Peavy Valveking 212 Good enough to gig with?

rickster · Post by **rickster** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:48 pm

I bought my first tube amp a few months ago, it was barely used and i got a good price on it.Has anyone ever played through this amp ?What was your impression, and do you think it is sufficient in a modern rock band? I think it has potential but am not getting that hear every note thing even with the gain cranked ( Playing open cords) like the youtube reviews I watched.Thanks in advance
P.s I posted this in the tech section but thought it would be better here,

DirtySanchez · Post by **DirtySanchez** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:51 pm

actually, You'll probably get some good feedback in the tech sector. Them nerds are smart over there

My advice is if you're having trouble hearing it now, you may wanna upgrade. or move further away from the drummer.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:53 pm

One hundred tube watts into two 12s should be sufficient for any small-to-medium sized room around here and any room larger should require full front of hourse support anyways.

I'm not particuarly familiar with that guitar amp, so I can't comment on its sound quality or reliability. Peavey guitar amps seem to be pretty hit or miss with me. Some sound really good to my ears, and some sound really lackluster. I imagine that their tube offerings are pretty decent. As far as not getting note definition - everyone knows that I'm going to say this but...do you have enough mids EQed in? Scooping out the mids sounds good when playing by yourself, but it seriously kills any potential note definition that you would have.

rickster · Post by **rickster** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:58 pm

what do you mean by full front of hourse support ?

DirtySanchez · Post by **DirtySanchez** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:12 pm

rickster wrote:what do you mean by full front of hourse support ?

I can't tell if this is serious or picking on the typo.

Front of House support- Being miked and run thru the PA/monitors.

VENTGtr · Post by **VENTGtr** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:14 pm

F.O.H. is the PA.

I've never played through that particular amp, but have heard good things about it
from a couple of people (Including from Chris Kane, who went to if after his beloved
Marshalls started failing. That's an authority I put a lot of stock).

As for the not hearing every note, coupl'a things to try.

A) Turn DOWN the gain.

B) Look into trying a different type of Preamp tubes. I, and some others (Including
Metalchurch) have become fans of Tungsol 12ax7s. Break up a bit earlier but retain
the clarity you may lacking.

2x12s of tube will be loud enough for anywhere. I run a 50w Carvin with 2 Power
tubes pulled, and 1x12...and if my volume moves past 2-2.5, it's too loud for our
backline. 2x12s was even unnecessary.

BTW, before pulling power tubes, if you're new to tube stuff, ask on here about what/how
you'll need to do. You'll get the right advice,...and if you do something wrong...bad things
could happen.

Best of luck and long live Lord Tungsol.

songsmith · Post by **songsmith** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:20 pm

That means they put a mic on your amp and pump it through the main PA system. The technical term for the big PA is house sound, odd because you're usually not in a house, but stage people have weird terms for everything... for instance, if you say "turn me up in the mains" to some technicians, they'll look at you funny, because "mains" can mean AC power. It gets worse. Left is right, right is left, up is down, and if you don't know the difference between a leko and a gobo, you're not alone.

BTW, 100 tube watts should be plenty for anyone not currently playing Madison Square Garden. I'd get your amp checked, you might have a problem if it's not loud enough. You might check your other gear, too... is everything on your effects turned up correctly? Your guitar could be fritzing, too. A hundred tube watts should be ear-splitting.--->JMS

rickster · Post by **rickster** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:20 pm

Right on.THanks for the advice and no I was not attacking the typo...lol.I didnt know that meant pa.By the way you say your basically running a 50 watt through a 12" speaker with 2 tubes pulled.Im assuming this cuts the power in half?Do you run through the pa too or is it all just that 12" speaker?

RobTheDrummer · Post by **RobTheDrummer** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:36 pm

Should be enough, our bassist uses a little fender amp for the time being. It seems to do the job.

tonefight · Post by **tonefight** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:22 pm

rickster wrote: I think it has potential but am not getting that hear every note thing even with the gain cranked ( Playing open cords)

Having the gain cranked isn't the best for hearing open cords, somethings sound best with less gain.

VENTGtr · Post by **VENTGtr** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:46 pm

rickster wrote:By the way you say your basically running a 50 watt through
a 12" speaker with 2 tubes pulled.Im assuming this cuts the power in half? Do
you run through the pa too or is it all just that 12" speaker?

Looks like the General Disc. topic disappeared, so, to repeat what Joe'd said,
it won't cut the power in half. It's about 70%. Other things to remember, though,
this can affect the Ohms the amp is putting out.

Not sure how the Peaveys are setup, but, if you go this route, might want to get
on one of their message boards and inquire.

Just so I don't misguide, this is pulling tubes from Power section, not the Preamp.
Be sure to pull them going from the outside in (If there are 4 Power tubes, pull the
one the furthest to the right, then the furthest to the left).

Ya, I do still mic the speaker and run through the front. Even at smaller places,
this lets a good mix come through together. Granted, if you're playing loud from
the backline, can often be heard just as well, but it's more about the grand scheme
and I prefer not to have my ears ringing or 3 days anymore. If it's just too loud that
the sound guy has trouble getting a good mix, he should tell you.

One of the easiest ways to find out if anything needs tweaked...ask. If it's not a
sound guy with whom you work regularly, not only will it get things solved quicker,
it's a simple courtesy that can help you all get to the final goal, which is to have
things sounding optimal. You ask, they'll know you care and will be more willing
to, constructively, give you information.

Someone mentioned the pickups and this is something to look into as well. All
depends on what you expect/want to hear and how to achieve that. Also, try
playing through your clean side, pretty loud, with no reverb, etc. See how the
speakers sound and make sure you can hear them both. Tubes, pickups and
speakers are all things that can be easily, often fairly cheaply, changed that
significantly upgrade your sound.

Lastly, and this can be an easy miss..., when things sound too...mushy...for you,
is there anything else in your signal chain (Effects, Tuner, Volume ped, etc.).
An issue with any one of them, or even a failing battery (Me, last Saturday!) can
muck things up.

Something else Joe (Metalchurch) said that's important to keep in mind, while
we're recommending TungSols, that's with the idea that you're looking to get a
Rock sound of some type. If you're looking at less of an O.D. sound, may be
want to look at 12ATs, 12AYs, etc. (I use a Tube floor Pre, into the clean side
of the amp head. In the amp itself, I use a 12AY, so there's more headroom
(Potential volume) before breakup and it's a bit of a smoother sound.

Lastly, and again to repeat what Joe said (Wise man, the Metal one) if you can't
hear yourself, just be sure your setup is...setup...so you ever will. Have your amp
on the floor shooting yourself in the back of the legs is going to decrease what you'll
ever hear, and you'll lose a lot of the sound/frequencies.

These are very useful. I used the second one nowadays (Had to attach some pipe
to the top post since I run separate head/cab.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=451011

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=450728

If it's not a hassle, and you try some things out, let us who hang in the Tech Sector
know what you did, how it worked out, etc.

Disclaimer: You may know all of the above. Since I don't know you, I'm just going
on the assumption that you're newer, or for anyone else who may me reading this.

DaveP.

metalchurch · Post by **metalchurch** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:52 pm

You're right Dave, there are many things that one can do with minimal effort and cost.
The thing that anyone wants or should do is work first with what they have, and then go from there.

One thing to try is to experiment with settings/amp placement and go from there.
Keep a log book with different settings, so you always have a point of reference.

Also one other very important thing to consider is to adjust or tweak your sound in a band situation because that's where you'll achieve the results that really work.
What may sound good by itself, may not sound good or cut through in a full band situation.
Unless ofcourse you are doing a solo gig.

Give us detail about what you did and what does and doesn't sound good, and the guys here will definitely point you in the right direction.

rockpage.net

Peavy Valveking 212 Good enough to gig with?

Peavy Valveking 212 Good enough to gig with?

full front of hourse support

Re: full front of hourse support

Re: Peavy Valveking 212 Good enough to gig with?