the gain mod?

[noakwesterberg]

Nope. Stock design preamp on this baby.

[locoed11]

That was boosted with a pedal.

[BowDownAndPray614]

no dude i have the k-tre and its got insane gain and definition

[osceolaboy1]

awesome candle holder... and amp =)

[noakwesterberg]

Indeed, thank you!

[osceolaboy1]

welcome bro =)

[Niglopte]

shit i had heard about this head and now i want one. wow. what a tight tone.

[noakwesterberg]

I'm pleased to hear that, thank you!

[nuhmizer]

Awesome. what effects are you running?

[noakwesterberg]

Just a Boss DD-20 in the loop as far as I can remember!

[derekshreds]

That was GREAT.

[noakwesterberg]

...or so it seems... Thanks a lot!

[Millo1868]

el34's?

[noakwesterberg]

Four of them ;)

[GuitarFreak39]

i agree with the ones who say you have great tone. it sounds soo clean and crisp and like it could definantly cut through the mix. great jam too

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks!

[puddleplop]

great tone man, your video's were instrumental in me choosing this particular rivera. purchased my kr100 back in january of this year, year mine was made is 93', paid $700.00 + shipping off of e-bay, absolutely the most key component of my rig. thanks for all your vids. and great chops by the way. i get to go unleash the power of my rivera tonight in merrit island,fl Spankys Pub, keep on rockin

[noakwesterberg]

I'm very glad to hear that I had a part in your choice of amp, even more glad that you enjoy it! Thanks for your kind words, welcome to the club and ROCK'N'ROLL! Cheers!

[Servietskyy]

You have got two Noise Gate Boss pedals ? O_o

[noakwesterberg]

LOL, no noisegates, she's quiet as a sleeping baby =) The white pedals you see on top of the amp is a Boss DD-20.

[TheLastMidnightSon]

great tone, don't suppose you remember your settings at all?

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks! Preamp volume 8, I think all the EQs were @ 6 and the volume up to 2 or something I think, not sure... Should be somewhere around there though!

[MrPerfect369]

Hi!

I enjoy your videos.....Ist this the 100 watt/reverb

version?

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks! This is a 1994 Knucklehead K-100, no reverb.

[MetalGuitarOne]

man that's the tone of the century! amazing crunchy sound and razor attack, that kicks ass

[MetalGuitarOne]

Jack Daniels rules :)))

[doktorlindblood]

creamy

[noakwesterberg]

indeed, thanks!

[doktorlindblood]

i have a knuckle too, but mine sounds more crispy cause of the 7 string baritone and the tonezone birdge pu

[perish21]

Is this thing capable of doing death metal on its own..or would you suggest putting a tubescreamer in front.

[noakwesterberg]

With some hot pickups it can be pretty mean, and a TS is a really good companion for this channel. However, there's not as much aount of gain in this old model as in the newer Rivera's so if that's what you're after you might wanna check those out. Cheers!

[modevotion1]

is this the knucklehead 55 or 100?

and i just wanna say that i've watched 1000's of tone demos on youtube and your's is in the top 3 i've heard.

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks a lot! This is a 1994 Knucklehead K100. It's 100 Watts. One of the loudest amps I've ever come across.

[Someguitarplayer1]

Hey

i no that the knucklehead reverbs come with a headmaster but i would like to no if these do???

P.S if so does the headmaster come with like delay, chorus etc??

[noakwesterberg]

This is an old model, this particular one was made in 1994. It came with an FS-7 footswitch which has switches for channel and individual switches for the boosts on each channel.

[GuitarManRivera]

I´m from Brazil and I have two Rivera´s one R 100 and one R 55, I loved this amplis, Rivera is the best ampli of the world, I sold my Boogie´s ( Mark IV, Dual Rectifier and Road King ).

[GilbertusesanIbanez]

Is this a good pickup setup. I'm gonna replace the stocks on my guitar. And I'm running between Either this setup or A Joe Satriani setup. Which would you prefer?

[Nucleus756]

cool sound ! is it because of tonezone or just the amp ?

[noakwesterberg]

Definitely both, but generally the amp probably has more impact on the tone than the pickups used. But each component in the chain is important to get the TONE! Cheers!

[Travelershockey5]

OMG please do a demo of the air norton!!!

[noakwesterberg]

I'm sorry, no can do, I sold that guitar... Merry christmas everyone!

[smp156]

how did you put a hard tail bridge where there used to be a floating floyd?

[noakwesterberg]

I had a friend who is a carpenter help me put a piece of nice walnut in the empty pocket where the floyd used to be and mounted the hardtail bridge on that.

[Bodycage]

yawn

[bloomjc]

why on earth did I ever sell this amp haha

[noakwesterberg]

haha, you win some, you loose some :P

[peachy901]

love the JD bottle turned candle holder :P

nice playing to

[eldecko]

Im from mexico so I can`t buy an original footswitch here

[noakwesterberg]

I have no idea. Isn't there any dealer at your location who could order one for you?

[eldecko]

I have a Rivera s 150 but I have no footswitch , how can I get one? it is possible to change the midi inputs for plug ones??? HELP!

[allanzaya]

this amp is the most under rated amp on the face of the planet. worth the cash.

[untoldguitarist]

I agree 100% it will destroy any Marshall and give some high dollar amp a run for there money. And my self I personally love Rivera amp's. Myself I own a Rivera K Tre and I love how you can go from amazing cleans to all out brutal Metal with the K Tre amp.

[PHL7445]

Nice RG! What kind of finish is it?

[noakwesterberg]

It's called Transparent Amber.

[poudle]

tone zone in the bridge and air norton in the neck?

[noakwesterberg]

Exactly.

[triviummusician]

sounds great, are these guys relatively new, cuz i havent heard of them, or ever seen them in magazines

[riverak100]

Hello again. What settings did you use on your amp? What levels do you have your effects loop? Thanks man! Love the playing!

[noakwesterberg]

Thank you! I don't remember the exact settings of the amp, sorry. I usually run the FX loop @ 6, both send and return.

[matt420740]

What did you use to fill your tremolo cavity? and did you also fill the rear cavity? I just recently did a conversion on my Ibanez from tremolo to hardtail, I've got a few vids up of the project on my channel!!

[noakwesterberg]

Cool, I'll check it out! I used a bit of walnut wood to fill the cavity. the part of the cavity where the springs used to be is not filled out, I didn't see a reason to fill that out.

[RjRocker87]

RAD! I am looking for a new amp, I will add this one to my list of options! Sounds wicked crunchy and tuby!

[noakwesterberg]

Make sure you try one out, they're great!

[sollyharr]

i finally got my k55 yesterday!how can you find what the date of manufacter is

[noakwesterberg]

On my amp the year ant month for manufacturing was written by hand along with a signature on the inside chassis of the amp.

[sollyharr]

got it 2/98,thanks dude lets start a knuckleclub...!

[noakwesterberg]

Yeah, let's do it :)

[Multifrucht]

yeah, this bottle jack daniel's is rock n roll 8-) well played!

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks!

[sollyharr]

hey guys, so is this amp gona be loud enough with the band?how many watts 55 or what

? was that as heavy sounding without pedals as it can get?

[noakwesterberg]

This is a 100 watt head. 55 watts will also be enough for any band situation. A 100 watt head is not essentially much louder than a 50 watt head, it's pretty much a matter of tone. I think the gain was cranked up at 8 or so on this clip and these pickups are quite hot, so it doesn't get much "heavier" gain-wise than this. It takes pedals great though.

[sollyharr]

thanks

[evhgl87]

love the playing. just rivera isnt my thing. excellent chops dude mad props.

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks! Taste is always individual :)

[faultandfracture]

wow, great tone. really crunchy but with definition.

[ponchachoma]

wooouuww, hey noakwesterberg, do you recomendme a crate blue voodoo head ?, or you recomendme this Knucklehead ?, is rivera amps better than mesa bogie ?.

thanks for tihis video = )

[noakwesterberg]

Hi! I have tried some of the newer Crate amps and I liked them so the Blue Voodoo head might also be good at what it does. Rivera and Mesa - different amps, sound wise. I prefer the sound of Rivera, but it's each to his own taste. When it comes to building quality I think both manufacturers are among the best manufacturers of PCB (not point-to-point) amps.

[evlzx]

The Tone Zone is by far my first choice in bridge pick ups...however I don't care what Dimarzio says, that Air Norton isn't a good match (power output wise or tone) to the Tone Zone. I mean they recommend it as a good match for it but ehh, I think it gets to quiet and sounds to lacking being paired with such a great pick up as the Tone Zone is. The Paf...that's a good choice in my opinion but I set mine up with dual Tone Zones and it is AWESOME!! Great riffage by the way, amp sounds good too.

[noakwesterberg]

I guess it's each to his own taste... The Tone Zone/Air Norton combo is quite commonly used by progressive rock musicians (as was I when i put this guitar together) but it might not suit all styles of music.

[rnrbear101]

man that rivera is just a knucklehead just turrable T-R-B-L- turrable (in the words of Charles Barkley)

hahahahaha

[johnsymes47]

i dont understand what ya mean lol dont u like riveras?

[rnrbear101]

hahaha

 no its from frank caliendos standup

haha

he immitates charles barkley (basketball player) who cant say terrible he says like "Terrabull" and whenver he makes funof someone he goes man thats guys a knucklehead hes just turrable hahahah

i love rivera ahaha

[matthieu71]

nice song i get also the tone zone pick up its a nice pick up for hard rock heavy metal etc nice

[Darrell93]

cool sound,great amp! i´ll also get a Dimarzio Tone Zone pickup! I hope i´ll get him soon....^^

[devilsbow]

Hey- I asked you questions on the les paul clip. So, this is a 100 watts? Are you employing an attenuator or power soak of any kind? How loud is it, in particular to this clip, I prefer a little heavier and juicier gain like you unleash in this clip. Is it deafening, because it does not seem like it is? Are you miking it with your cam or into a board/comp.? Most 100 watters are unplayable at home.

[noakwesterberg]

Yes, it's 100 watts, no power soak used. It's not played at deafening volume really. Neighbours would get pissed :P The miking is actually just a cheap computer microphone carefully placed in the sweet spot of one of the lower speakers in my 4x12 cab. An attenuator would be great, it's easier to achieve a chunkier tone that way...

[fleetwood66]

that is 1 BAD ASS amp

[johnaiton]

your phrasing is really like Paul Gilberts,

sounded great!

[noakwesterberg]

Haha, thanks a lot! I was really in to his music when doing this video :P

[panaeolus1]

Nice playing..and sound. U pushing it with any pedals?

[noakwesterberg]

Nope, just the amp distortion on this one!

[cyberoach]

holy shiaaaaaat dude!

this ibanez sounds HOT!

is it the ibanez or the amp? :)

I owned a Ibanez S-series and it sounded really thin...

great tone & playing!

[noakwesterberg]

The guitar is great, but also the Dimarzio pickups and the amp are very important for the tone...

[cyberoach]

which dimarzio are those?

[noakwesterberg]

Air Norton in the neck position and Tone Zone in the bridge. I think I mentioned it in the video info...

[cyberoach]

you did...

thanks.

[asatzthree]

The amp is a lot more chunky than it sounds on the video. Thru a 4x12, it can move furniture.

[rustycj7]

oh yea, I just got done testing a Rivera with a 2x12 cab for a friend that owns a pawn shop (but doesn't play guitar) And Riveras are monsters... certainly gave my Mesa a run for its money..

[FredLeadGuitar]

This Amp sounds incredible.

[Sozos9038]

sounds like those framus cobra amps, not as thick but just as creamy and juicy

[JEMxLEGACY]

Wow, I was suprised by he tone of this amp. Where you running those two boxes or is thatstraight from the amps overdrive channel? If its straight from the amp I glady purchase one instead of a randall.

[noakwesterberg]

The only pedal used here is the Boss DD-20 Giga Delay in the loop. Otherwise it's just straight in!

[demondriver123]

hi.. i have air norton and paf pro pickup.. which pickup i should use at the neck and bridge?

[noakwesterberg]

I'd say put the air norton in the neck and the paf pro in the bridge. They are both mostly used as neck pickups as far as I'm concerned, but the paf pro has a little bit more output so I think that's the way to go. And the air norton is a really sweet neck pickup :P

[ChorltonM21]

Real "macho" tone - I've just been listening to loads of "shredder" vids with with their soft, mushy mistake covering tones horrible to hear.

You cleared my ears out - thank you dude!!

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks a lot!

[ZWBRAND]

Careful you almost knocked that Jack Daniels bottle over! Nonetheless your amp is awesome sounding. I would love to get one but it will take a while to save up that kinda of cash.

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks! Trt to get an old used one, I got it a a nice price, in Sweden actually, where everything to be expensive...

[fretburner659]

sweet playing  amazing gear too

[fogaoagas]

yeah baby! killer tone. That amp rocks!

[mesamesa1]

G R E A T ....TONE.. !!!!!

[jcmagicglass]

Very nice.....'nuff said.

[Nimrod7994]

That sounded sweet.I need to get one of those amp's.The Jack Daniels candle holder was cool too.

[dobrien66]

Sounds awesome! Lots of fullness and chunk, yet plenty of high end sizzle and bite. Also, it seems like there a lot of chimey harmonics that have a cool "greasy" quality to them.

I'm thinking about getting one of these Knucklehead reverbs and it was great to be able to hear your sample. What kind of clean tones and vintage distortion (i.e. lighter to medium overdrive) tones can it get?

[noakwesterberg]

Good ones :P The clean channel has a classic british like sound, a bit like old marshall, bassman or vox. There is also a mid notch switch which alters the sound totally and makes it sound like fender twin reverb, very nice. The clean channel also features a ninja boost switch, which boosts the input gain to get a cool vintage distortion sound, or light country crunch, it's great.

[noakwesterberg]

I have posted some new clips of more vintage/clean sounds, check them out and make a comment!

[YngMalmsteen]

I liked your tone and playing.What guitar is that?

Looks like a pointy headstock,right?

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate that. The guitar is an Ibanez RG320FM, like I mentioned in the comment. Dimarzio pickups rule :D

[Nameless164]

Man I am dying to play a Rivera Knucklhead Reverb.. Slipknot's amps... I aint the biggest fan of Slipknot but my god I think the amps sound absolutely amazing :D

[noakwesterberg]

Well, the good thing about these Rivera amps is that they don't just sound in one way, they're very versatile. If you want slipknot sound you've got it, and if you want something different, you can probably get the tone that you are looking for too.

[StickshiftGrandma]

Sweet axe, I have the same one in blue, it kicks ass

[ProGuitarist1951]

whey anybody know what kind of pickup(s) will give me a eddie van halen sound??

[noakwesterberg]

One thing I always notice about Eddies sound is that he always get a very nice clean sound from his bridge pickup when turning down the volume on the guitar. My best suggestion is a Dimarzio super distortion. However, I think something with less output and the same basic sound would do better. A paf pro looks like an interesting option for that. In Eddies earlier guitars he used an old gibson 57' which he put the magnet from a super distortion in, or so I've heard...

[ProGuitarist1951]

ok thanks man, ill look into that someone recomended dimarzio super distortion so i think ill go with something like that.

[marloni]

nice guitar, looks like a vintage guitar with the cream rings and speed knobs. sounds great too with the tone zone. the tone zone would be perfect for me if it wasn't so glassy/shiny sounding. the EQ is perfect.

[ledroses23]

I was wondering what your thoughts are on the tone zone. I am considering buying one but am stuck between that and a norton for the bridge. I have a mahogany S470 so dont know what that do to the tone but I am curious to see what u think about it.

[noakwesterberg]

I love the tone zone, it's got great chunku ounchy mid range. That's my way of describing it. Wit the EQ tweaked, like I have it her, it has also got great bite. Don't know about the norton though...

[riverak100]

Are you the original owner? Are the 12ax7's stock? What year is it?

[noakwesterberg]

I bought it used at a music store in Sweden, I'm swedish, and they had it served and biased when I got it. I don't know when it's from though, tried and contact rivera with serial number, but no answer :(

I'm guessing it's from the mid 90's though, not sure.

[noakwesterberg]

Oh, and I don't know about the preamp tubes, they have metal covers on them, and I thought it wouldn't be necessary to check before it's time to swap them. Possibly EH...

[noakwesterberg]

I checked some things up inside this amp. It's made in 1994 and the preamp tubes are as following: 1 Ruby Tubes 12AT7, 1 Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH and 3 Sovtek 12AX7WA. So these tubes are actually kind of lo-gain, I'm going to produce some more hi-gain videos when I get new 12AX7's for it, it will probably kick even more ass :D

[riverak100]

I put Tung sol 12ax7's in mine and it made a pretty huge difference.

[noakwesterberg]

Thanks for the advice! Iäm thinking about putting in some JJ's at the moment though, but I'll look into it in the future!

[riverak100]

That's pretty impressive. I made a mistake and tried some Chinese tubes in mine and all the balls just disappeared. I may put the EH's in there. Sounds real good and they're cheap. I like my tone zone too. Its good to see a similar set up out there!

[riverak100]

Nice sound! What volume were you at when you recorded this? What kind of tubes do you use? I have a K100 too and love it!

[noakwesterberg]

The power tubes are EH EL34, the 12AX7's I don't know... I think the volume was not up to much, perhaps 2 or something. Don't like to scare them neighbours :)

[epiph0ne]

Great sound indeed, especially with Air Norton.

[bookoflies777]

sounds good! What kinda pedals you running?

[noakwesterberg]

Only a Boss DD20 delay in the loop, with tape delay 550ms

[bookoflies777]

very cool sound - nice mid-range. *thumbs up*