Hey, Arnold! Awesome video, and it was nice to see that you're willing to change your opinions. I used to own a Triple XXX head for the better portion of 8 years, and I loved the amp. Just had no use for a 120 watt monster blaster. I have some tips that may help as you experiment. The EQ controls on the crunch and ultra channels are active. This means that the EQ controls will increase volume beyond the 12 o'clock mark. Subtle changes between 11 and 1 o'clock for these controls tend to yield great results. Also, the gain on the ultra and crunch channels is governed by one 12 AX 7 (I can't remember exactly which one, but Google can tell you lol). Swapping this out for a 12 AT 7 will take care of the fizziness and make the gain knob much more usable across the spectrum. The amp can also be re-biased (no pun intended) to operate with EL-34 tubes, which gives the amp a different midrange character and makes it a bit more punchy. The switch on the back labeled Tight, Mid, and Loose is a presence/resonance control in one switch and drastically changes the nature of the amp. And speakers matter greatly with this amp, like you said. I had used a Behringer 4x12, a Mesa Rectifier 2x12, and a Genz Benz G-Flex 4x12 (which was George Lynch's signature cab, funny enough). The Mesa paired extraordinarily well with this amp, and the Genz Benz sounded huge, yet incredibly dark. All in all, the Triple XXX is a greatly underrated amp. With its supers hi-gain, it can be difficult to use, but changing the 12 AX 7 to a 12 AT 7 improves the amp's versatility. I'd still have mine if I needed the power, but they did make a 40 watt combo, as well. Perhaps I'll find one of these days and grab it for fun. Again, awesome video! Looking forward to more of these re-biased reviews.
Yes sir...u really have to know this amp to get it rite. The dampening switch in the back is very important as are the volume and eq knobs Your not kidding about subtle changes either, little bit goes like ng way on the eq And the master volume must be part of youR eqING Since it adds maaad bass. U are dead on.
I have this head and the 40 watt combo. The combo is a total sleeper. The Clean and onboard reverb tank are just outstanding. Worth the price alone… High gain channels are great as well. Solo Boost function is cool as well.
Oh you're the guy Ola visited with the arsenal of KILLER Dime axes?! Man, beautiful collection my friend. Very much enjoyed that little tour. And yes, I'm currently using a XXX myself, and it DEFINITELY RIPS. I get compliments on my tone all the time, and when I say it's a XXX the reaction is always the same..."You get THAT tone out of the XXX? How?!" Lol. I simply tell them I learned the amp inside and out, there's alot under the hood. Not alotta people know the eq is active, for starters. And the next most missed thing is how the gain knob of whichever channel you AREN'T using affects the channel you ARE using. It's almost like a Presence knob or something, it's interesting. Anyway, much love from Ft. Worth, Texas my friend! -Jonn, guitarist for Basilisk
I've just binged your Ola videos, I'm a proud XXX owner myself. Made the mistake of parting with it once to fund another amp purchase, regretted it instantly, luckily stumbled across one for sale a year later. Never gonna make that mistake again, my fave amp
@@leighpilkington-gittus618 I bought my XXX just because of the chicks on it and thought it would make a great display in music room. When I played it I was instantly amazed by the tameable ferocity of it and instantly was hooked. XXX and 3120 are amazing amps 🤘🏻😤🤘🏻
@@slothstradamus89 yeah mate XXX rips and is very underrated. I was blown away when I got mine. Ola wasn’t to fussed when I mentioned that we will be on a XXX but when I engaged the Apex he freaked out. He since has used my method for many videos which he attributes to his visit with me. Stay metal 🤘🏻😤🤘🏻 Getcha pull!
They have one of these at my local pawn shop for $399 - kinda tempted to pick it up I’ve already got a 5150 III so not sure if this would be useable for bedroom jamming
Several years back I had the opportunity to try out every amp Peavey made. Heads, cabs, combos; you name it. I had every intention of picking up a 6505+ or a 6534 (I already had a 5150, the Peavey one, and 6505) and something from the Classic line. I was totally blown away by the Triple XXX. I had no intention of even trying it since I didn't really know it well but I couldn't believe how much more I liked it. I loved how it brought the mids and highs out so much better in the mix. Maybe it was just my ear but it felt more "full" throughout the bandwidths. I actually bought the 6505+ but couldn't get the Triple XXX out of my head and called them the next day. The tech said he had a feeling I might call back and they let me swap the 6505+ back in. Best new amp purchase I ever made. BTW, I agree about the Peavey cabs. I play mine through a very old (and modified) Marshall cab with Celestions and it sounds great for everything from Metalcore to Blues. Stay safe everyone. Cheers from Florida.
James Brown who designed all these amps along with the JSX for Peavey was asked of all the amps he designed, if he has a favorite and he answered "without a doubt, the XXX". Fun fact, the XXX was originally the George Lynch Triple XXX, it was designed by James Brown with and for George to be his (first) Peavey sig amp, the second attempt to make a Lynch amp to be called the Brahma eventually ended up being called the Penta when George left a second time.
I found trying out pedals and amps at a store gives you about 50% of the info on the equipment. You need about a week in your own environment to get a feel for what the equipment is capable of. Great video and some surprising sounds Arnold! BTW the solid state version (Peavey XXL) of this amp is fantastic imo.
13:40 the volume drop is due to the eq bands, the more you increas the eq band the louder the amp gets. Match eq on both channels no drop in volume. Awesome review! Super cool to see this Amp on your channel.
Has anyone else seen the Ola Vid with the guy with all the Dime Bag guitars that used a XXX with a Horizon Devices Apex Pre Amp in front? It sounded brutal as hell!
The triple x rules bro. The guys in my old band had a 5150, and a triple x. The triple definitely shaped our overall sound. It was metalcore peak performance, 15 years ago anyway. He still has it and we break out our gear and jam the oldies once or twice a year. It still sounds awesome. Nice work, dude.
Keep in mind the Clean channel is passive. Ultra & Crunch channels are active, as is the FX loop knobs. Use the loop knobs as a vol boost if you have nothing plugged in them. Now if using the Crunch channel, the vol knob on the Ultra channel is the Presence knob. Same if you're on the Ultra channel, the vol knob on the Crunch channel is the Presence knob. Almost no one knows these facts.
A couple said it here - the active EQ controls have a dramatic effect on the volume of the Crunch and Ultra channels. The key with the Triple-XXX is to use the tone controls to sculpt the highs and lows (the “mid” / body knob is part of this), and use the channel volume to actually set the midrange level. Ex: if you want more (usable) mids, dial all 3 tone knobs down a little, and turn up the channel volume
There is no fizz issue whatsoever when you use mid output pickups. I used to have high output pickups and once I tried SD Custom and Custom 5 I was blown away by the difference in dynamics and tone complexity. JB also works very well with Peavey amps. Speaker matching is also super important. Nice review anyway :)
What I found is the tight and loose switch in the back have a total opposite effect than their names. The tight tends to soften up the tone Where as the loose Gives it more of the presence treble attack
Gary holt and Lee atlas used them for years around shovel headed killing machine and tempo of the damned and a live record , Gary used el34 tubes on the crunch channel on the medium dampening setting with the eq on a odd sounding settings but it sounds great on my xxx , treble 4 mid 2 bass 4 , the amp gets fizzy like you said if you get the eq higher than that , it’s a active eq and sensitive , Gary used lower gain Seymour Duncan custom 5 and emg hz in the studio ocotdinv to Andy sneap
Lee and Gary were the reason I decided to buy a XXX back in the Exhibit A days , the tone on that album and the shows they played in the Dukes era was ridiculous.
Try an amp tweaker defizzerator. It's James Browns Company, the guy behind the 5150. it's a passive EQ you put in your FX loop and man does it take out the fizz ,if you want you can leave a little bit in there though. It doesn't require batteries or an AC adapter or nothing. I use one of my ultraplus 120 watt head and I highly recommend it
You have to keep the eq all around noon. The active eq is very sensitive. All eq knobs around noon, dampening on loose, using a mesa recto 4x12 with v30s and a Highwind direwolf overdrive pedal in the front of the amp with a decimator 2 g string. Amp is insanely brutal. 6l6/12ax7 but I just ordered JJ el34 and tung sol 12ax7, 5751 in v2, and 12at7 in phase inverter, all to tame the gain, make it more usable; cleaner headroom. Its a brutal amp, very underrated, you just have to know how to use it. Also unless you have the lightning peavey logo version, don't use el34L unless you upgrade SGRs to 1k. On peavey amps though, you have to keep gain very low, adds so much more dynamics back in. Keep gain around 9 o clock/10 o clock
I sold mine a few months ago after having it sitting in my parents garage for about 5 years. Hadn't gigged with it since 2012. Only a few minutes into this but yeah, absolutely ludicrous amounts of gain. I used the crunch channel at about 1 o'clock gain and it was more than I ever needed.
All the Channels are interactive with eachother. You can mess with the ultra and the clean channel eq to effect the crunch channel. You can do the same in the ultra channel. Also if you mess with the loop you can increase the volume. Also if you are in the crunch or ultra channel mess with the volume knob to add presence.
FINALLY someone else that knows this. A ton of people don't seem to know about this, so they'll claim "the amp sucks", when I can take one look and see it's bc they're on the Ultra channel...but have all the Crunch channels knobs maxed tf out. Or vice-versa, they have all the knobs waaaay to the left. All of which is affecting the Ultra's sound too.
By the title I thought you were going to be re-tubing and biasing it. Almost got excited! How are you capturing the sound? Cab sim and attenuator? Iso box? I'm curious how your ears aren't bleeding running at like 70% power? As someone else mentioned, there is no need to crank the master on these type of amps with a master volume. Pre-amp is majority of the tone in these. The FIZZ you dont like, start with the preamp tubes. Cheaper and make quite a difference. My first tube amp was a JSX I bought new when they came out and still have it. Many amps and tube swaps since and I cant seem to beat a mesa/sovtek lps combo. Just a matter of how many and in which slots. The more mesas the darker the sound gets from what ive found. The sovteks seem to bring it right into the sweet spot. For my ears anyways. Its been ages since I changed around the jsx but id check the layout first but start with a mesa in v1 and follow it with a Sovtek is usually a good start. The P.I. slot always seem to be trial and error and I usually don't end up with a mesa or sovtek in that slot. Good luck.
I would not crank the mastervolume on such a kind of amp. Amps with such a ton of preamp gain dont like much Poweramp distortion. I have a Triple X myself...my Clean channel doesnt have a break up thats what i like about this one..it always stays clean. It maybe has to do with your Mastervolume setting. Keep in mind the EQ is an active EQ you really cut or boost with this one a ton. Another really intersting thing you need to try...when you are in the Crunch Channel..the Volume of the Ultra works as Presence knob and also the other way around..when you are in the Ultra Channel..the volume of the Crunch Channel works as presence too. I prefer the Master on that amp between 9 and 12 o clock...Channel Volumes between 10 and 12 o clock but mine runs EL34 like Gary Holts XXX did. The damping setting on the back of the Amp also makes a lot of difference..especially in the fizzyness. For the kind of money they go these days i would say the Triple XXX is the best Highgain Amp you can buy for small money. Highly underrated
Agree with pretty much everything you said. Except I preferred 6L6's in mine. I actually rarely used the Ultra Channel as I stayed on Crunch and bumped it up with an EQ for leads. Also liked using this amp with the 5150 cabs which had the better Sheffields. As Arnold said the XXX Sheffields were trash. Heaviest tone I ever recorded was with this amp. I moved onto the JSX from the XXX but wish I still had both of them.
I agree with this. I have the EL34s but would like to try the KT77s. Keep the gain extremely low and drop a horizon devices overdrive in front of it, get brutal tones.
Oh wow, had no idea the volume of the Crunch channel impacted on the Ultra channel! And vice versa. Need to pull this amp out again. Wonder if there’s a mod to decrease the amount of gain. Also, completely agree re clean channel. Pristine all the way, no way would I dime the master on this amp! Would you dime a dual rectifier? Probably not.
@@shawngraham4075 I agree 100%. I use some passive, not TOO hot Dimarzios (can't recall the exact model, forgive me) and run the XXX's Crunch channel with the Master fully cranked, and just use the Crunch's volume knob to control the volume. It's a fucking MONSTROUS tone.
Holy shit! You said at the end “pairs well w a valvestate”. I run the triple XXX w a marshall vs100 valvestate. Spot on! I saw your other review of the ESP LTD Black Metal. One of the reasons i pulled the trigger on a Viper 7 string black metal. Good video!
Damn shame good musicians can't make a living. Kinda like Muhammed from necrophagist, super talented but money wasn't worth it. I hear he works for bmw jowadays
The key to this amp is the "loose - tight" switch in the back. Strangely, "loose" sounds so much better to my ears. Also, the eq knobs are all active eq. The proper eq setting makes such a difference. There is really no need for an eq pedal. I've been using this amp for nearly twenty years and haven't really had a convincing reason to change it up. It can do what you need it to do if you have the patience to dial it in correctly.
Triple X was my very first tube head. Dont regret selling it tho because I ended up getting myself Framus Cobra about a year or 2 later, which had been my grail amp since I first heard it (I even bias'd my xxx for el34s to try to get it a lil closer to a Cobra) and then traded my triple x for a Tempest Hellraiser that became my #1 guitar for over 10 years and only just recently went into a well-earned retirement lol. Also the crunch channel was what I remember was regarded as the best part of that amp. The Ultra was a bit too gainy so the recommendation was usually crunch with maaaaaybe a screamer in front of it if you wanted more rather than the actual Ultra channel.
THEZ0DIACSPEAKS exactly what I did with my XXX. I used the Crunch Channel as my main rhythm with a drive in front and the Ultra channel as my low gain crunchy tones since it sounded fizzy no matter what you did with it.
It was my first tube amp and I regret selling even though I love my Mesa Boogie Mark V. Mostly because I'd rather bang up a cheaper amp instead of my super nice expensive one
when i first heard this in 2003, I was blown away. It was the first high-gain amp I had ever heard. Now, I'm a little underwhelmed, but I liked it with the boost on the ultra channel.
That head through 2 eminence swamp thang 12s and an eminence legend 15 inch guitar speaker was one of the most crushing in the room guitar tones ive ever heard but everything sounded amazing through that massive cab which was really 2 entire separate cabs in one box as far as construction went still killer tho.
I had a Mk 1 XXX and loved it. I saw a few other guys that had them, and they had the gain cranked to the point where they had to use a volume pedal to limit the feedback. I started out like that too, but I merely dialed the gain back, and it was perfect. Super smooth present lead sounds. I NEVER had the master cranked all the way up. It's unnecessary with this amp.
I have to admit, that when I think of Robert Vigna and gear the amp is definitely not the first thing that pops into my mind. It's that old reversed-headstock mockingbird that he use to rock back in the day! I saw Immolation so many times at Milwaukee Metalfests of old and that's what he always used to play before he got into Vs.
I think for a high gain monster like this , a lower output pickup would be better suited to tame this beast and to manage the unruly gain! Just throwin' it out there..not like most people don't already know this!
I have SD duncan blackouts, I turn the volume on the guitar down quite a bit when I want crunch from the "crunch" channel instead of the usual "thrash metal rhythm" tone
I have one with a set of KT77s installed. It's beastly, think the dudes in Suffocation used these for years. Hook a BBE sonic maximizer in the fx loop. Oh and they're fairly decently priced on the used market. 🤷🏼♂️
If I remember right, triple X has an active eq on crunch/ultra. that's why you had the volume drop. Common comments about the gain, which you've noticed is that's it's useless past 12. Where noon is should have been the max.
This vid takes me back to 2015 when I was watching every amp head vid looking for a brutal tone. I actually ended up purchasing a XXX on craigs for $300. I still have it. Very nostalgic vid here, I like it!
I was in a band, briefly, with a primarily rhythm guitarist whose main rig was using a Peavey XXX, and he had a snarling ripper of a rhythm tone, just beautifully powerful and nasty. I know he used a drive pedal for a clean-ish boost, but I don't recall the specific pedal he used (nothing exotic, his pedal board was pretty basic: a Phase 90, and a Boss delay, I do remember). I do remember hearing this amp being the continuation of the JSX, the Joe Satriani signature amp, but I could be wrong. I really like this amp.
they do better with low tunings because the mids are centered lower than on most guitar amps. Thats also why a lot of people have problems dialing in good mids with these.
I’ve always loved my Triple X. I do agree that the character of the Body (mid) is strange. And I do use my Gain at around 4 (11 o’clock). I’ve never played it through a different cab - I bought this head as a half stack. I’m really interested in purchasing an Omega custom cab, and I love the low end of this head, so I’ve always wanted to add a 15” into the mix. I’ll stick around and see what you do with the tube swap! My head is almost 20 years old, so I’ve always wondered what a tube swap would do for this thing.
I used to own this amp in 2004, i remember playing exclusively on the crunch channel because ultra had way to much gain, Iplayed it thru a cheap behringer cab so i never got it sounding like this video, good job!
Given the volume drop situation I had this idea: you can use it in advantage as a "solo boost" so to speak, use the ultra as your riff channel and the crunch as a midrange focused channel for solos.
I have a jcm 800 a single recto a 6505 and I've got a xxx 212 combo . and I absolutely love my xxx it's just got a lot of balls I love the active eq. I put 75 watt celestions in mine and I think that really helped it but I've used it on so many recordings it's my go to when I need some color or just a more saturated tone with the Marshall. I play heavy rock .i used to play more metalcore like tritium and such but as I get older I'm more into to sounds and blues .i get a lot of use from the crunch channel and the clean . I'll use the ultra channel when I'm cutting solos even blues just has a no e articulated tone and it's just gotta a great vibe. I use my 6505 in stereo with the 800 for my live sound and the single recto for my clean and crunch sounds . glad you are revisiting your xxx I think it will get you some good use I know mine will always be in my studio it's a sound I've gotten used to having on tap when I need a fresh sound. I just back off the gain and the xxx sounds amazing . oh yea I always have a boss sd1 in front of all my amps .as far as speakers go just as a reference I used a Mesa 412 at a music store and a/b ed a peavey tube king with my recto and the tubeking was kicking it's as on distortion channel if it wasn't for the cleans I would have preferred the peavey lol . but I just got the Mesa anyway because I had to have it. glad I did I learned a lot of ways to set my Mesa and I love it. it's actually one of my best amps I use it along side the xxx sometimes and get some unique tones I have a really good variety of amps and constantly mix and match .
Your eq is about right. This amp sounds great with active pickups gain dimed master around 4 and volume at 2 or 3. This amp sounds great with elx tubes needs no boost set depth on loose. Best amp ive owned
These were reissued as the 3120 in 2009. with EL34 tubes fitted stock. A few years later they had a further cosmetic change to white knobs and lettering to make them easier to read on stage. Then when Peavey closed down its USA production this amp was discontinued, along with the 6534+ and quite a few others (e.g., from the Classic / Delta line). There was also a new version of the JSX around the same time after Joe Satriani left Peavey, but it simply used up boards that had already been made and did not involve huge numbers of amps, and was not in production at the time when production ended at Meridian. I have a JSX and a 3120 and the Crunch on the Triple XXX / Rhythm channel on the 3120 is the Ultra channel on the JSX / Lead channel on the XXX II. The clean channel on the two amps is different, with the JSX / XXX II having an awesome clean tone. The Crunch channel on the JSX / Rhythm channel on the XXX II is based on the Lead channel of the Classic 50. The Ultra channel on the Triple XXX / Lead channel on the 3120 is its own thing but I suspect was based on the Lead channel on the 5150 and the Ultra channel on the Ultra Plus. The Triple XXX was indeed designed with George Lynch and he was involved to a very late stage, so the strange looks and control names can be blamed on him.
If you're familiar with the band Exodus, then you probably know that the lead guitar player, Gary Holt, used this head in some of his old rigs. I'd recommend checking out the video "A Lesson in Guitar Violence", his tone is something not-of-this-world. 🤘
I really, REALLY recommend this amp man. Once you learn it inside n' out, you can do a TON with it (including some nice, chimey cleans, Idk why he couldn't at least feature that for a second in this review)
Had one of these, loved it. Only sold it as I downsized my rigs and it was surplus to my needs. But after I saw Gary Holt was using one and the tone he got I immediately had to try it out with and OD in front. If they could take the tone and put it in a little lunchbox head I'd buy that in a second.
Suffocation definitely used it with a Maxon OD9 Pro+!!! Last time I saw them on the Farewell Frank tour is was the 6505+ with the Maxon!! Hobbs cranks the gain for damn sure! This amp is even more dope than I recall!!! Maybe the one you played a while back was just a dud!?! Or didn’t have the mojo?! It happens homie!
For the price you can get these at now they're awesome. Definitely the gain doesn't need to be past 12 o clock. And the ultra doesn't need a boost in front of it. Great video. I think xentrix used these back in the day to.
Have this head. Mine is black snakeskin leather instead of diamond plate. It actually just went down. Lights come on but no ones home (no sound) 3 of 4 pre amp tubes light up and no power tubes light up. Having a lot of trouble finding anyone to repair in Northwest Arkansas. So, looks like it might go to the back while I search for a new amp. Really looking at the H&K Grandmeister 40 or the Black Spirit. Even considering the older Randalls again. First amp was Marshall 8100 Valvestate (the classic death metal amp) then I had a Line 6 Spider II that I really loved (lots of people ahit on it but was fine for my house. Loved i didn't have to have any pedals for it) then bought an old Crate G120cXL 120 watt head with the built in Chorus (Crate blows but this head was really cool. Very reliable and when ran through a processor like Line 6 POD HD500x, had great sound) then my XXX came into my life and stayed until this recent failure so I'm using my Crate again (kept it for back up). Sorry for the disertation but if anyone has any suggestions on the H&K let me know!! XXX is bad mofo
I upgraded my valvestate 8100 to the XXX around 20 yrs ago. I used it with mainly with ultra channel, bottom maxed, body around 3 or 4 and hair around 6 or 7, I also had the gain maxed, I think I had the speaker response switch on tight. I also used a boss 7 band eq in the effects loop and guitars tuned to B, all I can remember was really liking my sound, however when I sold it the guy who bought demo'd it along side an Engl Savage and Peavey 6534 (I think) dialled the gain back to around 2 and I can remember thinking I'd never heard the amp sound so brutal!! He kept coming back to my XXX due to the killer bottom end and walked away with it. Definitely wish I kept it now..
Honestly, I found the XXX to be a little overbearing in the gain department... But on the other hand, I found my JSX to not have enough...So I did what any sensible electronics tech/guitarist would do....I modded my JSX to have more gain... put SOME of the components XXX -ish, but not quite, and it is now a cross between a Mesa Mark 4 and an Engl fireball in tone... serious BRUTES!
I remember getting the Triple X when it first came out. It was my workhorse amp, both on stage and in the studio and it sounded amazing through my Marshall 1960AV 4x12 cab. Now I regret selling my entire rig! Luckily both are still available second hand.
Cool video! I currently have the same head and love it! I did find myself wanting more of a ballsy tone without having to crank it all the time in rehearsals so I did some research, and much tweaking, and ended up with swapping the 6L6's for el34's and property biasing for the el's and it is a whole new amp to me! The el34's drive the mids and lows so in my opinion was a perfect fit as this rig is already very high gain driven. Paired with Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers in my schecter really ties it all together as well. Thanks for the video and keep doing what you're doing!
I love IPA but NOT the citrus tasting ones. Try Centennial from Founder's Brewery. EVERYTHING Founder's makes is phenomenal, Centennial is worth a taste
Okay so since I found it a group of individuals that know what they're talking about oh, what I've never done personally is changed out tubes, only because.... all the stuff you hear about the negative Parts about it. I have a evh 5150 3 6L6 50w combo
Chicagoland! Let's go. Nice amp. Good to see this revisted. It gets a little Mode Four ish but that was the era. The fizz is fun for messing around and playing chords at least.
I'll be honest, when this episode began, I wasn't too sure about it, what was clear from the beginning is that this guy can definitely play guitar. Once he started talking, it was very clear to me that this guy knows exactly what the hell hes talking about. Good shit for real...I'm all ears now!!!! I had a really good friend of mine who owns this specific head, I wasn't really too sold on a either, this was probably about 2006..07..dude that crunch.. Imo, sounds pretty damn good oh, I'm not personally in the room, but from what I heard it sounds pretty damn good oh, I don't know maybe the speaker arrangement is better then what I heard, because I have noticed throughout the years that it does matter what kind of cab and speakers you use.. that's something that I've learned over the years, celestion v30s oh, I get it now why so many metal guys use them
I own the solid-state bro to this amp, the XXL....and love it. Tho it is not as "warm / rich" sounding as this one, it has held it's own for many years! Peavey's are hard to beat IMHO.......
Good concept for content. I always believed this was the continuation of the JSX (Joe Satriani amp). About 2 1/2 years ago I was in a band with one guitar player, primarily a rhythm player, using a Peavey XXX, and the other an Engl. The guy used a King V with Duncan Black Winter pickups, or an Ibanez RG with EMG 57X/60X pickups, EMG wiring and pots, and both created GREAT metal rhythm tones. He used a couple different overdrive pedals to get the crunch channel to play metal tones. I just got a response, he says he's got two pedals that are each two distinct drive signals, a Wampler and one I don't recognize. It sounds damn good though (a little noise, but not as bad as yours!). Keep them coming. It's too bad you don't play bass...
This Triple XXX in Arnold's video is the original Triple XXX, and the original JSX launched around the same time. After Joe Satriani got his endorsement with Marshall, the JSX name was dropped, and the Triple XXX that launched in 2011 was the JSX amp with the Triple XXX name, as best I understand.
@@dannyschellenberger8268 Correct, the Triple X II is the otherwise unchanged JSX in a different box, the 3120 was the original XXX in a different box but shipped with el34 tubes instead of the 6L6 from the Triple X, the JSX shipped with el34 though both amps can use either power tube (or KT77) with the onboard bias switch. From James Brown and Satch, the JSX is based on: the clean channel from the XXX with some tweaks, the lead channel from the Classic 50 as the crunch channel on the JSX, and the crunch channel from the XXX formed the lead channel on the JSX, with some EQ and other tweaks to suit Joe. Joe had a Classic 50 that he really liked, he also has an original 5150 (modded somehow) which he does still use to record with from time to time.
2 big factors to consider ...... The tuning of the guitar .........weather tuned to E standard 440 or drop D or A or B etc ...... I can run into my Peavey Bandit hoked to my loaded 4x12 & tune to B or A# and my Bandit will sound heavy Af . Id like to hear someone do a XXX review tuned standard 440 to get a more true result imo
Dude that crunch channel is killer. I think i liked It more even before you turned the tubescramer on It. That ultra channel is kinda meh, is like "i love high gain but not THAT MUCH high gain" you know what i mean? Anyways that crunch channel would make me wanna play some good ol Justice for all thrash for sure. Awesome video man!!! 👍
I had the Bugera 333xl combo which maybe similar to this amps structure and the 12ax7's were fizzy also...and I put a JJ's ECC83 in with a matching phase tube and it got all dark and silky smooth sounding.
Why is the amp so quiet? I have that amp and with the master all the way up and the gain at 12 o'clock you can barely touch the volume with it taking your head off? Great vid though about time the xxx got the love it deserves 👍
Mine sounds brutal as fuck with a revv g3 infront of it. I also change out the 6l6s for el34s cause the gain is already crazy on the amp. There is a reason revocation used this amp and the evh 5150 for the outer ones cause it fucking awesome and underrated
Peavey's tech line and emaiu are really amazing if you can't find it on the site reach out to them they have new old stock parts and manuals not listed and will email to you.
I had one of these almost twenty years ago. I bought it at the local music store that was going out of business. It came with the matching cab. I could not get rid of the cab fast enough. I put it through a Randall USA XL412 with V30's and it made a hell of a difference. I was always reaching for a presence knob on the XXX to fine tune the high end.... but it of course didn't have one. I always liked the Peavey 5150 better but the clean tone sucked (a few of our tunes used a clean tone in those days). There is no clean channel. Never was. The EVH 5150 III was the amp I waiting for and didn't know it lol
eh, a while ago. I bought this one in January 2019 and was told it was the last of the initial run, but they still are available through Solar's website.
Matt Heafy said it was the main dirty sound on the new record for rhythm. which he said was fun because that was the first album tone too. i never liked this amp, but i'll be damned if they didn't make it sound great. most of the time i've heard it was through a matching peavey cab, and i suspect that's part of why i always hated it.
one thing that always bugged me was the active EQ on the gain channels. too sensitive. and didn't act like you expect them to. this is almost an EQ pedal in the loop sort of amp.
i personally prefer KT77's (direct replacement for el34's) they are slightly chunkier, cab use i use a 2x12 with celestion 12k100's. i love it. back when i had a band i used a marshall mf400a (which had 12k100s).
I have had my eye on getting either an old 5150 or the XXX. I think the XXX has some Mojo that a lot of people don't appreciate but I think it sounds sick.
![YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Sneaking [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ILUps2zDFU/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey, Arnold! Awesome video, and it was nice to see that you're willing to change your opinions. I used to own a Triple XXX head for the better portion of 8 years, and I loved the amp. Just had no use for a 120 watt monster blaster. I have some tips that may help as you experiment. The EQ controls on the crunch and ultra channels are active. This means that the EQ controls will increase volume beyond the 12 o'clock mark. Subtle changes between 11 and 1 o'clock for these controls tend to yield great results. Also, the gain on the ultra and crunch channels is governed by one 12 AX 7 (I can't remember exactly which one, but Google can tell you lol). Swapping this out for a 12 AT 7 will take care of the fizziness and make the gain knob much more usable across the spectrum. The amp can also be re-biased (no pun intended) to operate with EL-34 tubes, which gives the amp a different midrange character and makes it a bit more punchy. The switch on the back labeled Tight, Mid, and Loose is a presence/resonance control in one switch and drastically changes the nature of the amp. And speakers matter greatly with this amp, like you said. I had used a Behringer 4x12, a Mesa Rectifier 2x12, and a Genz Benz G-Flex 4x12 (which was George Lynch's signature cab, funny enough). The Mesa paired extraordinarily well with this amp, and the Genz Benz sounded huge, yet incredibly dark.
All in all, the Triple XXX is a greatly underrated amp. With its supers hi-gain, it can be difficult to use, but changing the 12 AX 7 to a 12 AT 7 improves the amp's versatility. I'd still have mine if I needed the power, but they did make a 40 watt combo, as well. Perhaps I'll find one of these days and grab it for fun. Again, awesome video! Looking forward to more of these re-biased reviews.
Spot on points
use a 5751 not a 12AT7
Yes sir...u really have to know this amp to get it rite.
The dampening switch in the back is very important as are the volume and eq knobs
Your not kidding about subtle changes either, little bit goes like ng way on the eq
And the master volume must be part of youR eqING Since it adds maaad bass.
U are dead on.
I have this head and the 40 watt combo. The combo is a total sleeper. The Clean and onboard reverb tank are just outstanding. Worth the price alone… High gain channels are great as well. Solo Boost function is cool as well.
Peavey XXX hugely underrated amplifier. It blew Ola’s mind how good it was when he dropped by. Anyways it brings the ‘chug’ and some 🤘🏻😤🤘🏻
Oh you're the guy Ola visited with the arsenal of KILLER Dime axes?!
Man, beautiful collection my friend. Very much enjoyed that little tour.
And yes, I'm currently using a XXX myself, and it DEFINITELY RIPS. I get compliments on my tone all the time, and when I say it's a XXX the reaction is always the same..."You get THAT tone out of the XXX? How?!" Lol. I simply tell them I learned the amp inside and out, there's alot under the hood. Not alotta people know the eq is active, for starters. And the next most missed thing is how the gain knob of whichever channel you AREN'T using affects the channel you ARE using. It's almost like a Presence knob or something, it's interesting.
Anyway, much love from Ft. Worth, Texas my friend!
-Jonn, guitarist for Basilisk
I've just binged your Ola videos, I'm a proud XXX owner myself. Made the mistake of parting with it once to fund another amp purchase, regretted it instantly, luckily stumbled across one for sale a year later. Never gonna make that mistake again, my fave amp
@@leighpilkington-gittus618 I bought my XXX just because of the chicks on it and thought it would make a great display in music room. When I played it I was instantly amazed by the tameable ferocity of it and instantly was hooked. XXX and 3120 are amazing amps 🤘🏻😤🤘🏻
@@slothstradamus89 yeah mate XXX rips and is very underrated. I was blown away when I got mine. Ola wasn’t to fussed when I mentioned that we will be on a XXX but when I engaged the Apex he freaked out. He since has used my method for many videos which he attributes to his visit with me. Stay metal 🤘🏻😤🤘🏻 Getcha pull!
They have one of these at my local pawn shop for $399 - kinda tempted to pick it up
I’ve already got a 5150 III so not sure if this would be useable for bedroom jamming
Several years back I had the opportunity to try out every amp Peavey made. Heads, cabs, combos; you name it. I had every intention of picking up a 6505+ or a 6534 (I already had a 5150, the Peavey one, and 6505) and something from the Classic line. I was totally blown away by the Triple XXX. I had no intention of even trying it since I didn't really know it well but I couldn't believe how much more I liked it. I loved how it brought the mids and highs out so much better in the mix. Maybe it was just my ear but it felt more "full" throughout the bandwidths. I actually bought the 6505+ but couldn't get the Triple XXX out of my head and called them the next day. The tech said he had a feeling I might call back and they let me swap the 6505+ back in. Best new amp purchase I ever made. BTW, I agree about the Peavey cabs. I play mine through a very old (and modified) Marshall cab with Celestions and it sounds great for everything from Metalcore to Blues. Stay safe everyone. Cheers from Florida.
James Brown who designed all these amps along with the JSX for Peavey was asked of all the amps he designed, if he has a favorite and he answered "without a doubt, the XXX". Fun fact, the XXX was originally the George Lynch Triple XXX, it was designed by James Brown with and for George to be his (first) Peavey sig amp, the second attempt to make a Lynch amp to be called the Brahma eventually ended up being called the Penta when George left a second time.
Did you try the Triumph as well?
I found trying out pedals and amps at a store gives you about 50% of the info on the equipment.
You need about a week in your own environment to get a feel for what the equipment is capable of. Great video and some surprising sounds Arnold!
BTW the solid state version (Peavey XXL) of this amp is fantastic imo.
13:40 the volume drop is due to the eq bands, the more you increas the eq band the louder the amp gets. Match eq on both channels no drop in volume. Awesome review! Super cool to see this Amp on your channel.
Yeah this amp has a active eq , straight up noon on the eq section is like 0 on a normal amp and below takes signal away
Has anyone else seen the Ola Vid with the guy with all the Dime Bag guitars that used a XXX with a Horizon Devices Apex Pre Amp in front? It sounded brutal as hell!
Definitely brutal sound, made me wish I'd never sold my XXX.
Yeah, and I believe that HD Preamp was into the clean channel!
The triple x rules bro. The guys in my old band had a 5150, and a triple x. The triple definitely shaped our overall sound. It was metalcore peak performance, 15 years ago anyway. He still has it and we break out our gear and jam the oldies once or twice a year. It still sounds awesome. Nice work, dude.
Keep in mind the Clean channel is passive. Ultra & Crunch channels are active, as is the FX loop knobs. Use the loop knobs as a vol boost if you have nothing plugged in them. Now if using the Crunch channel, the vol knob on the Ultra channel is the Presence knob. Same if you're on the Ultra channel, the vol knob on the Crunch channel is the Presence knob. Almost no one knows these facts.
I have a Peavey JSX (old Satriani signature), which supposedly was based on the XXX circuit and I love it.
I have the solid state little brother, the xxl. I’ve never put it up against an xxx or jsx but on its own stands strong.
Thank you for the shout out Arnold! Cheers!
A couple said it here - the active EQ controls have a dramatic effect on the volume of the Crunch and Ultra channels. The key with the Triple-XXX is to use the tone controls to sculpt the highs and lows (the “mid” / body knob is part of this), and use the channel volume to actually set the midrange level.
Ex: if you want more (usable) mids, dial all 3 tone knobs down a little, and turn up the channel volume
There is no fizz issue whatsoever when you use mid output pickups. I used to have high output pickups and once I tried SD Custom and Custom 5 I was blown away by the difference in dynamics and tone complexity. JB also works very well with Peavey amps. Speaker matching is also super important. Nice review anyway :)
What I found is the tight and loose switch in the back have a total opposite effect than their names. The tight tends to soften up the tone Where as the loose Gives it more of the presence treble attack
Gary holt and Lee atlas used them for years around shovel headed killing machine and tempo of the damned and a live record , Gary used el34 tubes on the crunch channel on the medium dampening setting with the eq on a odd sounding settings but it sounds great on my xxx , treble 4 mid 2 bass 4 , the amp gets fizzy like you said if you get the eq higher than that , it’s a active eq and sensitive , Gary used lower gain Seymour Duncan custom 5 and emg hz in the studio ocotdinv to Andy sneap
Lee and Gary were the reason I decided to buy a XXX back in the Exhibit A days , the tone on that album and the shows they played in the Dukes era was ridiculous.
They got a killer tone out of these.
Gary Holt and Terrance Hobbs made me really want a XXX. I got one around 2010 and I still have it!
Try an amp tweaker defizzerator. It's James Browns Company, the guy behind the 5150. it's a passive EQ you put in your FX loop and man does it take out the fizz ,if you want you can leave a little bit in there though. It doesn't require batteries or an AC adapter or nothing. I use one of my ultraplus 120 watt head and I highly recommend it
You have to keep the eq all around noon. The active eq is very sensitive. All eq knobs around noon, dampening on loose, using a mesa recto 4x12 with v30s and a Highwind direwolf overdrive pedal in the front of the amp with a decimator 2 g string. Amp is insanely brutal. 6l6/12ax7 but I just ordered JJ el34 and tung sol 12ax7, 5751 in v2, and 12at7 in phase inverter, all to tame the gain, make it more usable; cleaner headroom. Its a brutal amp, very underrated, you just have to know how to use it. Also unless you have the lightning peavey logo version, don't use el34L unless you upgrade SGRs to 1k. On peavey amps though, you have to keep gain very low, adds so much more dynamics back in. Keep gain around 9 o clock/10 o clock
I sold mine a few months ago after having it sitting in my parents garage for about 5 years. Hadn't gigged with it since 2012. Only a few minutes into this but yeah, absolutely ludicrous amounts of gain. I used the crunch channel at about 1 o'clock gain and it was more than I ever needed.
I had one of these....the Crunch channel was where it was at.
And needs no boost pedal either
I still have the one i bought when they first came out super reliable amp with great tone, the crunch channel is 100% where its at for the best tones.
All the Channels are interactive with eachother. You can mess with the ultra and the clean channel eq to effect the crunch channel. You can do the same in the ultra channel. Also if you mess with the loop you can increase the volume. Also if you are in the crunch or ultra channel mess with the volume knob to add presence.
FINALLY someone else that knows this.
A ton of people don't seem to know about this, so they'll claim "the amp sucks", when I can take one look and see it's bc they're on the Ultra channel...but have all the Crunch channels knobs maxed tf out. Or vice-versa, they have all the knobs waaaay to the left. All of which is affecting the Ultra's sound too.
By the title I thought you were going to be re-tubing and biasing it. Almost got excited!
How are you capturing the sound? Cab sim and attenuator? Iso box? I'm curious how your ears aren't bleeding running at like 70% power? As someone else mentioned, there is no need to crank the master on these type of amps with a master volume. Pre-amp is majority of the tone in these. The FIZZ you dont like, start with the preamp tubes. Cheaper and make quite a difference. My first tube amp was a JSX I bought new when they came out and still have it. Many amps and tube swaps since and I cant seem to beat a mesa/sovtek lps combo. Just a matter of how many and in which slots. The more mesas the darker the sound gets from what ive found. The sovteks seem to bring it right into the sweet spot. For my ears anyways. Its been ages since I changed around the jsx but id check the layout first but start with a mesa in v1 and follow it with a Sovtek is usually a good start. The P.I. slot always seem to be trial and error and I usually don't end up with a mesa or sovtek in that slot. Good luck.
I would not crank the mastervolume on such a kind of amp. Amps with such a ton of preamp gain dont like much Poweramp distortion. I have a Triple X myself...my Clean channel doesnt have a break up thats what i like about this one..it always stays clean. It maybe has to do with your Mastervolume setting. Keep in mind the EQ is an active EQ you really cut or boost with this one a ton. Another really intersting thing you need to try...when you are in the Crunch Channel..the Volume of the Ultra works as Presence knob and also the other way around..when you are in the Ultra Channel..the volume of the Crunch Channel works as presence too. I prefer the Master on that amp between 9 and 12 o clock...Channel Volumes between 10 and 12 o clock but mine runs EL34 like Gary Holts XXX did. The damping setting on the back of the Amp also makes a lot of difference..especially in the fizzyness. For the kind of money they go these days i would say the Triple XXX is the best Highgain Amp you can buy for small money. Highly underrated
Agree with pretty much everything you said. Except I preferred 6L6's in mine. I actually rarely used the Ultra Channel as I stayed on Crunch and bumped it up with an EQ for leads. Also liked using this amp with the 5150 cabs which had the better Sheffields. As Arnold said the XXX Sheffields were trash. Heaviest tone I ever recorded was with this amp. I moved onto the JSX from the XXX but wish I still had both of them.
I agree with this. I have the EL34s but would like to try the KT77s. Keep the gain extremely low and drop a horizon devices overdrive in front of it, get brutal tones.
Oh wow, had no idea the volume of the Crunch channel impacted on the Ultra channel! And vice versa. Need to pull this amp out again. Wonder if there’s a mod to decrease the amount of gain. Also, completely agree re clean channel. Pristine all the way, no way would I dime the master on this amp! Would you dime a dual rectifier? Probably not.
@@Jalliams you can try using lower output pickups with it.... I tried that when I had one and it really tightened it up a lot.
@@shawngraham4075 I agree 100%.
I use some passive, not TOO hot Dimarzios (can't recall the exact model, forgive me) and run the XXX's Crunch channel with the Master fully cranked, and just use the Crunch's volume knob to control the volume.
It's a fucking MONSTROUS tone.
Holy shit! You said at the end “pairs well w a valvestate”. I run the triple XXX w a marshall vs100 valvestate. Spot on! I saw your other review of the ESP LTD Black Metal. One of the reasons i pulled the trigger on a Viper 7 string black metal. Good video!
This was my first proper tube amp. Such a sweet head.
Hey I worked with Guy Marchais at a nuclear power plant in N.C last year and earlier this year ..He is a very cool person , it blew my mind.
Damn shame good musicians can't make a living. Kinda like Muhammed from necrophagist, super talented but money wasn't worth it. I hear he works for bmw jowadays
I have the XXL solid state and its a beast for not being a tube amp. Sounds killer through my Jet City 4x12 in the band setting.
Hell yeah my friend! In still rocking mine to this day!
Hell yeah 🤘I gig with an XXL...
The key to this amp is the "loose - tight" switch in the back. Strangely, "loose" sounds so much better to my ears. Also, the eq knobs are all active eq. The proper eq setting makes such a difference. There is really no need for an eq pedal. I've been using this amp for nearly twenty years and haven't really had a convincing reason to change it up. It can do what you need it to do if you have the patience to dial it in correctly.
Good to know. Bout to pick one up for 400. Chuga chugga
Triple X was my very first tube head. Dont regret selling it tho because I ended up getting myself Framus Cobra about a year or 2 later, which had been my grail amp since I first heard it (I even bias'd my xxx for el34s to try to get it a lil closer to a Cobra) and then traded my triple x for a Tempest Hellraiser that became my #1 guitar for over 10 years and only just recently went into a well-earned retirement lol. Also the crunch channel was what I remember was regarded as the best part of that amp. The Ultra was a bit too gainy so the recommendation was usually crunch with maaaaaybe a screamer in front of it if you wanted more rather than the actual Ultra channel.
THEZ0DIACSPEAKS exactly what I did with my XXX. I used the Crunch Channel as my main rhythm with a drive in front and the Ultra channel as my low gain crunchy tones since it sounded fizzy no matter what you did with it.
It was my first tube amp and I regret selling even though I love my Mesa Boogie Mark V. Mostly because I'd rather bang up a cheaper amp instead of my super nice expensive one
when i first heard this in 2003, I was blown away. It was the first high-gain amp I had ever heard. Now, I'm a little underwhelmed, but I liked it with the boost on the ultra channel.
That head through 2 eminence swamp thang 12s and an eminence legend 15 inch guitar speaker was one of the most crushing in the room guitar tones ive ever heard but everything sounded amazing through that massive cab which was really 2 entire separate cabs in one box as far as construction went still killer tho.
Sounds like the cab I’ve always dreamed of hearing my Triple XXX through!!!
I had a Mk 1 XXX and loved it. I saw a few other guys that had them, and they had the gain cranked to the point where they had to use a volume pedal to limit the feedback. I started out like that too, but I merely dialed the gain back, and it was perfect. Super smooth present lead sounds.
I NEVER had the master cranked all the way up. It's unnecessary with this amp.
No mention of the mighty Robert Vigna, of Immolation? He's rocked a XXX forever. Amazing tone too.
I have to admit, that when I think of Robert Vigna and gear the amp is definitely not the first thing that pops into my mind. It's that old reversed-headstock mockingbird that he use to rock back in the day! I saw Immolation so many times at Milwaukee Metalfests of old and that's what he always used to play before he got into Vs.
I love IPA and APA styles, but I do NOT enjoy the heavy citrus varieties. I'd recommend Founder's Centennial, as a great jumping off point.
Stereo rig with xxx and 5150 is a massive sound. They belong together. They compliment each other so well.
Good god I could only imagine
I'll find out tomorrow morning. Can add a recto to the mix as well. Why not all 3?!
I think for a high gain monster like this , a lower output pickup would be better suited to tame this beast and to manage the unruly gain! Just throwin' it out there..not like most people don't already know this!
I have SD duncan blackouts, I turn the volume on the guitar down quite a bit when I want crunch from the "crunch" channel instead of the usual "thrash metal rhythm" tone
I bought a jackson js22 monarch with stock jackson pups and it sounds better than my Ibanez and custom carvin on the xxx (40w combo/effects) so yeah
I have one with a set of KT77s installed. It's beastly, think the dudes in Suffocation used these for years. Hook a BBE sonic maximizer in the fx loop. Oh and they're fairly decently priced on the used market. 🤷🏼♂️
Yes on the BBE! I run one thru the FX loop on my ultra plus 120. Brings it to life!
I love this amp. The crunch channel is gold. I wish the would make a single channel amp with only the XXX crunch.
If I remember right, triple X has an active eq on crunch/ultra. that's why you had the volume drop. Common comments about the gain, which you've noticed is that's it's useless past 12. Where noon is should have been the max.
This vid takes me back to 2015 when I was watching every amp head vid looking for a brutal tone. I actually ended up purchasing a XXX on craigs for $300. I still have it. Very nostalgic vid here, I like it!
I was in a band, briefly, with a primarily rhythm guitarist whose main rig was using a Peavey XXX, and he had a snarling ripper of a rhythm tone, just beautifully powerful and nasty. I know he used a drive pedal for a clean-ish boost, but I don't recall the specific pedal he used (nothing exotic, his pedal board was pretty basic: a Phase 90, and a Boss delay, I do remember).
I do remember hearing this amp being the continuation of the JSX, the Joe Satriani signature amp, but I could be wrong. I really like this amp.
The matching cabs were noted for being less than stellar, plus for some reason they were known for "Liking" lower tunings.
they do better with low tunings because the mids are centered lower than on most guitar amps. Thats also why a lot of people have problems dialing in good mids with these.
This amp kicks some serious ass! Definitely pick up an overdrive and noise gate and run it through the crunch channel.
I’ve always loved my Triple X. I do agree that the character of the Body (mid) is strange. And I do use my Gain at around 4 (11 o’clock). I’ve never played it through a different cab - I bought this head as a half stack. I’m really interested in purchasing an Omega custom cab, and I love the low end of this head, so I’ve always wanted to add a 15” into the mix. I’ll stick around and see what you do with the tube swap! My head is almost 20 years old, so I’ve always wondered what a tube swap would do for this thing.
I run my gain at 9 o'clock with a cleanish boost. So good.
Jump the effects loopand turn up the send and return, it helps boost the volume
Loving the hair being grown out again man. Also, great Numenorean shirt! Such a solid band.
I’ve learned about them via Arnold, so happy I did! 👍
I used to own this amp in 2004, i remember playing exclusively on the crunch channel because ultra had way to much gain, Iplayed it thru a cheap behringer cab so i never got it sounding like this video, good job!
I loved the Triple X when I first heard it. Been a long time since I've played one though.
Given the volume drop situation I had this idea: you can use it in advantage as a "solo boost" so to speak, use the ultra as your riff channel and the crunch as a midrange focused channel for solos.
Lear Guitarist having a footswitch connected and engaging the effects loop while setting the levels on the rear also helps with this issue
I really dig the concept of this series. Great job. Groovy playing and nice humble attitude. For these reasons, I just subscribed. Keep it up. \m/
I have a jcm 800 a single recto a 6505 and I've got a xxx 212 combo . and I absolutely love my xxx it's just got a lot of balls I love the active eq. I put 75 watt celestions in mine and I think that really helped it but I've used it on so many recordings it's my go to when I need some color or just a more saturated tone with the Marshall. I play heavy rock .i used to play more metalcore like tritium and such but as I get older I'm more into to sounds and blues .i get a lot of use from the crunch channel and the clean . I'll use the ultra channel when I'm cutting solos even blues just has a no e articulated tone and it's just gotta a great vibe. I use my 6505 in stereo with the 800 for my live sound and the single recto for my clean and crunch sounds . glad you are revisiting your xxx I think it will get you some good use I know mine will always be in my studio it's a sound I've gotten used to having on tap when I need a fresh sound. I just back off the gain and the xxx sounds amazing . oh yea I always have a boss sd1 in front of all my amps .as far as speakers go just as a reference I used a Mesa 412 at a music store and a/b ed a peavey tube king with my recto and the tubeking was kicking it's as on distortion channel if it wasn't for the cleans I would have preferred the peavey lol . but I just got the Mesa anyway because I had to have it. glad I did I learned a lot of ways to set my Mesa and I love it. it's actually one of my best amps I use it along side the xxx sometimes and get some unique tones I have a really good variety of amps and constantly mix and match .
Your eq is about right. This amp sounds great with active pickups gain dimed master around 4 and volume at 2 or 3. This amp sounds great with elx tubes needs no boost set depth on loose. Best amp ive owned
These were reissued as the 3120 in 2009. with EL34 tubes fitted stock. A few years later they had a further cosmetic change to white knobs and lettering to make them easier to read on stage. Then when Peavey closed down its USA production this amp was discontinued, along with the 6534+ and quite a few others (e.g., from the Classic / Delta line). There was also a new version of the JSX around the same time after Joe Satriani left Peavey, but it simply used up boards that had already been made and did not involve huge numbers of amps, and was not in production at the time when production ended at Meridian. I have a JSX and a 3120 and the Crunch on the Triple XXX / Rhythm channel on the 3120 is the Ultra channel on the JSX / Lead channel on the XXX II. The clean channel on the two amps is different, with the JSX / XXX II having an awesome clean tone. The Crunch channel on the JSX / Rhythm channel on the XXX II is based on the Lead channel of the Classic 50. The Ultra channel on the Triple XXX / Lead channel on the 3120 is its own thing but I suspect was based on the Lead channel on the 5150 and the Ultra channel on the Ultra Plus. The Triple XXX was indeed designed with George Lynch and he was involved to a very late stage, so the strange looks and control names can be blamed on him.
One of the best metal amps there is. If you can’t dial a tone in on it stick to plug-ins
Exactly.
From what I'm hearing coming out of the Triple X the sound is brutal..makes me think about getting one
If you're familiar with the band Exodus, then you probably know that the lead guitar player, Gary Holt, used this head in some of his old rigs. I'd recommend checking out the video "A Lesson in Guitar Violence", his tone is something not-of-this-world. 🤘
I really, REALLY recommend this amp man. Once you learn it inside n' out, you can do a TON with it (including some nice, chimey cleans, Idk why he couldn't at least feature that for a second in this review)
Had one of these, loved it. Only sold it as I downsized my rigs and it was surplus to my needs. But after I saw Gary Holt was using one and the tone he got I immediately had to try it out with and OD in front. If they could take the tone and put it in a little lunchbox head I'd buy that in a second.
I'll second that as I don't play arenas either lol
Suffocation definitely used it with a Maxon OD9 Pro+!!! Last time I saw them on the Farewell Frank tour is was the 6505+ with the Maxon!! Hobbs cranks the gain for damn sure! This amp is even more dope than I recall!!! Maybe the one you played a while back was just a dud!?! Or didn’t have the mojo?! It happens homie!
For the price you can get these at now they're awesome. Definitely the gain doesn't need to be past 12 o clock. And the ultra doesn't need a boost in front of it. Great video. I think xentrix used these back in the day to.
They used them for their newest album (you can see two Triple XXX in the video for Bury The Pain and some live footage)
So stoked! Love the Solar guitar so much.
My buddy used one of these in the mid 2K’s live. It always sounded great. He even used it in a blues trio when his Hot Dog Defux took a shit.
Here I was thinking you got your amp re-biased. LOL.
Nice vid.
Have this head. Mine is black snakeskin leather instead of diamond plate. It actually just went down. Lights come on but no ones home (no sound) 3 of 4 pre amp tubes light up and no power tubes light up. Having a lot of trouble finding anyone to repair in Northwest Arkansas. So, looks like it might go to the back while I search for a new amp. Really looking at the H&K Grandmeister 40 or the Black Spirit. Even considering the older Randalls again. First amp was Marshall 8100 Valvestate (the classic death metal amp) then I had a Line 6 Spider II that I really loved (lots of people ahit on it but was fine for my house. Loved i didn't have to have any pedals for it) then bought an old Crate G120cXL 120 watt head with the built in Chorus (Crate blows but this head was really cool. Very reliable and when ran through a processor like Line 6 POD HD500x, had great sound) then my XXX came into my life and stayed until this recent failure so I'm using my Crate again (kept it for back up). Sorry for the disertation but if anyone has any suggestions on the H&K let me know!! XXX is bad mofo
I upgraded my valvestate 8100 to the XXX around 20 yrs ago. I used it with mainly with ultra channel, bottom maxed, body around 3 or 4 and hair around 6 or 7, I also had the gain maxed, I think I had the speaker response switch on tight. I also used a boss 7 band eq in the effects loop and guitars tuned to B, all I can remember was really liking my sound, however when I sold it the guy who bought demo'd it along side an Engl Savage and Peavey 6534 (I think) dialled the gain back to around 2 and I can remember thinking I'd never heard the amp sound so brutal!! He kept coming back to my XXX due to the killer bottom end and walked away with it. Definitely wish I kept it now..
Matt Heafy used a Peavey Triple X for recording all the guitar tracks of Trivium's new album What dead men say
i use to have that head with the cab i liked it alot
Honestly, I found the XXX to be a little overbearing in the gain department... But on the other hand, I found my JSX to not have enough...So I did what any sensible electronics tech/guitarist would do....I modded my JSX to have more gain... put SOME of the components XXX -ish, but not quite, and it is now a cross between a Mesa Mark 4 and an Engl fireball in tone... serious BRUTES!
Sounds cool
I have a JSX that I love. I would love to mod mine to have more gain on the ultra channel.
Cool concept! Curios what you'll bring next!
I remember getting the Triple X when it first came out. It was my workhorse amp, both on stage and in the studio and it sounded amazing through my Marshall 1960AV 4x12 cab. Now I regret selling my entire rig! Luckily both are still available second hand.
I've still got my XXX! Great amp!
Cool video! I currently have the same head and love it! I did find myself wanting more of a ballsy tone without having to crank it all the time in rehearsals so I did some research, and much tweaking, and ended up with swapping the 6L6's for el34's and property biasing for the el's and it is a whole new amp to me! The el34's drive the mids and lows so in my opinion was a perfect fit as this rig is already very high gain driven. Paired with Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers in my schecter really ties it all together as well. Thanks for the video and keep doing what you're doing!
I remember using one of these at a gig when i was young lol it sounded pretty damn good. Defiantly needed a tube screamer or boost.
I love IPA but NOT the citrus tasting ones. Try Centennial from Founder's Brewery. EVERYTHING Founder's makes is phenomenal, Centennial is worth a taste
i had one and thought that the clean channel was solid state if I remember the manual.
I love that ending quote
Okay so since I found it a group of individuals that know what they're talking about oh, what I've never done personally is changed out tubes, only because.... all the stuff you hear about the negative Parts about it. I have a evh 5150 3 6L6 50w combo
Any love for the mesa mark series?
Never preferred them when watching comparison vids
Chicagoland! Let's go. Nice amp. Good to see this revisted. It gets a little Mode Four ish but that was the era. The fizz is fun for messing around and playing chords at least.
I'll be honest, when this episode began, I wasn't too sure about it, what was clear from the beginning is that this guy can definitely play guitar. Once he started talking, it was very clear to me that this guy knows exactly what the hell hes talking about. Good shit for real...I'm all ears now!!!! I had a really good friend of mine who owns this specific head, I wasn't really too sold on a either, this was probably about 2006..07..dude that crunch.. Imo, sounds pretty damn good oh, I'm not personally in the room, but from what I heard it sounds pretty damn good oh, I don't know maybe the speaker arrangement is better then what I heard, because I have noticed throughout the years that it does matter what kind of cab and speakers you use.. that's something that I've learned over the years, celestion v30s oh, I get it now why so many metal guys use them
The key to fixing the triple X is a BBE Sonic Maximizer
I own the solid-state bro to this amp, the XXL....and love it. Tho it is not as "warm / rich" sounding as this one, it has held it's own for many years! Peavey's are hard to beat IMHO.......
Good concept for content.
I always believed this was the continuation of the JSX (Joe Satriani amp).
About 2 1/2 years ago I was in a band with one guitar player, primarily a rhythm player, using a Peavey XXX, and the other an Engl.
The guy used a King V with Duncan Black Winter pickups, or an Ibanez RG with EMG 57X/60X pickups, EMG wiring and pots, and both created GREAT metal rhythm tones. He used a couple different overdrive pedals to get the crunch channel to play metal tones.
I just got a response, he says he's got two pedals that are each two distinct drive signals, a Wampler and one I don't recognize. It sounds damn good though (a little noise, but not as bad as yours!).
Keep them coming. It's too bad you don't play bass...
This Triple XXX in Arnold's video is the original Triple XXX, and the original JSX launched around the same time. After Joe Satriani got his endorsement with Marshall, the JSX name was dropped, and the Triple XXX that launched in 2011 was the JSX amp with the Triple XXX name, as best I understand.
@@dannyschellenberger8268 Correct, the Triple X II is the otherwise unchanged JSX in a different box, the 3120 was the original XXX in a different box but shipped with el34 tubes instead of the 6L6 from the Triple X, the JSX shipped with el34 though both amps can use either power tube (or KT77) with the onboard bias switch. From James Brown and Satch, the JSX is based on: the clean channel from the XXX with some tweaks, the lead channel from the Classic 50 as the crunch channel on the JSX, and the crunch channel from the XXX formed the lead channel on the JSX, with some EQ and other tweaks to suit Joe. Joe had a Classic 50 that he really liked, he also has an original 5150 (modded somehow) which he does still use to record with from time to time.
Dude this Intro tune is crazy good. Cheers
2 big factors to consider ...... The tuning of the guitar .........weather tuned to E standard 440 or drop D or A or B etc ...... I can run into my Peavey Bandit hoked to my loaded 4x12 & tune to B or A# and my Bandit will sound heavy Af . Id like to hear someone do a XXX review tuned standard 440 to get a more true result imo
Dude that crunch channel is killer. I think i liked It more even before you turned the tubescramer on It. That ultra channel is kinda meh, is like "i love high gain but not THAT MUCH high gain" you know what i mean? Anyways that crunch channel would make me wanna play some good ol Justice for all thrash for sure. Awesome video man!!! 👍
I finally got the head version 1. My quest is complete. Triple XXX USA for life.
I had the Bugera 333xl combo which maybe similar to this amps structure and the 12ax7's were fizzy also...and I put a JJ's ECC83 in with a matching phase tube and it got all dark and silky smooth sounding.
Why is the amp so quiet? I have that amp and with the master all the way up and the gain at 12 o'clock you can barely touch the volume with it taking your head off? Great vid though about time the xxx got the love it deserves 👍
Nice numenorean shirt. Love that band. Also this head is a beast!
Mine sounds brutal as fuck with a revv g3 infront of it. I also change out the 6l6s for el34s cause the gain is already crazy on the amp. There is a reason revocation used this amp and the evh 5150 for the outer ones cause it fucking awesome and underrated
Mine came with KT77s in it. Sounds great.
I do recall that the midrange EQ was active and really weird and touchy. Best left alone.
Peavey's tech line and emaiu are really amazing if you can't find it on the site reach out to them they have new old stock parts and manuals not listed and will email to you.
I have learned that the gain dial never goes above 10 o'clock on my XXX, still fizzy though when you listen back to a recording.....
I had one of these almost twenty years ago. I bought it at the local music store that was going out of business. It came with the matching cab. I could not get rid of the cab fast enough. I put it through a Randall USA XL412 with V30's and it made a hell of a difference. I was always reaching for a presence knob on the XXX to fine tune the high end.... but it of course didn't have one. I always liked the Peavey 5150 better but the clean tone sucked (a few of our tunes used a clean tone in those days). There is no clean channel. Never was. The EVH 5150 III was the amp I waiting for and didn't know it lol
16:50 thorn in my side riff sounds so cool
Even through my laptop speakers that thing sounds awesome!
That is the Gary Holt tone - 2005 to 2008
Love that guitar! Did it just come out?
eh, a while ago. I bought this one in January 2019 and was told it was the last of the initial run, but they still are available through Solar's website.
You didn't use the tight and loose switch on the back it is sick af on that amp
Matt Heafy said it was the main dirty sound on the new record for rhythm. which he said was fun because that was the first album tone too. i never liked this amp, but i'll be damned if they didn't make it sound great. most of the time i've heard it was through a matching peavey cab, and i suspect that's part of why i always hated it.
one thing that always bugged me was the active EQ on the gain channels. too sensitive. and didn't act like you expect them to. this is almost an EQ pedal in the loop sort of amp.
i personally prefer KT77's (direct replacement for el34's) they are slightly chunkier, cab use i use a 2x12 with celestion 12k100's. i love it. back when i had a band i used a marshall mf400a (which had 12k100s).
That's cool I use my 6505 and Mark v 90w through an MF400. Killer sound
@@kreepthedestroyer 12k100s severely underrated. bet that mark v thru the mf400 sound ridiculous
@@ramses1134 it sounds godlike and never come across anyone with this combination
I have had my eye on getting either an old 5150 or the XXX. I think the XXX has some Mojo that a lot of people don't appreciate but I think it sounds sick.