I have the same amp… Friend of the family had bought it new in the 80’s and used the amp in his band until his death… At which time I was given the amp… it does everything you posted in your video, amazingly well. Great video … even tho I can’t play nearly as well as the previous owner… I hear Danny every time I light it up! Thank!
My first amp when I was in high school. Dad got it used for cheap and it's still going strong. Same tubes that I've had in it since 2004/2005 timeframe l, same speakers and it still sounds great. It's LOUD!
Great video! I've owned a handful of Peavey amps from this era, some of which are full tube circuits, some of which are solid state, and some of which are hybrids like this one: Roadmasters, Classics and Deuces, Century heads, and a few others. They've all been well-built, versatile, and fun-and most importantly, cheap! Personally I'm a big fan of the hybrid ones, they always seem to have great tone and durability.
I grew up using a 76 Peavey artist , I have pick up a 89 peavey triumph 60 & just got the 65 watt version of your amp 82 Peavey Classic VTX. They all sound incredible. Not sure why Peavey gets poop on as a junkie sounding amp. I would say it is easy to make them sound bad if you don’t dial them correctly. I would also say they might be over powered, it is hard to drive the black widows or scorpion speakers without going deaf. If you are looking for that speaker break up you might need to stick to a Marshall. The only knock I have is I have blown up a few Peaveys. I am not an electronics expert but it’s almost as if it is too much horsepower with the hybrids I have smoked capacitors, wires , switches tubes in these type amps. Worth the repairs !
Bought a new Heritage in 1984, loved it, played the hell out of it, and stupidly traded it and always regretted it. 10yrs ago, I found one, near mint condition, and am in love all over again! Amazing clean sound (truly a Twin killer!) And the gain is remarkable for its vintage. If you can find one of these, GRAB it!
I also have a Heritage VTX, with the scorpion speakers and the original tubes (Peavey Super 6 Sylvania USA Made 6L6's, they still work great my amp guy checked them) I knew nothing about this amp when I got it, other then it being a old cheap 212. Its actually a great effects platform with plenty of eq options, & some of its own very unique sounds. There's a clip on youtube of blues legend Johnny Copeland playing a Heritage at the 1985 Montreux Blues / Jazz Festival, alongside SRV and his 4x12 Marshall stacks, alot of people in the comments section were saying they liked Johnny’s tone more then SRV's (their bass player was also using the road case version of the VTX series MX). Something I've noticed is the older ones made in the early 80's use 2 red LED's as the automix indicators, but later on probably closer to the mid 80's they switched the LED's, 1st channel has a green LED (like the green crunch channel on a 5150) while the 2nd lead gain channel has a yellow led, idk, just small meticulous details no one cares about lol. Anyway keep on keepin on peaverts
I bought a used one in the mid 80's in Switzerland, I was like 15 and dragged it around to band rehearsals on my skateboard once or twice a week. Damn dangerous going down the road with a 90 pound bomb, ha. Mid 90's I moved to Los Angeles and got into Marshalls and Mesa Boogies, but I never forgot that 1980 Heritage. 2018 I found another one for like $180. The scorpion speakers aren't that great, so I connected that old Peavey to two 4x12 Marshall cabs with celestion green backs, boom. They call them Mississippi Marshalls for a reason, add a tube screamer and you are competing with the big boys. It's no JCM 800 but man, its pretty good for a cheap amp.
I've had one for years. It's a tube power amp but the preamp section is solid state. Just 4 6l6 tubes no preamp tubes and I have repaired a couple of these. Mine has the Scorpion speakers. Still heavy as hell but loud.
I've got one of these not with the BW speakers--instead it's got the scorpions. I bought mine from a guy on Offer Up for around $150.00 US. It did not come with a foot switch and the footswitch jack was "jacked up". I bought the parts online to replace the jack and I converted a foot switch from a B52 I bought from another guy on Offer Up to work on the Peavey--it works great! The amp is really heavy and very loud! I have played with it for a little and really love the many different tones you get from it. Currently, I don't use it bc it is really loud. I am looking for a cheap load box that can handle the powerful 130 Watt power so I could start using it again but I have not found one yet! Overall, I think the amp is a good taste of history!
Welcome to the peavey community there are many many gems 💎 that are starting to increase in popularity….used by many a celebrity over decades….. keep it running and let others discover the magic !! You really made this old girl sing !
I bought a Deuce VT recently but I am going to get an amp tech to look at before I use it as it has a couple of oddities. I am in the UK but the back panel refers to US voltage and yet the power switch is the two way non-US version. And there is a retrofit mystery switch on the back that is wired in to the power amp and if I had to guess I would say it looks like it takes two valves (tubes) out of the circuit cutting it from what the manual describes as "conservatively" 120 watts down to a much more useful 60 watts or so. It weighs only slightly less than I do but as well as huge speaker magnets is has the biggest transformers I have ever seen so no surprise there. The amp cost me £100 unvalved and some replacement 6L6s cost me another £110 so actually quite a bit lower than Reverb listing. There is no footswitch and looking online it seems the available schematic is wrong. I think it has a double throw switch in the wrong place. If I can solve that i will see about making one. Another question for the tech. I am really looking forward to trying it out once I know the retrofit wiring is safe and hunting around on TH-cam has reassured me that I haven't bought something useless.
I have decided I must have one of these amps I played through one a long time ago in the early eighties when I was in junior high and it was the most majestic thing I had ever seen and heard
first decent amp i ever got. i loved it. moved and sold it. missed it. got another one. moved and sold it. now on number three. this one has black widows but i always liked the scorpions, too. the phaser is still great. :)
I've got 1981 heritage vtx I really like it. Can get any sound you want and the clean is amazing as well. Mine has scorpion speakers instead of the black widow but that seems the only difference
I’ve had two of these. Had the original 130W version and the 65W version. Both are insanely loud and heavy. Good tones for the dollar. The dial-able phasor setting is the coolest feature by far but the reverb and saturation are decent. For the money it’s a great amp. But it is heavy so it’s best if you don’t have to move it around much. It’s not a bedroom amp though, it’s a beast. Only sold mine because I already had too many amps.
Nice video, I have a peavey classic vtx combo amp I bought new in the 80's. I gigged with it for 10 years, in southern rock/metal band in the 80's The amp is Loud, and has great spring reverb and good phase shifter built in. the clean channel is great. Always hated the muddy dirty channel with terrible distortion, and no balls. I used tube screamers, fuzz pedals, boss overdrive, never found my sound. Parked the amp in storage for 30 years, used Marshall plexi and JCM 800 ever since. In 2022 broke it out still hate the nasty dirty channel. Then the ahh moment, The amp has power amp in and pre amp out loop in the back. The amp is a hybrid, 2) 6L6 tubes in power amp section, solid state pre amp. plugged in mooer 002 mini pre amp pedal to power amp in, added boss SD-1 (level 10 -Drive 2) Also ran speaker out into 4x12 marshall B cab. with vintage 30's. Great sound like a Marshall JCM- and with Bed Room Volume, or gig volume. Bottom line , the amps pre-amp section sucks, replace it with modern preamp. wish I knew this 40 years ago.
Admittedly the lead channel isn't the most outstanding overdrive channel if you're looking for the crisp wirey Marshall tone... That being said, it definitely does have it's place and I've found some pretty great tones with it.
I agree, Its a great LOUD rock n roll amp - the lead channel is more like a muddy overdrive channel. I just love a tight crunch with sustain - thanks for the reply @@CantAffordToRecord
I put a Boss SD-1 in front of my Classic and dialed back the pre & gain with great results. The pots on these amps are very sensitive, I turn in baby steps. I purchased due to the high marks it received in another video on youtube. Funny thing, I tossed a JCM 900 paired to a Mesa oversized 2x12 sealed with vintage 30's, for the Classic. Never looked back.
Great video! New sub! I'm a very big Peavey fan! I'm a bass player first but have been looking to get into guitar and a lot of people trash the name Peavey because they equate extremely cheap to extremely poor quality. That is not always the case I have discovered, you can get some pretty decent tones out of the older gear.
I've got two of these, one with Scorpions & one with vintage eminence square magnets I swapped in. They really are fantastic, under the radar amps. It's little Brother of the same vintage is great too, the Classic VTX, just a bit less power & features. That's my main rig at the moment, scorpion loaded.
Yeah they are heavy. I picked up a VTX Classic from the same era a few years ago. Had to put a few bucks into it, but it has been a solid gigging amp for me.
I have a 80s Peavey Programax 10 that were only made for a short time because Eddie Vanhalen decided to work with Peavey on designing and created his 5150 that came out right after the Programax 10. The Programax isn't a tube amp though but can similate them & was the very first guitar amplifier to use whats well known now as the midi system and it has 2 channels A/B that you could program your effects into or just use the effects that Peavey programmed into them which can be deleted for your own effects that can be programmed on all of the separate A&B channels and can be called out and used by the midi pedal that could be bought separately from the amplifier . It also has a effects loop on the back of the amplifier to use for effects like delay flanger and phaser pedals which usually sound better on the back side of the amplifier instead of the head or front of the amplifier. Daves guitar shop in Lacrosse WI has one of these vtx peavey amplifiers now or did just a few days ago for 350.00 and it says it weighs 80+ pounds lol . I'm thinking of driving out to go look at it and possibly buy it to add with the Programax and they had 2 Programax amplifiers a while ago but they sold both of them quick so I lost out on finding a match for mine unfortunately but couldn't get away to go buy one .
I have a blonde peavey classic 20 (15watts) tube amp. It’s a very simple single channel amp but it puts out the great overdriven vibe …. and compared to yours….it’s very light! haha…..while you could use it in smaller venues….it perfect for recording! I did change the driver and power tubes for some hopped ones from an Eastern European custom tube manufacturer. This amp was made in 1994 and was only made for four years….1994 - 1997. Cheers !
A freind had one in his rehearsal room, and I was stocked by the sound.. I had a little hard time dialing it in because I had no idea how it was supposed to work (it's a bit odd you gotta admit.. ) But wow, it sounded awesome. I used to have a Mesa Boogie F30 at the time, and the Peavy was faaaar from ridiculous next to it. My freind told me his brother had kind of "forgot" it for ages... Was willing to buy it at some point, but the brother reapeared one day and seemed to really want to keep it.. Well, I'm here today because one is for sell not too far for 250 bucks, and when I saw the add immediatly recognized it🎉. And seen one since those days (20 years ago!!) So I'm really on the fence....
I'd say if it's in nice condition, $250 is probably a good deal. It's sad they're not worth more to folks but if you like how they sound then it's in your favor for sure. I think the clean channel is stupidly good. We just need someone like John Mayer to say he uses one and then we can all have a pension, ha!
The trick to all VTX amps is keep pre amp down, turn saturation up till it sounds like southern rock level distortion and then add a Tube Screamer or SD-1 . If you turn the pre amp up like you would a tube amp it gets to harsh.
I've had a Peavey Rage I bought new, since the 90s? It gets that coveted QOTSA tone so I might mic it up and record with it. I had EV speakers in my Fender Twin and that was crazy heavy! Now I gig with a Blues Jr. Can't even lift the twin anymore even with lighter Jensen speakers. It stays in the studio.
It's certainly no fun on the back this stuff! I use to have a Blues Jr some years back and gigged with it heavily, it was great! Keep me updated with recording the 'Rage'!
Yes i have a peavey heritage found 3am on the side walk so like they say its heavy 90 pounds so i got a shopping cart to get it from my house and i knew that peavey amp where good amps I don't know why it was left out and on top of that it was raining so i checked it out and it looks really good all tube its bad ass dude i haven't cracked it yet its killer got black widows plus it also came with scorpion speckers to but the BWs are better than those i run my phone thru it i know it's for a guitar but it works all i can say is keep it for a combo amplifier it a beast serias sound and its tube most amps today are solid state more clean but for rock i think tubes are the way to go Don't you think so so take care of it you got a gem chow mahogany rush frank marino 🎸
I bought a used one ten years ago (I live in France), the guy didn't use it anymore. I paid 80€... but the handle was missing... when I took it, I immediatly understood why he sold it so cheap 😅. In mine, there are scorpions speakers. Wonderfull clean sound and tubescreamer sound inclosed. I don't use it often cause it is very loud, but i will never sell it.
Had one in the '80s, didn't really like it as the preamp distortion wasn't great and my ears don't like 6l6s. The scorpions might have been a part, not a big fan of those. Tons of headroom, could be a good pedal platform. And everyone agrees, they're both heavy and loud! Happy for the people who have them and appreciate them.
I actually tuned in and subscribed because I recently picked up a 1982 Peavey Heritage VTX, ALSO still had the original Peavey 6L6's! Mine, like yours has the Black Widow massive speakers. The amp had considerable history, but was well maintained, and honestly blew me away-:this thing is a beast with awesome headroom, depth, slightly dark woody powerful sound! I installed two piezo tweeters (like the ones Peavey use to do with their PA's and some speaker cabs with caps and resistors to cut amp oscillations, high pass filter and replace capacitive load with resistance to further smooth out frequency response. I added the tweeters because Black Widows are more a bass speaker than the Scorpion speakers that typically came in the Heritage VTX. the BW's were a high power option, and were just perfect with the addition of the tweeters! This is a great beast of an amp- one of most compact, powerful, reliable, HEAVY amps ever made!
Sounds cool, transistor pre into valve power is much more interesting than the other way round. There was a vox hybrid like thatwhich the Beatles used a lot on sgt Pepper - quite a harsh tone, can the Peavey get into that kind of territory?
Hi from France ! I have the same amp and I love it ! A little question for you, the pull bright knob on the normal gain channel makes noises when I pull it. I couldn't clean it with contact cleaner cause it's closed and couldn't find a new one to change it...do you know if I could find it somewhere ? Thanks for your answer ! I hope my english is not too bad...
Buy some Deoxit and try to get at the pot from the back side of possible and also try to spray the Deoxit right in the front where the shaft is close to the pot and work it back and forth a bunch of times . Usually there is a small opening on the pots to use to spray a little Deoxit into it but not always and some times where the wires are soldered to the pots there is a small opening there to spray Deoxit into but those usually are facing down so in this case you might have to pull the amplifier out of the cabinet after you've unplugged the amp with the power switch turned on to let the power to bleed off then flip the amplifier upside to spray Deoxit into the pot . There is a place called Amplified parts that sells volume pots and tubes all kinds of stuff including some fender and Gibson parts and also sells effects pedal kits so you might be able to find the kind of pots your looking for to use on your amplifier or a substitution for it .
I have a mid 80s Peavey Renown that I bought new, and I can't get tone out of it to save my life. Possibly because I can't drive the speakers hard enough to get there without breaking all of the windows in my house. I think that's Peavey's Achilles Heel. Way too much power. Any room that needs that kind of volume is going through a PA anyway. Better to get to the tone at the lower end.
There is no doubt that these Peavey's 'overdrive' channels are very specific sounding. I find they do that sludgy/stoner rock sound the best and you'll struggle to get it to do much more without maybe an EQ pedal? I think the clean channel sounds amazing!
Unfortunately the fully solid state of this era suffer in the lack of a tube circuit. I'd actually thought of toying with a Renown but have always had limited success with solid state Peavey gear. Look for a Classic VTX, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.
Had one with Scorpion speakers in the early 90's, like a dummy I sold it thinking it was to hard to dial in,,,been looking for one every since. Have Stereo Chorus 400 and it rocks but not tubed, would u sell the Heritage?
Keep an eye out, the second hand sites and Facebook market place, you'll find one I'm sure! Not planning on selling the Heritage anytime soon, it's a fun amp...just so dang heavy!
Peavy the greatest underappreciated amp of all time! Only took how many decades for people to realize how great OG Peavey amps truly are! You all better buy them up while they are dirt CHEAP!
I’ve been running an early 90s American made peavey classic 30 since I was 15! A couple years ago I picked up a heritage vtx and love it just as much! (Just wish I could use it more cause it’s to loud XD)
I have the same amp… Friend of the family had bought it new in the 80’s and used the amp in his band until his death… At which time I was given the amp… it does everything you posted in your video, amazingly well. Great video … even tho I can’t play nearly as well as the previous owner… I hear Danny every time I light it up! Thank!
It's nice you have the amp to keep your friends spirit going ❤
Ive got (2) Heritage VTX amps and (4) Classic VTX amps. Overall I own 34 peavey amps. Best products ever invented!
They're pretty awesome, last a life time!
My first amp when I was in high school. Dad got it used for cheap and it's still going strong. Same tubes that I've had in it since 2004/2005 timeframe l, same speakers and it still sounds great. It's LOUD!
Possibly the loudest thing on earth, ha! Glad you still have it and enjoy it :-)
Nice video. I bought it myself 40 years ago and still use it today!
That's awesome!!
Fixing to acquire a Peavey Deuce VT in a trade. So excited to play it.
Enjoy my friend!!
Great video! I've owned a handful of Peavey amps from this era, some of which are full tube circuits, some of which are solid state, and some of which are hybrids like this one: Roadmasters, Classics and Deuces, Century heads, and a few others. They've all been well-built, versatile, and fun-and most importantly, cheap! Personally I'm a big fan of the hybrid ones, they always seem to have great tone and durability.
Yep, they definitely have their own sound - really well built tech!!
I grew up using a 76 Peavey artist , I have pick up a 89 peavey triumph 60 & just got the 65 watt version of your amp 82 Peavey Classic VTX. They all sound incredible. Not sure why Peavey gets poop on as a junkie sounding amp. I would say it is easy to make them sound bad if you don’t dial them correctly. I would also say they might be over powered, it is hard to drive the black widows or scorpion speakers without going deaf. If you are looking for that speaker break up you might need to stick to a Marshall. The only knock I have is I have blown up a few Peaveys. I am not an electronics expert but it’s almost as if it is too much horsepower with the hybrids I have smoked capacitors, wires , switches tubes in these type amps. Worth the repairs !
Bought a new Heritage in 1984, loved it, played the hell out of it, and stupidly traded it and always regretted it. 10yrs ago, I found one, near mint condition, and am in love all over again! Amazing clean sound (truly a Twin killer!) And the gain is remarkable for its vintage. If you can find one of these, GRAB it!
Great to meet another Heritage owner and of the same year! Gorgeous cleans for sure 🙌🏻
Have a bunch of these late 70s early 80s amps and i cant get enough of em…
They have a definite 'vibe' for sure!
I also have a Heritage VTX, with the scorpion speakers and the original tubes (Peavey Super 6 Sylvania USA Made 6L6's, they still work great my amp guy checked them) I knew nothing about this amp when I got it, other then it being a old cheap 212. Its actually a great effects platform with plenty of eq options, & some of its own very unique sounds. There's a clip on youtube of blues legend Johnny Copeland playing a Heritage at the 1985 Montreux Blues / Jazz Festival, alongside SRV and his 4x12 Marshall stacks, alot of people in the comments section were saying they liked Johnny’s tone more then SRV's (their bass player was also using the road case version of the VTX series MX). Something I've noticed is the older ones made in the early 80's use 2 red LED's as the automix indicators, but later on probably closer to the mid 80's they switched the LED's, 1st channel has a green LED (like the green crunch channel on a 5150) while the 2nd lead gain channel has a yellow led, idk, just small meticulous details no one cares about lol. Anyway keep on keepin on peaverts
I bought a used one in the mid 80's in Switzerland, I was like 15 and dragged it around to band rehearsals on my skateboard once or twice a week. Damn dangerous going down the road with a 90 pound bomb, ha. Mid 90's I moved to Los Angeles and got into Marshalls and Mesa Boogies, but I never forgot that 1980 Heritage. 2018 I found another one for like $180. The scorpion speakers aren't that great, so I connected that old Peavey to two 4x12 Marshall cabs with celestion green backs, boom. They call them Mississippi Marshalls for a reason, add a tube screamer and you are competing with the big boys. It's no JCM 800 but man, its pretty good for a cheap amp.
Awesome story, thanks for sharing!! :)
I've had one for years. It's a tube power amp but the preamp section is solid state. Just 4 6l6 tubes no preamp tubes and I have repaired a couple of these. Mine has the Scorpion speakers. Still heavy as hell but loud.
I've got one of these not with the BW speakers--instead it's got the scorpions. I bought mine from a guy on Offer Up for around $150.00 US. It did not come with a foot switch and the footswitch jack was "jacked up". I bought the parts online to replace the jack and I converted a foot switch from a B52 I bought from another guy on Offer Up to work on the Peavey--it works great! The amp is really heavy and very loud! I have played with it for a little and really love the many different tones you get from it. Currently, I don't use it bc it is really loud. I am looking for a cheap load box that can handle the powerful 130 Watt power so I could start using it again but I have not found one yet! Overall, I think the amp is a good taste of history!
There's a little bit of magic in these old Peaveys, I think anyway ;-) Glad you're enjoying yours!
Welcome to the peavey community there are many many gems 💎 that are starting to increase in popularity….used by many a celebrity over decades….. keep it running and let others discover the magic !! You really made this old girl sing !
I bought a Deuce VT recently but I am going to get an amp tech to look at before I use it as it has a couple of oddities. I am in the UK but the back panel refers to US voltage and yet the power switch is the two way non-US version. And there is a retrofit mystery switch on the back that is wired in to the power amp and if I had to guess I would say it looks like it takes two valves (tubes) out of the circuit cutting it from what the manual describes as "conservatively" 120 watts down to a much more useful 60 watts or so.
It weighs only slightly less than I do but as well as huge speaker magnets is has the biggest transformers I have ever seen so no surprise there.
The amp cost me £100 unvalved and some replacement 6L6s cost me another £110 so actually quite a bit lower than Reverb listing.
There is no footswitch and looking online it seems the available schematic is wrong. I think it has a double throw switch in the wrong place. If I can solve that i will see about making one. Another question for the tech.
I am really looking forward to trying it out once I know the retrofit wiring is safe and hunting around on TH-cam has reassured me that I haven't bought something useless.
Good luck with restoring this amp, I'm sure you'll really like it once it's ready to rock again! Be sure to report back 😎
I have decided I must have one of these amps I played through one a long time ago in the early eighties when I was in junior high and it was the most majestic thing I had ever seen and heard
All i use is vintage Peavey now. I got one of those amps It had been left outside for years and it still works.
They will out live us all
@@CantAffordToRecord Its nice to rattle the walls sometime
first decent amp i ever got. i loved it. moved and sold it. missed it. got another one. moved and sold it. now on number three. this one has black widows but i always liked the scorpions, too. the phaser is still great. :)
Not many people get to own three!! Ha! Awesome 😎
I've got 1981 heritage vtx I really like it. Can get any sound you want and the clean is amazing as well. Mine has scorpion speakers instead of the black widow but that seems the only difference
That's great! They're such fun amps and I adore the reverb tank so much!
I love my '83 Heritage 212. I tried to get JHS to make amp in a box of the Heritage
Haha awesome!
Some great tones there, loved the clean with the reverb especially!
Thanks man! I love that clean tone too!!
i have been eyeing one of these in a pawnshop near me for a while now, seriously considering picking it up because of this
Lets us know of you do! 🙏🏻
I’ve had two of these. Had the original 130W version and the 65W version. Both are insanely loud and heavy. Good tones for the dollar. The dial-able phasor setting is the coolest feature by far but the reverb and saturation are decent. For the money it’s a great amp. But it is heavy so it’s best if you don’t have to move it around much. It’s not a bedroom amp though, it’s a beast. Only sold mine because I already had too many amps.
Nice video, I have a peavey classic vtx combo amp I bought new in the 80's. I gigged with it for 10 years, in southern rock/metal band in the 80's The amp is Loud, and has great spring reverb and good phase shifter built in. the clean channel is great. Always hated the muddy dirty channel with terrible distortion, and no balls. I used tube screamers, fuzz pedals, boss overdrive, never found my sound. Parked the amp in storage for 30 years, used Marshall plexi and JCM 800 ever since. In 2022 broke it out still hate the nasty dirty channel. Then the ahh moment, The amp has power amp in and pre amp out loop in the back. The amp is a hybrid, 2) 6L6 tubes in power amp section, solid state pre amp. plugged in mooer 002 mini pre amp pedal to power amp in, added boss SD-1 (level 10 -Drive 2) Also ran speaker out into 4x12 marshall B cab. with vintage 30's. Great sound like a Marshall JCM- and with Bed Room Volume, or gig volume. Bottom line , the amps pre-amp section sucks, replace it with modern preamp. wish I knew this 40 years ago.
Admittedly the lead channel isn't the most outstanding overdrive channel if you're looking for the crisp wirey Marshall tone... That being said, it definitely does have it's place and I've found some pretty great tones with it.
I agree, Its a great LOUD rock n roll amp - the lead channel is more like a muddy overdrive channel. I just love a tight crunch with sustain - thanks for the reply
@@CantAffordToRecord
I put a Boss SD-1 in front of my Classic and dialed back the pre & gain with great results. The pots on these amps are very sensitive, I turn in baby steps. I purchased due to the high marks it received in another video on youtube. Funny thing, I tossed a JCM 900 paired to a Mesa oversized 2x12 sealed with vintage 30's, for the Classic. Never looked back.
Great video! New sub! I'm a very big Peavey fan! I'm a bass player first but have been looking to get into guitar and a lot of people trash the name Peavey because they equate extremely cheap to extremely poor quality. That is not always the case I have discovered, you can get some pretty decent tones out of the older gear.
Welcome aboard! I'm really pleased to have taken the time to research these amps, now I'm on the hunt for more :-)
@@CantAffordToRecord it gets addictive!
I've got two of these, one with Scorpions & one with vintage eminence square magnets I swapped in. They really are fantastic, under the radar amps. It's little Brother of the same vintage is great too, the Classic VTX, just a bit less power & features. That's my main rig at the moment, scorpion loaded.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing 🙌🏻
Yeah they are heavy. I picked up a VTX Classic from the same era a few years ago. Had to put a few bucks into it, but it has been a solid gigging amp for me.
Great to hear!
I have a 80s Peavey Programax 10 that were only made for a short time because Eddie Vanhalen decided to work with Peavey on designing and created his 5150 that came out right after the Programax 10. The Programax isn't a tube amp though but can similate them & was the very first guitar amplifier to use whats well known now as the midi system and it has 2 channels A/B that you could program your effects into or just use the effects that Peavey programmed into them which can be deleted for your own effects that can be programmed on all of the separate A&B channels and can be called out and used by the midi pedal that could be bought separately from the amplifier . It also has a effects loop on the back of the amplifier to use for effects like delay flanger and phaser pedals which usually sound better on the back side of the amplifier instead of the head or front of the amplifier. Daves guitar shop in Lacrosse WI has one of these vtx peavey amplifiers now or did just a few days ago for 350.00 and it says it weighs 80+ pounds lol . I'm thinking of driving out to go look at it and possibly buy it to add with the Programax and they had 2 Programax amplifiers a while ago but they sold both of them quick so I lost out on finding a match for mine unfortunately but couldn't get away to go buy one .
I have a blonde peavey classic 20 (15watts) tube amp. It’s a very simple single channel amp but it puts out the great overdriven vibe …. and compared to yours….it’s very light! haha…..while you could use it in smaller venues….it perfect for recording! I did change the driver and power tubes for some hopped ones from an Eastern European custom tube manufacturer. This amp was made in 1994 and was only made for four years….1994 - 1997. Cheers !
The 'Classic' series always seems to be a fan favorite, thanks for sharing!
Good choice I had a 1988 2-12 heavy
A freind had one in his rehearsal room, and I was stocked by the sound.. I had a little hard time dialing it in because I had no idea how it was supposed to work (it's a bit odd you gotta admit.. )
But wow, it sounded awesome. I used to have a Mesa Boogie F30 at the time, and the Peavy was faaaar from ridiculous next to it.
My freind told me his brother had kind of "forgot" it for ages... Was willing to buy it at some point, but the brother reapeared one day and seemed to really want to keep it..
Well, I'm here today because one is for sell not too far for 250 bucks, and when I saw the add immediatly recognized it🎉. And seen one since those days (20 years ago!!)
So I'm really on the fence....
I'd say if it's in nice condition, $250 is probably a good deal. It's sad they're not worth more to folks but if you like how they sound then it's in your favor for sure. I think the clean channel is stupidly good. We just need someone like John Mayer to say he uses one and then we can all have a pension, ha!
The trick to all VTX amps is keep pre amp down, turn saturation up till it sounds like southern rock level distortion and then add a Tube Screamer or SD-1 . If you turn the pre amp up like you would a tube amp it gets to harsh.
Nice tip!
The low side on the input just might surprise you.
I've had a Peavey Rage I bought new, since the 90s? It gets that coveted QOTSA tone so I might mic it up and record with it. I had EV speakers in my Fender Twin and that was crazy heavy!
Now I gig with a Blues Jr.
Can't even lift the twin anymore even with lighter Jensen speakers. It stays in the studio.
It's certainly no fun on the back this stuff! I use to have a Blues Jr some years back and gigged with it heavily, it was great! Keep me updated with recording the 'Rage'!
Yes i have a peavey heritage found 3am on the side walk so like they say its heavy 90 pounds so i got a shopping cart to get it from my house and i knew that peavey amp where good amps I don't know why it was left out and on top of that it was raining so i checked it out and it looks really good all tube its bad ass dude i haven't cracked it yet its killer got black widows plus it also came with scorpion speckers to but the BWs are better than those i run my phone thru it i know it's for a guitar but it works all i can say is keep it for a combo amplifier it a beast serias sound and its tube most amps today are solid state more clean but for rock i think tubes are the way to go Don't you think so so take care of it you got a gem chow mahogany rush frank marino 🎸
Sounds like you got a score! Enjoy playing it 🤘🏻
I bought a used one ten years ago (I live in France), the guy didn't use it anymore. I paid 80€... but the handle was missing... when I took it, I immediatly understood why he sold it so cheap 😅. In mine, there are scorpions speakers. Wonderfull clean sound and tubescreamer sound inclosed. I don't use it often cause it is very loud, but i will never sell it.
Awesome story! The clean sounds in the Heritage I think are awesome!
Had one in the '80s, didn't really like it as the preamp distortion wasn't great and my ears don't like 6l6s. The scorpions might have been a part, not a big fan of those. Tons of headroom, could be a good pedal platform. And everyone agrees, they're both heavy and loud! Happy for the people who have them and appreciate them.
I actually tuned in and subscribed because I recently picked up a 1982 Peavey Heritage VTX, ALSO still had the original Peavey 6L6's! Mine, like yours has the Black Widow massive speakers. The amp had considerable history, but was well maintained, and honestly blew me away-:this thing is a beast with awesome headroom, depth, slightly dark woody powerful sound! I installed two piezo tweeters (like the ones Peavey use to do with their PA's and some speaker cabs with caps and resistors to cut amp oscillations, high pass filter and replace capacitive load with resistance to further smooth out frequency response. I added the tweeters because Black Widows are more a bass speaker than the Scorpion speakers that typically came in the Heritage VTX. the BW's were a high power option, and were just perfect with the addition of the tweeters! This is a great beast of an amp- one of most compact, powerful, reliable, HEAVY amps ever made!
Awesome!!! Enjoy your new rig 🤘🏻
Cool video 🤙
I have Classic VTX great tube amp
Cool!!
Sounds cool, transistor pre into valve power is much more interesting than the other way round. There was a vox hybrid like thatwhich the Beatles used a lot on sgt Pepper - quite a harsh tone, can the Peavey get into that kind of territory?
It's pretty flexible so I'm sure it could and of course with an EQ pedal in front it would take just a minute to dial in my sure.
I got one
Nice!
Hi from France ! I have the same amp and I love it ! A little question for you, the pull bright knob on the normal gain channel makes noises when I pull it. I couldn't clean it with contact cleaner cause it's closed and couldn't find a new one to change it...do you know if I could find it somewhere ? Thanks for your answer ! I hope my english is not too bad...
Hello! I'm afraid I'm not sure! Perhaps you can try and get into the amp chassis and try some contact cleaner from the other side?
Buy some Deoxit and try to get at the pot from the back side of possible and also try to spray the Deoxit right in the front where the shaft is close to the pot and work it back and forth a bunch of times . Usually there is a small opening on the pots to use to spray a little Deoxit into it but not always and some times where the wires are soldered to the pots there is a small opening there to spray Deoxit into but those usually are facing down so in this case you might have to pull the amplifier out of the cabinet after you've unplugged the amp with the power switch turned on to let the power to bleed off then flip the amplifier upside to spray Deoxit into the pot . There is a place called Amplified parts that sells volume pots and tubes all kinds of stuff including some fender and Gibson parts and also sells effects pedal kits so you might be able to find the kind of pots your looking for to use on your amplifier or a substitution for it .
@@peteloomis8456 Thanks ! I'll try...
What Pete says^^^. Deoxit is liquid gold for old gear. @@MrTortureneverstops1
I have a mid 80s Peavey Renown that I bought new, and I can't get tone out of it to save my life. Possibly because I can't drive the speakers hard enough to get there without breaking all of the windows in my house. I think that's Peavey's Achilles Heel. Way too much power. Any room that needs that kind of volume is going through a PA anyway. Better to get to the tone at the lower end.
There is no doubt that these Peavey's 'overdrive' channels are very specific sounding. I find they do that sludgy/stoner rock sound the best and you'll struggle to get it to do much more without maybe an EQ pedal? I think the clean channel sounds amazing!
Unfortunately the fully solid state of this era suffer in the lack of a tube circuit. I'd actually thought of toying with a Renown but have always had limited success with solid state Peavey gear. Look for a Classic VTX, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.
Had one with Scorpion speakers in the early 90's, like a dummy I sold it thinking it was to hard to dial in,,,been looking for one every since. Have Stereo Chorus 400 and it rocks but not tubed, would u sell the Heritage?
Keep an eye out, the second hand sites and Facebook market place, you'll find one I'm sure! Not planning on selling the Heritage anytime soon, it's a fun amp...just so dang heavy!
Get your hands on a Stereo Chorus 400 if you can.
MUST have a 4 button footswitch with it.
Thank me later.
I have one and I turned it into a separate head and cab
Hope you didn't hurt yourself moving it.
So heavyyyyy 😫
Bands nowadays using lightweight modellers and then going to a gym. When your gear can be the gym if it’s heavy enough… Time savings 🤷🏻♂️.
Haha - But a gym doesn't have anything this heavy... 😅
I wonder what it would sound like with 2 Celestions
I've thought the same...I know for a fact it would be lighter, ha!
promo sm 👌
Peavy the greatest underappreciated amp of all time! Only took how many decades for people to realize how great OG Peavey amps truly are! You all better buy them up while they are dirt CHEAP!
I’ve been running an early 90s American made peavey classic 30 since I was 15! A couple years ago I picked up a heritage vtx and love it just as much! (Just wish I could use it more cause it’s to loud XD)
Dude I hope you are smart enough to keep them OG tubes, wow!
Still got'em!