Peavey Delta Blues 115

[ReginaldBisquet]

Hi everyone ~ I was looking at a Peavey Delta Blues 115 today and was curious to know if there was a recommended speaker I could use to help tighten up the bass a bit.

I play in a doom & blues band. Our bass player is using a Fender Bassman and already has a nice warm growling tone. I am worried that the stock Blue Marvel may try to compete with his bass... so I'm thinking something with a tighter response... but still allows for heavy riffing.

I was looking at the spec sheet for an Eminence Big Ben (Red Coat)... looks promising. Also looking at a Jensen Neo 15 - 150.

Many thanks!

[Rockin J]

If you have'nt bought the amp already try the 2X10 model. It might do just what you want.

[ReginaldBisquet]

I tried a 4x10 amp today and it was a bit too focused. I liked the Delta Blues 115 as is... just looking for ideas on mods.

[ReginaldBisquet]

Alright friends... I now own a Peavey Delta Blues 115.

Picked it up at a local store in Houston for $375. It still had the tag and plastic covering on it?!?!? The amp came equipped with three EHX 12AX7s and four Sovtek EL84s as well as the stock 15" Blue Marvel (16 ohms).

Took the amp to our rehearsal studio and jammed with it for over three hours while no one was there. The amp gets plenty loud at 6 on either channel. I barely tweeked the EQ... leaving the settings around noon... and got plenty of wonderful tone.

Tremolo was very nice, but not as pronounced as my Yamaha solid state. Reverb was also very good but not past 6 as the sound started getting muddy. Under 6, the reverb provides a nice, smooth effect. The boost button takes out some of the mids, which I didn't like... so I'll leave that alone.

During the first hour, I preferred the clean channel with an MI Audio Blues Pro (in standard mode) to craft a gritty tone. But later in the jam session, I started liking the straight overdrive channel just as much. At this point, I could go either setting as both sounded terrific.

I noticed a cracking / rattling sound out of the amp when pushed at higher volumes and playing in drop D. I’m not sure what's going on, but backing off the guitar’s volume seemed to lessen the effect. I presume this is the “mechanical noise” I’ve been reading about with tubes? I have read about Tom's Tube Tamer specifically for the Delta Blues and Classic 30. Has anyone installed one of these yet?

I tried out my other dirt pedals (Cranked AC, Monsterpiece, BSIAB2) - and while they all played well with the Delta Blues, only the MI Audio Blues Pro gave me the warm, overdriven tube tone I was seeking. The Cranked AC is still my go-to pedal with the Yamaha.

I also used my GGG Green Ringer clone which sounded fantastic straight into the amp as did my modified Dunlop wah. I haven't experimented with the effects loop yet - will experiment later this week. Is there a general rule on what to run through an effects loop?

I've ordered some back up tubes: EHX's 12AX7s and a matched quad set of JJ EL84s. I also ordered a Jensen Neo 15-150 as I have been reading a lot of great reviews on pairing this speaker with the Delta Blues. Granted, I’m very happy with the amp's tone as it is… so I think it will be interesting to see what (if any) improvements will come about from the speaker & tube replacement.

Photos and more trivial drivel coming soon.

[James M]

I'm interested in this amp...great review!

[Fifthstone]

I love my 1x15 as is. The only change I made was to do as you are: EHX pre's and JJ power tubes. Once I made this upgrade the rattling went away. I do not have tube tamers installed. I think the clean channel has bodacious bottom end, but it seems to disappear in the drive channel. I've never felt the need to use the drive channel at all, and instead rely on the clean channel with a pedal or two (Fulltone Fulldrive II and OCD sound very good into this amp). Enjoy!

[Calloway]

I love the Big Ben. Compared to some other speakers I've tried, I just always come back to the Big Ben.

[AshlandBump]

I used to have a Delta Blues 210 and used it with a separate Peavey 15" cabinet (classic 115e, I think) -- huge sound with the combination of the 2x10s and 1x15.

I replaced the 15" speaker with a Weber California 15" on Ted Weber's recommendation -- very full sound, worked well for me.

[Lance]

Too boomy in the low end clean channel, eh? Try plugging the speaker into the 8 ohm jack. The boominess should go away, as this tends to focus the mids a bit more, and shaves off the highs & lows just a smidge. If you get the opportunity try putting an old JBL D130F in there. You'll be amazed at the difference, even though that Weber is a really good choice as well.

[angelo]

Originally Posted by ReginaldBisquet

I also used my GGG Green Ringer clone which sounded fantastic straight into the amp as did my modified Dunlop wah. I haven't experimented with the effects loop yet - will experiment later this week. Is there a general rule on what to run through an effects loop?

A lot of the time based effects seem to work well in there like delay / chorus / flange. Some guys put an eq pedal in there and use it to adjust tone or as a lead boost.

There certainly are no "rules." Those same pedals sound great up front and plenty of guys are putting pedals in the loop I would never dream of....

I don't use many pedals, but I almost always throw a delay in the loop.

[ReginaldBisquet]

Originally Posted by mainstreetexile

I used to have a Delta Blues 210 and used it with a separate Peavey 15" cabinet (classic 115e, I think) -- huge sound with the combination of the 2x10s and 1x15.

I replaced the 15" speaker with a Weber California 15" on Ted Weber's recommendation -- very full sound, worked well for me.

The shop where I bought the map also had a matching extension cabinet with four 10s for $200. I was VERY tempted to take it with me, but it would have been too much sound for what I'm doing.

I have a smaller Peavey amp with a Weber Blue Pup. I thought about a Weber for this amp, but I've read an overwhelming number of positive reviews on the 15" Jensen Neo. Would like to try out other speakers at some point down the road.

For now... Jensen speaker and new tubes should be here in a few days from Antique Electronics.

[ReginaldBisquet]

Originally Posted by Calloway

I love the Big Ben. Compared to some other speakers I've tried, I just always come back to the Big Ben.

What makes the Big Ben stand out with this amp? I really want to try a Big Ben in this thing... but probably at a later date. The BB is a relatively new speaker from Eminence, right?

[joel98z]

I had a DB with a Eminence commonwealth 15" it in, it is a very balanced speaker that loves overdrive. It may work good for ya.

[ReginaldBisquet]

Spent several hours with the Jensen Neo 15-150 installed in my Delta Blues. For my A/B between these speakers, I used the guitars noted in my sig and left the current tubes installed. Also, I should note that the Jensen was purchased new.

When I pulled out the Blue Marvel, I was surprised to see a sticker that mentioned Eminence makes them for Peavey. Perhaps the Blue Marvel is an existing Eminence relabeled for Peavey? After poking around on the Peavey and Eminence sites, I noticed that there isn't a direct match between the three 15" speakers offered by Eminence and the Blue Marvel... which tells me that the speaker is probably one of Eminence’s generic speakers available as a rebrand.

After installing the Neo, I warmed up the tubes and played the amp for three hours. Right away, I noticed the "boxy" nature of the Blue Marvel was gone. I played around with the EQ and the higher gain channel for a while and tried... yes, actually tried to mimic the boxy sound of the Blue Marvel. Couldn't quite get it, which I thought was very interesting. Using the Neo, I noticed the lower notes were smooth while the highs were mellow. Nothing piercing. Using my MI Audio Blues Pro + GGG Green Ringer while dropping the guitar down to D, the amp delivered an aggressive low end that did not get muddy. Again, the tremolo was just okay while the reverb did well on 3 / 3.5 for chords and any setting for single notes (depending on style). There was also tube rattle from the amp on certain lower notes and (of course) heavy loud volumes. This issue did not go away with the Jensen installed as some have noted it would.

A friend of mine listened to the amp and commented that “it just oozes the blues”. As a born again skeptic, I am pleased that the amp's tone had notably improved with just the speaker swap out.

Admittedly, I wasn’t 100% sold on buying the amp because I didn’t like the boxy tones it delivered. I had to sit with it for at least 20 minutes to find a setting that didn’t make the amp sound like a cardboard box. Once I found the setting I liked, it was a beautiful sound… and so, finally understood the praise this amp has received. My thoughts after buying the amp was to immediately replace the stock Sovtek power tubes and change out the Blue Marvel.

But hold on….

I noticed that the amp was not as loud anymore. I cranked the clean channel up to 10 (goes to 12) and let it rip. No flubs or farts from the speaker. Responsive and articulate low end. But the amount of volume wasn't there!

I had cranked the amp when the Blue Marvel was installed and was impressed by the sheer amount of volume it pushed. Turning the clean channel up to four was loud… and turning it up to six or seven (with an OD pedal) was plenty loud to overtake another guitar player and drums. But now, the amp didn’t appear to push the volume as before. Why?

I checked the spec sheets again and didn’t notice any major discrepancies with the Jensen appearing to be the more efficient speaker. Both have a rated power at 150 W with a musical power rating of 300 W. Both are 16 ohms. The Peavey is rated at 98.0 dB sensitivity while the Jensen Neo is rated at 99.3 dB. Hmmm. The Peavey has a voice coil diameter of 1.75" while the Jensen is at 2.5”. The Peavey weighs 12 pounds while the Jensen weighs a little over six and a half. Jensen makes a 300 W version of the Neo 15” and so I thought that maybe I should have bought that one instead. Yet with the speakers being relatively close in specs as it is… I felt it had to be something else.

So what happened? As I typed this out, I’m thinking it’s because I had played the Blue Marvel while the amp was sitting up higher as opposed to today where I had the amp sitting on the ground. Yes, the amp shook the walls and windows with the Jensen installed… but that “holy cows that’s loud” moment did not occur.

I also realized that if I’m going to try other speakers (the amp’s speaker wires have clamps on them… so no soldering needed) I’m going to need a longer barreled 3/8” socket as the screw mounts are quite long.

At this point, I’m really enjoying the Neo. I was a little worried at first because I have neither played nor consciously known anyone to play through a Neodymium speaker before. Next weekend, I’m trying out the amp over drums to see what happens. I’m hoping that my concern over volume loss will be unfounded. If there is a problem, I’ll sell the Neo and check out other speakers. Maybe even find one of those coveted JBL D130s [http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/d130.htm]!

Speaker spec sheets
Eminence 15” speakers
http://www.eminence.com/guitar.asp?speaker_size=15

Jensen Neo 15-150
http://jensentone.com/neo15-150.php

Peavey Blue Marvel 15"
http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/item/71541/Blue%20Marvel(R)%20Delta%20Blues(TM)-1556.cfm

[Fifthstone]

Thanks for the in depth Reginald. I dont' agree that the stock DB sounds even remotely boxy, but that's my opinion. I'm talking the clean channel only, which is the one I use. I think the DB 1x15 stock is an excellent blues amp as is.

Also, Eminence is an OEM for many amp makers, so it's not unusual that a Peavey-labeled speaker may have been built by Eminence.