Peavey XXX Super 40 or Valveking 112

[jclogston]

Hi all -
I'm looking into getting a tube amp to replace my vox ad15. After trying several amps (Fender Blues Jr, Vibro champ xd, mesa 5:25, peavey royal 8, peavey windor, peavey mini collossal, peavey classic 30) i have narrowed it down to the following 2:
XXX super 40 (used, $500)
Valveking 112 (new, $400).
To me they sound great; great for my 80's metal fix.
Which of the 2 do you recommend (have personal experience on)?
I'm going to bring my guitar in and try both out again; just seeking some advice.

Thanks in advance,
jeff

[thetroy]

I had a ValveKing 112 for several months - it's a great amp for the price especially if you were to grab a used one.

Never played the XXX though

[lefty]

Hi all -
I'm looking into getting a tube amp to replace my vox ad15. i have narrowed it down to the following 2:
XXX super 40 (used, $500)
Valveking 112 (new, $400).
To me they sound great; great for my 80's metal fix.
Which of the 2 do you recommend (have personal experience on)?
I'm going to bring my guitar in and try both out again; just seeking some advice.
jeff

No experience with the Valveking, but I've read good reviews.
I own a XXX 40, the one with built in FX, and I like it a lot.
I think you can probably find one cheaper than $500 if you
look around. Bear in mind the XXX is US-built and the VK is
Chinese...

The XXX will def get you 80s metal, and then some...

[Predator1]

I have a XXX Super 40 and it is a great little amp. I can get a great 80's tone plugging my guitar staight into the amp and it sounds pretty good at low volume too. The XX was made right here in the USA the Valveking is made in China. Go XXX better resale!

[jclogston]

Just to add another amp into the picture....
How is the mesa boogie subway rocket reverb? Does it come close to the gain in the two other amps?
Thanks
Jeff

[lefty]

Just to add another amp into the picture....
How is the mesa boogie subway rocket reverb? Does it come close to the gain in the two other amps?
Thanks
Jeff

Hehe, I happen to have one of those too. Great little
amp. Natch, nowhere near as big a sound as the XXX,
as it's 2 EL84s and a 10" spkr. More of an old school
sound to it. Not as much gain as the XXX except in
Contour Mode, which I personally don't like the sound of
as much...

[Dave L]

Well, if those two are the possible choices, I´d definitely go with the XXX. I haven´t tried the XXX Super 40, but if it´s even remotely similar to the XXX head it will IMHO outshine the Valveking.

[jclogston]

Hehe, I happen to have one of those too. Great little
amp. Natch, nowhere near as big a sound as the XXX,
as it's 2 EL84s and a 10" spkr. More of an old school
sound to it. Not as much gain as the XXX except in
Contour Mode, which I personally don't like the sound of
as much...

Can you pull off 80's metal with the mesa rocket?

Thanks

Jeff

[emperor_black]

I have owned both. Like others have said, the reliability/resale value of the XXX is much higher than the VK. But I would not pay $500 for it. If I remember right, I bought one with brand new tubes for less than that and still lost money when I sold it after a few weeks. Yes, it can do the 80's slayer, Megadeth type very well. But I dont think you can get the Metallica's tone though. Its not a dark-sounding amp. its very bright sounding. It can get too harsh sometimes. An OD pedal helps taming its harshness. But it looks killer tho. I am talking about the non-fx version.

IMHO, dont go for either. There must be some others out there which are good for that price. Also, if you are going to pay $400 for the VK, you are nuts. I paid $275 for a floor model (in mint cond) at a store when they were selling for $399 in stores. I thought at first the salesguy misquoted the price. EVEN then, I got only about $260 after selling on eBay. Stay away from the VK! Also, the knobs are very flimsy. For the XXX, $400 MAX and for the VK, $250 MAX is my recommendation.

[jclogston]

I have owned both. Like others have said, the reliability/resale value of the XXX is much higher than the VK. But I would not pay $500 for it. If I remember right, I bought one with brand new tubes for less than that and still lost money when I sold it after a few weeks. Yes, it can do the 80's slayer, Megadeth type very well. But I dont think you can get the Metallica's tone though. Its not a dark-sounding amp. its very bright sounding. It can get too harsh sometimes. An OD pedal helps taming its harshness. But it looks killer tho. I am talking about the non-fx version.

IMHO, dont go for either. There must be some others out there which are good for that price. Also, if you are going to pay $400 for the VK, you are nuts. I paid $275 for a floor model (in mint cond) at a store when they were selling for $399 in stores. I thought at first the salesguy misquoted the price. EVEN then, I got only about $260 after selling on eBay. Stay away from the VK! Also, the knobs are very flimsy. For the XXX, $400 MAX and for the VK, $250 MAX is my recommendation.

Thanks for the advice. I can try to get the XXX price down to $400 but i doubt it will happen. As for the VK112, I can pick up a 'like new' one for $280 locally....still debating though.......

jeff

[emperor_black]

Thanks for the advice. I can try to get the XXX price down to $400 but i doubt it will happen. As for the VK112, I can pick up a 'like new' one for $280 locally....still debating though.......

jeff

If you can get the VK for $280, that is a good deal I think. It has great cleans. Well, better than the XXX at least. But its not a high gain amp. So, keep that in mind. Also, its noisier that the XXX. But a good Noise suppressor like the ISP decimator will do the job. If you use a OD pedal to push the preamp tubes...get a good pedal cause it just gets noisy as hell.

The reverb on the XXX is an actual spring reverb tank which looked pretty cool but IMO was very weak when compared to the VK's. I think even the VK's is an actual reverb tank. But I forget.

however, the VK has a cool Class A/B texture knob which is supposed to work wonders...but I found it doing nothing much other than change act like some sort of global eq. but who knows, you might like it.

Hope that helps.

[Rhett]

I've got the VK112. Paid $300. The lead channel is decent if you keep the gain at 6 or less. Past that point or with the gain/vol boost engaged I think the tone goes downhill from there. It's just a nasty harsh sound that no amount of tweaking can fix. I feel the same way about reverb. It stays on zero. The only opinion I have on the clean channel is that it's better with the bright switch off.

The few times I have played with a drummer I thought it worked okay. My brother gigged with it and got compliments and offers to buy it off him. He told me he played it with the gain boost on all the time.

Overall, I guess it's a decent amp for the money. I play through a Line6 TonePort most of the time when I'm around the house. It's nice having a real amp for playing out.

[jclogston]

I've got the VK112. Paid $300. The lead channel is decent if you keep the gain at 6 or less. Past that point or with the gain/vol boost engaged I think the tone goes downhill from there. It's just a nasty harsh sound that no amount of tweaking can fix. I feel the same way about reverb. It stays on zero. The only opinion I have on the clean channel is that it's better with the bright switch off.

The few times I have played with a drummer I thought it worked okay. My brother gigged with it and got compliments and offers to buy it off him. He told me he played it with the gain boost on all the time.

Overall, I guess it's a decent amp for the money. I play through a Line6 TonePort most of the time when I'm around the house. It's nice having a real amp for playing out.

Hi all -

Thanks for the advice. After playing the vk112 again i have decided against it. The cleans were ok and the lead channel got very harsh once the gain is increased. Couldn't for the life of me dial it out. So i'll pass on it.
The xxx super 40 i'll give it a test run again but if the cleans are not as good as the vk112, then i'll have to pass.
I might just hold on to my vox ad15 for now as it does all the sounds i like at apartment volumes. Might have to check out the new peavey vypyr amps when they come out though......

jeff