Bassman RI, 60 Brown Concert and a Peavy Valve King 1-12 Saturday night with 3 harp players on stage at once. I considered the possible train wreck but the playing went well(shared, listened, traded, complimented). My amp, the Concert, sounded great but it wasn't loud enough. One guy had a Kinder and I tried it and it worked great with giving me the 20% I needed. I'd never tried a Kinder but I was impressed. The Bassman was loud enough but edgy. I like my sound to have curves. The Peavy sounded a lot like the Concert with a lot more headroom (no Kinder). I had to know so I played through the Peavy and thought it was great. The speaker on it is replaced but the owner said it didn't make much difference. We played the Peavy through the second channel. They go for less than $300 used.
Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2012 6:27 AM
I've been leaning toward the Peavey with the 15" inch speaker to add to my assortment for big low end. Also like to have a decent sounding bass amp. They don't go cheap, which is in their favor. Ok, what I really want is a Kendrick K-spot 15, even found a fair price for one, but the guy lives 2300 miles away and won't ship! Anyone play through the Peavy Delta Blues 15?
Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2012 7:37 AM
I've played through the Delta Blues, Rick. I love it's sound. A lot of folks think that it's too similar to the Classic 30 (ie-either too harsh or too clean), but I happen to think it's got a really good tone for harp, and the reverb and trem are both very nice as well. You can read my review of it here:
Joe L. "Sounds like there might be something wrong with your Concert". Possible, but I would also have to not know the difference. Another possibility is that the Peavey sounds really good.
Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2012 12:13 PM
I've always thought Peavey was underrated as a music gear company. All of their line are like tanks and come out of Meridian, Mississippi. USA quality like it should be.
Peavey has always been really popular with pedal steel players. The rest of the line might not be the ultimate in tone but they do sound very good for the most part and offer excellent value for money.
I currently have a Valverb tube reverb/tremelo for sale. Peavey only made them for a couple of years but because they are rack units they didn't really catch on. Pedals being more convienent. However tonewise they match up well with Fender or any other outboard unit. Plus Peavey added a nice tremelo and included tone, gain, and master controls as well as the usual rate and speed. Typical of Peavey. They also look pretty cool with a chrome facia and chickenhead knobs. ---------- LSC
I feel the same way. I think a lot of musicians these days kinda give Peavey's amps a cold shoulder because when they started out, most of their amps were solid state, and it stayed that way on through the 80's. But since Eddie and Wolfgang started running with Peavey gear (namely their guitars which are HIGHLY underrated by the way), folks have started taking a renewed interest in their stuff.
You have to admit, it may not be the ideal sound that every player is looking for, but pretty much everything that Peavey makes is bulletproof in terms of durability and reliability. My band has been using a Peavey mixing board at least three times a week for two and a half years now, and that's after going through three Behringer mixers.
Rick, yeah, kinda up your alley. If you get to one to try use channel 2. I'm looking at one for $150. That would be a hell of a cheap resolution. One of the issues I have with my Concert is cutting through the mix. The amp is awesome and I think stands up to anything I have ever heard -but not enough of what I play seems to cut. The many conversations about volume etc. and having what you need for the front line have been helpful. I got more out of changing preamp tubes and switching from a CR to a 57 (eq range) but I need more. Crazy is the word I used for what the Peavey was able to handle up against the Bassman (modded) and my Concert -with the Kinder. The harp player who was using the Peavey said that part of the circuit actually functioned like a kinder. I didn't quite believe that but I think he was talking about this, from the Peavey site: What Is Texture™?
If you haven't turned a ValveKing around, you've only heard half of the story. The rear panel is where you'll find the patented Texture control, which adjusts the amp's response characteristics from modern Class A/B push-pull to vintage Class A, or ANY tone between the two. From metal to jazz and modern to vintage, the ValveKing has the tonal options you are looking for.
"With the Texture knob set fully to the A/B position, the amp runs at full power, hitting hard and offering tons of headroom. As you rotate the knob toward Class A operation, the amp becomes increasingly sweet, with a softer attack and lower volume. Evenorder harmonics are added in the process, and the power output can drop to as little as 40 watts. This useful and well integrated circuit should be standard equipment on every tube amp." - Guitar World
Last Edited by on Dec 26, 2012 9:07 AM
Another VK you might consider for a smaller amp is the VK Royal 8. They've been discontinued for some time now but they're readily found on amazon and occaisionally on ebay as well. They're somewhat Champ-like despite the EL84.
I didn't say they were exactly like a Champ, but they are similar. I blew through one a year or so ago and got some pretty nice tone at all settings, and good breakup at about a 6 with the gain at 4. I'd like to see the Champion 600 RI try that.
Sure, one can buy a used Champ or Champ clone, and yes they'll hold their value. But at what cost? Sometimes you'll find one on the 'bay for as little as 300 or so, but the ones in sweet condition can go for over a thousand. The Royal 8 goes for around $180 these days, and it's a solidly built little workhorse.
As it's been stated before, Peavey has always been a less costly provider of quality gear, and they have their own style of sound that is different from Fender, but nonetheless quality. Sometimes variety can be the spice of amplified harp as well. ----------
I know that just because an amp says Fender it is not automatically a great harp amp. The same is true of Peavey amps. Nothing IMO beats the boutique harp amps we have available to us. For me, the HG50 4x10 gives me the sound I'm after for most of the gigs I do.When I play Praise/Gospel, the Peavey Classic 50 4x10 is my favorite for this style.
But sometimes the HG50 is more crunch/drive than I want. When I want a rounder tone, I use a Bassman AB165 50 W head or the Peavey Classic 100 2x12. I am just finishing a project where I have put the 100W head into a head cab to lighten the load. The combo weighs 80lbs and didn't get used much because it was just too ding dang heavy! The amp has huge transformers. Just the amp alone weighs 35lbs. Right now I am running the amp into 2 12" vintage Utahs. The power tubes are 2 6L6 & 2 KT88. This thing is loud and the spkrs break up nicely. As for tone, it is similar to a calmer HG50. I don't think one amp will do it all for me. I like having some tonal choices for different types of shows/venues and Peavey amps are part of that menu. I realize lots of players on this forum don't care for them or recommend them for harp. I have found that Peavey makes a quality product and some of their amps work well for harp.
Looks like I found one for $150. Worth it? The only dog I have in this hunt is playing harp and having gear that sounds good. But a Peavey is gonna make me look like a rookie. The Concert has the cred factor. It dates January of 60 with the reverse volume controls that were only on the first couple of brown amps (tan actually). But looks is BS to me so I keep a custom cover on it that's all pink multi-cultural ballerinas -easing in like a hustling pool shark. The cover has black piping so black/pink is a clue that there might be something going on. Maybe a Peavey is an even better hustle than the ballerinas.
Last Edited by on Dec 26, 2012 11:48 AM
Why do you feel a Peavey will make you look like a rookie? I understand the factor of hustled street cred behind your Concert. I'd prolly use it as much as I could too. But if the Peavey delivers the goods that your Concert doesn't, then doesn't that give you an edge?
I will let you know this if you didn't know already....the winged-Peavey logo ornament piece is removable. And the actual Peavey badge is removable from the ornamental overhang as well. So if you wanted to camouflage it a bit, make it an incognito sleeper, it's not hard to do.
As for the speaker, you might try running an alnico on it. I once saw a Vypyr 60 (which has the same preamp and output valving) running a Weber 12" Vintage, I think it was a 150T. It sounded killer! ----------
Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Dec 26, 2012 12:25 PM
True, nobody cares what you're playing through. That said, we do recognize good tools and Peavey hasn't ranked squat for the job we want done. Again, I was real surprised when the Peavey did a great job.
Don't worry about looking like a rookie. A proper blooze hat and blooze sunglasses will quickly fix that problem!
I know several harp players that have played through Peaveys and sound really good. I don't think there is anything wrong with them. They aren't a common choice, but who cares. If you like the sound, isn't that all that really matters.
Hawk, I bought a Reno 400, like the one in your link, for $75. I'd had it about 2 days when I mentioned it to a steel playing friend and we both laughed about it's worthlessness as a harp amp and I told her I would let her have it. A couple of weeks went by before the exchange took place and during that time I was playing with it and a digitech RP350 pedal. It was starting to grow on me, but alas, I told her she could have it. I do wish I had that 15" Black Widow that was in it, but the thing about Peaveys, just keep your eyes open, another $75 one is just around the corner.
Last Edited by on Dec 26, 2012 6:14 PM
UPDATE, Peavy Valve King 112 received. Amp kicks ass. Settings are a fancy gauntlet to figure (and mic match) but once tweaked this is a great harp amp. Does it have the finest smoothest buttery curves ever -of course not, but that's mostly my job anyway. I would be happy to put this amp up against anything -and I sat in front of Gruenlings Harp King a couple of weeks ago. Craigslist, $150, no mods.
Last Edited by on Jan 04, 2013 7:49 AM
