i***@gmail.com
2017-12-31 00:21:10 UTC
Hello,
I recently picked up a 70's Peavey Duece 2x12 for very cheap. I did some research and turns out Mark Knoppler used one ( a VT series- no tremelo, phaser instead) for a year in the late 70's. It's basically a Twin Reverb with a solid state pre-amp. To my taste, the pre-amp sounds awful but the amp is loud as hell, I sold all my guitar stuff years ago to concentrate on drums and synths but recently got back into guitar. So, with a ton of other things on my buy list, $75 for a tank of a loud amp is just fine. That said, I am poking around online to figure out how to,inject some life into the thing without breaking the bank ( eventually I will buy a good amp but not going to spend real money on a middle of the road map now if I can spend a couple hundred on something for this I can use or resell later). Right now I am using an MXR micro amp at the end of my signal chain and as well as an overdrive pedal near the start. Getting passable tone that way but there's room for improvement.
Just a few general points...
Almost all boost/overdrive pedals are solid state to begin with, so almost anytime anyone runs a boost/drive into a tube amp they are essentially running a type of solid state pre-amp.it really comes down to the quality of the pre-amp and the sound one is looking for. To my ear, the peavey's pre is limp and lifeless. The best results I have gotten so far is turning the pre-amp all the way down and turning the Micro amp up to about 3 o'clock, Just on the point of breaking the notes. Using the amps eq, I roll off the treble and bass, leaving the mods at 5 o'clock ( found that boosting the mids in the eq just muddy's the sound.) I have an eq pedal on order and think that by placing it properly in my signal chain I will be able to play around with pushing certain frequencies and test the results. I am currently looking into tube-pre amp pedals as a warning option. Red flags that go off on my head are that tube-pre amp pedals are usually so,low powered that, unless pricey, they can be, straight out the gate, muddy/dirty- when pushed they will compress readily but the question is in what way... in relation to the guitar pick ups, the amp, and how the signal is being pushed into the tube pre-amp pedal. So, I would guess placement in the signal chain is worth messing around with. What kind of boost or drive to run into a tube pedal? Put it later or earlier in the chain? All of this is speaking to my personal dilemma but maybe it adds something to your thoughts as well. I would guess there are high quality solid state pre/ tube power amps made at this point that sound better than my Deuce (ha) . also, someone might hear my amp and love it un-altered, probably a minority opinion, however. The good points are that this amp is very unlickely to have service issues. The one I have has RCA tubes in it, maybe from time eternal. I have read online that some groovetube 6L6's can help a Peavey Deuce out, so the variety of power amp tubes is a consideration as well. Also, everyone attacks the strings differently. Type of guitar/ pick ups? In other solid state amps I have liked hummbuckers much more than single coils, altough I find myself liking single coils more ( depending). . Again. Almost all distortions/boosts/drives are solid state... So most people are essentially running a solid state pre-amp of some kimdnor other, BUT the actually pre-amp in the amp really is the foundation of one's guitar tone. This is why my stale Peavey pre is not to my taste, it s cold in a boring way, I have used a Peavey Bandit for example ( all solid state), that has a cold sound but with much more character, The Bandit interacted much differently with the pedals I have than does the Deuce. In fact, If it was louder I might prefer it. All that said, I do love tube amps, my subjective taste, and it all comes down to taste/how the amp interacts in a band setting. Personally, I would benefit from any advice here from anyone on how to warm my pre-amp up, without breaking the bank ( happy to live with the limitations now and spend real money on a high quality amp later). thanks and I hope that helped some.
I recently picked up a 70's Peavey Duece 2x12 for very cheap. I did some research and turns out Mark Knoppler used one ( a VT series- no tremelo, phaser instead) for a year in the late 70's. It's basically a Twin Reverb with a solid state pre-amp. To my taste, the pre-amp sounds awful but the amp is loud as hell, I sold all my guitar stuff years ago to concentrate on drums and synths but recently got back into guitar. So, with a ton of other things on my buy list, $75 for a tank of a loud amp is just fine. That said, I am poking around online to figure out how to,inject some life into the thing without breaking the bank ( eventually I will buy a good amp but not going to spend real money on a middle of the road map now if I can spend a couple hundred on something for this I can use or resell later). Right now I am using an MXR micro amp at the end of my signal chain and as well as an overdrive pedal near the start. Getting passable tone that way but there's room for improvement.
Just a few general points...
Almost all boost/overdrive pedals are solid state to begin with, so almost anytime anyone runs a boost/drive into a tube amp they are essentially running a type of solid state pre-amp.it really comes down to the quality of the pre-amp and the sound one is looking for. To my ear, the peavey's pre is limp and lifeless. The best results I have gotten so far is turning the pre-amp all the way down and turning the Micro amp up to about 3 o'clock, Just on the point of breaking the notes. Using the amps eq, I roll off the treble and bass, leaving the mods at 5 o'clock ( found that boosting the mids in the eq just muddy's the sound.) I have an eq pedal on order and think that by placing it properly in my signal chain I will be able to play around with pushing certain frequencies and test the results. I am currently looking into tube-pre amp pedals as a warning option. Red flags that go off on my head are that tube-pre amp pedals are usually so,low powered that, unless pricey, they can be, straight out the gate, muddy/dirty- when pushed they will compress readily but the question is in what way... in relation to the guitar pick ups, the amp, and how the signal is being pushed into the tube pre-amp pedal. So, I would guess placement in the signal chain is worth messing around with. What kind of boost or drive to run into a tube pedal? Put it later or earlier in the chain? All of this is speaking to my personal dilemma but maybe it adds something to your thoughts as well. I would guess there are high quality solid state pre/ tube power amps made at this point that sound better than my Deuce (ha) . also, someone might hear my amp and love it un-altered, probably a minority opinion, however. The good points are that this amp is very unlickely to have service issues. The one I have has RCA tubes in it, maybe from time eternal. I have read online that some groovetube 6L6's can help a Peavey Deuce out, so the variety of power amp tubes is a consideration as well. Also, everyone attacks the strings differently. Type of guitar/ pick ups? In other solid state amps I have liked hummbuckers much more than single coils, altough I find myself liking single coils more ( depending). . Again. Almost all distortions/boosts/drives are solid state... So most people are essentially running a solid state pre-amp of some kimdnor other, BUT the actually pre-amp in the amp really is the foundation of one's guitar tone. This is why my stale Peavey pre is not to my taste, it s cold in a boring way, I have used a Peavey Bandit for example ( all solid state), that has a cold sound but with much more character, The Bandit interacted much differently with the pedals I have than does the Deuce. In fact, If it was louder I might prefer it. All that said, I do love tube amps, my subjective taste, and it all comes down to taste/how the amp interacts in a band setting. Personally, I would benefit from any advice here from anyone on how to warm my pre-amp up, without breaking the bank ( happy to live with the limitations now and spend real money on a high quality amp later). thanks and I hope that helped some.