Peavey Ranger 212

Purchased new in 2001 that???s right it sat in the music store for 2 years, someone???s loss was my gain. I???ve had the amp a years 8 almost to the day and thought it was time to write a review. The Ranger is one of the cleanest tube amps you will ever find it has a Hum & Noise or S/N Greater than 85 dB below rated half power it???s almost CD player quiet, even when turning up the volume it stays very quite even with noisy pickups, It???s amazing. The Reverb is good not quite Fender good but close. The amp was Peavey???s answer to a Fender Twin and it???s highly noticeable, I think it???s better in a different way. The clean channel is very very clean and warm (if you have one you know what I mean) and really easy to dial in a cool sound, if you can???t you have problems you can???t hardly make it brake up, it stays clean from 1 to almost 10. The Drive Channel is good for Blues, old rock depending how you use the pre and post drive setting it???s good for Jazz too for that lovely compressed feel. It works!! This amp is LOUD and Deep.! Not the wrong kind of brash loud it???s a comfortable loud. Setting the Speed at 9 the Intensity at 2 on the Vibrato produces and nice 3D effect and its tube driven it???s warm too. All the tone controls are very tonal and seem to be set in the perfect place for guitar frequencies, the preamp can handle any type of effect boxes, oodles of headroom. The effects loop is also tube driven, it???s warm with an input control. This amp has Peavey???s Resonance and Presence controls which is like a Bass and Treble control for the power amp section it works really good. The Master Volume works if you chose to a different preamp into the effects input you know bypassing the amps preamp. 2 Channel, Channel switching via foot switch or front panel. Tubes 4 6L6GCs 4 12AX7s. Rated at 120 watts off the cones.
For what the amp has it gets a 10 on Features because everything works perfect.

Using the drive channel with a OD/Dist pedal you can attain some really astonishing tone, everything from Marshall to Boogie but as with any amp you have to dial it in which isn???t hard. I use a Peavey Pro Fex for OD/Dist it has 5 different types of Eqs from which I can coax any type of sounds from, anything from very early Fender mid range sounding amps (that makes most hit the floor) to over the top controlled Marshall, Boogie non rectifier to really any boutique amp you can imagine. I usually keep the pre and post both at around 2 to 3 so with a driver it doesn???t take much with both the boost and shift buttons pushed in viola YJM. I use a Roland GP-16 in the effects for Reverb, Chorus and Delay. The clean channel can do pretty much anything you ask from in it???s native loud and clean to being driven with effects pedals. I use Ibanez RGs with stock pickup and a cheap Strat. The amp alone on the clean and Drive sides gets a 10 for sound.

It???s 10 years old and works as if it was new.

Never had to deal with Peavey's Custom Service.

If it were lost or stolen I would lose it because I don???t think I could replace it but I would try. It's never let me down when other amps have. It's a quality amp built like a tank. If you're thinking of getting one and it suits your needs I suggest buy it if it's in working and non abused order because you will be hard pressed to get a better amp for less or the same money. If it abused and the electronics work buy it and fix it up.

Bought new in 1998 and used several times a week since ...that's 10 years of fuss free use.

This amp is strong and clean and I've seldom had the main volume over half power. Versatile? Yes! From old school blues through Stones with Hendrix stuff and even Rockabilly twang or jazz. You could jack the 120 watt tube amp out to extension cabs and blow out eardrums if that's what you want. By itself it will drown out a drum set at full volume but that's not what its all about. In my opinion this is a near perfect combo amp.

Clean and High Gain channels with plenty of tone shaping are operated by foot switch that also works the trem and reverb and effects loop. For studio or small venue the presence and resonance controls give you the ability to fine tune the tonal range as you wish.

Effects In and Out loop with level control helps you work with external pedals and effects boxes.

I play a custom Tele with an SD str-2 Hot Rythm at the neck. A humbucker next to it and a really strong classic fender bridge PU. I've used the amp with pretty much every other kind of guitar as well.
The Ranger is clean and clear at all times and works well with effects boxes and pedals of all types. The clean channel only distorts when you overdrive the preamp...as it should. The high gain channel has great tone and distorts smoothly... if you want crunch get an effects box.
Reverb and trem are strong and deep.
The amp plays well in any envoronment and does not get drowned out by horns or percussion.

10 years = over 500 weeks at 2.5 90 minute uses per week that's nearly 1900 hours of use! ZERO problems.

Who cares?

35 years playing guitar. Other gear .. Amps ... 50 watt Marshall, Fenders, various stack speakers. Guitars .... keep looking for the perfect fit ... not found yet.
If this amp was stolen or lost I'd freak. And do anything to get another.
Compared to every other combo amp of the last 40 years... this one is the best.
Love the power, the tone and the reliability. Hate the 70 plus pounds.

I keep trying out effects and keep coming back to just the Ranger.

It's as close to perfect as you can get.

This is a late 90's Ranger212 that I picked up in 2006. Both channels are very good, the clean is among the best i've ever heard. Second channel is very nice, too..easy to get tones similar but not quite as good as my jcm 800. Really versitle.
It's the loudest combo amp I've ever heard in my life, almost too loud to be practical for me but the tone...I just cant bring myself to part with it. Headroom for days!!!!!!! Good reverb but not fender twin good.
Great tremolo.

Great sound!!!
I play mostly blues through an American Fender strat with lace pickups and this is the clean tone i was looking for all my life. Tons of headroom. I could go on about the clean channel but it's all been said by the other reviewers.
On the second channel, i can dial in tones similar to my jcm 800 combo, which is impressive. Perfect for classic rock from ZZ-Top to Van-Halen.
People lookin for nu-metal tone should look elsewhere or get a pedal. I have used a Dunlop Dimebag distortion pedal through the clean channel and was amazed, but this is a blues, classic rock style amp.
Awesome tone! Clean channel is fender twin clean. Very good and very usable second channel. Tons of headroom and super loud.
A very rare combination of some very sweet tones.

Built like a brick fort. Peavy did a great job. Has never gave me any trouble, knock on wood.

never had any reason to call the company so I cant give a rating here.

Been playing for 20 years and this is the best amp of this genre that i've ever owned. I only own tube amps that sound good to my picky ear and this amp delivers the clean that I was always looking for. Much more headroom than my DeltaBlues 210. It's heavy like a tank..had to put casters on it cause it must weigh around 90 lbs, maybe more. Super loud..I only play small gigs around town and this amp is almost too much for little venues. Can't knock it for that though and it sounds nice enough at low volumes. A "little bit to much" is a lot better than "not quite enough" ;)

I have a 1999 Ranger that I bought in a pawn shop. I paid so little for it I still feel guilty at times, but not REALLY. They made the deal. I had looked at it, then went to HarmonyCentral to read the reviews. Everyone was right. This is a GREAT tube amp! I removed the original tubes (one was not working anyway) ,and installed a matched set of JJ's, then turned ot on with my MIM Strat, Wow. This amp is in excellent condition, and came to life. It goes all the way from squeaky clean to classic rock with a few switch clicks. I have the original Blue Marvel speakers, but am looking for a pair of orange JBL D120's because I'm partial to them. The tremelo is the best I've ever personally used, and I've been at it since 1965. I also have a vintage JBL D130 in a ported cabinet, and plugged it in with my 62 Hofner bass. I was very surprised to hear the power and clarity with a single 15, with the master on 5 and the clean channel at about 4-5. So, I am able to use it for either guitar or bass when I write.

This is the loudest 212 amp I have ever used. I once owned a 1962 Fender blonde tolex Bassman, and had it loaded with 2 12 EV SRO's. This amp is quieter at idle and louder than that was. The distortion is very smooth, almost creamey, and great for classic rock and blues. The boost control lends an immediate tone change to the distortion channel. Only problem is to get the REALLY great sound, I like to turn it past seven, which is way too loud for most clubs, and way, way too loud for a living room. So, it's onto E-bat soon for a vintage Rockman power soak. I have turned it up to eight with the clean channel at 5, and NO distortion. Wonderful for surf music, or clean country pickin'.

I would certainly play without a backup. This thing seems really tough. I have not had it long enough to form an opinion on overall dependability.

I have sent several E-mails to Peavey with questions about this amp, and they ahve responded within 24-48 hours. I feel confident that any service I may need would be met with the same care.

I have been playing over 40 years. If it were stolen or lost, I would track the thief down like a dog and beat him senseless with a gig bag. Then I would look for another one. I have tried the Fender Deville, and the Pro reverb, and this amp is louder, as clean, and much more versatile.

Read a few reviews down... I bought this amp from my buddy mikemac. All of his mods (except the tubes) are present. He swapped the speakers to an Eminence Swamp Thang and an Eminence Wizard (I'm not sure if that's in his review below). Those are some really nice speakers, and they sound fantastic together!

This amp is just plain awesome. The great thing about tube amps is that you can easily change the tubes to get exactly what you want out of them. I really liked this amp when I first got it, but I wanted to get the clean channel to sound a bit more like my Fender Blues Jr. That little amp has so much character! Anyway, I swapped the preamp tubes for some JJ's, and it made a night-and-day difference. Clear, soulful, powerful tone! I use pedals for overdrive, and I use the gain channel on the amp just as a lead boost - with the preamp gain set low and the post gain turned up, you can get a one-click boost in volume and a little boost in gain to bring solos way out front. The overdrive channel is quite versatile and produces a very nice sound when used more conventionally, but I just prefer my overdrive pedal.

I accidentally dropped the thing twice. I absolutely freaked out the first time, but I soon discovered that the amp was perfectly fine. I hate to say that I was the cause for any abuse, but the amp has held up like a champ! It was also in a room that was heavily damaged by Hurrican Wilma in 2005. No damage to the amp! The thing is a tank!

I haven't had to deal with Peavey - mikemac is a pro with amps, and he fixed this thing up when he had it.

I've been playing for 11 years, and this will be my main amp far into the future. For guitars, I use a Gibson Les Paul Studio, a Hamer Duotone, two Fender Strats (one maple fingerboard, one rosewood), an Epihone Dot, and an Epiphone Les Paul. In front of the amp is just a Dunlop Crybaby 535 (the early one before the 535Q) and a Korg G1 distortion unit. Simple, very toneful setup. This amp (and the rest of the rig) sounds fantastic - and very unique to each guitar. This amp is probably my soulmate.

I bought my Ranger in 2000 but I think it is a 1999 model. It came with Blue Marvel speakers and standard Peavey tubes. I bought it new. I wanted a Twin Reverb kind of amp but looking at the difference between the Fender originals or the reissues left me cold. They were overpriced and didn't sound as good as the stock Ranger did to my ears. I like channel switching and the footswitch reverb-tremolo, effects loop features. This is an amp with all the features I could want. I play rock and blues. For my styles it is perfect.

I'm using a Jay Turser Serpent and an Ibanez JS model. I replaced the speakers with Eminence V12s. It sounds fantastic with the Les Paul. I think it likes humbuckers a lot. No problems with single coils too but I have to set the mids EQ at 0 to get a good strat tone from it because the V12 speakers are very midrangy. I don't have any pedals to go with it except a Crybaby wa wa.
Cleans are very warm and fat. I use the clean channel the most and it will break up nicely at high levels just like a Fender Twin. The distortion channel is good to go no matter how much or how little the gain amount is set. I use this channel sometimes with just a little overdrive on it and a louder post gain volume but I really like the way the clean channel sounds when it overdrives.
This is a very loud amp but it's quiet, too. I hardly ever crank it past 6 on the master volume, which is loud as hell. The Ranger has a good reverb and a very good tremolo.
In my opinion the Ranger sounds good to excellent with either the stock Blue Marvels or upgraded speakers. I think this was one of the best super power amps (120 watts) that Peavey ever made. It rivals the Twin Reverb on the clean channel and does a respectable job of mimicking the older Marshall Plexi sound on the distortion channel. What more could a classic rock or blues player like me want from an amp? If you need more distortion than it comes with, use a good pedal like the Metal Zone. It will give you the brutality you need for that kind of stuff because it reacts very well to pedals and has enough raw power to get heard in a loud, heavy distortion environment. It's just one hell of a versatile, good sounding amp.

Replaced the speakers during the first year. Replaced the tubes after three years. Still have the second set of tubes in her. Never had a breakdown with it in 5 years.

I am an older player. I have about 30 years behind me now. I own some other amps but this is the only tube amp i have now. I use it mainly for live performances and it's never let me down. I like the warm true tube tone that it has. It's heavy so I put casters on it, which Peavey should have done on their own.
When I bought this amp I compared it to the Fenders and Marshalls of the day. No comparison in the sound and price category. These are better built and better sounding and way more versatile for all styles than the Fenders or Marshalls. I would buy this amp again and recommend it to anyone.

Mine is a 1999, I think. I bought it second hand from eBay. I play old school rock, blues and funk from the 60s and 70s. We do some surf covers, too. For those styles the Ranger is perfect. For country players it will do the trick.
It has the same features as a Twin Reverb basically, but add channel switching and adjustable effects loop to the list. It's as heavy as a Twin, that's for sure! With casters it's manageable.
I wish it had a footswitch for the boost feature. That's my only complaint.
It has plenty of power to spare with 120 watts of 6L6 tube crank.
For the money it delivers a real value. The Ranger is a great sounding, versatile tube amp.

As I said I bought it used. I got it with stock Blue Marvel speakers and Chinese tubes. Actually it sounded pretty good like that but I put a set of JJs in it and that made a bit of difference. Then I swapped out the speakers for some Eminence Wizards and that made a BIG difference. The Wizards are way more efficient for one thing and they are much more responsive to tone controls. The amp is noticably louder, too. I'm rating the sounds with the new tubes and speakers.
Clean is real clean. With the bass and treble on 10, mid on 5-6 and the channel volume at5-7 the clean channel sounds so pure, using a Strat or a Tele. Country pickers and funk players will love the clean sounds. For surf and funk it is the ticket. With a Les Paul and a PRS the clean channel is a bit fatter and breaks up sooner with a nice musical sort of breakup that I like a lot. If I keep the channel volume at 5-6 with humbuckers there is no distortion at all. Just crank up the master volume and enjoy a nice, pure tone. It's plenty loud at 5-6 on the channel volume-believe me!
The dirt channel has a range from clean to 70's hard rock distortion. It's not a high gain type of distortion like a Marshall or a 5150. It's a musical sort of overdrive, actually. It sounds aggresive and has nice harmonics but it's reserved and retains a pure clarity on notes and chords. It almost sounds like a "clean" distortion if you know what I mean. I does not get brutal without a boost pedal in front of it. On its own the dirt channel won't go past a 38 Special, Lynard Skynard, Van Halen or Blue Oyster Cult kind of distortion. Not a problem for me because that's perfect for Cream, Hendrix, Zep kind of stuff. Very clear and pure overdriven crunchy sounds with the distortion cranked to about 5. From 7-10 it gets pretty heavy, sort of early Plexi Marshall overdrive or Van Halen-ish distortion where you hear the notes being played when soloing and the crunch on chords is big but not mushy or fuzzy. For blues and old school rock like AC/DC this channel delivers the goods. With a boost pedal it will do metal but I wouldn't call it a metal amp and it's really not set up for that style without a serious metal pedal to push it. I doesn't sound like a trip Rectifier. If that's what you like then this isn't your amp.
Bear in mind I'm rating the sounds based on the styles I play, the guitars I use and the tube/speaker upgrades. I love the sound of the amp which I would describe as pure, loud and clear even with high levels of overdrive on the dirt channel. For classic rock, blues, country or funk it is the ticket.

Solid. Rangers will take a lot of abuse. It IS a tube amp so treat it with care and chage tubes. Peaveys are known for being reliable. Scroll down and read the review by Mr. Doc Woodman. Enough said.

I've been playing guitar since 1988. Before that I played bass. I own several guitars and 3 other amps which are all solid state Peaveys or Rolands. I would buy another one of these. I'm glad that Peavey is still making a "gentleman's tube amp" as opposed to the flood of high gain metal tube amps being marketed today. I don't like playing metal at all for the most part, either 80s or nu metal. It's just not as musical sounding as the old school stuff that I grew up on. How can you compare KORN's sound to .38 Special? Don't get me wrong, I respect and appreciate some of the metal bands out there but old school and nu metal are on two completely different wavelengths. For what I do this amp is perfect. I am so glad I own one.

It's a poor mans Twin Reverb. It has more features than a Twin Reverb but basically thats what it is. Hooorah. Read the other reviews because its been covered.

Its not for everyone. If you do the metal stuff than you wont like it. Thats because this is a rock or hard rock or country amp. How many metal amps have trem? But if you like the sound of a Twin Reverb than you should get one of these for half the price. i use a Ibanez with HSH pickups. mostly I play hard rock of the 70s and some stuff from the 80s and 90s. This thing can cover it all. It is very versatal. I play the clean channel mostly. With the volume way up it will distort just a little. Thats all i need. If I need it real clean I can back off the guitar volume. lots of control and lots of sound variety with the Ibanez. its loud enough for anything.

Well when i got it off ebay the guy sends it to me with only 2 6L6 tubes in it. I emailed him because he sent me 4 tubes but only 2 are in it. then he sends a email with instructions on how to switch it back to 120 watts and so thats what I do. But i switched back to 2 because there isnt a big difference anyway and I found out a lot of people play it like that. I have had no trouble with it and I don't think I ever will. I gig every week and play it every day with just two 6L6 tubes in it. You have to change the ohms switch to do this right but its easy.

its used. i never had to call peavy.

I started in the 90s. this is the first tube amp for me. I would never sell it because it sounds exactly like I want to sound. For the money you cant beat this thing. i bought mine used but it was mint.

I?m an amp repairman. I have 22 years under my belt, doing repairs and modifications to tube and solid-state amplifiers; 12 of those years have been with my present employer who will remain nameless. Without giving too much away (I LIKE my job and want to keep it! LOL), I work for a major, medium sized outlet, privately owned, in a Southern city. We provide cartage, product and tech service for some big name acts and we pride ourselves on providing the same level of service for Joe regular customer as we do for the rich and famous. I also play the electric guitar, but only as a diversion in a garage band. My gigging days are long behind me at this point! I judge equipment by how well the hardware is put together and by the quality of the components / overall build. Sound is important of course but good design, good components and cabinets generally make for good sound especially in open-backed combo amps.
This is a full-featured amp for the classic rock and hard rock guys. The old timers will like the tremolo and reverb and the ability to get some classic overdrive grit from the overdrive channel, to compliment the clean. Clean channel is very nice, very adjustable, with 3-band EQ and bright switch. Overdrive is extremely versatile with gain and channel volume adjustments plus your standard 3-band EQ. There are modifier buttons for shaping the mids and a bright switch. Overdrive can be played almost clean, and the drive goes all the way up to a brown kind of overdrive/distortion. Not a good amp for metal or vicious distortion. IMHO, this amp has the perfect gain for any style short of the brutal stuff. Most of the previous reviews say exactly what you?re reading here, so I think you can rely on what you read about this amp. On to features?.
The power section has presence and resonance circuits. They are effective (some might say dramatic) circuits for adjusting the overall timbre of the amp, once you have set up the channel Eqs. Master volume and reverb. Well-conceived output stage design. Power tops out at 120 watts. Three impedance choices. This amp can run at half power by pulling a pair of tubes, which is a popular mod that a lot of people do for themselves because it?s a no-brainer. (Don?t forget to change the impedance to ? of the former value, assuming you keep the same speaker setup.) Comes with a pair of Eminence Blue Marvel speakers, four 12AX7s and 4 6L6s. SS Rectifier. Four button footswitch for turning on/off: Reverb, Effects loop, Tremolo. Channel switching. You can hear the tubes working in this amp. Buy a good 6L6 output set. It?s worth the money.

Sound is a subjective thing but I have worked on so many amps for so many years that I have gotten accustomed to dialing in the ?right sound? for the customers I service. As a stock amp I know of plenty of owners who love it. I?ve sold serviced this model for a wide range of customers and by now I know what the old timers want to hear. I know what the rockers want and what the jazzers want to hear. In terms of sound, I think I?ve heard every style and created every type of circuit mod to obtain it, over the years. Most any decent amp can be modified to create the exact tone that the customer wants, so that?s a lot of what I do in addition to fixing lots of broken gear.
The Ranger is a tube amp. My experience tells me that tube designs DO sound different than the SS types. But people should play what they like to hear. ?Play what you like.? is what I tell customers. Sound is subjective.
From my perspective the Ranger is a very flexible amp for getting a lot of good sounds right out of the box. I have modified a lot of Rangers and I?ve gotten a reputation for taking them to a pretty sweet level of tone, depending on the customers? preferences and their cash flow. Trust me on this: The myth of point to point superiority is soundly defeated every time I fire up a Ranger that?s been modified with good components and speakers. Granted, it?s still a ?production? amp, even after a tone / gain mod but you?d be surprised at the quality of tone these amps are capable of. It?s a matter of changing values for the components, whether they are caps, resistors or speakers, whether in the signal path or not. Peavey uses good components to start with and their chassis layout is easy to work with. Using the proper tools and techniques, most Peavey amps can be easily fixed and/or modded by any amp tech with basic experience. So for a good starting point that sounds pretty good right from the factory, the ranger rates high marks.
As a stock amp it has a very good, rich sound. Lots of people compare the stock Ranger to a Fender Twin Reverb. (It?s actually much more versatile and better sounding than the Fender re-issue Twin, IMHO.) I?ve worked on a LOT of Twins over the years and one thing you come to realize is that individual tube amps-including Fenders but especially Marshalls-all have their own individual characteristics. Some Twins sound better than others because components vary, transformers and speakers vary, tube sets vary?get the picture? People buy Twins and Rangers because they want a ?clean to edge of overdriven sound? at very high volume levels. Either the Twin or the Ranger will give you that. So it?s a matter of individual taste after that. The Twin?s reverb circuit is better than most, the Ranger?s tone circuit is more effective than the Twin?s. Six of one, half dozen of the other. If price is a consideration, the Ranger wins every time. If the Fender logo and that deep reverb is a must for you, go ahead and spend the dough. For country, rock, blues, classic sounds they both do the job for the people I deal with in the store. No real complaints in the stock category for either of these amps.
Personally, I?d choose the Ranger because it?s better built, in addition to the sound, and it?s way cheaper and more versatile. This is a solid amp with a good bloodline and it will continue to sound good with simple, proper maintenance, for a long, long time. Peavey?s support system is way better than Fender?s, too. That?s just my opinion but I know a thing or two about both amps and companies.

Peavey makes a reliable product line for SS or Tube amps. The Ranger is no exception to the rule. The chassis is well laid out and wired neatly. Transformers are stout. Speakers (Eminence makes Peavey?s speakers) are not the very best but they are adequate for most people and are equal to most of w2hat you find in the production amps of today. Circuit boards are good quality. The pots and switches are not the very best, but they are average for the off-the-shelf amp, and better than some nowadays. Cabinets are strong and well constructed. Peavey spends their bucks to make products that last.

I deal with Peavey all the time. There is no comparison between them and the other manufacturers, IMHO. I can?t ever remember a problem either as a dealer/repairman or as a private person dealing with them over the phone or with email. They?re not perfect but they?re way better than Mesa, Roland, Digitech, Ibanez, Randall, Fender, Marshall, Crate?you name it. I TRUST Peavey service to get me what I need and do it on time.
These sold with a 3/5 year warranty. I've seen Peavey go way beyond the call on many occasions. They are the best.

I?ve been in this business for a long time and I?ve seen trends come and go. The classic sounds of a good tube amp will always be sought after, long after each and every phase of high gain, digital effects, stereo features, tube emulation circuits have run their course. ?Trends? are designed to market gear to the uninformed. (PT Barnum was right.)
In the end, your own tastes and experience will lead you to the tone you REALLY want. For a lot of experienced players, this amp delivers great tone, and can be modded into a very sweet ride if you want to spend a little money to do it right. My advice to anyone considering this? It?s an outstanding value and the stock is on the rise for these babys. You?ll never lose money on one if you buy a well cared for Ranger, second hand. Nowadays that boils down to 400-500 bucks. Well worth it.

As has been said by others, this seems to be Peavey's brilliant answer to the Twin reverb, with some modern add-ons (effects loop, selectable impedences, overdrive channel and channel switching) to keep it contemporary. As someone who has owned and played through Fender Twins for most of my gigging career, I have to admit that the "old" Twin is superior to the Ranger in the reverb comparison, but that's about it. In my opinion, the Peavey Ranger beats the stock Twin for versatility. In the all important categories of tone and power, the Ranger is at least as good. I wish it had the boingy, lush reverb of the Fender amps of yesteryear but I can live without it in lieu of the rest. This is one hell of an amp, period!

I replaced the speakers with the JBLs from one of my old Twins right off the bat because I'm used to their characteristics and I love their clarity. Also, I'm a humbucker fan. I play a stock Les Paul custom and an Ibanez Artist with this amp. I use a wah wah pedal, but that's it.
My clean channel is set to all EQ knobs on 10, no bright switch. For the overdrive channel (it's overdrive, NOT heavy distortion) I set the gain at 12 o'clock and have the EQ knobs on 10. I use the shift button to fatten up the mids. That's it.
After some experimenting with it, I found it sounds best with the EQ all the way up. (Some have said this actually removes the EQ from the equasion. I don't know about that but my ears tell me the Ranger puts out the best tone with the EQ pegged.)
When I was fooling around with it I found that there seems to be a noticible overall gain boost when the treble tone control is pegged on both channels, so I just pegged them all and found the tone I was looking for, which turned out to be the Fender Twin tone that I have played for years. Clean stays pure to about 7 on the channel volume. It is dynamic at this level . It reacts to volume knob sweeps and pick attack and breathes very nicely.
Having the overdrive channel is a very nice bonus. As has been said, it can be played clean. I don't push the gain up to distortion levels because I don't play too much hard rock or metal. For blues and classic rock it does sweet justice to the humbuckers. There is no dropout when switching channels.
As for the power and loudness, the Ranger is very loud. It just might be the loudest amp I have ever played through. It does not get mushy with the volume up. In fact, it sounds very clear on both channels and seems to get sweeter with the master volume up at 5 or so. At 5 this amp will undermine the structural integrity of buildings. At 8 or 9 you had better not be in the same room if you want your chromosomes to remain in proper order. It sounds pretty good at lower volumes too when you bring up the presence and resonance circuits to account for the drop in power level. By the way, these circuits are wonderful additions to the power amp section. Every amp design should incorporate this power stage EQ package. Hats off to the design guys at Peavey (James Brown?) for dreaming it up and sticking it in there.
I have played single coils through it but I'm biased toward humbuckers so I wasn't impressed. I found that the clean channel remained clean almost all the way out and the overdrive sounded better with the boost and shift buttons on. Don't get me wrong on this...I think your average Strat player would love this amp. I just never developed a taste for the single coil sound.
This is a very musical, articulate, dynamic sounding amp.

I've owned it for a year and two months. No problems. Everything you hear about Peavey reliability is good. I have no complaints.

Nothing to report.

Thirteen years, playing da blues. I have my old Twin, the guitars I mentioned and a couple of overdrive pedals that I don't need anymore. I'm not a gear person. This is the first non-Fender Twin that I ever considered. I tried it out because I had heard that it is a Twin clone with a fixed bias. I use the new Svetlana 6L6 tubes in it. They are great with the Ranger, and not too expensive either.
I find the Ranger is easier to operate, has more features, is better built and supposedly it will be much less of a pain to maintain this amp than my older Twin. So far I love it. If you want that good old Fender Twin sound, get some JBLs into one of these and you won't be disappointed. For 500 bucks, this is a fantastic value. I would buy it again.