Peavey Rage 158

This amp is fairly new, the amp is not versatile and it is not loud. The amp can barely be heard and I would never use this thing on stage unless there were 3 people in the audience and I was the only guy on stage. Has 3 knob equalizer, a clean channel and a Lead channel along with a headphomne jack.

I play melodic/death metal. I have a hot vintage Kramer Focus 2000 with a DiMarzio pickup at the bridge and of course the awesome Floyd Rose. The amp alone doesn't suit any style unless you go and buy an effects pedal. I use an Ibanez SM-7 Smash Box pedal on it and it does do a pretty nice job emulating tubes if you put the pedal on smooth distortion and not sharp distortion.

The clean channel stinks, and the lead channel isn't worth beans.
Use a pedal on it if you want average distortion.

The amp, if gone against a fricken' tank, would beat the tank.
It's that durable. You can't kill the amp. It doesn't die.

It's not loud enough for gigging obviously.
If it was about 50 watts instead of 15 it would be a 10.

Peavey? No

I own a much better peavey bandit 112 which is 80 watts and sounds about 5,000,000 times better than the no good Rage 158.

Don't buy this thing unless you're just starting out.

This amp has standard three band EQ, channel switching(clean and overdrive), no effects loop, voicing (which if it does anything, it's the most minimal change in sound ever.), a headphone jack, and a CD Input jack. Pretty solid for a practice amp.

I am using a Epiphone Les Paul with humbuckers. It is alright for my style, but I've never just said 'wow, this is an awesome tone i'm getting!' I normally play blues and rock, leading into the metal territory. The clean channel does distort if you crank it up all the way, but it's a bad distortion, the only way to get real good disortion on this thing is to turn preamp all the way up and post gain all the way down, with still isn't that brutal, and you can barely hear if.

This is where the amps hurts with me. I had had it for barely a year, and I go to turn it on, and I can barely hear the clean channel. So I crank it all the way, which normally allows you to hear it throughout the house, and I could still barely hear it. I checked my guitar, and decided to turn the volume all the way up, then I switched over to the overdrive channel, and I can barely hear that either. I have never gigged with this, never traveled with it, it has never left my bedroom.

Wouldn't know.

This is an alright piece of equipment, if stolen or lost I would not by it again, but I've matured tremendously as a player since I got it, so I'm better than this amp. I loved it when I first started playing.

The Rage hasn't got very much features. You get a very nice 3 band equalizer. A switch for clean and a switch for vintage/modern. You also get two different channels for clean and distortion. But you miss an input for the footswitch. So you can't switch from a nice clean sound to heavy distortion. Also in my bedroom I would like to switch with my foot and imagine I am on stage for 10000 people.

I use an Ibanez GIO GSA60 with a h/s/s. I play from SRV to Metallica. The distortion doesn't sound very well. I would almost say crapy. So for the blues I use my Ibanez TubeScreamer and for the metal I use a Danelectro Black Coffee. My amp always stays in clean. And that channel sound very good.

You can actually throw this amp out of your window and play on it afterwards. I think it can;t be broken. And the sound is great for practising.

N/A

I use this amp for 2 years and I am still in love with him. He never let me down. So it is a great amp after all. But as I sad you miss the input for the footswitch and the distortion doesn;t sound good enough. So when this amp may be stolen or lost I probably buy a Marshall or Fender amp.

The features on this amp are very limited with only a simple clean channel and distortion channel with 3 band equalizer and a switch to switch from modern sound to an older kind of sound(i forget what they call it on the amp). It comes with an 8" 15 watt blue marvel magnet speaker.

I use a Godin SDXT and the amp sounds alright on the clean channel which has a great clean sound which is very good for bluesy and jazzy stuff. The distortion is probably the worst that I have ever heard! I never use the amps distortion but usually my crappy zoom pedal which atleast makes the amp sound descent for metal and classic rock. It is a very quiet and and can sometimes be used for jamming but it truly is more of a practise amp.

It's a pretty solid amp, especially for its size and weight! I usually stand on it, jump on it, kick it and it still looks brand new, like the day I bought it! I have never had any problems with the sound and it has never died or quit on me. Very sturdy amp!

N/A (Never needed to call them)

This amp is meant for practicing with yourself, thats about it. I've been playing for just over a year and this was my first amp but now I am planning on selling it because I have just purchased a Crate G80 XL. Its a great beginner amp but if you are in a band or you are gigging this is not the amp for you. I remember when I first started I thought this amp was amazing and it was for me when I was at the beginning stage but now it's time for me to move on to a bigger and more versitile amp. If it were stolen I do not think I would purchase another one but probably a Line 6 or a Mashall. Oh,.and one more thing, for some reason if i stopped playing the amp picked up radio signals and I could hear some radio station quietly playing!

For an amp of its age, this is pretty good as far as features. Back when it was made, Peavey didn't offer reverb as one of its features, but I don't really need it for my playing style. It's a pretty good practice amp. Nothing fancy, but pretty solid.

Nirvana is Nirvana with this amp, baby. It's pretty awesome with any guitar I use. It's louder than any other amp of its (15 watt) type. The clean channel is pure and jazzy, and I can get a pretty-close-to acoustic sound out of it. The distortion is good with me; some people want it a little more brutal but I tell 'em to get a Tubescreamer if that's what they want. My only complaint is that you need some pretty bright strings to keep the sound versatile.

This thing could outlast an M1 Abrams tank. It's never given me or the previous owner any trouble. It scared me the first time I turned it on; it popped pretty loud. I thought I blew it up! But other than the nightmare images in my head I've not seen any trouble with it.

Never messed with the company. Never needed to. Good in my book.

I've not been playing for long (about 6 months) but I've learned many things pretty fast. One of them is that among the starting amps I and my friends got, mine was the best. I love to practice with this thing. If I lost it I don't know what I'd do. Probably just get an identical one. Inexpensive, but more than worth it.

I bought my Peavey Rage 158 at Paramount Music in Tonawanda, New York. I believe the year was 1989, and I paid $89.00. This amp has been described to death in the two-hundred-odd reviews on this site. Features seem to be the only thing about this amp that people can agree on. For my part I will simply sat that for the modest price I paid this amp is surprisingly loud and is capable of a wide range of useful sounds.

I am playing imitation Les Pauls from Memphis and Agile through this amp. The Memphis is equipped with a Schaller Golden 50 rhythm pickup and a Carvin M22SD lead pickup. The Agile guitar is stock. Both guitars are strung with GHS Nickel Rockers, gauged .009 to .046. Normally I don't use any effects with this setup, since I am quite happy with the sound I am getting with just the guitar and the amp. The clean channel is nice and jazzy, especially if you lower the volume on the guitar and turn up the volume and bass on the amp. The lead channel is capable of producing everything from a light, glassy crunch to a thick, beefy overdrive with lots of sustain. Used in conjunction with the guitar's controls, it's perfect for whacking out fat power chords and cutting leads, sort of like the guy (I always forget his name) who does the guitar work on albums by Alannah Myles. The tone controls are limited but still useful over most of their range. And this little guy is LOUD. This has got to be the loudest 15-watt amp in all of Christendom. A lot of people on this site have been putting this amp down, especially the overdrive channel and the headphone circuit. I can't speak for anyone else, but I like this amp a lot. It even sounds pretty good through headphones. But be careful with that headphone circuit--if you push the master volume past about "2" you're gonna break your eardrums with this thing. The thing I like best about this amp is that it has a very even sound throughout the entire range of the guitar. It's balanced. It's surprisingly ballsy for such a little thing. The lows are tight, the mids and highs are punchy. The top end is bright, but not tinny or screechy, even with the treble turned up all the way. The only thing I could wish for is a reverb on this amp. At the time of purchase (1989) I don't believe Peavey offered this amp with reverb as an option.

I've cranked this thing a number of times and it's never given me a moment's trouble. The cabinet doesn't even rattle when I play power chords with the gain and the bass turned up past two-thirds. The tone controls don't crackle, even though I've tweaked them countless times. The only thing that is a bit scary about this amp is the power switch--it makes a pretty loud pop when you turn it on. The first time I turned it on I thought it was blowing up on me. It still freaks me out from time to time.

If this were my only practice amp, I'd consider getting another one just like it if it were stolen or lost, just because it was a fantastic dollar value. But I've got a couple of those little Marshall Valvestate amps, so I don't think I'd bother.

-there are 5 tone controls: pregain for distortion, postgain for added volume, low, mid and high equilizers to give the added punch you want in a song.
-has 2 channels:clean, for getting that dull sound with no distortion, and a lead for everyone else who likes normal rock.
pretty much has the basics, making it perfect for beginners. it's loud enough to bother your parents, but not too loud that you go deaf in ten minutes. it also has a cd input, and a headphone jack, though I found them un-nesessary. also, if you are curious and like to turn knobs, you will find that a surprizingly wide variety of sounds come from this cheap, little wonder.

I normally play punk, and whatever kind of genre the offspring are. I bought the amp in a peavey package: peavey guitar, amp, picks, and I think bag also. considering all of this, I found that I could almost create an identical sound to the current band I was playing.I play in my room, which is small, but not too small, so I notice the tone of the amp more. the clean channel can get distorted when the volume is cranked up, but I doubt it would be necessary, since lots of songs are played using the lead channel. it's loud enough to bother your parents, but not too loud that you go deaf in ten minutes. the distortion is pretty fair. not too bad so that every note sounds the same, but still gives a real hard rock sound.

it is pretty dependable, considering the amount of time and type of music I play. it has never broken down.

I have never had a problem with it, except for trying to find the perfect sound when I play.

I have been playing for about half a year, but am a pro at playing already. other than my weapon(guitar) all I have is just picks and a tuner. if this little wonder was stolen or lost, I would probably ask my parents for a better amp, but if I had to buy it, I think I would buy this amp again. I love the fact that it has amazing performance for a small 15 watt amp. I hate the lack of features, mainly because I can never get the sound I want. overall, this is a great package: good sturdy amp, lots of tunes that it can produce, dependable and most importantly, affordable for those on a budget.

I have the original Rage 158; no transtube or CD input. Just the usual 3 eq knobs, overdrive section, master vol and clean/dirty selector. You know what it has.

I play a 2001 Epi Dot through this amp and am reasonably satisfied. No it doesn't deliver a tube sound, but for the price, I can't complain. My style is whatever I feel like at the time and for a practice amp, the Rage does a pretty good job delivering.

The clean channel has a nice tone that breaks up just a bit when you get beyond 8 or so (however, if you live in an apartment, you'll be pissing your neighbors off by then). Dirty is decent. No it's not a Marshall stack, but then again, this is an $80 amp.

The Rage is surprisingly loud for a 15 watt amp and has more bottom end than you'd expect from it's tiny 8 inch speaker.

If you take the time to play with this amp, you'll be able to coax a surprizing variety of tones from it.

For a cheap practice amp, a "9" is fair

Warranty? I got this amp used as part of a package deal. I know it's been through hell, yet performs exactly the way it should.

If you break it, you shouldn't have been using it as a wheel chock for your dump truck.

Never needed service

I just fart around. I don't claim to be a guitar god, but for putzing in the bedroom, the Rage 158 performs admirably.

If it was stolen, I'd probably replace it, since a larger amp is just overkill at home.

Made in 2003. 15 watts 1x8 practice combo. 2 Channels, shared eq and an EQ voicing switch (Modern or Vintage). Has all the features a practice amp needs and no more so I'll give it a 9.

It's a bit tinny but It's a practice amp so didn't expect any different. People bitch about these little amps I think they sound pretty good I just use it home because my band own our own practice room so we leave our gear there I just bought so I have a small amp to use at home.

It's Peavey so pretty solid plus a 5 year warranty so if it's fucks up I just get it fixed or a brand new amp.

5 year warranty. Peavey customer service is excellent.

I've been playing nearly 10 years. My main rig is a Peavey XXL head through a Marshall 1960AV 4x12. Guitar wise I use a couple of Mexican Fender Telecasters 1 Deluxe and 1 Standard both loaded with Duncan Hot Rails. I also own a PRS CE24 but this is only used at home or in the studio. I also use a few pedals a Crybaby, Boss Super Chorus and a Boss Digital Delay. I don't use effects much I just use them occasionally to add texture to parts. At home my setup goes Guitar - Lead - Rage 158 I keep it simple. I work in a guitar store so I can use any gear I want. I choose Peavey they aren't the greatest sounding amps in the world but they keep going and are very reliable and that counts for a lot.

Comes with 2 channels, clean and lead (which i rarely use). A thicker distortion for the lead channel would've been nice, but this is just a practice amp and you can't really expect too much from it.

the modern/vintage switch does make a notable difference, i prefer the modern setting, basically because the vintage is a tad too bright for my liking.

for its size it's pretty loud. i've been able to be heard from a block away and i haven't cranked it over 4.

I play an ibanez grx20 through a zoom 606II into the peavey rage. I can get the tone i want, though that's because of the zoom (which i normally lay through) rather than the amp.

the distortion is too weak and thin for my style of music (stratovarius, children of bodom, iron maiden, helloween). the clean channel's actually quite nice, but like i said before, i rarely bypass the zoom.

This is an extremely reliable amp, it's never broken down on me, or cut out or anything like that.

i don't know if i'd gig with it (only because it might not be loud enough)

Haven't dealt with them, which is a good thing.

I've been playing for about 2 years, it's my first amp and it's served me well. If it was stolen or lost, i probably wouldn't buy it again, seeing as i'm at the stage where i'm in a band and could use something with a bit more power. if i needed another practice amp though, i'd certainly buy another.

I love the fact that its size belies it power, but i really do not like the lead channel.

I'd recommend this as a good first amp for a beginner, but i wouldn't recommend it to someone looking to upgrade.