I have finally got my HOLY GRAIL pedal - and it isn't even a pedal!!!

[Aceman]

Well, to be fair, it comes with pedal. But this one didn't have the pedal, so I got a pedal to go with it. And no Bruce - it isn't a Tremolo pedal. It's MUCH MUCH more than that....

Here is the pedal:

The REAL important part is what it is attached to! I have finally got a Peavey Valverb!!!! The Holy Kabala of All-That-Is Tremolo and Reverb Units. Fender can kiss my big round pale kabooki!!!!!



A quick run down of this beast!!!!

- Tubes; Two 12AX7's and a 12AT7. You need Tube Bias??? We got it!!!!
- A spring tank that runs the length of the unit (Standard Rack width). You want drip??? Better bring a mop & a bucket!!!
- Inputs on the front and back, and an output on the back
- A drive knob to set gain, and it can push some grit (you'll hear in the clip)
- Speed and depth for the Tremolo, and it excels at the sloooow pulse, but can move pretty fast too. Not as much as the Uber-pedals, but that isn't why you get this.
- The Reverb runs from completely dry to completely wet, with a lot of blend range.
- And get this - Bass/Mid/Treble Eq for the reverb!!!! You can darken it, brighten it, or anything in between it. It only effects the reverb when it is on.
- Finally a Master Output volume
- The footswitch is on/off Tremolo, and on/off Reverb.

Bring it Fender Godz - we are NOT afraid!!!!

Here is a fast iPhone video because someone always gives me crap if no clips. I really need to do an SM57 into Garageband for you to appreciate the sound...The last item on here is a subtle Tremolo + Reverb doing a bastardized coming home by the scorpions. Who needs flippin' chorus and delay?!?!?! I'm running it into the loop of my Stiletto. Looking forward to going straight into my fender Pro Jr.

 

[Mincer]

I have to say, that is pretty damn cool.

 

[ErikH]

Now that is cool.

 

[Aceman]

Here are the internals

 

[Chistopher]

How long did you own it before you realized it had drive and reverb?

 

[Aceman]

How long did you own it before you realized it had drive and reverb?

I knew in 1991-ish that it had those. Used to play one they had hooked up in the store all the time.

The drive is not a "Drive" circuit, but an input Gain, with a reasonable amount of gain. Definitely not overdrive level, but can totally push a bit.

Still, super flexible. And sounds superb...especially if you are one of those people who likes to poo-poo the digital verbs and tremolos. I'm not - but they are out there.

 

[Mincer]

Does the drive distort the reverb in some way?

 

[Aceman]

Does the drive distort the reverb in some way?

Not intentional, I don't think.

Again - think of it as input attenuation.

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

Congrats bud! That's pretty cool.

 

[Aceman]

Congrats bud! That's pretty cool.

Thanks.

I can Turn my Stiletto into a Recto-Verb with it!

 

[Artie]

Peavey did some cool stuff.

 

[Aceman]

Peavey did some cool stuff.

They also made some real turds...But they also made the Bandit, Transtubes, 5150, Classic 20/30, and this.

All in all, I consider them a price-performer winner.

I don't know whose pet project was to give Fender the middle finger, but much win here.

 

[Artie]

They also made some real turds...But they also made the Bandit, Transtubes, 5150, Classic 20/30, and this.

All in all, I consider them a price-performer winner.

I don't know whose pet project was to give Fender the middle finger, but much win here.

Yup. But I have several MIA Patriots. Rock solid MIA guitars. As good as anything Fender or Gibson ever produced.

 

[Securb]

Does the drive distort the reverb in some way?

This was smart and cutting-edge for Peavey at the time. If I understand the designer's intention correctly, they are trying to replicate the warmth of bias-shifting tremolos. Especially when using preamp tubes, there should be a change in drive and color as the bias shifts. I think they wanted to simulate the preamp tube behavior in an amp. This is where many vibrato and rotary products fail; they sound too clean. My NEO Ventilator also has a DRIVE option to simulate the preamp tubes in the Leslie. It is a slight push or overdrive, not a true distortion, but it makes the effect sound more like the original it is emulating.

 

[Mincer]

This was smart and cutting-edge for Peavey at the time. If I understand the designer's intention correctly, they are trying to replicate the warmth of bias-shifting tremolos. Especially when using preamp tubes, there should be a change in drive and color as the bias shifts. I think they wanted to simulate the preamp tube behavior in an amp. This is where many vibrato and rotary products fail; they sound too clean. My NEO Ventilator also has a DRIVE option to simulate the preamp tubes in the Leslie. It is a slight push or overdrive, not a true distortion, but it makes the effect sound more like the original it is emulating.

Yeah, I can see that. Lots of tube driven reverbs and trems are far from clean sounding.

 

[Aceman]

Yeah, I can see that. Lots of tube driven reverbs and trems are far from clean sounding.

That was part of the appeal of the EHX Holy Grail. It wasn't digital pristine like Lexicon.

I believe they used the words "Earthy" and "Organic" to describe that.

 

[Aceman]

If I understand the designer's intention correctly, they are trying to replicate the warmth of bias-shifting tremolos.

They didn't replicate it. It IS tube bias shifting.