school me on Peavey amps...

Teletubby

Teletubby

New member
I know marshall and mesa boogie pretty well...i.e. a marshall JTM45 has less gain than a 800 for instance and a 800 has less than the 900...and the 2000 range has more gain than them all (except the JVM maybe?)


but I need to know peavey?

how can you compare peavey amps to marshall for instance?
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

IMO you could never compare a peavey to a marshall, but I'm just a marshall nut, and I used to sell peaveys.
All kidding aside, I will say that Peavey makes good stuff, well built, and after scoping some of their stuff, the specs are right on the money.
I just haven't heard one that I like better than my marshall, but I'm not up on the newer pv stuff, but they are continually coming out with new and improved models.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

you can't really compare the 2 but if you are in the market for a new amp and are looking at PV amps let us know what kind of tone you want and maybe then we can make a suggestion
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I own a JSX and I love it. It does everything I want it to tone wise. It does anything from beautiful cleans to face ripping metal. I personally prefer a parametric eq in the loop but it does sound good without. And it sounds very good at low volumes.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

hmmm...I could try and compare Peavey amps? lol Their famous line models are the XXX, JSX, and the 6505 and 6505(plus) or 5150/5150 II series. JSX is modeled after the XXX, but the JSX is more popular as it offers a bit more versatility. The 5150/6505 series I believe has the most high gain out of the bunch. Favored by hard rock and metal bands. The cleans are decent on these amps, but quite a bit of users would say otherwise. The 6505 plus/5150 II is pretty much the same as the regular 6505/5150, except for an additional tube for better "cleans".
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

alashredder said:
hmmm...I could try and compare Peavey amps? lol Their famous line models are the XXX, JSX, and the 6505 and 6505(plus) or 5150/5150 II series. JSX is modeled after the XXX, but the JSX is more popular as it offers a bit more versatility. The 5150/6505 series I believe has the most high gain out of the bunch. Favored by hard rock and metal bands. The cleans are decent on these amps, but quite a bit of users would say otherwise. The 6505 plus/5150 II is pretty much the same as the regular 6505/5150, except for an additional tube for better "cleans".
Click to expand...



Yea surprisingly my 6505+ has nice cleans as long as you give it some volume. Oddly, it seems to be cleaner when it's a bit loud. They're not fender cleans but they're not exactly cold and sterile.

I've really got along great with my 6505+, it seems to satisfy my desire for something between a marshall and a mesa tone wise. All in all it has a sound all of it's own though, fantastic lead amp, very dynamic. And also very tight. The lower gain options with the amp are pretty nice as well.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I really like my Peavey Classic 30. Has a great clean channel, and the overdrive is channel is good too, if you keep the gain low. When I want Marshall territory out of it though, I go back to the clean channel plus a Marshall Jackhammer pedal. It does a pretty good imitation of a JCM 800 combo.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I think Peavey gives more bang for the buck than any other amp company except maybe Carvin. That said, I haven't fallen in love with the tones of any Peaveys or Carvins when I've played through them myself.

I like listening to other players playing through Peaveys, but for me I'd rather play my old Fenders, Marshalls and Mission amps.

What's that tweed Peavey with the 15" speaker? The Delta Blues or something? I liked that one!

And I liked what I heard from the Peavey designed for Joe Satriani...heard a friend recently playing through that one live in concert and dug his tone.

Always disliked the old Peavey logo. Wish Peavey's were called something other than Peavey! :lmao:

BTW, Hartley Peavey stopped by the Mission Amps booth in Dallas a year or two ago and was very nice and complimentary. He liked our amps and said so. Seemed like a nice guy.
 
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Re: school me on Peavey amps...

Yep Lew, the 15" model is the Delta Blues. I have one and running a Les Paul through the clean channel cranked up to about 8 is heavenly!

There was another model with a 15" speaker too, the Blues Classic. It was basically a Classic 50 in a 1x15" combo format. Another great amp! Unfortunately, discontinued for a number of years now.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I agree that the Classic series, especially, is a good value. I had a Classic 50 several yrs ago, and I have a Classic 30 in Oz right now. The C 30 in Oz is American made (think they're being made in China now?), but there have been a few build shortcuts since my mid 90s C 50. Still, sounds great, although I miss the great amps I sold to move...

I'm not positive about the 'made in China' comment.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

The classic 50 has some of the greatest clean sounds I've ever heard through an amp. I've owned and briefly played a XXX and it was pretty cool, but it wasn't for me as I couldn't gel with the way the amp "felt" or sounded. I think the 5150 is a great amp that is deserving of praise both for it's tone and it's build quality. I don't know enough about the JSX to comment, but I've heard good things about it. Usually peaveys tend to be one trick pony amps that only do one thing really well. Those tricks can be very impressive though.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

LOTS of people do seem to like the Classic 30 - when folk talk about mid-powered combos for blues and rock, it's always there along with Marshall DSL401 and Cornford Harlequin, and that kinda thing...
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

The Classic 20 takes the tone thing a step further with all class a operation. Bit quieter, but not a problem.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

Peavey pretty much make an amp for any application/style.

For example, if you like the Brit JCM800 thing, the Windsor gets you in the ballpark.
Dig the Hot Rod Deville/deluxe? -check out the classic 30 and 50 for a similar feature set and a slightly different flavour.
Want a soldano-type tone on the cheap? -go for a 5150.
Like rectos? -check out the XXX and JSX.
Want a roots/blues amp? -try the Delta blues 2x10 or 1x15.

Overall construction is as good as most major manufacturers (lower end fender, marshall etc), and not as good as stuff like Rivera and Mesa. Techs hate working on them as they can be a real pain to get to the circuitry.

I personally like the Delta blues amps and the classic 20. They should reissue that one.
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I have a Peavey Classic 50 2x12 and now that I've learned to dial it to my style I love the thing. I could use a little more gain but then again I'm using it for harder applications than the amp is really meant for. But I'm really loving the El84 flavor.

They are also the best used deal out there. 350 used or so average. I like it better than the Mesa Single Rectifier I had, and only a little less than the Orange Rocker 30 I had (In it's defense it was the 1x12 combo, and sounded pretty boxy because of it).
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I don't know much, accept the 5150 is both a powerful amp and delivers a juicy lead tone!

It's a touch saggy compared to the super-tight amps, but not as bad as some other amp models.

A friend of mine uses the 5150 exclusively & gets some great tones out it!
 
Re: school me on Peavey amps...

I know a lot of players who like the Classic 30 and the Classic 50, but my Mesa DC-3 has spoiled me. I think it just sounds so much better than the Classic Series.

I would compare most of the Peaveys more to Fenders--at least the older models. Their amps in the 70s and 80s--like the Mace, MX, Heritage, Classic VTX, Rock Master, etc. used SS front-ends and 6L6 power. The 120-watt amps are ferociously dynamic and punchy. They don't have the upper mid-range snarl of a Marshall--nor do they have the top end "air" of a BF Fender. In comparison, the Peavey amps often sound dark or "veiled". The later amps like The Butcher, and VTM Series are all tube, yet they still have that veil--and yep, they still have enough power to leave you bleeding if you get careless with the volume knob!!!!

Some of the later amps of the 90s start having 3 channels--the Triumph and Ultra; but there are some good 2-channel models too--the Ranger, Duel 212, et. al. Some of these I like, but I think the gain channels get very buzzy and noisy on most of them.

Of the newer amps, nothing really needs to be said about the 5150 Series or its successors--thye are proven winners. My fav is the JSX--it does a lot of things really well.

Most of these amps take pedals really well--so keep your eyes open in the pawn shops for some killer deals on these amp. No reason why a guy couldn't use a GT-8 or POD XT Live through the effects loop for killer tube tone.

I like my Mesa amps, and I have been using Mesas exclusively since 1995. Peavey makes a great amp too, and you can find them at killer prices.

Bill
 
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