Peavey Butcher

Amp was made around 1985 and I purchased it in late 1985. No effects loop. More than enough power. All tube. I bought it because it was way cheaper than a Marshall and it supposedly had a good distortion sound, which is all I wanted. I used the amp for band practice but got rid of it before I ever started gigging. I found the clean tone better than the distortion. I owned the Butcher for about 5 years, roughly 1985 to 1990.

I use a Randy Rhoads Jackson (1985) with a duncan humbucker and an Ovation Ultra GS (1984)with a jackson humbucker and Fender Jaguar (1964). At the time I was playing strictly thrash/speed metal. I am amazed that some people think this amp can even approach a good Marshall! It is not even on the same planet. It had a dull, lifeless distortion that is best suited for boring classic rock played to depressed boring people in dive bars. I had to use a Boss GE-7 just to get by. Without the GE-7 this amp was laughable. I never did have any problems with noise. I put the Butcher head to head with a Peavey all tube power amp and an ADA MP1 and the ADA rig blew it away. I replaced my Butcher with a Metaltronix head and ran another side to side comparison. Once again, the Butcher lost big time. The other rigs had much better, thicker distortion with fuller sounds than the Butcher. I have heard that with extensive modifications this amp can sound similar to a Marshall, but it would take so much time and energy and money to find someone to do the work properly and it still could sound bad. This head was only in production for a short time for a reason!

Like all Peavey gear I have owned, this amp was bullet proof. I have been using peavey speaker cabs, bass heads, and practice amps for 20 years plus. No peavey gear has ever broke down on me or gave me any problems. I would never play a gig without a backup amp. It would be a great back up amp if you like to carry heavy things. The only problem I would forsee when using this as a back up, is that the audience may mistake the Butcher for a 25 year old solid state practice amp covered with a wet blanket.

never had to use them

I have been playing for 23 years and run Peavey 4x12 cabs with 85 watt celestions exclusively since 1985. I also have a Crate practice amp and a Charvette. Usually I use a Marshall Valvestate head but occasionally use the Metaltronix. I sold this amp to help pay off the Metaltronix and would never buy another Butcher unless I could find a heavily modified version that sounded like a Marshall for 1/10th the price.

Not many features.The channel switching was aggravating before,but know I use a tone works ax1500g which has 2 channels per program so that works for me.I got mine back in 1986 and have been trouble free except for 1 blown speaker.I have the 2 4x12 peavey celestion cabs with it.This thing is powerful for all my styles of play from metal to blues and some nice clean tones to.

I mainly play my 85 tokai through it and it cranks.the hum balance adjustment makes this thing really quiet when you want it to be.I play my 72 strat for cleaner sounds.I've tried lots of amps over the years and this one has alot of power and better sound then most and for a cheaper price.I love marshalls too but if im not using my butcher im using my cybertwin.

Hands down on this category.Mines gone through years of rough wear especially in my younger punk gigs in the late 80's.Like alot of other people say it probably could withstand a nuclear blast

n/a

Ive been playing for 18 years and if thing was stolen I would definely find another one.Nothing compares with tube heads,something the solid state guys are always trying to emulate...good luck.But the head is very heavy its a bummer luggin it around.I would definitly recommend this head though especially since they are underated and the more bang for your buck applies here.So get one if you can find one and before people start figuring out how much these things should go for.

This amp was first manufactured in 1985, i dont know exactly what year mine is. This amp is versitle but also simple. It has a high gain channel and a low gain channel but no channel switching. It has no effects loop or headphone jack(who needs that?) but it does have a booster input which allows you to drive other amps. The lack of effects loop doesnt really matter much to me, running effects through the front end of the amp is no big deal unless you are using lots of pedals. If I buy anymore effects i'll probably get a loop installed on it which is no big deal. I use this amp for everything, practicing on my own, band practices, etc. I havent had the chance to play out with it yet but i have had it up to gig volumes, trust me, you wont need anything louder than this unless you are deaf. THIS AMP IS ALL TUBE which is the only way to go. I have heard countless amps claiming to emulate tubes perfectly, nope they don't. Whenever I get into an argument about which is better solid state or tube I always win with the line, "Then why is it that 90% of solid state amps try to emulate tube amps if solid state amps sound better?" This amp has 3 different ohm jacks to drive anywhere from 4 to 16 ohm speakers. It also has a hum balance switch which is one of it's best features i think. It allows it to be played at high volumes with moderate to high distortion and still remain quiet. It has Low Mid and High EQ adjustments and a presence control which is the equivelent of a bright switch, only it is more versitle as a knob because you can set exacly how bright or dark the sound is. It has basic gain controls, pre and post. Saying this amp is heavy is an understatment. I read many reviews on here that said it was heavy but I figured they were just looking for something to write about. THIS AMP IS VERY HEAVY!, heavier than my cabinet. Very simple but effective.

I use alot of different guitars through this, my main guitar is a Squier limited edition affintiy strat. I have EMG active humbuckers (81's)in the neck and bridge position, i also use a Epiphone SG through it sometimes, and once in awile i'll run my stock Squier strat and Squier showmaster(p.o.s) through it. I play it through a Crate 4x12 with Crate speakers in it. This amp is great for crunchy distortion and the clean channel is absolutly pristine, though with the preamp cranked and descent volume it will overdrive nicley. This amp is very quiet and anyone you says diferently is blind and didnt see the hum balance on the rear. This amp was designed for hard rock. The distortion it produces is great, i havent heard any amps distortion that I like better than this. The EQ definatly leans towards the highs and the midrange. The owners manual (can be obtained for free at peavey.com) says that it was designed with less low eq because it takes away from the mids and highs. This doesnt mean that it wont produce a bassy sound, palm mutes are very pronounced and thick, but when playing normal chords and leads you will notice that the mids and highs are very defined and the lows are present but not out in front. My EQ settings are LOW:10 MID:7 HIGH:7 and I usually have the presence control any where from 5 to 10. The distorion is not as brutal as a Dual Rectifier, it is much closer (almost identical actually) to a jcm800. I like it this way, I can go from Tom Morello sounding distortion to Jimi sounding, to grungy, and anything in between. it basically distorts to any sound except death metal, black metal or, nu metal type distortions. It does classic metal like Black Sabbath, old Metallica, and Van Halen very good. The clean channel is award worthy though. I rarely use it because of the style I play (Hard Rock, Metal) but I would honestly have bought this amp for the clean channel alone. I bought this amp without hearing it of ebay and I have never regretted it. I trusted the good reveiws on here and got lucky.

This amp was shipped from Alabama to Connecticut with nothing breaking. It was shipped uninsured UPS ground. Anyone with experience will tell you that UPS breaks alot of stuff. I was told that they carry packages on their shoulders and when they get them to where they are carring them to, they are dropped there. This is a heavy piece of eqipment that would be very easy to drop. It arived to my door with no damage other than what was shown in the ebay desription. Reliablity is usally the downfall of most tube amps, this one is the exeption. I would and will gig without a back up and never think twice about it. It is built with super thick wood and tolex that looks like they ripped it off a rhino's ass. This amp came to me with corroded inputs that made bad conections with the guitar cables. I sprayed some contact cleaner down into them and havent had a bad connection since except for once with a cheesy 50 cent cable. This corrosion was do to neglect on the sellers part, but if he neglected it and corroded inputs is the only problem that came of it I think it's safe to say this is a reliable amp. It's from the late 80's and still has the original tubes in it and I have never had it serviced. The guy I bought it from might have but i doubt it. Peavey sells solid products.

Never had to deal with Peavey for anything. The warranty was obviously expired by the time I got this amp but it is probably older than me and in better shape than i am, i dont think i'll ever have have it repaired except to replace the tubes eventually. The Peavey website is so helpful. They have a tool on the homepage that allows you to type in any Peavey model name and search the site for an owners manual free. This is the second Peavey product I've owned and I've never had a problem with them. I wont give a rating because i've never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for close eight years. I own a Peavey Backstage practice amp and an original late 60's Fender Pro Reverb(awesome). The Butcher is my favorite. I would love to see someone try to steal this thing, they would need a forklift to lift it off the cab. In the event it was stolen I would buy another. Hopefully that wouldnt happen because I would be pissed. I love everything about it and would not change anything. It's so simple but so versatile and sounds so nice. I compared it to and chose it over JCM 800's, JCM 900's, Fender M-80's, Peavy 5150's, Fender Showman, Randall RH100 and many others. Everytime I found a new amp I would decide that "this is it, this is what i'm going to buy" but everytime, I came back to the butcher because it sounded like a better deal. This amp defines "more for your money", and "best bang for your buck". It is so underated. If you get the chance to try one out, try it. These are available on ebay frequenlty and I have seen them elsewhere in music stores on the net. Buy one before everyone else finds out about them and prices go up.

This amp is a little piece of history. It was built around 1985 (according to owner's manual downloaded from the Peavey site)- and is very similar to early 80's Marshalls in configurations (but uses 6l6s unlike Marshalls), especially the Jcm 800. It is a very simple amp, no fx loops, one channel, etc- however I am sure it can be modded to include all that stuff- the tolex encasing is big enough! I play metal. I also like to have good clean sounds for dynamics. It does both, but is similar to a Marshall when doing the high gain thing. You have to roll back the volume. However, the clean of just that alone is better than half of the previous amps I've owned. Very warm, very rich. Awesome tube amp, though an fx loop would be nice. I like to use some fx and am still figuring out what works with this thing. I gave features a 4 because I'm still trying to figure out how to use certain pedals with the thing without it being noisy, etc. But then again I like things a bit over the top and haven't spent enough time setting things right. So an FX loop would be nice- and a way to switch between low and high gain, maybe a alternating switch to lower the wattage to 60 watts, etc. But sometimes the best things in life are simple, eh?

Amazing tone, for such a value. I have no idea why they discontinued this thing, probably to make way for the Ultra series of Peavey. This one is the granddaddy of the 5150. When cranked- it does Metallica, Megadeth, Maiden to a tee. My nads shake, the walls quake. This amp kicks major ass! I can't believe previous reviewers claimed this didn't do metal! It outdoes a lot of newer Marshalls! This is a high quality, shredders amp! I use it with a Carvin 2x12 and various Jacksons. The Carvin has two Vintage 30 clones inside, so it does really well when pushed. The tone is marvelous- and the "lead boost" mentioned by a previous reviewer is definitely present. I don't know if thats the type of tubes it uses or what. It kicks ass whatever it is.

No diode clipping distortion (just tube excellence), and not a big risk of shit being fried because its so simple!
I've owned several Peaveys over the years. Theyre not always the greatest, but this is a case in point where these things still sound good, and of course are still around nearly 20 years later. If it had any dependability problems, I'm sure it would have been modded for other shit, but it doesn't so I doubt it has had too many problems- other than changing the tubes every once in awhile. Ok, heres the kicker- I've posted on many forums about this sucker, before and after buying it - I've had a few professional amp techs (one in paticular has done work for such guys as George Lynch) say its one of the most underrated amps they've encountered, and it has a reputation of being better and more dependable than a lot of newer amps. Think about it- I got this for $100- with a trade in of a very shitty, shoddy amp. I got more than I ever expected- if you see one of these- pick it up! Its definitely a "hidden" treasure.

I wish the Peavey website had Schematics available, but I haven't contacted them other than asking about a "similarity" between this amp and a paticular other one (hint hint). They seemed nice and gave me a history lesson about this amp and other later Peaveys. I think you may have to pay for schematics, but we'll see because I'd like to maybe start learning on how to work on amps.

This amp kicks ass. I really like the simplicity but wish it had an fx loop and something to switch the inputs (maybe just another channel all together). Other than those complaints, I haven't had any thoughts on why this wasn't a worthwhile purchase. I might be buying more amps with better features, but this is going to be a mainstay of my tone and when I get another band together, shows- for years to come.

The Butcher has no channel switching, effects loop etc etc but that's why I like it (get over it people, effects loops and channel switching are very late 80's and SOUND like it too...) It purely plug in and turn it up loud with plenty of power to spare.

The Butcher has got plenty of grunt but at the same time is very fat and warm. I plug into the low gain to get a clean sound and then a external overdrive box for gain and variety of floor effects and into a '91 Strat. I play straight-ahead rock and at multiple rock band gigs I've had Marshall owners eyeing it enviously! I don't use the high gain so I can't really comment on that sound.

Extremely reliable. I've owned mine for 13 years and it's broken down only once. But I having said that I've had it serviced once every couple of years. I gig without a backup because I'm that confident with it (touch wood!)

Never bothered

If it were stolen I would be very upset because in 15 years of playing I've never seen another (I live in Australia). I've tried out plenty of other amps of the years (Marshall, Vox, Fender) just to compare and none have come close to the Butcher as far as getting nice fat warm sound with plenty of grunt (in my opinion). I know it's popular to use a Marshall but seriously if you want a different sound from every other rock player, break the mould and buy a Butcher (if you can find one!)

When we put the KT-66 tubes in it opened a Pandora's Box of tonal pleasure and it sounded very decent with just regular 6L6's but nowheres close to the Genelex clones. With the KT's the only effect
you'll desire is the control knobs on your instrument and perhaps a wah for the head stuff. I don't use this for small clubs I use Fenders for clubbin'. This is for Ballrooms and outdoors; I use Behringer 4X12 Cabinets (mono). With the 6L6's it had the Volume of a Major with the KT-66's it's just a little bit louder than a SuperBassman 1959. I'd like to get 2 or 3 more of these cause there
won't be anymore built. Transfomers are like Partridges that have been
"Lou Ferrigno'd". Peavey must have lost his shirt when he built these
I can't imagine what modern costs would be on equipment like this. No wonder Nugent switched, with transformers like the Butcher's which I'm assuming were carried over we're talking much more juice than even a Matamp (great amp too). The Amp Is The Feature, This amp should be the reference point when referring to "bang for the buck".
You can aqquire any tone you wish, picture a Fender Deluxe Circuit powered by Plutonium, that's what Butchers,Matamps,and Dumbles are about. I should give "honorable mention" to certain Marshalls that are being produced but they've become a little to fragile for my tastes, no longer a roadworthy amp unless you've got a tech with you.
The KT-66 Genelex clones are an absolute must for getting the "sweet
spot" for amps of this species I'm convinced.

I play a Jazz,Country,Funk hybrid New Orleans-Style. Think Meters and
Nevilles and Dr.John that's where my heart's at. Head Room is stratopheric, gains are smooth, transients are like instant. With (4)
KT-66 Genelex clones it may just be better than a Dumble for the money. I've played 2 big Dumbles and was impressed but couldn't justify owning one unless my income was in the 7 figure range anually.

It's a Peavey. It's an American Amp from a man committed to excellence.

Peaveys don't break down but I know from word of mouth their customer
service is outstanding. Any decent tech can do the work if needed.

Been playing since 1967. It will take too long to list what I own.
I would replace this amp ASAP in fact, I'm looking for more having put
up with Marshall transformer problems for too many years. I wish they'd re-issue the model but I'm sure it would be out of my price range. Thanks to the reviewers I tried one and fell in love.

Few options, but I knew that before I got one. Bought from ebay for $179 ($225 including shipping). Even though it sounded okay, I changed out the tubes and my tech added a variable bias control (he was surprised that the bias couldn't be adjusted!). That brought up the price to about $400. Had it for about one year now.

I like the sound. Its solid, pleasing and unhyped to me. My other tube amp is a Yamaha/designed by Soldano/combo with a single 12" Greenback which I used to play most often (using the clean channel with reverb). But lately, maybe for a change of pace, I've been prefering the Peavey more and more. Its a pure sound that doesn't break up. Nice, solid and comforting.

I just got a Yamaha acoustic nylon, yes nylon stringed guitar, and play it through the Peavey and I really like the bass and the solid powerful sound. It lets the nylon string guitar hold its own in a loud mix. In the studio (I run the sound in a local TV studio for a live music show), I'm going to let ukelele players (I live in Hawaii) play through it. I think they're going to like it. Instead of the ukelele being relegated to the upper frequencies, it will be able to fully compete in the midrange. Should be interesting. The hot ukele players over here play FULL ON leads.

Realize that this is coming through a really cheap 4x12 filled with 3 cheap imported 12's made in China (from ebay for $40) plus a bass-heavy 12" PA speaker that someone gave to me for free.

This amp can handle distortion effects no problem. I like using it with a Boss Metal Zone (with the mids scooped way out). The Peavey stays solid. I haven't been able to get a good reverb effect. I used a Tom Schlotz delay-reverb (of Boston fame) with this amp but I didn't like it that much. Doesn't do shimmering "clang" very well or even at all. Maybe I not using the right effect box for it. I'm giving the sound a 10, but realize that for me, this is a one trick pony. Doesn't seem versatile enough for a cover band.

Seems pretty durable. I never worry about it during load in or load out. Or while running. Plenty of headroom. This amp doesn't strain. I would be curious to hear it through a full stack or even two full stacks. Very heavy, mostly because of the thick wood case. I accidently very lightly banged it against my house and it broke the stucco finish.

Never tried.

I've never played professionally. My day job is an attorney. However, I recently started a sound and recording company "on the side" and I do the live sound and recording for a local music TV show. We've done 9 shows in the last few months and 4 more are scheduled so I get to see some of the top local bands in Hawaii. (I also run the sound and record a children's game TV show).

I played myself for over 30 years on and off. Have G&L F-100 guitar, Ibanez Strat copy, Takamine acoustic, Yamaha Dreadnought, and the new nylon one, and Yamaha bass. It takes a truck to hold my live sound and recording equipment.

I'm looking for a different sound in the studio and I think I'm onto something with this Peavey and acoustic instruments. However, its too early to tell for sure..

Right now, my studio sound is based on multiple custom Bag-End type ELF subwoofers (because then the open vocal mics on stage can pick up a full-range "bassy" sound in the background rather than a "hollow" midrange sound in the background... surprise! then the "bleed" can become an asset rather than a liability), plus a scooped out midrange for the instruments, AKG and Sennheiser vocal condensors mics, and Event Monitors for tracking (I put one on the floor in front of every singer) (the singers love them and they sing better). Everything runs through a Mackie 24-8 bus and is recorded by a 24 track Mackie SDR 24/96. Later, I edit the sound on the PC in Sonic Foundry's Vegas Video.

Again, the 9 I'm giving this is only because I think it may give me a solid very useable sound on acoustic guitars and ukeleles in a loud mix. We shall see.

Dig this: 120W, one channel, no effects loop, no reverb. Just gain, volume, bass, mid, treble and presence controls along with a knob that says "Output Booster" on it which doesn't do anything. Inside there's four 6L6's and four 12ax7's. Three of the preamp tubes are in metal covers and the fourth one is positioned close to the booster knob. Haven't had it apart to see if something is wrong with this booster thing. Possibly the loudest 120 watt head I've ever heard!

My main guitar is an '86 Gibson Les Paul with a Duncan '59 at the bridge. I also use an Ibanez RGT42 with a L500XL bridge p.u., a beat up Warlock and a stock '94 Fender Strat.
First off, this thing doesn't have $#!t for gain. When I saw it at a pawnshop it figured hey here's a one channel all tube amp that could only be made for one thing. Metal, right? Wrong! Plugged it into my Mesa 4x12 and it sounded like a bad clean channel at ten. This was with the gain dimed and the volume at like 4. And trust me, 4 is LOUD! Messed with the eq and the sound didn't change much. It can go from muddy to ultra piercing razor sharp, but nothing smooth or sweet or punchy in between. Just ugly, grindy, harsh overdrive. Tried a TS-9 Tubescreamer in front of it. Didn't make it sound much better, just more distorted. Tried a couple other distortions and a graphic EQ. Nothing can make it sing like a you might think a tube amp would. Turning the gain down doesn't clean it up a whole lot so most distortion pedals make it fart and feedback alot. Almost got a good sound from it with a Behringer V-Amp. The only thing I'll give it credit for is living up to its name. Just butchers a good guitar's tone. And once again, THIS MONSTER IS LOUD!!! Cuts through a room enough to bury four other band members, all of whom play quite loud. Lots of mids and very 'in your face' but not in a good way. Being this mean and ugly lends it a certain character but... it's not the kind of character most people want to stand next to.

I've only had it for a couple days. Other than the booster not functioning, there have been no problems. Haven't gigged with it yet, but I will in like four days, much to the dismay of my bandmates and audience I'm sure.

I've been playing for 11 years and have used alot of different gear. Haven't heard anything quite like this before. Just nasty. Anything I wish it had?? More gain, better eq, effects loop, reverb, TONE..... not sure if I'm gonna keep it or take it back yet
It does have something I like though. Badass logo on the front that could have been used on the cover of an old death metal album. Just for that I give it a 666.

No CHANNEL-SWITCHING, No EFFECTS-LOOP (only preamp-out!)
Designed in 1985, durring the time when this sort of thing was
supposed to be BIG like:"VanHalen","JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS","KID-VIDEO"
and allot of GLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried out one of these in a store once back in 1996,
So I can't remember HOW GOOD it was, since MINE NEVER WORKED!

The POWER-TUBES(6L6s) glow "BLUE"(kinda-flourescent)
VOLUME SLOWLY-DECREASES UNTIL IT SHUTS-OFF WHILE-PLAYING-LOUD!!!!!!
Which probably means the "BIAS" is WRONG......So I got the
SCHEMATIC-DIAGRAM from PEAVEY, located a BURNT-OUT-RESISTOR
which I could NOT read the VALUE of it!!!!I replaced that with it's
ORIGINAL-VALUE(to be safe) then I bought ALL-NEW/MATCHED-PAIR-TUBES
12AX7s(3) and 6L6(4)....And still "GLOWING-BLUE" as well as the
VOLUME SLOWLY-DECREASES UNTIL IT SHUTS-OFF WHILE-PLAYING-LOUD!!!!!
(STILL SAME PROBLEMS!)
***This is one of those TUBE-AMPS that has a "FIXED-BIAS"(I think!)
because it has NO POTENTIOMETER nor SWITCHES to change nor adjust
PLATE-VOLTAGE-REFLECTION/DIRECTION/PROJECTION ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC.
* I also heard that it may be the TRANSFORMERS, talk about problems
that are:"""MORE-THAN-MEETS-THE-EYE"""
?????Can anyone help ME??????????????????????????????????????????????
EMAIL-ME: TheRottonCoffin@yahoo.com PLEASE!!!!(about anything!)

I called PEAVEY for the SCHEMATIC-DIAGRAM ...
So this Black-Lady answered the phone! Nice lady, I asked if I need
to pay for the SCHEMATIC, She said"""YO-CAN-EEF-YA-WANT"""COOL!!!
As long as you get on their MAILING-LIST, then THEY will give you
any FREE SCHEMATIC-DIAGRAM you want!!!!

I wanna KILL the guy who SOLD me this from EBAY,,,He NEVER SAID
The "BIAS" needs fixing, He said "it WORKS" He said it's "in GOOD
condition" and HE LIED!GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
****************And NO-MATTER-WHAT-I-KNOW,,,I don't have the
EXPERIENCE & WIZDOM to CONJURE nor SUMMON any kind of CURE for the
SIMPLE-"BIAS"-PROBLEM(There are NO PROs anywhere in BUFFALO!)
Where am I gonna find a TUBE-TECH(Technition)???????????????????????

4 6l6's, 3 12ax7's, low gain and high gain input, eq low mid high, presence, booster output, 4 speaker outs, standby. I saw this head in a local music shop for $200 I just couldn't pass up a tube head for that cheap although I have more then a few tube amps already. A very simple head, but simple is good. For me effects integrated into an amp add unnecessary complication.

I am using it with a few s style customs with emgs, some fender strats s/s/s, lp's etc. You can get a good loud clean without any background noise as well as a nice thick distortion from this head. It reacts well with anything I throw at it. Puts many heads 2x in cost to shame. I am running it with a 2x12 celestion g12m-70 loaded cab. The thing doesn't break up at all. All gain is useable which is a nice change from the newer peaveys like the xxx or the 5150 in "stock form", not saying that there isn't potential from those heads, I do own a modded one, just way too much gain for anyone sane. It is a nice addition to my collection and I am sure I will use it for years.

It's built like a tank and weighs as much. I would trust it to gig with. It hasn't broke yet and if it did it's easy to work on.

Never needed it.

Been playing for 15 years, own too much gear to list it all. I have strats and other s style customs, lp's, dano's some early ovations, rack gear, pedals, a variety of tube heads, cabs and combos . If it were stolen I would try to find another one. I love that it is simple. The only thing I don't like is the look of it, it's a bit too 80's for me but it's not about that, it sounds good. A+ value, you can't hate this amp.