Peavey Bravo 112

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

1991 vintage. 2 channel, separate eq(passive on clean, active on ultra), reverb, 20watts of el84 godliness, $220 out the door in '91.

found the old fender 666 rule applies to the clean channel-volume @ 6,bass @ 6, mid @ 3, treb @ 2, bright switch on. Works every time, just turn your axe volume up or down for the crunch you want. Ultra channel's gain can be insane, but found the solution- removed the reverb side of the footswitch and rewired to serve the pull-gain switch. Basically it makes two channels out of the Ultra. Wanna realy liven 'er up? Get an old (mine's from the '70's) Samsonite suitcase, gut it and cut out the amp sized face. Stick a celestion G12-70in it, and go melt some faces.

It's 17 years old, and survived all my surgeries, including nuking the feedback line. Built in the Peavey trad of being a brick.

They are great. Emailed me schematics, ect. Amp never broke, soooo.

Had the Fenders, ect. they're cool, but I'm sorry they are no match for this oft overlooked little tone monster. I could rave but what's the use you either get it or you don't. With the mods I did, this amp will smoke most that cost 3X the price. $220+75 for the speaker and $5 for the suitcase=$300, now find me a sexier, better sounding 3 channel amp. Wanna sell one, contact me.

Everyone's covered this well???2 channels, separate high and low gain guitar inputs, bright switch, controllable reverb level, separate volume and tone controls/EQ for each channel (reverb and channel selection can be switched with optional pedal), ultra drive pull switch on preamp volume for dirty channel, effects loop, external (aux) speaker jack. Bypass switch would have been handy, no big deal not to have one.

The Bravo was one of many "PAG" (paralell axis geometry) tube amps produced by Peavey with the tubes contained in the amp chassis housing lying prone rather than hanging down externally from the housing behind the speaker as in more conventional tube amps. This was supposed to diminish vibration directly affecting the tubes, and unwanted tube "howling" due to microphonic tube response to speaker vibration. Tubes in Peavey's PAG amps are firmly mounted between the base and foam padding at their tops. I suppose the confinement necessitated fan cooling for the tubes, and the muted fan noise is sometimes apparent to friends when the band takes a break.

The little box is pretty heavy, presumably because the cabinet is 3/4" particle board, but I'm reluctant to build a new wood or plywood cab, since I'm unsure whether the sound would be changed for the worse. It may be best to have a heavy rather dead (acoustically) box rather than a resonant lighter enclosure.

This is my second amp, the first was an 80's era two-channel SS Fender Montreaux which had a lovely clean channel and cost about $200.00 more. The Bravo was my introduction to tube groove, and I bought it new in late May of '93 after hearing the Coconut Grove music store instructor/club guitar guy playing one and raving about it. The overdriven sound was so much richer than the Montreux's puny grind that I couldn't believe the Bravo was out the door for $364.00. The clean channel was also gorgeous and loud.

The amp died when I dared to plug in my active Takamine acoustic. Don't remember which input I used, and don't know if the amp would have crapped out anyway or not. Spent $44.00 for a repair, and the amp's character seemed to be adversely affected. Later discovered mismatched tubes had been installed, and replaced them with "Groove tube's" myself. I suspect that the amp's tone still is a bit compromised by the tubes, and I'd love to get the original sound back. The clean channel seemed to lose some headroom as well, and I suspected the speaker was a bit frayed after some loud club gigs and rehearsals. Replaced it with a Weber Ceramic California 12, but didn't regain the clean headroom, and actually lost considerable high end response that the original Blue Marvel Peavey speaker delivered, so I put the Blue Marvel back in. Later discovered that turning the bass knob on the clean channel down produced a cleaner tone at high volumes and reduced the farting effect.

Had some irritating resonance and buzzing that seemed to be coming from the silly aluminum grill cloth retainers which I removed and discarded. Built a birch baffle to replace the particle board stock baffle and put a metal speaker grill over the speaker. Not fond of the Pignose aesthetic, but the buzzing resonance is gone.

I don't find the reverb lacking as some do, but like most, don't turn it up much past 4 as a rule. It does add moderate noise. Switching to the clean channel and turning the reverb level to zero reduces (but doesn't eliminate) the pop my Bravo makes on shutdown.

I've never tried it with an external cab.

I'm content with the current sound, but suspect some tweaking (tubes or speaker) could improve the sound. I'd give the new stock tone a 9.5, and even the current tone is pretty amazing for an amp under $400.00. Like many reviewers, I'm at a loss to understand why this amp went out of production. Is it possible it was overlooked by the public and didn't sell?

Tubes have died and fuses have burned out on me occasionally. Peavey didn't make the fuses very accessible???replacement requires removing the amp, which is a pain, but may explain part of the low price. Test fuses dismounted, some will show continuity if tested in place!

I was unable to find a source to buy the original tubes and Blue Marvel speaker despite searching the internet and Peavey site. Despite all the talk about aftermarket tubes and speakers, I'd love to "blueprint" the amp with all original parts.

I've been playing electrics since '81 or so, and I'd rate this amp as a steal at the price. I want more clean volume on the clean side (the way I remember it had when new), and I'm curious about the V2 pre-amp tube "gain-tame" mods other reviewers mention (email me at: seekir at aloha dot net if you know which is V2, and how to do this one). I'd certainly snap up a replacement Bravo if I lost this one and found another.

yes ... the amp is 15 years old. according to the guy i spoked with at PV CS says the amps made in 91.

yes the amp can do van halen (with the right set of tubes and speaks), can do all GNR songs (welcome, paradise, sweet child) everything .. again with the right tubes and speakers. blues, pop (just turn the gain low) can do pretty much anything.

its got 2 channels and a gain boost at the channel 2 section. yes channels switching is possible but didnt came with FS-2 when i bought it used. for like 3 months ago.

effect loop,no head phone and has 2 jacks for speakers.. one that supports 8-16 ohms minimum main spekaers and the other than can load an 8-16 ohms speakers 4ohms minimum load together with the main speakers.

feature i wish it had? i dunno.. a standby switch maybe? but not nesseccarily needed.. the tubes held for 15 f'''g years.. stock.. when i bought it, it had the original stock PV rugedized 12ax7`s supreme and the power tubes that what appeared to be USSR tubes.. i dont know that company but its says so on the power tubes. it still sounded good and worked good when i got it but of the fear of the amp i retubed it to new ones...

yes.. it does have enough power. 25 watts. dont let that fool you.. its not the watts that makes the amp load.. its the speakers that u have in it.. u just need to get a speaker that has more SPL or Decibel...i just dont know??how niave can ppl be just coz they see 25 wats meaning it wont keep up with a 50 watter or perhaps, a 100watter. a 105 Db SPL is much more louder than a 95 Db. but no.. it wount match a plexi.. thats over the line OK!!!

by the way.. it has 3 12ax7 on the preamp and 2 el84 on the power stage. it can take the NOS tubes aswell...no need mods as like some new commers noawadys.. destined to go with sovteks.

"What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?" mentioned above.

yes the clean channel breaks up nice sometimes roughly., depending on the tubes used..somewhere at the mid vol..

how brutal the dist?... its like got hit by a train thats how brutal it can get.. and even at hi gain, the notes are still ringing out clearly even striking them quickly instead of raking them.. it never ever ever ever sounds like a boss metal zone...

im using it with humbuckers.. JB??s, costum costum SH-11, and stock epi...

it suits my music well as mentioned above..

nope... no noise at all..its got a built in noise reduction.. very smart eh?? YEAH.. just use ur head tho... dont stand near it when playing other wise ull get lots of feedback when u engage the boost dist..so if u know that u can avoid that, why not do it then than just go bashing that "uummmmm my amp is so noisy blabablablabala" .... dude.. stay abit far from the amp ok.. and also ground that amp on te out let.. its quieter with the earth prong.

also...

the tubes im using right now are svetlana preamps... and EH el84. yeah ill be changing those EH to JJ from bob eurotube(nice guy btw.) soon ... but still sounds good with the tubes i have right now.. ill be keeping the svets tho..

i know the svets dont normaly last than sovteks and jj but on this amp... man ... if the stock tubes still going strong for 15 years then this svets would do... also the svetlanas are under the sovtek supervision....NO NO NO.. sovteks and the svets are NOT thesame.. look at the tube construction...

if u want the original svetlanas then get the winged C logo... coz they have change that name on the year 2000 when the copyrights went to another comp. thats making tubes in russia somewhere...

so if u find the winged c tubes or svets made before 2000 then theyre the originals from ST. petersburg russia.. they still make it today...

also... tubes wount sound great right of the box.. they need to get worn in just like speakers need to... just like ur fingers when u do warm ups... so think about it to burn those tubes and wait for some months instead of going techy and make bias adjustments coz it sounded too cold.

ok lets move on.

the amps made 15 years ago.. now thats something... the tubes were still stock when i got the amp for 3 months ago.... the amps never been open.. ( i know coz theres no marks on the top of the screws, theyre all dark black).
the amps never been service.. it neednt had to...

i opened the amp.,. smells, looks sounds new.. no problems with loose joints..
opening the amp is easier than most amps out there that tend to ram stuff too much in a little amount of space as possible.. this ones easy to remove..

u need to take the speaker buffles out w??ch is easier to do so and take the chassis out...

and a word of advice... dont be too lazy to open the amp just to change tubes ok... please ppl... take the amp out.. hold the PCB on the tubes section and very slowly gentley and so tenderley rock the the tubes side to side while gently pulling or pushhing in...

i do this so that u wount break anything .. so the sockets wount jam.. so take care of her and shell let u enjoy her for a long more years...

also. get an electric fan. when playing, open the little tube cover at the back so to let vetilation work well. the amp has a very little PC fan at the side and its not even pointing to the tube coz theres no vents that directly blow the tube from the airflow.. and YES the amp gets hot....seriously the amp gets hot... even tho with an electric fan at the back of the amp... i can feel the top wood of the amp gets a tad hot but not much as oppose to not putting a fan at the back....
do this.. take care of her.. i know its bitc'hy but .. this amps not in production anymore.. also the power tranformer get kinda warm. thats normal. it should be. if its cold then u have a problem. so make sure to inlcude that with the fan aswell..

u dont need to put the fan at level 3 u know. just put it at 1,, just so theres something blowing the tubes. dont put the fan too close... otherwise itd be too cold for the hot tubes and might break the tubes.. so watch out.
the output trannys ( the little ones) should stay steal cold throghout... otherwise theres something wrong.. only the mains tranny should be a tad warm.

oh...

mine came with a working reverb. and i agree with all. the rev. sound overacting over level 3.. so i mostly just put it at 3 or below.

like i said iv. dealt with the guy at PV.. i forgot his name.. i asked him. he anskers quicly.. got the manaul and schematics from him.. anyone needs it, contact me at kahelle_hife13@hotmail.com


the guy was so nice..friendly like it should be..

no need for repair.. no problems.. not looking or hoping for that anyways... no warranty from the company but got a 6 months guarantee from the shop i bought it from.

service personel? me in my place have plenty of ppl that call themselves amp guru.. sure they know how to fix this amp..

ok ... over all,,

*2 channels, boost on the dist channel. indipendent EQ (nice feat), brght switch for clean

*no master volume.

*3x 12ax7 pre and 2x el84 power.

*no headphone jacks... its meant to be pushed.

*2x speaker jacks. one main one external.

*footswitch that supports any FS-2 switch for channel switching and reverb on/off ... so unnessecary with the reverb.. might be better with the boost on/off instead... that would be my wish..

*no stanby... was not desined to have one. some amps sometimes doesnt need one... common, if it needed,..why would it still kept the stock tubes for 15 years.

*autobias. meaning, takes any rating of tubes, so long theyre matched and stick them in, remeber the procedures i explained above.

been playing 4 years.. not much but i know what tone is... im not naive, i know and determine knows what i want....
if it got stolen ill be heart broken.. coz im so caring for the amp. but i wouldnt replace it. but will buy it soon as i find one..

im not even using it much.. as im so frightend of it.. such a nice sounding, no noise very reliable amp..

anything id share? yes... its a diamond in the rough.. new tubes, speakers. it beats the, PV (sorry, but the newer products connot match to this bravo); laneys (i do have the VC-30 class A, diff. sound. diff. story, nice 2nd amp above the bravo), mesa (this bravo can sound mesa with 4x12 V30 just like that dude below stated), orange, hiwatts, marshalls (sorry marshall but ur newer ones has so much reliab. probs. comapare to the bravo.. mine sounds better than urs period) currently new production..

use this with a 4x12 with weber mini mass 50 watts and its done, ull shit sideways.. hahaha

also.. one more thing... dont be such a bi'ctch that think "oh the jacks get jacked off all the time coz its PCB" dude u need to take tare of the gear and stop acting as if u dont even care just coz the amps cheap. u need to be gentle with the pulling and pushing of the connectors. support it with fingers of ur both hands.. make sure u only get a small light click or better yet, no click at all when u pull or push in that cable.

so do all u ppl out there a favor. hunt this baby down. this will go up in value. im not selling mine ever... ill be a rockstar someday and i swear i take this amp with me to the death. even tho marshall would offer me 2 used 1968 marshall plexi heads. id still be keeping my bravo.

no im not a sales person nor trying to endorse. im not over hype either.. simply my humble opinions on the bravo.

hope these helped

yes ... the amp is 15 years old. according to the guy i spoked with at PV CS says the amps made in 91.

yes the amp can do van halen (with the right set of tubes and speaks), can do all GNR songs (welcome, paradise, sweet child) everything .. again with the right tubes and speakers. blues, pop (just turn the gain low) can do pretty much anything.

its got 2 channels and a gain boost at the channel 2 section. yes channels switching is possible but didnt came with FS-2 when i bought it used. for like 3 months ago.

effect loop,no head phone and has 2 jacks for speakers.. one that supports 8-16 ohms minimum main spekaers and the other than can load an 8-16 ohms speakers 4ohms minimum load together with the main speakers.

feature i wish it had? i dunno.. a standby switch maybe? but not nesseccarily needed.. the tubes held for 15 f'''g years.. stock.. when i bought it, it had the original stock PV rugedized 12ax7`s supreme and the power tubes that what appeared to be USSR tubes.. i dont know that company but its says so on the power tubes. it still sounded good and worked good when i got it but of the fear of the amp i retubed it to new ones...

yes.. it does have enough power. 25 watts. dont let that fool you.. its not the watts that makes the amp load.. its the speakers that u have in it.. u just need to get a speaker that has more SPL or Decibel...i just dont know??how niave can ppl be just coz they see 25 wats meaning it wont keep up with a 50 watter or perhaps, a 100watter. a 105 Db SPL is much more louder than a 95 Db. but no.. it wount match a plexi.. thats over the line OK!!!

by the way.. it has 3 12ax7 on the preamp and 2 el84 on the power stage. it can take the NOS tubes aswell...no need mods as like some new commers noawadys.. destined to go with sovteks.

"What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?" mentioned above.

yes the clean channel breaks up nice sometimes roughly., depending on the tubes used..somewhere at the mid vol..

how brutal the dist?... its like got hit by a train thats how brutal it can get.. and even at hi gain, the notes are still ringing out clearly even striking them quickly instead of raking them.. it never ever ever ever sounds like a boss metal zone...

im using it with humbuckers.. JB??s, costum costum SH-11, and stock epi...

it suits my music well as mentioned above..

nope... no noise at all..its got a built in noise reduction.. very smart eh?? YEAH.. just use ur head tho... dont stand near it when playing other wise ull get lots of feedback when u engage the boost dist..so if u know that u can avoid that, why not do it then than just go bashing that "uummmmm my amp is so noisy blabablablabala" .... dude.. stay abit far from the amp ok.. and also ground that amp on te out let.. its quieter with the earth prong.

also...

the tubes im using right now are svetlana preamps... and EH el84. yeah ill be changing those EH to JJ from bob eurotube(nice guy btw.) soon ... but still sounds good with the tubes i have right now.. ill be keeping the svets tho..

i know the svets dont normaly last than sovteks and jj but on this amp... man ... if the stock tubes still going strong for 15 years then this svets would do... also the svetlanas are under the sovtek supervision....NO NO NO.. sovteks and the svets are NOT thesame.. look at the tube construction...

if u want the original svetlanas then get the winged C logo... coz they have change that name on the year 2000 when the copyrights went to another comp. thats making tubes in russia somewhere...

so if u find the winged c tubes or svets made before 2000 then theyre the originals from ST. petersburg russia.. they still make it today...

also... tubes wount sound great right of the box.. they need to get worn in just like speakers need to... just like ur fingers when u do warm ups... so think about it to burn those tubes and wait for some months instead of going techy and make bias adjustments coz it sounded too cold.

ok lets move on.

the amps made 15 years ago.. now thats something... the tubes were still stock when i got the amp for 3 months ago.... the amps never been open.. ( i know coz theres no marks on the top of the screws, theyre all dark black).
the amps never been service.. it neednt had to...

i opened the amp.,. smells, looks sounds new.. no problems with loose joints..
opening the amp is easier than most amps out there that tend to ram stuff too much in a little amount of space as possible.. this ones easy to remove..

u need to take the speaker buffles out w??ch is easier to do so and take the chassis out...

and a word of advice... dont be too lazy to open the amp just to change tubes ok... please ppl... take the amp out.. hold the PCB on the tubes section and very slowly gentley and so tenderley rock the the tubes side to side while gently pulling or pushhing in...

i do this so that u wount break anything .. so the sockets wount jam.. so take care of her and shell let u enjoy her for a long more years...

also. get an electric fan. when playing, open the little tube cover at the back so to let vetilation work well. the amp has a very little PC fan at the side and its not even pointing to the tube coz theres no vents that directly blow the tube from the airflow.. and YES the amp gets hot....seriously the amp gets hot... even tho with an electric fan at the back of the amp... i can feel the top wood of the amp gets a tad hot but not much as oppose to not putting a fan at the back....
do this.. take care of her.. i know its bitc'hy but .. this amps not in production anymore.. also the power tranformer get kinda warm. thats normal. it should be. if its cold then u have a problem. so make sure to inlcude that with the fan aswell..

u dont need to put the fan at level 3 u know. just put it at 1,, just so theres something blowing the tubes. dont put the fan too close... otherwise itd be too cold for the hot tubes and might break the tubes.. so watch out.
the output trannys ( the little ones) should stay steal cold throghout... otherwise theres something wrong.. only the mains tranny should be a tad warm.

oh...

mine came with a working reverb. and i agree with all. the rev. sound overacting over level 3.. so i mostly just put it at 3 or below.

like i said iv. dealt with the guy at PV.. i forgot his name.. i asked him. he anskers quicly.. got the manaul and schematics from him.. anyone needs it, contact me at kahelle_hife13@hotmail.com


the guy was so nice..friendly like it should be..

no need for repair.. no problems.. not looking or hoping for that anyways... no warranty from the company but got a 6 months guarantee from the shop i bought it from.

service personel? me in my place have plenty of ppl that call themselves amp guru.. sure they know how to fix this amp..

ok ... over all,,

*2 channels, boost on the dist channel. indipendent EQ (nice feat), brght switch for clean

*no master volume.

*3x 12ax7 pre and 2x el84 power.

*no headphone jacks... its meant to be pushed.

*2x speaker jacks. one main one external.

*footswitch that supports any FS-2 switch for channel switching and reverb on/off ... so unnessecary with the reverb.. might be better with the boost on/off instead... that would be my wish..

*no stanby... was not desined to have one. some amps sometimes doesnt need one... common, if it needed,..why would it still kept the stock tubes for 15 years.

*autobias. meaning, takes any rating of tubes, so long theyre matched and stick them in, remeber the procedures i explained above.

been playing 4 years.. not much but i know what tone is... im not naive, i know and determine knows what i want....
if it got stolen ill be heart broken.. coz im so caring for the amp. but i wouldnt replace it. but will buy it soon as i find one..

im not even using it much.. as im so frightend of it.. such a nice sounding, no noise very reliable amp..

anything id share? yes... its a diamond in the rough.. new tubes, speakers. it beats the, PV (sorry, but the newer products connot match to this bravo); laneys (i do have the VC-30 class A, diff. sound. diff. story, nice 2nd amp above the bravo), mesa (this bravo can sound mesa with 4x12 V30 just like that dude below stated), orange, hiwatts, marshalls (sorry marshall but ur newer ones has so much reliab. probs. comapare to the bravo.. mine sounds better than urs period) currently new production..

use this with a 4x12 with weber mini mass 50 watts and its done, ull shit sideways.. hahaha

also.. one more thing... dont be such a bi'ctch that think "oh the jacks get jacked off all the time coz its PCB" dude u need to take tare of the gear and stop acting as if u dont even care just coz the amps cheap. u need to be gentle with the pulling and pushing of the connectors. support it with fingers of ur both hands.. make sure u only get a small light click or better yet, no click at all when u pull or push in that cable.

so do all u ppl out there a favor. hunt this baby down. this will go up in value. im not selling mine ever... ill be a rockstar someday and i swear i take this amp with me to the death. even tho marshall would offer me 2 used 1968 marshall plexi heads. id still be keeping my bravo.

no im not a sales person nor trying to endorse. im not over hype either.. simply my humble opinions on the bravo.

hope these helped