Peavey Valveking

[formula73]

I'm kind of in 'dump' mode right now, but my little cheapo RG75 combo is on the decline. For some reason, I have to keep turning up the Gain channel to match the clean, and it's getting worse. No, I don't scoop mids.

I sold my Cobra head to a friend and he's willing to throw in his Valveking if I knock off $200. It's just the 50w 112 combo. I've never even played through one (not that I remember, anyway) but with the Randall on rapid decline...

[kurtsstuff]

Umm......well.......umm...it'll make for a good practice amp

[bubs_42]

C'mon, the ValveKing is a good amp. I had to work at it a couple of time at GC but the last time i tried it I couldn't stop playing it. Very Harmonic..

[MTM105]

My impression is that you get what you pay for. I would guess the tone sounds really great, until you turn the Amp up really LOUD! then you wonder about quality construction.

Kinda like fat chicks and Japanese motorcycles...

It appears to be a big Guitar Center marketing campaign for those who do not want to pay more for a Marshall or Fender tube tone.

[formula73]

Well, I'll be giving it a go today. I know it needs at least 1 new jack. From what I understand, a lot of the quality problems come from those cheap plastic board-mounted pots/jacks. I doubt that I'll be cranking it up anyway-I don't like the sound of open back cabs. I equate that with farty speakers. All I'm really looking for is a cheapo replacement for my Randall RG75 combo in the living room...

...and I don't think there are many people who wouldn't consider that at least a LITTLE step up!

[Lockbody]

My impression is that you get what you pay for. I would guess the tone sounds really great, until you turn the Amp up really LOUD! then you wonder about quality construction.

Kinda like fat chicks and Japanese motorcycles...

+1

Chinese tube amp? No thank you. Chinese manufacturing and quality construction are two terms I don't associate with each other.

For anything.

And shouldn't that be "American motorcycles"? (and I've owned Harley and Victory, so I don't want to hear it! )

[formula73]

My impression is that you get what you pay for. I would guess the tone sounds really great, until you turn the Amp up really LOUD! then you wonder about quality construction.

Kinda like fat chicks and Japanese motorcycles...

+1

Chinese tube amp? No thank you. Chinese manufacturing and quality construction are two terms I don't associate with each other.

For anything.

And shouldn't that be "American motorcycles"? (and I've owned Harley and Victory, so I don't want to hear it! )

Have you played through one?

[Mindseyes]

The one i brought home for a few day left me feeling in the end uninspired....but for just livingroom jaming it might me the ticket for you.

If you can try before you buy that would be even better because with me i kinda liked it the first day but the honeymoon ended fairly quick!

I dont know what kinda tubes it had so mabey some better tubes could have helped it out............

[Lockbody]

Have you played through one?

Yes. In a store. It sounded "ok", but generally most Peavey tube amps sound decent. Butcher, VTM, Ultra, Classic, 5150, and JSX... All good sounding amps for comparatively little dough,

I was very surprised to see Peavey start importing amps (and guitars for that matter). A lot of people bad mouth Peavey, but much of their stuff is damn near indestructible. My personal opinion is that you won't be able to say that about the ValveKing and its ilk.

[formula73]

Have you played through one?

Yes. In a store. It sounded "ok", but generally most Peavey tube amps sound decent. Butcher, VTM, Ultra, Classic, 5150, and JSX... All good sounding amps for comparatively little dough,

I was very surprised to see Peavey start importing amps (and guitars for that matter). A lot of people bad mouth Peavey, but much of their stuff is damn near indestructible. My personal opinion is that you won't be able to say that about the ValveKing and its ilk.

You're probably right about that, but I can't imagine it will be seeing too much abuse as the living room amp/corner table between the couch and chair. I do remember the Mace I used to have-I dropped it. Hard. Fired right up and sounded just as bad as it did before the fall. It does kinda suck seeing them import stuff. After all, didn't they build their reputation on nigh-indestructibility? Regardless, I'm sure it'll sound alright. Clean? Check. Dirty? Check. Midrange? Check. That's pretty much all I need.

[jisham]

It's the amp Johnny Hiland uses these days.

[Brooks]

Butcher, VTM, Ultra, Classic, 5150, and JSX... All good sounding amps for comparatively little dough,

yes. all those are more than decent sounding, esp the vtm & 5150.

for a living room amp i strongly recommend the fender superchamp xd.

digital front end w/ 6v6 power tubes, footswitchable 2 channels;

#1 is chimey fender clean, #2 has fx and different amp models

(i like the marshall-ish "classic british" and "jazzking" models).

i swapped the stock 10" for an eminence copperhead, big difference.

i gigged mine last night (mic'd thru a p.a. system).

i love this amp! my back has been giving me probs, so i might sell my H&K switchblade

(the superchamp actually has better fx and clean sounds!).

[Siaip Ciuvas]

I would recommend 212 version - I have tested A/B 112 and 212, and 1x12" version sounded way thinner. And overall its pretty muddy sounding amp. And quality varies depending on a build run - first shipments sounded way better than recent ones.

My brother's company sells lots of them here...

[BadAxe]

I love my ValveKing 112 Combo. And if its just for a living room amp, do not get the 212, it will be WAY too loud. I am going to swap out my tubes and my speaker for better ones, as a ton of reviews I have read have stated that really helps the ValveKing. But I get a ton of good tones out of my ValveKing and my Tubescreamer. Now i am strictly a bedroom player, no gigging or anything and I rarely get the chance to really crank it, so I can't comment on those aspects. But for just a house amp, the ValveKing kicks ass, and I am very happy with it.

[SteveB]

Chinese manufacturing and quality construction are two terms I don't associate with each other.

For anything.

Eastman guitars are pretty decent.

[Siaip Ciuvas]

Hamer XT series from China also impressed me too. Serious.

back to topic - Valveking is "you get what you pay", if you start adding decent speakers and tubes and modding it, you will get by the end to the price of decent amp

[BadAxe]

back to topic - Valveking is "you get what you pay", if you start adding decent speakers and tubes and modding it, you will get by the end to the price of decent amp

Not even close. Retail price of the Amp is low $400's right now. New speaker, maybe $100, new tubes, $60 - $100. So that comes out to a little more than $600 total. Still way lower than most tube amps.

Now of course if you (not you direclt, but in general) are one who buys top of the line stuff only, sure, there are expensive speakers and tubes out there, but if you are spending that kind of money, then I don't think you are in the market for a $400 amp anyway. But for normal spending, and decent upgrades, you can still upgrade the ValveKing and still be way less expensive that most decent tube amps out there.

[Siaip Ciuvas]

ah, in USA you are lucky to pay low prices... I was calculating how much would be to upgrade 212 version of Valveking combo, and ended up 400 or 500€ extra... I am not buying only top line stuff, but my ears are kinda picky... however Mesa amps didn't fell into them well, and opposite example - my long time go to and best sounding guitar was Fernandes APG125 which I bought off the evilBay for cheap as a backup

Edited to add: I play rather loud!

[jginsj]

Chinese tube amp? No thank you. Chinese manufacturing and quality construction are two terms I don't associate with each other.

For anything.

I've been in manufacturing my entire career. There are some generalities about your statement that are right, but it's not necessarily a "China" thing. It's not about "where", it's about "how". For example, Hamers are good because they are made by a highly skilled, trained workforce that cares about their craft and their product. If you open up a large manufacturing site right here in the US, hire an unskilled workforce and teach each person to do one thing over and over, pay them close to minimum wage, and then start spanking out guitars and plaster the name "Hamer USA" on them, they will be crap. That's exactly how we set up manufacturing in China. But for that matter, it's also how we set up manufacturing in Mexico, India, Viet Nam, Eastern Europe, etc. etc. etc.

So your statement is somewhat correct, but only because it is what WE demand out of them, not necessarily what THEY care to produce. We want cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap so that's what we get. To be honest, I find in manufacturing that the best product quality is turned out by those who have been doing it the longest, so their factories become "mature" with respect to quality processes and expectations.

Our highest quality in a low cost region actually comes probably from Singapore, followed by Mexico, Eastern Europe, then China, then India. Not always in that order, but close. Singapore is actually expensive, that's why you won't find too much coming from them in volume. Mexico is also expensive, but you will find product coming from them for North American consumption because costs are sometimes offset by shipping, inventory on the water, and taxes.

That leaves China for the greatest high volume low cost value, financially.

Sorry about hijacking the thread. I bitch and moan about poor quality out of foreign regions, but I always have to remind myself why...they are not bad or stupid people, if anything we are the stupid ones because we want everything so damn cheap. Which is why I'm now buying hand made amps from the boutique guys, and of course there's no better value than used Hamers!

[Siaip Ciuvas]

+1. And if we start calculating from economic standpoint how much cheap products cost all in all (actual time of service, maintenance, cost of disposing it, etc) they won't be as cheap anymore. I miss times when you could wear boots for 5 years and they still looked like new and cars where built to last... Sorry to join thread hijackers gang

[KH Guitar Freak]

I bet many of you guys buy Chinese made valves anyway...

[Lockbody]

back to topic - Valveking is "you get what you pay", if you start adding decent speakers and tubes and modding it, you will get by the end to the price of decent amp

Not even close. Retail price of the Amp is low $400's right now. New speaker, maybe $100, new tubes, $60 - $100. So that comes out to a little more than $600 total. Still way lower than most tube amps.

Now of course if you (not you direclt, but in general) are one who buys top of the line stuff only, sure, there are expensive speakers and tubes out there, but if you are spending that kind of money, then I don't think you are in the market for a $400 amp anyway. But for normal spending, and decent upgrades, you can still upgrade the ValveKing and still be way less expensive that most decent tube amps out there.

For $600 you could easily buy a used American amp that you'd never have to to anything to. $600 would, for example, get you a used Mesa Studio 22+, DC-2/3/5, F30/50, .50Caliber, or maybe a Mk III. Heck, even $400 will get you a decent amp on the used market that, like those Mesa's, will probably last a lifetime with proper care.

[Lockbody]

So your statement is somewhat correct, but only because it is what WE demand out of them, not necessarily what THEY care to produce. We want cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap so that's what we get.

The crux of the problem. The manufacturers know the average consumer would rather have it cheap as possible and have it be disposable than pay more for something that might actually last.

[BadAxe]

back to topic - Valveking is "you get what you pay", if you start adding decent speakers and tubes and modding it, you will get by the end to the price of decent amp

Not even close. Retail price of the Amp is low $400's right now. New speaker, maybe $100, new tubes, $60 - $100. So that comes out to a little more than $600 total. Still way lower than most tube amps.

Now of course if you (not you direclt, but in general) are one who buys top of the line stuff only, sure, there are expensive speakers and tubes out there, but if you are spending that kind of money, then I don't think you are in the market for a $400 amp anyway. But for normal spending, and decent upgrades, you can still upgrade the ValveKing and still be way less expensive that most decent tube amps out there.

For $600 you could easily buy a used American amp that you'd never have to to anything to. $600 would, for example, get you a used Mesa Studio 22+, DC-2/3/5, F30/50, .50Caliber, or maybe a Mk III. Heck, even $400 will get you a decent amp on the used market that, like those Mesa's, will probably last a lifetime with proper care.

Well I was discussing buying new. But also, I actually don't "have" to do anything to my ValveKing. I love it just as it is. I love the tones, its plenty loud enough, and with the addition of my Tubescreamer, I am totally happy with it. I am planning on future replacement of tubes and speakers just because I hear it sounds even better with those additions. But even if I never do that, I don't have a bad thing to say about my ValveKing. I am not claiming its the best out there, I don't have enough experience for that. But I love my Peavey VK just as it is, and at a very good price for an all tube amp.

[formula73]

Well, it's here. It sounded pretty good with the stocker Sovtek 6l6s that it came with, but they had a lot of hours on them and we ended up sticking in a set of GTs that I've had for ages and never put in anything...long story...anyway, it got rid of a good bit of mud. Since I bought them probably 6 years ago, I don't count them as an amp-incurrred cost. That makes my total cash outlay $200. I bought my Randall for that. I'm happy with it, though I'm probably going to pull it apart later and see why one of the input jacks doesn't work. I'm sure it's just cheapo plastic stuff. I can handle that.

Anyway, I'm happy as hell with the purchase. I may try a different speaker at some later date, but right now it's definitely doing it for me. The RG75 is going up on Craigslist for some Dime kid to take home...