peavey valve king

[a7x_rox_12]

if anyone has owned/played them, how do they sound

i need a loud tube amp for all things rock but i don't have the money for a marshall

thanks,

 

[Mr. B]

Re: peavey valve king

I bought one a while back so I'd have a tube amp to take to school that wasn't as valuable as my marshall. It is a great amp for the money. Stock form, it has a good clean channel, but the distortion channel sounded too buzzy/farty to me, so I decided to change the tubes. I had read very bad reviews of the power tube brand it comes with and the reviews said that buzzy/farty distortion is a characteristic of those tubes. I retubed the whole thing with JJ tesla tubes, and it made a world of difference. Clean channel improved 20%, distortion channel improved 75%. On the distortion channel it is now much tighter and growls nicely, the clean channel sounds more organic and warm. It is by far and away the only real tube amp I know of in this price range that sounds good enough for a pro to use. Incidently, I also tried changing the speaker to a Celestion vintage 30 that I had setting around and it didn't improve the sound at all as far as my ears could tell. I put the stock speaker back in. Sure, it ain't a Marshall, but its also not $1500.

 

[vendettabass]

Re: peavey valve king

cheers for that info too Mr B :smokin:

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: peavey valve king

I absolutely love mine! I've had it for months now, and in every situation I've gone into with it I've come out feeling great about the money I spent. I've used it for blues and it's done pretty well, but most of the time I use it for hi gain rock and metal. This amp can cover a LOT of tonal territory.

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: peavey valve king

Had the 50watt 1x12 combo, for the $$ it was just ok. The speaker stinks and should be changed to get the most of it. There is a loud clicking when switching channels with the footswitch that has been a design flaw from the start and has not been fixed yet. It is loud, but it is NOT 50 watts. I played my buddy's handbuilt Frenzel 5E3 with a pair of 6l6's in it and it smoked the Peavey. They can be had for around $415 on ebay right from the builder. The tones that I got from the Peavey were so-so at best even playing through good cabs(Vintage 30 loaded 2x12 and Eminence loaded 2x12). Onboard gain was buzzy and didn't get better as you turned it down. Reverb was BAD, only barely usefull from 0 to about 9 oclock. The clean channel was lifeless and didn't take to pedals very well. It has a lot of nice features on paper, but in reality falls very short. IMHO, there are other amps out there that are much more tonefull and around the same price.

Here's my list of other amps to look at:

Peavey Classic 30, combo $350 used, $450 new
Peavey Classic 50, combo or head. $300 to 400 used
Frenzel 5E3 Plus, head(you can use any power tube from 6v6 to KT88, excluding EL84's of course)A bit more money because you will need a cab with this, but it's a keeper.

Vox Valvetronix AD60 or AD120 head or combo, $250 to 450 used. It's a hybrid with SS power and Tube preamp, but it sounds great and is very usable.

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: peavey valve king

ElUnoAstuto,
Did you get a combo or a head? and where is the sound clips you promised, common dude, I am like right now have like this amaizing influence what gear other guitarist gets, I need all the scoop.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: peavey valve king

I paid under 3 for a new 50 watt combo but I know a guy. Anyhow you shouldn't pay more than $350 new imo. I only used it with a Toneport as a pre amp of sorts so I couldn't tell you bout as just a straight amp.

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: peavey valve king

I got the 1x12 combo, and I have tomorrow off, so I'll see what I can do about some clips. If I get some tomorrow, I'll PM you. If you PM me some specific questions about the amp, I'll get to them in the morning, kinda' tired tonight...

 

[a7x_rox_12]

Re: peavey valve king

yeah if anyone can get some sound clips to me, i would really appreciate it

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: peavey valve king

So I wake up, it's rainy out, so I'm not skating today, and the misses works all morning. Today's a great day for clips, I should have some done around lunch. : )

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: peavey valve king

Hey bro, go head over to Tips and Clips, I got your sound clips posted, let me know what you think.
-Jordan

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: peavey valve king

ElUnoAstuto
Dude, I am impressed. Really nice tight defined bottom end at the end of the last clip. And gain is just perfect not buzzy, very peavy. Was that your riff ???

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: peavey valve king

yeah, I just wrote the metal riff with my other guitarist the other day, and all the other stuff is just off the cuff, except for the little intro to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on the clean ones, and a Zakk Wylde excercise at the end of the Dirty Strat clip. Thank you very much, I have always used Peaveys. It's just Fender/Jackson -> Cable -> Peavey amp. I mic'd it with a $5 Memorex mic from target of axis, and it sounded surprisingly good, I'm happy with the results...