NAD 80's style!

timmysoft · July 2014

richardhomer said:

John Martyn in the late 80s/early 90s used two Renowns on stage. It must have pretty loud up there!

I had a renown when I was 18, I had to get my dad to lift it up stairs for me! I used to love the channel blend on the renown, set both channels for a clean tone but with different voicings and then I used to run a rocktron blackjack through the front, I remember it being very loud and very cutting!

kelvinburn · July 2014

http://www.fatdawg.com/amp408.jpg

A friend of mine has one of these. I expect it to outlive both of us.

timmysoft · July 2014

A week in to owning the beast and I enjoy it more and more each time I play it. My plan with it originally was just to have this while I consider if I'm going to play live again and should I play out live I was going to upgrade to something top end, but I'm just so in love with what this amp can do that it's killed so much of my amp GAS.

ThePrettyDamned · July 2014

If it's anything like mine, I'll warn you - it HATES being distorted with old strings. Horribly muddy and harsh all at once

Not sure how similar or different they are though.

New strings though and it sounds pretty good!

timmysoft · July 2014

I'm a new string fiend, mine are usually very new and kept very clean with interflon lube (a dry Teflon based lubricant usually used on industrial chains, gears and drives). The huge speaker in this one doesn't ever seem to get harsh, maybe a little muddy but with the powerful eq it's very easy to dial out.

ThePrettyDamned · July 2014

timmysoft said:

I'm a new string fiend, mine are usually very new and kept very clean with interflon lube (a dry Teflon based lubricant usually used on industrial chains, gears and drives). The huge speaker in this one doesn't ever seem to get harsh, maybe a little muddy but with the powerful eq it's very easy to dial out.

Nice, sounds like it might be an improvement!

I like a really bright, sparkly top end for heavy rhythm but when old strings are used that nice, bright attack turns into nasty overtones that assault the ear.

I'm a new string fiend, too. But not really because I can't afford them!

Cacofonix · July 2014

I had a VT Deuce. It had two faults. The player and the guitar lead.

It was utterly bombproof. I used it as a suspension-softener in my landy, as it accidentally changed the orbit of a small planet as I drove past.

It sounded stellar, especially up loud. I just became unable to lift it.

Alnico · July 2014

Cacofonix said:

I had a VT Deuce. It had two faults. The player and the guitar lead.

It was utterly bombproof. I used it as a suspension-softener in my landy, as it accidentally changed the orbit of a small planet as I drove past.

It sounded stellar, especially up loud. I just became unable to lift it.

I had one of those Peavey 'Deuce' amps in 1989. It was the Amplifier equivalent of a Drag Racing Car. A year earlier I had the 'Bandit' which aside from the speaker not liking me running it at or near full volume, was another great amp of it's time.

I know you can still buy new amps that are along these lines but I wish more companies made them like this these days.

ICBM · July 2014

timmysoft said:

The huge speaker in this one doesn't ever seem to get harsh, maybe a little muddy but with the powerful eq it's very easy to dial out.

The Black Widow was really designed as a bass/PA driver, so it's pretty full and smooth for guitar - ideal in an amp which otherwise tends to be very 'steely' and cutting.

It's also highly efficient, which combined with the high power, explains the astonishing volume level this amp is capable of

.

timmysoft · July 2014

ICBM said:

timmysoft said:

The huge speaker in this one doesn't ever seem to get harsh, maybe a little muddy but with the powerful eq it's very easy to dial out.
The Black Widow was really designed as a bass/PA driver, so it's pretty full and smooth for guitar - ideal in an amp which otherwise tends to be very 'steely' and cutting.

It's also highly efficient, which combined with the high power, explains the astonishing volume level this amp is capable of .

and still at super low volume in my flat it still sounds incredible!

timmysoft · August 2014

I've had a good play about with the drive channel today, I had been using it as just a pedal platform for my m5, but that's really doing a huge injustice to the drive sound on this amp. The saturation circuit can be very fizzy at the upper end, but used in moderation it really does add a nice swell to big drop tuned chords. I'm going to try it for a few weeks in rehearsals using no pedals, but at the moment I'm really enjoying the bold tones I've been getting. Anyone tried one through a 4x12?

timmysoft · August 2014

Ooh shit, might have the 90's variant incoming tomorrow, the teal version with the scorpion driver and switches rather than pull knobs. I have a new peavey obsession I think!

ICBM · August 2014

A Special with a Scorpion is a bad combination. Doesn't sound good and even a Bandit can blow a Scorpion so a Special is really pushing it. I would invest in a better speaker and sell the original to someone who really wants it...

timmysoft · August 2014

That's kind of putting me off a little, the thing I love about these old peaveys is how cheap they can be had, I don't really want to budget for a speaker upgrade!

ThePrettyDamned · August 2014

Just don't drive it massively hard and it'll be fine

(probably).

To be honest, some of the higher powered celestion speakers can be had fairly cheap.

Or, it's cheap enough to use for funsies at home but gut as a head and use a 2x12 cab with it to handle the insane power (160 watts?! It must be louder than a 747!).

ThePrettyDamned · August 2014

Oh my god, I assumed it would be a 2x12 but it isn't!

timmysoft · August 2014

I think I'm just going to stick with the earlier special I have, it sounds good and I think 130w is ok for playing in my flat! I would like to find one if the transtube special 212s though, one of the amps heavily advertised by peavey when I was a teenager, I'm all about the retro nostalgia tones now!

ThePrettyDamned · August 2014

timmysoft;324216" said:
I think I'm just going to stick with the earlier special I have, it sounds good and I think 130w is ok for playing in my flat! I would like to find one if the transtube special 212s though, one of the amps heavily advertised by peavey when I was a teenager, I'm all about the retro nostalgia tones now!

There is another, a bandit one called the revolution I think. It's basically a bandit, but you can access all 3 channels from the footswitch, plus the effects loop.

Or there is the stereo chorus...

timmysoft · August 2014

@ICBM could you enlighten me as to what the little switch next to the power switch is on my special? One of the guys I've been writing with genuinely thought it was a standby switch!

ICBM · August 2014

It's a ground switch, for places in the world - mostly the US - where they don't have a proper earthing system and rely on partially connecting the amp chassis to the power line itself in order to suppress noise. The switch allows you to select whether it's connected to live or neutral, which can make a difference to the noise. (Or neither, if it's not needed or causes a hum loop when using it with other equipment.)

Yes, this is potentially dangerous! Even though the connection is via a cap which in theory is proof-tested to not fail. In older amps they sometimes did, and have become known as the 'death cap'. Modern US regulations don't allow this either and all amps are supposed to have 'three wire' (ie earthed) power connections, but it's still possible to buy 'ground lift' adaptors there, so it's not foolproof.

The good news is that if it's UK-market amp the switch is in fact not connected at all on the inside, since it was illegal to do so even back then. If in any doubt whatsoever - ie if it looks like the amp has been imported and converted from a US model (check the voltage next to the power cable, if it says 220, 230 or 240V you're safe) - leave the switch in the middle position.

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NAD 80's style!

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