Peavey Special 130

ok,it's a 1986 peavey special 130..2 channels,which can be footswitched in and out of,reverb is footswitchable as well....it has an effects pre that i never use,for fear it would destroy the processor i use.
i would like to find a way to re eq the distortion on the dirty side,i could use a graphic eq,but it's still really really fuzzy sounding.
the clean however,is a thing of beauty...
the amp has quite a few controls which you can use to really fine tune the sound...i set it up this way,and then just run a processor onto the front of it(pod XT live)and it sounds HUMONGOUS.

i can't believe it's a solid state amp,it's so warm,and lush...

it also has the original black widow speaker in it,as well....

i use it with an es-335,a strat,a tele,and a 12 string acoustic,and it makes all of them sound wonderful.
i will not turn it up past 4..even on stage,or in a studio...to do so would be ridiculous...it almost made my 4X12 pop from the sheer volume it can make,it's almost like spinal tap,it's so silly.

the clean stays clean,probably even at 10..tho i'd likely be a few buildings over if i did that.

well,the fuzz isn't really to my taste...so i don't use it too much.it will nail the skynerd sound utterly,especially with a tele.

it's over 20 years old,all i had to do to it was clean the pots,and make sure the ground works...i also had to armor-all the crap out of it,there was sooo much dust on it.it looks almost brand new...

i'm sure it will survive the next 6 ice ages because it's a peavey..the stuff they build,simply LASTS.

they sent me a manual within 24 hours..i highly recommend anyone else has one of these,get the manual...it really helps understand what is going on with the controls.

playing for over 20 years now(i'm 38) playing pro for 14 of them...

i would try to find another of them,they seem like a rare bird tho...

get a good distortion,a delay,chorus,maybe an eq...and you're set.
well,the distortion on the amp is a highly subjective thing,i guess...some like it,some don't.i'd rather use an old pro co rat,and get my goodies that way.

just remember...it is LOUD...do not stand in front of it while it's going full tilt boogie..you will hurt yourself.

It seems to be loaded with features to be discovered

I don't know yet - Speaker is missing. Need Info.

According to what I have read here, it is a survivor.

Not sure yet.

OK - Truth - My son in law and I are on the way to my house from his and there it is sitting in a dump pile. I looked at him and said, that's a Peavey Amp, stopped picked it up and put in my van. Now I'm trying to learn more about another mans trash, my new found treasure.
Yep, he plays, I'm learning, have one Peavey Audition 20, Happy with it, been around musicians a bit in my life.

This unit has been outside in a pile for a while, we will see what happens next.

I bought this combo in 1980 after someone broke in my house and nicked my cabinet I was using with an old tube amp. Actually I think its a Special 120 and not a 130 so it is probably the first of a kind.

I thought it had loads of knobs and stuff at the time and loved the ability to switch channels with foot switch so I could play solos in the middle of songs.

Reverb is pretty good. It has line out, extra speaker sockets etc. I suppose modern amps have more features but I think it was brilliant for its time.

It is ridiculously powerful for its size.

Never got a sound I really liked. I was playing with a Manson Kestrel guitar for most of my gigging days. It didnt compare to my old Selmer tube amp in warmth but I suppose it was more controlable

It is impossibly loud. I was playing a large venue once - maybe big enough for 700 people or so. I put it up to level 3 without using the PA. I was told to turn it down. I dont understand how it can be so loud.

Works fine after 27 years. What can I say?

Never had to bother. I'll give a 10 for the hell of it.

Playing since 1979. Now just started playing bass and have a Yamaha RBX170 and an Ashdown MAG Combo 300w.

I chose it for its sheer power - I didnt realise that I would never need all that power at the time.

You cant expect tube style warmth of sound but I would really miss it if I lost it.

I bought my Peavey Special 130 about 20 years ago. Since then, I've only purchased one other amp, and the only reason I did that is because neighbors that live about 10 miles away were complaining about me disturbing the peace---the volume was only on 3! I use my new amp for situations that call for low volume (i.e. late at night), something my Special 130 is incapable of. As far as features go, this amp is pretty basic, but it's met my needs for 2 decades. Now that I have my new amp, I don't get bothered by the police anymore.

In case you didn't catch my hint above, this amp is one of the loudest things you'll find on planet Earth. I've worked at airports all over the country for the past 13 years, and I have yet to find a jet engine that can compete with my Special 130. I once plugged in my wireless, turned my amp up to 5, walked 1,000 feet away (about 3 football fields, the maximum distance for my wireless), and my eardrums were still aching from the volume! Playing at live venues, I've never had it past 3 or 4. One downfall is that the transition from 0 to 1 does not exist. It just all of a sudden goes from nothing to loud, thus the reason I purchased a second low-volume amp. Between the aforementioned jet engines and my Special 130, I'm practically legally deaf.

This amp is extremely dependable. People that see it think that I just recently purchased it because it's in such mint condition. Little do they realize that, over the past 20 years, I've leased it out to military and law enforcement personnel for use as a bullet-proof barrier for their assault vehicles, I've lent it out to cruise lines as a back-up anchor for their mega-ships, it's been used as a counterbalance on several large draw-bridges, some county governments have used it on multiple occasions for their tornado warning system (just one amp for the whole county), physicists have run extensive tests on it thinking this chunk of black hole that fell from space could finally lead to the unified field theory, etc. Seriously, it's so indestructible that it looks like it's brand new. This thing has been dropped more times than I can count, and all that happens is the floor gets dented and I lose a few toes. Although It becomes increasingly more difficult to stand now that I'm down to only two toes, I will say my arms are so ripped from hauling this thing around, I tear my shirt sleeves everything I flex my biceps! Special 130 is better than any gym I've ever joined.

The only time I called them, they told me they didn't have any foot surgeons on staff, and that I should go to the emergency room. But they were very nice about it as I recall. It's a little hazy. I was in a lot of pain. Lost the big toe on my right foot that time. No, I take that back, it was actually the fourth and fifth toes on my left foot. When I arrived at the E.R., the doctor advised me there were also traces of blood down the sides of my neck. I told him not to worry about it, happens all the time, eardrums exploded, no big deal.

If someone ever plotted to steal my Special 130, I would pop a bag of popcorn, pull up a chair, and watch the amusement unfold before my eyes. That's like a car thief trying to hand-carry an 18-wheeler off of a truck lot. Good luck! If they did manage to get it out the door, I'd just turn on my wireless, remotely activate the battery pack I have slipped into the hollow area on the back of the amp, strike a single power chord, and wait for the paramedics to scrape them off the roof over my front porch. Then, after the crime scene guys were done doing their thing, I'd grab the forklift and haul my little sweetie back into the house. There she'll stay safe and secure until I get that urgent, late-night call from the military or one of the cruise lines in desperate need of her services. I love my Special 130!

THIS LITTLE AMP HAS 'BIG-AMP'FEATURES IN A SMALL PACKAGE.HAVE HAD
A PAIR OF THEM BOUGHT ON THE SAME DAY IN 1987. HAVE USED THEM SINGLY
AND AS A STEREO PAIR. A LITTLE HARD TO USE UNTIL YOU GET USED TO THEM, BUT NOT REAL ' TUFF ' ! VERY GOOD AMPS ! ! !

SPECAIL 130'S HAVE GOOD TONE'S AND LOT'S OF " PUNCH "!

AVE HAD MY SPECIAL 130'S FOR OVER 17 YEARS , GUESS WHAT ? THEY HAVE
NEVER LET ME " DOWN "!

CUSTOMER SUPPORT HAS BEEN "GREAT" , I HAVE NEVER HAD TO USE THEM FOR
ANYTHING BUT INFORMATION ! I HAVE 10 OTHER PEAVEY AMPS AND THE COMPANY
HAS ALWAYS BEEN " COURTIOUS " AND " RIGHT-ON-THE-BALL " .......

I HAVE BEEN 'VERY-HAPPY' WITH ALL MY " PEAVEY " PRODUCTS IN MY 40 YEARS OF PLAYING . 25 OF THOSE YEARS WITH " PEAVEY " EQUIPMENT .IN MY
OPINION ," FROM THE 'BOTTOM' OF THEIR - LINE, TO THE 'TOP' THE BEST
YOU CAN 'BUY' FOR YOUR ' DOLLAR ' !!!!!

I think the amp is about 20+ years old. I bought it about 8 years ago and it was really old then. It has a clean and distorted channel and a high and low input jack. It is certainly not lacking in power though with 130 mind blowing watts. I am scared to turn it up past 3. It goes to 10. I bought it as a practice amp, mostly because it was really loud, and when I was 16, that was all that mattered.

I am trying to get a brit pop sound out of it, and there is no acheiving that. It has a very decent clean channel if that is what you are going for, but there is no warmth to it. Forget distortion. It is horrible. When it is at a low volume setting it sounds decent, but when you crank it up (i.e. jamming or gigging) all you get is feedback and fuzz. You lose any melody you have in the waft of noise that accompanies the 130 watts

I have had the amp fall out of my car when I was driving and it still works fine. I think when I replace it, I am going to have to remind myself to be a lot more careful with the new amp, because even after target practice, I am sure the amp would still work fine.

Haven't ever dealt with the company. I bought it used, but from everything I have ever heard, they are great.

I am giving it only an average rating, but for the money, you get what you pay for. If it were lost or stolen, I would be thankful for the insurance money to put to a more decent amp. I love how solid it is, but there is no getting a decent distorted sound out of it through the distorted channel.

My dad owns this amp, and we compared it a Marshall AVT-20, Marshall AVT-50, and Traynor YCV-40. This amp will play quite loud, but all three of the other amps beat it in sound quality. The Marshall AVT-20 makes a better practice amp because of its better overall sound and ability to distort correctly at lower practice volumes. The Marshall AVT-50 also sounds better overall and plays nearly as loud, plus it has much better and more versatile distortion and comes supplied with a footswitch. The Traynor YCV-40 sounds better than the other three on all counts, costs the most, and has mostly tubes in the signal path. The AVT-50 and YCV-40 were each upgraded with a Celestion G12H80 speaker and went up another notch in sound quality. The AVT-20 was upgraded with an Eminence B-102 10" extended range bass/keyboard speaker and now makes an excellent acoustic amp as well. The Peavey Special 130 is now so far behind in sound quality that my dad wants to sell it. The sound is grainy and harsh in comparison, sounding thin and solid state in nature. For low volume practice at home, he actually prefers the little Kustom Tube 12.

It should be fairly reliable, but this one just sits at home as a practice amp so it hasn't really been proven in pro use.

You could buy it for the reliability which is probably above average, but the sound quality is definitely of the harsher soild state variety, not like the best modern solid state. I've heard much worse, but I consider the sound just passable to my ears. Buy it for a good cheap starter amp and use as a backup when you get a really good tube amp. These things run cool sand are known for reliability but be prepared to accept mediocre sound quality.

Very powerful little amp. Very clean, but good distortion controls on dirty channel. Small, but heavy...I used the power amp inside as a mono PA...handled bass great.

Recently compared this unit to a tube Fender bandmaster head and this peavey is missing the bottom end. If I thin out the Fender on the bottom, the peavey sounds very much like it...even the distortion. But without the bottom...it ain't even close.

25 years LOUD and clear always. Recently developed a transformer buzz...probably from using the power amp as a small mono PA.

Who cares

I love it's ruggedness, power and small size. I'm looking for a warmer tube sound and this ain't it. Preamp may do the trick..

2 channels, the clean one sounds great when played with a good guitar. it will even make cheap guitars sound good when used with the reverb. the distortion is somewhat muddy, the mids are best when turned down. Ive played gigs, mostly punk / metal, and always have always been the loudest musician there.

the clean channel is excellent. again, just get external effects, a good multi sound foot pedal works great. the distortion stinks. i play it through two peavey 1510 speaker cabinets and you can hear it literally for miles. never had had it turned up past 4. (i think it goes to 11)

Ive spilled beer on it, burned it, tossed it around in the back of a truck, its been through heat and cold and never a single problem. It is the most reliable piece of equiptment ive ever owned period.

never had to deal with them.

i wish the distortion was better, but the technology available today makes that factor obsolete. The clean channel is louder than hell with whatever effects you want to plug into it. Perhaps there are better amps out there, but id buy another one if this one ever got stolen. Im sure it will never break. Its heavy enough to withstand a tornado.

I have had this amp for 10 years, it was 5 years old supposedly when i bought it second hand. This amp is OK for a solid state amp. At least it has some character. It is sturdy however grossly overpowered for its size. I have had to use effects or a Pod to get good sounds. I bought it because my old Fender Vibrolux was too noisy and too heavy for my liking at the time and I was now playing in church so the volume wasn't needed.

I have used a 1968 Gold Top Les Paul, PRS Custom 24 and a Mex strat throught this amp. Without effects it is too cold for my liking. It is a good amp to use with a Pod as it hardly colours the sound. I play pop and rock mainly in worship bands and it was really good at deep sounds woth my Les Paul before it was stolen (big drag). It has a mid freq parametric which is of some value.

The distortion channel is useless. The clean channel is OK but a bit colourless however it was much better than a lot of other solid state amps. It sounds better than nearly all the solid state amps I tried at the time and certainly better than all the other Peavey's that I tried (excluding the valve amps). It is loud. I rate is as a 5 because it halfway to a good sound.

Hard to give a good rating as the amp itself is rock solid however it is way overpowered for it's size and I have blown two speakers. And I hardly ever got it's volume past 25% both master and normal volume controls.

N/A I bought it second hand and have not contacted Peavey at all.

I have been playing over 25 years with a wiode array of classic valve amps and I am now moving on from this amp back to a valve combo. I admit it does have its uses and is ahead of most solid state amps of its time. It certainly is very good as an onstage monitor for a Pod or with effects. It is generally reliable excepting speaker failures. I would not buy another one but may keep it for a backup or for use in my studio. I doubt it I would get much resale value for it. I would recommend it for players starting out as a good introduction amp.

I'm not sure what year the amp was made in, but my school has had it for a while. I've played jazz guitar for several years (I'm the MO All-State Jazz guitarist) and it works well enough. It has built-in distortion and reverb and a three-band EQ.

I use this amp with an Ibanez AF 120 full hollow jazz guitar with the stock humbucking pickup. Frankly, I think the amp sounds dead. I've played my guitar through a Crate solid-state amp and a Marshall Valvestate amp, and I love the warm tone I can get. When I use my guitar with this Peavey, it sounds dull and lifeless. The high-end isn't as clear and punchy as I'd like it to be, and the amp shakes and rattles whenever I turn up the volume. I've never tried the distortion.

This amp is built like a tank. It weighs about fifty pounds, more than you'd expect for such a small amp. It's been dropped, kicked, and sat on, but it still works.

I haven't dealt with them.

I've been playing for four years. I own a Crate GX-15 practice amp in addition to this. The Crate's tone is immeasurably better than the Peavey's. If it were stolen, I'd persuade my band director to buy something else! Maybe this amp is good for rock, but it sounds like crap on the clean channel.

I purchased this amp around 1987. I play country, beach, and classic R&R, mostly on the clean channel. The features are already listed, so I won't repeat them. I wish this and all guitar amps had a frequency compensated XLR output, but they are quite rare. This amp has more tonal control than any amp I have ever owned. I especially like the semi-parametric midrange. I have gigged with this amp 20-40 weekends a year from small clubs to large festivals. It's heavy by today's standards (55 lbs ???), but it has a decent speaker.

I mainly play through a tele with EMG pickups. I can get a good clean sound with no problem. I run the low, high and presence about strait up (5), and set the mid controls around 2-3 on both inner and outer control. I like the mid-boost switch on the distortion channel; it tends to give a harder driving sound, but I'm a country player, so what would I know. The reverb is not nearly as good as the one on my Classic 30. The Scorpion speaker is a good balance between weight and sound - infinitely better than the Blue Marvel (I A/B'd them with the Classic 30 - Peavey is doing itself no favors by selling that speaker).

After 15 years of gigging, the nut came off the reverb switch on the foot pedal. It's never broken down and I don't bother with a back up; hey, it's a Peavey.

Never had a Peavey product fail (and I've owned a bunch), but I ordered some pots and knobs that I knocked off another amp, and they were very responsive.

I like this amp fine. I would like to try a new Bandit with a good speaker side by side to see how it compares.

good. I like them. The gains are good for what i need, but the for crisp, thick distortion, or a heavy medalish sound i would use a pedal. other than it being heavy, it is really nice. i have had mine for about a year now. I play in aggersive punk band and i am the loudest out of us. It can "out loud" several amps
2 channels(switched by foot pedal)

Clean= crisp to thick to thin to twangy. a lot dependes on the guitar you are usin. i use a jackson and my clean is loud and super clear. The distortion is good, but not that fuzzy. kinda unique.the reverb is great too. you can switch from it on the fly with the foot pedal. (mine sucks cause i broke my reverb coil, but it was good before then). You can get almost any sound you want out of it. it is simple but does just as much as those larger ones. Plus pumping 130 watts out of it, it is LOUD. the clean is louder than the pre and post gains though, but if you run a pedal off of your clean gain, then you get an extremly loud whatever the hell pedal you are using.

great. it is a rock. I am not sure how my reverb coil broke though, most likly age with out maintainence or something stupid i did

N/A

good amp worth the money. show ready. plug in and be loud kinda thing. the distortion is better if you use a pedal

1982 special 130 used originally for Jazz band in High school. Very clean sound. Big Boingy reverb, don't use too much of that. Very bad distortion sounds, so use a tube pre-amp Lots of EQ available. Tons of power available. Practice amp now, some studio work. A nice sound for Solid State on the Clean channel.

I use all style guitars through this amp from modified teles to custom strats. Using an old Tube Works preamp and the Clean channel with a Tele is a really nice backup sound for blues. It is my backup for long weekend type club gigs. Use your favorite foot pedals to color the sound.

In the shop one time since I purchased it new in 1982. 20 years with one small problem, the input on the high channel cam loose. Changed the speaker out to an EV 200 watt and that makes it sound a lot better than the origianl Scorpion. A bulletproof amp. Unreal. Dropped, kicked beer poured in it, never even blew a fuse.

have dealt with Peavey on other pieces of equipment and have not had very good experience with them or the dealers. Hey this is cheap stuff so don't argue the small things.

Have played for 32 years now. Every kind of gig and every kind of music. Lots of other amps in my collection. A favorite is the Carvin VT50 tweed head through a 410 box. GREAT TONE. Marshalls, Traynors, Bassmans. Nobody would be stupid enough to steal the Peavey with all that other gear around. Great starter amp for garage bands.

this is a pretty nice amp; solid state,130 watts into 1 12'' speaker. it's prob a mid to late 80's or early 90's model, i don't know exacty. i bought it used for about 180 and i liked it. it has clean and distorted channels (footswitchable) and reverb (also footswitchable). it has a pretty good clean channel which is very loud(i turned it up to 2 and it was too loud for band practice with another guitar, bass and drums)and the distortion channel which is ok but it is quieter than the clean channel. it would be good to use if you have a distortion pedel but not so good if you're looking for an amp w/ good distortion. it has plenty of power even for small concerts and it has 2 parellel speaker jacks so that u can use the internal speaker or and external one or both. it also is not to haevy for 130 watts.

i have an ibenaz grx40 with a humbucker and two singles. not the greatest guitar but i like it. i play punk, rock and emo, and it put out pretty well. it is extremly loud but not that many options; only one 4-band eq and pre, saturation, and post volume on the distortion channel; and the distortion sounds muddy if you turn the saturation up too much, but the clean channel is awesome loud and clean even if you turn it up. if it just had a clean channel i'd give it a 9 but the distortion is just ok

it's pretty reliable, it works well when its on and doesn't give any trouble.

i only went online to get an owners manual because i bought it used and it didn't come with one. it wasn'tt hard to find on the website so i don't konw, never dealt with them, i guess thats good.

ive been playing a little over a year and that was my first real amp(i had a 6 watt praice one). i bought it out of sorta a last resort because the place i got it from screw up my request 2 times before. i was originly going to get a crate w/ 2 12's and 120 watts, i forget which model so i got this one and it was good. if it were stolen i would prob upgrade to one with 2 12's and better distortion(like what i have now, a peavey stereo chorus 212). i like the clean channel alot but the distortion is only ok. i would recommend it to anyone, especially teens like me, in bands with not to much money too spend but if u want to upgrade in the near future the trade in value is not that high. get it if you need something loud and clean and you have pedels, you can alsohook it up to a cab or half stack if you need more vloume.

It must have been made in the '80s
I found it very versatile, and was impressed at the "Metallica" tone you could get out of it.(have to scoop out mids)
This amp has clean and dirty channels, and reverb, all footswitchable.

I bought this amp at a time when I was not playing out with anyone, and found it too much just to play at home with.

I played it with a Gibson Sonex with humbuckers. Mostly Southern rock and classic rock ala Cream and Led Zeppelin. Very suited for classic rock.

Lots of sounds can be had by dialing up the 3 band EQ and the "mid Shift"

Distortion is versatile, from overdrive to Metallica style.

I did not gig with it, I foolishly sold it off (to a guy who was gigging) and wish I still had it.

He told me the speaker went, but he was able to get a basket from Peavey to get it going again. Apparently the basket is cheaper than getting an entire speaker.

Never dealt with Peavey, but they publish the manuals on the net for free for almost everything they have out there. I think that is really cool of them.

I had been playing about 10 years when I had this amp. It is plenty loud for playing out.
Get one if you can. If you don't like the distortion tone, you can run a good pedal (like a Tubescreamer) into it for your tone.

Its loud, and reliable, and not glamorous enough that someone will steal it - nearly perfect for the gigging player./

Eighties solid state guitar amp. Very loud.

This was my friend's amp. He had it in his closet because he thought it was broken. I played around with it and found that the speaker was shot. It didn't work at all.
Well, I took it apart and made a head out of it. It was loud. Very loud.

That's about it. I just thought it was funny that I turned it into a head.

It sounds like an amp form the 1980's. that's the best description for the sound.

it's not necessarily bad, but that's the only sound you can get out of it.

this amp is ideal for metal or punk or anything else that needs volume and clarity.

it's not going to break. it can't break. it's too loud to break. and i've never heard of anyone having problems with peaveys (other than that awful logo they had).

who cares?

it's not a bad little amp. i don't particularly like it, but i didn't mind playing through it.

I'm sure there is plenty of features listed prior to my post, but here's some highlights: clean channel w/pull bright; distortion channel w/pull bright on gain knob, saturation (distortion) knob, and a master volume for that channel (you have to match the two channel volumes as you like). With the footswitch unplugged, the amp defaults to the the distortion channel. This is not a bad idea, though as you can get plenty of great clean sounds from the distortion channel (read on).

Shared 4-band EQ with parametric mids: not a lot of control here, but usable nonetheless. Master reverb knob; on/off only with the footswitch. Effects loop on the back. 130 watts of solid-state power through one 12" speaker. LOTS OF VOLUME!!! I can hang with a Twin when using this amp.

Guitars used: Fender Strat, home-made Tele, and a Yamaha Les Paul-styled guitar with Duncan HBs. I play rocked-up Texas honky-tonk music where twang is the thang. But, I've done metal and jazz tunes with it in the past as well.

The Clean channel is very clean with little or no distortion. The distortion channel won't do much for you. It's probably fine if you're into the seventies-thing, but if you want to do Pantera covers, then you better get a pedal of some kind. The amp doesn't produce a lot of bass, so even with a pedal, don't expect it to knock down walls. In fact, I did get the speakers to "whoomp"-out while I was using a distortion pedal with dropped-D tuning to play a hard rock cover song. Didn't blow it though.

As I said, the clean sound is very good, especially on the distortion channel. My favorite setting was turning the gain all of the way up, the saturation all of the way down, and the highs cranked up. Use a Tele bridge pickup or a Strat in position 2 (bridge & middle) and you get clean twang with just a hint of break-up, which is the way I like it. I give it an 8 here because of the lack of a singing high-gain lead tone.

It's solid state: either it works or it doesn't. I threw it around a lot, whether into the trailer or into the back of my truck. No complaints.

I bought it used, so there was no warranty. There was a bit of "fuzzyness" to the sound, so I troubleshot it down to the speaker. Called Peavey, and they recommended I buy a new basket and use the old magnet. I think it cost me $30 or $35. Problem solved. That was cool of them.

Been gigging for 11 years now (I basically started gigging as soon as I started playing). There are a billion of these amps out there, either as a Special, Bandit, or whatever; they're all similar. They will give you a huge amount of power for very few dollars. I bought it because I played on a few of them in junior college and liked the sound. If it got stolen, I would go find another; I love that dirty clean sound!

PEAVEY SPECIAL 130 - I GUESS IT MUST HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1980 AND 1988. I BOUGHT IT USED FROM ANOTHER MUSICIAN OF A CHRISTIAN GOSPEL ROCK-POP BAND IN 1989.

2 CHANNELS - A) DISTORTION WITH PRE-GAIN WITH PULL BRIGHT, SATURATION, POST-GAIN CONTROLS B) CLEAN WITH ONE GAIN CONTROL WITH PULL BRIGHT ALSO. EQ. CONTROLS ARE LOW, MID WITH SHIFT-Thin TO Fat KNOB, HIGH WITH PULL THICK, AND PRESENCE. A REVERB CONTROL. I WISH IT HAD INCLUDED VIBRATO/TREMOLO OR CHORUS CONTROLS TO EXPAND ON IT'S SOUND. 130 WATTS WITH 1 12" SCORPION SPKR. WITH A ONE INCH HOLE IN MIDDLE OF IT'S HUGE MAGNET, EXT. SPKR. JACK, PRE-AMP OUT AND POWER AMP IN JACKS, FOOT PEDAL JACK FOR CHANNEL SWITCHING AND REVERB ON/OFF.

THIS AMP IS REALY LOUD BECAUSE OF IT'S 130 WATT POWER COMBINED WITH A PEAVEY SCORPION 12" SPEAKER WITH THE ONE INCH HOLE IN MIDDLE OF IT'S HUGH MAGNET (WHY ?, DON'T KNOW. BUT I THINK IT CONTRIBUTES TO IT'S OVERALL SOUND). I PLAY WITH MY FENDER LEAD II FROM AROUND 1982, I GUESS; (CHECK MY REVIEW ON IT IN THE LEAD II SECTION ELSEWHERE). WHEN I USED TO PLAY MY LEAD II WITH EITHER A FENDER TWIN/VIBROLUX OR SUPER REVERB TUBE AMP WHENEVER I HAD A CHANCE, (BECAUSE I COULD NEVER AFFORDED ONE); I ALWAYS LOVED THAT THICK, BOUNCY, RICH, UNIQUE RYTHM TUBE SOUND AND TONE I COULD CRANK OUT FROM THEM. BUT WHEN FOUND THIS SPECIAL 130 AND BOUGHT IT JUST TO PRACTICE AT HOME; IT COULD REPRODUCE ALMOST 90% OF THAT FENDERISH TUBE AMP SOUND I LOVED SO MUCH TO MY AMAZEMENT. BY JUST ADJUSTING THE MID CONTROL TO 2 OR 3,THE SHIFT -THIN TO FAT SETTING TO AROUND 6 TO 7 AND LOW TO 3 OR 4 (HIGH AND PRESENCE WITH PULL BRIGHT ON TO VARY THE TONE TO MY TASTE), I CAN OBTAIN THAT SOUND I WANTED SO BAD TO PLAY MY UNIQUE RYTHM. THIS AMP CAN PUT OUT A WALL OF SOUND SO THICK WITH ALL THE LOWS, MIDS AND HIGHS AT HIGH VOLUME WITHOUT DISTORTION THAT STILL IMPRESSES ME. YET THIS AMP IS VERSITAL ENOUGH TO CREATE ANY TYPE OF SOUNDS. I HARDLY USE THE DISTORTION CHANNEL. BUT WHEN I DO, SETTING THE PRE-GAIN AND SATURATION CONTROLS TO MAXIMUM, AND THE POST-GAIN CONTROL TO AROUND 2 TO 3; IT DISTORTS GOOD FOR MY TASTE AND STILL CAN HEAR ENOUGH THICK, BASSY TONE WITH LITTLE FLATNES AND OF COURSE, NO HIGHS. I'VE TRIED OTHER PEAVEY AMPS, BUT COULD NEVER OBTAIN THE SOUND AND RYTHM I LOVED AND YERNED OF SO MUCH. THE EQ.'S LOW-MID-HIGH-PRESENCE COMBINATION WITHOUT SHIFT-THIN TO FAT KNOB SOUNDED TOO CHEAP AND MY RYTHM WOULD SUCK SO MUCH, LIMITING MY EXPRESSION AND FEELINGS ON MY FENDER LEAD II GUITAR.

IT IS SO HEAVY TO CARRY BECAUSE OF IT'S SPEAKER'S HUGH MAGNET I MAY SOMEDAY PUT CASTERS FOR CONVENIENCE BEFORE I GET A HERNIA, UNLESS YOU LIFT WEIGHTS. JUST A LITTLE BEAT UP EXTERNALLY ONLY. THE FOOTPEDAL WAS DAMAGED, SO I BY MISTAKE OR NEGLIGENTLY THRU IT AWAY INSTEAD OF HAVING IT FIXED. SO, FOR THE MOMENT, ONLY THE DISTORTION CHANNEL WORKS WITHOUT THE FOOTPEDAL. LUCKILY, I CAN STILL GET THAT THICK, RICH, FENDERISH SOUND I LOVE BY LEAVING THE SATURATION TO 0 AND BOTH PRE AND POST GAIN CONTROLS TOGETHER AT THE SAME LEVELS I CHOOSE. I THINK, MY RYTHM SOUNDS A BIT BETTER HERE THAN IN THE NORMAL CHANNEL WHEN IT WORKED. THE ONLY REALLY NEGATIVE ASPECT THAT I HAVE CONFRONTED IS THE FOLLOWING: I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF THE AMP (1980'S) OR SOME OTHER FLAW. WHEN THERE IS LOW-VOLTAGE IN MY RESIDENTIAL AREA, THE AMP WILL NOT SOUND IT'S BEST (OBVIOUSLY)! WHEN I AM PLAYING AT A GIG OR AT MY PENTECOSTAL CHURCH AND A BASS IS PLAYED WITH A PEAVEY KEYBOARD AMP NEXT TO MY AMP, IT APARENTLY, FOR SOME STRANGE REASON, TENDS TO SAP SOME OF THE VOLTAGE AWAY FROM MY AMP WHEN THEY'RE CONNECTED ON THE SAME MULTI-OUTLET. ADD THE LOW-VOLTAGE PROBLEM SOMETIMES IN THE AREA, AND YOU GET AN IDEA OF THE FRUSTRATION I FEEL. THE SOUND WOULD TURN OUT TO BE EITHER THE FOLLOWING: 1) MUDDY 2) FLAT 3) NO LOWS BUT WITH HIGHS 4) NO HIGHS BUT WITH LOWS 5)NO MIDS BUT WITH LOWS AND HIGHS 6) MIDS WITHOUT HIGHS AND POOR LOWS 7) CRUMMY RYTHM WITH NO BOUNCE, LIFE, JUICINESS AND EXPRESSIONS ETC. BESIDES THESE INCONVIENCES WHICH OCCUR 4 OUT OF 10 TIMES, I STILL LOVE THIS AMP. MAYBE I SHOULD CONNECT MY AMP TO A SEPARATE OUTLET, AND A VOLTAGE REGULATOR/CONDITIONER TO SEE ANY GOOD RESULTS. I RECOMMEND HIGHLY THIS AMP. IF YOU CAN FIND ONE OUT THERE.

NEVER NEEDED TILL NOW

IF THIS AMP WERE LOST, STOLEN OR DAMAGED FOR GOOD, I WOULD TRY TO GET AN IDENTICAL ONE OR BETTER MODEL WITH FULL EQ. WITH SHIFT -THIN TO FAT CONTROL TO GET MY FAVORATE SOUND AND PLAY MY RYTHM STYLE.

This is an interseting amp. It was made back in the early '80's. When I attended GIT, Frank Gambale and Scott Henderson used to use this amp.

I recently bought 2 to run in stereo with a Ymamha DG stomp.

I use this setup in clubs and find it very versitile.

I reset the tone knobs to match a Fender Twinn Clean, then use the stomp to add overdrive etc.

It's light, reliable and effective. When you are p;aying in a live situation, it can't be beat.

Again the idea being small, loud, tone, cost effective.

Very dependable, no reverb tubes setting me back whinning!

It's transistor, it's lasted along time....I don't care.

Most of what I play comes from my inflection on the guitar, the notes I choose, etc.... I wanted a cheap great sounding rig, this was it.

No tube crackling, no Marshall lugging...it meets my needs .

Pre gain, Saturation, post gain, clean volume, eq. low, mid\shift stack knob, high (pull thick), prescence, reverb 2 channels

I use mine with a homemade Gibson style guitar with PAF pickups (known for the smooth sound...I play some modern and classic rock, hardcore, punk, ska, and some blues, and it works great for just about everything I use it for. I've had a few quirky problems which I'll explain...My clean channel has never worked right, and when it sorta half-worked, it was so sensitive that it wasn't woth using. The previous owner of mine had it hot rodded at 4 ohms pushing 300 watts. THIS AMP IS LOUD

this amp rocks. I have never had any major problem with it...I've had some strange noise in the pots, but that corrected itself. I've had it cut out a few times, which was easily remedied by a good whack with the fist (my hand still hurts). I would never have the money for a backup, but if I did I'd get another one of these (maybe I'd steal it from some of the guys who submitted reviews that said they wouldn't care if it was stolen) It's bulletproof...I've played at hardcore and punkrock shows and had it thrown off the stage more than once.

I've played since I could lift a guitar (I'm 17). I have a Korg multi pedal that works likea bunch of stompboxes (great for those of us who don't like all this programming shit). If it were stolen, I'd chase down the SOB that took it (they wouldn't get far, it weighs a ton), and kill him for touching it. Then i would beat his miserable body into the ground with it. The only thing I hate about it is that when peeps look at it, they say, "What a piece of crap!" so then i have to melt their eardrums to show them what I think of their opinion. Oh, yeah, ask my parents wht they think of it...:-P

This amp was made in the early 80's. It is real simple, the only features are channel switching and reverb on/off (via footswitch) and a midrange boost knob. I wish there were an effects loop in/out that was footswitch controllable. The one thing thsi amp really has going for it is it is LOUD! I have been using this amp now for about two months (my other main amp is the Bandit 112) and this 130 is far and away the loudest amp I have ever played. Even on outdoor gigs with upwards of 1000 people in the audience I have not had to turn the volume knob past 2! The speaker is really wierd, too. It has a hole where the center of the cone is. I have no idea why this is, but I like the sound of it.

I am using the Special 130 with a number of electric guitars, mainly my cheap Japanese Kramer Focus 1000. I play in an oldies band (50's and 60's cover tunes) and this amp is fine for that. I use very little heavy metal type distortion, but I like the cheesy fuzz sound of the 130's overdrive channel.

Built like a tank, weighs way more than it should for its size. I'll probably stick some wheels on it soon. I would definitely trust this thing to get through any gig. Hey, it's a Peavey!

Never had to deal with Peavey.

I have been playing since TV was black and white. Most of the stuff I have is Peavey amps and cheap Asian copies of real American guitars (I like them better). I would definitely try to replace this amp if it were stolen, but I don;t know if there are too many more out there.

This post is an update from my 4/26/99 post.

Now that I have a nicer amp, possibly my earlier rating of 5 was too harsh. I mean $175.00 got me alot of amp for the dough.

I traded my Special 130 in a few months back to move into a tube amp and cabinet set-up. My 130 had just started doing some funny things. First, it began having a minor cutting out problem. Two, a few of the pots began getting noisy. My feeling on the amp is that the 130 watts was rattling everything to death. You might need to tighten things up occasionley and check electrical connections from time to time to keep one reliable.

No idea, I've heard Peavey is pretty good.

Down one point because of minor reliabilty problems, but for a first amp or backup you won't get a meaner amp for the money. When I hooked mine to a 4-12 cabinet it was unreal, what a wall of sound it spit out. Brutally loud, and I mean brutal, loadest combo I've ever heard by a long shot (the tag said "LOUD" when I bought it)

Manufactured in 1981

Purchased in 1982 in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada - I am the original owner.

My previous amp was a 1975 Silverface Fender Twin. The Peavey is the loudest amp I've ever owned in 30 years of playing, and has never been overshadowed by competing louder equipment (or drummers) It was a technically versatile amp for its time, if a little complicated to set up and use. The overdrive / dirty chanel was never a strong feature, and if that is what you require, do not buy this amp. If you play clean, but like lots of ability to cut through, you can not find a better amp. Features are well described in other reviews on this site - I won't bore yoy with them. I always wished the amp had a vibrato effect.

From '82 to '95, the amp was used with a 1981 USA made Fender Bullet Deluxe, 2 pick-up guitar to play mostly country music. It was a good match, and I often had other players comment on my sound. Since 1995, I've been using an Ernie Ball/Music Man Albert Lee Signature model, which is now my main guitar and which incidentally is the very best guitar I've ever played or owned - period. The guitar and amp sound beautiful together. Clean, crisp, smokin' !!

Had the reverb unit serviced about seven years ago. Apart from that, zero maintenance and has never ever failed me. A testament to Peavey build quality if ever there was one.

Never had to use it.

This has been my sole amp since 1982.

I'd buy it again, but I've alwas hankered for a Music Man

Again. I Continue to review something of my Rhythym guitarists (Because I love Submitting Reviews). The amplifier is possibly an 1981 or 82 model, versitile, and has two channels, an effects loop, outs for speaker cabinets, and 100% solid state (for the early 80's) circutry. It has controls for Pre (Pull for bright), Saturation, Post, Clean Volume (Pull for Bright), Low, a stack knob midrange controll with controls for shift, high (Pull for thick), Presence, and Reverb. As far as tone goes it is extremley versitile but it has its own voice (It has some mod's made to it which I will expalin later).

If you read my past reviews+ the other lead humbucker/rhythym Single coil guitars I have made in the past few months, I have used them all on this amp and It seems like it makes the weakest little Ethiopian plank with Lego pickups sound HUGE!!! It's noisy, but that is because this amplifier is pushing more wattage and speaker than it had to begin with. The guitarst told me he had a 12" Peavy Scorpion Speaker and 200 Watts of power added to it all to make a 300 watt powerhouse (I know it sounds crazy but if you saw how sensitive the volume knobs are, you'd see what i mean). I played through it at a gig at AUM and we only had to turn it up to 2 and it was loud enough to hear across the soccer field, any further we could have taken our tone to the interstate not so far away. This amp is clean as a whistle on the clean channel, I bet it even at ten (I am not going to try, that would be like the Apocolypse if I did that on either channel). The distortion is a blizzard of noisy implements much like nails, and washers, and bolts, and sharp shards of glass being hurled at you by a force 5 tornado/hurricane.

If you punched this amp it would break your fist. It weighs too much to break down.

Just talking about this behemoth combo would squash somebody.

If it werent for the weight this amp would be almost perfect. It needs HEAVY DUTY castors. It has a theft protection though, the person hauling this amp away would crumble under it's enormous weight and be found the next morning, squashed like a little bug, under this amp. Oh! It may look like a little combo with one speaker, but I am almost giving myself a hernia just at the thought of lifting it up.

this amp has more than enough power, if only you could get a good dirty sound without losing what your playing into the sea of fuzz.
But for an older amp and for a relative new comer to the world of equipment it does me fine.
When i have reverb on it tends to somtimes pick up radio which totally messes up the sound.

i use a fender strat standard with the standard pick ups in it.
the amp suits generally most styles you would want to play.
the amp does tend to make alot of noise when you use the dirty channel but i use a boss noise gate which helps to get rid of most of the back ground noise.

i wouldnt use it at a gig without a back up.
i got it about a month ago and sometimes it cuts out.

I traded a Fender Frontman 25R and a Randall practice amp for it. The guy thought it was 45 watts, but apparantly it is 130W. Lots of useless knobs for me, no reverb or channel switching on the amp itself, you need a footpedal for that. High mid low EQ, and a Thin-Fat knob. Dirty and clean channel, reverb, "thick" pull-out knobs.
Unfortunately, there is no real Master Volume setting, makes it hard to be clean and loud.

I use a customized Fender Stratocaster. I had two humbuckers put in. I play blues, metal, rock, and some punk. The amps two channels are different beasts altogether...

Clean : I love the clean channel on this amp. It's real powerful, and the amp's reverb is excellent. I use a Digitech RP3 through it for now (planning on Boss GE-7 and MetalZone when cash is available) and it actually sounds pretty good. I prefer the amps reverb over the RP3's, and I use it even with distortion. With good pedals you can get basically any sound you want out of the amp, it wont interfere and screw up the signals. I'm not exactly sure how to turn up the volume with out turning up the gain on the clean channel, so I just turn up the Output Level on the RP-3, and it works fine.

Dirty : Don't expect even a half-decent sound out of the dirty channel. It just sucks. Its kinda hard to explain how bad it is, but take my word for it, its not pretty. The best I have been able to get out of it is an adequate blues lead sound for practicing!

I've had it for only 2 weeks, but it isn't broken, defective, or even beat up looking for an old machine.

N/A

Out of all the amps I have had, this one has been the most powerful, and easily has the best clean sounds by itself. Because the Frontman I traded was almost new, I think both myself and the dealer made out pretty good. If you are looking for a clean slate to add effects to or run a processor through, this is definitely the amp for you. If you want a more practical compact amp that you can take around to plug-in-and-jam, then you'll be disappointed.

its a old amp,im not sure i bought it used.just read the other reviews for this part,they have the same features

im using a fender mex strat and a palmer guitar.the strat sound good,better then what it sounded on my other amp,the palmer is a heavey metal type guitar.it fist my style good(some metal,"grunge",punk,that stuff).this amp could probably produce alot of diff tones. this amp is really loud and sounds pretty good for the age of it.the clean channel is ok but could be better,the dist. channel isnt that good,maybe i need to work on it to find the dist. better but its hard to hear the dist but when you do it pretty good.it sounds good at low volumes,havent tried high voulem yet but it seem like it would be good.

this amp is really reliable.its real solid and i trust it alot.i would most likely use it without a back up,yeah probably would since its so loud and stable.this amp has never broken down on me.

nope

ive been playing for 4 years,im only 14 so i guess its a good amount fo my age.if it was lost or stolen,i would probably get a new amp,or try to get this one back.i dont like the weight of it,its pretty heavey to carry around everywhere but nothing to complain about.i wish it had better dist. and tubes,that would be better,i would buy a dist. pedal for this amp.

this amp has plenty power and volume.It has a excellent tone.This amp is good for country and if you have two amps it sounds great.

I play a glaser strat and get a great sound.I use two special 130s with a t.c.chorus m-one processor and get a excellent sound.I play country,gospel,blues and rock and te amp does the job.

I play every weekend and have used the special 130s for the past fourteen years without any trouble.I use it without backup.

Have not dealt with company.

Excellent sound and very dependable.The amp is good for any music you want to play.You just have to know how to set it.

Bought it new in '89 for too much money. Dirty channel never satisfied me. Clean channel was a decent sounding blank page to add effects to. Effects loop never sounded right to me. Like putting an electronic pillow in the signal path. Didn't like the eq setup after a while. The mid-shift cut/boost pot sucked. Felt and sounded cheap. The pull-out knob "thick" settings were useless to my Strat. Reverb was ok for a spring unit.

Used with an old Aria Pro 2 and an old Strat. Metal/Hardcore/Experimental styles. Dirty channel was ok for classic rock fuzz at high volume. It lacked the chunkiness that I like. Turning up the low frequency eq just made it sound boomy, and with the power of this amp, frapped speakers are easily achieved at high volume. I hooked up an old Traynor PA bin with an 18" speaker to speaker out#2. I'm sure something similar could help fill in the bottom. I lent the amp to a friend and it came back bleeding overdrive saturation into the clean channel. Not a big deal since I never played clean on the clean channel anyhow. Best sound achieved with an old distortion stompbox and a chorus pedal. This amp is FACE_RIPPING LOUD! Feedback galore as you can imagine.

Other than blowing the speaker and that pre/saturation bleedthrough thing, This thing is a solid (and heavy!) chunk of transistors. I played with the blown speaker for a year and it still screamed.

Never had to deal with the company.

I've been playing 17 years. I've tried all kinds of different signal processing equipment in all kinds of configurations with this amp. It doesn't sound great at low volumes. It has too much power for an amp its size to use with only a single 12". Its almost bulletproof and it'll make your ears bleed, but if someone ever steals it, I'll try something else.

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.