Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

[Koreth]

Has anyone here used a Peavey Valveking Royal 8? Looking at it, it appears to be a nice and simple 2 tube setup with a single channel, 1 gain, and 1 volume. It also has a headphone port, which might be nice for those late night bits of inspiration that I simply cannot fire up the Mesa or the Valveking 1x12 for. My Mesa has a direct out and a slave out which I could use for a headphone port if I wanted to, but that's not the intended purpose of those jacks and I figure I could damage the headphones or the amp if I used them in that manner.

Thoughts?

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

Tube amps don't make real great low-volume practice amps IMO. Even a 5 watt tube amp can get pretty **** loud. The headphone jack is a nice touch, though if they're just patching you in after the preamp it might sound like you're plugging into a bee's nest if ya crank the gain. I've never had the chance to try one though, for all I know they might have some speaker simulation in there.

I prefer solid state stuff for practice amps. Sure, they don't sound really great cranked, but they can sound pretty good at low volumes. The Roland Cube is a nice one for the money.

 

[phil_104]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

Tube amps don't make real great low-volume practice amps IMO. Even a 5 watt tube amp can get pretty **** loud. The headphone jack is a nice touch, though if they're just patching you in after the preamp it might sound like you're plugging into a bee's nest if ya crank the gain. I've never had the chance to try one though, for all I know they might have some speaker simulation in there.

I prefer solid state stuff for practice amps. Sure, they don't sound really great cranked, but they can sound pretty good at low volumes. The Roland Cube is a nice one for the money.

Krank is right. I just got a amp with a 5w option, and cranked, you could potentially jam with it. Your best bet is indeed solid state, IMO. Since for practice you only need good, not proffesional sound, I would recommend something like a small traynor or a line 6. Some people don't like them, but they get the job done for practice.

 

[Koreth]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

I figured that might be the case. I've used Roland Cubes when working with my guitar instructor, and while they do sound good at practice/lesson volumes, my biggest complaint with them is that they hide my mistakes. I plug my guitar into a Roland cube, set it to the mesa/boogie/high gain mode and think 'wow, I actually am pretty good at this' as I listen to myself play. Then I come home and plug into my mesa boogie half-stack and find that even with the amp's master volume at 9 o'clock, the amp and the Full shred pickups are brutally honest about my mistakes - I hear every error loud and clear. That's what I love about it, it forces me to play better or suck it up and deal a yucky tone. Unfortunately, that's what my family and neighbors hate about it too.

I figured that's just the nature of the beast when it comes to tubes vs. solid state, and thus why I was looking at the 8w peavey valveking. Is there a solid state practice amp that doesn't have the Rolland cube's problem of hiding mistakes and would be just as brutally honest as my Mesa/Boogie?

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

It's true that a lot of SS amps don't really let your dynamics show through, though a lot of the time that can be fixed my either playing clean, or just back off on the gain knob. A lot of guys around here swear by the vox valvetronix series as practice amps, but I cant' say that I've had any experience with them.

 

[millsart]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

A little 5 watt amp with a dirt pedal in front actually works really nice for low volume playing I think. Can't get the tones I want on its own but a pedal like the Crunchbox sounds really nice going into a 5 watt head at low volumes with a little 1x12 cab.

You just get that extra sag and feel from the tubes that is really missing on a little SS amp. They are just so steril.

I have a blackheart and on the 3w setting at about 11oclock its just starting to push the el84 into a touch of breakup and saturation and it sounds amazing and all at levels that won't upset the neighbors

 

[phil_104]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

I think I know an amp that might help you, but wont get as loud as the royal 8. Try out the fender champ 600.

Although it is 5w tube with a 6 inch driver, it will show you what you are doing wrong. At least that is what I experienced with it.

I don't know if its the one, but you should give it a shot.

 

[millsart]

Re: Peavy ValveKing Royal 8 as a practice amp?

I'd say go for a head like a blackheart or a valve jr over the combo's because you'll otherwise be stuck with whats usually a crap speaker and in alot of caseas 8" and I've never heard a good 8" speaker

Wth the head you can have a world of options in what you plug into, even things like a 2x12 can keep up with some drummers with those 5 watters, they can get loud with the right cabs