Peavey Valverb

About as straight forward as it gets. All the controls actually do what they say they will do. Its almost impossible to get a bad sound out of it. I did find the "Drive" control a little puzzling in that it appears you can turn in up quite far without any real noticable affect. Not a fault as such. Just a little unexpected.

This seems like one of those rare units that makes everything you put through it sound great.

I play both acoustic and electric guitar, though lately its been primarily acoustic. The acoustic rig consists of a custom made Graham Noden jumbo with Memisis pickup and an AER Compact 60 amp. Memisis sold the patent to Fishman to become their Rare Earth soundhole pickup. Although the AER has an effect in/out, I found I prefer to run the guitar into the Valverb and then to the amp. The AER has built in digital reverb, chorus, and delay which is good but nothing like as fine as the Valverb.

The Peavey Valverb is as warm and lush a reverb as you will find anywhere. I had a Premier 90 reverb and the Peavey just wipes the floor with it. And you get Tremelo as a bonus. For acoustic its just fantastic. The AER can be a bit too pristine. The Valverb warms it up and then adds anything from just a touch of reverb to Link Wray on acoustic. Having the tremelo on an acoustic adds a really unusual, for an acoustic guitar, color to proceedings. As stated in other reviews you do need to turn the effect volume up quite a bit when switching to the tremelo. I understand some have this issue some don't. I also have read that there is a fix but I can't remember what it is. Doesn't bother me all that much to turn a knob.

For electric I use a Tele Custom with Kinman and Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups through a modified '63 Vibrolux Reissue. Again the reverb is far superior to the stock Accutronics. The tremelo is maybe not quite as good or perhaps just different. The difference between the loud and quiet pulses is much more pronounced no matter how you set the controls.

I also use it for amped harmonica. I use a 1949 Shure 520 with a black label CR element. Again, first through the Valverb then the amp. I can get that wicked Little Walter type over the top dropped in the tank reverb which the Accutronics can't even come close to.

The unit appears very well built and I was lucky enough to obtain a version with the tweed covered case. I can't forsee ever having a problem. I suppose if I could afford to have someone lug my gear around I'd carry another for insurance, assuming I could find one, but I have no fear of it letting me down and I have other reverbs available in a crunch anyway.

No experience but I've read that others have had great results.

I've been getting paid to play for over 40 years. I play American music in it all its forms except jazz, i.e., blues, country, rock and roll, soul, folk. Mostly original. The Valverb suits all of these and really adds to the party.

I've used both an original Premier 90 and a Fender RI reverb unit. The Valverb is superior to both. Anything without tubes wouldn't even get in the game.

Guitars: Takamine, Telecaster Custom, custom Graham Noden Jumbo, and an early handbuilt B.C. Rich B-38.

Amps: AER Compact 60, modified '63 Vibrolux RI, Newcomb E-17, 1958 Bogen VPX-17, 1959 Knight tube PA, 1951 Masco tube PA with original speaker set, Maxi Mouse, and a Fender Mini-Twin which I've actually recorded with.

It is by far the best reverb unit I've ever come across. I also love the look of the thing. Tweed case, chrome faceplate with black chicken head knobs. What's not to love. If I have to pick any fault, its a little heavy with the case. That's not really a fault but I guess I'm supposed to say something negative.

If lost I would definately buy another although I'd have to pay a lot more for it than I did for this one. It has become totally indispensable.

Very simple to get grat sound out of the unit. There is really nothing to it just analog knobs that work just like a simple tonestack on a Fender. Didn't need a manual, I turn the knobs and enjoy the sounds!

Very silent in the effects chain and adds tons of character!

Here is the kicker for me, I've got a few setups and it compliments each one!
1- Mesa Lonestar a different reverb and adds tube tremolo to the loop
2- Analog rack, needs analog tube verb & trem!
3- My Line 6 POD XT Live

Okay, I know the last one seems odd but believe me it is anything but! The preamp tubes really give the XT Live the true tube character it is missing! Plus with a final stage of tone controls (that go accross all the patches) I never need to fiddle for the proper sound from a room!

Haven't gigged with it yet but would and not think twice nor consider a backup. However, this is only a reverb unit and it went (which I doubt it would) the night would continue just fine.

I emailed them with a couple tech questions and they got back to me within 2 hours on an older, discontinued product!

Great unit and goes with everything!

The only thing I wish it had were a cloning device so I could have another one or two!

The flexibility and all the possibilities make this such a great unit.

If it were lost, I'd find it. If it were stolen, I'd beat it out of the hands of the theif. I'd buy another one in a second!

You've got analog knobs only. Your Monkey could twist the dials and sooner or later it'd have as good a sound as you'd want. The manual is fairly breif as is most of Peavey's manuals but you really don't need one

Most of my signal starts with Peavey's TG Raxx pre-amp then through the Valverb and into a Peavey Classic 50/50 and the Valverb runs clean noiseless reverb with as much gain as you'd want.

I've got 3 Valverbs now and 2 more coming in. The tube pins sometimes need to be cleaned and I've started to change out the electrolytic capacitors as they're all approaching 15 years old.

Haven't needed customer support on the Valverbs but Peavey did OK on my TubeFex

Most of my musical approach is Funky Country which is Traditional Country with Blues gliss and string pulling thrown in. I've been at the Guitar since 1960 and have seen quite the evolution or regression depending on how you view it.
Like I said, "I'll have 5 of these jewels pretty soon.
I stocked the board with nearly doubled values of Panasonic Power Supply Electrolytic capacitors and the sound is more up front, smoother, and quieter. Most don't know that electrolytics have a limited life span. I traded out the 2 spring reverb tanks with Accutronic 3 springs from the company's web-site direct which gave a fuller rounder Reverb tone, add to that some Quality tubes and you've Hot Rod Twang Thang: warm user friendly, and lush.
Any comments or questions can be directed to keith47@essex1.com

This is a great piece of gear to have for complimenting non-reverb amps. I didn't get a manual with it but it's pretty self explanatory.

In addition to an amazing reverb sound it has the ability to bring MORE of the "sweet" fat tone out of my 65' bassman. I use a Japanese strat with G&L pickups in the neck and middle positions, but a JB Jr. mini humbucker in the bridge. Just like the others have said, it's sensitive to vibrations and makes a LOT of roar if not isolated somewhat. Foam rubber is an amazing invention. I used it around the edges in the rack mount space and it fixed the problem.

I have used it for about 2 years now and never had any problems once I fixed the roaring from the vibrations.

Haven't needed any support to date. It's very easy to figure out.

I play rock in the vein of Pearl Jam, Radio Head, Foo Fighters, U2, Collective Soul, with a little bit o' Coldplay, Travis vibe. The Valverb has worked great in every musical situation, and even does a pretty good job on vocals too ( I experimented in a dire situation with no reverb available for vocals at a gig)

I literally flipped the knops into place and it was perfect

I am using this with a triple xxx running it through the FX loop and i run a dd-e ch-1 and a ds-1 in front of the amp. Sound is perfect and i personally believe it bettered by overall playing skill

Only had it a day but it's like 10 years old.... it should be fine

Peavey is the nicest and most friendly manufacture i have ever encountered. any question i have usually gets answered the same day via message board

I play rock for about 5 years now. It was hard to track down and finally getting it i realize it was worth the search. If lost i would just hang myself and get it over with. I love it's head room as i barely did anything to match levels and get it to sound perfect... I wish it had it's origional footswtvfh but i just ordered one from a local peavey dealer.

Very easy.
I got the manual from Peavey.com. This manual is short and doesn't explain well, but the Valverb is easy. Input gain, tremolo (rate and intensity), eq and mix of reverb. At the end Master volume.

Sound great!
The only i must say is that Valverb is mono. Reverb-mono ??.
My system is Jerzy Drozd Guitars, Marshall JMP-1, Valverb (paralell for the tremolo sounds and the reverb when i don't use another effect), G-Major for chorus and delays, stereo output to Peavey Classic 60/60 PowerAmp, 4X12" marshall stack.
The tremolo is the tremolo sound that you have in your head. The reverb is a realverb, no digital, all tube.
There are three tubes. One 12AX7 for the preamp sound (always connected), one 12AX7 for the tremolo sound (only with the tremolo is connected), and one 12AT7 for the reverb sound.
Peavey made a great unit, i don't know why they stopped to make it.
You can spend hours and hours playing only with your guitar and the valverb.
It sounds real.

I play in studio and gigs.
No problem.
I have a good flihgt case with a floating rack section.
Well, don't put your Valverb up of your amp or speaker o the springs will run all time.

I don't Know.

I play rock.
Valverb sound well always.
You can listen my music in www.melodicca.com
When you have a Valverb you can not play without it.
I use the tremolo in only two songs, but i use this tremolo.
I never had reverb. I hate the reverb, but the valverb is different, is a real spring reverb, it is the only spring reverb. I had a Marshall with spring reverb, but this unit sounds better.

First of all, this is not a review, but some friendly advice for all the countless Valverb users out there. I have already submitted an earlier review on the Valverb (see below).

In that review I pointed out the somewhat bothersome sensitivity of the springs and how they are prone to making that "boinging" spring sound with the slightest contact to the unit. If you recall, I originally added some foam rubber between the reverb tank and the inside wall of the unit. This did alleviate the problem, somewhat, but after a couple gigs it was apparent that was not a total solution, so I pressed on further. Here is what I came up with...

My solution is actually quite simple: Magnets! Refer to this link for a more visual explanation:

http://members.aol.com/danzprod/Valverb_Magnet_Mod.JPG

In figure [A] you can see how I lined up a bunch of small magnets along the front side of the reverb tank. I got these particular magnets at Ace Hardware. Theoretically they act just like the shock absorbers on your car? to stop the oscillations of the springs. This worked well to control the spring on one side, so why not place them on the other side?

The problem is that the springs themselves are not exactly centered in the reverb tank (refer to figure [B] to see the offset), so placing the magnets on the outside was not as effective in the rear. My solution was to place a bigger magnet INSIDE the tank cover so it would be closer to the rear spring (see figure [C] which shows the inside placement). By the way, this magnet came out of a humbucking guitar pickup.

If you decide to place a magnet inside the case, be careful that it does not contact the spring or it will most certainly cancel out the signal dramatically. I gave the unit a couple hard shakes to make sure the spring would not wobble far enough to permanently attach itself to the magnet. Since the guitar pickup magnet is a relatively low powered alnico type I don?t think I should have any problems. If you use a higher powered magnet just be sure to give it a thorough ?shake test?. In addition, as I understand it, there are also three-spring versions of the Valverb out there, so you will probably have to adjust the placement of magnets accordingly?

One last thing: Be careful not to weigh down the reverb tank with too many magnets, since the reverb tank is suppose to ?float? freely. If the reverb tank is not allowed float, you may find a diminished level of reverb produced by the unit.

Anyway, I have had very good results using the magnets, with no apparent adverse side effects. I have not noticed any added noise and the reverb sounds as excellent as ever. Please note that this does NOT completely eliminate the ?boingy? problem if the unit is bumped or shaked, but it does greatly reduce the length of time it takes for the noise to stop. You must still be careful to place the unit in a safe place, away from any source of potential vibrations.

On an unrelated note: I was recently asked what type of footswitch I use with my Valverb. I personally use a footswitch designed for the current VOX amps (I have a VOX Pathfinder). It is model number VFS2. It has two buttons for "Boost" and "Tremolo". The cool thing is that the "Tremolo" button on the footswitch activates the Tremolo on the Valverb (pretty convenient, huh?). On the other hand, any two-channel footswitch with a stereo plug should work. I think Carvin's FS-22 amp footswitch would also work the same.

Anyway, if I can think of anything else that might be helpful I?ll let you know?

Good Luck!

I recently ran the Valverb through my PA system at a live gig (in a fairly large ballroom) and it sounded fantastic! It makes you sound twice as good right out of the box! At any rate, it is definitely worth the few minor considerations needed to use it effectively.

I can't image using anything else in my sound system. Sure, the digital signal processors are far more versitile, probably more durable and obviously aren't affected by external vibrations, but...

I just can't image using anything else in my sound system!!

enough said...

Easy to use, but ou have to take your time to ge your sound. Please use you rears. Don't rely to Peavey leaflet's comments about the red light. When it's red, it's too much . SORRY! I spoke for me. You have to use YOUR ears
Manual is clear. Read it, and do what you think is right.

Plugged on small tube amps: Fender Pro Junior and Trace Elliot Velocette. That give these basic amps something you'll find difficultto obtain on much bigger and X pensive amps. Yes, the tremolo makes the sound down, I agree, but then turn the amp volume!

Never have any problem in one year.
I'll bring it on stage if I played on it.

Can't say. Out of the US f A, it seems that it is VERY difficult to get customer's suport. Don't kill me, that's my experience. But Peavey is a grea brand, isn't it?

I (try) to play blues, and a little rock. I play for three years. I use a Gibson Les Paul Studio Gem (The one with the P90), a trace elliot velocette, and a valverb. I AM HAPPY, it goes together so well. I recommend the Trace Elliott and the Valverb combination to any single coil guitar. All my stuff is very basic and simple, and it gives you the will to play. If stolen, I would have the robber shot, then I'll go to the place I know that they still have the valverb NEW. But it's a secret place. OK, I won't have the robber shot.
Now, I want a Telecaster, but next year, may be. 10 without hesitation

like the others have said, it take a bit of fiddling with to get the right sound, but once you figure out the basics it's really a snap. you have to keep an eye on the DRIVE setting as you change the amount of signal that goes to the VALVERB, but hey, it's a tube unit, so you can drive it a bit if you want!

the reverb in the VALVERB is superb! nice and springy, if you know what i mean. it goes from barely audible to full reverb wetness. i was using a BOSS RV-2 previously (i play through a FENDER BASSMAN - no verb) but i'll be getting rid of it soon.

the tremolo is also really nice and smooth, although there is a significant volume drop when you kick it in, which become more and more pronounced as you turn up the "intensity" of the tremolo. apparently this is quite common to most tremolo units.

because there are 3 springs inside, it's important to keep the VALVERB somewhat isolated. if you've got it on top of a loud amp the vibrations may make the springs shake around and you'll start getting reverb mayhem. it doesn't have to be in the next room or anything, but you do have to pick a good spot. i usually have mine on top of my amp head, which is on a crate or a chair beside my cabinet.

i've had the VALVERB for about a year now and have never had any trouble with it. i bought it used and it came in a one-space tweed rack, which is heavy as hell but does a good job of protecting it! i wouldn't throw it down a flight of stairs or anything but it seems like it'll hold up. as for gigging without a backup - reverb isn't THAT crucial to my sound, so i would and DO gig without a backup.

so far my experience in this department has been limited to a visit to their website. i was happy to find (as one of the other reviewers pointed out) that the VALVERB manual was available for download.

the only small gripes i have about the VALVERB are the volume drop with the tremelo, and the non-detachable AC cord, but these are small things when you consider what a great unit it is! i highly recommend the VALVERB to anyone who needs an outboard reverb. PEAVEY discontinued it so they are quite tough to find. i bought mine sight-unseen of the internet and have not regretted it for a second.

Not too hard to use. The real trick is getting the volume and master volume set properly. This unit is no longer in production so if you buy one and it doesn't have a manual, you will need to go to the Peavey website and download it. Even without the manual, if you know a thing or two about a thing or two, you shouldn't have too many problems.

I play mostly noise pop and vintage rock (50's 60's and 70's). I own many killer tube amps and several American Fender and Hamer USA guitars. For effects I use mostly fancy (i.e. expensive) boutique pedal effects.

The Peavey Valverb is one of the coolest products they have ever made. The only other things they have made that I feel are worth owning are the Dual 2x12 tube combo amp, the Classic 30, and the Delta Blues 1x15. Anyway, enough about Peavey.

The Valverb is a very good to verging on excellent tube, spring reverb/tremolo rack unit. You can get really great vintage rock sounds from Link Wray to the Ventures and cool psycho country (think soundtrack to the film "Boys Don't Cry"). The Valverb, while quite deep, isn't as deep as Fender's stand alone reverb unit or the Diaz reverb unit, but we're talking about units that are $500 to $1500 and the Fender doesn't have tremolo. However, the valverb is deeper than the reverbs Fender is putting in most of it's amps these days (not the vintage reissues or custom shop stuff) and won't leave most vintage rock and country players wanting for much.

The tremolo is very good and takes a second place to my Fulltone Supa-Trem. Your sound does get a little bit quieter when you turn it on, but it's not more than one would expect from a tremolo.

You can run the Valverb in the front of your amp or in an effects loop. Since most of my amps are vintage or vintage reissues, they don't have effects loops so I run the Valverb in the front of my amps. I use a MIDI loop switcher to activate the reverb and trem and to take the unit out of my effects chain as your signal still goes through the Valverb's preamp section even when the unit is bypassed (the EQ only effects the reverb signal only however).

Seems well made. I've had it for a couple of months (used) and I haven't had any problems with it. Unless it eats tubes up fast I don't forsee any problems. The circuit board seems pretty well laid out.

I bought this unit used and one of the pots was broken off and poorly glued back on. I called Peavey and for $5.00 bucks they sent me a new pot and a new chicken head knob right away. I used to work music retail and Peavey was always good about that type of thing and answering customer questions. Way better than you would expect from a company the size of Peavey.

I paid $175 for this unit in good condition. I more than got my monies worth. If you are looking for a really good tube spring reverb and tremolo but can't afford to shell out $1500 for a Diaz, the Valverb is a great way to go. I wish Peavey still made this unit. If it were damaged or stolen, if I could find another, I would buy it without hesitation!