PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

[BloodRose]

PV seems to have a stigma, but I dont know why... Their gear has been used and proven for years...
My first "real" amp was a PV Special 130. And I have a Classic 30 that does me good and the 5150 series has been widely used and recorded.
I have a PV Ultra Plus that I got when my Carvin MTS started crapping out. A few years ago, I got a Splawn and tho I love that Splawn, when I plug up that Ultra Plus, its just a friggin BEAST!!! I was blasting thru it the other day and kids from the hood were coming by and seemed to be enjoying the show...

Peavey Love anyone??

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I don't have a lot of experience with Peavey, but here goes:

Teal-stripe Bandit, Scorpion equipped. I don't remember getting it, but I'm sure I bought it used in around 2000. I didn't like the distortion, which is one of the reasons why I bought a Digitech RP-14d. I used it until the power amp went out in it, so I started using one channel of a hi-fi stereo amp with it. It sounded really punchy and bass-heavy. Until the preamp section went out. Then I really had to do something that didn't involve that Peavey. Skip ahead years, and now it's a cabinet with a Reverend All-Tone 1250 in it.

A few years ago somebody gave me a silver-stripe Rage 158 that didn't work. I resoldered something in the power supply and got it working again. It was a good sounding little amp. I eventually sold it after I bought my HRD III; I had too many little punter amps sitting around.

In the years since, I've often ended up using Peavey Bandits to try out guitars and pedals. I think the TransTube models sound really good. They take pedals great. If I were going to buy a backup/practice/knock-around combo amp, it would be a late-model TransTube Bandit.

 

[Blille]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I practiced with a Bandit 65 for a long time in the 90s and gigged a Classic 30 for about 5 years. Bought mainly due to budget but I was very happy with them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I have been using a Peavey 2x12 cabinet since the early 1990s, with two Celestion speakers from a Randall 4x12. More than once someone asked why I was using a "crappy" cabinet. So I painted the aluminum pieces black and pulled the logo. Never got anything but compliments after that.
Point being, Peavey pulled a cheesy rep because of all their small, cheap amps and musicians are a bunch of followers who judge entire brands based on one experience. (Case in point: I played on PRS for 10 minutes 25 years ago and have ignored them ever since.)

I have heard some really great sounds come out of Peaveys, but I have also heard a lot of crappy sounds from them.

 

[Jigsisme]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I for one love peaveys!! I played the old teal rage for years till it got stolen. I want a PV version of 5150. I like the classic series and their "luchbox" sized amps cover a lot of ground. For me its their guitars...I don't ask why someone dislikes them, I just gladly pay a couple hundred for the guitar and smile! To me, they are hidden gems!

 

[newking70]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

anybody try the peavey 3120 :?:

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I have had several small Peavey amps

I currently have a VIP2 modeling amp
Its a swiss army knife of amps. Really too small for bass , blats out with the lows
Sounds good with acoustic . has 12 string and acoustic models that sound nice
And of course all those models, effects and built in tuner

I had the Vyper 15, gave it to my nephew along with a Raptor I picked up for $50 each
Nice super light, bordered on flimsy, feeling amp
The 15 just couldn't keep up with a drummer

My buddy has a Bandit 65 and a Classic 30 that he gigs instead of the Fender Twin
I believe he used both for a while. Huge sound.

Those C30s are awesome.

Lots of local players used those as I was coming up
They were just easier to find than Fender and Marshall in this part of the country

Every mom and pop had Peavey and some used Champs

 

[Masta' C]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I've owned an original 5150 2x12" combo, a 6505+ head, USA-made Special 212 red stripe combo, the original ValveKing, a couple of the first-gen "tube" Vypyrs, 50/50 Classic rack-mount heads, a 2x12" Deuce from he '80s and a couple others...

The 5150 and the 6505+ were easily the best. I didn't mind the TransTube series amps, but never really connected with them the way many did. The "tube" Vypyrs I had were really cool and bested many modelers for several years after, in my opinion, but my Boss Katana blows anything they could do out of the water and then some.

Someday, I'd like to get a JSX just for fun, but unless Peavey comes out with something truly spectacular, there's not much beyond the JSX and 6505+ that inspire me.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I really liked the older Peavey amps, and owned a couple. Had a few small nits though. The mids were more prominent than a BF Fender, in a way that made the Peavey too dark, no "sparkle".

And then I found that amps like the 5150, Triumph, et. al., had too much noise and "hash" in the gain channels. Found my first Mesa about 1994 and that was it. Sold off the Fenders and the Marshalls. My DC-3 just smokes a Classic 30/50, and the 5150 and brethren can't match any of my Mark Series amps.

But...I bought a first edition Transtube Bandit for my nephew when he needed an amp.

I still have a lot of respect for Peavey gear, and own a lot of their PA gear.

Bill

 

[Van Noord]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I owned a 6505 head and have owned a JSX head since their first release in 2004. Always great quality and great tone. The JSX beats out the 6505 so it's the only Peavey I own now.

 

[frostopsy]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I had an 80s vintage Bandit 80w with a scorpion 12" that had some sweet buzz saw style distortion to it. Pretty much a one trick pony, but it was pretty cool for what it was.

 

[Securb]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I never had love for Peavey until I played the MX head back in the late 80's. I fell in love with that amp. I think that is where and when Peavey really started to shine.

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

anybody try the peavey 3120 :?:

Yeah, owned one for almost 9 years now. It was my main gigging amp until I got a MkV in 2013. It's not a bad amp, lead channel is a little over the top for my playing nowadays, but the Rhythm channel with the gain around 8-9 o'clock would do a good crunch tone. Clean channel was pretty bland, maybe with a boost to add a little punch and grit it's be decent. Overall good amp for metal, not the best choice for other styles, and built like a tank in the US.

 

[Undone]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

First amp (1980) was Backstage 30. Horrid sounding little box but you could not hurt it. Later I had a coupe of excellent red stripe Bandits. I now have a 100W Valveking that I think sounds great for whatever. Just take some time to dial them in. I still laugh when I think of all the people that hear it and don't believe it's stock.

 

[IM4Tone]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I've owned two Peaveys: a Vypyr 75 (modeler) and a Delta Blues 115.

The Vypyr (complete w/ Sanpera FS) is now gone. It had a lot of good sounds in it, but I found it to be too much. Using it for a gigging amp was far to complex for my liking. I was always hitting the wrong button or buttons on the Sanpera and sometimes it would 'lock up' like older computers used to do. More than a Peavey issue, it was a modeler issue that I didn't care for. Got it for a great price and a free (due to rebate) Sanpera I so I lost almost nothing when I sold it.

The Delta Blues 115 has become my favorite amps. I put a 5751 in both V1 and V2 and love both channels. At nearly 50#s, I only wish it was lighter, but that is partly due to the 15" speaker which adds to it's overall tone.

Yeah, I like Peaveys (at least the classic series).

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

This thread sounds like a twelve step program

Hello my name is Ehd
I like Peavey Amps......

 

[tabeck5]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

Classic Chorus 212, one of my favorite all time amps, great cleans and takes pedals like a champ. You can put a Tech 21 Blonde or (if you are really tight for cash) a Joyo American in the loop and you have a very serviceable Fender Twin like amp. The Classic 30 is another all time great.

 

[Aceman]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I have personally owned three
late 70's Classic - I WISH I had this amp. Amazing tone, flexible, a clean country, blues or just loud clean monster!
early 80's Backstage 20 - meh, it worked.
90's Studio Pro - Honestly a great solid state amp, most flexible thing I have ever owned. Anything from Wes Montgomery to Stevie Ray to Megadeth...

I have played a number of Bandits. Nothing but love!!!!!!!
I wish I had bought a Classic 30 once upon a time.

And while I think the 5150 is a one trick amp - it's a great freaking trick!!!!!!



If you hate on Peavey Amps, you re an @$$hole, and idiot, or cork sniffer. It's like Glock - you don't have to love it, but moo excuse for hating. Just not valid.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

I'm still waiting to find a used vtm somewhere... 5150/6505 are awesome. An old butcher would be cool too.
A friend/former bandmate had a classic 30 and it was such a cool amp too.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: PEAVEY Amps appreciation...

anybody try the peavey 3120 :?:

The Peavey 3120 is just the XXX with a new faceplate, name, and it comes stock with EL34's rather than 6L6's. I used to have the XXX with EL34's. Great amp. Very underrated. Not really a versatile amp, though. It had good, sparkly, but kinda bland cleans. Very useable, but not the amp's strong point. It also had two ridiculously high-gain channels. Both of them were pretty much equally high-gain, though. And I mean HIGH-gain. I play metal, and even then, it was hard to get them over 9 o'clock without completely blurring the tone out with gain.

Great voicing to both the gain channels, though. The Crunch channel was very tight, saturated, and with aggressive grindy upper-mids. Kinda leaning towards modded-Marshall-ish character. The Ultra channel was kinda scoopier, slightly looser, with chunky low-mids. This one leans a bit more towards the Mesa side of things. It isn't a night and day difference between the channels, though. They still sound like they're coming from the same amp. Also, the voicing on both is very even in the sense that there's nothing frequency-wise that sticks out too much and is annoying.

The active EQ is something people often complain about with these amps, but I don't find it so counter-intuitive to use. Just don't crank or completely scoop out anything. The bass/middle/treble knobs have a very useable range from like 9:30 to 2:30. Also, I find the damping switch sounds best in the loose setting, which still sounds pretty tight.

I guess the downside of this amp is you really don't get a 5150 tone out of it. It's more compressed and more polished-sounding. It's not as thick and raw-souding.