Peavey Butcher

Rather spartan (just a single channel amp with a high and low gain input.

Sounded great! I had both of the matching 4x12 cabinets (top and bottom) that went with it

Always work, and never flaked out.

I bought it new in 1987 with its two matching 4x12 cabinets. I still have back problems to this day from moving it from the music store to home. The 300 pounds of amp and speaker delivered a jet engine of sound (I thought the amp was rated at 120 watts, not 100 as stated here). I am partially deaf in my right ear from this amp, as I used it until 1998.
The main gripes: lack of an other channel, no good natural boost channel.
The main plusses: Sounds great (I used a ADA1000 Second delay multiFX rack with it), LOUDER THAN HELL, pro quality equipment.

Not Many Features,Just your basic EQ on the front,I bought mine at a Pawn Shop as a first Head and whoever had it before Made an Extra outlet in the back as a Line it with a seperate Switch and Volume Control,I find it quite conveninet actully because I can run my computer into the Head and Play MP3's or what have you at an Insane Volume through my Cabinet.

The sound from this amp at High Volume will Tear you a new asshole, I run it through a Marshall 4x12 Cabinet and it sounds great with a good effects pedel,The 2 channels dont seem that much different they sound the same on it but like I said if you run a good pedal your set, I use a Jackson Kelly with a DOuble humbucker setup and I'm happy with the Results, My other guitarist in my band uses a Marshall Valvestate head and the Peavey makes good Competition with the right setup.

Its Very Reliable. I've owned it for a while now and havent had any problems, as others state tho it is quite heavey but quit being a pussy, I've used it at every practice and gig (mainly because I dont have a backup) and it'll take a beating and keepin on going.

Woudnt know I've never had to Deal with Customey support

Overall I think its a pretty solid Head and it gets the job done

120 watts, 4 6l6's, heavy, no frills

Very nice. Clean or overdriven it is beautiful. maintains tone even at levels surpassing what the human ear can withstand. once you breake the saturation point all seems to drift away and its just you and the amp. As for noise i think that moron that said it was loud failed to read the back or he would have seen a litle trim pot labled HUM BALANCE tweek and it hardly whispers

only problem gigging is its weight

sound coulnt be better. features could use a little work. this amp Peavey Should really think about reissuing.

Very basic. No Chanell switching fx loop or reverb. But what it lacks in options it picks up in tone and the sheer volume of a 120 watt head.

This amp far outplays any marshal or mesa. the toneality is equal to a musicman but vastly surpasses when the tubes are overdrivin. at the point of powere tube saturation the sound become almost orgasmic.

Heavy as hell. I'm guessing this thig could withstand a nuclear blast.

No problems but peavey has a very good reputation in this area.

My only beef with it is that it is so heavy, almost a pound a watt. i found it a a pawn shop and bought it for a steal, but i would pay full price if i had to.

Not alot of features, this is a very simple amp.
Best, undiscovered, or should I say forgotten, early 80's
amp. I use mine mostly in the studio, these days.

Strat or Paul, sounds great with either, pure Hendrix with
a strat. Quieter than a Marshall.
I'm not a person that gets hung up on "names". The criteria for
me is does it sound good.
I sold my Vintage 1968 Basket weave Marshall stack in 1986
for $3000. Always concerned about moving and using such a beauty,
I felt better selling it to a true collector.
I then bought a used Butcher head for $225 bucks.
Built like a tank. I can throw it around. Always sounds great,
quieter than the Marshall, and way more reliable.

Peavey is "tops" for customer support.

playing 30 years.
I have 2 Butchers, just in case.
I love the Butcher, sounds as good or better than a Marshall
and is more reliable, and is very very rugged.
I wish it had the two seperate channels like a Marshall,
but that would also be an easy mod if one really desired it.

Mid to late 80's model Peavy.Same basic tube setup as a Marshall. One channel, simple EQ and controls..perfect "pedalhead" amp. No reverb sadly, making a reverb pedal(ex. Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb)necessary if you want it. No effects loop, but the pedals are almost completely silent plugged straight in (none have "True Bypass") that it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I use mostly HB equiped Samicks (ex.Les Paul Goldtop, PRS, and ES-335), Epiphone G-310 with Super Distortion pickups, and Fender 65 Mustang. I play alt/rock ,British blues, Modern rock, and Instramental surf. The 65 Mustang is the only guitar that dosn't sound very good on this amp, but it has very little sustain and weak pickups when used on any amp. If your looking for a good base amp to use for effects on pretty much any guitar with decent pickups, this is it. I used to crank the distortion and use the guitar volume knob to control clean and distortion by turning it up or down, but this was so inconvienient that it became a major problem. I now run my guitar through a Russian Electro-Harmonix "Big Muff" Distortion/Sustainer, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, US Reissue Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, and a Danelectro "Corned Beef" Reverb (Soon to be an Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb). This is the ultimate setup for any kind of music you could want...You can get virtually any rock or blues sound from this rig. (you'd have to add Flanger or Octave if you want). The Butcher for me is a good solid frame that you add the other parts to to make it whole. If you're looking for built-in capabilities, this isn't your amp, but if you are going for a great effects platform, this is it. The Big Muff gives you basic overdrive and distortion to boos your solos, while the Heavy Metal pedal gives you all the crunch you need.

Built very sturdily, I've never worried about breaking it. It's survived many the indoor and outdoor gig and countless trips in the van and has yet to get a scratch. If anything I'd worry about it falling on your guitar cases or drums. Never had anything go wrong sound-wise except for some fuzz from when my Dano Reverb messed up while I was practicing(Cheap pedals DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU WANT TO KEEP TAKING THEM BACK FOR REPLACEMENTS). I could honesly use this amp for years without worrying about it structure-wise

Never had to..Our band uses Peavy for Bass and my guitar, and all the Peavy's I've played have been very dependable and good quality amps...some, such as my Peavy Transfex 208, which my Butcher replaced, aren't suited for heavy giging. It's slowly started to fall apart after 5 years of playing and roughly 30 shows under it's belt. I replaced this amp because it was too much of a strain on it to play these large gigs and having to push it so hard. It's great for practice and studio but live it is to fragile. Peavy is still very dependable and had I ever needed major help, I would have contacted them

I've played about 5 years, and the only other amps I have are the Transfex 208 and an old Multivox amp from my learning days. If it were stolen or lost, I'd have to replace it simply because it's a whole lot of amp for so little price, and lets you get the most out of your effect pedals without the trouble of tinkering with the amp to get a good sound. I wish it had Reverb, but since this thing is so heavy, I couldn't even carry it if it had a reverb tank. I've gotten so used to having only one channel, and so addicted to pedals, that I honestly couldn't go to a 3-channel amp. I can live with the wieght, even though it's a little heavy. The only thing I truely HATE about the amp is that it is so rough to carry...the vinyl covering on this thing feels like gravel with vinyl over it. This thing constantly scratches my arms and knees while transporting. One more thing I wish it included is some groves or gaps in the top of the cabinet to set the head into. The top is flat so the head easily slides around on it's big clumsy rubber feet...other than that this thing is AWESOME
Check out my gear page and http://johnnyfreshtrio.tripod.com for pictures of my setup.

My biggest problem isn't the channel switching. I use clean with a processor anyhow. The trouble I see with the amp is that is has no reverb, and the EQ is nearly useless. These two are as I said the only problems I have ever had with it, but these are easily rectified with the right processors/pedals for your taste.

After a little "hum adjustment" by way of the knob on back, this thing absolutely SCREAMS! My tone seems to stay the same at any volume, and yes folks, it really IS that loud. I don't get any noise playing all kinds of rock/metal/jazz/blues on any of my guitars. The two I use most commonly are a '91 Charvel Soloist w/Dimarzio Super Distortion humbuckers and sustainer system (basswood and maple neck/fretboard) and a '93 Ibanez RBM Voyager with the same pickups in alder body with maple neck/ebony fretboard). Either of these can literally be used for absurdly good tone in ANY STYLE through this thing. Remarkable all-around performance. The distorted tone on this amp is a little weak for my taste, but smooth as can be with really good undertones and easily controllable feedback. Again, I only use it occasionally and never on a stage (see "no channel switching").

I've had this amp for about four years, and haven't used anything else since I got it. Haven't had to. I do own a '91 Peavey 2X12 combo as a backup, but I just can't hurt the Butcher no matter what I do to it. All I've EVER had to do was dust it once in a great while and replace two tubes in the past couple years. Basically, this thing's built like a Sherman Tank....just a little (very little) lighter.

Being that all I've ever managed to hurt on this monster was a tube or two, I honestly can't say. Peavey never has let me down, so I'll assume that their service people are just as good.

I've played about fifteen years in every style you can find. I like not having to have two or three amps to cover the basics. Basically, this thing is built like a bank vault, has good tones (clean, especially for a processor), and is loud enough to stop you heart if you're not careful. All that's missing is the channel switch, reverb, and a midrange-oriented EQ. This is without a doubt my favorite and most-used amp. If there's ever another re-issue with the above features, I'm buying regardless of cost. If they don't re-issue with these things, I'll just use mine for another few decades. I really think that this is one of the finest amps I ever used, despite it's ugliness and the few small points above. And to think, this was the backup for the Mesa 2X12 combo!!

Don't know when it was made. Not switchable channels. 120 watt all tube head. No reverb. Butcher logo in gothic script. Mid, treble and bass eq knobs.

This amp has a clean sound that I really like. I play it through a home made 2 by 12 cab fitted with celestions. It seems fine for funk, reggae, rock and roll and most other things. I play primarily through the clean channel. The high gain/overdrive sound seems good but I haven't really turned it up yet. Oh yes, it is very loud. Contrary to some other users experiences I do not find it noisy at all. Perhaps my opinion there will change when I have tried really cranking it up.

I haven't started playing live yet but this amplifier seems very well made. It is, however, very heavy to lift.

Don't know...

I really like the sound of it. I have a Vox Defiant from the 1960's which is solid state and not versatile in its tonal range. The Butcher has a good, old fashioned, clean and crunchy valve sound which is what I wanted. It has brought my Celestion speakers to life. Shame about the ghastly appearance....then again...beauty is only skin deep.

120 watt head (4 6L6 power tubes, 3 12AX7 preamp tubes). Not extremely versatile, but loud. very, very loud. I used this amp in my apartment for a while, but really don't think I will be playing any arenas any time soon, so I dismantled it. very, very loud, though.

I was playing an Ibanez Gambale through it for a while, but I gave that to a friend, and went back to an American Standard Strat with Seymore Duncan Full Shred neck and bridge pickups. I was also using a Mesa V-Twin preamp pedal through it, but kinda got bored with that. The amp produced a lot of noise. No matter what you did, that thing didn't just hum, it screamed. It hadn't been taken care of by it's previous owner (who gave it to me for free), but it was as solidly built as any Peavey. I always got a lot of microphonics from the power tubes, but that is a common problem in older amps where the power tubes are mounted on circuit boards. The damn thing was temperamental, too. Some days, it would not cooperate, no matter what you did. But in general, it sounded like garbage. It was loud as hell, but they seemed to sacrifice tone for volume.

The only problem I had here was that for some strange reason, I went through a lot of driver tubes. But I was using Sovtek 12AX7's, so it might have just been crappy tubes. I haven't had much luck with Sovtek tubes. Otherwise, I think the amp would have survived a nuclear attack.

I am an amp tech in a music store, and I talk to customer support at Peavey at least three times a week. I never have any trouble with them, and they can even help troubleshoot right over the phone.

I have been playing for 13 years now, and have had a lot of amps. I wasn't a big fan of the Butcher, but it was given to me by a guy in Tulsa, so I couldn't beat the price. Still, I dismantled it so I could have a chassis for my own amp design. If all you want is a really, really loud amp, get an Ampeg SVT. But, if you can't afford that, go for the Butcher.

Early 80's amp, not too versatile but well suited to play rock & roll, and heavy metal, I think is one of the best sounding amps I've ever had ( I owned boogies, Marshall jcm800, Marshall JCM900.... )

I used this amp (in fact I own 2 heads and 4 cabs) with my 72 stratocaster, a Gibson Lespaul Goldtop 83 and a Jackson custom shop,
and the sound is great at high levels (no kidding!!!)

I gigged the last year with these amps and night after night they were
like the first day!

no support for it!!!! Peavey

I'm telling you, these back heavy boxes are very cool! Peavy should take a look at this amp and make a reissue!