Peavey Bravo 112

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.

I'm not reviewing the whole amp & all features here. Just documenting a speaker upgrade. My Bravo original speaker was an Eminence as follows:

one set of #'s on the magnet: 70777104
Another set of #'s on the magnet: 12925 8 Ohms
Below that, also on magnet: 67-94320505 63

#'s printed on Cone: 1257-1

I replaced that with a vintage Celestion G12L-35 8 Ohm speaker, made in England.

This amp gets some really fantastic harmonic overtones in the drive channel, especially with the boost knob pulled out. With the Celestion G12L-35 installed, the clean channel now has much more bass, which totally surprised me because the magnet on the Celestion looks like less than half the size of the original Eminence magnet. I may try other speakers in the future but I had this just laying around and for now I'm quite pleased with it.

If you find one cheap - steal it!
I got mine for $100, which I believe was a really good deal. I brought my Ibanez S470 to test it out. When I pulled the gain boost knob out, the guy selling it was in the other room. When he heard it I saw him walk in with his jaw dropping. I quickly stopped playing and discretely pushed that knob back in while he complimented me on the awesome sound of "those ibanez guitars." I don't think the poor guy ever knew about the tone boost swtich and probably never engaged it during his ownership. He couldn't stop talking about how good that Ibanez guitar sounded through the amp and that he had to get one. I switched back to the clean channel and made some remark about how dull it sounded and asked if he'd take $75 for it. Too bad, price was firm at $100. I got out of there quick, Thanks - What a steal!!!

After reading reviews I bought this off ebay for $70 it must have been stored in someones shed or something because it was covered in dust & cobwebs, the grill was ripped but the electrics were fine - dont think it had been used for quite some time.

2 channel - clean & gain with a pull switch on gain for ULTRA Gain. Reverb, 20watts & purchase the footswitch from http://www.thomann.de

When I got the amp it had stock peavey tubes in it. After reading a few reviews I decided to replace these as the sound was pretty uncontrollable & thick fuzz. I opted for watford valves:

3x ECC83/12AX7A-C T.A.D CRYO
http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1491

2x EL84 Vintage Harma Cryo http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1389

I also replaced the speaker & grill
CELESTION 8-ohm Vintage 30

For a bedroom amp it's great. The clean is crystal plus the bright switch gives some extra versatility. The distortion is awsome - you can get a nice warm overdrive through to anything from a Metallica/Pantera rip. You'll need to play around with the settings but you really can get anything out of this thing with no added pedals - amazing! Noise is no issue

Never had an issue - been around for 15 years in a shed, as it's lasted this long I can see it lasting another 15!

Never had a need

I've been playing 10 years. This amp is highly recommended, it's fantastic for anyone who wants clean through to ripping metal with no additional footswitches. It's ugly as hell but it sounds great overall, and it's built like a tank.

Reverb isn't doing it, need digital

Excellent with right tubes and better speaker; currently a ported Eminence 2510 with a ribbon tweeter; truthful from 60Hz-15k its AMAZING!

As an update from my previous post this amp is 16 WATTS! EL84s put out 8watts each MAX x 2 = 16 WATTS

4 EL84 don't even put out 40 watts!

Peavey...built like tank

NA

Mine's a 1990 vintage, purchased of Ebay for $US289. power is 22 or 25 watts, this seems to vary between reviews. Typical 2-channel setup, clean and drive channels. The addition of a pull switch for more drive on the drive channel is an extra feature- bur not one I would use often as it gives more gain than you could ever really need, except for that one Pantera cover song. I use this as a jamming amp, it holds its own against a second guitarist, bass and drums. It does the basics very well - decent sound shaping with some basic tone controls, post and pre-gain. It has an effects loop input and an output for an extension speaker.

One thing that got me on this amp is the fantastic clean channel - it's superb. Drive channel is very 'Amaerican Metal' ie in your face overdriven hard rock fuzz. This can be tamed a bit by tube selection, but if overdone can be pretty fuzzy. Reverb is decent but don't go over 5-6, after that it doesn't sound right. When cranked on clean channel with a good humbucker equipped guitar this baby really comes into its own. I find that minimal pedals are required with this amp - let the tubes do the talking.

When I got the amp it had been road freighted to me, and an existing dry solder joint had cracked during travel. Otherwise it seems to be a fairly robust little amp, well put together from the bottom up. Otherwise I've never had a problem with it.

I contacted Peavey customer service for a schematic and a build date from the serial number - they came back to me within 24 hours. Otherwise I would take the amp to a local service tech for repairs, there's nothing too exotic about this amp that a decent tech couldn't fix.

I've been playing all kinds of gear for the last 20 years - this wouold have to be one of my better amp choices. If it went missing I suppose I might search for another one, failing that I'd probably revert to my Laney LC30.

features listed in every other review,,

ok,IVE HAVE JUST ABOUT EVERY TUBE AMP UNDER THE SUN,IM NOT GOING THRU THE LIST,I JUST FELT THE NEED TO GIVE A HONEST REVIEW OF THIS AMP,PULLED OUT OF A PAWN SHOP WITH SPIDER WEBS ECT,,NO KIDDING,$80.I HAVE A BUNCH OF EQUIPMENT LYING AROUND I EXPERAMENT ALOT,HERES WHAT I FOUND,,REPLACE THE SPEAKER WITH A EMINENCE GOVERNOR OR V-30.NEXT,REPLACE ALL TUBES WITH JJs,YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED.I WOULD COMPARE THE BRAVO TO A DSL401,BUT BETTER,IKNOW ITS ONLY 25WATTS BUT ITS SO CLOSE IN SOUND LEVELS,AND IT HAS A TIGHTER BOTTOM BUT NOT QUITE AS MUCH MID GIRTH,,IF YOU WANT A GOOD DISCRIPTION OF THE DISTORTION AND TONE WATCH THE G3 LIVE IN DENVER,CHECK OUT SATCHES TONE ON SATCH BOOGIE,THATS FOR THE DISTORTION SIDE OF THINGS,THE CLEAN IS REALLY REALLY GOOD MUCH BETTER THAN THE MARSHALL,BOTTOM LINE IS IF YOUR GOING TO USE THIS AMP LIVE IN A HARD HITTING ROCK STYLE YOU WILL NEED A EXTENTION CAB OR YOU WILL HAVE TO MIKE AND YOUR FINE,SAME GOES FOR THE DSL401,IF YOUR NOT IN A LOUD ROCK BAND,THIS AMP IS PERFECT FOR ANYTHING,A SWAP OUT WITH OTHER TUBES AND OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS,YES IVE OWNED DSL-TSL,SOLDANO LA TE DA,THE REVERB IS AWSOME ITS NOT FENDER BUT ITS AWSOME,COMPARED TO ALL THE LOW WATTAGE AMPS ON THE MARKET TODAY,ORANGE TINY-ASTROVERB.AND SO ON,,BOTTOME LINE IS THIS AMP WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME,BRAVO PEAVEY

ITS A PEAVEY.ILL GIVE IT TO MY GRAND KIDS,,,,AND THEY WILL GIVE IT TO THIERS,,,,

FOR WHAT

9.I HAVENT FOUND A 10

Its an old amp, stored in a barn (?) and full of dust/hay and making no sound so I bought it for $50, since its a Peavey and the never die.. I just want gain without a pedal, not Nu Sh*t tone either..

Has clean channel I don't need and reverb screams if set above "5" but a digital is cheap and an echo sound nice. Not a true dual channel, simply drops another gain stage in for "lead" like most amps.
Haven't used loops, just got it alive. It was the 30c heater fuse for the EL84s and the driving 12AX7.. now it rocks! Plenty of power even with the limp speaker (a necessary upgrade if you plan to "gig" or tour with GNR) Its a killer tube amp with a few caveats (below

Sounds needed tweaking; the stock tubes had decent sound but the "ultra" setting with the pre gain pulled out killed the tone. With the limp speaker (and low volume levels...I have neighbors..) made the tone die. I pulled the Peavey branded 12AX7s and dropped in:
Sylvania V1-JAN 12AX7WA, V2-Amperex 12ax7A, V3-GE 12AX7WA that I bought from an old geezer at a HAM shop years ago. Nirvana..
Even the clean channel sounds great and I hate clean!
I haven't even pulled the "ultra" gain and its liquid, breathing rumbling in its tone.

I run a heavily modded 1982 Carvin DC150 which I bought new, it has Sperzel Tuners, Graphtech nut, SS frets, modded Kahler Hybrid 7300 with the SS rollers and only a bridge Carvin M22SD.
Its well sheilded and quiet until it isn't.

Reverb still screams, and the speaker need replacing.

It did break...fixed easy though and still lives. Historically Peavey is a solid "10"

NA

Cheap + great with right tubes = 8