Anyone use a Peavey Valveking?

thisisguitar

Hey guys.

May be taking a trade against my Mesa as I need a practise/backup amp. Anyone use the Valveking 2x12 combo and have an opinion to offer on it?

Cheers 

Lynden

ThePrettyDamned

thisisguitar said:

Hey guys.

May be taking a trade against my Mesa as I need a practise/backup amp. Anyone use the Valveking 2x12 combo and have an opinion to offer on it?

Cheers 

Lynden

I quite like them. There are mods around, but some say they're a bit characteerless,which I get. They sound nice though, decent cleans, decent crunch. 

Sounds typically peavey.  Not as tight and rawk as an evh, not as sweet as the classic 50.  

Listen to a lot of demos if possible.

Gassage

Pretty versatile amp. From memory, it had some form of power scaling, that was called a texture control or something, that allows you to 'colour' the sound by altering the running output? Something like that anyway.

It'll get quite distorted, the cleans are OK but exceptional, and nowhere near as classy as the Peavey tweeds.

ICBM

Which Mesa?

Actually, it doesn't matter. Just don't.

It's a really good cheap valve amp, but nothing more than that. You'll get disappointed by its general characterlessness in no time, even as a backup/second amp.

(Yes, I have owned one.)

close2u

I have a 1x12 50 watt combo.

My only amp of this sort so nothing to compare to - I think it works well though ... I have played in a rock covers band and now I play very clean in a soul band.

Here is a fair assessment / review of the bigger combo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXVsB_bAz1I

I post this as most other 'video reviews' out there seem to be done by fans of teh brutalz who do nothing but turn the fizz up to 10.

thisisguitar

Thanks for all you thoughts guys. I've been using my Two Rock to teach guitar, which seems like a ridiculous thing to be doing with it, hence the thoughts on getting a cheap valve amp. Am making all my gain with pedals, so as long as the clean is decent I should be able to use it for emergencies.

@ICBM it's the Mesa Express 5:50 that I have for sale in the Classifieds on here.

ThePrettyDamned

That demo is a really good representation of the sounds.  

Actually, it sounds better than what I managed out of it! Maybe I should give it another shout, they go pretty cheap used.

ICBM

thisisguitar said:

Thanks for all you thoughts guys. I've been using my Two Rock to teach guitar, which seems like a ridiculous thing to be doing with it, hence the thoughts on getting a cheap valve amp. Am making all my gain with pedals, so as long as the clean is decent I should be able to use it for emergencies.

@ICBM it's the Mesa Express 5:50 that I have for sale in the Classifieds on here.

Why would you want to trade that away for a Valve King? Unless you want ultra-gain scooped thrash there's really nothing the Valve King can do that the Express can't do better.

Why is using a Two Rock to teach ridiculous?

Unless you really need the money - or you want to take or leave the Peavey somewhere you wouldn't want to risk your other amps - I don't see why having two good amps is a problem... you already have all the backup and low volume options you need.

And to be clear, I like the Valve King for what it is! No snobbery involved, I own more Peavey amps than any other brand - I just don't think it's as good as a Mesa or a Two Rock. 

ThePrettyDamned

With ICBM here. I don't have a teacher, but if I did, I'd love for them to have a mesa or two rock!

Lukeage

I've played through a 2x12" Valveking on numerous occasions. 

- They're not bad, per-se. 

- They are big, and very heavy

- They are loud (very) 

- They are fairly versatile, but still manage to be incredibly bland. 

- They're reasonably solid... 

- They're *NOT* "home friendly" amps, I would certainly not buy one to play one at home. 

- The reverb tank isn't too bad... 

If you get rid of the Mesa or Two Rock, I would get something that isn't one of these. I'd get something like a Jet City or a Blackstar or a Marshall. 

thisisguitar

I'm not expecting any tonal nirvana, but I could use freeing up a little cash after buying a new car (wrote the other off in the storms before christmas). With the money I'm losing on it I'd rather a mate have it, especially as I've spent a lot on it… hence offering him the trade (the Peavey plus £525).

The Mesa has a lovely clean sound, but the gain isn't great. The Two Rock has one of the best clean sounds around so the Mesa really isn't earning it's place. If it was exceptional at something then I'd likely keep it. 

I have plenty of nice gear for my students to be impressed with ;-) It just seems like overkill to use a £3k of amp (50watt with 2x12) to teach, it's for my enjoyment/gigging duties.