Peavey Bravo 112

Two input tube amp made in late 80s. Awesome distortion, clean gets dirtier as you turn it up. I play 80s-90s metal for the most part. I run a boss gt-6 to a peavey eq-27 then to a peavey ngt2 noise gate then to the bravo. (Which I removed from the cabinet built my own rack and put power, the eq, the noise gate and then the bravo unit on top and run that through a 80s peavey 4x12 tuxedo cab, awesome setup) Has a clean and dirty channel. I switch to my Marshall 80/80 for anything clean. Its a tube so you can hang with any drummers

I play a Jackson with emgs and an epiphone sg-400 primarily both sound great. Ive only been playing about two years owned all solid state so far (fender, marshall, line 6) and this is the first amp Ive heard a significant change when hitting that pickup switch on the guitar esp. with distortion). Its definately great for any distortion but you cant turn it up past 3 on the clean channel without any distortion. It has a fan so you have to deal with that (not bad at all though)

Ive got a bunch of Peavey equip all 80s-90s Im not an amp tech but I fix what I have to. All their equip is USA made. Some of the stuff had scratchy pots but other then that not bad for all being over 15 years old. I have no experience with new Peavey stuff but Ill always grab up the older stuff

Havent dealt with them yet

The only tube amp Ive ever owned. For $100 this definately hangs with the kranks and stuff for $1000. If I ever get a chance to buy another Id jump on it. Im poor with a wife and two kids I cant afford a $1000 tube amp Please help Rock ON!!!!!

somewhat somehow HC refuse to let me write review. so here goes-----..
this is my second bravo. a 1990 grey tolexed bravo 112 with all original including tubes.

wasnt cheap like the previous black iv bought but was worth it.

as usually, i changed the tubes to JJs, did my footswitch mod and put in a standby switch.
ok, it wasnt me but it was there that the previous owner installed and that got the original tubes when he bought the amp 2 years ago.
so basically, he had the amp stock and changed the tubes and added the standby switch.

i also changed the original reverb tank as the tank was caput, gave too low signal, changed to a laney VC-30 tank. it was better effect. also shielded the tank with aluminuim foil underneath and pack it with a black bag and screwed it down.

comparing to the balck amp i got for like 2-3 years ago (cant remember) is that my black amp is somewhat brighter clearer more hifi sounding and not as dark and bassy as this grey one.

why? its coz iv changed all big/small electrolitic caps on the black amp along with the choke resistor. the choke is the wirewound 390 ohm 5 watt. in other words, its the huge resistor in the bravo if anyone cares.

this changed the overall tone of the amp WITHOUT changing the behavior and character of it. both the grey and black has some familiarities its just the black is somewhat clearer now.
the new caps needs burning up and so im burning the amp 24 hours now while writing the review. its out of its cabinet and idling with a load box. dont worry of this process. the amp wont fail. as long as the chassis is out of the box for full aircon. the PT is not even that hot.

i even have a workaround for having a bias adjusment mod on this amp but im not sharing it yet. basically, it ables you to use EH power tubes in the amp without redplate. i dont know why its always like this on EH tubes as i have no problems with sovteks or JJs. meaning, EH tubes takes more current bias that the other tubes and suggesting modding the amp for bias to cool down the circuit if using cheap EH tubes.

tip: if the amp has 365dcv or more on the b+ then you know that your amp is alright. if ever you see the amp has 360dcv in the b+ like you would on EH tubes then you`ll see red plate. more B+ less bias. less b+ more bias. making it hot biased.

this is my second bravo. a 1990 grey tolexed bravo 112 with all original including tubes.

wasnt cheap like the previous black iv bought but was worth it.

as usually, i changed the tubes to JJs, did my footswitch mod and put in a standby switch.
ok, it wasnt me but it was there that the previous owner installed and that got the original tubes when he bought the amp 2 years ago.
so basically, he had the amp stock and changed the tubes and added the standby switch.

i also changed the original reverb tank as the tank was caput, gave too low signal, changed to a laney VC-30 tank. it was better effect. also shielded the tank with aluminuim foil underneath and pack it with a black bag and screwed it down.

comparing to the balck amp i got for like 2-3 years ago (cant remember) is that my black amp is somewhat brighter clearer more hifi sounding and not as dark and bassy as this grey one.

why? its coz iv changed all big/small electrolitic caps on the black amp along with the choke resistor. the choke is the wirewound 390 ohm 5 watt. in other words, its the huge resistor in the bravo if anyone cares.

this changed the overall tone of the amp WITHOUT changing the behavior and character of it. both the grey and black has some familiarities its just the black is somewhat clearer now.
the new caps needs burning up and so im burning the amp 24 hours now while writing the review. its out of its cabinet and idling with a load box. dont worry of this process. the amp wont fail. as long as the chassis is out of the box for full aircon. the PT is not even that hot.

i even have a workaround for having a bias adjusment mod on this amp but im not sharing it yet. basically, it ables you to use EH power tubes in the amp without redplate. i dont know why its always like this on EH tubes as i have no problems with sovteks or JJs. meaning, EH tubes takes more current bias that the other tubes and suggesting modding the amp for bias to cool down the circuit if using cheap EH tubes.

tip: if the amp has 365dcv or more on the b+ then you know that your amp is alright. if ever you see the amp has 360dcv in the b+ like you would on EH tubes then you`ll see red plate. more B+ less bias. less b+ more bias. making it hot biased.

I purchased this amp new back in 1993 for around $450.00 CAD from Steve's Music in Ottawa.
Many prior reviews have listed it's features; two channels, clean and ultra gain, reverb, external speaker, line I/O, remote footswitch etc.

I used to own an American Deluxe Strat w/ Gold Lace Sensors that I used with this amp. Now I have Epiphone Elitists Les Pauls w/ USA humbuckers. The amp has more than enough distortion for anyone I think. The clean channel is noce but starts to sustain after about 5. The amp itself is quite quiet even when distorted.

the only probalem I had with it was the old non-selaed 450WVDC 40UDF EL caps. They actually broke down and leaked and had to be replaced (after over 12 years) which is to be expected.
All Tubes were replaced this year for approx. $85.00 CAD

Peavey was great supplying me with a schematic so I could troubleshoot the amp when I had the filter issue. I also got replacement caps from them for a reasonable price.

I've been playing on & off for over 30 years now. I think when this goes I'd consider another type on amplifier if only to try something different. I've owned open backed combos all my life but really like sealed back cabs for their tighter low end. It's just not easy to get something that isn't huge to lug around. This is a good amp, I've owned a Fender Twin, Fender Vibrolux, Traynor 100W 2x12, Music Man RD50, Traynor DG15r & Univox and this rate up there. I seriously can't believe how cheap some people are selling these! In my oopinion it's worth what I paid for it still and I'd rather keep it than give it away for 200 -300 dollars.

Two input channels (who CARES if an amp has two "real" input channels or not? If it walks like a duck...) for clean and distorted. All tube (except rectifier, and SS rect. amps pass for all tube all the time, so again, get over it.) Effects loop, ext. speaker jack, 2-button footswitch (using a simple switch circuit, instead of that demonic, propriatary crap Fender uses on re-issue amps, forcing you to buy a replacement from them only). Each channel has it's own EQ, presumably optimized for that channel. Even a cooling fan!

With HI and LO impedence inputs, both SC and HB pups sound good with this amp. EL84 power tubes give it a darn good Marshall tone, although the "clean" channel is not as clean as I would expect it to be (guess I have gotten spoiled by vintage Fender clean tone.) This particular amp has too much hum- almost certainly due to caps needing to be replaced. Distortion can go from just barely on the right side of what you would want for blues to almost enough to please the heavy metal kiddies, so I would say it spans the useful range. It is nice to have an EL-84-equipped amp in my arsenal.

This one is about 20 years old and has no issues other than the maintenance-related cap thing mentioned above. With reasonable care, it should last another 20 years. Or 40. Or 100.

Peavey is EXCELLENT at customer support. Want a schematic? Call or email, they email you it, free. I even got excellent support on Christmas eve morning, although I could tell the young woman in parts would have rather been home (I commiserated with her.) On a recent AMTRAK trip from New Orleans to Atlanta, I almost got off the train in Meridian, Mississippi and asked for a tour of their facilities- but as the next train wasn't coming thru for 24 hours, I decided I didn't really want to extend the visit overnight. I am usually conservative about my ratings, but here, a 10.

Except for the RhinoLiner-like covering and lost-in-the-80's grill, a well designed cab, with the speaker angled up slightly for improved sound and easy to use controls.

If lost or stolen, I would consider another Bravo112, but the best thing this amp has done for me is introduce me to EL84 tone, so it's replacement might be someone else's EL84-equipped amp.

The Bravo112's only failing is a clean channel that is not really clean- if it had that, it would be the near-perfect EL84 12-watt amp. These things sit, forlorn and ignored, on pawn shop shelves, passed over as "just another Peavey SS amp" when in fact they hide a near-ideal complement of 3 12AX7's and 2 EL-84's. Great values and very good amps.

Oh, this one's actually for sale- got my eye on a Matchless with (you guessed it, EL-84's) and need to raise some some money.

My unit is from early 90's. I payed 220 euros = 330 dollars for it. Only disadvantage in this amp for my use is lack of headphone-jack, but it is no big deal. Plus for the effects loop. Very versatile amp. As said in earlier reviews, this is real tube-thing and EL84:s bring it voice that pleases me. I changed the first pre-amp tube to Electro Harmonix 12AT7 to get rid of the sharpness I disliked.

I play it with Fender strat '62 re-issue (CIJ) with gold lace sensors. I use mainly the cleans and I think only change I would do to amp is to change the speaker for example to Celestion Blue speaker (this is why 8). As I said earlier the Bravo can provide variety of sounds from slight distortion to heavy stuff. Great. Works fine with my pedal & effects (Alesis Q2 & Emma Transmorgifier).

It had original tubes in it when I bought it except for one tube so pretty reliable it seems. Nice thing in this amp is the auto bias circuit so it is easy to for example test different tubes.

My amp's reverb broke down and it turned out that this operational amplifier 4558, that drives the spring reverb was broken. I didn't have spare of this kind and I tried LM833 which is footprint compatible. It worked well and now reverb works. This chip is very easy to replace, because it is connected to board with socket.

I asked for Peavey to send me schematics for the amp and they send it at same day. Great service for over decade old product.

Great amp for the price I paid for it. Usually in Finland you have to pay ~500 euros for any 1x12" tube combo. Nothing to complain about it. If you are not able to repair these things by yourself, maybe it isn't your choice.

This little 25 watt two channel monster is powered by two EL84 power tubes and three 12AX7 pre-amp tubes. A small fan inside the pre-amp keeps this beast nice and cool. On the back it offers a Remote Switch Input, Effects loop send and recieve, 4 ohm output, and 8 ohm output.

On the front it has two input jacks, High Gain and low gain. Channel one (Clean Gain) Has a Bright switch (I find this useful)and a three band EQ. Channel two (ULtra Gain) has a push pull gain knob and it's own 3 band EQ. Importantly each channel, Clean Gain and Ultra Gain have thier own volume control. This amp also has a master Spring Reverb control.

In my opion this amp has all the features that most high end amps have, Marshal, Mesa, Randall Etc, Etc. And in some cases more. The only feature I wish this amp had was either a contour and or a presence control. Not that its in desperate need of one, I'm just spoiled buy my past Mesa's. Though I'm sure I could have the Reverb pot modded if I wish. I don't use reverb anyway.

A friend of mine has a DSL Marshal and when played together these two sound vary similar. The only difference being that my friend has to use a TS808 Tube Screamer to warm his tone up a bit. I would never dream of adding a Tube Screamer in front of this amp to add Distortion or warmth. This amp just does not need any help. So when speaking of tone think Marshal tone with a Tube Screamer crushing the front end and you have a Peavey Bravo.

The only draw back to this amp is the speaker. It is horrible in my opion. To get true tone out of this amp you have to either replace the speaker or run it through a cab. I run mine through a 4x12 cab and it made a 100% improvement on the tone. You'll read this a lot in the following reviews. Truth be told I'm tossing the combo and building a head shell for the Pre amp.

The only problem I've had with this amp is the effects loop. The amp would lose all volume and go whisper quite. I had a brand new Mesa Express do the same thing at one time. Just like the Mesa I put a patch cord in the effects loop and it took care of the problem. Maybe some day I will get it fixed.

I can't believe owners of this amp are parting with it so cheap. They are crazy. Just the power section alone in these amps are worth double if not triple what people are asking for these amps. Randall makes a 20 watt head called the RM20 that is powered by two EL84 tubes. They are asking for $700 dollars for this head. It is just the power section, it comes with no pre-amp, you have to buy that for $200 dollars. And the RM20 is only one channel. The Orange Tiny terror uses the same power section as the bravo. $600 dollars. Krank just released a low watt head for $1000+. Even if your not fond of the Bravo's pre amp section you can slave another pre amp through the Bravo's power section and get great low wattage tube tone. 20 watt tube tone is growing rare and hard to get.

you all know the features from previous posts

for a small tube combo, hell for a small combo period, it has a huge sound. if it were 25 more watts id use this amp period. i love the sound, its a shame it wont keep up at practice. oh and mine is the most silent tube amp ive ever had, no hiss no hum no feedback(yes ive played through it turned on)

dont know yet only been a week. but its usa made so im hopeful.

if it died of what would seem to be due to its age, id buy another one. it sounds freekin sweet. if it died after a serious of nerve racking failures id throw it out the window and never think twice about it, but then id do that with anything that gives me problems like that. i just simply dont have the time to mess with crap like that.

ok heres an update that i made for this baby.

i recentley jumped from the old tubes (EH el84 and svetlana preamps.) with the high gain kit from BOB at eurotube.com. now im not trying to sell here but this is jus an EXPERIENCE:

MERCY. it does have that extra gain bob describe. i dont even have to engage the ultra channel to get taht crunch rather than the dull sound of the normal drive channel using the previous tubes:P:P


also... the elderly man just below me, i respect u fully with ur reviews but id like to correct u.

WE DONT REVIEW HERE AT HC TO SELL STUFF ON EBAY. just simply exprience. also ur right about that hum. mine has it aswell on the ultra channel but if i place the amp head (yes head coz i chop the bravo in half) away like a metre or so using a long sturdy speaker cable, ull notice that hum or buzz is out. i think thats the trannies fault or could be the tubes ur working with. tubes i say coz that hum taht i have right now wast there with the previous tubes i hade b4 the JJ.

other tahn that, teh amp is completely stock except for one lil mod i did. was to amek teh ultra channel switchable on the footswitch over the reverb switch:P:P nice HUH!?!

Everyone has documented the features already. Roughly 20 watt, 1x12 tube combo (El-84's), reverb.

Up top in the directions it says to "be critical". I wish more people would be. Here is what I see. We all know that HC is used at times by people who are about to sell their item on Ebay. They write glowing reviews and then list. Happens all the time. I believe the recent spike in the price of these amps on Ebay might be the result of some of the reviews below and a sudden increase in these amps on Ebay.

I've owned two of these. I've tried everything to get the low-wattage tones I expected to find based on the reviews below: JJ's, Webers, Eminence, 2x12 cabs, 4x12 cabs. They've been gone over by a very experienced tech here in Houston. The amps are working properly. They just don't sound that great. One of them has an annoying buzz that seems to be coming from the chassis and is amplified by certain frequencies. Neither me or the tech can figure it out. (I had the same problem with a Peavey Special 130 back in the 80's). The clean/reverb channel can't compare to Fender, the drive channel can't compare to alot of better amps, the "ultra-gain" is harsh and grainy. Let's be honest: Peavey is a big company. It's made alot of gear. Their prices are fantastic. But if their stuff "really" sounded great wouldn't you read about the different models guitarists were using in Guitar Player interviews? You never do, except for the 5150's. And it's not just because the name Peavey doesn't have the elegance of Marshall. Tone would rule over any goofy name.
When these amps were sub-$200 they were a good deal for an average bedroom practice amp. Now, as they go above $250 plus shipping.....forget it. I'll give it a 7 for never breaking down.

Has held up without repair bills, but looking for the buzz cost me a bit extra.

Haven't dealt with them.

Been seriously playing 35 years. Owned lots of amps and guitars. If I could get the '54 Strat back I would. If I could get the Firebird back I would. The Bravos won't be staying around. Sorry to rain on everyones' parade, but I'm tired of this. Alot of Bravos have been turning up on Ebay over the last few months and I want people to know that there just might be some manipulating going on. If you can get one for $175----go for it. But $250-$300 plus $60-$70 shipping!! Please.