Peavey Valiveking II

[Detroitblues]

When I first got into a band, I used a Peavey Valveking 112 combo. It was a loud 50 watt 1x12 amp, but its clean channel with my stratocaster was absolutely perfect for me. It had such a rich harmonic sound, I just fell in love with its tone... However, the first one I bought kept blowing the V1 tube. I returned it and got another one... Same thing happened with in weeks. Guitar Center worked with me, and I bought a 3rd amp. I even got a warranty with it, but I eventually sold it to pay for a custom hand build Deluxe Reverb amp I kept briefly (Didn't like the tones). I've gone through a couple Peavey amps, namely the Deltablues 115 which had a tremolo circuit problem and an odd rattle noise and a Peavey Bandit 112 whose reverb is shot, but still sounds great. I've had several other amps in between my first Valveking and the incoming one. I also love my Jet City 22H which is being sent off to be hot rodded. But the tones of the Valveking continue to haunt me....

So a deal for a trade came up that involved a new 20watt Peavey Valveking II in a head verision. I've seen some demo's, like the features, and will have the amp tomorrow. But the real questions are, will I love it or will I hate it. Will it sound good? Will it last? So much unknown with a new amp, but my guess it will be better or else why would Peavey re-vamp the model line without improving reliability?

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Peavey Valiveking II

I liked the sounds I got out of the VK2 when I played around with it and thought the cleans were especially nice and warm but I'm a little surprised you'd want to go there again after getting so many lemons in a row...

 

[Detroitblues]

Re: Peavey Valiveking II

The Bandit 112 I knew was bad. Only the Valveking 112 was ever reported to have a problem. The 100watt head or combo was supposed to be really reliable.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Peavey Valiveking II

Well, what I know is that I found the VK2 50w very enjoyable to play for anything between jazzy chords and old-school rock and metal. You can really flab out the pick response which makes both clean and dirty sound very vintage and "pushed". I never really dialed in a razor-sharp modern tone on one though. I also bet a speaker change on the combo I played would have sold me immediately; the combo was very mid-heavy and lifeless like you're average cheap speaker. If you're getting the head and plugging it into a cab loaded to your tastes, you're gonna have a good time I bet.

I hope you don't have build problems. It's a shame about that Delta Blue problem; that's one of the amps I really, really want.

 

[JamesPaul]

Re: Peavey Valiveking II

When I first got into a band, I used a Peavey Valveking 112 combo. It was a loud 50 watt 1x12 amp, but its clean channel with my stratocaster was absolutely perfect for me. It had such a rich harmonic sound, I just fell in love with its tone... However, the first one I bought kept blowing the V1 tube. I returned it and got another one... Same thing happened with in weeks. Guitar Center worked with me, and I bought a 3rd amp. I even got a warranty with it, but I eventually sold it to pay for a custom hand build Deluxe Reverb amp I kept briefly (Didn't like the tones). I've gone through a couple Peavey amps, namely the Deltablues 115 which had a tremolo circuit problem and an odd rattle noise and a Peavey Bandit 112 whose reverb is shot, but still sounds great. I've had several other amps in between my first Valveking and the incoming one. I also love my Jet City 22H which is being sent off to be hot rodded. But the tones of the Valveking continue to haunt me....

So a deal for a trade came up that involved a new 20watt Peavey Valveking II in a head verision. I've seen some demo's, like the features, and will have the amp tomorrow. But the real questions are, will I love it or will I hate it. Will it sound good? Will it last? So much unknown with a new amp, but my guess it will be better or else why would Peavey re-vamp the model line without improving reliability?

I'm impressed with my VKII 20MH. It's quite comparable to my Triple XXX, but it has so many useful, additional features. I never owned an original VK, so I can't compare reliability. As for my experience with Peavey's reliability in general, I've owned over 20 different Peavey models between 1980 and today. I had issues (covered under Peavey's warranty) with output transistors on a Special 130 and I had two different issues (again, covered under Peavey's warranty) with VYPYR 30s.

I hope the 20MH works out for you.