Peavey Special 130

Let's head this up by saying this is a nostalgia review...I once had a Special 130, and I wish I had one again. Check other reviews for features, but I remember it as a basic 70s 2-channel combo, with typical characteristics...crystal clear clean channel and distortion designed by engineers who were still confused about the notion of designing distortion "in" rather than out. Gritty, nasal, nasty.

But here's the main thing: it's small, physically smaller than the Bandit I eventually replaced it with, and weighs a ton...mine had a Peavey Black Widow in it, which had a great deal to do with the sound. And it was LOUD. I mean head-ripping loud.

I used it with a 335 with two tappable humbuckers; at the time time I was playing hot rod outlaw country and associated rockabilly/vintage rocknroll styles. It was the only amp I could use to compete with a brutally amplified banjo...and it stayed clean up to dangerously percussive volume levels. (If you don't know Black Widow speakers, and can't imagine one spitting out single coil single note leads driven by a stone pick, you can't know what I'm talking about here.)

Within the clean channel, it was versatile in terms of eq...it had sufficient bottom which rarely broke up, and could be dialed for a smooth sound, though I wouldn't say creamy. I only used the dirt channel for humor, depended on an Electroharmonix Graphic Fuzz for distortion; I also used a DynaComp and EH Deluxe Memory Man to get my then-signature lead sound. I guess I'd say the amp worked well for me because it was reasonably sonically transparent, and reproduced the guitar and effects. Really loudly.

Highly reliable. Never flinched. And I abused it. It got hot, though. When I got it used it had metal knobs, don't know if they were stock. Since I used to wet my fingers before twiddling them any time after the second set, I assume it melted the plastic ones off. You gotta admire that in an amp.

Peavey's Peavey. Industry standard. I worked in a music store and didn't care. Well, that's not fair...good company to work with.

I'd been playing for 15 years when I used it, 32 years now...lots of other gear before and since, not terribly relevant. I love many guitars, and can't seem to find an amp that really satisfies. My main impetus for reviewing the Special 130 is that, with the Black Widow speaker, it was a force of nature. As heavy and dense for its weight as a piece of black hole...louder than you can imagine a box of that size being. I mean, really...would YOU design 130 watts into one twelve in a box the size of your average 30-watt amp? My guess it was built on a dare. I loved its audacity, extreme packability, incredible clean volume, sheer brutal presence.

If you're looking for a "versatile" amp, a metal monolith, or a sweet blues screamer, this ain't it. (Actually, I don't know how it would be with a softer sounding speaker...ARE there any that will stand up to 130 tube watts?). If you're looking for almost high-fi performance from a clean machine, this might be your baby. But no, there's nothing to compare it to. If I could find one cheap now, I'd buy it, put a BW in it, plug in, crank up, and sneer.

130 watts into 4 ohms, 12" speaker with HUGE magnet, 2 channels, very heavy to lug around, footswitch (lead/clean channel, reverb on/off).

I play an early 70's Gibson L6-S Custom that is all original. L6-S guitars came stock with Gibson "high output" humbuckers,which have a heavier midrange and sound less "creamy" than the classic "P.A.F" pickups that went into the Les Pauls. I like to play blues, rock, and some hardcore music. I will replace this amp when money permits. The amp has so much power that it will overwhelm the single 12" very easily. The clean channel is great, sounds good at most reasonable volumes, the distortion channel is poor. I play through an old Ibenez Sonic Distortion unit run through the clean channel. Other than that the amp is VERY LOUD and does not want for more power, it could easily power a 4-12 cab. So to sum it up the Special 130 is perfect for those on a budget that need to play loud and don't need the best.

Seems bullet proof so far and its old, the original manual was in the back of mine and it's dingy yellow. The amp was never apart, none of the screws have been removed and all parts seem to be worn equilly. I would trust it without a back-up.

Never had to contact Peavey.

I would upgrade to a better amp if this one was lost or stolen. As I said, this amp is great for beginners like me who don't have the skills to be worthy of a mean sounding tube amp or a full digital rig. So I'm happy, worth the $175.00 I paid and it cranks. I only wish it was a 2-12 version with better distortion.

12" speaker, 130 watts, 2 channels, channel-switching with footswitch -reverb, low, low-mid, high-mid, & high equalizer controls -pre, saturation, and post distortion controls -separate volume controls for each channel -"pull-thick" feature for fuller (bassier) sound on high equalizer -"bright" feature on normal gain volume -GND +/-
-2 inputs

I play different music from pretty heavy to kind of mild distortion. "Alternative", I guess. Suits my style pretty well. I found the distortion wasn't as smooth as I wanted it. The new TransTube technology found on newer Peaveys sounds much better, but this is an old amp. It seemed to sound worse when I played with drums at high volume, so I got ahold of a distortion box which I use instead of the built-in distortion now. Clean sounds ok at high volume (doesn't distort badly) Speaker is only 12", what can you expect? I use a Yamaha guitar with humbuckers. Distortion is pretty heavy, but I don't like it that much. Stompbox sounds much better.

This is the second used Peavey I've owned, and they seem to be pretty tough. Never had any problems. I'd use it without a backup.

Never dealt with them.

I like it's power, reverb, and the 4 different equalizer controls. I don't like the distortion that much (too harsh) I wish the amp had separate equalizer controls for each channel. I wish the speaker was larger (18" would be great!) I would buy it again because I got it at a great price, but if I had the money I would go for Bandit 112 with TransTube distortion circuit. Overall, amp isn't bad. Good for jamming because it's got lots of power.