walked into one of the local peavey dealers today asking if they were gonna have one in sometime soon, turns out one had just arrived and they were unboxing it right then fired it up, liked what i heard, talked them down to $320 (cash) on it, because the silica gel pack had busted and some little beads were rolling around in the back constructionwise it's about what you'd expect from a $350 peavey combo...very stout woodwork...chassis, tubes, etc. all look pretty nice...they cut some corners with the plastic jacks, pots, and knobs but they don't feel cheap/flimsy to me...overall it's a pretty sturdy amp for the $$$, but not something i'd consider terribly roadworthy hi and low gain input (altho they're not labeled) tonewise however, i think is where you really get your dollar's worth as others have said, the clean channel is very fenderish...not as big sounding as a twin but very nice indeed, this channel is pretty sensitive toward what input you use, and seems to go better with the low gain if you want a really CLEAN tone...reverb is kinda useless past about 10-11:00 max, but not bad at all the OD channel works pretty well with both inputs...like it says in the manual, the hi gain input works better with lower ouput pickups, and the low gain works better with high output pickups...this channel (boost off) with the gain REAL low can get a decent SRV kinda drive, a little more and you're in zeppelin territory...with the boost on it can go from early VH kinda gain, up to some old school slayer esque tones...pretty smooth sounding channel, but it does have some bite; nice saturation, it's got that rich/thick 5150 esque vibe for sure...i'd say i can hear some tamed down 5150 and classic series tones in this channel, doesn't really sound much like the XXX series not sure what to make of the texture control on the back, i keep it around the middle for the time being...it just kinda does somethign odd to the tone when you have it maxed one way or the other, again i've not spent much time with it...just stuck it where i thought sounded good and left it not sure of the stock speaker either, it doesn't sound bad at all especially considering it's an open back combo...i'm gonna try it with my cabs tomorrow at band practice and see how it compares it's not terribly loud for a 50w amp, on the OD channel i can get the volume up to noon without nuking myself (altho it is a bit excessive for bedroom levels) the amp sounds pretty dull/fizzy at whisper levels, but you don't have to get it too loud for it to start sounding good...the volume at 10:30 sounded best to me on the clean channel, and right around 11-12:00 seemed to be the sweet spot on the OD channel if i had to compare it to another combo, i'd say it sounds similar to a marshall DSL combo, slightly smoother, with a bit less gain overall i'm a happy customer here's some pics i snapped real quick, i'll try to get a few clips tomorrow
that part of it i understand, just not sure what to make of the effect is has tone-wise quite yet after spending some more time with the amp now, i think with a closed back ext. cab and maybe an EQ in the loop it could definitely handle any kinda metal easily
I'm interested in the head version. It's supposed to be 100 watts, which means it'll probably equal most other 50 watt amps. Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to trying one out.
interesting "cage" around the power tubes. i had read a richie fliegler interview (fender and marshall amp guy) where he mentioned this was going to be standard in the near future.
Cobrahead tell me about the low volume tone of this amp. I live in an apartment so I don't get to crank an amp much. I just bought a Vox AD30VT about 10 days ago and I think I am gonna take it back and get my money back and get a ValveKing. I knew better than buy a solid-state amp anyway and although the Vox sounds good, I can't get over the solid-state aspect of it. I need some tube warmth. The Vox is pretty much a one-trick-pony for me.
pretty much as i stated above, the amp doesn't sound good if you try to play it whisper levels (i.e. the volume knob up JUST enough to make any sound come out) but it sounds good at reasonably low levels also from zero to halfway on the volume knob isn't as big a gap decibal-wise as one may thing...the volume knob down low isn't too touchy, so you can dial it in pretty easy (as opposed to many tube combos that seem to go from off to LOUD, this one can sit in between pretty nicely) once you get the volume past halfway tho it starts to get a lot louder this sounds about right volume wise for a 50 watter, maybe slightly more quiet, but then i'm not used to 1x12's either (always had a 2x12 or larger) i don't see why the 100w version packing four 6l6's wouldn't be as loud as any other 100 watter...but not having played one i can't say for sure
Just got back from playing one. They had just come in the door of the local shop and hadn't even been out of the box yet. The 1-12 50 watt sounds pretty good. Great Fender type cleans. Not as much gain on the Lead channel as I hoped, but seemed to be enough for my playing. Think I am going to return my Vox AD30VT and get one as soon as possible.
Sorry guys, I just got back from playing a 1X12 combo and the tone was not on par with the reviews. light weight, nice features and very flexible, but the tone gets a big cheesy thumbs down for me. Excellent beginners amp IMHO.
I agree not the best amp in the world. But I think with some refinement (Celestion speaker maybe new tubes) it could be just fine for me. The Vox I have isn't cutting it.
I just tried one too, a good deal but did not inspire me to buy one. I did like the class A upper grind, it made the amp worth it's money. On the down side, I felt it had some what of a processed sound to it. kind of compressed with overly balanced tone all the way up and down the frequency range ... and not flexible enough to shape it in one direction or another. If it wasn't for the class A thing, I'd think you'd be better of with something from their solid state line. ... I agree, new tubes and an over sized sealed cab with a good speaker may be the trick ... but there goes your bargoon!
i've found the amp warms up pretty nicely when the speaker has a bit of break-in time on it (amp has seen about 8-9 hours of action so far) when you begin to crank the amp, the speaker breakup comes a little sooner than i'd ultimately like tho...still for the price, i'm 100% satisfied...we'll wait a few weeks for the honeymoon to pass and see if things change tho
The speaker is probably the lowest of the low ... that $20 Carvin might be a good upgrade. Givien it's nice class A vibe, it probably will take to overdrive pedals well.
