peavey valveking ii's

EricTheWeary

MrsTheWeary is watching some right old twaddle on the tv and I am googling amps and eating toblerone. 

http://www.samash.com/peavey-valveking-ii-20-watt-combo-guitar-amplifier-p03608790

No idea how they sound but the new 20 and 50 watt combos seem to have some smart features as all rounders and they certainly look better ( or at least a bit less goth) than the mark i's.

johnnyurq

I had a blast of the earlier MKI's and it was a very decent amp with some good tones available.

As Peavey do good solid amps this looks very interesting with a great spec.

Every Peavey amp I have owned was solid and reliable whether valve or SS, the 2 classics I owned were lovely and I do miss them.

bertie

*cough*

digitalscream

Interesting...more info here:

http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/series/805/ValveKing%26reg%3B%20Series%20

ICBM

I haven't tried the Mk2s yet. The Mk1 Valve Kings are phenomenal amps for the money - they're well-built, flexible and loud, and seem to be reliable.

To me they aren't very characterful though - the sound is somehow generic and a bit one-dimensional compared to the more expensive Peaveys (the XXX, and certainly the 5150/6505) or similar-priced amps from other companies like Jet City or even Bugera. I'd choose one as a good solid working amp I didn't mind getting thrashed, but not sure if I'd choose one for a 'favourite' amp, if you see what I mean.

Dave_Mc

^ Agreed- the ones I've tried were pretty nice jack-of-all-trades amps on the cheap.

Maxi

Still own a VK 100 head bought from new when it first came out, brilliant value for money nothing to boast about I know but it does pretty much everything I need it to do .

Build quality is good .

If I had money to burn would definitely upgrade to a Mesa dual but for the time being Valve King is one item that I did not regret .

I agree that the character is not focused and therefor people looking for that specific tone (im thinking metal) would sooner use a laney  than an amp that you would expect to see sitting around pretty much any rehearsal studio .

ThePrettyDamned

I really like the sound of these. Good for hard rock, nice enough cleans to satisfy your average guitarist and nice amount of tweakability.

Doesn't rock as hard as a 6505, doesn't sound as sweet as a classic 50, but as an all rounder, they are nice sounding. Plenty of mods around, too.

impmann

I bought a VK combo new - and hated it. As mentioned above no character and no matter what I did and how much I complained to pmt (where I bought it) the internal rattles at volume were too much to bear.
One amp I have never regretted selling. I know someone else with one who gets a great sound and as mentioned its been very reliable. So perhaps I was just unlucky...

Maxi

impmann said:

I bought a VK combo new - and hated it. As mentioned above no character and no matter what I did and how much I complained to pmt (where I bought it) the internal rattles at volume were too much to bear.
One amp I have never regretted selling. I know someone else with one who gets a great sound and as mentioned its been very reliable. So perhaps I was just unlucky...

 Ha ! yeah I tried one of those ...I hated it also but the vk 100 head into a Marshall 4X12 was as different as night and day for high gain stuff, sounded better than a Marshall 800 but like I said for high gain stuff . I personally look at the vk 100 head  as a high gain amp and thats what I use it for most of the time . Its also really good for totally cleans or as a platform for drive / preamp pedals . 

The clean channel is as solid and versatile as any . Most of the mediocrity seems to be concerned with the preamp's mid control voicing it just doesnt sound either here nor there (US VS UK) so UK Marshalls sound earthy and rounded and US Mesa's and Peavey 5150's sound modern and tighter , The VK 100 head sits in a place where its difficult to focus on either which means its never going to emulate what we're already familiar with .

ICBM

The speakers in the combos are definitely poor - a friend of mine had one which we refitted with a V30/CL80 pair and it sounded way better. It's not the whole story though, the amp itself is just a bit flat and generic-sounding, it doesn't have the aggression and focus of the 5150, the brashness and bite of a Marshall or the big resonance and crunch of a Dual Rectifier… it's almost more "solid state" sounding in some ways. (And I like a lot of solid state amps so that isn't snobbery!)

His one ratted as well, it was the power valves.

Maxi

Im not sure how to define Solid state in terms of voicing though which is what most people have a problem with concerning the VK .

Maxi

Its got extra switchable gain that doesnt involve any extra valves which I think I remember you talking about on the old MR forum

ICBM

Yes, the boosted mode on the dirty channel engages solid-state diode clipping - not solid-state gain, that's still all-valve.

That's not what I meant though, it's that it has a bit of a 'flat', undynamic sound to it which you more often get with solid-state amps. There are other valve amps like this too - they still sound "like valve amps", but not as much as they should. It doesn't mean it's a bad amp, I just don't think it sounds particularly "valvey" (ironic given the name!).

The clean sound isn't even as "valvey" as my old all-solid-state Yamaha B100 combo really… (Which does sound something like a solid-state Fender Twin.)

spacecadet

I love having contacts! Been playing with this for a few weeks. Totally redesigned and sounds great. Reminds me of a Cornford. http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af135/roscoe2911/466A668D-AE12-49E3-83C2-1511CC901FD4_zps1cqtabqn.jpg

ICBM

There's no doubt whatever that it looks much better than the old versions!

Very neat.

spacecadet

Apparently this isn't the final cosmetic version. The front panel will be black. The back panel is where all the fun happens!

ICBM

spacecadet said:

Apparently this isn't the final cosmetic version. The front panel will be black.

That's a real shame - it will go back to looking generic again.

spacecadet said:

The back panel is where all the fun happens!

Ooooh… what?

spacecadet

Loads of stuff. All the switching (channel, boost, verb AND loop), USB audio out, direct out, power scaling and my favourite bit is the built in load box. Haven't had the opportunity to gig it yet but when I do, I will just take this, switch on the load and go direct. Easy load in! http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af135/roscoe2911/3073E781-77F8-45BD-932D-2FEDC34E452C_zpsayeddvje.jpg

spacecadet

I know what you mean about the cosmetics. I like this version but the black panel looks cool too.

spacecadet

Just in case you're wondering, I used to be a Trace Elliot guitar amp endorsee. The guy who did/ does all the TE stuff has done this. He designed one of my all time favourite amps, the Speed Twin and I kept in touch with him. I get to play with stuff every now and again. :-)