Need Some Suggestions.....

Yep. It'll be a nice addition to my amp collection. Sorry TF.

I just had a thought. If you still are interested I might sell it.

With shipping and all I think it'll only be about $450.

Interested?

(J/K) Man, I saw that and thought, "that won't last long."

Lol mean Bish mean. Keep it up and I'm going to make you play blues shuffle rhythms on the drums all night :P.

Here ya go. This is it.

The new Peavey 50W Valve King 1 X 12.

Peavey ValveKing 112

Peavey makes great tube amps. This is brand new, just came out. I am sure it sounds great. You aren't gonna get a 50 watt tube amp anywhere for this low price.

If I had the money, I'd order one today. 8)

Here's a link to a page with soundclips of a Valveking 112

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=104268

I think it sounds pretty good, I too have been searching for a tube amp with no avail. My local peavey dealer should be getting the valvekings in stock this week, so I'm hoping that its what I've been looking for.

Yes, I have the AD30VT and it *is* a great amp. And I also have the GMX212 and that one is a whole lot of bang for the buck as well. I have to say I prefer the tone of the Vox usually and the GMX gets used only to amplify the V-amp or for slide-guitar, which works wonders. Just try 'em yourself, if you just want one amp to get all your sound from I'd go with the Vox.

Big fat huge tube-amp warning!!!
A lot of nonsense is going around on the net about tube amps. An amp doesn't sound great because it has a tube in it. Trust me. Saying you want a tube amp is like saying you want a car with a diesel-engine: maybe your ideal car has such an engine but not every diesel-engine is like your ideal car. The Peavey will probably sound *nothing* like the Hotrod, although both are probably great amps. Think about what kind of sound you want, which features you need, at what volume levels you'll be playing and then make a list of amps that could work. It's about the sound not how the sound is created. If you want an all-tube hotrod don't just settle for a random cheaper tube-amp or you might be severely dissapointed.

Arjen

I agree with you to a degree. Yes, an amp does not sound great simply because it is a tube amp.

But the very same thing could be said about solid-state amps.

You and many others have raved about the Vox AD30VT. It gets very good reviews. So I would say it's a good amp and recommend it to people.

But for a certainty, some people will hate it's tone. That doesn't mean anything negative about the amp whatsoever. It just means people have different tastes.

You like the AD30VT. But I am sure that you do not care for all the presets. You have probably had to tweak many of them to your own tastes.

And of course everyone has their own idea of just what great tone is. I love the tone of Neil Young's Fender Deluxe on Farmer John. Now, most people would probably say this is horrible tone. Neil likes to crank his amp to the max. It is humming, squeaking, distorting, and making every horrible noise you can think of on this song. But I absolutely love this kind of tone. I do not believe any solid state amp could create this tone.

Awhile back you posted a survey where people were asked to listen to solid state and tube amps and see if they could tell the difference by just listening. The vast majority of listeners could not tell the difference.

There was one area however where listeners did pretty well at telling the difference. This was Blues music.

Now why is that?

And I wrote that most Blues players use a tube amp pushed into overdrive or saturation. Most Blues players do not use a lot of effects.

And people could hear this. This is where a tube amp sounds different than a solid state. Tube amps have a fatter, thicker, rubbery tone compared to solid states. IMHO solid states sound harsh when overdriven. I have owned many solid states.

But going back, a tube amp is just like any solid state. You are still going to have to tweak it to get the tones you want out of it. But you have to do the same with any solid state amp as well.

The downside to tube amps is that most are a one trick pony. You don't get effects. You can get a great clean channel and a good overdrive.

But this clean and overdrive in most people's opinion is better than most solid state amps can provide.

And you can always run a multi-effects pedal in front of a tube amp. This is, in fact, what most pros do.

The pros aren't dummies. They know gear. They are not using tube amps because they have fallen for hype. No, most have been playing for many years through many different amps. They go with tube amps because they get the tone.

Now this amp is cheap. It is made in China. This is probably why the cost is so low. But Peavey has a good reputation. They make good amps. I would not be afraid to order this amp, even without hearing it.

I listened to the sound-clips. This amp sounds pretty great in my opinion. If definitely sounds more like a Rock amp. But the clean channel was good too.

I am rambling, but solid state amps have to be tweaked to sound good just like tube amps. I guess that is the point I was trying to make.

Wes,

Sorry if I was unclear, I wasn't trying to drag the old SS vs tube debate back. What I was saying, or atleast trying to, was that a tube is just a part of the amp and will not give you 'the tube sound', simply because there is no one 'tube sound'. Way too often people spend money only to found out that their tube amp sounds different then the sound they wanted. Thats not the tubes fault at all, and doesn't mean anything about quality, it's about expectations.

You actually see it with hybrid amps too: every amp with a tube 'somewhere; inside claims to have 'the one tube sound found on classic albums', which might have people believe that any tube amp will do. It would be equally folly to believe you can go and get a GMX212 and have it sound like an AD30, that's just not gonna happen. If you like the sound of a Hotrod you should get a hotrod, not just any tube amp. Or in other words: get what you want, not something that has a few similar parts. Might sound obvious but it is a truth often overlooked.

That peavey has an impressive list of features and their reputation is good. But can you really tell how that amp would react to your guitar, effects and playing style by listening to samples? You know your stuff and I know that, but I just doubt it is possible to recommend an amp to someone because of the fact it is a 50W tube amp for little money. That doesn't mean the amp is bad, your opinion is bad or Peavy is bad, it just means that that amp could be different then what you expect it to be. Finally, online soundclips, espescially of tube amps, are really dubious. You need mics to get the sound and it's possible to shape the sound so much you wouldn't recognize it. Check out MF's soundclips of the tiny Behringer GM108 amp. Last time I checked that thing didn't had a billion effects build in, who knows what else they did with the recordings?

Arjen

I am in complete agreement with you. It is probably not a good idea to buy any amp without listening to it. But some folks do not live near a music store, or they carry a small line. So sometimes sound clips are all you have to go with.

And there is no perfect amp whether it be solid state or tube.

For instance, I think the Hot Rod series of amps are great Blues amps on their own. They have a great clean channel as well, so they would be good for Country, Surf, or even Jazz. But if you are into Metal, then the Hot Rods are not the best amp. Most would probably be far happier with a Marshall, Mesa Boogie, or Peavey amp for these applications.

But the Hot Rods do have a excellent clean channel, so with pedals you can use them for anything, including Metal.

If someone likes to use lots of effects, then probably the newer solid states are the way to go. The modeler amps are great today. You get lots of variety with excellent reproduction of all the famous and classic amps and tones.

It's all personal taste. Myself, I really don't care for effects that much. I just like the old vintage tones of a tube amp that is overdriven.

Give me that AC/DC tone and I am happy. 8)

But anyway, I was just trying to suggest a low cost tube amp that has the power to gig with. This new Peavey looks very good (clips sound good too). I have owned many Peavey amps and they are always good. So I was not afraid to recommend this one.

Most gigs I go to, people are using 15 to 40 watt tube amps, with a heavy reliance on amps in the 20-30 watt range (Deluxe Reverbs and Peavey Classics 30's abound these days). Many of these shows have amps with attenuators attached to reduce volume and get some drive, except maybe the surf guys (and they're using more 40 watt vibrolux's than Twins these days). Even these shows are incredibly loud at times. I can't imagine when anyone needs a 50 watt tube amp unless you played pristine clean at earbleeding volumes. Maybe at an outdoor show without a PA. Am I missing something?

That said, this sounds like a great amp for the price. And probably is considering the other Peavey combos out these days. Looks like they might be going for something like the Traynor amps.

By the way, one of the best live sounds I've heard over the last year, short of vintage Deluxes, came from a Classic 30. It was being used by a guy playing in a surf/rockabilly band that was pretty loud with an energetic drummer, and his sound really stood out in the mix. I had to walk up after their set and compliment him on his sound. He said he was loving the sound, too, and was so glad he stopped hauling a Twin around.

Slothrob

It depends on the type of music. With Blues you can use the smaller amps like 10- 15 watts.
But with full fledged Rock I think you probably need at least 30 watts to get a clean tone above a loud drummer. And that is pushing it.

I use my HRD at gigs (40W) because we are loud (at least our other guitarist is). I don't crank it, usually around 2 on volume. But I need to be able to get a clean tone without breakup that can compete with our drummer and other guitar player.

If I tried to use a 15 watt amp I would be hopelessly drowned out. I couldn't get a clean anyway. I would have to crank the amp and it would overdrive.

I know, I know, we shouldn't be so loud. I have tried to talk to the guys, but you know how that goes. And that is the case in most bands. People just like to crank it, especially on stage.

So you need to have an amp that can hang.