peavey tube.... who knew?

[Charlie_M]

I tried a bunch of amps today in the store and was blown away by what I heard.

I listened to combos only, and all tube amps only. I listened to a handful of fenders (2x12,4x10, deville, deluxe, and some others, all tube only), and the only all tube marshall combo they had (a 1x12 - pretty sure it was a DSL, maybe 50 watts) and then I played a couple peaveys.

I understand why people like Fenders but I realized today with great certainty that it's not for me.

My expectation was that I would like the Marshall the best, but.... BOTH of the peaveys I tried (a 1x12 and a 2x12) sounded better to my ear than the Marshall or Fender did.

Now, I know things can change a lot in the time I have been away, but I don't remember peavey having anything like this 20 years ago. The peavey I played was a classic 50/212 and also a classic 30/112 (50 watts and 30 watts respectively). I couldn't believe the responsiveness and tone of the 2x12. I would have bought it on the spot except that:

1. I haven't tested out the mesa combos yet
2. I think I need to go back in one more time with a clear head and compare the peavey and marshall next to each other to be sure I heard right today, and
3. I already bough a strat and an EVH mxr phase 90 this month - I should at least wait until it's February before dropping more money on gear !

Here is the link to the one I liked:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...bo-?sku=481015

I actually think Peavey's written description of it doesn't do it justice.

Last thing I was expecting today was to be blown away by the sound of a peavey amp. Then again I never expected to be so happy with a fender product as I am with my new american HSS strat, so it does seem that the world has changed a bit....my mind is racing to catch up I guess.

I'm curious to hear people's experience with peavey's recent tube amp designs.



Charlie

[brandondrury]

The Classic 30 isn't exactly a new design. A friend of mine had one 10 years ago. It's a cool amp.

Personally, I find it a TOTAL waste of time to deal with guitar store products. I was looking at the latest Musician's Friend at a buddy's house. They fill their catalogs with crap that I find to be unusable. Granted, I haven't heard everything in these catalogs, but the stuff I have heard has been horrendous.

It's not necessarily an issue of price either. There are always great amps that are undervalued. I bought my Rivera Knucklehead in '98 for $600. Now I could sell it for close to 3 times that.

So, if you REALLY like an amp at the music store, then maybe you've found something. However, there are other places to find the best amps.

If the Peavey isn't your #1 dream tone of all time, you should keep looking because your dream amp is probably out there.

Brandon

[Charlie_M]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

Personally, I find it a TOTAL waste of time to deal with guitar store products.

It was more the 50/2x12 that I liked a lot. I guess that one might be pretty old too.

But where are you finding amps if you don't find them at the store? I understand that some stores suck because you can't hear anything with all the teens blasting metallica riffs and whatnot. I went to a few stores like that and didn't bother plugging in. But the store in my neighborhood is a pretty good place to try things and actually listen/hear pretty well.

That issue aside, it sounds like you're saying that you can find better options somehwere else... would love to know where so I can check those out too. There is a guy in my area who makes boutique amps, but in that case you're looking at 2500+ for a 1x12. It might be a wonderful amp but I'm not doing anything like that in the foreseeable future... Thanks.

Charlie

[brandondrury]

Basically, the way I see it, going to Guitar Center or the local equivalent is about like going to Walmart. If your tastes are demanding, you are not going to come out happy buying at Walmart. However, I have no problem buying Salsa and underwear at Walmart. So, it's up to you to choose your battles.

There are probably at least 3 bad ass tone guys who know of all the sleeper amps. You've got to find these tone masters. There are all kinds of amps that are cheap and awesome, but you've got to stay up on it.

For example, somebody brought in a Mesa Boogie DC-5. They are about $500 now for a 1x12. I was blown away by the distortion (more like a Metallica type of deal). This distortion was about 30x better than the Rectofier fizz, but under half the price.

I guess I'm saying that there are a lot of great sounding discontinued amps out there.

My 1971 Marshall Superlead head has made me way more money than a savings account or a cd (if I was to sell it today). You may want to consider going the vintage route. You have to scrape up extra cash up front, but I can't think of too many amps that sound amazing and provide profit.

Brandon

[Charlie_M]

OK I hear what you're saying. On the other hand I'm not really loking for an investment here just an amp that sounds good, has a good crunch, and is responsive to me and my guitar.

I'm actually down in so cal this weekend visiting the folks and stopped into a shop to show my father some mandolins from epiphone and fender that I don't think he had seen before and we were both duly impressed at what they're delivering in an f-style at the $500-$600 price point. While there I played some more amps Iincluding some peavey tube amps). At this point the more I hear the more I like that peavey 50W. It was VERY responsive to different kinds of pickups and knob settings on the guitar. I liked it best though the double humbucker bridge pickup but it also sounded nice (very strat-like) through the other two pickups (which are single coils on my hss strat).

I think I could find absolute tone nirvana with a marshall half stack and some mods (like the ones David Bray does - I posted sound clps of those a few weeks back). But I'm constraining myself to a combo at this point. The online mp3 files I've heard of marshall combos sounded like the thing quacks a bit, and what I heard from their combos I tried I liked the peavey better.

Still keeping my options open though. I did try a mesa boogie combo and felt was a bit too clean for me. I only tried the lonestar though, and developed the impression that this amp might not really be made for rock. I need to research that brand a bit more I guess. Everyone seems to rave about how great they are so maybe I'm not plugging into the right ones, or maybe it's like marshall where it you want to get the real deal you need to step up to a stack which I'm not into at this point.

Anyway... appreciate any advice on brands, models, etc... that I ought to try out before pulling the trigger. Thanks.

Charlie

[Charlie_M]

Well I ended up going a bit more cash for the Peavey JSX 2x12 combo. This thing blew away all the other amps I looked at (combos only, all tube only, mainstream brands only, no local guys making $2.5k 1x12’s were included in the mix) in terms of being able to get a great rock sound plus a gorgeous clean sound. The clean sound is so good I just sat there and played through the clean channel in the store for quite a long time. Uncharacteristic for me but it sounded wonderful. Even for rock stuff I preferred it over the Marshall 2x12, It seemed to articulate leads better even under heavy distortion.

I still like the peavey classic 50 2x12 a whole lot but the versatility of the JSX made in worth the extra dough in my opinion. If I didn’t have room in the budget to go over $1k I’m pretty sure I would have gotten the classic 50 2x12. Anyway I ended up spending more than I expected to but I feel like it was justified by the fact that I found a combo amp which is a lot more capable than I ever expected to find. Anyone looking for a combo I think you’d do well to at least include the JSX combo in your selection process. American made quality, 3 year warranty and capability/versatility well beyond what I was expecting (well beyond the Marshall also, which I had been looking at as the benchmark).

[brandondrury]

I've not heard this model, but I've heard people rave about it. It sucks you spent so much, but if you are happy then no harm done.

I've found that you have to work hard with most amps. The tone is sort of in there and sneaks up on you in time. That's how Marshall was. My Rivera was a little easier to get used to. I can't remember what I think of my 5150 (that should give you an idea how much I use it).

Anyway, it sounds like you did alright. Based on you liking the Classic so much, I didn't think you've be going for such a high gain amp. Oh well.

The Peavey brand is greatly improved over what it was 10 years ago. They were synonymous with cheap junk, but I've been very impressed with a lot of the Peavey stuff I've played with in recent years.

Let us know if you still like it in a week or two.

Brandon

[brandondrury]

. American made quality, 3 year warranty and capability/versatility well beyond what I was expecting (well beyond the Marshall also, which I had been looking at as the benchmark).

Well, I've never found a versatile Marshall ever, except for maybe my buddies 68' Plexi 50 watter, but that head costs almost $3k now.

Brandon

[Atratus]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I can't remember what I think of my 5150 (that should give you an idea how much I use it)
Brandon

If ever you want to sell it I would happily take it off you.

[brandondrury]

I did a walk through of the studio and counted about $8,000 worth a recording or guitar gear that I don't use. So, this may be a possibility in the near future. I'm going to hang onto it until I can give it a solid honest test and then go from there.

Brandon