Amp help!

[Yamwich]

I'm going to apologize up front for this thread. My ignorance of everything is going to be visible from outer space. When I first started learning to play I was strictly acoustic. I borrowed one of my dad's guitars, a Goya classical guitar (1968?). In 1996, when I graduated from high school, he bought me my own guitar and, because I couldn't decide if I wanted an electric or an acoustic, I ended up with an Ibanez AE20, along with a Peavey Backstage Plus. I knew nothing about amps in '96 and I know only a teeny bit more about them today.

I really like the sound of the Fender '68 Deluxe Reverb but I don't really want to drop another grand on an amp right now (on top of the money I just spent ordering my Fallout). Is there another small amp that has the... presence... of the Fender, without the price tag? Is there any chance at all that I can get the Peavey into a condition that it will give me a comparable sound? I'm not afraid of wiring, soldering, etc. If so, where would I start? (I'm fully prepared for the answer to be "trade it in" but if I don't have to do that I absolutely don't want to.)

Yamwich

[Fumble fingers]

Carvin Belair or Nomad can hang with that amp and cost about 1/2 the price , I just bought the head version VT50 to replace my Super Reverb and Twin Reverb , the best money I ever spent for a clean sounding amp and I'm not on a tight budget, My Legacy has never sounded better than it does with the Carvin amp , channel two is a mild crunch like Alan Holdsworth type of sound ...... I got a Blem/floor model direct from Carvin off of ebay for 319.00 , I got over a 1000.00 easy in each of my Fenders and they don't near sound as good


http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps ... series.php

[darwinohm]

Yamwich, I just went through the owners manual on this Peavey. It is a solid state amp and I don't know what you are referring to by presence as such. Tube amps tend to be warmer and smoother in some ways and there is really no fair comparison. If I were you, I would suggest taking your amp to a store and try some pedals to front end it and see if you can get the tone you are looking for. I use a Vox Tonelab for tone shaping and it has a preamp tube. These can be found used very cheap. Buying another amp is not cheap especially if you are looking for a tube amp. As far as modding or changing anything on the Peavey, it is solid state and probably no point in modding. You would have to be a technician to do so. Just my opinion. -- Darwin

[NickHorne]

Yamwich,

+1 on the recommendations so far.

BUT!!!
You need to be extremely careful if you open up a valve amp to do anything inside it. The anode supply in most guitar amps can give you a major shock (even a fatal one if your circumstances are unlucky) AFTER IT'S BEEN SWITCHED OFF FOR HOURS. It is stored in large capacitors and is potentially fatally dangerous.

With the amp running, this risk escalates to being a scarily major hazard, and you have to be well drilled in safe routines to stay alive. You absolutely must know what to do to protect yourself.

Do not underestimate the risks; research this well before diving in. A little Champ-sized amp is still potentially very dangerous inside.

I do think you should take the time to try some more valve amps; it seems unlikely that the Peavey will do it for you. Darwin's valve pedal idea is wise, the pedal will almost certainly continue to have uses down the road.

[fianoman]

What Nick said about tube amps is true, however, the Peavey is solid state so that doesn't apply, however however, it is probably a circuit board amp which means you can't really work on it anyway, like Darwin said. The boards are generally too fragile unless you are seriously good at computer work.

Some good suggestions so far. Carvin amps have a pretty good reputation, unfortunately it is tough to plug into one before you buy. I like Darwin's pedal suggestion too.

Here are a few more thoughts. One of the issues could be the speaker used in the Peavey. I would suggest a replacement speaker but if you still don't like the sound afterwards, you are down the road with less money and still not happy. The other thing you most definitely should try, and costs nothing, is to fiddle with all of the EQ controls on your amp, in every pickup setting, and see if you can dial something in that you like enough to put up with it for a while. It is pretty dramatic what those tone controls can do for your sound. Don't be afraid to twist the dials.

If a new amp is destiny, take that guitar to a store and plug into a variety of amps. If you want something Fendery, try the Fender solid state ones. They are designed from the start to get that Fender clean sound. Maybe the Fender Mustang series. The SS amps are not the best at distortion but you can always add a pedal down the road for that. Personally, tubes are my fave, love that glow and warmth and the interaction with your playing style. Fender makes a couple of more reasonably priced tube combos less than $1000. Look at the Pro Jr. or the Blues Jr. series. Some pretty good sounds for less than ½ that.

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. The Fallout is a good start and has a variety of sounds to work with. The amp is the other half of the equation to find YOUR sound. Good luck!

[KenC]

Yamwich,

To me the first questions should be (a) how loud you need an amp to be, and (b) whether your Peavey can get you into that range with any headroom to spare. If the answer to (b) is no, then you're going to need to look at other amps. If the answer is yes, then you might be able to get where you want to go with a pedal or two. My Roland JC-120 sounds pretty bad when the majority of my guitars run straight into it, but it will preserve every nuance of a good pedal all the way up to house-shaking volumes. There's a whole world of overdrive, fuzz and distortion pedals out there that could transform the sound of a clean amp into just about anything you could want.


Ken

[suave eddie]

You don't say what your needs are or what your budget is. There are so many tube amps that have a voice that you would probably prefer to your little Peavey solid state. The Fender Deluxe Reverb reissues are not cheap, even used. For under $500 you may want to look at a used Fender Blues Jr or even a Peavey Classic 30. The Classic 30 is kind of a sleeper -- a very decent amp and you can usually find them in the $300 range used.

[Philby]

Hi Yamwich. I have a Peavey Backstage Plus 35W from the 1980s. It's not a bad amp and, being US made, is built like a tank. I'd suggest you locate an online copy of the manual if you haven't already. Peavey readily admit that it's easy to dial in horrible tones if you're not aware how the Pre and Post gain stages work. I personally leave the Sat control on 0 because I hate the on board solid state distortion. The Pre and Post controls should roughly add up to 10 according to the manual. I have them on 6 and 4 for a nice clean sound with my Legacy. Then I do what the other posters have suggested and put a good pedal in front for overdrive or to change the flavor of the tone. You'll be rewarded for experimenting with this amp. There ARE some nice tones in there. Tweaking the EQ will get you even closer to what you're after. The manual suggests starting with all EQ controls at 12 o clock.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Phil.

[Yamwich]

I really appreciate everyone's comments and recommendations. As I said in the initial post, I'm ignorant about the ins and outs of amplifiers. The more I think about it, I might be putting the cart before the horse.

Presence is probably what most people refer to as tone, I guess. I'm just getting back into playing in a bigger way, hence the new guitar and the consideration of a new, or new-to-me, amp. I like the sound of tube amps and there might be a solid-state out there that sounds as warm, but I don't know what it would be. Until the last 2 weeks, I couldn't have told anyone what I wanted to sound like, or even what I liked in the way of electric guitar tone. I've been digging into the players I like and finding out what they use and then comparing, listening more carefully, and looking at their equipment rigs. I still don't know what I want to sound like, but I seem to prefer Fender tube amps.

As far as my budget goes, I'd say the sky is the limit, to a degree. I'm cheap. The higher the price, the less enthusiasm I have to pay it - with one caveat: If I thought the tone was something so great, so unique, so ME, I'd probably pull the trigger without thinking too hard about the price. The limiting factors for me are more about space in my house and the fact that I never see myself playing for money (I'm not good enough yet, and my work is time-intensive). Considering those factors, a small amp that isn't super loud, breaks up nicely at lower volumes, etc. is what I am pretty sure I need to find.

I think what I am going to do once the Fallout is in my hands, is spend some time with the Peavey. Philby, thanks for pointing me in the direction you did. Best case, I find some setting that gives me what I want in the short term. Worst case, I think it stinks. If/when that comes to pass, I'm going to take the guitar to a few shops and see what they have and how I sound with my guitar, and then try to find the right amp that gives me what I think I want.

Yamwich

[Elwood]

I had one of these AVT Marshalls , they are a good little practice amp.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-AVT-20 ... 58b3880abb

[glvourot]

A Gibson GA-5 Les Paul junior would work. 5 watts , hand built point to point solder. These start to break up around "3". Its a re-issue that you should be able to find for around 400 dollars used. I see you mentioned Fender Tube amps, this won't have the cleans but it would be an amp you would never want to get rid of.

[Fumble fingers]

Considering those factors, a small amp that isn't super loud, breaks up nicely at lower volumes, etc. is what I am pretty sure I need to find.

Yamwich

another nice little option is Vox AC4TV , all tube , 1/4 watt , 1 watt and 4 watt settings , I have one and on 1/4 watt you have nice natural tube break up around TV volume , I also think tube amps make better players because your "mistakes" show up that are hidden on modlers , anyway I picked up my Vox used for 150.00 dollars in perfect condition
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Virtually-new-V ... 1e981c599c

my favorite amp from my collection is a new Carvin V3m micro tube with three channels and adjustable watts 50 , 22 or 7 watts , two dirty channels and a sweet clean channel , weighs 19 lbs and packs some power , I have the head version and run a 2x12 slant top cab , check out the video
http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps ... series.php


[image]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y40 ... 3cc3d3.jpg[/image]

[Fumble fingers]

sorry double post , I was a little excited and couldn't let go of that button

[y2kc]

I saw a mention about the Gibson GA-5 and I can't recommend it enough if you are just playing around the house or with buds jamming. This little wonder is a gift from the tone gods and will forever make your ears smile.

Mine was obtained from a man named Chicago Slim over thirty years ago in a trade. I used his 1954 prototype les Paul Jr. that his mother had given to him as child to test this amp with and that is a day I will remember forever. R.I.P. Noel.

This amp in 2015 is currently sitting next to my sofa in Chicago, plugged into a guitar that was designed by Ken Rambow and myself and built by Heritage. Life is good.

Small tube amps are the way to go around the house. They allow you the experience of pushing the volume knob to the right and enjoying tonal bliss. Combined with a Full Tone pedal and a G&L delay I am able to easily find the tones that are in my head and many more. The Ga-5 is a perfect small amp. Mine is from 1959.

Another amp I can't say enough about are Fender silver face Vibro Champs. Recap them and upgrade the speaker and you have another fantastic amp for the house or very light gigging. I have a mint clean example from the mid 70's
that I purchased 20 years ago for $100.00 and spent another $125.00 or so upgrading. Cheap.

I also use an R.C.A. intercom from the 1950's that I had turned into a 15 watt amp head. New caps, A hammond transformer and other good bits. I run this through a 2-12 cab and it rocks the house and is fully capable of cutting through in small live situations.Nasty!

For me I need the tubes to be fully saturated with power in order to get the bite I am looking for. By being able to "dime " a small amp I find that I have more control over my tone in a at home/small gig situation. It is also what I have played all these years and I feel confident that the tone is there waiting to be unleashed.

Take your time finding an amp and don't be disappointed if you go through a few before you have found the right one. The Fallout is a beautiful guitar and I am sure you will find something that pairs up with it nicely.

Finding the right amp for the right situation is very important. Most of the time when someone say's that they are not "bonding" with a guitar it is because the have not paired it with the proper amplification. I have played and collected G&L's for over 25 years and I have never seen one ( except x bodied Interceptors) I didn't want to play if properly set up and mated to the right amp.

I'll wait for the comments about Interceptors.

Have fun,

y2kc

[Slick]

Get a Peavey Classic 30. Great little tube amps and can be had for around $300 used.

[ShawnP]

The Peavey classic 30 is an amazing amp, I miss the one I had a lot. I recently, picked up an Egnator Tweaker 15 and I can't say enough good about this amp. I did get a bit lucky and picked one up brand new for $400. Personally I think it's a great sounding little tube amp with a lot of versatility.