Toledo, Ohio here...The fact of the matter is that Peavey never trash talks. They always deliver and effectively blew all the other amp manufacturers out of the water at a very affordable price in the 1970`s. Powers at be got scared. I guess everyone thinks nothing good can come out of Meridian, Mississippi from a bunch of southern hicks. People still say that Peavey gear will get you through a pinch until you can afford a better amp......like a Marshall, mesa, Fender or whatever...That is the power of the media. I am 69 years old and have been playing guitar for a living since 17 years old. MA in guitar performance. I have played every amp there is. Peavey blows them ALL away. Use your ears...No mud, cuts through the mix like a guitar is supposed to do. Massive distortion and chunk if needed. Great clean tones as well.....I will forever be thankful to Hartley Peavey. Long live Peavey!!! I have 5 Rockmaster preamps, a 120/120 Classic series power amp and a 60 Watt classic series mono power amp. All 6L6`s... I can take anybody out in a moments notice like an assassin.....You might want to try the Mace as well.........Brutal....I play everything from metal to be-bop to classical. Extremely versatile amps. Eddie Van Halen stole their circuits and put his name on it in His EVH-Fender amps when he screwed Peavey. Another rip off....Peavey circuits were engineered by James Brown a Peavey employee. Also the Peavey version of the EVH guitar was the best one out of the lot between Music man and fender. Thanks for the review....Have a great day !! Enjoy your new PV amp !!
I thought I'd drop in to tell you that I saw one of these locally on Craigslist for a measly $150, came to RUclips and saw your demo. Got in touch with the guy immediately and picked it up. This thing rivals any amp I've ever played! Anyway, thank you for having posted this -- you sold me on it. 🍻
Thank you John. I have 2 of these. One is a 1973 with Celestion G12T75'S and the carbon copy of the one you are playing. It's an 82 that I got for 100 dollars. I had to replace the speakers so i had a set of Celestion Vintage 30's i tossed in it. I was going to sell one of these until I heard your post. I haven't been able to put either one through it's paces other than at low volumes. I also decided to keep my Peavey classic 50 tweed because of you. I just picked up a 77 Music Man 212 HD 130 for 250 dollars. It also needed speakers. I installed 2 Eminence Texas Heat speakers in it. I'd love to hear you put one of these monsters through it's paces! Well, because of you I decided to keep 2 more amps that I don't need. However it's not about need! Being guitarist's, it's about how many different sounds we can get depending on the song! It keeps me out of the bars. I don't drink so i have to waste my money on something. Guitars and amps are a great alternative! Thank you John for all of your videos! It's great to hear someone that still has the passion for music like you do. It's never about money. It's all about the music!
I think you may want to make a video about an individual's ability to dial in an amp. Any amp. We all go at an amp we've never seen in a similar way I think. You try to dial in a sound you like. I'm beginning to find that even YT channels have a distinct sound of their own. And this is the person who's editing the video's preference. I have a strong suspicion you could be given any amplifier and coax a sound you like out of it. I'm beginning to believe tone starts in someone's mind and all theses things are just tools to coax it out.
I agree, please do a video showing how you adjust a few amps ( and guitars tone/volume) for each amp sampled. I am always stunned by your tones on ANY amp and ANY guitar. Granted you are an amazing player, but you have to have at least one or two thoughts that could make a fantastic video for those of us frustrated with an amp that might just be a gem hiding behind a goofy tone stack that needs to be babied.
Went to a friend's house to jam and he said he had an amp i could use. Plugged in and immediately i heard something i liked. Noticed the phaser turned that on 3 and 3 and rocked out for a few hours. I said you interested in selling it and he agreed for $200. Good to see there is some love for the amp. I think it's a gem. Peavey is the dirty American blues tone. Thanks for the demo!
Wow.. I'm proud, and embarrassed to say this was my first "real" amp, that I saved up for, and bought new when I was 14 year's old. I loved it.. and the phase shifter, with the pull "hold" is special - not sure why other amps haven't done this. Unfortunately, as I got a little older, that amp was sold, and I moved up (or over?) to a Fender Twin. I think your going to "spike" the value on these old amps. Well done. Love your channel!
The Peavey Deuce was another gem from around this era. Circa 1984 I had a 2x12 deuce combo, boss chorus and ibanez TS-9 tube screamer and it was all i needed. The built in phaser nailed gilmour tones and jake e lee bark at the moon solo, flawlessly.
Back in the early '80s I had a Peavey Renound , solid state , But transformer coupled output. I guess to get that saturated Transformer sound. I was playing a lot of country then. Sounded Great on my steel guitar , and a mxr dynacomp, with my '66 Tele Chicken picking heaven!
Got one delivered to my door for $100.00 and a quart of ham and beans. Needs work , but I love resurrecting old amps, Peaveys especially because they are American made and made well.
I wish peavey would sell that phaser unit in a pedal ...that was such a killer sounding phaser ...the best one in my opinion !!! Skynyrd used the ones in their amps for those records !!!
Just goes to show you that you don't need to play through expensive gear to get great tones! I think it's what I love best about your channel Johan. Anyway, Happy New Year to you!
1:11 jajajajajaja..... Love the sincere humility. It's so true, there are tone monsters hiding in plain sight and yet our biases and brand goggles obscure our eyes before using the more important sense of listening. However, "the tone is in the fingers", does have merit here. Thanks Johan, that made my evening.
It's nice to see Peavey getting some love. They made (and still make) really great amps. Robust, easy to dial in and overall great sounding amps. I own Delta Blues 115 my self and I absolutely love it.
My drummer's friend had one of these. We jammed at the friend's house a few times about 24 years ago. The friend used a Les Paul through it and his tone was always so warm, full & punchy. The guy was an excellent player too so that helped. Johan, thank you for making this video it brings back memories. Cheers!
I have seen these the seattle/tacoma area pawn shops before. Never thought much about them until now. Again you open my eyes and entertain my ears. THAN YOU!
Ah, memories... my first bass amp was a Peavey, played loads o' gigs with it. I think a major part of the amazing sonic capacity of this particular Peavey are the two 12" speakers... whole lotta range there, coupled with the 6L6 tubes.
Don’t know yet! It’s 175 watts RMS and haven’t had the occasion to crank it without getting the army knocking at my door! Will try it at the country side next time tho!
I've had two of these over the years and they were great clean tone/pedal platform amps...SS preamp and 6L6 output..65 loud watts..Great playing as always from you.Always love the Scorpion speakers too.
I had one of these when they were new :) I giggled with it for years. I loved the pull feature on the phase shifter. I used to be able to nail some Lover Boy tones on it :)
I knew you would like the Classic, Johan, but I didn’t expect to see you demo one this soon after the Pacer. As usual, you sounded fantastic! Killer tones!
I love these amps. I bought mine in 2004 when I was a freshman joining the jazz band at school. I love the reverb and phaser on them. Mine had a 4 button switch so you could switch between the bright and normal channel, or even blend them (I guess like jumping the inputs on a Plexi?) You can definitely get some good classic rock and southern rock to es out of them. Good video dude.
Played hundreds of shows in New England circuit in tge 80s.returning to my Peavey Amp this year realizing how good it was and Still is.Still have it.40 years later.
I’m going to be 60 years old, in a few months. So I remember the good old days rocking the Peavey Bandit 65 watt 112 speaker. I was in a 4 piece band we played pubs a dance halls even a wedding or two. If I mic’d this little amp, all solid state too, that amp sounded awesome. I like your classic your playing. I just bought a peavey 212 Deuce VT series. It’s got four 6L6 power valves/ Tubes. A solid State pre amp. And when it’s mic’d !! Fantastic I payed too much for it, but I don’t care. It’s truly a wonderful guitar amp. Thanks for covering the different makes and models. I find it interesting and great fun.
I have two Peavey VTX Classic amplifiers that I purchased new back in 1984 and 1986. I run them in stereo with an Alesis Quadraverb and an Ibanez Tube Screamer out front to add a little edge to the built in Peavey distortion. It is my favorite amp setup. Great amps for nailing that "38 Special" southern rock early 1980s sound. Beautiful and full clean channel as well.
I was looking at a Peavy Classic VT series , for about $200 and i got it partly because of your helpful review. (i know it's not the exact same amp as this video) Totally worth it, thanks for making this video and your VT vs VTX video
I had a peavey mace (79). I put a Marshall bb2 in front of it. Wow , these old peavey are a force to be had. They don’t make them like they use to. Great tone and awesome video. Cheers
It's because the newer stuff is made in China. These old USA or UK made amplifiers really are something special. And I agree that we sometimes sold the older stuff chasing tone out of ignorance because we didn't spend time dialing things in. Some amplifiers are just easier to find the sweet spots on. I regret selling an old UK made Laney tube combo to this day.
After watching this, I found a 212 Stereo Chorus in the classifieds for about US$130. Works just fine, like all my other old Peavey gear. The guy who sold it to me said he'd been advertising it for weeks, but that "nobody wants an old Peavey." Little do they know what they're missing. It turned out I even had a remote footswitch in my "odds & ends" box that plugged right in - bonus! I love my 1990's Bandit 112, but this thing is LOUD - good for a large room. Thanks for this review.
I admit I was really surprised to find a Stereo Chorus 212, let alone for $180 Canadian. I would have been happy with almost any of the 212's. This one sounds great - once I learn to dial in it will sound even better. Cosmetically, it has a few very small blemishes in the Tolex. They can be easily repaired - in fact there's a good RUclips video about fixing small rips in Tolex. The biggest cosmetic improvement will be some soap and water and a sponge. Removing years of dust, smoke, etc should make the controls easier to read, too. All the electronics seem to work correctly. The digital reverb does not sound as nice as a good quality spring reverb. I don't think it's broken - it's just how the circuit sounds. There are discussions about that on the Peavey forums. A few of the pots that could use some contact cleaner, but they all function with no dead spots. Like the Bandit 112, a lot can be done "dialing in" the sound using the clean channel. I'm looking forward to learning how to best use the Chorus, too.
Great video! Just bought one with the footswitch in excellent condition at a pawn shop for $100! The speakers seem original and have square magnets. The amp weighs a ton but sounds very, very good! Don't know why older Peavey amps don't get respect and are so inexpensive but they certainly are gems!
Another hidden gem hiding right under your nose! Sounds classic Johan and I will have to keep any eye out for one of these. Great riffage as usual. Rock on bro!
There are some killer amps out there from Peavey, Crate, etc. that have gone unrecognized as being more than the sum of their parts Johan, hidden Gems. That all being said the other vids you have done on the origin amps, boutique equipment are always a pleasure to watch, (always take something away from the info) Just saying there is a large world of tone generating equipment so to speak, and many yet undiscovered forgotten classics waiting rediscovering. thanks for your work you put in to your channel.
Thank you Johan, I bought my Peavey Flight Case MX, It is the Vtx head (without the phase) from a pawn shop for a hundred bucks, I had to replace two transistors which I bought from RadioShack. it is 100 watt head. I really do not know much about amps. I have never played out of a serious Marshall like a jCM 800 or a plexi so I really don't have something to base what is good what is Okay or well whats bad thats easy enough. But seeing and hearing you play from my amp speaks volumes.
I grew up with a Peavey 212 from the 70's that belongs to my mother. Great tremelo and spring reverb. Having the solid state cranked gave a very squarewave mushy distortion, however with it dialed down and those power tubes cranked it was great!
Sweet!! What can be useful for us, is that you show a close-up of the settings you are using for each different sound, so we can try and replicate your talent!! In some video you do so, and they are my favorites... Like a magician teaching his tricks
Thanks my friend! I think the picture of the control panel in the beginning covers a lot of the tones. I had a bit mote pre amp gain for some riffs though. Cheers Johan
I have a Peavey MX head with a 4x12 Scorpion cab. Both the head and cab are built into flight cases and are tough! The head is SS pre into 6L6 power, 120 watts of LOUD! Great rig.
Hey Patrick , when are you going to do a vid? I also have The Flight Case MX, That I run through a single scorpion cab that I made, I made to look like the Flight Case Head. It is a loud amp. I am on Johan channel to try to dial in the sound. I don't know if its because I am running through a single speaker. I didn't think that would be an issue because Peavey also made the MX Combo w/ one speaker as well as a Head. I downloaded the Manual that also had 4 suggested Tone Knob Setting(s). there should have been a warning: Do not try these in a small room. Do have any suggestions?
@@AmIonArock Is the cab you made a closed enclosure? I have used the head with various speaker combos over the years (out of convenience or experimentation) and this is one head that really shines with a closed cab with either 4x10s or 4x12s. That's not to say you can't get a good sound out of a single speaker set up though. Unfortunately in order to get the really good sounds requires extreme db's, unless you have a power sink. Have you tried cranking the Post gain and using the pre as your volume (opposite of the usual approach) ? I think this brings out the best because it gets the power stage to pumping that natural tube compression, as the Post gain is where the tubes resides. As far as the Saturation you can use it as kind of a built in distortion pedal effect with lots of variation of the depth of the effect depending if you want a light overdrive or full on pinch harmonic heaven super high gain sound. Then I just use the eq to dial it in for the particular speaker set up I'm using. In general I run the high around 5 or so, as the amp naturally has a lot of higher frequency response. I'll run the mids around 2 to 4 for the mid scooped Dimebag sound or push them around 7 to 9 for a more classic rock rythym sound like AC/DC. With the lows is where it's really important as to speaker set up: If you're running a closed 4x12 or 4x10 you'll need much less bass than say a 2x12 open or 1x12 set up. Oh yeah, is the Scorpion cab you built a 10 or 12?
Hi Patrick, Let answer this question and then explain other idea later. I built my cab on the loosely on the Silvertone 1484. A cab design you might have seen on a video I did for my Alamo Dart amp which actually turned out quit well. The Speakers are boxed in with a open bottom shelf( maybe this called a baffle?) below them and vented out the back. Because this amp is so loud and neighbors house is directly behind where I set up my amps. Placed facing away. It has the baffle but ports out the front on the bottom. It has Scorpion S12425 : 12" 4 Ohm 200 watt I lined the inside with fiberglass insulation. I have never played through a real Marshall so really have not have had the experience of playing the Gold Standard. I have a Gibson Scout, a small Titano (Magnatone) Silvertone 1484 and a Marshall Mgdfx 50 which I bought brand-new from G.C. but I heard these are crappy and maybe so because they would only give $50 when I tried to trade in for another amp I bring up my other amps for the reason I bought them all needing repair and I fixed them. (Call me lucky, I know nothing about amp repair )...internet One thing I like about my MX is if guitar is out of tune you hear it when you play. I have seen the Flight Case matching cab, to me I think they're awesome looking. I have found one of those for sale and also a Rockmaster pre-amp. I have wondered should go that way or Start from scratch. I really don't like using stomp boxes to get the tone I want. One thing I have tried and it sound better than anything I have ever played out of and this might be a stupid noob thing but I plugged into the "Emulated Line Out/ and Headphones" output and then connected to the "Low Input" on the front of my MX starting with the setting low and slowly turning up volume to both amps. And this sounds great! I have 4 choices of channels, 2 reverbs as well as effects. But is this causing damage? Also 2 speakers!
Hello Johan, I have this amplifier for 38 years. for years, I tried to replace it, I acquired a TSL 100, fender models were very bland next to the Peavey. A note, your settings are not in the recommendations. with a standard stratocaster (with treble bleed), in time setting, left to right: clean, soft crunch10, 12, 11,13, 13, 5, 7, 12. No pull thick. for Loud rock: 2pm, 2pm, 10, N / A, N / A, N / A, 3pm with PullThick, 8. I have mounted JJ 6L6CG and EMINENCE LEGEND loudspeakers. It's always a surprise when people hear the sound of PEAVEY.
I have the earlier model of this amp which has been repaired after being damaged in a thunder storm ,it’s well built has a great clean sound and has valve output,it’s a great amp
Them VT’s and VTX’s got that preamp gain from 4558 style chips similar to a Tube Screamer so those amps are like clean 6L6 power amps with a pedal on them. Also the phaser is second to none and you hear it on a lot of Waylon Jennings songs
Adding to this...the 6L6 power tubes are cathode driven with ultra linear taps for the screen grids. This is how the Musicman amps are as well...super efficient like class b operation, none to little idle current. This is great for loud and clean, not so much for compression...harder sounding distortion at clipping due to the ultra linear operation. A perk of a power amp like this is looooonng tube life.
I owned one of the first versions of this amp way back when, used it as my main amp many times after having too many disasters with my all tube marshalls. You can get many killers tones out of them, especially when using the built-in phase shifter, which had the coolest feature....pull out the knob and it halts the shift, so you can search for that certain sound you wanna use, kinda like the old "cocked wha" sound. I had many pro players ask just how I was getting certain sounds with just this amp, a delay, a chorus pedal and a noise reduction. One thing tho. which you gotta realise is all of these hybrid amps have to really be played loud to get any of the "tube shimmer and sheen".............notice he's got those headphones on?......and a heavy beast.....
Also, for anyone interested as of right now (6-4-18) Guitar Center has several of these amps on their website for $200-$250. I'd recommend picking one up if you like it, they will ship to your house.
I have this exact same amp. My first larger amp that I bought in about 1986 or so when I was 15. I've bought a few more amps, but I still occasionally play gigs with this amp. So reliable and really good sounding for a solid state hybrid
It's either that one or the renown 400 peavey that merle haggard used 1981-86 until hes seen playing the twins or bassman again. Ive always wanted to try one for a back up traditional country rig. Ive had old peaveys in the past . idk how merle got such a fender like tone out of one.
OMFG, I had one of those for years! Got another one, put a BK Butler Tube Driver in front of it & WHOA!🙌. Awesome, Johan! But I gotta say, the Orange Crush combos are sounding WAY better now, over 3 decades later, the technology has improved!
The Marshall Vintage Modern The Peavey Classic The Marshall Lead 12 are all hidden gems, that get over looked by most, for the more common amps and there are many bargains to be had.
Yeah the gain channels can get fizzy if you crank them, but I prefer to keep mine in JCM 800/900 territory and they work extremely well for that. My VS100 has a sweet spot where you would swear you are plugging into a JCM tube head.
My friend's dad had one of these. When I was in my first band in my early teens he used to let me use it for outdoor gigs. I remember it being pretty decent, seemed like a good workhorse amp.
Aw look at you Johan, I recommended a Classic series amp to another guy in your last video and low and behold, you get one for this one :p See if you can find a Peavey XXL, that is an AMAZING amp as well. They are like a solid-state Mesa Dual Rectifier.
It is probably more of a metal amp, but I can get a good Plexi and JCM 900 sound out of it really easily. It is like the Cadillac version of the Transtube Bandit. Amazing amp, if you find one I think you'll really appreciate it.
Hi Johan....As always,love your videos..There is one of these locally that I want to pull the plug on(I've owned 2 of these over the years)...The one I'm looking at lacks the footswitch.Any chance of a clear photo of the innards of the VTX F/S? Can't locate anything on the internet.Thx if you can help a fellow musician!
Hi, Johan! That Peavey is really can be usefull part of guitarist's equipment. But they are very rare last time. In 90-s the world was full of Peavey products, but today not so simple to find one, like this. Nice sound! Very delicious! Thank you for the video, C.U.! Zigfrid
I've got three Peavey Bravos, one with the stock speaker, one with a vintage 30 and one with a greenback. £100 each!!! They are nothing short of amazing. I generally throw a black cloth over them when I introduce them to someone new and ask them how much they think the amp is worth, guesses range from 5 to 10 times what I paid and they are generally blown away. Just like Johan says, don't be put off by the brand, make and model, just close your eyes, plug in and go for it!
Wonderful tone out of that old Peavey hybrid! But then again ain't any of us ever heard you play an amp, even a shitty one that you weren't able to make sound killer! Cheers to you gifted man!
I got into the Peavey amps because i like to run a bright sound and Peavey's love to deliver that brightness. The scorpion speakers pair very well with this amp. I would love to try it with some different up front stomps. Just good stuff!
Thanks Johan!!!! Been watching your page and your kind words on the different Peavey products you've played on your page. Over here in the states Peavey has always been kind of considered the loud,toneless bastard child to other popular brands,since I've been a kid. Based on this review,and other's you've shared,I just picked up this same year Classic VTX,and I absolutely love it. Playing a Boss SD-1 in front of it,no knob past 3 1/2. It's dark,has grit,has edge,and has bite. What more can you ask for? I see you're running the post gain hottest,I've been doing the pre-gain like that.....time to go experiment. Thank you!!!! Keep on rocking Brother!
As good as it gets - at any price. I don't usually tolerate valves/vacuum tubes in a guitar amp, but I could make an exception for this amp. Nicely done!
i gigged with one of these all the 80s. It then sat in a garage for almost 30 years. About 5 years ago, i pulled it all apart, cleaned all the pots, re-tubed the amp and bought new Scorpion speakers. also new grill cloth. my son uses it to this day: scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/945918_4744574623692_390293617_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=7748b2f44966d4554eee7c6666494fd6&oe=5BC0A79D
My first real amp back in the mid 80's was a Peavey Heritage 2x12 and I still have it,original 6l6 tubes and all, although it has been cut down into a head size from the 2x12 cab( poor decision on my part long ago) If you watch old Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts you will see tons of Peavey gear being used. You can get some great tones from these. The built in Phase on mine was exactly like some of Alex Lifeson's old Rush style tones. I once dropped it down a flight of stairs when I slipped and it worked fine although the foot switch insert got a little banged up. These things were built like a tank. Great find and video!
Johan Segeborn you found one of the holy grail, off the grid amps and one of the most versatile amps ever made. The perfect amp for classic rock gigs as it covers everything marshall and fender well. I collect the Peavey MACE family of amps along with marshall's. It all started when Hartley Peavey (based in meridean mississippi, usa) aproached the great Lynyrd Skynyrd about using his amps and he would gladly front the band all the amps they needed. Allen Collins asked hartley what he had for the LOUDEST tube amp they manufactured at the time and hartley introduced them to the MACE amps peavey had just put out. Hartley imediately had heads and cabs and combos (all tweed covered) sent to their rehearsal studio in down town jacksonville florida (just a couple weeks from retiring their original swamp cabin named HELL HOUSE) and skynyrd put them through the paces and the deal was done. Ronnie Van Zant told hartley peavey "if these things will make it through 3 months of our upcoming tour than we will buy them all and you won't not have to front us anything". Well, you know how that came out. They used them the first time recording on the GIMME BACK MY BULLETS album and used them on everything both live and studio from there on out until the plane crash including Street Survivors. Then they used them in the Rossington Collins Band, The Allen Collins Band and the 2nd generation of Skynyrd using those very same ones up until about 7 years back as peavey asked them endorse the new lineup of tube amps they were pushing out. Gary set his original peavey mace behind those endorsed stacks live and used it. Gary still records a lot of their studio stuff with his original tweed mace. The Mace was CONSERVATIVELY rated at 165wts rms and can hang with marshal major's if using 4x12w cabs. However......, and i can attest......, they were just WAY, WAY to loud for playing at home or in a rehearsal room. There was not even barely a notch from being barely on and oh my god!! To brutal for most clubs as these things came on massive just touching the volume knob. Needless to say, sales suffered badly in the public sector but for skynyrd, 38 special, marshal tucker, wet willie, etc....., they worked great for their arena sized gigs. So, everyone loved that great skynyrd peavey tone from the mace but they eere just TOO brutal (if you havnt heard skynyrds EPIC live album from 1976, One More From The Road then you MUST get it, crank it and hear what skynyrd was all about and how great those mace amps sounded. Peavey decided to keep the same circuitry and tame it down so out came the HERITAGE VTX line which i have collected for many years (have 5 working ones now) same 6l6 power tubes and great phaser and reverb. Its my southern rock giging amp. They are built like a tank inside and out, lots of clean 100+ wat power and channel switching. You need to get one of those next. You can get a good one for 150-300 u.s. dollars. Then they decided to make an even "tamer" version and those are the classic and deuce series vt and vtx 50wt series with most of the same circuitry. I have one deuce and two classic vtx like yours. However....., these heritage and classics and dueces are getting to get more well known every year and it wont be ling until a decent one will be going 300-500. The maces are twice that already. For those of you out there not real versed in skynyrd's music, go out and get that live cd i mentioned ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD or just go to spotify. This album will blow you away. I have converted many, many people into being skynyrd fanatics after hearing that album with pretty much all saying at some point, "i had no idea that band was that good" and how many great songs they had other than freebird and sweet home alabama. AS A FINAL NOTE, Ed King, L/S original 3rd guitar player actually had a Peavey Roadmaster he used along side of his 50wt marshall plexi. He used it on Second Helping. He sold it and even today he wishes he hadnt as (and i also know) "it had a killer tone of it's own". Of course, this was before L/S hooked up with the mace amps and were using marshall plexi's, hi watts, fender super reverb and twins. CONGRATS on your awsome peavey find Johan!! Now go find a good Heritage VTX!! What are those pickups in the les paul your playing?
These peavey budget amp videos are really amazing to watch. I've been a peavey user for years (bandit + classic 30) and my recomendation, if you wanna review some old peavey bass amp, it's the TKO65 (from early 80's). Bought myself one of these recently for a few dimes, and it smoked a ampeg ba115 in a side to side comparission. Very good bang for the buck.
No, they are a bit hard to find here in Brazil (but still, the price is good). But i believe that is almost the same amp as the TKO65, at least the early ones, since they had similar EQ options (Bright, Punch and Mid Shift), Speakers (Black Widow > Scorpion) and construction. The only difference being the 9 band EQ on TNT (+ chorus on some models) and the 2 push pull + 5 EQ knobs on TKO65. But i will try to find some of them to compare if possible.
Most all of the early Peavey stuff is great and if you have the electrical knowledge (like me) they are easy to repair. Peavey's that I own or have owned. Peavey Deuce (Tube version), Peavey Classic (Tube version), Peavey Pacer, Peavey Special 130, Peavey Mk IV Bass Head. All are or were late 70's and 80's. Work horses and loud ;)
If I recall, the Classic 30 and 50 were and still are 12ax7 pre amp tubes and EL84 output tubes. The VT and VTX are solid state pre-amps and 6l6 output tubes. Hartley Peavey seemed to mix it up quite a bit so he might of also done the tube pre-amp and solid state output. I owned two Peavey Deuce amps, the earlier one was all tube 12ax7/6L6 and the newer one was solid state preamp and 6L6 output . What I really liked on the solid state amps is that they used heavy duty output transistors on most in a TO-3 package in pairs and quads. NPN and PNP types which give you a Push Pull type solid state. Hartley was ahead of his time in the solid state amp boom and he just kept getting better in the distortion end. FYI The best thing about most of the earlier amps is the spring reverb tanks.
Still got my early 80"s Peavey Deuce here with the same 2 Scorpion speakers as the VTX Classic. Solid state preamp, tube power amp. 120 watts, man these things are koud! Sure ain't selling it for 80-150 bucks though ;-)
When Johan said he was “ashamed to have not noticed this amp earlier”, that was a beautiful moment. The passion you have is why we love ya brother!
Thanks my friend :-)
Glistening Kabana Indeed! It made Me go out and buy one of these. Now; I just need to get it working again... 😄
@@JohanSegeborn Rock N Roll :)
说得太对了兄弟~
Yeah! Lol that's awesome, man. Sweet guy.
Toledo, Ohio here...The fact of the matter is that Peavey never trash talks. They always deliver and effectively blew all the other amp manufacturers out of the water at a very affordable price in the 1970`s. Powers at be got scared. I guess everyone thinks nothing good can come out of Meridian, Mississippi from a bunch of southern hicks. People still say that Peavey gear will get you through a pinch until you can afford a better amp......like a Marshall, mesa, Fender or whatever...That is the power of the media. I am 69 years old and have been playing guitar for a living since 17 years old. MA in guitar performance. I have played every amp there is. Peavey blows them ALL away. Use your ears...No mud, cuts through the mix like a guitar is supposed to do. Massive distortion and chunk if needed. Great clean tones as well.....I will forever be thankful to Hartley Peavey. Long live Peavey!!! I have 5 Rockmaster preamps, a 120/120 Classic series power amp and a 60 Watt classic series mono power amp. All 6L6`s... I can take anybody out in a moments notice like an assassin.....You might want to try the Mace as well.........Brutal....I play everything from metal to be-bop to classical. Extremely versatile amps. Eddie Van Halen stole their circuits and put his name on it in His EVH-Fender amps when he screwed Peavey. Another rip off....Peavey circuits were engineered by James Brown a Peavey employee. Also the Peavey version of the EVH guitar was the best one out of the lot between Music man and fender. Thanks for the review....Have a great day !! Enjoy your new PV amp !!
Nice reply!! Do you have any input as to which Peavey Deuce would be best for 70's Skynyrd tones?
Thanks. Karl
I thought I'd drop in to tell you that I saw one of these locally on Craigslist for a measly $150, came to RUclips and saw your demo. Got in touch with the guy immediately and picked it up. This thing rivals any amp I've ever played!
Anyway, thank you for having posted this -- you sold me on it.
🍻
I'll always be thankful to Peavey for providing inexpensive quality amps when I was a teenager.
It’s not that Johan finds these hidden gems, it’s that these old amps finds him
;-) I’d like that!
Thank you John. I have 2 of these. One is a 1973 with Celestion G12T75'S and the carbon copy of the one you are playing. It's an 82 that I got for 100 dollars. I had to replace the speakers so i had a set of Celestion Vintage 30's i tossed in it. I was going to sell one of these until I heard your post. I haven't been able to put either one through it's paces other than at low volumes. I also decided to keep my Peavey classic 50 tweed because of you. I just picked up a 77 Music Man 212 HD 130 for 250 dollars. It also needed speakers. I installed 2 Eminence Texas Heat speakers in it. I'd love to hear you put one of these monsters through it's paces! Well, because of you I decided to keep 2 more amps that I don't need. However it's not about need! Being guitarist's, it's about how many different sounds we can get depending on the song! It keeps me out of the bars. I don't drink so i have to waste my money on something. Guitars and amps are a great alternative! Thank you John for all of your videos! It's great to hear someone that still has the passion for music like you do. It's never about money. It's all about the music!
I think you may want to make a video about an individual's ability to dial in an amp. Any amp. We all go at an amp we've never seen in a similar way I think. You try to dial in a sound you like. I'm beginning to find that even YT channels have a distinct sound of their own. And this is the person who's editing the video's preference. I have a strong suspicion you could be given any amplifier and coax a sound you like out of it. I'm beginning to believe tone starts in someone's mind and all theses things are just tools to coax it out.
Hi, yeah Inthink that’s the main contributor to tone too
Is there a way to get a visual reference? Ocilliscope maybe?
Woodeso's Guitar Mods + yeah man you have seen the light!
I agree, please do a video showing how you adjust a few amps ( and guitars tone/volume) for each amp sampled. I am always stunned by your tones on ANY amp and ANY guitar. Granted you are an amazing player, but you have to have at least one or two thoughts that could make a fantastic video for those of us frustrated with an amp that might just be a gem hiding behind a goofy tone stack that needs to be babied.
Woodeso's Guitar Mods When in doubt, crank it up louder!
Went to a friend's house to jam and he said he had an amp i could use. Plugged in and immediately i heard something i liked. Noticed the phaser turned that on 3 and 3 and rocked out for a few hours. I said you interested in selling it and he agreed for $200. Good to see there is some love for the amp. I think it's a gem. Peavey is the dirty American blues tone. Thanks for the demo!
Wow.. I'm proud, and embarrassed to say this was my first "real" amp, that I saved up for, and bought new when I was 14 year's old. I loved it.. and the phase shifter, with the pull "hold" is special - not sure why other amps haven't done this. Unfortunately, as I got a little older, that amp was sold, and I moved up (or over?) to a Fender Twin. I think your going to "spike" the value on these old amps. Well done. Love your channel!
Thanks, I’m really glad to hear that!
The Peavey Deuce was another gem from around this era. Circa 1984 I had a 2x12 deuce combo, boss chorus and ibanez TS-9 tube screamer and it was all i needed. The built in phaser nailed gilmour tones and jake e lee bark at the moon solo, flawlessly.
Cheers Johan
Back in the early '80s I had a Peavey Renound , solid state ,
But transformer coupled output. I guess to get that saturated
Transformer sound. I was playing a lot of country then. Sounded
Great on my steel guitar , and a mxr dynacomp, with my '66 Tele
Chicken picking heaven!
Sounds great! Awesome playing as always Johan! Love the gritty classic sounds you always pull from any of the gear you play.
Thanks Isaac, I’m so glad to hear that!
Got one delivered to my door for $100.00 and a quart of ham and beans. Needs work , but I love resurrecting old amps, Peaveys especially because they are American made and made well.
I wish peavey would sell that phaser unit in a pedal ...that was such a killer sounding phaser ...the best one in my opinion !!! Skynyrd used the ones in their amps for those records !!!
Just goes to show you that you don't need to play through expensive gear to get great tones! I think it's what I love best about your channel Johan. Anyway, Happy New Year to you!
1:11 jajajajajaja..... Love the sincere humility. It's so true, there are tone monsters hiding in plain sight and yet our biases and brand goggles obscure our eyes before using the more important sense of listening. However, "the tone is in the fingers", does have merit here. Thanks Johan, that made my evening.
Thanks my friend, I’m glad to gear that!
It's nice to see Peavey getting some love. They made (and still make) really great amps. Robust, easy to dial in and overall great sounding amps. I own Delta Blues 115 my self and I absolutely love it.
Cool, that’s another great one for sure
I think the delta blues is the best amp they ever made.
The 30 watt 1x12 combo was my first amp. Hartley Peavey originally drew the circuit up on a napkin.
The guy that taught me how to play in high-school, back in the late 80's had one of these and it sounded GREAT!!!!
My drummer's friend had one of these. We jammed at the friend's house a few times about 24 years ago. The friend used a Les Paul through it and his tone was always so warm, full & punchy. The guy was an excellent player too so that helped. Johan, thank you for making this video it brings back memories. Cheers!
Glad to hear it! Cheers
I have seen these the seattle/tacoma area pawn shops before. Never thought much about them until now. Again you open my eyes and entertain my ears. THAN YOU!
Thanks Christopher
Ah, memories... my first bass amp was a Peavey, played loads o' gigs with it. I think a major part of the amazing sonic capacity of this particular Peavey are the two 12" speakers... whole lotta range there, coupled with the 6L6 tubes.
You’ve fallen in the same trap as me!
Buying old peavey ‘cause they’re great and everyone selling them for 80 bucks ahah!
Heavy and durable stuff
Hahaha! The prices of these are insane
I have this amp but the solid state version (renown 212 solo series)
Bought it last week for 150 bucks
Cool, how does it compare to the classic tone wise?
Don’t know yet!
It’s 175 watts RMS and haven’t had the occasion to crank it without getting the army knocking at my door!
Will try it at the country side next time tho!
I have a GT 212 120w crate I got for $60 Canadian and a Peavey MicroBASS tealstripe I got for $20. $80 happily spent for tone
I've had two of these over the years and they were great clean tone/pedal platform amps...SS preamp and 6L6 output..65 loud watts..Great playing as always from you.Always love the Scorpion speakers too.
Johan is again discovering hidden gems. Great sound, even better playing. Joy to the ears. Thank you very much
Thanks! I’m so glad you like it!
I had one of these when they were new :) I giggled with it for years. I loved the pull feature on the phase shifter. I used to be able to nail some Lover Boy tones on it :)
I knew you would like the Classic, Johan, but I didn’t expect to see you demo one this soon after the Pacer. As usual, you sounded fantastic! Killer tones!
Thanks Carl, great to hear that!
Wow! A hidden gem indeed. Really cool sounding phaser, too.
Thanks! Yeah amazing amp
I love these amps. I bought mine in 2004 when I was a freshman joining the jazz band at school. I love the reverb and phaser on them. Mine had a 4 button switch so you could switch between the bright and normal channel, or even blend them (I guess like jumping the inputs on a Plexi?) You can definitely get some good classic rock and southern rock to es out of them. Good video dude.
Thanks man, glad to hear that!
Played hundreds of shows in New England circuit in tge 80s.returning to my Peavey Amp this year realizing how good it was and Still is.Still have it.40 years later.
I’m going to be 60 years old, in a few months. So I remember the good old days rocking the Peavey Bandit 65 watt 112 speaker.
I was in a 4 piece band we played pubs a dance halls even a wedding or two.
If I mic’d this little amp, all solid state too, that amp sounded awesome.
I like your classic your playing. I just bought a peavey 212 Deuce VT series. It’s got four 6L6 power valves/ Tubes.
A solid State pre amp. And when it’s mic’d !! Fantastic
I payed too much for it, but I don’t care. It’s truly a wonderful guitar amp.
Thanks for covering the different makes and models. I find it interesting and great fun.
It sounds like a cross between a marshall plexi and a roland jazz chorus with a boss od2 driving the rolands front end. My opinion. Sounds great.
I owned one as a teenager. The cleans are amazing! I want to find another!
I have two Peavey VTX Classic amplifiers that I purchased new back in 1984 and 1986. I run them in stereo with an Alesis Quadraverb and an Ibanez Tube Screamer out front to add a little edge to the built in Peavey distortion. It is my favorite amp setup. Great amps for nailing that "38 Special" southern rock early 1980s sound. Beautiful and full clean channel as well.
I have a 1975 peavey Classic 212, two 6L6 tubes, 50 watt, amazing tones....got her about a year ago off craigslist, $100..
I was looking at a Peavy Classic VT series , for about $200 and i got it partly because of your helpful review. (i know it's not the exact same amp as this video)
Totally worth it, thanks for making this video and your VT vs VTX video
Great demo for a true Peavey Classic. Well done & thanks Johan for demo & the heads up!
I love my 73 classic. Had it since I was 14. I love all my other amps but this one is special
I had a peavey mace (79). I put a Marshall bb2 in front of it. Wow , these old peavey are a force to be had. They don’t make them like they use to. Great tone and awesome video. Cheers
Thanks man, Cheers!
In an alternate universe, Peavey amps command premium prices and Marshall is a budget brand.
It's because the newer stuff is made in China. These old USA or UK made amplifiers really are something special.
And I agree that we sometimes sold the older stuff chasing tone out of ignorance because we didn't spend time dialing things in. Some amplifiers are just easier to find the sweet spots on. I regret selling an old UK made Laney tube combo to this day.
Thanks for the heads ups man. I picked up one of these for $150. What a great amp. A diamond in the rough.
After watching this, I found a 212 Stereo Chorus in the classifieds for about US$130. Works just fine, like all my other old Peavey gear. The guy who sold it to me said he'd been advertising it for weeks, but that "nobody wants an old Peavey." Little do they know what they're missing. It turned out I even had a remote footswitch in my "odds & ends" box that plugged right in - bonus! I love my 1990's Bandit 112, but this thing is LOUD - good for a large room. Thanks for this review.
Thanks Jim! I’m really interested in the Stereo Chorus since it’s the Type O Negative amp, and I’m a huge fan. Cheers
I admit I was really surprised to find a Stereo Chorus 212, let alone for $180 Canadian. I would have been happy with almost any of the 212's. This one sounds great - once I learn to dial in it will sound even better. Cosmetically, it has a few very small blemishes in the Tolex. They can be easily repaired - in fact there's a good RUclips video about fixing small rips in Tolex. The biggest cosmetic improvement will be some soap and water and a sponge. Removing years of dust, smoke, etc should make the controls easier to read, too.
All the electronics seem to work correctly. The digital reverb does not sound as nice as a good quality spring reverb. I don't think it's broken - it's just how the circuit sounds. There are discussions about that on the Peavey forums. A few of the pots that could use some contact cleaner, but they all function with no dead spots. Like the Bandit 112, a lot can be done "dialing in" the sound using the clean channel. I'm looking forward to learning how to best use the Chorus, too.
Great video! Just bought one with the footswitch in excellent condition at a pawn shop for $100! The speakers seem original and have square magnets. The amp weighs a ton but sounds very, very good! Don't know why older Peavey amps don't get respect and are so inexpensive but they certainly are gems!
Another hidden gem hiding right under your nose! Sounds classic Johan and I will have to keep any eye out for one of these. Great riffage as usual. Rock on bro!
Thanks my friend!
This is the one! These have beautiful cleans. Incredible and underrated amps for the pedal-platformer types! :D
Cheers Britt!
I've seen these for sale locally in the past. You look like you enjoyed your time with that one. Great tones
Thanks, I certainly did! :-)
There are some killer amps out there from Peavey, Crate, etc. that have gone unrecognized as being more than the sum of their parts Johan, hidden Gems. That all being said the other vids you have done on the origin amps, boutique equipment are always a pleasure to watch, (always take something away from the info) Just saying there is a large world of tone generating equipment so to speak, and many yet undiscovered forgotten classics waiting rediscovering. thanks for your work you put in to your channel.
Thanks Stepvan, I’m having so much fun making these videos.
Johan Segeborn +I will buy that for a nickel! fun vids to watch too
Rocking a peavey classic in front of a wall of plexis is truly a beautiful image
Learned to play guitar on this same amp in the early '80's. The phaser sounded incredible.
Thank you Johan, I bought my Peavey Flight Case MX, It is the Vtx head (without the phase) from a pawn shop for a hundred bucks, I had to replace two transistors which I bought from RadioShack. it is 100 watt head. I really do not know much about amps. I have never played out of a serious Marshall like a jCM 800 or a plexi so I really don't have something to base what is good what is Okay or well whats bad thats easy enough.
But seeing and hearing you play from my amp speaks volumes.
You're playing the Lynyrd Skynyrd combo. Les Paul & Peavey. We used to call them the Mississippi Marshall.
Loved your enthusiams in the beginning of the video. Shows how much you enjoyed it! Great sounding amp and tasteful playing as always :)
Thanks, yeah I was really happy to find the tones available in this amp! Cheers
I grew up with a Peavey 212 from the 70's that belongs to my mother. Great tremelo and spring reverb. Having the solid state cranked gave a very squarewave mushy distortion, however with it dialed down and those power tubes cranked it was great!
Yeah that’s mainly how I set it up here too
Dude. I did not expect this thing to sound that awesome.
Welcome to the Club.
Sweet!!
What can be useful for us, is that you show a close-up of the settings you are using for each different sound, so we can try and replicate your talent!!
In some video you do so, and they are my favorites...
Like a magician teaching his tricks
Thanks my friend! I think the picture of the control panel in the beginning covers a lot of the tones. I had a bit mote pre amp gain for some riffs though. Cheers Johan
I bought one back in 1980; Classic 50 VTX, loved the phase for psychedelic, plus a EH Clone Theory. My nephew has my amp now, won't give it back!!!
Hahaha! I don’t blame him ;-)
Just watching you play, I can tell you love that amp. GREAT playing too! I'm going to buy one!
I have a Peavey MX head with a 4x12 Scorpion cab. Both the head and cab are built into flight cases and are tough! The head is SS pre into 6L6 power, 120 watts of LOUD! Great rig.
Hey Patrick , when are you going to do a vid?
I also have The Flight Case MX, That I run through a single scorpion cab that I made, I made to look like the Flight Case Head. It is a loud amp. I am on Johan channel to try to dial in the sound. I don't know if its because I am running through a single speaker. I didn't think that would be an issue because Peavey also made the MX Combo w/ one speaker as well as a Head. I downloaded the Manual that also had 4 suggested Tone Knob Setting(s). there should have been a warning: Do not try these in a small room.
Do have any suggestions?
@@AmIonArock Is the cab you made a closed enclosure? I have used the head with various speaker combos over the years (out of convenience or experimentation) and this is one head that really shines with a closed cab with either 4x10s or 4x12s. That's not to say you can't get a good sound out of a single speaker set up though. Unfortunately in order to get the really good sounds requires extreme db's, unless you have a power sink. Have you tried cranking the Post gain and using the pre as your volume (opposite of the usual approach) ? I think this brings out the best because it gets the power stage to pumping that natural tube compression, as the Post gain is where the tubes resides. As far as the Saturation you can use it as kind of a built in distortion pedal effect with lots of variation of the depth of the effect depending if you want a light overdrive or full on pinch harmonic heaven super high gain sound. Then I just use the eq to dial it in for the particular speaker set up I'm using. In general I run the high around 5 or so, as the amp naturally has a lot of higher frequency response. I'll run the mids around 2 to 4 for the mid scooped Dimebag sound or push them around 7 to 9 for a more classic rock rythym sound like AC/DC. With the lows is where it's really important as to speaker set up: If you're running a closed 4x12 or 4x10 you'll need much less bass than say a 2x12 open or 1x12 set up. Oh yeah, is the Scorpion cab you built a 10 or 12?
Hi Patrick, Let answer this question and then explain other idea later. I built my cab on the loosely on the Silvertone 1484. A cab design you might have seen on a video I did for my Alamo Dart amp which actually turned out quit well. The Speakers are boxed in with a open bottom shelf( maybe this called a baffle?) below them and vented out the back. Because this amp is so loud and neighbors house is directly behind where I set up my amps. Placed facing away. It has the baffle but ports out the front on the bottom. It has Scorpion S12425 : 12" 4 Ohm 200 watt I lined the inside with fiberglass insulation. I have never played through a real Marshall so really have not have had the experience of playing the Gold Standard.
I have a Gibson Scout, a small Titano (Magnatone) Silvertone 1484 and a Marshall Mgdfx 50 which I bought brand-new from G.C. but I heard these are crappy and maybe so because they would only give $50 when I tried to trade in for another amp I bring up my other amps for the reason I bought them all needing repair and I fixed them. (Call me lucky, I know nothing about amp repair )...internet
One thing I like about my MX is if guitar is out of tune you hear it when you play. I have seen the Flight Case matching cab, to me I think they're awesome looking. I have found one of those for sale and also a Rockmaster pre-amp. I have wondered should go that way or Start from scratch. I really don't like using stomp boxes to get the tone I want. One thing I have tried and it sound better than anything I have ever played out of and this might be a stupid noob thing but I plugged into the "Emulated Line Out/ and Headphones" output and then connected to the "Low Input" on the front of my MX starting with the setting low and slowly turning up volume to both amps. And this sounds great! I have 4 choices of channels, 2 reverbs as well as effects.
But is this causing damage? Also 2 speakers!
Dude, I have a Peavey Deuce loaded with 2x12" Black Widows, and its a killer. 120w of loveliness
Cool, I bet that sounds great!
Hello Johan, I have this amplifier for 38 years. for years, I tried to replace it, I acquired a TSL 100, fender models were very bland next to the Peavey.
A note, your settings are not in the recommendations. with a standard stratocaster (with treble bleed), in time setting, left to right: clean, soft crunch10, 12, 11,13, 13, 5, 7, 12. No pull thick. for Loud rock: 2pm, 2pm, 10, N / A, N / A, N / A, 3pm with PullThick, 8. I have mounted JJ 6L6CG and EMINENCE LEGEND loudspeakers. It's always a surprise when people hear the sound of PEAVEY.
I have the earlier model of this amp which has been repaired after being damaged in a thunder storm ,it’s well built has a great clean sound and has valve output,it’s a great amp
Them VT’s and VTX’s got that preamp gain from 4558 style chips similar to a Tube Screamer so those amps are like clean 6L6 power amps with a pedal on them. Also the phaser is second to none and you hear it on a lot of Waylon Jennings songs
Cool, I actually had the pre volume set pretty low with the post volume almost cranked.
Adding to this...the 6L6 power tubes are cathode driven with ultra linear taps for the screen grids. This is how the Musicman amps are as well...super efficient like class b operation, none to little idle current. This is great for loud and clean, not so much for compression...harder sounding distortion at clipping due to the ultra linear operation. A perk of a power amp like this is looooonng tube life.
I owned one of the first versions of this amp way back when, used it as my main amp many times after having too many disasters with my all tube marshalls. You can get many killers tones out of them, especially when using the built-in phase shifter, which had the coolest feature....pull out the knob and it halts the shift, so you can search for that certain sound you wanna use, kinda like the old "cocked wha" sound. I had many pro players ask just how I was getting certain sounds with just this amp, a delay, a chorus pedal and a noise reduction. One thing tho. which you gotta realise is all of these hybrid amps have to really be played loud to get any of the "tube shimmer and sheen".............notice he's got those headphones on?......and a heavy beast.....
We're almost 50k glad to be here since 10k!! Congrats Johan!
Thanks my friend. That means a lot to me!
Also, for anyone interested as of right now (6-4-18) Guitar Center has several of these amps on their website for $200-$250. I'd recommend picking one up if you like it, they will ship to your house.
Thanks for the tip!
These overdrive tones sound very rich and full even on my tiny phone speakers.
Absolutely amazing. Reminds me a lot of Alex Lifeson's sound on Caress of Steel.
Thanks Caleb! Really good to hear that!
I have this exact same amp. My first larger amp that I bought in about 1986 or so when I was 15. I've bought a few more amps, but I still occasionally play gigs with this amp. So reliable and really good sounding for a solid state hybrid
I believe skyward were known for using a Peavey Deuce. Maybe this amp too but definitely the deuce
@@skylerwells2527 Yep they used em!
It's either that one or the renown 400 peavey that merle haggard used 1981-86 until hes seen playing the twins or bassman again. Ive always wanted to try one for a back up traditional country rig. Ive had old peaveys in the past . idk how merle got such a fender like tone out of one.
OMFG, I had one of those for years!
Got another one, put a BK Butler Tube Driver in front of it & WHOA!🙌. Awesome, Johan!
But I gotta say, the Orange Crush combos are sounding WAY better now, over 3 decades later, the technology has improved!
Thanks man
Just found a minty one for 150. Great vid and playing. Thank you.
The Marshall Vintage Modern
The Peavey Classic
The Marshall Lead 12
are all hidden gems, that get over looked by most, for the more common amps and there are many bargains to be had.
Indeed! 3 great amps
Don't forget the Marshall Valvestate amps, those are killer too.
TheRosswise yeah ive got a avt150c too. The gain channel is a bit fizzy but the clean chanel is beautiful and takes pedals really well.
Yeah the gain channels can get fizzy if you crank them, but I prefer to keep mine in JCM 800/900 territory and they work extremely well for that. My VS100 has a sweet spot where you would swear you are plugging into a JCM tube head.
TheRosswise Don't overlook the Lead 100 Mosfet heads too. They were very close to the JCM 800.
More Meridian Magic! Well played Johan!
Thanks! More great Meridian stuff is coming up shortly :-)
My friend's dad had one of these. When I was in my first band in my early teens he used to let me use it for outdoor gigs. I remember it being pretty decent, seemed like a good workhorse amp.
Cheers
Just picked up a deuce Vt head for $120 bucks.The phaser is incredible.
Aw look at you Johan, I recommended a Classic series amp to another guy in your last video and low and behold, you get one for this one :p See if you can find a Peavey XXL, that is an AMAZING amp as well. They are like a solid-state Mesa Dual Rectifier.
Hahaha! Gonna look for one right away ;-)
It is probably more of a metal amp, but I can get a good Plexi and JCM 900 sound out of it really easily. It is like the Cadillac version of the Transtube Bandit. Amazing amp, if you find one I think you'll really appreciate it.
Fab review. I've got two teal bandits and looking to get a VTX now for gigs. Of course I need two.
Hi Johan....As always,love your videos..There is one of these locally that I want to pull the plug on(I've owned 2 of these over the years)...The one I'm looking at lacks the footswitch.Any chance of a clear photo of the innards of the VTX F/S? Can't locate anything on the internet.Thx if you can help a fellow musician!
Beautiful as always Johan. Those clean chords with phaser makes think about the prog band Armageddon.
Thanks Jorge! I’m really glad to hear that!
Great amp, great range and great tones Johan - its a keeper
Thanks Gerry!
Hi, Johan!
That Peavey is really can be usefull part of guitarist's equipment. But they are very rare last time. In 90-s the world was full of Peavey products, but today not so simple to find one, like this. Nice sound! Very delicious!
Thank you for the video, C.U.!
Zigfrid
Thanks Zigfrid! They’re actually still pretty common in Sweden. See you! Johan
The Peavy Classic VTX 2x12 combo was my first "good" amp. I got mine in 1986 or 1987 for $400 new. It served me well!
Cheers Ty!
I've got three Peavey Bravos, one with the stock speaker, one with a vintage 30 and one with a greenback. £100 each!!! They are nothing short of amazing. I generally throw a black cloth over them when I introduce them to someone new and ask them how much they think the amp is worth, guesses range from 5 to 10 times what I paid and they are generally blown away. Just like Johan says, don't be put off by the brand, make and model, just close your eyes, plug in and go for it!
Indeed, I can’t believe how cheap these are. Cheers Johan
Thanks for another demo JS. That Peavey does sound pretty good! The overdrive is vintage-beautiful.
Thanks!
I still have mine, I am going to get it out of storage and take it for a ride.
really like this one. Reminds me of Queens of the Stone Age style of crunch/fuzz tones.
Wonderful tone out of that old Peavey hybrid! But then again ain't any of us ever heard you play an amp, even a shitty one that you weren't able to make sound killer! Cheers to you gifted man!
That phaser effect sounds rad. Great Playin!
Thanks Nick!
I got into the Peavey amps because i like to run a bright sound and Peavey's love to deliver that brightness. The scorpion speakers pair very well with this amp. I would love to try it with some different up front stomps. Just good stuff!
Maybe we can include some gain pedals in coming Peavey clips
you can't go wrong with old peavey amps, doesn't matter if it's solid-state, tube or hybrid like this one.
Indeed!
Thanks Johan!!!! Been watching your page and your kind words on the different Peavey products you've played on your page. Over here in the states Peavey has always been kind of considered the loud,toneless bastard child to other popular brands,since I've been a kid. Based on this review,and other's you've shared,I just picked up this same year Classic VTX,and I absolutely love it. Playing a Boss SD-1 in front of it,no knob past 3 1/2. It's dark,has grit,has edge,and has bite. What more can you ask for? I see you're running the post gain hottest,I've been doing the pre-gain like that.....time to go experiment. Thank you!!!! Keep on rocking Brother!
As good as it gets - at any price.
I don't usually tolerate valves/vacuum tubes in a guitar amp, but I could make an exception for this amp.
Nicely done!
i gigged with one of these all the 80s. It then sat in a garage for almost 30 years. About 5 years ago, i pulled it all apart, cleaned all the pots, re-tubed the amp and bought new Scorpion speakers. also new grill cloth. my son uses it to this day: scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/945918_4744574623692_390293617_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=7748b2f44966d4554eee7c6666494fd6&oe=5BC0A79D
In the used amplifier market these older Peavey's are up there with the best deals ever, talk about bang for the buck!
My first real amp back in the mid 80's was a Peavey Heritage 2x12 and I still have it,original 6l6 tubes and all, although it has been cut down into a head size from the 2x12 cab( poor decision on my part long ago) If you watch old Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts you will see tons of Peavey gear being used. You can get some great tones from these. The built in Phase on mine was exactly like some of Alex Lifeson's old Rush style tones. I once dropped it down a flight of stairs when I slipped and it worked fine although the foot switch insert got a little banged up. These things were built like a tank. Great find and video!
Thanks! Yeah I bet Skynyrd used Peaveys on Street Survivors. I love the solo from “That smell’. Cheers
And don't forget how LOUD these amps go! They go to "12" I think! haha!
Johan Segeborn you found one of the holy grail, off the grid amps and one of the most versatile amps ever made. The perfect amp for classic rock gigs as it covers everything marshall and fender well. I collect the Peavey MACE family of amps along with marshall's. It all started when Hartley Peavey (based in meridean mississippi, usa) aproached the great Lynyrd Skynyrd about using his amps and he would gladly front the band all the amps they needed. Allen Collins asked hartley what he had for the LOUDEST tube amp they manufactured at the time and hartley introduced them to the MACE amps peavey had just put out.
Hartley imediately had heads and cabs and combos (all tweed covered) sent to their rehearsal studio in down town jacksonville florida (just a couple weeks from retiring their original swamp cabin named HELL HOUSE) and skynyrd put them through the paces and the deal was done. Ronnie Van Zant told hartley peavey "if these things will make it through 3 months of our upcoming tour than we will buy them all and you won't not have to front us anything". Well, you know how that came out. They used them the first time recording on the GIMME BACK MY BULLETS album and used them on everything both live and studio from there on out until the plane crash including Street Survivors. Then they used them in the Rossington Collins Band, The Allen Collins Band and the 2nd generation of Skynyrd using those very same ones up until about 7 years back as peavey asked them endorse the new lineup of tube amps they were pushing out. Gary set his original peavey mace behind those endorsed stacks live and used it. Gary still records a lot of their studio stuff with his original tweed mace. The Mace was CONSERVATIVELY rated at 165wts rms and can hang with marshal major's if using 4x12w cabs. However......, and i can attest......, they were just WAY, WAY to loud for playing at home or in a rehearsal room. There was not even barely a notch from being barely on and oh my god!! To brutal for most clubs as these things came on massive just touching the volume knob. Needless to say, sales suffered badly in the public sector but for skynyrd, 38 special, marshal tucker, wet willie, etc....., they worked great for their arena sized gigs.
So, everyone loved that great skynyrd peavey tone from the mace but they eere just TOO brutal (if you havnt heard skynyrds EPIC live album from 1976, One More From The Road then you MUST get it, crank it and hear what skynyrd was all about and how great those mace amps sounded. Peavey decided to keep the same circuitry and tame it down so out came the HERITAGE VTX line which i have collected for many years (have 5 working ones now) same 6l6 power tubes and great phaser and reverb. Its my southern rock giging amp. They are built like a tank inside and out, lots of clean 100+ wat power and channel switching. You need to get one of those next. You can get a good one for 150-300 u.s. dollars.
Then they decided to make an even "tamer" version and those are the classic and deuce series vt and vtx 50wt series with most of the same circuitry. I have one deuce and two classic vtx like yours. However....., these heritage and classics and dueces are getting to get more well known every year and it wont be ling until a decent one will be going 300-500. The maces are twice that already. For those of you out there not real versed in skynyrd's music, go out and get that live cd i mentioned ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD or just go to spotify. This album will blow you away. I have converted many, many people into being skynyrd fanatics after hearing that album with pretty much all saying at some point, "i had no idea that band was that good" and how many great songs they had other than freebird and sweet home alabama.
AS A FINAL NOTE, Ed King, L/S original 3rd guitar player actually had a Peavey Roadmaster he used along side of his 50wt marshall plexi. He used it on Second Helping. He sold it and even today he wishes he hadnt as (and i also know) "it had a killer tone of it's own". Of course, this was before L/S hooked up with the mace amps and were using marshall plexi's, hi watts, fender super reverb and twins.
CONGRATS on your awsome peavey find Johan!! Now go find a good Heritage VTX!! What are those pickups in the les paul your playing?
I have 2. That’s how much I love them
These peavey budget amp videos are really amazing to watch. I've been a peavey user for years (bandit + classic 30) and my recomendation, if you wanna review some old peavey bass amp, it's the TKO65 (from early 80's). Bought myself one of these recently for a few dimes, and it smoked a ampeg ba115 in a side to side comparission. Very good bang for the buck.
Cool, I’ll get one of those too. Have compared it to a TNT?
No, they are a bit hard to find here in Brazil (but still, the price is good). But i believe that is almost the same amp as the TKO65, at least the early ones, since they had similar EQ options (Bright, Punch and Mid Shift), Speakers (Black Widow > Scorpion) and construction. The only difference being the 9 band EQ on TNT (+ chorus on some models) and the 2 push pull + 5 EQ knobs on TKO65.
But i will try to find some of them to compare if possible.
Dude, yer chops are just ace FIFAAN! like a little party in my ears. love your work
Thanks my friend, I’m glad you like it!
Most all of the early Peavey stuff is great and if you have the electrical knowledge (like me) they are easy to repair. Peavey's that I own or have owned. Peavey Deuce (Tube version), Peavey Classic (Tube version), Peavey Pacer, Peavey Special 130, Peavey Mk IV Bass Head. All are or were late 70's and 80's. Work horses and loud ;)
Cool! Do you know what the circuit difference between Classic, Classic VT and Classic VTX was? I’m very new to vintage Peavey amps.
If I recall, the Classic 30 and 50 were and still are 12ax7 pre amp tubes and EL84 output tubes. The VT and VTX are solid state pre-amps and 6l6 output tubes. Hartley Peavey seemed to mix it up quite a bit so he might of also done the tube pre-amp and solid state output. I owned two Peavey Deuce amps, the earlier one was all tube 12ax7/6L6 and the newer one was solid state preamp and 6L6 output . What I really liked on the solid state amps is that they used heavy duty output transistors on most in a TO-3 package in pairs and quads. NPN and PNP types which give you a Push Pull type solid state. Hartley was ahead of his time in the solid state amp boom and he just kept getting better in the distortion end. FYI The best thing about most of the earlier amps is the spring reverb tanks.
Still got my early 80"s Peavey Deuce here with the same 2 Scorpion speakers as the VTX Classic. Solid state preamp, tube power amp. 120 watts, man these things are koud! Sure ain't selling it for 80-150 bucks though ;-)
I’d hang on to it too!
These amps are the beasts!