Thoughts on Peavey amps?

[1trussell]

Looking at Peavey's line of amps and owining a 5150 I thought I'd see what all you guys thought about them. I've not played any of the Peaveys except for my 5150. How would you compare the XXX, JSX, XXL and shit, even the Classic series? Hook me up with some real world info here. Thanks

[noodlesatf]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I really love my XXX. I play it through two Mesa Recto 2x12 cabs; one with Vintage 30s, the other with Black Shadow 90s.

The clean channel has loads of headroom and tons of sparkle, since it doesn't run through the preamp tubes on the clean channel. The crunch channel is warm and fat, with tons of that musical crunch sound, great for blues, rock, and metal lead work. The ultra channel has more gain than you'll ever need--although it can get fuzzy at the higher gain settings--and is full of thick, fat saturation. Nothing subtle about this channel, it is metal all the way, and I use it for my heavy rhythm work. The two gain channels have active tone controls, so the range and control you have when shaping your sound is enormous.

This amp is LOUD. I don't get the master above four with the full band going. I couldn't be happier with this amp. Check out my band's web site to hear what it sounds like with my old rig (Marshall 1960AV cab, '87 Soloist with EMGs).

[jgcable]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I like all the Peavey tube amps. The Ultra's and Supreme's are also really nice. The XXL sounds like A$$.

[Mordor]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

Peavey amps are nice,good bang for back too.

[slayer]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I love the Triple XXX and the Ultras brfore them. I have the Ultra 60 1x12 combo, great amp and I love the resonance switch and active eq and the reverb. Jack.

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I love their amps. Everything from the Transtube to the 5150's. They all offer some great sounds for the beginners and "tonally advanced" (I dunno how else to say it) guitarist and their prices aren't that horrible

[Brad]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I will add to what has been said about the XXX. Great sound, great versatility, and great bang for the buck. Also, as far as Peavey's go..... I still have my VTX series Heritage from backin 1986 and haven't had to change the tubes YET. [img]/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Again, Peavey = Great Quality Amps.

[j2379]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

yeah i tried the XXL i thought at low volume it sounded pretty good. as soon as i started to get anywhere near band volume it didnt sound to good. but IMHO the old randall RG100s were one of the few SS amps that sounded great cranked. usually SS just get fizzy & thin at high volume.

[Inazone]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I've been rehearsing and gigging with `70s Classic combos for the past couple of years now, simply because I wanted a very basic, reliable tube combo. My brother is using a Heritage VTM head from the `80s, and I even picked up a TKO-80 bass combo. Before all that, I owned a number of their solid state combos too, and never had any hassle or complaints.

I've found that it is possible to get the TransTube amps to sound good at higher volumes if you play with the "T-Power" control. My brother used my Special 212S at a gig last fall, and it sounded pretty decent. I bought an ART Tube EQ to warm it up a little.

[Tooling]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

They get a bad rap from years past...5150 , 5150II, and theJSX are killer metal amps. Don't know about the XXX and have heard the classic 30 is a really nice amp. In there competion range ,ie Marshall JCM's and Mesa Recs....I think they beat them both.

[nonamemx]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

Peavey has always made good amps, for a student price.

Im considering getting a JSX, XXX, or 5150 sometime in the near future, whichever I like better.

[sevser]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

Peavey makes the best mass produced amps IMO. They are tough as hell, dealers everywhere and they are priced right.

I remember my guitar instructor had a VTM back in 89 and it had more balls than any Marshall I had heard.

[thetruthguy]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I played with a Transtube Special 212 for about a year in a band, and it sounded great. The only trouble it gave was minor squealing, but I fixed that with a noise reduction pedal and all was well. It had great distortion--not quite tube but close--and it was full and rich sounding, oftentimes drowning out my bandmate's THD 30-watt head.

[Manyaxes]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

My Ultra 60 is crushing.

[TheSteveMan]

Re: Thoughts on Peavey amps?

I have the XXL head. I don't think it's very good through the XXL cabinet, but I got a Triple XXX cabinet to go with mine, which is quite good!
Here's my usual setup: guitar straight into the amp, Dano Fish 'n' Chips EQ pedal in the FX loop, which I keep sitting on top of the amp and when I don't want the EQ going on, I just de-activate the loop with the footswitch.
IMO doesn't sound too bad turned up, but unfortunately I tend to keep it down most of the time.
And to agree with Dave's comment above, this amp is a tough son of a gun!
Before this I had a Mesa Subway Rocket which was a pretty good amp, but I actually ditched it for the XXL, after spending a good amount of time jamming on it in the music store.