MGS - First off can you give us a history of Krank amps and your role there? What does a typical day involve for you?
JD - Krank Amplification was started October 2003 by myself and Tony Dow the inventor of the amps. I had been a customer of Tony’s for a while. He had been hot rodding a few of my heads along with hundreds of other amps in the southwest. I went to Tony and asked him why I couldn’t just get good tone from a head right from the store. He had showed me a few of his own designs and I was blown away by the sounds I heard. I knew that the rest of the world had to experience Krank Amps for themselves. The company was going well the first year however we were not able to produce the amps fast enough for the demand. We definitely needed an influx of cash. Being musicians Tony and I knew tone and how to sell amps but not how to run a factory. We have since brought on an investor who has really helped Krank shape up the manufacturing process. We were lucky enough to find someone who not only knew about how to run a company but also cared about quality. We still use all of the best parts available to make our amps. Now the company is run much more efficiently and the quality has improved exponentially.
I am currently the sales manager and head of artist relations.
MGS - How did you guys hook up with Dimebag? He seemed to really be liking the amps.
JD - Dime called us in august 2004. He had seen a ¼ page add we were running in a guitar magazine, which he then gave to his wife(Rita)
. She emailed me saying that Dime would like to try out a revolution. Rita called the next day after he received the amp and said dime loves the rig but He thinks you may have hot rodded it. Dime had plugged his guitar straight into the amp with no effects and was blown away by the tone. Which was amazing because he had always been known for his solid state tone along with a chain of effects pedals. This really showed the versatility of the rev head. Since he couldn’t believe that the amp was that good he wanted us to overnight him another head. It also happened to be Dimes birthday the next day.
As part of a birth day present we made the amp plaid for him. Rita said he would love it because one of his favorite guitar players was Blues Saracino. Dime even had a plaid tattoo on the back of his leg. Dime later told me that that every amp company had sent him amps to try. His garage and living room looked like guitar center. I was very surprised that he had shown interest in our little company. He could have chosen any amp on the planet. We armed dime with a few rev series one heads and cabs for his fall Damageplan tour. Dime wanted all silver because it reminded him of his favorite guitar player Ace Frehley. He even called the stacks his “Ace Frehleys”. While on the road dime would call us 3 or 4 times a day to tell us how in love he was with his new sound and how much he enjoyed playing them. He even said it was the best tone he ever had. He was really happy. We began prototyping the krankenstein right away. Dime flew in on his days off and give us his opinions and suggestions and just days before he passed the amp was approved by the man himself. Dime was very proud of his new found Krank amps and we were very honored to know him and to have worked with him. The Krankenstein now has become a very popular amp with many of our artists and guitar players around the world. Vinne and Rita are so happy that Dimes name will live on for generations to come.
MGS - It looks like you guys have grown alot in the past year, Krank amps are being seen on more and more stages especially Ozzfest and now sold in Musicians Friend. What does it take to get the word out there and have the massive growth you have enjoyed ?
JD - We have always treated Krank as an underground company like a band just trying to get in front of as many people as possible. We did this by believing in artists who are not necessarily popular in the mainstream but who we believe are great players and the future of music. As you could imagine all the speculation and rumors about these new Krank amps opened a flood gate of curious artists hungry for a new sound. The best thing has been the word of mouth from our artists. It’s a very small community and a lot of bands after touring with Krank artists or after using them in the studio have contacted us to buy gear for themselves.
MGS - Where are the amps produced ?
JD - We manufacture all of the products in Tempe, Arizona. We are very proud be have a product made in the United States.
MGS - Krank seems to get heat from some internet forums. Usually with rapid success comes critisism. It has actually made me want to check one out so maybe its a good thing. Would you like to comment about this and set the record straight?
JD - When we first opened we had a few employees who took it upon themselves to post reviews on the internet. The end result was a lot a backlash form the internet community. Being owners of the amps themselves they were just voicing their own opinions.
These guys have not worked at Krank in almost two years.
I have heard rumors that we pay artists and that the good Krank amps you see on stage are hot rodded. We have never paid any artist to use our gear . The cool thing about Kranks is that the same head you see on stage with an artist is the same head you can buy in the store.
MGS - It looks like the Chadwick is geared towards the classic rock sound, more my speed. What is it based on?
JD - The Chadwick could be described as a great two channel
classic rock amp for sure. Alan Chadwick the creator of this amp has been tweaking and prototyping this head for years. Alan is a professional musician himself who has been touring and recording for over a decade. This really gave Alan the chance to perfect his design. The Chadwick head is like a two channel marshall jcm 800 on steroids . We have broken the gain into three controllable stages which makes this amp very versatile. Good for blues all the way to cool classic tones like ac/dc and zz top depending on how much gain you use.
MGS - That new distortion pedal looks interesting. Can you tell us about it ? Is it out yet ?
JD - The new pedal will be out a the Namm show in January 2006. I think this pedal sounds great. As far at tone goes I would say it come somewhere in between the rev head and the dime head. It had bass, mid, treble, gain, and master controls. It will come in handy for those who want to use a krank and either cant afford a head yet or cant have there own head with them at that time.
MGS - Just read that Metallica is using Kranks on the Stones tour. Is that correct? What amps are they using? Can you tell us how you guys hooked up with them?
JD - Christian from Fear Factory introduced us to Zach ( Hetfeilds tech) a few months ago. We sent them a rev and a dime head to try along with a 4 x12. The week before the stones gig Zach contacted me about getting a backup for the shows because James had decided to incorporate the Krankenstein into his rig. You can see on Metallica.com a few live videos from the show. It’s a real honor that James Hetfeild used our amps.
MGS - Anything new in the works?
JD - Our designers Alan and Tony are constantly working on new ideas and concepts as well as working to improve their current designs. . And we are also working on a practice amp line for those just starting out. In the long run Krank would like to have something to offer every type of guitar player.
MGS - What are your goals for the upcoming year?
JD- Just to keep doing what we are doing. My personal goal is to get as many players in front of a Krank amp to try for themselves. I know that our sound will not be for everyone but I want everyone to at least try it once.
