# Fuchs vs. Koch



## washburned (Oct 13, 2006)

Has anyone AB'd a Koch and a Fuchs? I've been intrigued by the Fuchs amps for a while and I might part with my Koch Studiotone for a Fuchs ODS, but not if they are similar in tone.


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

washburned said:


> Has anyone AB'd a Koch and a Fuchs? I've been intrigued by the Fuchs amps for a while and I might part with my Koch Studiotone for a Fuchs ODS, but not if they are similar in tone.


 
Koch is dumblesque?


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

I've owned a Koch Multitone since 02. I cannot speak highly enough for it... it's a great amp in my opinion. Fuchs are great amps aswell. Just today I was at L&M in Calgary and tried a ODS. I was impressed to say the least with this amp... however for my taste and $$$ I would take the Koch over the ODS. They are in ways similar but in many ways different. Both have great classic tube clean tones, moderate overdrive and high gain tones, great barely breaking up dirty clean tones and a lot of flexibility and great articulation. To my ears tho the Koch has a much better high gain and dirty clean tone, the cleans are on par IMHO. The Koch excells at old school dirt IMHO with a big airy voice that is very articulate with excellent sag and note bloom.
In this case... Fuchs VS Koch... I feel it will come down to the actual charateristics of the individual amp's voicing... both have a slighty yet prominant unique set of tonal qualities and it will ultimatly be "your" ear that makes the true difference. For me it's the Koch hands down.

Craig


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

IMHO there isn't much the same about a Koch and a Fuchs. The Koch is a typical (but nice) channel switcher...trying to do something that resembles a fender on the clean and Modded Marshall in the gain channels. 

The Fuchs on the other hand is not the Fender/Marshall thing. Some would say the cleans are Fendery but I'd heartily disagree after owning one. They are nice but NOT fendery. They lack the sparkle and bottom end of a true Fender clean. More mid focused...nice for Jazz but not a Fender clean. The gain tones are very atypical and where the magic in this amp resides. They are versatile, touch sensitive and singing, fat. Untill you play one it's hard to describe them because they are so different from anything most people are familar with. They are dumblesque...that's all they can be described as.

At the end of the day I ditched the Fuchs because it was rock enough for me. If I was a blues or fusion player I can see how you'd love it. But for me, it wasn't great. So I'd suggest you go play one and listen for how it matches with your style. Try to rent one from an L&M if you can and play it with your band.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

The Multitone's channel one and channel two are old school Marshall for sure ( to my ears )... I've heard some say it's like a Vox... maybe but not really to my ears.
The third channel is more like a Dual Rec according to koch but I disagree with that... more like Engl high gain to my ears... again overal there is a unique quality that makes the amp sound like a Koch.
I would agree that the Multitone is a typical channel switcher only in terms that channel one and two share tone stack with channel two adding a preamp gain voice to the cct and channel three is a seperate entity unto it's own. Format wise it is not unlike many other channel switchers out there. There is also a global volumn, speaker dampening switch and triode/pentode switch with built in reverb. All with the exception of global volumn were seen commonly before the Multitone came into being. Global Volumn has become a trend in amps in the past 6-7 years. Not that it did not occur jut that itis far more common these days. I personally love it because it allow you to dime the power amp at any operating volumn.
The lynch Box has a similar feature with it's modular preamps having a "level" dial. The inclusion of the individual preamp sections having a dedicated level dial makes the amps master volumn essetially a global volumn... same applies... dime the power amp at any operating volumn. No longer is sheer volumn a requirement of power amp gain.

Khing


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

Two very different but great amps, by the sounds of it. As a bonus, both have nameplates that look like mis-spelled swear words. Drool 

Best bet is to keep your Koch AND buy the Fuchs. Go for it, dude!


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

Speaking of the names... how exactly do you pronounce KOCH and FUCHS? Seriously... I have no idea. ?


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Robboman said:


> Speaking of the names... how exactly do you pronounce KOCH and FUCHS? Seriously... I have no idea. ?


hah I was wondering the exact same thing when I saw the thread title. I don't know if it's just my sick mind, but I was thinking 'man what a dirty thread title'  . But seriously, I have always wondered how you pronounce both.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

torndownunit said:


> But seriously, I have always wondered how you pronounce both.


...like this:

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

In the Netherlands it's Kock with a gruff ending like Warf from Star Trek is talking in native Klingon tounge... no shit. here we say just how it looks Koch like crotch without the r. As for Fuchs I hear it pronounced like this... fooks... as in rhyms with spooks.
Two very cool amps for sure!

Khing


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## danel59 (Jul 4, 2006)

I have both the Koch StudioTone and a Fuchs ODS30SLX. Entirely different voices and thus why I have both. The Koch has more high gain if you will for more modern heavy rock whereas the ODS has gain but more relegated to as TimH mentioned blues, fusion, classic rock. I find however both in cleans and overdrive the Koch doesn't really have a sonic character like the Fuchs has. It is good but to describe it is kind of difficult. Cleans are Voxish/Fenderish kind of. Dirt channels they are Marshallish Boogish but not really. The Fuchs is more touch sensitive and dynamic which when you first get takes a while to get used to as it reveals everything you put in whether good or bad but once you get used to that the tone is very addicting Overall for my style I prefer the ODS but when I want to push and get even more gain I switch to the StudioTone.
Having said all that when I am travelling to a lot of gigs especially festivals I usually just take the Koch as it is small and light and easy and quick to setup with a BB Preamp and RC booster I can kind of get to the Fuchs camp and throw a mic on it. 

Good luck

Dan


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## Guest (May 6, 2007)

When I was amp shopping earlier this year I played the ODS and it was a great amp. I agree with the assessment that it's got an OD tone more suited to blues and fusion. That's why I ended up with a Koch TwinTone. The OD channel on it is just beautiful rock. Tons of gain there if you need it and lovely clarity from string to string. The clean channel is lacking the 3D of a Fender DR-type amp, but it's nice and it stays clean at fairly high volumes.

I recently swapped in a set of YellowJackets and EL-84s and was really liking the change of character on the clean side of the amp. I wish I could run it with 84's on the green channel and 34's on the red channel now!

I keep a Barber Small Fry in my chain. The SF is a fantastic low-mid OD pedal that the Koch responds really well to, adds a third between-clean-and-high-gain channel.

Take your Koch to a store and A/B it with a Fuchs. The 12th Fret is nice about letting people do this (especially if you go in on a slow afternoon early in the week). I've done it a L&Ms. I always travel with at least one of my own guitars when I'm trying out new gear at a store. If they won't let me take it home, risk free, to try it out with my own setup I'll just bring the essentials along.

_(Edit: I own a TwinTone, not a StudioTone)_


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

KHINGPYNN said:


> As for Fuchs I hear it pronounced like this... fooks... as in rhyms with spooks.
> 
> Khing


Fooks is how the Brits sound when they say F**ks. I wonder how Andy is dealing with the British Market


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## danel59 (Jul 4, 2006)

Not to question you is it a StudioTone or Twintone that you own?If you have a StudioTone they already come with EL-84's




iaresee said:


> When I was amp shopping earlier this year I played the ODS and it was a great amp. I agree with the assessment that it's got an OD tone more suited to blues and fusion. That's why I ended up with a Koch StudioTone. The OD channel on it is just beautiful rock. Tons of gain there if you need it and lovely clarity from string to string. The clean channel is lacking the 3D of a Fender DR-type amp, but it's nice and it stays clean at fairly high volumes.
> 
> I recently swapped in a set of YellowJackets and EL-84s and was really liking the change of character on the clean side of the amp. I wish I could run it with 84's on the green channel and 34's on the red channel now!
> 
> ...


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## Guest (May 6, 2007)

danel59 said:


> Not to question you is it a StudioTone or Twintone that you own?If you have a StudioTone they already come with EL-84's


Did I type StudioTone? Duh. I own a _TwinTone_ (the original, not the II). Sunday morning fog is still lifting.


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## Boutique Tone (Mar 28, 2007)

I hope you don't mind me chiming in here. Here's my opinion...

We sell both the Fuchs and the Koch and they are really not similar at all. They are both spectacular sounding amps but are doing different things. First of all, the Studiotone, with its EL84's, sounds like the finest Vox you will ever hear. The clean channel has that Koch clean that can only be described as really clean  The OD channel can give you either the sound of the tubes naturally distorting or a more driven sound. The third channel is amazing for leads and has a very warm gain that can go from subtle to very heavy. The amp does stay true to its EL84 Class A sound and can handle ANY size gig. Seriously!

The Fuchs, as we all know, is based on the Dumble sound. We've had a Dumble in the store to A/B and the Fuchs didn't really sound like the Dumble too much. Please don't misunderstand; this is not a value judgement as the tone that the Fuchs puts out is absolutely amazing. It is just different from the Dumble tone. It is very difficult to match the Fuchs for a lead tone. The sound is huge and focused and cuts really well through the mix of a band. The Fuchs clean tone, in my opinion, is a bit more Fendery sounding and very warm. I think I would compare the Fuchs more to a Two Rock CRS or a Mad Professor than the Studiotone. There's a reason the Fuchs is so highly respected and it deserves the reputation it has garnered over the years.

The thread began with a comparison of the two but it is so hard to compare them as they are such different animals. The only similarities are the fact that they are both channel switching amps and cover the clean through dirty tones in superior ways. The truth is you must own both of them  You can't go wrong with either amp. I do have to say that we have been completely blown away by the Studiotone and are amazed at what this little amp can put out.

I hope this helped out. Again, I hope you didn't mind the intrusion in this thread.

Thanks,

Jeremy
_____________________

Jeremy Stern
*Boutique Tone*
4200 St. Laurent, Suite 425
Montreal, QC H2W 2R2
www.boutiquetone.com
(514) 287-9009


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Jeremy... I appreciate you input bro as I know you see many great amps. I feel on this thread we the members are in agreement with the Koch VS Fuchs competition. Both are awsome amps so go out and try both and see which one floats your boat. 

As a point of interest and no one has mentioned this so far and it could be taken for granted but... the build quality on both these amps is truely spectacular.

Khing


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

fuchs = fyooks

kinda sounds like "pukes"


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

iaresee said:


> Take your Koch to a store and A/B it with a Fuchs. The 12th Fret is nice about letting people do this (especially if you go in on a slow afternoon early in the week). I've done it a L&Ms. I always travel with at least one of my own guitars when I'm trying out new gear at a store. If they won't let me take it home, risk free, to try it out with my own setup I'll just bring the essentials along.


I think L&M is the only Fuchs dealer in Canada, at least in S. Ont. for that matter. I've tried the Koch Studiotone head/cab a couple of times at 12th Fret (low voumes). Still impressed. I like the sound of Gibson much more than the Strat through that amp.


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