I finally got my Kraken preamp pedal and I can definitely say that it was worth the wait. The unit itself is bigger than you'd think and the build quality is very solid - they have not cut any corners on the construction of this pedal. Even the foot-guard is a nice addition so you don't accidentally bump any of the gain or EQ settings.
I'm using this in conjunction with a Pod HD500x (into a Magnum 44 poweramp) and it sounds fantastic. I A/B'd it against my best Pod HD500x tone, and the Kraken won, hands down. So now I use the Pod as a multi-effects unit and this preamp for my amp tones. When using with a Pod, it's best placed in the effects loop (standalone mode on the Kraken) so that you can use the Pod's effects before and after the Kraken. If you use it in amp through mode, you can't use any of the Pod's effects before the preamp. The preamp reacts great to the volume control on the guitar and the two channels sound very thick and meaty. Perfect for those who like hi-gain tones for sure, pristine cleans aren't on the menu here though channel 1 can make for a great clean-breakup/crunch channel. The EQ is quite nice on this too, though 12 o'clock on all EQ suits me fine. The bright switch definitely sounds very different to the bright switch on my poweramp, but in my case, I didn't need to adjust anything, it sounded good out of the box. I look forward to running this preamp into my audio interface for recording purposes too. Overall, this is a great product and highly recommended.
