Peavey Rage 158

Not sure when made.

Transtube with Red strip.

Made in China.

I was impressed with this amp. It is very powerful.

15 wats, 8 inch blue marvel speaker

Cleans are very good. Lead channel gets crazy quickly. Good starter amp and practice amp.

Lacks reverb only.

1 instrument input, Headphone jack, 1 output.

2 channels, 2 amp options (modern & vintage), 3 EQ, low,mid,high

Good rock amp and good clean amp.

Distortion can be as nasty as you want.

Plenty of power.

If shown reasonable care this amp will last forever.

Peavey is Numero Uno.

The best.

They don't make this model anymore.

I'd buy Peavey without hesitation.

This is a simple, low cost, reliable amp.

I have no idea how old this amp is...I found it on the side of the road. It was damaged when I got it. The channel switch was gone, and there was a wire hanging out of it, my guess is that someone was trying to make a footswitch or some sort of remote switch, but failed. I brought it home, ordered a new switch, and it is as good as new! I used it for a couple years as a practice amp, but now my son is playing guitar so it's his now.

It kinda has that Peavey sound to it....a little grainy. Probably a good garage metal sound.

I guess it's dependable, who knows. No, I would not gig with it.

I did deal with peavey to get a schematic and the parts to get it working, and they were VERY friendly and helpful! Very good customer service!

I have been playing for 26 years. My son who owns the amp now has been playing for a few months. He loves the amp. I would get something else if something happened to this amp, unless another one came along for the same price (free).

This is a Transtube Peavey Rage 158 which I bought about 2 years ago. I sold it to a buddy of mine when I got my GT-8 for home practice, but now he's given up electric guitar, so I've got it again...

2 Channels, Shared three-band EQ with 2 voicings, CD input jack, headphone jack, 15W into a 4 Ohm 8" speaker. Low weight, and pretty hard to kill.

I really wish it had a footswitch jack (In the process of adding one myself, but the schematics on the web seem to be for the old green version, and the switch on the chassis has like 16 pins instead of the usual 3... this could take a little while :D), and maybe an FX loop (hell, the CD-In is basically an FX-Return - how much would it have cost to add an FX-Send?).

With the stock speaker, this thing sounds like *****. The clean channel sounds like there's a thick piece of cardboard in front of the speaker, and the distortion has a few incredibly rough and unpleasant mid spikes.

But hey, I'm not one to give up that quickly - so I yanked out the speaker cables and put in a jack, so that I could try out a few different speakers... I've now got the amp hooked up to an open-backed 1x12" cab with an Eminence Legend GB128 speaker in it, and it sounds INCREDIBLE.

The clean is now absolutely clean, with no trace of plonkiness or mud - it just sparkles and jangles, very nice. I can't even get it to break up when I crank the amp to 10 now... awesome. And even though the amp's running into an 8 ohm speaker instead of 4 ohms (=> half power), it's incredibly loud - a lot louder than the old 8" speaker. Probably because of the extra surface area on the speaker.

And the distortion. My oh my, the DISTORTION! I play a Laney VH100R at practice, and the Peavey, with pre-gain at 7 and a mid-boost on the EQ and the voicing on vintage, sounds EXACTLY like the third channel of the Laney (which is absolutely kickass). Incredible.

Roll back the gain to 4 or 5, and you've got a great AC/DC type sound - and at about 3, with a bridge single coil the amp just begs you to play licks from Sweet Home Alabama. And when you flip to a neck humbucker, it compresses just a little more and really sings when you hammer out notes with strong vibrato...

The modern/vintage switch is pretty cool, offering up modern rock tones with a lot of bass on the modern setting (very cool for stuff like QUOTSA, for instance), and more hi-mid focused sounds with tighter bass on the vintage setting. Contrary to the name, hard rock and metal sounds FAR better on the vintage setting - dime the gain and it'll take you roughly up to early Metallica gain levels. It's not quite tight enough for "heavy" metal (nothing like a good Randall or Engl in that sense - it's more like a Recto in terms of bottom end... a bit loose).

The EQ is not very sensitive, but rather effective - just don't be afraid to dime the mid control, even on the vintage voicing.

Hooking the amp up to two GB128s wired in parallel (so the amp could run at full power... 4Ohms=>4Ohms) in a closed-back cab turned out to be complete overkill. With the amp running at full power, I couldn't run the clean channel at over 4 or the distortion channel at over 2 at home... I think I might actually take this to gigs as a backup, it's THAT loud. Not to mention the incredible amount of bass...

All in all - with the stock speaker, this gets a 3 - even for the 77 Euros I paid for it (new). But hooked up to a separate cab, it sounds great! 10 points there... so I'll award a 7.

It's been kicked around quite a bit. Because it's so easy to throw in the back of a car (or just to take it along on the bus or to walk to a jam session carrying it), it gets taken everywhere, and gets a lot of dings on the way. Can't see it crapping out any time soon, even though the pots and jacks are all directly on the PCB...

Can't find a manual, can't find an up-to-date schematic...

Warranty is probably a year or so, but Thomann.de extended that to 3 years, as usual... Rating goes to Peavey for their shite website and the missing manual and schematics...

This thing was a pretty disappointing buy the first time I had it... but now that I've tried it out with a few decent speakers and cabs, I can't wait to try this out at an actual band practice, and see how it does. I usually play a Laney VH100R with a closed-back 2x12" (same speakers as above) or a Randall RG100SC, depending on the band, and we play pretty loud in both bands, but I don't think the Peavey will have any problems on a decent 2x12" or 4x12"...

I'll be adding a footswitch jack as soon as I find my multimeter (it's probably somewhere under the bed :D), and turning the amp into a head (I'll just saw off the top 15cm or so and then nail a plank to the bottom or something) so that it's even easier to transport. Other than that, this thing is pretty much perfect for playing at home and as a backup. I was surprised how good this thing sounds for my purposes, especially since I'd played it for about half a year before, and wasn't satisfied at all.

Overall, because it sounds so good when hooked up to decent speaker cabs, and because it packs an incredible amount of power for its size, it gets an 8. :)

2 channels (Clean/Dist) 2 styles (Vintage/Modern)

I use two of these amps for recording. I run my POD XT Live through them. I set one on "Modern" and the other on "Vintage" and then blend them in the mix. Obviously this amp is only meant to be used in recording or solo practice situations and for me it delivers the goods. It's not meant to be used at a gig or band practice.

It's a Peavey. It will probably outlive me.

This is by far probably one of the easiest little amps to use. Simple controls. Clean Vol, Channel Switch, Lead Dist, Lead Gain and a 3 band EQ (all very useable). What more can you want in a practice amp? Perhaps DFX though I hate most DFX systems. A pedal to switch channels would also be nice but I just do it by hand. I think the new 258 has this feature. Some reverb would be nice too but I use my reverb pedal which suits me fine.

Far out, I laugh out loud when I hear people say the Peavey Rage 158 Amp is a piece of crap (they don't know what they are talking about or they perhaps got a dud amongst the bunch which is believe me a one in a million chance! ). I've got one of these little beautys and I got it as my 1st amp at the age of 8 and I still play it regularly and I've just turned 19. it's still going. I got it second hand when I bought it. it's got a great range of tones you just gotta spend a bit of time tweaking the eq to find the sound you want. I mainly play my Squier california natural strat through it and it sounds just frigen awesome though I have also played acoustics, mics and humby electrics through it and all I love! The distortion is quite useable despite being quite high at a very low level but you can tweak the gain around a fair bit and still get a great range of tones. I'm not a pedal buff and am stilll yet to lash out and buy myself some decent pedals but essentially I primarily play as an acoustic guitarist and have never really needed them that much though I plan to get myself a Boss DS-1 soon. I've played Marshall MG15s, Fender Frontman 15s and a whole stack of other practice amps. None can face up to Peavey except maybe the Orange 15W practice amps but they're almost double the price and don't feel quite as sturdy.

I've mainly had this at home yet have brought it to pubs, parties and all kinds of venues and this has never once failed me. I've played a few of the newer versions of these amps and I don't believe they really sound quite as good and are definately not built as tanky however they are really the best practice amps in their price range the new 258 amp is a welcomed add-on to the great series.

Never Needed It, dont think I ever will!

I've been playing for about 12 years now and I've played though some fantastic upmarket amps i.e. Fender Twin Reverbs, Hiwatts, Marshall JCMs and certainly none seem to have that same ease of use, feel and great EQ. (Yet they all serve their uses. These amps are also plentifully loud for any venue up for bout 100 people. Mines a mid-late 80's model and what can I say but I still love it and would happily be buried with it. I'd be soooo peeved if somebody stole it. I would probably cry and then go out on a spree to find the bugger. If I couldnt get the amp back I'd probably go and purchase one of Peaveys 212 combos (Solid State) and a spare 258 cause of reliability and live with that happily also. Long review but hopefully my ranting hasn't been too long and has been useful to those Who have read it.

this amp doesn't have a lot of features but it is not suppose to.mine is the older version of the transtube model without the vintage/modern switch.this is a very versatile little amp.this amp has 2 channels.i play rockabilly music and it fits my needs very good.i needed a little practice amp that i could carry around with me this amp is perfect.

this amp sounds very good for what it is.i can't believe all the people who bitch about this amp not being loud enough.they whine that this amp isn't good for metal ,or speed metal but this amp wasn't made to play thar crap.if you play that garbage buy a bigger amp.this is a little amp.most rockabilly,blues and old country music was recorded using small amps.this amp sounds good on these styles.the clean channel sounds very good.the lead channel is not distortion it is overdrive.use it for what it was made for and it sounds very good.this amp uses peaveys transtube technology.i compared this amp to my fender bassman tube amp.this amp does not sound as good as the fender but it doe's have a very tube like sound.this amp can sound a little bassy at times but i think that is because of the speaker.i plugged a 10 inch celestion speaker from one of my other amps and it sounded a lot better.also if you use really cheap guitars with this amp it doesn't sound as good.this amp is a little noisy with my fender strat but my humbucker equipped guitar is very quiet.

don't know yet i just bought it today.the imput jack looks a little flimsy but the rest of the amp looks solid.mine is the older u.s.a. made one not the newer ones made in china.i bought mine used and it is in very good shape.the jacks are made of plastic so when i got mine it was very hard to push the guitar cable in and get it out of the imput jack.where i live is a very dusty enviorment so what i hade to do was clean them they where dusty and i used one end of my guitar cable and a clean rag with a little 3 in 1 oil.rub a little 3 in 1 oil from the rag onto the cable end and work it back and fourth in the imput a few times.now its as good as new.

i have been playing for 20+ years.i have a fender strat a silvertone ssL3 session master pro a fender bassman amp a modified peavey predator and a custom built strat using all fender parts.i was looking for a cheap good sounding small amp for practice and that is what i got.i like to take my guitar and play outside in the yard or to my friends house to just jam.the fender amp is just to big to move oround for practice or jamming.this amp fits the bill perfectly.

I bought this amp in 2001 when I first started playing, I play mostly metal but all kinds of styles as well. it has 2 channels.. 15 watts, its perfect for practicing or jamming

clean is decent, the distortion is good, you cant a variety of tones out of it. you can't get the best metal tones out of it but its fine for practicing, I use it with a epi les paul with a emg 85 and a mexi strat with hot rails. its not noisy. For the money the sound quality is kick ass

this was the first amp I bought, ive owned it since 2001 and it has never given me any problems whatsoever, and I have abused this amp reguarly (like letting a singer scream through it). I wouldnt gig with this because its just not designed for that, I would use my new marshall stack

never dealt

For the money this amp is great. If your just starting out to play I reccommend it highly. Its a quality amp that wont let you down.. if your expecting the tone of a fender, marshall or mesa out of thise you will be disappointed. If it got stolen i'd cry because it was my first amp, but then I'd realize I only paid $85 for it move on.

I bought mine new in 1999. It has 2 channels: clean, distortionn. 15 watts.

Clean channel: Its ok, it doesnt sound like an all tube marshall, but it sounds quite well for what it is.
Overdrive channel: It has kind of a warm distortion, but it needs more attack. Its like if it had a pillow in front of the speaker. But it is more than enough for anyone who is starting.
Again, this is an amp that its meant to be used at home. However, I??ve used this amp with my band when I was just beginnig, and it had enough power. I mean, even with the drums and everything else, it could be heard.

I??ve had mine for 5 years. When I sold it, it had no problems and it was working like if it was new.

I??ve never dealt with them. Never need to.

Of course, there is no way to compare this amp to an tube marshall, fender, mesa boogie... But this a good amp for any starting guitarist, who doesnt want to spend a lot of money, and will only use it at home, or maybe with a band.

This amp is pretty much a practice/jam amp. There are two channels, clean and lead and then there's also vintage and modern. Then theres a volume knob, pre gain, post gain, low, mid,and high. There's a CD input and a headphone jack. I wish it had reverb. I use it in my bed room and my rec room.

The amp can give you two sounds. Clean or Lead (which is the distortion channel). The clean channel is never distorted and the distortion is not too shabby. The distortion channel is the only get one and the clean channel isn't that good. I do though prefer my distortion pedal over the distortion in the amp. I'm using a Standard Squier Strat.

I wouldn't take it to a gig, it's just good for practicing and jamming with some buddies. I want to buy a stack to use for gigs and keep this one at home. The only problem I ever had with the amp was one time it just randomly turned off, but I've never had any problems with it besides that one time.

I've never dealt with customer support and I can't remember how long the warranty is.

I've had a guitar for 3 years but just started playing seriously in March and it's November now. The only other gear I own is my distortion pedal and my guitars. If it was lost or stolen I'd get a stack. I like how it's easy to carry and good to practice on but I don't like how it's not good for a gig. I compared it to my buddies Ion amp and my other buddies small little amp and it was better than both combined. I chose this basically because it's a practice amp and it was all I could afford.

This amp is pretty much a practice/jam amp. There are two channels, clean and lead and then there's also vintage and modern. Then theres a volume knob, pre gain, post gain, low, mid,and high. There's a CD input and a headphone jack. I wish it had reverb. I use it in my bed room and my rec room.

The amp can give you two sounds. Clean or Lead (which is the distortion channel). The clean channel is never distorted and the distortion is not too shabby. The distortion channel is the only get one and the clean channel isn't that good. I do though prefer my distortion pedal over the distortion in the amp. I'm using a Standard Squier Strat.

I wouldn't take it to a gig, it's just good for practicing and jamming with some buddies. I want to buy a stack to use for gigs and keep this one at home. The only problem I ever had with the amp was one time it just randomly turned off, but I've never had any problems with it besides that one time.

I've never dealt with customer support and I can't remember how long the warranty is.

I've had a guitar for 3 years but just started playing seriously in March and it's November now. The only other gear I own is my distortion pedal and my guitars. If it was lost or stolen I'd get a stack. I like how it's easy to carry and good to practice on but I don't like how it's not good for a gig. I compared it to my buddies Ion amp and my other buddies small little amp and it was better than both combined. I chose this basically because it's a practice amp and it was all I could afford.

This amp is a 15 watt strictly room practice amp. I got it as a present about 2 years ago, along with my first guitar. It sounded ok with the gain on, and the clean channel is pretty much crap. It has a 3 band equalizer, and a modern/vintage setting, both of which are about as useful as 3 extra knobs that havent been wired. A few months ago, i bought a 1974 les paul copy, and that sounds mediocre as well, unless you crank the distortion. But then you cant turn it up too loud or it just sounds like static. It has a cd input and a headphone jack too.

Me playing mostly punk rock and ACDC stuff, it works because i barely ever use the clean channel. the gain is almost too much, because when im at band practice, i crank it and it sounds like crap, so i turn the gain down and its too quiet. Either way, you cant win.

This category i give a 10 because the thing is like a rock. Ive never had any problems with it, its very dependable, not too heavy, and could withstand live playing if only it had better sound and at least 50, not 15 watts.

I got this 2 years ago, first amp, i thhoght it was great. But now that ive learned the basics, and i speak for anyone else who can say that, GET A BIGGER AMP. If youre planning to have it sit in your room with you playing quietly for as long as it still works, go ahead. but this amp will only take you to a certain point.

vintage/modern switch
basic EQ

don't have much to say about the little fella, apart form it is the best 15 watter you can buy!

i use this amp with an ibanez s470, ibanez jem and a marlin state of the art. it sounds great at low volume with some effects on it. the distorion is quite nice, one of the best sounding practice amp avliable.

solid state and Peavey. what more can i say !!

never needed them

excellent first amp, great sounding, loud, nice and easy to use and very very cheap.

The peavey 158 is a practice amp. If you have no viasions of grandure, then this amp will do whats it's meant to.

2 channels, with a 3 band EQ. nothing fancy here, although it does have a line in/cd in put for those of you who wish to finally jam with your favorite axe man.

At 15 watts, this is amp is plenty for practice at home, and even collabs with your bandmates to get some wrinkles ironed of all those great new songs bursting from your brain.

I have many guitars, but play mainly an LP standard, and a washburn falcon. I play blues/rock&roll and this amp is satisfactory for the sounds i prefer.

Quiet, for a little amp, this puppy packs far more punch than my marshall valvestates (possibly the worst thing marshall ever did)

the Clean channel is crystal, and the overdrive channel packs a we bit of punch - although I wouldnt say it "sounds" like a tube amp - it does have a fairly sweet dirty channel that most anyone can squeak some good tunage from.

Running the clean channel with my les paul and my analogman BD pedal, and you'll think plexi.
for the dollar, this is a fine practice amp for all.

I cant really judge here. practice amps dont often leave my room here, but hey.... how unreliable can solid state be.
(some of you will pretend i never said that)

pfft. for 25 bucks, when it breaks i'll kick it to the curb

I've been playing for about 28 years, I guess you wouls say i have tons of "vintage" equipment. Yes, that makes me old :)

If this amp were stolen, I 'd buy another one if someone were standing right in front of me with it.

the clean channel is sweet, and this overdrive is something i can live with. not a bad sounding amp - and as I said, compared to my marshall valvestates, this amp is clearly better made, and has a better sound. And that comes from a marshall kind of guy.

This would be a much more popular series if peavey included an effects loop. Sure it isnt profitably feasable for them to add such a feature on thier smaller amps - but hey - if i use my effects on stage, why wouldnt i want to use them while writing, or just jamming through the lil bugger.

An overall 7. peavey has always made fine products - thisi s definately one of them.

Peavey Rage 158 - A solid-state 15 watt (RMS) with a 8-inch speaker.

Single input, 2 channels, Preamp Out, 3-band EQ, Headphone jack.

Clean channel is what it is. The Supersat(R) lead channel is AWEsome!

I've used this so-called practice amp for everything from a bench test amp, home recording to live jams (the latter requiring a mic into the PA system) without any problems from the unit itself for several years...and before I got it from my brother, he used it to amplify his harmonicas (with a mic) and lap steels, mic'd into the PA when the power wasn't able to match the other instrument amps.

9 for versitility, as I've still not found anything I'm unable to use this amp for.

My only gripe is that there's no footswitch jack for channel switching, which I have added myself, otherwise this would have gotten a 10.

I've used too many instruments into this thing to mention, it has given me basic amplification to practice with, if I need more power, I mic it into the PA system or use the Preamp Out or headphone jack into the board.

Styles used with this amp are varied, from country and blues to rock and pop from the '60s to current. The Supersat(R) knob goes from a hint of distortion to mega-crunch, even a vast stare at the knob can change the entire spectrum it is able to give. (Those that hate this amp has not turned the knobs more than one extreme to the other at all, there's quite a range there!) I give it a 6 on Sounds because it only gives clean, EQ'd, and Distortion, no Phase, Reverb or anything else. I'd buy a Reverb version of this amp, as long as nothing else changes...

It's a Peavey. I've yet to see any Peavey solid-state amp that wasn't dependable, reliable and built like a brick bbq pit, takes abuse and keeps working like a Peavey should, and always has for me.

(Yeah, I've used Peavey solid-state amps for decades)

I've only dealt with the company once, just sent off an email today for parts for repairing a friend's Peavey amp (knobs broke off), tho from what I've heard from others and read here, Peavey's CS is as reliable as their amps have always been to me. I give a 9 as I've not ever had to deal with them before, tho I've gotten PDF manuals and such from their site on my other Peavey amps as well.

I've been playing for (at this review) one short of 30 years, and throughout, I have -always- had a Peavey solid-state amp in posession or use, these things rawk, and always have. The Zoo Bar here in Lincoln NE has been famous for Blues players for quite some time, and their PA system is Peavey, as they are reliable, and can get LOUD if ya need 'em to be.

This Rage 158 shall be with me as long as I still breathe, I may have it buried with me if I have no kids to hand it down to.

(See this and more gear at my site http://xan.dune.net/ )

It's like every other "Practice"-amps: 3 band EQ, clean, distortion.

Oh yeah... this thing got this "Vintage switch". To me, it sounds like it cut off the bass and boost the mids. But only very very little. Doesn't sound like tubes, but I think it's a bit more dynamic than the "Normal" mode. You hear that when clean is maxed :)

3+ for the "Vintage switch"

Cheap Strat copy (Morgan classic series strat) into this amp.

It's good for practise and that's it. I try to record it, but there's too much noise.

What suprised me was that when I had the PU-selector on my strat clone in the mode when it's combining the middle and bridge PU's, amp distortion cranked, post volume on an ear-pleasing volume, EQ voicing on "Vintage", the three EQ controls maxed and tone on guitar rolled all the way down. When I had this setting, I get a pretty good sound :) haha

Also, when on higher volumes (maxed), you can hear the difference when you twisting the EQ knobs, wich is hard to hear at bedroom-levels...

3- because the sound gets pretty muddy when cranked on clean "channel".

Nothing had happend to it. Then it's this little box inside the amp that gets hot all the time, even when it's off!
Pretty annoying. But like I said: Nothing had happend to it!

3- because the heat generated from the box

This is a very good amp for those who just brought an electric guitar, but as a "Practice"-amp, I think you'll find a better one!

Though very cheap :)

Good features for a practice amp, maybe should have different eq for the 2 channels

I dont know hwy everybody hates the sound so much. its not meant for loud use, its just a practice amp. i found it great for pretty much any style i played.

holy crap. i dont think anything can break this amp

ive only been playing for a bit but this is the best practice amp ve had. my previous 2 (jordin - total hunk of crap, and a fender one - ok but started sizzling after a while) were not as good as this one

its a peavey lol what much to say about a lil amp
good clean channel adn distrotion for a blusy mellow rockish sound
its a soild state that say it all their lol run this next to a Eq pedel or a dod grunge and it will surpirse u

This amp has lasted through partys adn drunking nights at hoem with som friends adn hasnt let me down

if i wanted it ya i would of had it
i bought it from HEL music and they offered support
adn it came with a 5 year warrrinty lol havent had to use it tho
a few times ihough i was gonna pop teh speaker

I bought this amp in 2001 or 2002 New From a local store
it has a good sound for starting out i used it up untill now(2005)
were i bought a classic chours 212

i play with a knock off strat with 3 SC
adn with teh rage it has a nice crisp clean channel but not the best but with carful tweaking of ur mids and lows and highs
u get a really good soundi play kind of a Thrash metal punk any heavey or punky kind of style it was good enough to get better but after about 2 years with it u need more power

i ran a DOD grunge with it and it opens teh amp to better sounds adn tone i use to use a danelectro Eq adn it really improved teh sound but as everyoen knos gear comes and gos i use the dod now adn still keep this amp cuz its good fow low level jaming like with a acoustic or a cople of budeys but not enough for a drummer well at least for teh way i play maybe a coffi shop or on teh cornor or at home kickingback over all i think this is a good pratice amp with a distortion pedal next to it and very versatile enoughe fer low level stuff
good amp for playing on a budget or if your looking for something
for a apartment or so your mom dosent get mad at u

I bought this amp in February of 1998 (My Birthday) so I assume it is a 1997 model.

Simple features, after all, it is a practice amp. Read other reviews for features.

I rate it highly becuase it is only a practice amp and doesnt really need many features.

For its size, I would have to say that this is probably the best 15W practice amp out there. People seem very loyal to this little gem, including Butchers who want to project their voice even further at the markets.

You will never get "that sound" out of an amp of this size. But it sounds great for what it is.

This was the first amp I ever bought and I have had this little baby for 9 years without a single problem. It has been dropped, used to amplify vocals and yet it still performs as well as it did when I first bought it.

Never needed it, and probably never will.

For practicing, this amp is great. It has been my faithful little companion for the last 9 years without a glitch.

i would say that this is the best practice amp out there. I's so impressed with it, that I just had to review it :D.

First of all, I thank all reviers here, I made great use of the reviews in my purchases. Unfortunately I bought this amp before getting to Harmony Central.

This is a small practice amp, so I would rate it as such. Clean channel with volume, lead channel with gain and volume. Shared EQ low/mid/high. Vintage-modern voicing switch, CD in and headphones out. No reverb. But it's real light, I like that. And you can use the open back to suff in cables, pedals etc.

I had this amp for about six months, and the bottom line is this: I tried hard to make it sound good on its own, with little success.

On its own the only usable sound (with humbuckers) is on the lead channel, with the gain at 10 o'clock, bridge pickup, with the pickup volume rolled back to about 7. Then it sounds approximately like AC-DC, or LedZep.

Otherwise I typically use the CD-in to plug a Digitech multieffects pedal straight to the power amp. That sounds ok, not great though.

Some people say you should not compare the sound of a 15Watts solid state combo to a bigger tube amp. Well, that's only partly true. Even for practice, an uninspiring sound can really be offputting. I have a Marshall all tubes combo, and that sounds really great, with almost all settings. Although this little Peavey says "TransTube" it has nothing to do with tubes. Sharp attack, cold sound, unmusical distortion - sounds solid state through and through. Emulating tubes with solid state just won't please my ears. And it's not about snobbery.

Try this: register with a site like soundclick.com that features amateur bands, where people specify the amps they used for recording. Google the site for names of amps, then download 10 solid state and 10 tube amps tracks, play them in a random order and judge the sound if you like it or not, then see whether it's a tubes or trannys track. I did that, hated 8 of the solid state sounds, liked 9 out of the tube sounds, and bought an all-tubes amp as my main amp...

I use bigger amps in the Peavey transtube line - the Envoy sounds much better. I have no idea why this little one sounds way worse than the next step up in its line.

Absolutely reliable.

no idea.

I have been playing for about 17 years. If lost or stolen, I would be happy to have an excuse to fill it's niche as my carry-around little amp with something nicer.

I think the amp was made in approximately 1996 in USA, it is a single channel solidstate amp with pre-amp out, headphone, 3 band eq, distortion and spring reverb. It's rated at 15 watts with a 8 inch speaker.

I am currently using a peavey usa predator strat copy and 1958 gibson es-125 tdc semi hollow. It's a modest practice amp that sounds reasonably good clean, the distortion is just passable but will give you an approximation of distortion pedal through a tube amp. I play mostly originals but I guess my tastes are mostly classic rock. I have been playing for awhile and also owned and used most of the famous vintage gear. Sometimes when I am working with modest equipment like this it helps me get a better sound out of it than most people because I know sonically what I am looking for. It took about 15 minutes to a half hour to figure out the eq/distortion/reverb settings to leave the amp set at. There is no possible way you could play over a drum kit with this. It is strictly a bedroom/coffee table amp. It does a good job with surf guitar instrumentals and country western (peavey is so associated with this type of music.) My mom had a Kustom 150 2x10 from the CCR era time and is the standard I judge solid state amps by. The clean setting is about 8/10 of a late 60s kustom amp. I played the first few bar chords of "proud mary" and the amp did a good job with this. Also "walk don't run" by the ventures. Zep was a strain for this amp but the fuzzy distortion did a nice job with "Do ya" by the move.

It's Peavey USA you can throw it at a brick wall and it would be fine. Drop it from an air plane. They are indestructible highly underated amps and there solid reliability was one of the reasons I got it.

I'm sure 10/10 even though I got the amp used Peavey has wonderful reputation of helping owners with old out dated equipment. They are a good company and it's a shame they do not get the credit they deserve.

Well, I've had all the great ones. Fender tweend harvard, Fender blackface princeton reverb, 68 champ, several vibrochamps and broncos (best practice and recording amps of all time but now worth $400.) JMI vox ac-4 and ac-10s (great amps but not worth the $1500 they are going for now.) It's unfair to judge this little Peavey practice amp against them and I won't. I gave that list though so who ever reads this will know I have had the best so I know a good tone when I hear one. I would say the little peavey gets about 78% of the sound of any of those at about 5% of the price. If your a good guitarist with decent pickups in your guitar most listeners would not be able to tell the difference. I think this is a great amp for practice around the house, traveling, dorm rooms, first guitar amp and playing with others. Before buying this thought about the Vox pathfinder reverb 15 (made in china $119) and also the Behringer gm-108 (made in china, highly rated $59 would still like to try.) I imagine the little Peavey is as good as either of these and feel a lot better plugging into something USA made. I imagine this amp will be around decades longer than the above. At $26 in used but like new condition with a guitar cord you can't beat it. I am happy with my purchase. I do wish it had a CD plug but this was made really before that became popular. I can get by with out it. If you see one with reverb for sale for under $50 I'd get it.

This is such a hard review to write... I'm a teacher and I own three of these exact same amps, though they were made in different years and are different styles. The two I use for teaching are the two latest makes. I got one last December (2004) and the other is probably a late nineties model that I've been using for teaching for years. The oldest one doesn't work at all, it got left out in the Alberta winter cold. Versatile amps, I can get lots of sounds out of them, which is great considering I end up teaching different things from day to day. Clean and dirty channels, headphone jack. A line out for recording would be great. Lots of power for what I use it for. Adequate features for the money.

Every half hour a different guitar gets plugged into these guys. I only use my Godin G Series. Sometimes teaching I think they're noisy, but it's always because of a ground problem with a guitar a student is using. Sometimes the distortion is pretty noisy and full off little clicking and popping noises which are only really noticable if you try to record through them, especially microphone recording, like with my SM57. I definately don't recommend this amp for recording. The eq is good, I can get a lot of different sounds out of these things. I've never been able to distort the clean channel, and the distortion itself is great. Again, for the money, it does pretty much what it should.

I put these amps through at least five hours of solid playing everyday. Sometimes I do travel with the older model (probably a late nineties) and it's never given me any grief. The closest to maintenence I've done on either is taking the speakers out and cleaning them with a can of compressed air, just to remove a slight buzz that was noticable. I've done part time travelling lessons for the last few years, hauling my Godin and the nineties Peavey 158 around, and again, no grief.

I've been playing for fifteen years, and teaching for four. I loved the nineties Rage I was using so much I got another one December 2004, and now they're all I use in my teaching studio, with the exception of my bass amp, a Peavey Mark III. Along with the Peavey 5150 4x12 Stack I just sold my brother, I'm pretty much a Peavey promoter... I'm going to approach them for sponsorship money ;)
I'd definately buy more of these if anything did ever happen to them. As above, a line out would make this thing a lot more complete. I've tried tons of little amps, this one is just a basic model with no effects, but I'm not really a lover of built in effects anyways. For the money, this amp is a solid investment that sounds really good that has, for me, more than proven itself. Just don't use it for recording!

I speak Spanish so high chances of bad spelling here.
Peavey Rage 158 Transtube Series amp. Bought it almost 2 years now. New. The high price I paid for this awful box is because I?m in a #$$$ country where musical stores doesn?t import decent amps and likes to rip off musicians.

Solid State, 15W RMS.
One channel, clean/dirty switch. One input, clean volume, pre gain, post gain, cd input (I will prefer a line out instead of this), modern/vintage switch, Bass, Middle, Treble, headphones input. Black Marvel 8? speaker.
No reverb, line out, fx-loop, 2 channels w/ footswitch and speaker out on this. One point deducted for the lack of each of this features. I know most people don?t care about this features, but I do because unlike them I do know how, why and for what use are these for.

Clean sound is dull, flat, boring (the EQ is useless). Gain sounds like a u$5 overdrive pedal. Although the modern/vintage switch does work and changes the sound a little (that?s the ?Transtube? feature). However, I?m using it with a Zoom505II which allow me to make this amp sound decently. 5 points added because of the Zoom.

No problems so far. But I use it only in my bedroom, never gigged with it (or intend to) even in my dreams. Volume never past 4, it?s not a valve amp so there is no need to push the volume higher.

See above.

I play from ?90s heavy rock (Satch, Vai, Malmsteen, Friedman styles) to standard jazz and blues.

I've been playing for 10 years. Have owned many amps: Fender Super 60 (great amp), Fender M-80, Crate GX 80, Peavey Bandit, Marshall 30 something, Marshall JCM 900 and many others. Have owned many guitars too: Ibanez Roadstar II, Ibanez RG350, Ibanez RG570, Washburn CS780, Washburn N4 (incredible guitar), etc.

I? am currently using this amp for home practice. A line out would be nice for home recording. I?m using the Zoom for that.

For a 15 watt practice amp there are a lot better choices on the market (at list in the USA).
If stolen I?ll be sorry because I can?t get back some money from selling it.
I will look for a Laney LC15R if I could find one in my #$$%% country. The Laney is all valve, has all the features the Peavey don?t (except the 2 channels and footswitch) but it sounds 1000 times better (I tried the LC15 model). I know the Laney it?s more expensive, hey, is a tube amp, but you can have a great sounding practice amp and even dare to use it on small gigs through a PA system or for recording at home. If the Laney is too expensive for you, try the VOX15 Cambridge. The Marshall AVT20 seems a good choice also, especially since the AVT line out is DI (speaker emulated). BUT its waaaaay overpriced.

I rate accordingly. I paid $10 for this amp, PLUS got a Zoom 505II and a braided cable thrown in. For the money, therefore, is how I'm rating. Get a $1,000 amp if that is what you are looking for feature and sound-wise.

The eq switch for 'vintage' and 'modern' is handy, and a nice feature on such an inexpensive amp. The CD-in input is nice too.

Again, for the money, the amp rocks! It's not going to get you much satisfaction at a gig, but then again why would you play out with a 15w with an 8" speaker? The sound is a bit sterile, but with some tweaking it sounds great for a practice amp. I run a dynacomp in front of this, and it takes on a whole new vibe. Recorded with a mic, this thing sounds pretty cool too (not to be used all of the time, but for an occasional 'different' kind of sound it works great).

Never have had to do anything with it.

I've been playing for 25 years, and have Mesa, Marshall, Fender, Roland and Silvertone amps. It's none of the above, but then again I can take this anywhere in an instant (like for my guitar students) and it sounds great for what it's used for.

Unsure of the year. It's a newer one with the block Peavey logo and as appoosed to the traditonal logo they have used in years past. It's a snall practice amm and nothing more. One clean and one overdrive channel. Pre and post gain knobs, knobs for low, mid and high. A headphone jack for late night practice. A bare bones practice amp. I picked one up on eBay, like new for $25 including shipping! It gets a 10 because it's best in class compared to the other amps at this price when comparing sound and construction quality.

You have to rate it for what it is. Anyone that compares Mesa, Marshall or other similiar amps to this a idiot. Did you want glowing tubes, 300 watts and a Celestion for $100? It's for practice or jamming at someone's house. Not stadium tours or the local bar. Looks like a practice amp and sounds like a practice amp. Peavey has sold so many of these because they do the job better than other amp makers. You should of bought a $100 guitar and a $500 amp if you were worried about good sound. I compare to other amps in the same price range.. not some frickin stack. I get good tones on a strat and tele. The tone and volume on the guitar is as important as the amps to get good sounds.

I take care of my stuff. Peavey stays around because they build good stuff at a fair price. More bang for the buck than most others.

I buy used. I am customer support.

Needed a drag anywhere back saver. Owned Peavey stuff in the past and for the price these sell used I am quite pleased. I have a Blazer also which is the same thing with reverb. They both get a workout and do the job they were made for

Early 80's manufacture, I'd guess. Headphone jack and a preamp-out, and definitely solid state. Extremely loud for a tiny little peice like this, I never take it above 3. It's served me well for years as a home amp and a booster for recording direct-to-4-track stuff with a synth or guitar. Definetely a great beginner's amp, but obviously not suited for anything more than sitting at home.

The distortion is crunchy and really sounds like Minor Threat, if I were to compare it to any band's sound. Clean sound is definetely crisp, basically adds nothing (which can be a good thing, really), but it can really pull out the tone in the sound.

I bought it broken for $20, had it repaired for $20, and have never had a problem since. And I haven't exactly treated it very well.

Never had to deal with the company.

If it were stolen or lost, I probably wouldn't replace it. It's still a great amp for beginners, and that's what it was intended for. I bought it because it was cheap and I was just starting out, and I haven't yet been disappointed by that purchase.

Unsure about which year, you may check at peavey's homepage or something. It has 2 channels, Clean and Lead. It has in addition 2 mode settings, Modern or Vintage, to form the sound. It has a 3-band EQ, pre- and post gain for the Lead channel, Cd input, Headphone jack.
It is a transtube amp from peavey, it means that it is designed to sound like a tube amp in a way.. (A little unsure)

It has the minimum of features that you would expect from a guitar amp today, but its ok.

I use it with my Epiphone Les Paul, with a double set of open coil humbuckers. I think it produces a great sound on the clean channel. The distortion is not that good, but for a beginner or just to practise a bit its ok. I use an Boss Ds-1 pedal with the clean channel and i just love the crunchy, good sounding distortion it gives. The Clean channel is very good, but when you turn it up on max volume it tends to be a little distorted.

The distortion as I mentioned is not the best, its only just ok. Its not clear at all, and it sounds a bit bad, not great to use when you play metal, rock etc.

On the lead its a bit noisy, but very little on the clean channel. Anyway, it doesn't bother me with a bit noise, its just charming

But overall, the Clean channel brings this amp up.

I surely can depend on it, but it is a bit small for a bigger gig (15 w), but i would surely bring it around to play some local "concerts" for a small amount of people, in smaller rooms.

It has never broken down for me! And its damn solid, just as every peavey.

Have not needed to contact them, but i'm sure they are nice folks.

I have been playing for a year with electric guitars.
I would surely bought it again, if I were to choose between 15 w amps.

This was my first amp...10 years ago. I just found it while at my parents' home for Christmas, visiting with my wife, and brought it back home for low-volume practice.

See eveyone else's review for features. Let me just say, though...this thing can be loud for 15w solid-state. Wish it had reverb, but the 'verb would likely have sucked anyway.

I own two other amps, a Roland JC-120, and a Badcat Black Cat Reverb 1x12". I play at home a lot, and either amp has too much volume for quiet practice.

Been playing 10 years, all styles from Pumpkins to Santana to BB King to the Eagles to indutrial to country to jazz. Everything. I use a Gibson Blueshawk and a Gibson Nighthawk (2-pu version), as well as an Ovation CS257 quilt-top, through a Digitech RP-20 preamp/processor and into the amp.

The clean sound is dead and terrible. I have to use a tube clean setting on the RP-20 to get a decent clean sound. Could this be fixed by putting in a $70 Celestion 8" speaker? Probably, but why bother?

The distortion is actually not bad, though! Two knobs, SUPERSAT and POST, that both have to be at least on 1 in order for there to be any sound, so you need to mix them to get your sound (a versatile design).

The SUPERSAT knob is basically a fuzz-type gain, and it can actually be pretty smooth and thick, but you'll never find a tube sound in it. Noisy as hell, though. The POST is like a BOSS Overdrive pedal, maybe a little more steril. I actually do use the distortion on the amp some, as its easier to make on-the-fly adjustments than it is on the processor. Good compression, too.

All said, except for the worthless clean, this amp actually has a pretty good distortion tone, and as much volume as you'll ever need unless you are in a band.

For what it is, a 7. On an all-inclusive scale, price irrelevant, a 2.

In 2 years of ky beating it up in high scool, and my dad using it for 8 more years, its never failed once. SHows no more wear today than it did when I bought it used 10 years ago (I was at least the 3rd owner even then).

If you're a pro and use a processor to get your tone for home practice, or a kid getting started, it's a great little kick-around amp. And a great value for $80!!!

If you're looking for a natural tube tone or acoustic practice amp, its lacking, but then you'll need to spend 3-10 times as much anyway for a small amp that can do those well.

My friend owed me some $ for studio time. He gave me part of the money and later when I asked him about his little practice amp, he offered it to me and I went for it. So I have nothing in it unless you count services / studio.

I've been just playing with it here in the control room, I'm kinda tickled with it. It really isn't a bad little amp at all.

It's a 15 watt sold state combo amp with 2 channels, clean and lead. The clean Channel has a single volume knob, the lead channel has "pre gain" [preamp volume] and "post gain" [power amp, or 'master' volume]. The tone stack is thus: Low, Mid, High. There's a Vintage/Modern switch, which is basically a high boost {'vintage') and low boost ('modern'). Oh, and there's a CD input and a headphone jack. The headphone jack automatically disengages the speaker when phones are plugged into it. I doubt I'll ever use the CD player input, but I'm sure somebody somewhere is using theirs.

I have a strat with a humbucker at the bridge, a couple of Les Pauls and a Squier SuperSonic that I'm rather fond of.

I've been recording little bytes of this thing on my system, and it sounds a lot bigger than it is. It has a lot of ass for just having a single 8" speaking in a tiny opan back combo.

Mainly, I wanted to comment that I'm really kind of stonished at how good this little amp sounds. The clean sound is very palatable. I remember back in the 80s I had a couple of solid state marshall amps, and the clean channels were useless, horrible sounding. It sounded better to just plu into your stereo. Not so with this guy. It's decent. The high gain sounds are the funnest though, it has that old school hot rodded sound, punchy bottom end, and more highs than you'll need.

I wouldn't use this amp on a gig. Well, maybe a super quiet gig. But I would definitely record with it. I bet this amp will last a long time....

I give this amp an 8. It's a tough little unit, a mouse that roars. For such a small, cheap thing (I think they're retailing pretty low), it's impressive, and potentially useful.

This amp was made in 2003
I play mostly blues and some classic rock, this amp allows me to practice both without complaint.
15w- 8" speaker. Clean and Lead channels with modern and vintage voicings, CD/Tape Input & a Headphone jack, all you need to practice at home.
I use this to practice in my living room, it is well suited for that use.

I have a Hamer SFX-2 and an Epiphone LP Std Plus, both work well with this amp during practice.
The only pedal I use is a DigiTech Bad Monkey to get a taste of Texas Blues.
The amp is quiet as a mouse when sitting idol.
I only use the Clean channel when practicing, if I need something more, I hook up the Monkey.
I don't use the Distortion on this amp and I don't play it with the Volume set above 4.

I don't know what it would take to kill this thing, I give it a 10.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing off and on for more years that I care to think about, played piano & keyboards before switching over to guitar.
If it was lost or stolen, I'd be ticked, and then go buy another one.
This amp is well suited for practice at home,a friends, or your hotel room, but nothing bigger. The only thing I'd change is the speaker, it could use a 10" instead of 8".

The most important thing to remember about this amp is that it a "Practice" amp and isn't meant to be anything else. If you need to practice with a band or even a friend who plays loud, you need to look at another amp.
If you only need something simple, that lets you get in your daily/weekly practice, then take a look at this. For the price, it will get the job done and leave you enough cash to get a decent Guitar.

2 canales (limpio/saturado)
Modo "Modern" y "Vintage" para el canal saturado
Volumen de canales independientes
Ecualizacion compartida a 3 bandas
Salida de auriculares, entrada de CD
(Se hecha de menos la reverb, pero ya esta el modelo Blazer para ello)

Para ampli de casa cumple perfectamente mis necesidades (excepto por la carencia de reverb)

Toco mayormente rock y metal (utilizo una ibanez tipo RG con Dimarzio PafPro - Blue Velvet - ToneZone). Realmente el ampli tiene suficiente ganacia para tocar de blues a metal, otra cosa es la calidad de sonido que saca...
El canal limpio tiene cierto pase; pero lo que es el canal saturado es verdaderamente lamentable: suena granulado y con poca deficion, terriblemente frio (en los tonos mas altos tengo la sensacion de estar matando gatos)

Solo he oido sonar mas o menos bien este ampli una vez le pongo una pedalera de efectos delante (merito de la pedalera, obviamente ??)
No le pongo un 2 porque lo reservaria para otros especimenes como el MG10 de Marshall (otro que tal) y un 1 no se lo merece porque realmente si puede emitir un sonido claro y definido (aunque mas bien eso dependera nuestras manos)

Unicamente lo tengo para practicar en casa. Seria horrible depender de el en un directo.
Debo decir que en 5 a?os no he tenido casi ningun problema hasta hace poco: el ampli tiene mas volumen del que su cono (su altavoz) puede soportar. Haciendo el tonto (poniendolo a algo mas de la mitad de volumen durante bastante tiempo) ha dejado de sonar "todo lo bien que sonaba"; si, ahora aun suena un poco mas a chicharra (increible).

La construccion parece muy estable y duradera (debieron preveer las patadas que iba a recibir)
Le pongo un 4 por la cantidad excesiva de volumen que permite sacar. Por lo demas bien.

No he tenido que tratar con el proveedor.

Llevo unos cinco a?os tocando la electrica.
Elegi este ampli porque no tenia ni idea de amplis cuando lo compre (era el tipico pack de guitarra + ampli + correa + puas + afinador + estampitas de la virgen etc...)
Por si no ha quedado claro: no recomiendo para nada este amplificador.
Dentro del rango de precio hay opciones mucho mejores que esta, desde luego (apa?ados estariamos)
Lo puedo dejar en la puerta de casa sin temor a que me lo quiten (no lo volveria a comprar, de hecho estoy mirando ya otros amplificadores transistorizados para tocar en casa).

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.

It's got clean & lead channel, headphone jack, and CD player Input.
I have never used the CD Input for what its intended for but its a bit of fun to slap in a mic.

I only play this amp in my bedroom, where its suited to best. its got the power for a bedroom amp, especially with a 60s Big Muff and a custom Orange Squeezer in front of it.

It has all the features any other practice amp would have, + the CD input and the Modern/Vintage switch, so its pretty good.

I currently play an Ibanez RX70 which i do not like, but i installed a Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell in the neck. With my big muff it can sound pretty good, but its still solid state(SHITHOUSE).

the lead channel is honestly the WORST SOUND I HAVE EVER HEARD. i hate it. Its meant to be like a modern lead tone(which is shit anyway), but it struggles to the max at that. This channel is completely useless, therefore i only use the clean channel with the big muff(metal) and orange squeezer(compressed clean).

It is very reliable, i'll give it that. very well built and have never had any problems with it in that respect.

Never had a chat to peavey.

i been playin for a little over a year now and am just about to buy a tube amp(probly a fender deville or marshall) this amp has totally turned me away from solid state amps, but even marshall solid states are shit house. but it has served me well and it is one of the better PRACTICE amps

An easy to use beginners practice amp which has all the features required so as not to be confusing to the beginner.It can be switched between clean and overdrive / tube and solid state and has input jacks for headphones and cd player.

Playing my Washburn and Strat through it sounds bright and full especially when switched in to 'tube' mode. Blues are adequately smooth and thrashing out the heavy stuff can be made as dirty as you like

Ok, This amp does not have alot of features. What many ppl dont realize is: ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO! This is a practice amp, and a pretty good one if i do add. It has a modern/ vintage switch, which does change it ALOT if you are smart enough to change the mids. For metal, or modern anything,: Low:9 Mid:1-0 High:10. For Classic rock(which is the best music ever) Low:9 Mid:8-9 High:10. Be sure to switch the modern/vintage switch to the proper choice as well.

I play a Epiphone Les paul. It may not be the "true" L.P. but were not all rich enough to buy those. Most ppl that own them never learn how to play anyway. Anyway, I have played my friends Epi. Strat. It sounds descent on this amp(though kind of "twangy") I play my L.P. on this everyday, And it sounds pretty good, considering the Humbucker pickups. I have learned how to play on this amp, and the sound is pretty good considering the size and options.

I have had no problems with this amp at all, have owned for about 2 yrs. Play everyday, it keeps up.

Never had any problems, wouldnt know.

This is not a Bad amp. You just need to know what youre gonna be using it for. It can get pretty loud, and is descent enough for band practice, maybe even a small gig. Depending on indoor or outdoor of course. Having played on a variety of pickups, i believe humbuckers sound the best. This amp is very well made for classic rock, with the right settings, which i have mentioned above in sound. For metal, this will suffice, but if thats all u do, then get ur self a good B.C. Rich. If youre a kinda guy that plays a lil bit of everything, this is a good amp for you. A turn of the mids, mess with the distortion lvl, and u basically get any sound you want. I recommend this for beginners.

Ok, I don't know what the hell is going on, but i think the amp i have actually sounds decent. I own and I'm reviewing the older style Rage 158, not the transtube (both sound decent to me). But anyway...

Amp has one input, 2 channels, preamp out, 3 band eq, and a headphone jack. Obviously, this amp is not about options, it's about "brilliance in simplicity". IT'S A CHEAP KNOCKAROUND SOLID-STATE PRACTICE AMP!! AUDIOPHILES AND PEOPLE WITH MONEY, PLEASE LOOK ELSEWHERE!!! If i paid 80 bucks for it (thats the price the modern transtube version goes for) i would still feel i got my money's worth. I got FAR much more than my money's worth at 20 bucks. Damn thing is practically brand new too.

Distortion is good for the kind of amp it is but the clean sound is shit (too much coloration). Played thru my computer with the line out (headphone jack) it sounds alot like my Zoom 505II pedal- cold and digital. The speaker with this amp certainly helps.

Seems dependable to me. I don't really plan on moving it from my room though. This amp would have been a deal at twice what i paid for it.

Bought used.

I've been playing guitar for about 3 years. I definetly got my money's worth. I don't know why there are so many bad reviews on this amp, maybe peavey built a bad batch of them. Please don't think I don't know what I'm rating, I've rated tons of things i've owned poorly. This is a good amp if you realize that it's an amp to use alone in your room. It's NOT a gig amp. It's NOT an amp for band practice.

I got it for practically free so I can't really complain. Before dropping 80 bucks on one of these, test them out. Mine sounds good, but i don't doubt that alot of the bad reviews on this model are true.

Basic 2 channel amp with a headphone jack. has a modern/vintage switch that just gives more lows or highs.

I play a squier affinity strat(i know its crappy) and a korg toneworks ax1500g(something like that) through it. i play metallica, system of a down, and godsmack. This amp's distortion SUCKS for playing metal or modern rock. Do not even consider buying unless you own a distortion pedal or want to play with some very, veryshitty distortion

Never had a problem with it. Has always worked

If it were stolen, I'd be laughing at the moron for taking such a worthless piece of crap. Then I'd go buy a REAL amp

This is just your ordinary basic practise amp. a speaker and a couple of knobs. iuse the amp in my bedroom and recently i have joined a jazz band but it can't realy be heard over the drums!

I use it with a dean baby ML with humbuckers and for the style of music that i play (jazz, rock) it has too much of a sharp tone and not really much warmth like most of the marshalls. The equilization knobs do give a very broad range of tones but they all would suit more of a metallica sort of playing style. when turned right up on the clean channel it can get a bit distorted when on the neck-side humbucker. as i have mentioned before it gives off a very hard distorted, fender sound which i dont particularly like. I even tried a fuzz pedal for those jimmy hendrix sounds but all i got was bass bass and more bass and couldn't get rid of it.

had it for 1 year. never broke down but i dont know wether i could trust it in a gis (if it was powerfullenough anyway)

never needed too

Ive been playing the guitar for 2 years now and own this a dean baby ML, a tanglewood tmo7 electro acoustic (which absolutel yrules) and an ibanez fuzz pedal. if it were stolen i would by a bigger amp, probably a marshall mg50dfx which i am currently seving up for. i have said its only a practice amp but i have used a marshall mg15dfx at skool and the peavey kicks its ass in volume but not so much in sound. unfortunately i was very bad in bying it as i just saw the cheapest one and bought it!

simple amp.. knobs suck totaly its hard to set up a good bedroom level.. either its totaly mute or somehow too loud but im giving it a plus for the cd/tape input

a pure nightmare.. so much solid state it can sound.. no warmth on this amp.. my strats suck on this amp.. but my les paul with EMGs sound somehow better but i still wouldnt recommend it.. its probably the most sterile tone ever..

well had mine for i've had mine for few years now.. its still working even that i've trown it out of the window few times.. could it be better?

can i have my money back?

whatever you do DONT buy this.. it only have like two different sounds that isnt suitable for any kind of music..
and when u are bying a amp u should really listen how it sounds.. this is so sterile and dry sounding that it isnt possible.. worst piece I ever owned..

are you kidding? i think it's got some random 8 inch speaker and maybe a knob or two. i've taken dumps that had more features than this amp.

this is by far the worst area of this amp. i've also taken dumps that SOUNDED better than this amp. it's not too noisy, though. then again, i wouldn't play this suck-machine if it were the quietest amp on the planet. clean sound sucks. distortion- can you say "not so much angry, more like moderately inconvenienced bumble-bee?". tone knobs don't do anything, not that it would make a difference if they did. they would only ad more nasty harshness or 250hz mud/flub to an already grotesque sound.

well, well. it seems there IS one category that this amp doesn't completely blow ass at. i'll admit, peaveys are built to last. they will give you sound for years, that is, if you can stand pots( or knobs, to all the laymen out there) that go noisey when you turn them after about 3 months of use. but then again, it doesn't MATTER how long the thing will last. honestly, do you really WANT the worst attempt at amplification in the history of guitar to last???

never tried. bet it would suck, though.

as if you needed me to tell you that i hate this waste of good plastic and vinyl.

my amp is a 2002 model. I play mainly rock and metal (metallica, ac/dc nirvana) Very good clean sound ,distortion I'd rather get a pedal. I use it mainly around the house. Ive also played in in my schools theatre and it had more than enough power.

I use a cheap Jay turser S/S/S strat through it and the sound is very great on clean but sounds too bright on distorted for my liking.
once I get a H/H guitar i think i might get a 100-120 watt peavey

I can depend on it wont break if it fell off the kitchen table but it is only a practice amp

Never dealt with the company

Ive been playing almost 3/4 a year now and a DAN-O-Wah sounds great with my setup. If it were stolen or lost I'd buy a bigger peavey.

This is a 2001 amp, great practice amp, I've tried a number of amps in this range at the Rage is the best. Great tone and enough volume to play in your bedroom. I wouldnt try it too hard over loud drums though, it loses it then, but is certainly enough for bedroom/jamming. Very light yet sturdy.

I play an Epiphone G310 into it and sounds great. I only play in the bedroom and the amp is perfect for this kind of playing. The clean sound is very nice, better than I expected. The overdrive channel is OK, certainly nothing special here, but once again its a practice amp. It gives you pretty standard sounds, not a lot of variety, but the perfect beginner amp.

This little amp is the strongest of it's kind. It's so sturdy you could drop it down the stairs and it'll be fine. Its lightweight too which is perfect for the travelling guitarist.

Never needed to deal with them.

Like i said, I play an Epi G310 through this amp in my bedroom and it packs a mean punch. I got it for practice, and thats exactly what this gives me. ***If you remember that it is a practice amp, and dont expect the sound of a Marshall stack like some of the other idiot reviewers, then you will be happy with it.***