Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

[timmytwang]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

Great Demo on the Skynyrd Sound Explained. I own 1 Mace and 2 VT Series ones. You need to know how to dial them Beast in.
I play in a Southern Rock Tribute Band up here in Washington State. 3,000 miles away from Florida. Them fellows putting them amps
down are clueless. I also heard Gary Rossington say them Peaveys where way more dependable than a Marshalls. Long Live Them Bands Lynyrd Skynyrd,Molly Hatchet,Outlaws and 38 Special. The Talent today ain't Much. ( Laughs )

I have to agree with Ramo1958. I have owned a Peavey Deuce which I didn't bond with at all, however, I have a Peavey Mace 320T (early series) which AMAZES me!! The thing is that the tubes run hot on these things (6X6L6GC) and you are going to need to replace them. I recently replaced mine with Shuguang 6L6GCs and the amp just floors me! It has an incredible clean tone! Now, the caveat (other than fresh tubes) is that I am running 2 X EVM12S speakers and the tone is OUTSTANDING. I've even tried a couple of early Vintage 30s and it was impressive. I will go out on a limb as a serious Fender junkie and say that the clean tone of the Mace 320T beats out everything in my collection, including my Twins and my Vibrosonic. It is incredibly alive and very, very detailed. Even plugging my other amps into the EVM12S speakers shows the superior tone belongs to the Mace 320T - just incredibly lively, complex, snappy, woody (and very, very loud). I picked mine up for $200 and even then wrestled over the decision before purchasing it. I'm so glad I went through with the purchase. If you see an old, first generation 320T for sale, BUY IT! You'll probably need new tubes and new capacitors and you'll definitely benefit from upgrading the speakers, however, you will finish up with a tone that will not be matched by boutique amps costing much, much more. And yes, it's very, very loud, but it still sounds amazing at lower volumes. I won't be selling mine - the Fenders continue to come and go - the 320T stays...

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

You can go back and read some of the old GP Magazines where these bands talked about how their Marshalls, Ampegs, Fenders, Acoustics, et. al., could not take the heavy touring that these bands were doing in the '70s. Hartley LISTENED, and with their input, he got them amps that were reliable and sounded great night after night. The bands kept blowing up their JBL speakers....Hartley brought out the Black Widows. And he continued to refine his offerings over the years, with reliability always being one of the main goals for all Peavey gear.

If you haven't figured it out, this amp ain't named for the spice. It's aptly named for the bludgeoning tool that it is.

Bill

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

I just found one of these local for $199, could probably get a bit knocked off of that. It's also full of Sylvania STR387's.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

Are you an amp tech? Can you afford to get these amps serviced. They are all in need of a recap. There are lots of those IC chip thingies, not sure if they need to be replaced.

I retract my off the wall earlier mostly ignorant posts regrading these amps.They are quality circuit boards with good traces,excellent transformers and good quality components ( resistors).

Imo, the cleans are sterile, Am i right that these were all hybrid- solid state preamp/ Tube amp models.not sure where the guy with the fenders thinks these are better, but whatever.

IMO,the distortion quality is raw, and not very refined. Think Stihl Chainsaw.Its really cool cause you get massive feedback , but there isnt much clarity and articulation.

They can get awesome Classic Skynard and Southern rock tones however.That i DO give them props for.

Ive recently become an enthusiast, There were so many made, and they are such good amps.They seem to be still somewhat accessible, but not like they were 10 years ago -they were seemingly everywhere.Not no more.

I want to join the Peavey forum and try and catalouge the differences between the different earlier Tube Hybrid models (Mace, Deuce, Butcher Classic , VTX Series , etc.)

One thing I will say is that I LOVE the old Black Widows. They have a real Unique sound and awesome grind.Most people think Scorpions are better-not me! I once had a 4x12 Black Widow Cabinet. It was awesome. I need to get me some old guitar Black Widows!!

I have the 2x12 Classic VTX amp combo. It looks like a poor mans Twin.The ultimate pairing for your 70's Hee-Haw Tele tones!

Anyway, about the part where the Peaveys are so bulletproof Compared to Marshall. I think that may be myth.. I'm not really sure how that could be!;

Marshall;


Peavey;

 

[Demanic]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

I've had a couple chances to buy one of these old machines and I balk every time because of the minimum volumes these needed.

This is before venue sound systems, and Southern rock was HUUUUUUUUGE when these were being built and playing massive arenas. It makes sense that they'd be wanting to push 6x power tubes. You'd think one of the musician's guts would fall out or something, right?

I remember hearing stories of Grand Funk Railroad's techs having to pull molten hot power tubes BETWEEN SONGS because they guitarist purposefully had his power section biased all screwy for the tone. That's pretty rock and roll right there.

It's a wonder no one ever came up with something like a liquid cooled jacket or massive heat sink.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

I love this guy! "Mississippi Marshalls! " Ha

He will talk your ear off, but I love talking gear! Plus his dog is cool.IMO< they do not do a good ZZtop as he tries to demonstrate, bet they do the Southern Rock/ Skynyrd really well!;

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

It's a wonder no one ever came up with something like a liquid cooled jacket or massive heat sink.

WTH are you talking about??

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

You know Jaaaarrrrøøøøø...they have used watercooling on tubes on old highpowered transmitter amps....
But well yeah...kinda impractical for a nonstationary amp tho'.
Jaaarrrøøøøøø!

 

[lordraptor1]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

sorry metal but anyone with basic soldering skills and a goor adjustable temp iron and solder sucker could EASILY replace the electrolytics in a 70's to 80's vintage peavey. by your comments of them being junk and needing to be a service tech i would have to assume you are using a 30 watt non adjustable pencil iron ( which are ****). the ONLY thing i have ever seen wrong with a mace is the long resistor on the board has a tendency to burn the board and given time damage the traces under it. with that said a wire jumper to slightly re route the traces away from the problem area caused by the resistor and problem goes away. i personally have been looking into and contemplating relocating that resistor and maybe adding a heat sink to it but havent yet tried it. i have recapped a 87 VTM120 head and currently have a twin reverb ( now there is a nightmare recap with the spaghetti wires and all the close proximity components on the waferboard sandwich fender used back then) and a mace head that came in on trade today along with a peavey black widow equipped 412 cab ( side note the model on the cab is 412-ms however it is NOT straight cab not a slant which to me is odd. ANYway, point is i personally can say that ALL amps can have good and bad points and ALL electrolytic capacitors should be changed every 20 to 25 years more with heavier use as they can and will go out of spec with age. adn again lets just be fair here for every great quality comment given to other manufacturers while slamming peavey as inferior i can argue as i can argue that brand new factory made epiphone brand have better quality than the "gibson" counterparts. fair enough however, NEW modern peavies suck and by new modern i mean since being outsourced to asia to save money.

 

[Evster]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

Neal Schon toured with the Mace around the Escape era. Just sayin they made it west of the Mississippi.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

Uggghhhh... I remember them well from back in the day. They weighed too much and weren't capable of getting the modded Marshall tones that I was looking for in those days (and in these days). Even though I was a youngster, without a dime to my name, and hadn't developed an ear for tone... I still knew enough to know that they weren't very good for what I wanted. The Butcher was the closest that Peavey came to that in the 80s. It had a JCM800 2203 thing going on, though (contrary to the claims of Peavey fans) the Butcher certainly wasn't anywhere near as good as a real 2203. I've owned a fair amount of Peavey gear over the years. Other than the sweet quilt-top HP (EVH) guitar that I owned, I can remember very little of it and that's probably because I'd rather forget. Oh... the Peavey Nightswan and Vandenburg were good guitars too.

 

[timmytwang]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

Yep, I'm the bloke who regards the Mace 320T as better than my 60 odd Fender amps - without hesitation or qualification. I also regard it as better than my JCM800 2204. I'm glad you felt the need to retract your earlier statements regarding the build quality. You are now correct. They are indeed built to last.... The 320T is FAR better built than the JCM800. The only thing that I've changed in my amp is the bizarre way that Peavey attached the Transformers to the Chassis. This is all that needs modifying... and incidentally, the ancient 320T I picked up all those years ago has not had a single cap changed and neither does it need it. Caps don't always need to be changed and I don't believe in changing caps if there is no problem.
How does it sound better than my Fender amps?? Simple - by sounding very different. The Cleans are ANYTHING but 'sterile'!! That is simply an uninformed comment and makes me question whether you've ever heard a 320T through a decent pair of speakers. The cleans are snappy, woody, alive, 3D and superb. I don't want to sound like every one of the gazillion Fender users on the planet. I want an amp that grinds and actually responds to a twist of the volume knob or sharper pick attack. The 320T does both - it has amazing cleans and is incredibly dynamic. That is what I get when using the Parallel or Series inputs on my 320T. Yes, the distortion is very raw and not 'refined'. I am not a metal player and I don't want smooth, 'refined' distortion. I want edgy, dynamic and SUBTLE distortion in an amp when it is poked. It allows me to go from crystal clean to angry with a hint of POWER TUBE distortion, not the 'refined' 12AX7 distortion that others seem so enamoured with. Yes, the Black Widows sound good. I have run mine with EVs which were amazing. I now run a pair of K120s and a spanked Strat never sounded so thoroughly spanked! Chime, grind, clank - every nuance in the book! I hope you find a 320T Maniac. Spending some quality time with a 320T will hit just about anyone like a dose of smelling salts. And yes, I re-affirm, that I've owned well over 60 Fender tube amps. They continue to come and go and the Mace 320T stays. (I still have a 64 Bandmaster, 71 Twin, 73 Bassman, a Dual Showman... but they are not my go to amps). The Mace 320T tops the lot - BOTH for durability AND tone.

 

[dave74]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

Yep, I'm the bloke who regards the Mace 320T as better than my 60 odd Fender amps - without hesitation or qualification. I also regard it as better than my JCM800 2204. I'm glad you felt the need to retract your earlier statements regarding the build quality. You are now correct. They are indeed built to last.... The 320T is FAR better built than the JCM800. The only thing that I've changed in my amp is the bizarre way that Peavey attached the Transformers to the Chassis. This is all that needs modifying... and incidentally, the ancient 320T I picked up all those years ago has not had a single cap changed and neither does it need it. Caps don't always need to be changed and I don't believe in changing caps if there is no problem.
How does it sound better than my Fender amps?? Simple - by sounding very different. The Cleans are ANYTHING but 'sterile'!! That is simply an uninformed comment and makes me question whether you've ever heard a 320T through a decent pair of speakers. The cleans are snappy, woody, alive, 3D and superb. I don't want to sound like every one of the gazillion Fender users on the planet. I want an amp that grinds and actually responds to a twist of the volume knob or sharper pick attack. The 320T does both - it has amazing cleans and is incredibly dynamic. That is what I get when using the Parallel or Series inputs on my 320T. Yes, the distortion is very raw and not 'refined'. I am not a metal player and I don't want smooth, 'refined' distortion. I want edgy, dynamic and SUBTLE distortion in an amp when it is poked. It allows me to go from crystal clean to angry with a hint of POWER TUBE distortion, not the 'refined' 12AX7 distortion that others seem so enamoured with. Yes, the Black Widows sound good. I have run mine with EVs which were amazing. I now run a pair of K120s and a spanked Strat never sounded so thoroughly spanked! Chime, grind, clank - every nuance in the book! I hope you find a 320T Maniac. Spending some quality time with a 320T will hit just about anyone like a dose of smelling salts. And yes, I re-affirm, that I've owned well over 60 Fender tube amps. They continue to come and go and the Mace 320T stays. (I still have a 64 Bandmaster, 71 Twin, 73 Bassman, a Dual Showman... but they are not my go to amps). The Mace 320T tops the lot - BOTH for durability AND tone.

K120? Who makes those?,,,,or are you meaning the celestion k100?
Have you tried the Butcher reissue from a few years back? Just wondering what you think of it if you have, or even the original Butcher.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

This is the "real" Mace (mine). These are amazing and the ones the bands went towards in the 70s. The VT series sounds different and is quite loud, as is mine. I toured with both and they sound a bit different from each other. Both good, but my preference is for the original version with the silver knobs and no on board effects. That's why I kept my head.

Had the combo version of that amp back in the day and bought her new. Those amps were THE sound of Southern Rock!!

 

[timmytwang]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

K120? Who makes those?,,,,or are you meaning the celestion k100?
Have you tried the Butcher reissue from a few years back? Just wondering what you think of it if you have, or even the original Butcher.

The K120s are vintage JBL Alnico speakers - my personal faves. Haven't tried the Butcher reissue.

 

[dave74]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

The K120s are vintage JBL Alnico speakers - my personal faves. Haven't tried the Butcher reissue.

OK. I learn something new everyday. JBL K120 alnico

 

[jeremy]

Re: Tell me about this old Peavey MACE VT Series Amp...

why do you like the k120 more than the d120f?