i love how you go from a full mix with drums to just solo so you can hear what its like in a mix and on its own. Very good example of the tone! Thanks for the good job on the channel
I toured in a metal band using one of these for years and it was great. I used a Maxon OD808 at the front and I was very happy with the sound. It was also incredibly reliable. Props to Peavey!
@@SwedishMeattball Good point. I have one too. I did the R100 mod. I mean, I like it. The cleans are actually really good. The high gain stuff is not bad. If you put a TS9 or overdrive in front, you can get very useable tones.
This amp is so similar to the XXX as well as the 6505 (namely the Plus 112), in reality. It was voiced a bit deeper though, and it has only four gain stages in the preamp. However, it has a cathodyne phase inverter, which allows for a 5th gain stage to be placed right before the PI. This is one of the tricks of the VK... as to why you can get so much gain out of it. Anyhow, the VK is a great amp, imo... even stock. I think it becomes even greater when you perform a few simple mods on it. There’s a ton of mods documented for this thing. As for the mods that are easy and improve the amp significantly, there are a few. The easiest one to do is the “R100” mod. This disengages the “noise gate” circuit and cleans up the tone quite a bit. You can either just remove it completely or jump the resistor to remove it from the circuit. You can also bridge or remove one of the diodes next to the resistor, and this will clean things up a bit more as well. The two diodes and the resistor make up the circuit. The next mod I would do is I would change the tone stack to have a 47k slope resistor (R4) and change the treble cap (C2) on the tone stack to be 470p as opposed to 270p. This is part of the “Mesa Mod” that is popular with this amp. You could also mod the cold clipper portion of the circuit, which is part of said “Mesa Mod,” but this will lower the gain a bit. Just depends on taste. I’ve tried 37k (Soldano), 10k (Marshall), and 4.7k (grid clip). All are nice in their own ways. Just know the higher you go, the “lower” the gain will be. Another nice mod is to remove the Texture knob... which involves just removing that knob and board and then taking C1 off of the Texture board and then soldering it between pin 8 of the phase inverter and C144.
+1 to this. I only got partway through modding my vk100 before an unexpected move sent it to storage where its been ever since. I got as far as replacing resistors with pots and adding varicaps so i could experiment with the mesa/soldano "spectrum" and some of the tones i got with my cab were quite on par with posh gear I'd borrowed prior. My intention was always to find values i liked the best and then replace pots with fixed values etc for reliability, but i honestly considered leaving the "added knobs" functionality as there were a few sounds i liked, not just one. (I believe the amp cost me a dollar per watt thanks to bad internet reviews, so I had no compunction drilling holes in the chassis). If you're a tinkerer, this amp could very well be the perfect project: no resale to ruin, scope to find an awesome sound. 9/10, would butcher again ;)
If you're still interested, I have a valveking 100 head that I did the "mesa mod" on. I also have a 2x12 combo stock, and they sound totally different after the mod. The mods on these are totally worth it.
Used this in an old band. Did pretty good ultra heavy stuff with an OD. Takes distortion pedals really well too. The channel switch delay seemed to be on the button ( like a cut out when it reaches fully depressed) the pedal got rid of it
Use a short pedal to pedal cable to jump the effects loop. If it's already been modded, then it won't have much effect at all, but, if it hasn't, big difference.
I played this amp for over 10 years before upgrading to an EVH 5153. With an EQ in the loop and a OD in the front it really opens up and breathes some serious fire. Great sleeper budget amp if you can find one.
the 5150 head was 800 dolars the valveking 550 thats about 900 for the head for rhe vk in todays money so it wasnt a budget amp at all just like the blue vodoo and jcm 900 dont suck people gossip and rumors start the vk is more versatile
The VK2 is a pretty decent amp. The VK1, If you put a SD1 (or similar) in the front and a patch cable in the loop (as a few other folks said) it's a pretty decent. Certainly underrated and prob stacks up well against many of those RUclips hyped lunchbox amps. At often half or a quarter of the price.
I had Valveking 100 head back in the day in 2008. It was pretty good for the price, I must say - played even few gigs with it. I think I had Digitech Bad Monkey as boost and I was very happy to play with it. I called it "poor man's JCM900" as with some old backline Marshall cabinet it had somewhat similar tone to JCM900 when boosted. Anyway, great video!
Ahh man yes, I used this in the first band that I started playing live in. The sound is so good that my signal chain was literally just this amp and using my volume knob. I still have and love it!
There's one of these for sale in my local Craigslist for $250 that I was thinking of picking up. I've always heard that these were great amps and people refer to them as "The Poor Man's 5150". After watching this video I think I'm gonna pull the trigger and get it!
A pretty common trick with the valveking is to insert a patch cable into the fx send and return. Many guitarists state it tightens up the sound, and crisper. An overall improved sound.
As a fan of the old Crate Blue Voodoo, I bought one of these on a lark about 7 years ago. I still have it. To me, it's very similar to those old BV heads in many ways. But I really do love this head, which I currently have connected to a 4X12 cab with Celestion G12M-65s in it. It rips. Period. I run just the head distortion most of the time, but I also have an old-school TS-9 that I use to drive it over the edge. I know, not these are not things most guys use nowadays. But its what I play and I love it. Old-school thrash tone at its finest!
As a preface, I don’t own the VK MKI. However, having watched many demo vids on this model I am always impressed with the tones. One thing you may want to try is using a jumper cable in the fx loop. This somehow makes a difference in the tones. Anyway, great vid bro.
I third this, jumping the fx loop with a quality connector cable makes a big difference. That plus trying some different tubes in V1/V2 slots turn this amp into something that punches way above it's price point, maybe an MXR 10-band if you're feeling saucy. TBH the tones in this video are really impressive to begin with too!
Connecting the send and return engages the loop buffer and boosts the signal going into the power section. It definitely improves the sound. That combined with a good boost and some high output pups, and this thing is gold. It's not like a 5150, it's like a jcm800... that's why it has a fizzier kind of high gain sound which I prefer.
6:37 for anyone curious about how to fix the channel switching delay on this amp, all you have to do is remove the “C124” capacitor. It’s connected to the channel switching relay with the intent of alleviating any pop that might occur during channel switching, but it’s not necessary at all. Without the capacitor there, there isn’t a noticeable pop when switching channels.
that was my first all tube amp. sold it because I was too big to carry around to gigs and rehearsals. also too loud for venues as it was miced up. bought Joyo zombie instead, because of convenience.
I bought a Joyo Zombie II awhile back. Sold it because it wouldn't push my 4x12 cab properly. All you could hear was the womp-womp-womp of the low freq even with the high freq dimed.
I've had mine since 2007 and it's been a good tube amp. You can get a bunch of different sounds out of it depending on your pedals and it gets really loud
After getting one myself, I learned very quickly that Peavey has the power tubes biased a bit too cold, only about 40-45% of max dissipation. If you want to make it sound a bit tighter, I highly recommend putting in adjustable bias, or changing the bias voltage reference resistor to a lower value, so the power tubes will bias up a little hotter. I recommend 55-60% of max dissipation. It took some of the "fuzzy" out of the highs, and the "flubbery" out of the lows and tightens it up a bit, takes some of the "harshness" out of it. For the money, with proper biasing on the power tubes, it's really not a bad amp at all.
A lot of amps I’ve played that were made between 2005-2012 have that pause or delay between switching channels. It really bums me out when I come across that issue.
The 50 Watt combo version of this was my first tube amp. It sounded pretty good, but I got bored of the stock sound pretty quickly, so I had it modified into a more Marshall-like, “classic rock to 80s metal” voicing by a local amp tech. I remember the reverb being just as obnoxious and the clean channel just as boxy and clanky on mine as the one on yours. The reverb tank also rattled like crazy during every drive to a gig or a band practice. It had many quirks like that.
I had mine loaded with a Tung sol reissue in V1 position, boosted with a bad monkey, with the jumper cable trick as it was said before here and in full a/b character. The amp chugged like a beast!!!
This amp is peavys best kept seceret for affordable metal amps. I’m not sure how the new mark 2 fairs like if it’s made in China now or if it has clone components like the the 5150/6505. I have active high gain pickups so i actully don’t use any OD I just use the on board boost with a cable in the loop send and return to open the pre amp, the cab speakers is a little cold sounding tho so if you get say a Harley Benton cab with the v30s for 200$ your all set. It’s also worth it to put the presence to 10 then the resonance to 1, my eq is highs -8 mids -5 and bass- 6, gives me that 2010 metalcore sound
These are a great backup amp or for gigs in a high crime areas. In a live setting, the non guitar players in the crowd can't tell the difference between this or other high gain amps.
I had a Valveking a while back that I got for really cheap, and actually really liked it especially considering the price as it's a full 100W tube amp. Makes a great backup/touring amp that you don't have to worry about banging up and such. I did end up selling it but not because I didn't like it, I just didn't really need it at the time. If I found one for really cheap I may get one again just to mess around with. Nice demo!
The channel switch mute iirc was a cheap workaround because they didn't provide the resistor or capacitor (I need to fresh my memory on the schematic) that prevents a popping sound when switch. There's a mod out there to 1. remove the mute, 2. remove the pop.
Dude. I bought a 50W combo used for $150 bucke... freaking steal. I like playing a wide array of styles, but also wanted to make sure it could do high gain. This amp is a sleeper. Gain at 6 and boost the front end with an OD or clean boost - freaking rips. Reverb ain't my favorite reverb but it is a true analog spring reverb. It doesn't seem as obnoxious as in this video. Could be different generations. I don't think I've ever set it past five... seems like you died it there.
With its onboard boost, it does sit in the same ballpark as a 5150, and if people want other options, an external boost and EQ are always on the table. Many have an assortment of pedals to shape their tones anyway, making this a great and very cheap high gain amp on its own, but especially when paired with a few inexpensive pedals.
>5150 No, where are you getting this? Tonally, it's way closer to a Laney or Marshall. A 5150 is basically interchangeable with a Recto, where does anyone hear a "recto" with this?
I used to have a Jackson I converted into a baritone for down-tuned stuff, and I have to say my got-to amp for that guitar was my VK. Not even my 5150 had the right bottom-end for that.
I used to use one of these amps with a patch cable bridging the fax loop and a patch cable hanging in the second input and it gave it way more gain and fullness. I almost forgot that trick!
I owned several valvekings and what really helped was running a eq pedal..like a boss ge 7 in the effect loop to really have better control of the frequencies.. That gain button really acts as an overdrive.. So I don't really see any reason to put an extra overdrive in the front.. Because once that button is in you can't even really crank the gain even past noon.. it gets to out of control of loud volumes.. And it's tight enough on its own in my personal opinion..the tone stack is passive. You can bring out some pretty intense tones playing with a looped eq..especially pulling up a bit in the upper mids to get some sizzle. Also try pulling a little down around 200 to 300 hz to clean up the bottom end just a bit..A little goes a long way at high volume...The funny thing is I prefer The completely solid state Peavey Supreme over everything by Peavey I have tried..It is absolutely stunning..And sounds killer at any volume.
I've been tempted to pick one of these up a few times.. just figured at best, it would only probably be OK. But I love all amps. Something about the wings around the logo .. I like it.
I actually just sold mine recently, but it was my main amp for years and I really enjoyed the tone, playing in Metalcore/Deathcore bands tuned to Drop B, Drop A, and Drop G. I really always had an overdrive in front as a boost (Electro Harmonics East River Drive) and I honestly really did like the tone that I got out of it, but I am in the process of downsizing my gear and moving to all modeling units (Headrush, Headrush FRFR112) and so I recently sold it
I think I’m late to the party, but bridge the effects loop with a short pedal cable. That toggles the loop buffer giving the amp some more life. I like to compare it to breathing more freely
big fan of the VK100, i changed the verb tank with a ruby tubes unit. long story short its great after you spend some time with it and i use it with other stuff than V30. you can mod the boost and so on. also differnt tones with each input. also try a small cable in the front fx loop back into itself. clears it up a bit.
I had one as my main amp and still own a combo. as long as you have a boost this amp is great. The efx loop is also awesome lots of bang for your buck.
My old guitarist used one if these live. He managed to get good sounds out if it, almost bought one because if him. Apparently you can jump the FX loop for more.....uh....well, more.
I had one a long time ago. One of the mods I had done was having it biased a tad hot. They are notoriously under biased. Also ran ruby tubes in it as well. Instead of 6l6 I ran el33s as well
@@TaylorDanley if you mess with the tubes and can get non Chinese ruby tubes, run them in the power tubes, and run a mesa 12ax7 in the v1 slot and ruby tubes behind it. And if I’m not mistaking the texture knob just decreases the signal from the tube growing circuit. The biasing is protected from the knob
Dude this thing comes alive with a patch cable in the loop. Also, super easy to mod. I have mine with the Mesa/Soldano mod and a bias mod. Every time I think I wanna sell it I play a bit and change my mind.
The dirt channel is ok for rock and blues with the right speaker(I've had the 112 combo for years) but I use it as a dead ass dry clean slate pedal platform ...it's got a good bare bones clean channel that can be sculpted to whatever you like with pedals...that's how I use it anyway with excellent results...I don't ever intend on selling it.
I had a VK combo for about 10 years and I really liked it. I eventually sold it to upgrade, but I always liked the sound I got out of it with a tube screamer. I would totally get another
@@TaylorDanley I was in this shitty deathcore band called swamp monster when I was in highschool. I just remember playing a show with you guys in a church in Lebanon like 15 years ago lol
Also like a month before that we were downtown begging for $ to pay for studio time and Jaime and either you or Kyle walked up and gave us your demo on a burned CD. You guys were always really cool. Everytime we played with you guys, y'all always showed up and hyped up the crowd even though we didn't know what we were doing. It was cool as a young musician to have such positive energy from way more proficient musicians. Anyways, I haven't thought about that for a long time and just felt like sharing
Ran a Valveking for 10 years gigging in all sorts of dive bars and tiny venues. Banged around in the car/van and never let me down. Only reason I stopped using it was to downsize my rig as I got sick of lumping a head and cab everywhere.
I have a Valve King 100 head just like that, I bought it in 2008. My reverb sounds NOTHING like that, I still don't use it though. It's a spring reverb, so maybe shock damage from being dropped or something? I have always wished the effects loop was in the back and the class A/AB was in the front, the second version has that as well as USB connectivity. After reading comments, I will be trying a jumper cable on the effects loop and a dummy plug on the other input, something I had never thought of.
I'd say the only downside of the Peavey VK100 is the EQ itself. It's somewhat unpredictable & has some strange resonances at more extreme settings. I've found that swapping in some higher quality preamp tubes helps this, but they are pretty much tanks as far as amps go!
This was the first valve amp I owned, got it for 500€ new back then. It performed ok but it never really grew on me. A bit to dark and muddy. Reading the comments with people saying you have to mod it or put some OD or distortion before it to sound good support my lukewarm memories of it. We rented a rehearsal room from another band back then and I always wondered why I didn't manage to sound as good as them. The first time they let me play their amps (Engl E650 100 Watt Ritchie Blackmoore) I was blown away! Way better sound and feel/response. I saved up, sold the VK and bought my very own E650. Not only did I enjoy playing much more, but I constantly got great comments about my tone since then. Sold my beloved E650 a while ago, because it was just to cumbersome to lug around constantly. Got an E606 Powerball SE and am extremely happy, because it can sound like the E650 but is way smaller, lighter and has great new features like an IR loader or direct out. Still like to think back to the VK from time to time though, because it was a time of great changes in my life back when I owned it. All in all I think the Bandit is the better amp from Peavy of that era, because it was even cheaper, more versatile, sounded better and the combo was still lighter then the VK 100 Watt head.
Funny......out of all my high end amps........i got the nost compliments when i used this amp....valve king. People even swore i had it modded. I used a stock ibanez js100 to a line 6 wireless......and that was it. Once in a while i would have the footswitch but i normally just rolled back the volume on the guitar and put it in the neck pup, for cleans. This amp was a workhorse and the best part is tube change........no nedd to take it in just do it yourself If i ever see the 1x12 combo.....its mine. I had one and that thing was a beast.
@@user-fc9iq6le2g Could be that I did not have the ideal cab back then to compliment the VK and it might have sounded better with other speakers. So can imagine you might have had a better experience with the VK then me.
What about that Randall RG head sitting in the back? Are you going to make a video about it? I bought it at one point and ended up returning it because, to me, it sounded horrible, but it will be interesting to see your take on it.
I bet it sounds really good when the high frequency buzz gets eq outed a bit. Remember this amp being shit on in forums back when it was sold lol so sounds better than expected for sure. Wondering how they made that reverb and thought "yep that sounds fine" though.
Man i played a ton of these things back in the late 00's. Never liked them until i was finally forced to use one for an outdoor gig. Once I got to crank it, it really came alive.
I would be very interested to see how a preamp pedal like the mooer micro 005 or something of that variety would sound through the fx return. Would be a cheap way to get monster 6l6's to run whatever preamp you have.
2 days ago I bought a used VK100 head with VK 412 head. It has mesa Mod and marshall mod (turns off one tube in pre-amp section). I bought it all for less than 300$ so I cannot complain :P
As you know I really dig mine. I honestly never used the reverb... but I should see if its that bad lol. Great vid as always buddy. Have a great day. \m/
THAT'S MY FIRST HALFSTACK!!! I was literally thinking about it and how much I missed it at work today and this video came up in my recommendations??? wtf, wild.
The switch on the front is a break before make and was added onto the amp design. The footswitch is isolated from and works internally, controlling part of the signal chain directly so it happens without latency.
I had one of these a couple of years back...hated the gain structure in these.i ended up trading a winsor and this amp for a M.I.A 6505+..never looked back
We called those the poor mans 5150. put a patch cable in the fx loop and a boost out front.
i love how you go from a full mix with drums to just solo so you can hear what its like in a mix and on its own. Very good example of the tone! Thanks for the good job on the channel
Thanks dude! 🙏
I fucking love that he does that as well!! Gives you a good look at both scnenarios which is invaluable
I toured in a metal band using one of these for years and it was great. I used a Maxon OD808 at the front and I was very happy with the sound. It was also incredibly reliable. Props to Peavey!
what band? which tour?
Yeah, I think that's Peaveys strongest quality is their durability.
keep in mind 550dollars in 2005 is nearly 900 dollars today they were not really a budget amp just a good deal
USA Peavey= reliability
@@SwedishMeattball Good point. I have one too. I did the R100 mod. I mean, I like it. The cleans are actually really good. The high gain stuff is not bad. If you put a TS9 or overdrive in front, you can get very useable tones.
This amp is so similar to the XXX as well as the 6505 (namely the Plus 112), in reality. It was voiced a bit deeper though, and it has only four gain stages in the preamp. However, it has a cathodyne phase inverter, which allows for a 5th gain stage to be placed right before the PI. This is one of the tricks of the VK... as to why you can get so much gain out of it.
Anyhow, the VK is a great amp, imo... even stock. I think it becomes even greater when you perform a few simple mods on it. There’s a ton of mods documented for this thing.
As for the mods that are easy and improve the amp significantly, there are a few. The easiest one to do is the “R100” mod. This disengages the “noise gate” circuit and cleans up the tone quite a bit. You can either just remove it completely or jump the resistor to remove it from the circuit. You can also bridge or remove one of the diodes next to the resistor, and this will clean things up a bit more as well. The two diodes and the resistor make up the circuit.
The next mod I would do is I would change the tone stack to have a 47k slope resistor (R4) and change the treble cap (C2) on the tone stack to be 470p as opposed to 270p. This is part of the “Mesa Mod” that is popular with this amp. You could also mod the cold clipper portion of the circuit, which is part of said “Mesa Mod,” but this will lower the gain a bit. Just depends on taste. I’ve tried 37k (Soldano), 10k (Marshall), and 4.7k (grid clip). All are nice in their own ways. Just know the higher you go, the “lower” the gain will be.
Another nice mod is to remove the Texture knob... which involves just removing that knob and board and then taking C1 off of the Texture board and then soldering it between pin 8 of the phase inverter and C144.
+1 to this. I only got partway through modding my vk100 before an unexpected move sent it to storage where its been ever since. I got as far as replacing resistors with pots and adding varicaps so i could experiment with the mesa/soldano "spectrum" and some of the tones i got with my cab were quite on par with posh gear I'd borrowed prior.
My intention was always to find values i liked the best and then replace pots with fixed values etc for reliability, but i honestly considered leaving the "added knobs" functionality as there were a few sounds i liked, not just one. (I believe the amp cost me a dollar per watt thanks to bad internet reviews, so I had no compunction drilling holes in the chassis).
If you're a tinkerer, this amp could very well be the perfect project: no resale to ruin, scope to find an awesome sound. 9/10, would butcher again ;)
Amp sounds nothing like the 5150
@@rocketpigrecords3719 who said it did?
Was going to say the same thing. So close to the XXX.
I grabbed the 1x12 Combo back in the day for a practice rig....it was solid as hell. I swapped the stock VK speaker and boosted it as one does.
If you're still interested, I have a valveking 100 head that I did the "mesa mod" on. I also have a 2x12 combo stock, and they sound totally different after the mod. The mods on these are totally worth it.
My buddy used one of these with a TubeScreamer for a BlackMetal band for years. Worked fine
Used this in an old band. Did pretty good ultra heavy stuff with an OD. Takes distortion pedals really well too. The channel switch delay seemed to be on the button ( like a cut out when it reaches fully depressed) the pedal got rid of it
Use a short pedal to pedal cable to jump the effects loop. If it's already been modded, then it won't have much effect at all, but, if it hasn't, big difference.
I played this amp for over 10 years before upgrading to an EVH 5153. With an EQ in the loop and a OD in the front it really opens up and breathes some serious fire. Great sleeper budget amp if you can find one.
the 5150 head was 800 dolars the valveking 550 thats about 900 for the head for rhe vk in todays money so it wasnt a budget amp at all just like the blue vodoo and jcm 900 dont suck people gossip and rumors start the vk is more versatile
The VK2 is a pretty decent amp. The VK1, If you put a SD1 (or similar) in the front and a patch cable in the loop (as a few other folks said) it's a pretty decent. Certainly underrated and prob stacks up well against many of those RUclips hyped lunchbox amps. At often half or a quarter of the price.
this was a 1 and it wasnt modded😂 they sound good regardless
I had Valveking 100 head back in the day in 2008. It was pretty good for the price, I must say - played even few gigs with it. I think I had Digitech Bad Monkey as boost and I was very happy to play with it. I called it "poor man's JCM900" as with some old backline Marshall cabinet it had somewhat similar tone to JCM900 when boosted. Anyway, great video!
Thanks dude!
It is nothing like a jcm 900😅
Ahh man yes, I used this in the first band that I started playing live in. The sound is so good that my signal chain was literally just this amp and using my volume knob. I still have and love it!
These amps slay, I used ones for ages with an OD and a mini Comp on slightly and it took it really well. Great amps.
There's one of these for sale in my local Craigslist for $250 that I was thinking of picking up. I've always heard that these were great amps and people refer to them as "The Poor Man's 5150". After watching this video I think I'm gonna pull the trigger and get it!
A pretty common trick with the valveking is to insert a patch cable into the fx send and return. Many guitarists state it tightens up the sound, and crisper. An overall improved sound.
thats true but does it hurt the amp
@@SwedishMeattball nah
As a fan of the old Crate Blue Voodoo, I bought one of these on a lark about 7 years ago. I still have it. To me, it's very similar to those old BV heads in many ways. But I really do love this head, which I currently have connected to a 4X12 cab with Celestion G12M-65s in it. It rips. Period. I run just the head distortion most of the time, but I also have an old-school TS-9 that I use to drive it over the edge. I know, not these are not things most guys use nowadays. But its what I play and I love it. Old-school thrash tone at its finest!
Always loved these, the trick is to put a patch cable into the FX loop send and return!
Yeah, I didn't think to do that, but I've seen a lot of people say it helps!
My buddy did it and when I had the amp I didnt notice ! It works some magic.
As a preface, I don’t own the VK MKI. However, having watched many demo vids on this model I am always impressed with the tones. One thing you may want to try is using a jumper cable in the fx loop. This somehow makes a difference in the tones. Anyway, great vid bro.
Thanks!
@@TaylorDanley I second this - a jumper for the FX loop and a dummy plug in the 2nd input jack really kick them in the nuts.
I third this, jumping the fx loop with a quality connector cable makes a big difference. That plus trying some different tubes in V1/V2 slots turn this amp into something that punches way above it's price point, maybe an MXR 10-band if you're feeling saucy. TBH the tones in this video are really impressive to begin with too!
I 4th this. I did a review a couple years ago and saw this suggestion and it helped open the amp immensely
Connecting the send and return engages the loop buffer and boosts the signal going into the power section. It definitely improves the sound. That combined with a good boost and some high output pups, and this thing is gold. It's not like a 5150, it's like a jcm800... that's why it has a fizzier kind of high gain sound which I prefer.
6:37 for anyone curious about how to fix the channel switching delay on this amp, all you have to do is remove the “C124” capacitor. It’s connected to the channel switching relay with the intent of alleviating any pop that might occur during channel switching, but it’s not necessary at all. Without the capacitor there, there isn’t a noticeable pop when switching channels.
that was my first all tube amp. sold it because I was too big to carry around to gigs and rehearsals. also too loud for venues as it was miced up. bought Joyo zombie instead, because of convenience.
Bloody hate auto correction.
How much should I sell my valveking 1/2 stack for head and Cab? Us/cnd or euros it doesn't matter...
I bought a Joyo Zombie II awhile back. Sold it because it wouldn't push my 4x12 cab properly. All you could hear was the womp-womp-womp of the low freq even with the high freq dimed.
I've had mine since 2007 and it's been a good tube amp. You can get a bunch of different sounds out of it depending on your pedals and it gets really loud
Man, you're killing it, brutal demo. Keep up the good work!
Jumping the FX loop makes a noticeable difference on this amp. Give it a try!
It really wakes the amp up! A must try!
After getting one myself, I learned very quickly that Peavey has the power tubes biased a bit too cold, only about 40-45% of max dissipation. If you want to make it sound a bit tighter, I highly recommend putting in adjustable bias, or changing the bias voltage reference resistor to a lower value, so the power tubes will bias up a little hotter. I recommend 55-60% of max dissipation. It took some of the "fuzzy" out of the highs, and the "flubbery" out of the lows and tightens it up a bit, takes some of the "harshness" out of it. For the money, with proper biasing on the power tubes, it's really not a bad amp at all.
i have one of these..use it all the time. reliable and great sounds. thanks for the updates..
Thanks for the review. I own one of the Valveking mh20 heads. I use it for solos and small room practice sessions.
A lot of amps I’ve played that were made between 2005-2012 have that pause or delay between switching channels. It really bums me out when I come across that issue.
The 50 Watt combo version of this was my first tube amp. It sounded pretty good, but I got bored of the stock sound pretty quickly, so I had it modified into a more Marshall-like, “classic rock to 80s metal” voicing by a local amp tech.
I remember the reverb being just as obnoxious and the clean channel just as boxy and clanky on mine as the one on yours. The reverb tank also rattled like crazy during every drive to a gig or a band practice. It had many quirks like that.
I had mine loaded with a Tung sol reissue in V1 position, boosted with a bad monkey, with the jumper cable trick as it was said before here and in full a/b character. The amp chugged like a beast!!!
This amp is peavys best kept seceret for affordable metal amps. I’m not sure how the new mark 2 fairs like if it’s made in China now or if it has clone components like the the 5150/6505.
I have active high gain pickups so i actully don’t use any OD I just use the on board boost with a cable in the loop send and return to open the pre amp, the cab speakers is a little cold sounding tho so if you get say a Harley Benton cab with the v30s for 200$ your all set. It’s also worth it to put the presence to 10 then the resonance to 1, my eq is highs -8 mids -5 and bass- 6, gives me that 2010 metalcore sound
Awesome dude, thanks for sharing!
These are a great backup amp or for gigs in a high crime areas. In a live setting, the non guitar players in the crowd can't tell the difference between this or other high gain amps.
I think the valve king has a great sound for a kinda scooped hardcore/punk tone. Not the sound I go for normally but for the money they do a thing.
I had a Valveking a while back that I got for really cheap, and actually really liked it especially considering the price as it's a full 100W tube amp. Makes a great backup/touring amp that you don't have to worry about banging up and such. I did end up selling it but not because I didn't like it, I just didn't really need it at the time.
If I found one for really cheap I may get one again just to mess around with. Nice demo!
The channel switch mute iirc was a cheap workaround because they didn't provide the resistor or capacitor (I need to fresh my memory on the schematic) that prevents a popping sound when switch. There's a mod out there to 1. remove the mute, 2. remove the pop.
Dude. I bought a 50W combo used for $150 bucke... freaking steal. I like playing a wide array of styles, but also wanted to make sure it could do high gain. This amp is a sleeper. Gain at 6 and boost the front end with an OD or clean boost - freaking rips. Reverb ain't my favorite reverb but it is a true analog spring reverb. It doesn't seem as obnoxious as in this video. Could be different generations. I don't think I've ever set it past five... seems like you died it there.
With its onboard boost, it does sit in the same ballpark as a 5150, and if people want other options, an external boost and EQ are always on the table. Many have an assortment of pedals to shape their tones anyway, making this a great and very cheap high gain amp on its own, but especially when paired with a few inexpensive pedals.
>5150
No, where are you getting this?
Tonally, it's way closer to a Laney or Marshall.
A 5150 is basically interchangeable with a Recto, where does anyone hear a "recto" with this?
If you have the oppurtunity, try the Peavey Bravo combo paired with a 4-12 cabinet. GREAT AMP
I used to have a Jackson I converted into a baritone for down-tuned stuff, and I have to say my got-to amp for that guitar was my VK. Not even my 5150 had the right bottom-end for that.
What? No tube screamer. Just a little shocked. It was about time someone did a quality video for metal tones on the valveking.
I used to use one of these amps with a patch cable bridging the fax loop and a patch cable hanging in the second input and it gave it way more gain and fullness. I almost forgot that trick!
Jump the effects loop and add a dummy plug into the second input and it really opens up the amp!
I owned several valvekings and what really helped was running a eq pedal..like a boss ge 7 in the effect loop to really have better control of the frequencies.. That gain button really acts as an overdrive.. So I don't really see any reason to put an extra overdrive in the front.. Because once that button is in you can't even really crank the gain even past noon.. it gets to out of control of loud volumes.. And it's tight enough on its own in my personal opinion..the tone stack is passive. You can bring out some pretty intense tones playing with a looped eq..especially pulling up a bit in the upper mids to get some sizzle.
Also try pulling a little down around 200 to 300 hz to clean up the bottom end just a bit..A little goes a long way at high volume...The funny thing is I prefer The completely solid state Peavey Supreme over everything by Peavey I have tried..It is absolutely stunning..And sounds killer at any volume.
I've been tempted to pick one of these up a few times.. just figured at best, it would only probably be OK. But I love all amps. Something about the wings around the logo .. I like it.
Played one for years. Best tube amp I've played. Went great with my Line 6 POD HD 500X.
I actually just sold mine recently, but it was my main amp for years and I really enjoyed the tone, playing in Metalcore/Deathcore bands tuned to Drop B, Drop A, and Drop G.
I really always had an overdrive in front as a boost (Electro Harmonics East River Drive) and I honestly really did like the tone that I got out of it, but I am in the process of downsizing my gear and moving to all modeling units (Headrush, Headrush FRFR112) and so I recently sold it
I think I’m late to the party, but bridge the effects loop with a short pedal cable. That toggles the loop buffer giving the amp some more life. I like to compare it to breathing more freely
big fan of the VK100, i changed the verb tank with a ruby tubes unit. long story short its great after you spend some time with it and i use it with other stuff than V30. you can mod the boost and so on. also differnt tones with each input. also try a small cable in the front fx loop back into itself. clears it up a bit.
I had one as my main amp and still own a combo. as long as you have a boost this amp is great. The efx loop is also awesome lots of bang for your buck.
My old guitarist used one if these live. He managed to get good sounds out if it, almost bought one because if him. Apparently you can jump the FX loop for more.....uh....well, more.
WHOOPDIE DAISY
🤪
I had one a long time ago. One of the mods I had done was having it biased a tad hot. They are notoriously under biased. Also ran ruby tubes in it as well. Instead of 6l6 I ran el33s as well
Thanks for the info! I wonder what the texture knob is actually doing.. I kind of assumed that might be messing with the bias..
@@TaylorDanley if you mess with the tubes and can get non Chinese ruby tubes, run them in the power tubes, and run a mesa 12ax7 in the v1 slot and ruby tubes behind it. And if I’m not mistaking the texture knob just decreases the signal from the tube growing circuit. The biasing is protected from the knob
I use this head with the matching cab. Also throw my ampero on top of it. Sounds good to me. But do want to upgrade soon
The vk speakers arent the best sounding tho. Better to upgrade the speakers first
Dude this thing comes alive with a patch cable in the loop. Also, super easy to mod. I have mine with the Mesa/Soldano mod and a bias mod. Every time I think I wanna sell it I play a bit and change my mind.
I've played two of these in stereo for years... Easy to mod and it loves pedals. Also that switching lag is fixable
The dirt channel is ok for rock and blues with the right speaker(I've had the 112 combo for years) but I use it as a dead ass dry clean slate pedal platform ...it's got a good bare bones clean channel that can be sculpted to whatever you like with pedals...that's how I use it anyway with excellent results...I don't ever intend on selling it.
I had a VK combo for about 10 years and I really liked it. I eventually sold it to upgrade, but I always liked the sound I got out of it with a tube screamer. I would totally get another
I actually really like my Valve King. i would buy another one if if needed a cheap workhorse
I played a valveking for years, including opening for you when you were in TWLB
What band were/are you in?
@@TaylorDanley I was in this shitty deathcore band called swamp monster when I was in highschool. I just remember playing a show with you guys in a church in Lebanon like 15 years ago lol
Also like a month before that we were downtown begging for $ to pay for studio time and Jaime and either you or Kyle walked up and gave us your demo on a burned CD. You guys were always really cool. Everytime we played with you guys, y'all always showed up and hyped up the crowd even though we didn't know what we were doing. It was cool as a young musician to have such positive energy from way more proficient musicians.
Anyways, I haven't thought about that for a long time and just felt like sharing
Ran a Valveking for 10 years gigging in all sorts of dive bars and tiny venues. Banged around in the car/van and never let me down. Only reason I stopped using it was to downsize my rig as I got sick of lumping a head and cab everywhere.
always liked that amp and when i was younger i wanted that amp or the windsor. both are pretty cool
I have the 112 combo version, after a speaker upgrade it's a keeper.
I say that not using the reverb onboard very much though.
Crushing riffs! Thanks for the video!
brutal as always thanks for the tunes man.
Anytime!
I got one of those for around 200 bucks,I'm pleased with the way it sounds,considering how old it is.Great video!
I have a Valve King 100 head just like that, I bought it in 2008. My reverb sounds NOTHING like that, I still don't use it though. It's a spring reverb, so maybe shock damage from being dropped or something?
I have always wished the effects loop was in the back and the class A/AB was in the front, the second version has that as well as USB connectivity.
After reading comments, I will be trying a jumper cable on the effects loop and a dummy plug on the other input, something I had never thought of.
I'd say the only downside of the Peavey VK100 is the EQ itself. It's somewhat unpredictable & has some strange resonances at more extreme settings.
I've found that swapping in some higher quality preamp tubes helps this, but they are pretty much tanks as far as amps go!
I bought one of these new in 2010 and I still have it. Not bad for the price I paid!
07:35 sounds killer
I have this and the vkii
That are good amps!
Toss an OD in front of it, out tightens up amazingly
I love mine, With ts9 it sounds amazing.
Sounds great for what it is. I mean, they are a pretty good value for the price. Lots of options too.
This was the first valve amp I owned, got it for 500€ new back then. It performed ok but it never really grew on me. A bit to dark and muddy. Reading the comments with people saying you have to mod it or put some OD or distortion before it to sound good support my lukewarm memories of it.
We rented a rehearsal room from another band back then and I always wondered why I didn't manage to sound as good as them. The first time they let me play their amps (Engl E650 100 Watt Ritchie Blackmoore) I was blown away! Way better sound and feel/response. I saved up, sold the VK and bought my very own E650.
Not only did I enjoy playing much more, but I constantly got great comments about my tone since then.
Sold my beloved E650 a while ago, because it was just to cumbersome to lug around constantly. Got an E606 Powerball SE and am extremely happy, because it can sound like the E650 but is way smaller, lighter and has great new features like an IR loader or direct out.
Still like to think back to the VK from time to time though, because it was a time of great changes in my life back when I owned it. All in all I think the Bandit is the better amp from Peavy of that era, because it was even cheaper, more versatile, sounded better and the combo was still lighter then the VK 100 Watt head.
Funny......out of all my high end amps........i got the nost compliments when i used this amp....valve king.
People even swore i had it modded.
I used a stock ibanez js100 to a line 6 wireless......and that was it. Once in a while i would have the footswitch but i normally just rolled back the volume on the guitar and put it in the neck pup, for cleans.
This amp was a workhorse and the best part is tube change........no nedd to take it in just do it yourself
If i ever see the 1x12 combo.....its mine. I had one and that thing was a beast.
@@user-fc9iq6le2g Could be that I did not have the ideal cab back then to compliment the VK and it might have sounded better with other speakers.
So can imagine you might have had a better experience with the VK then me.
@@rollingslothmachine3431 speakers do make the biggest difference.
What about that Randall RG head sitting in the back? Are you going to make a video about it? I bought it at one point and ended up returning it because, to me, it sounded horrible, but it will be interesting to see your take on it.
YES I'm getting to it! I've actually just bought too many amps recently so my backlog is pretty big lol.
I bet it sounds really good when the high frequency buzz gets eq outed a bit. Remember this amp being shit on in forums back when it was sold lol so sounds better than expected for sure. Wondering how they made that reverb and thought "yep that sounds fine" though.
The VK gets overlooked because of the other Peavey amps, Ultra and 5150 amps have so much gain compared, but it does the job!
Vk100 os great with a few pedals. Gigged with one many times
Man i played a ton of these things back in the late 00's. Never liked them until i was finally forced to use one for an outdoor gig. Once I got to crank it, it really came alive.
I would be very interested to see how a preamp pedal like the mooer micro 005 or something of that variety would sound through the fx return. Would be a cheap way to get monster 6l6's to run whatever preamp you have.
I used to own one. It's solid budget amp. Not exactly a 6505 but not a bad tube amp. Sounds like a marshall with 6l6s
I started my band career with a VK half stack I bought for 230€. Well, well worth the money!
2 days ago I bought a used VK100 head with VK 412 head. It has mesa Mod and marshall mod (turns off one tube in pre-amp section). I bought it all for less than 300$ so I cannot complain :P
As you know I really dig mine. I honestly never used the reverb... but I should see if its that bad lol. Great vid as always buddy. Have a great day. \m/
Thanks dude! You too!
That’s an awesome amp. I’ve always liked peavey amps and the valve king sounds phenomenal 😎🤘🏻🎸
You can just make every amp scream!!
I was searching this past few days for a used one!! I think it's excellent for the price!
This was my first tube Amp. It'd actually not that bad of an Amp and is surprisingly brutal
It's pretty aggressive!
We have the VK mk1 and it's awesome. We have Tung-Sol tubes in it all around. Not the Ruby.
Fuck I need a guitarist like you with creativity and chops
Funny thing, I actually do care about the clean channel. Been trying to find a big, affordable high headroom tube amp to run my effects into.
Really cool demo track man! Sounds pretty good to my ear, could definitely work
THAT'S MY FIRST HALFSTACK!!! I was literally thinking about it and how much I missed it at work today and this video came up in my recommendations??? wtf, wild.
Those algorithm gremlins at work...
Thanks for the demo! Probably the most common high gain "mod" for a Valveking is an 808 :P
😂 truth.
Good review. Thar guitar looks amazing! What is it??????
plug effects loop together. It fixes the reverb
Had a 6303 maybe can't remember the name they basically all suck still using my joyo mb with a 400 watt cab for now sounds great
I just picked one of these up at a pawn shop yesterday for $135. Best money I spend all year.
VK100 has been a platform for a *lot* of mods and upgrades.
It's in the same family as my MH20 and that little guy rips.
The switch on the front is a break before make and was added onto the amp design.
The footswitch is isolated from and works internally, controlling part of the signal chain directly so it happens without latency.
okay lol end of video and yeah, some reason people do a lot of mods on this platform. Glad it's not just me.
I also have the Valve King MH20. That thing sounds surprisingly good for what it is...loud as shit too.
Would be interessting to hear it with an OD in the front!
I had one of these a couple of years back...hated the gain structure in these.i ended up trading a winsor and this amp for a M.I.A 6505+..never looked back