Peavey ValveKing 112 Combo

The features are published by the manufacturer. 50W Tube amp. Let me start by saying I only owned for about a week and took it back and got a Fender Frontman 212R, which purists might turn their noses up at cause it's not a tube amp, but the ears don't lie, it's better than this over-rated bottom line tube combo. But as for features they are ample, so I have to give it a 9.

This is by far the most important thing, and this baby isn't it. Sure there are tubes in there, but comparing this to some solid states, I disagree that it's better. Not much bass, too much treble, even with it at zero, breakup on the clean channel way too early, at about 4. The tone controls don't make that much difference on either channel. The drive channel isn't bad though, but again, not any better than a lot of cheaper solid states. And the famous texture knob is just a gimmick in my opinion. Maxed out either way (AB or A) makes very little difference.

The amp does provide variety to control your tone, but all the sounds are achieved better with another amp. Kinda jack of all trades but a champion in none.

I've read that if you replace the speaker and tubes it sounds really good. Well for that money I suggest buying the Laney VC30 and leave it stock. What's the point in hotrodding a mediocre amp? I suppose I got spoiled by an old Fender deville I had that when I returned to a tube amp years later I expected to hear that sound...not even close. Like I said before, my new Fender frontman 212 is much closer, tubes or not. Trust your ears above whether it's tube or not.

Don't know, I took it back. But the construction seemed cheap, plastic knobs and input jacks. The look of a cheap solid state. And since it's a tube amp you have to worry about the tubes breaking.

Don't know

This is a economy grade tube amp, which is worse in my opinion than a high-grade solid state. These days manufacturers do an excellent job at emulating tube sound. Companies like Fender and Laney do that well and in a natural sounding way, not artificial. So don't kid yourself, if you absolutely need a tube amp, bite the bullet and get an expensive one. But buying this is like getting a Porche with a Volkswagen engine. Sure you can swap out engines, but why would you want to?

Been playing to 15 years. Have several guitars and have owned tube and solid state marshall, fender, other peaveys, Randall. This won't go down as one of my highlights.

There are several amps in the same price range that are better, including the Laney LV300, Laney VC30, the Fender I got, or a Randall, although they are very metal oriented.

this is an update to my previous post.
1. i apologise for double posting
2. this amp definatly improves with time. previously i had an issue with a lacking low end. now the vk comes into its own and the bright switch is now a usefull tool making the clean channel very fendery.
thus earning the vk a 10 in sound quality. all my comments are of course relative bareing in mind that the amp cost under 300.

Well...There's plenty of people who have touched on the features, I'll just say it's got everything a combo amp should have plus a few surprises. Dual 3-band EQ (one per channel), gain, lead boost, A/AB knob and a presents button that acts like a bass response button.
I believe it's a '08 model but not sure...baught new this year in Feb from MF though.
I play a bit of everything, but mostly hard rock and metal, both modern and classic such as old Metallica, etc. All the way up to modern grindcore.

I'm using a cheap Epi with a humbucker in the bridge, no OD pedals, direct into the amp most of the time. It has awesome cleans especially if you turn the trebble down and shut off the bright switch, it really warms up the tone and gives it a nice mellow feel. The gain channel had a few issues with the stock tubes in it, it sounded classic rock-like with the slightest hint of trying to be metal with sloppy mud in it. Solution? Toss those Sovtek 12AX7WA decorations and put a few spare LPS's in it. Sure they're still Sovtek but it's the best they make until I stock up on good tubes. That change alone made the distortion tighter, more gainy (like the 6505's baby brother kind of sound), but still retaining that rock tone, which I like. Those tubes also made the clean channel louder and fuller as well. I got a good ACDC tone and some other artists without too much effort.
This amp's distortion can do metal fairly well without needing an OD pedal or actives driving it, however if you're playing modern death metal or something else like BLS where there's gobs of gain everywhere, you're going to want to run an OD pedal in front of it or turn off the gain altogether and use a true distortion pedal. Remember, EQ is everything. Before people start complaining about how crappy their amp sounds, experiment with EQ-ing both the amp, using the tone knobs on your axe, an EQ pedal, swap some tubes that have less mid or whatever, etc.
I was able to get a nice blues tone by turning off the boost lead and backing off the gain almost all the way and cranking that volume, flip over to class A and boost the bass and mid for a nice full sound. It's not a Fender and it never will be, but it's still pretty awesome.
The next thing was to test that effects loop conveniently on the front panel. If you have a good distortion like the Metal Monster, you can stick the amp on clean and EQ it and control how gainy it gets with the amp's volume. Very nice! This is probably the quietest FX loop I've used, no annoying humming or hissing. So overall this amp kills for the money if you're willing to put in some thought and work.

It's a tank. Well, it's a wooden box... Anyways, very well built and there's a little guard holding the power tubes so you can't hit 'em easily which is good for protection and gigging. I've gigged with this for a few months, dropped it, had it in the back of a truck whilst it was raining, and she always fired right up afterwords. All the knobs and buttons are nice and tight and don't feel sloppy. Awesome. One point knocked though, two screws were missing from the reverb tank; I've seen this reported in other reviews other than on this site and it seems to be a common thing among this amp. But, hey that's what screwdrivers and brains are for...

Never needed them, but it's got a one year warranty and Peavey seems friendly enough.

These are the words of a metalhead who has a few tricks up his sleeve, been playing 11 years. I've tried several amps and pedals to get a beafy tone and a good box to put it through. The VK112 is a budgeter's amp and is well-made, and it's an easy amp to mod. I won't fall into that speaker replacement fad that most people get holes in their wallets from unless it's totally and utterly necessary, which for me it isn't. If you're unhappy with your tone, start simple and work up from that. EQ, volume, preamp tubes, power tubes, maybe close off the back of the cab, then if all else fails pop a new speaker in and then you will have tried everything. If you're so obsessed with that custom tone you really want and can't squeeze out of this amp, maybe you should consider buying a more expensive amp and try before you buy. But this amp has a lot to offer and if you're getting into tubes, it would be foolish not to check this out.
One thing I wish this amp had though, were the resonance controls and the speaker outs that didn't mute the combo and let both the combo and the external cab play at the same time, found in the 212 combo and the VK head. But I am after all in an apartment...

For all styles, but mostly for nice filthy rock and blues, and metal with a good OD in front of it.

Bought this amp 2008 used, for about $200. Before that I used a Fender G-DEC amp and a Korg AX1500G.

This amp has one high gain input (guitar signal) and one low gain input (line signal) denoted 1 and 2 respectively.

Channel switching from clean to lead, and vice versa, can be made with a pedal which can be bought separately. I do not own such a switch, I go with my Boss pedals instead. Fx loop exists.

Unfortunately there is no headphone jack for practicing those late nights.

The output power is rated at 50W, which is a somewhat high figure for a tube combo with only one 12" speaker, but the actual power in terms of sound in reality has much to do with the actual efficiency of the power tube and their matching with the speaker as well as speaker response. Nevertheless the VK112 is loud enough for my purposes.

I play mostly rock mainly as keyboardist and secondly as comp guitarist in band, and that's how I use the Peavey.

First of all I want to say that I am a guitarist on a learning curve right now. My main instrument is piano/keyboards (20+ years) and I'm only knowledgeable on guitar (a few years). My band needed an additional guitarist so I jumped the opportunity to fill in on some of our guitar based songs with simpler riffs/chords.

I tried out the Peavey Classic 30 in a music store and C30 amp had that wonderful sound, but I eventually bought the VK112 used, mainly because of its price and demos on the internet.

At first the VK112 was a disappointment. The sound was very harsh, or "middy", no bass punch, without any life. Cleans ok, but also annoyingly harsh. Especially the lead channel, sounded like a "bee in jar", fuzzy and undefined. In this stage the amp would have gotten a 2 or 3 for sound quality.

Then I read some of the forums and got some valuable info. Many recommended a speaker change and some recommended valve change. Do them both! The speaker improved things and cleared up the sound a great deal, but the VK112 still had that lifeless sound. Until I decided to change the valves.

The speaker change combined with new valves opened up the sound completely. The amp now really sings and rewards me with endless sustain on the lead channel. Defined crunch and cleans are back again, and convincing.

This mod consists of a Eminence Red Heat Governor 12" speaker (attention: 16 OHMS)and TAD 12AX7 RT010 7025 selected preamp valves and TAD 6L6GC-STR (selected/matched) power tubes.

Many people recommends speaker change as a first measure for VK112. But I say: also change the valves while you're at it. In particular if the amp is used. The preamp valves influences the sound most. If the power tubes are bad, it will not drive the speaker accordingly.

I have a stock Mex Strat and Boss Pedals like SD-1, DS-1, DS-2, CH-1, CS-3.

No trouble yet.

No support needed.

I am still evaluating it...

features have been listed many times by other reviewers.
less common ones:
volume boost
gain boost
bright switch

no headphone jack but I dont need one. effects loop is brilliant really made my pedal chain sound natural and organic.
wish the reverb was better it sound like a bit of a nasty after effect rather than a lush spacey sound.
I only got it recently so havent used it live yet but definatley plan on it, it's plenty loud enough for band practice as i dont need it past 3 or 4 and we play quite loud. i bought it as a more portable option than my half stack and was suprised by how wieghty it is.

I use a mexican tele with a seymour duncan stl-2 in the bridge and a lonestar strat. the bridge p/u on the strat sounds quite harsh and i immediatley noticed the amp has a very week low end. after hours of tweeking i love it. it sounds great with my tele with both pickups selected. but on the clean channel i have to max the bass and cut the treble back to 2 or 3 to get the warm clean i really like.

the lead channel is fantastic i use it maxed out and with the gain boost on it gives a great thick distortion perfect for hard rock bridging on metal tones. my band plays alt rock mixed with metal and sometime a bit of bluesy stuff so i need a very versitile gain channel.

it can get noisy but thats because of the unsheildable beast known as the telecaster. so once i stand away from it it's all fine and dandy.

i think it would definatley benifit from being driven through a extention cab possibly even a 1x15 to boost the low end. loads of other reviewers have said it needs a speaker change and this would probably be a huge help in getting the low end tone im looking for but i bought this amp because of the price tag for an all tube amp and my budget isn't very big so i dont have any cash lying around to tweek my purchase.but i found that a good free alternative is to back of the tone controls on all of my pedals. and as I am now using the amp gain it frees up my blues driver as a lead boost and my eq to add the low end i need so for me the sound is perfect.

peavey generally are reliable i have been using one of their PA systems with my band and have never had problems with it. the valveking is heavey as hell and feels realy sturdy but when it first arrived it had this really anoying ticking sound and i sent it back and had it rplaced and there have been no problems thus far with the new one. would gig without a spare but would feel reluctant to take it on the road without a backup

when the first one was faulty i sent it back to the shop so i've never had to deal with peavey

i've been playing for about 7 years and have been through more than my fair share of gear. i've owned plenty of ridiculous shaped guitars to truly appriciat the classics like the tele and the strat. i've been on a hunt for a valve combo for some time and due to being in fulltime education my budget never stretches much past the 500 quid mark. this amp is worth every penny I paid for it. if it were lost or stolen i would either replace it buy the 212 version or depending on my bank balance buy a fender hot rod. when on my hunt for an amp i tried the hot rod and the windsor. the hot rod was to expensive but definatly worth the extra cash (the other guitarist in my band has one and we both love it) and the windsor wasn't versitile enough. i would definatly say it would hold its groung against the fender with its supperior lead channel but would be shoved out of the way with the fenders sparkling clean and shear power.

features have been listed many times by other reviewers.
less common ones:
volume boost
gain boost
bright switch

no headphone jack but I dont need one. effects loop is brilliant really made my pedal chain sound natural and organic.
wish the reverb was better it sound like a bit of a nasty after effect rather than a lush spacey sound.
I only got it recently so havent used it live yet but definatley plan on it, it's plenty loud enough for band practice as i dont need it past 3 or 4 and we play quite loud. i bought it as a more portable option than my half stack and was suprised by how wieghty it is.

I use a mexican tele with a seymour duncan stl-2 in the bridge and a lonestar strat. the bridge p/u on the strat sounds quite harsh and i immediatley noticed the amp has a very week low end. after hours of tweeking i love it. it sounds great with my tele with both pickups selected. but on the clean channel i have to max the bass and cut the treble back to 2 or 3 to get the warm clean i really like.

the lead channel is fantastic i use it maxed out and with the gain boost on it gives a great thick distortion perfect for hard rock bridging on metal tones. my band plays alt rock mixed with metal and sometime a bit of bluesy stuff so i need a very versitile gain channel.

it can get noisy but thats because of the unsheildable beast known as the telecaster. so once i stand away from it it's all fine and dandy.

i think it would definatley benifit from being driven through a extention cab possibly even a 1x15 to boost the low end. loads of other reviewers have said it needs a speaker change and this would probably be a huge help in getting the low end tone im looking for but i bought this amp because of the price tag for an all tube amp and my budget isn't very big so i dont have any cash lying around to tweek my purchase.but i found that a good free alternative is to back of the tone controls on all of my pedals. and as I am now using the amp gain it frees up my blues driver as a lead boost and my eq to add the low end i need so for me the sound is perfect.

peavey generally are reliable i have been using one of their PA systems with my band and have never had problems with it. the valveking is heavey as hell and feels realy sturdy but when it first arrived it had this really anoying ticking sound and i sent it back and had it rplaced and there have been no problems thus far with the new one. would gig without a spare but would feel reluctant to take it on the road without a backup

when the first one was faulty i sent it back to the shop so i've never had to deal with peavey

i've been playing for about 7 years and have been through more than my fair share of gear. i've owned plenty of ridiculous shaped guitars to truly appriciat the classics like the tele and the strat. i've been on a hunt for a valve combo for some time and due to being in fulltime education my budget never stretches much past the 500 quid mark. this amp is worth every penny I paid for it. if it were lost or stolen i would either replace it buy the 212 version or depending on my bank balance buy a fender hot rod. when on my hunt for an amp i tried the hot rod and the windsor. the hot rod was to expensive but definatly worth the extra cash (the other guitarist in my band has one and we both love it) and the windsor wasn't versitile enough. i would definatly say it would hold its groung against the fender with its supperior lead channel but would be shoved out of the way with the fenders sparkling clean and shear power.

This is another amendment to my review below. I ran into a problem. I contacted Peavey before installing the Gold Lion KT66s I bought for my ValveKing 112. I have to confess I wrote that part of my review based on how I envisioned it would sound. I guess it pays to do your homework. Peavey responded to my query within two days with detailed information; GREAT customer sevice. KT66s cannot be used in the ValveKing because, A) They won't fit, and B) They have WAY too much current draw for the amp's architecture. It has nothing to do with the output transformer; the tubes are wired in series. The ValveKing is biased hotter than most of Peavey's other amps, so the adjustment mentioned below probably isn't necessary. ValveKings have a fixed idle plate current draw of ~30-35ma. The amp should not be biased hotter than about 35ma/tube depending on the tube. My solution is to search for a 6L6GC tube that has characteristics close to what I'm looking for. Hope this helps and sorry for the misinformation.

This is a minor correction to my post below. The fellow further down the page recommended adjusting the bias * -5ma *. I typoed.

I might as well also add that the overdrive box I drive the amp with to get my high gain sound is a Nady TD-1 tube distortion pedal. I just don't drive it into full distortion, just a small amount of boost and some soft overdrive. It's got a lot of tone-shaping controls to make it transparent or, at the flip of one of two switches, supply a treble boost for my slightly bottom-heavy Ibanez AR200 and/or a mid hump for a fat, Boston-like tone. I switched the tube in the TD-1 (predictable, am I?) with a Sovtek 5751. This is a bit cooler still than the Jan-Phillips and gives me another *slight* gain reduction and keeps the amp tight at high-gain.

After the TD-1, there's a Dunlop MXR M-109 graphic EQ. I cut it at 1.6K for my "mid-scoop", which is really more of a "slice" than a "scoop". "Flying V"-style guitars all produce a lot of nasty low-frequency treble because of the body shape, so when I get that Reverend Volcano, I'll use the MXR EQ to cut at 3.2K to tame the treble.

Real happy with the amp, though.

The 'ValveKing' 112's features have been covered adequately below so I'll only mention them when I need to. It has basically the same controls as any combo amp, plus the "Texture" (Class-A sim) and "Resonance" controls. The manufacturer claims the speaker is "voiced" for the 'ValveKing' series.

Out of the box, the 'ValveKing' 112 sounded "just okay". I knew what to expect since this isn't my first Peavey tube amp. I used to have a Classic 50 410, which actually sounded better stock than this one, probably due to the speakers, but that was a different animal for a different job. This is a $400 amp, not a $1400 Genz-Benz 'El Diablo' or $2000 Rivera 'Quiana'. It ships with stock Sovtek tubes ("eh") but frankly the weakest point of Peavey amps are the speakers. They aren't stellar and I've blown a couple, "specially voiced" or not. All that said, there's a lot of tweaking that can be done to drastically improve the sound and performance of the 'ValveKing' 112.

In a tube amp, the tubes are everything. Yank the stock tubes and swap them out. Your requirements will probably require different choices than mine. My sound is prog rock/fusion and I need a smooth, sweet, sustaining, singing tone like Santana or Larry Carlton. But I also need the versatility of an occasional hi-gain sound. I used a pair of Tung-Sol 12ax7's with a Jan-Phillips 5751 at the front end. This accomplished two things: It smoothed out the distortion and gave it a little extra edgy articulation (like what the 12at7 in a Hi-Watt does, but not as much so) AND it cut down the front end gain in the clean channel making it cleaner and more more dynamic while improving the soft breakup when I use the "Boost" function. I need a crystal-clear clean sound too.

Then I changed the power tubes. This is where you might want something different. I installed a pair of Golden Lion KT66's. A KT66 is an even bias swap for a 6L6 but has a rounder, warmer sound without the gravelly mids. They're just as bright and have just as much headroom. Most rock players *like* gravelly, so use Ruby Tubes or Groove Tubes or something.

Next I got the amp a new speaker. I looked at Guitar Player's taste test and opted for the Weber VST P12B "Blue Dog". It's half the price of a Celestian Blue and was reported to sound almost the same, if even a little "creamier", which sounded good to me.

At this point, the amp sounded absolutely fabulous.

A reviewer below recommended a slight rebiasing of -.5 which sounded reasonable to try. I tried it and it did just what he said it would. The 'ValveKing' got much more open and lively.

Now, the amp sounded absolutely *boutique* fabulous.

About those boutique amps. Go to the websites of the ones I mentioned and listen to their audio samples with your ears instead of your wallet. Then go to Peavey's site and listen to samples of the 'ValveKing" when it's set up properly. The Peavey actually has more character and nails the classic rock tone better. It's looser and sloppier at high-gain and there's a good reason why: only three preamp tubes.

High-gain amps typically have four or five preamp tubes instead of three like a Peavey Classic, 'ValveKing' or old Marshall has. With three tubes in the preamp you HAVE to drive the power tubes to get that extra layer of distortion. The newer Marshall Super Leads and all the Boogies have four or five. The effect is different than just cranking up the Pre Gain. If you try to get that much distortion with three preamp tubes, the voltage will bottle-neck and it'll go "over the top". Your pick attack will get flappy, the noise floor will come up and sound like frying bacon, and your tone will turn to crap. Gain is like paint. Four or five thin coats give a better result than three thick ones.

Set your Pre Gain so the amp sounds solid. If you need more gain, put an overdrive box in front of it but DON'T crank it up. Just add a little extra kick and enough drive that it fades to clean. Set the tone on the box so it's transparent, no difference on or off. It'll act like an extra tube. Your amp will scream and the feedback will sing instead of howl. Without the mods...7. With the mods, 10. Average and round up.

I've used Peavey P.A. gear as a soundman and now use it to power my other guitar rig, which consists of a modeling preamp/processor, a graphic EQ (to correct the speakers), a Peavey PV900 power amp and a pair of small TSL112H P.A. cabs. Ten years and no problems. My grandparents got me a Peavey Pacer 112 solid-state amp when I was in H.S. in 1977. I blew the original speaker and output transformer and now, just lately, blew the transformer again. Not too bad for 32 years. I didn't have the Classic long enough to comment but if this 'ValveKing' proves as reliable as my other Peavey gear it will outlive me.

I needed parts for that Pacer so I called Peavey's Meridian, Mississippi plant. A very nice lady with a southern accent answered the phone, I told her what I needed, she connected me with the factory and a guy told me no problem, took my order, the price was cheaper than I expected and they were delivered tute suite.

I didn't mention earlier that the "Texture" control does give you *some* of that Class-A goodness. It cuts the apparent wattage, makes the overdrive more gritty and compresses the sound. Set it up right and you can do AC30 things with it. The "Resonance" control expands the low end nicely and makes a little amp sound bigger. Balance it with the BASS tone knob. I've been playing over 35 years. My main electrics are a '97 Fender Deluxe Strat Plus and a Godin xtSA. I'm still using my BOSS GX-700 for the effects but would like to get some pedals. They're fun.

Not only is this a great entry-level tube amp but at present I see no need to get a more expensive one. In fact, I might buy another one of these so I can run them in stereo.

2008 mfg. date
No need to review features as there are several reviews out there that do that.
Clean and lead channels separate eq's.
I play at home which means I never turn it past 3. Does everything I need it to do.

I use 01 Epi LP w/EMG p'ups and 08 Epi LP with stock p'ups, and a Fat Strat copy w/ stock p'ups. I play mostly Zep, Sabbath, Metallica, Judas Priest, SRV.

OK, here are the two reasons I am reviewing:

1. I depend on user reviews heavily to make most purchase decieions, as they are usually helpful.

2. I see, especially with musical equipment, very unrealistic comparisons. This amp is a low cost tube amp that performs very nicely in that regard. I get good tone, good distortion, sustain and, with my effects, a very good, inexpensive setup. It's not a Mesa triple rec. or a Marshall whatever. If you want that sound, man up and pay for it. A Ford mustang is a very capable $30K sports car. It will never be a Porche 911 no matter how much you want it to be. Yoiu get what you pay for. It's unbelievable the bad reviewf trying to compare one product to something 3 or 4 times more expensive. The valveking is a superior choice to a solid state amp and nothing more. If you are like me and love to play guitar, live on a budget and want something capable this is your amp. As stated above I use copy guitars because $2500 is too much for a Gibson. Do I expect my Epi's to sound like a Gibson? No, but when I am cranking out some killer tunes from a band I worshipped growing up, I couldn't give a damn. Joe 18 year old or 35 year old dude wanting a decent, affordable rig, this fits that need. Mr. self-proclaimed "tone freak" keep looking.

Has never let me down.

Never needed it.

I love this amp. I would have had to settle for a solid state at this price range. I would buy it again if it were stolen. I love the decent performance and the paltry price you have to pay for that performance. I comparison shopped for months and couldn't find anything comparable without paying hundreds more. Fender Hot Rod Deville was better but almost 2x price. Marshall MG50DFX was more expensive but solid state. Probably my second choice. Line 6 Spider III 120W is a kids toy. I just kept coming back to this amp and eventually bought it.

Amp was bought new in 2008. You can set the amp from class A to class A/B. Also has a damping button. Plus the usual bass/treble/middle/gain, increase volume and increase gain buttons.
Clean and dirty channels

I only really use the overdrive channel. Gives a great classic rock sound with lots of middle. Not so good at doing cystal clear overdrive like Marshall. The gain boost makes everything really noisy - but as I say i only do classic rock. The reverb sounds poor - maybe best to ignore it for professional use. I try to get the scooped metal sounds from it but its a very very thick sound compared to marshall. I've never had the anp above 2 yet in my bedroon and then my ears were ringing afterwards !
The class A - ClassA/B dial didn't seem to make much audible difference - I think it's supposed to mean that with Class A you can fully crank up the amp to give a sound only obtainable usually with high volumme gain. It also has a damping button but I can;t really hear the difference.
Overall I'm happy with it - great for classic rock - not so sure about metal as it doesn;t give a clear sound at all.

n/a

One year warranty

Been playing now for 6 years - if it was between a Marshall AVT and this I probably couldn't decide. The AVT gives a clear sound but this gives a thick sound - verging on muddy. So that is what the option would come down to.
However try buying a valve amp at this price !

2008 made, it's not the "versatiliest" amp in the clean channel, well, in some way, it sucks for everything but ska, I find the OD channel pretty "versatile", although it's high gain.
it has a lot of gain, you can play punk, hardcore, rock, and with the gain at 2-3, you can also play perfectly well led zeppelin-style with it.

it has a silly, useless thing on the back called "a-a/b" switch; ok, it does almost nothing to the sound....in my opinion, of course

ok, 2 channels, the clean one with "bright"-switch, the OD with footswitchable "more gain"- and "volume"-switch.
It does have an effects loop, but there's any headphone jack(just because it's an ALL-VALVE AMPLIFIER)

I wish it had an DI-out, because you have to have a microphone when you play live.

I use it for practicing and live, and it's rough enough not to break when bringing it up late at night after a gig, with a couple of beers of more

i have an aria guitar with an SD invader at the bridge, i play mostly punk, hardcore punk, ska and a sometimes, metal(but only sometimes)

it fits perfectly well, but before I installed the invader, i have to say that i did not really like my amp.

but now i'm the happiest person in the world

it sounds it's best when it has been warmed up for 2/3 hours, what can be sometimes a problem live, butwhat the hell, it's a tube-amp, it's normal


of course, i have to say the clean channel sucks, HIgH tones are always there......ska......that's the only thing for what can be used this channel..and sometimes, with a lot of tweeking of the knobs, you can make an OD-pedal sound really good(my jackhammer fits well after half an hour of tweeking....but then it's really ok)

hell yeah!!!

it's ROUGH, very rough, better look it for yourself, you won't be dissapointed

keine annung, but i don't think they would be very useful...

i have been playing punkrock for 6 years, i am not a pedalist-man, i like to keep it simple, so i have only the jackhammer(which i do not usually switch because i find better the OD of the amp) and an MXR-microamp in the effects loop, that i switch in the solos


FOR THE MONEY, GREAT VALUE, i really mean it when i say that you WON'T find anything better for 389???(new)

Good solid features to this amp. 2 channels each with seperate EQ-awesome. Passive Effects Loop works great with my setup. I like the texture control, although it just feels and responds more like a volume boost? I wish it had a line in/out or preamp in/out, something like that. No worries, I just mike it or plug into an external cab. This amp is loud, loud, loud! Don't be afraid to turn it up and let those tubes do their job! An excellent amp for an excellent price!

The amp is miles warmer than the old Peavey Bandit 112 amps I was using for small clubs and church. It suits my style well, which is a fusion of blues/country/classic rock. I play alot of small and medium clubs and this thing handles them well. I am used to keeping my bass turned up but on this map I have to roll it back a little cuz it tends to get overpowering and muddy. The mids and treble or nice, but I really love this amp for it's overdrive. I can get a great, clean crunch, chunky rhythm, or smoothe, milky sustain drive, perfect for leads when the boost is kicked in. This amp really convinced me to take all but 1 of my overdrive pedals off my board...which I now use to boost the 2nd channel.

I've only had this for a short time and gigged twice with it. So far, it's been a tank. I have never had a bad experience with Peavey products..so I don't expect that this will be any different.

Peavey is a great company and I love their products. I would trust them with any and all of my musical needs.

I've been playing for going on 13 years now. I've been through many amps and to date, this has been my favorite, next to my old Delta Blues. I may purchase another Delta Blues in the future, then A/B it with the Valve King. That would make for a sweet sweet setup. I use my own custom modified "strat style" electrics, as well as a Reverend Club King. This rig changed the way I approach the electric guitar forever. I'm really grateful that I stumbled across this deal. Got is used for $299.00. Can't beat that for a great Tube Amp.

2008 made Peavey ValveKing 112. This is an amp I'm using for home use, and its plenty loud and versatile enough for my style(s) of play, primarily classic rock, jazz, and finger picking electric guitars. The features are covered in other reviews, so I won't repeat. A feature I don't like is that when you use the line out to add a speaker, it turns off the speaker in the cabinet, as opposed to just adding it, so you cannot achieve a stereo effect (I suppose this can be used as a headphone jack).

I'm using it with a very well made custom Telecaster with Rio Grande pickups in a strat configuration. This guitar is very sensitive, and I wanted an amp that would be equally versatile. Out of the box, this amp was not that -- though I should say that I did not find my Marshall 401 to be that great off the shelf either, and neither are the Fender Hot Rods. Pretty much all of the entry level tube amps are a bit chilly and narrow, and only a small step above well made solid state amps. Stock tubes and stock speakers in all of these amps are really nothing special, despite all the talk about "warmth" and "presence". This one had a problem with the speaker, and the previous owner upgraded to an Eminence speaker and Ruby tubes ( I did a similar upgrade to my Marshall 401 before I enjoyed playing it). With these upgrades this amp is very satisfactory.
On the back, the RESONANCE switch works essentially as a bass boost. In the clean channel, I found this to be an excellent tone, when accompanied by using the Bright button on the front, and then turning down the treble a bit. I found this maxed the bass tones, when playing clean, using the neck pickup on my tele. The TEXTURE button on the back, though subtle, does allow you to get a bit of very natural breakup while playing clean (rotate the TEXTURE button all the way to the left). This is true distortion without using any of the gain boosts. Basically, if you're playing clean, you can play softly with no distortion at all, then hit it a bit harder and get just a bit of crunch. Very nice.
The Gain controls are adequate. I never find that gain controls on amps are as good as pedals, but these aren't bad. I use a Fulltone OCD for distortion. If you don't have a good distortion pedal, you'll get one eventually. But in the meantime, you can get by with what's on this amp (not if you want to play metal, but then, this probably isn't the amp for that to begin with). I rate this as an 8 including the upgrades, but I think it would be a 6 out of the box -- as would a Marshall 401 or a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

Too new to know.

I've dealt with Peavey in the past and found them very responsive with information, but I have no experience with getting them to replace a part.

I've been playing on and off for 35 years. I've gone through Marshalls and Fender twins, a Peavey Classic 410, Les Paul Custom, 82 Fender Strat, Jackson USA Sl2, G & L Strat, Epiphone Sheraton, Eastman 335 s, uhh, and so on, and my current custom Tele. If it were stolen, I would replace it, or get another Peavey Classic and upgrade it (I might prefer a 2 x 12 cabinet). With the upgrades, this is a solid entry level performing tube amp.

Made in 2008.
Very versatile as is. I play a Boss ME-50 through the clean channel and it sounds really good too.

I paid $290 for a used one and it is a great deal for this 50 watt tube amp.

Replaced the stock Sovtek tubes with Matched Groove Tubes. Not much difference in tone to my ears.
For kicks I connected my MESA 2x12 rectifier cab to the speaker jack. WOW!!!!! Straight into the amp with no effects is awesome. I riff out some slash and old AC/DC and it sounds like a marshall stack!!. Even without using the boogie 2x12..it's a great buy. I recommend this one.

Been playing 30 years now.

a lot already said
Texturing feature is useless, no real effect noticable. Who sais it gives it??s great and gives you lot of variaty is a peavy promoter or just repeats peavy advertising without own opinion.
2 channels, bright only for clean channel, EQ for both but low effect range.
Gain Boost and volume boost switchable by foot pedal, must be preselected on the amp. That means you can??t switch them individually by foot, only both if they??re booth preselected.
Volume boost works only noticable from 5 on (12 o??clock), at lower level it??s useless - you need to use gain for an increase, as long as you use low gain settings for standard. But this changes sound dramatically.
No foot pedal delivered, but a simple stereo 6.35mm cable connected to 2 on/off switches will do the job. Same system is for my old Peaveay Backstage 50, seems to be Peavey standard.
16 Ohm external Speaker possible.

Playing Les Pauls copy with SD humbucker, and Kramer with SD humbucker at bridge and single coli at neck. No effects except compression for the clean.

Was impressed in store by the sound, but at home i became more and more dissapointed. Sound felt not very precise. Clean is ok but no highlight. Distortion comes early but seems to come partly from the speaker. A friend played a Engle Screamer 50, for classic rock much better, much clearer sound. With the 112, i had the impression to come close to the sound of "money for nothing" however. It lacks brilliance, hard to describe.
I had an external box with a Celestion, sounds much more precise with less distortion ( i need higher gain settings). Changed the speaker now. The valveking speaker in the box sounds horrible now, especially with overdrive, the combo sound nicer now. So i think the speaker is a problem in the combo.
Reverb is not the best.

It??s a cheap amp. Wall thicknesses are low. It??ll not break up for me, but it??s not as tough as others for sure.

Played it half a year now in a band with standard rock songs and found it not very useful after all. It may have a lot of distortion, but for guys loving the heavy side: who is going on stage with such a small amp? For kids starting playing and who search a cheap startup equipment, searching distortion more than any other, it??s probably ok.

2008 valveking 1x12
versatile amp
2/3 channels
used from practice to gigs of 500+ - plenty loud

i use a prs se semi-hollow, gibson les paul special sl, and a tele with semour duncan lil' 59er and vintage tele pickup. Each has its own unique sound (this is expected because they are all different guitars and this is a tube amp). I have had no problems with noise, though i have a hard time getting just slight breakup on the gain channel. I am about to retube that channel with a 12dw7, that should solve that problem. Though plenty of gain - no longer use any distortion/overdrive pedals except my boss metal zone.

I have not had any problems with it. I haul it around everywhere in my truck - rides VERY rough. Not a single problem. There is a delay in switcing channels - going to the boost stage. Not a problem, most people would never notice it. To all of those who complain about the footswitch - there are schematics online to build one. I ordered all the parts for about $20-25 and built it in an afternoon. Only 6 total solders - easy project. The volume boost DOES work. Very versitile amp. For those who complain, most of them just can't set it up right.

I have not had to have ANY involvement with customer support

I own two fender amps and this one trumps both! My dad has been using the same peavey bass amp for his acoustic guitar for almost 18 years and the only problem is a dirty pot. Peavey makes VERY reliable products

Features have been covered in other reviews. This is a 112, 50 watt combo with a specially voiced speaker made specifically for the VK. I really like the volume/gain boost feature. Effects loop jacks are in the front, which is very convenient.

There is no presence knob, which might be nice. A rear cross-panel would be nice for protection although the tubes are amply protected with a metal cage so they cannot accidentally be bumped and broken. It???s a good looking amp. I could do without the wings on the front but it???s not that big of a deal.

I???m using this amp weekly to play for as many as 200 people in a medium sized room. The amp is mic???d and run through the P.A. I play a Nashville Tele, Wolfgang Hardtail and an LP through it and each has their own personality. In the loop I use delay, chorus, tremolo & phase as needed. Some open backed amps sound noticeably different when changing rooms, this does not. My VK is amazingly quiet.

The voicing of this amp, to my ears, is very Marshall-like. It isn???t fuzzzzzzzy like a lot of high-gain amps, which is good. I hate fuzzzzzz. It also does not have scooped mids. I do not consider this a high gain amp. It has enough gain to easily hit pinch harmonics and it sustains very well. It???s got a well balanced tonal range. If you???re looking for a lot of low end thump, you???ll be disappointed. But it is very balanced. Not too bright. Not too dark. Using the gain/volume boost is great for solos and it does nudge it towards high gain territory, but the tone becomes too messy for my rhythm work.

The effects loop may be the clearest, quietest loop I???ve ever heard, certainly in this price range, which really gives the delay some dimension. Reverb is fine. I can see where people who rely on Reverb more than I do might be disappointed. I don???t use a lot of reverb so this doesn???t matter as much to me.

The clean channel is very nice. Fenderish I guess. I can???t believe anyone would hate the clean channel. As stated earlier, the lead channel is a Marshall type of tone. It can be a little grainy but with reasonable and prudent adjustment of the eq, it is not harsh. It???s got a bit of a throaty growl with some teeth make the tone sound bigger than the box it comes out of. I???m not saying that it???s big boomy because it is not. The basic tone though has shades of that deep growl made by a 412 cab. It doesn???t ooze a lot of harmonic overtones but it cuts through the mix well without being harsh

The lead channel responds really well to volume pot changes from the guitar. Probably better than any other amp I???ve played. At every increment the gain dials down to a different, usable level.

Without pedals,it is a Rock/Blues amp. Again, think of the different situations you could use a classic Marshall tone, and that???s the kind of music you???d use the VK112 with. In addition to Classic Rock and guitar Rock in general, it???ll do 80???s Hard Rock (Judas Priest, Ozzy, some pre-5150 VH) No Metalica or other Metal without the right pedal or eq pedal. It won???t do 5150/6505 or Saldano high gain tones. The clean channel takes pedals well so that???s where you might find more tones.

One critique could be that it is not a very loud 50 watt amp. This is fine because I don???t use it live without micing it to the P.A. And it is loud enough to jam with or to play small venues. But in the world of 50 watt amps, it isn???t one of the loudest. It does seem to cut through the mix o.k. though.

The resonance and texture controls are neat. They are subtle but you can hear a difference depending on what volume you play. I recommend setting the texture control while playing the clean channel at at least half volume. This allows you to actually hear how much power tube breakup you???re getting. It can be hard to hear a difference on the lead channel. The Class A setting tends to sound more restricted with less headroom in both clean and lead. The lead channel can sound pretty spongy with more gain in the Class A mode. At full volume on the clean channel, the Class A setting is quite distorted. And it should be pointed out that the owners manual states that it is Class A Simulation, so my guess is that the texture is basically a variable half power knob that does indeed change the texture.

Peavey tends to be very reliable. The front baffle board is plywood, not particleboard. I think the actual cab is particleboard though. It wasn???t made for world stadium tours so knocking it because it wouldn???t handle that seems a bit silly to me. I got mine used and it works like new.

Peavey has a very user friendly website and forums with friendly moderators ready to help in any way they can.

I???m with others here who do not understand the 1 ratings. I also laugh when I read that a reasonable person couldn???t possibly like the lead channel. Whatever. I???ve been playing for 35 years. A Peavey Classic 100 has been my main amp for 7 years and I???ve owned several other amps though the years

Anyone worth their salt who has been playing for a while knows that you can get usable tones out of about any piece of gear if you know how to set it up and play it. -within reason of course.

To be sure, THIS IS NOT THE HOLY GRAIL OF AMPS, nor do I expect it to be. I expect it to be a good value for what I paid. I expect it to work well within the context that I bought it for. It is a punchy little workhorse of an amp and I have zero regrets.

Some people hate Peavey (for some reason). Some people hate gear made in China. (Fair enough). For these people, the VK would not be a good choice. For those who just want a pretty simple plug, play, good sounding Rock/Blues amp that is easy to carry around. I can whole-heartedly recommend considering the ValveKing 112. If it were stolen, I would absolutely replace it.

Highly tweakable for the price. Clean channel high boost really works magic. variable amounts of gain with gain knob and gain boost. almost too much gain. spring reverb is ok a larger one would have sounded better. texture knob allows for more crunch at low volumes for lead (my usual application, live I use full ab setting) power tube cage solid as a rock and gives a sense of security. pre-amp tubes impossible to get to. (I removed the hardware for easy removal) Loud amp but good at low volumes to. I play metal, blues, funk, praise and worship (ballad type stuff) It pulls them off with ease.

I am playing a HSS Standard Strat. I play pretty much anything but primarity blues, shred, funk. I have to be honest after about two months I was sorry I bought it but was going to make do (not rich). It sounded ok for the bedroom but lacked in tube warmth and responsiveness. Kind of harsh sounding and not too musical. I know Peavey biases their really amps cold to get minumum warranty claims/returns etc. so I took it to my tech and he put a bias adjustment pot and re-biased it (only -5ma from stock is where it's set) Now I am in tube heaven. It really opened up the amp, warmed it up and removed all the harshness and the muddiness. It also improved the resposiveness (it FEELS like a tube amp) (those have played really good tube amps know what I'm talking about) It sounds like an amp costing four times the price.

Before modding the amp it was pretty good but very little mojo factor. Now, I smile when I hit certain sweet spots. This amp modded has a lot of them.

So I will review the modified amp..

Clean is very warm, chimy, and responsive, almost el34 glassy sounding with the high boost in. It is a real joy to play RHCP or Hendrix/blues on clean.

Lead channel all settings sound clear and responsive, all the notes can be heard when chording, not muddy like it used to be. leads are soulful and sing beautifully. my favorite tone is with both boosts in and gain at 11:00. If I back off a bit on my guitar volume I can get a perfect semi-dirty blues tone. If i want shred I just put a bad monkey on or turn up the gain a bit (pedal works better live) there is NO crossover distortion when cranked. ( I used to crank it and think to myself "This is a tube amp?" Now it responds like a tube amp, It loves to be loud. I still have the stock speaker in and it sounds fantastic. due to the bias re-adjustment, it sounds a little thinner at the lowest volumes, but thick and creamy when power tubes kick in. I am not too concerned about brutal distortion ( I can get a pedal to do that) the distortion with the mods is very musical and can sound anywhere from blues to eighties metal or early metallica.

I also shorted r100 to fix the gain boost nasty crossover distortion problem (simple mod)

This amp is loud and almost can simulate a half stack tone. I have no problem keeping up with a drummer. In fact my drummer plays louder to keep up :-) sounds good.

I will stick with this amp now till I get rich and can afford a Cornford Hell Cat or Marshall JVM.

no problems yet. Peaveys are very reliable. I would have no problem gigging without a back up. I always bring extra tubes/strings just in case.

I probably voided the warranty with the mods. Oh well, it was worth it.

5 year warranty

I have been playing for about 25 years. I have always liked peavey gear (bandit 112, classic 50 head, 5150 head) but have owned a laney and a couple other half stacks. This amp is great with the mods. Ok stock. I don't know why peavey sacrifices tone for cost. I compared it to a B-52, marshall tube 112 (not sure what model) line 6. This seemed most versatile and had best tone. I highly recommend a bias adjustment mod to anyone who owns this amp. peavey biased much too cold for 6l6 tubes. If it were lost or stolen I would get another one and do the mods again or save up and get a marshall jvm 212.

It has bass, mid, and treb for both lean and distortion seperate. Also has Texture knob and resonance switch. Decent for a combo amp, if you want all the little effects go buy an effects pedal :)

Im using the ESP Alexi 600 with Blackout pick up bridge, I play mostly metal(Children of Bodom style). And this amp provides as a good recording amp for now. The distortion on this thing is decent but who cares? Most people that play metal or rock have thier own effect pedal. Run it through clean channel and it has a good sound to it, the effects loop sorta sucks *** though, takes away from the tone. If your looking for an amp thats cheap but sounds good this is it.

The only ive had to do to this amp is change the tubes, and that was because I just 'wanted' different ones. Ive had it for 3 years and its still kicking. If it can survive 12 hours a day of hardcore playing for me while on my ship in the Navy and being tossed around in rough water it can survive you.

Never delt with them, never had to. Besides I take it to my local shop I bought it from and they do the stuff to it.

Ive been playing for about 13 years and this is my main recording amp for on the road and when im in my friends apartment. Has good sound but doesnt have to be cranked. I also own Laney VH100R head and 2 4x12 cabs, a matamp GT1 head and the white retro 4x12 cab, and a marshall MF350 head with 1960a and B cabs. While all the gear I have is very good, Its not practical for me to record with while on the road or in my house or friends apartment. I love how it CAN crank out some volume for its size, but doesnt need to be turned up to get good sound. I chose this amp as a "Hey look tube amp." and bought it just because i needed one when my marshall combo went to ****. I recomend it, its served me well and can for you too.

You know em by now. 50 watts, all tube, gain boost, volume boost, resonance switch, the texture knob, and a built in masterbator.

Some features not mentioned much: speaker is 16 ohms, and sounds quite good I think. I think lots of people are trying to justify the low price and immediately target the speaker or tubes because their easy replacements. I would think an EQ pedal would be a quicker, cheaper, and less permanent fix, but then again, I LIKE this amp. It's got a front-mounted effects loop, master reverb, 2 inputs (high and low, low if both used).

Sound is so subjective, so this is just my opinion, but I love everything sound this makes. Distortion cranks, the clean is super clean, tone controls are super sensitive, so you can really shape YOUR tone. There's no presence knob, but I rarely take the treble over half way, so it's not needed. I'm a shredder, my other amp is a Marshall JCM900, so I just dime the gain and rip. The VK does NOT disappoint. The clean channel is very full, very dark but has a bright switch that actually works. Takes to pedals EXTREMELY well. Even with my brittle DS-1, I actually had to back the bass off on the amp.

I just don't get the "1" ratings. The only think I can think of is that the got lemons, or bad tubes or something. Or maybe they are all foreign, and think "treble" means bass, so they have their settings all boogered or something. Like they're plugging the guitars into the Effect's Send jack. Or that built in masterbator.

The reverb tank was barely on when I got it. But lucky for me, I own a Phillips screwdriver. Actually, I own several, so I'm really lucky. A couple of twists and it was nice and tight. I just attribute it to some little Chineese dude who prolly wasn't strong enough to tighten that sucker down. But the fact that I had to screw in a REVERB TANK and not tighen up a reverb chip should say something about the thought process with this amp.

Emailed them today about replacing the speaker with a different impedance. We'll see how long it takes for a reply...

I gotta give this a 10. For me, my playing style, and where I am now with my playing career (studio recording, session gigging), this is perfect for me. I've been playing 20 years BTW. If you are even thinking of checking this amp out, just go take it for a test drive, and try to ignore those "1", "this amp sucks" mindless drabble. ALL things aside, this is a really good amp.

I bought this amp new last month from my local dealer. 2 channel 50 watt 6L6 powered all tube combo, reverb, seperate eq for clean and lead channels, presence button and texture control on back face of chassis. I play mostly classic rock and blues and was hoping this amp could cover a lot of ground for me.

I play a Parker Fly and a Mexi Strat so I cover a lot or variations of single coil, humbucker, and piezo pickup sounds. Now here is the bad news, this is the first amp I have ever taken back for refund. Clean channel does not stay clean past 6, and when it does break up it sounds like solid state as opposed to warm tube breakup. Lead channel overdrive too sounds too solid state and dry, and man there is way too much gain for my tastes. Maybe good for nu-metal, but not what I am looking for.

I cannot comment on reliability, I did not keep this amp long enough to give a good opinion. I can say that I did knock around in my trunk during transit with no ill affects.

My dealer refunded no questions asked, so that is as close to customer support as I came to Peavey

Seems to be a tough little amp, not very loud for 50 tube watts though. I traded for a Kustom Defender that is also rated at 50 watts and is MUCH louder than the peavey. I have a VK royal 8 also which is a sweet little tube practice amp, but its bigger brother seems soulless in comparison.

Please read the other reviews that list all the features, no sense repeating all the other posts

I was really looking forward to this amp having read all the reviews and all I can say is I've NEVER been more dissapointed. This is the worst sounding tube amp I've evr had, Icouldn't send it back fast enough. What an overrated overhyped pice of garbage. This was the most overpriced tube amp you coul buy. Wouldn't be a good buy at half the price. Does the stratocaster no justice, shrill and useless. Hasn't a good tube amap sound in it, lacks any kind of tube warmth

Don't know, tried it for 30 days and was totally discusted with it's lack of tube depth and warmth.

don't know or care. Would never own another peavy amp.

After this experience you couldn't give me a Peavy tube amp. The most overhyped, overrated amp in the market. Except for the legion of Hi-gain teenagers that know 3 chords and call themselves musicians. I can't see why anyone would every buy anything peavy. These tube amps lack warmth, deffinition, depth and any type of characteristic that all tube amps are known for. If your looking for a good tube amp...pass on this one and keep shopping. You'll save yourself a ton of dissapointment.What a hunk of JUNK!!

2 channels,reverb, texture class a to a/b control, speaker outs, etc. I got this amp after trying it at guitar center and watching a boatload of youtube vids of it. Features I never use are the resonance ( i leave it on tight),reverb (i have a reverb pedal) and the texture control ( i leave it on full power class a/b. I don't know what year it was made 07 probably,made in china. I use this amp in my music room. It has too much power for me-i never turn it up past like 1.

Ok, I bought this amp to play metal,I have faded sg with a super distortion in the bridge and a epi les paul with a seymour duncan distortion pup in the bridge. It is not "voiced" for metal. It will not sound like a dimed mesa or marshall. It kind of doesn't really do any one thing very well, rather a couple of things ok. With the gain cranked and the volume low it sounds like a cheap marshall plexi-you get that cheesy van halen type of tone that I just have come to associate cheap 2 channel tube amps with. It can do some blues, butnot that well,won't sound like a fender. It is just ok. I realize that tube amps are made to be cranked but I don't due to a baby in the house so my opinion is for amp response at low volume. But,a really good amp like a mesa or a marshall sounds good at low volume too,keep that in mind. bOTTOM LINE, I bought htis amp hoping for a near to mesa sound and am disappointed. I swapped all the tubes out and talked to amp tech and he told me I was wasting my time. Tube swaps don't matter he claims-after doing it-gotta admit thast i agree with him. He says all I did was make the amp less noisy. The clean channel is warm and basic sounding-bright switch is unuseable.

This amp has never broken down,but it is a made in china peavey and a guitar amp tech told me that they put the cheapest transformers they can find in them. If one of those goes you are goingto be buying another amp. It happened to my peavey windsor.

Never dealt with peavey,hope never to have to, good thing baout them is there stuff is cheap enough you can probably just go buy another one if something happens to it.

I've been playing over 13 years and have owned alot of cheap tube amps-this is not the best or the worst. The problem is it's sound doesn't really fit into any category. Lots of guys-like myself bought this amp for metal and are disappointed. It is after you get over the worthless textture control and reverb-a basic run of the mill-cheap 2 channel tube amp. Nothing special-nothing terrible. A very telling thing about this amp and what peavey really thinks about it is that for a long time-the peavey bandit was priced higher. Think about it- a solid-state amp costing more than a same wattage tube amp. That should never happen.

Amp has man features on it. Resonance class A&A/B tube switch. Clean channel and overdrive channel. Headphone Jack. Two Inputs. 50 watts. Alot of cool neat stuff.

Sound quality is good. It could cover lots of types of stuff. The distortion on it is a little weak to do metal. But you can always crank it up with a Overdrive pedal along with it or metal pedal on clean channel. Clean Channel is awesome killer. The amp could do many things to cover other peoples music.

Never gigged with it. Sometimes if you switch the amp off to fast it makes a exploding sound to the amp. Gotta do it pretty slow. Pretty solid and tough for anything

Never used customer support

Well this was a very big amp I ever owned and can do many things and its very cool. I wished the distortion was more tougher and thicker and stuff. But its cool.

Two channel, each with it's own E.Q. Clean channel has a bright switch. Lead channel has a gain boost switch and a volume boost switch. If one of these are depressed when using the footswitch, it will be controlled by the footswitch. The F/S also controlls the channel select. Master reverb. Loose/Tight switch on the back. Also class A/B to class A adjustment knob on the back. External speaker jack which when used bypasses the internal speaker. It comes loaded with Ruby Tubes 6L6's.

Clean channel has a nice pushed sound at performance volume. The bright switch is a little too much. The lead channel can get quite hairy but I prefer to set the gain at no more than 9 o-clock and bring the volume up to 1-3 o-clock. If that still isn't enough to keep up with the band the volume boost is really helpful. I dont use the gain boost. You can tell im going for a decent classic rock/blues sound. I use my efx spairingly. I don't even use the footswitch. My favorite tools are the knobs on my guitars and pick attack. The class AB/A control can only be some type of tone/wattage control. In case you don't know it's not really class A. I just leave it at full AB. I have a couple of real class A amps for that job. This amp runs at 16 ohms, nothing less. The speaker sucks! When I realized that it is a 16 ohm amp I had the answer. I have a Laney 212 slant front cab for another project with an Eminence Wizard and a Texas Heat that is wired for 16 ohm. The small size of this combo seemed perfect for making a little pocket sized head out of. Man did that ever work out good. This amp with good speaker(s) actually has a great sound. It has become my favorite giging rig. It's light, inexpensive, unusual, and I don't care if it gets bar spooge on it.

So far so good.

I have had some problems with Peavey lately but they say it was because they were changing to a new computer system. (for three months ).

It is a tube amp.PLUS. Made overseas.MINUS. inexpensive.PLUS. Terrible speaker.MINUS. For a beginner or for adding to the collection it's a good deal. Has some good features and has a straight forward tone, nothing fancy, just straight up.

This amp has enough features, nothing crazy. But features arent what i buy amps for. the class a-ab knob is this amps best feature. youll want to stay away from the bright switch, this thingll make your ears bleed. the volume boost on the lead channel isnt noticeable until you get into the higher volume levels.

If you're buying this amp, you're buying it for the clean channel. At the 50 watt setting, this amp is very clean, you cant really get any grit on it until about 11:00, really digging in. It's basically a copy of a super reverb. nice clean tones, very bright. however, when you bump it down to 30, this thing gets very bluesy. at 9:00, digging in you can get some good grit, and then when you bump it up to 12:00, it gets nice and bluesy. full tilt this thing's not half bad, lots of distortion. I tend to stay between 12:00 and 3:00 for a nice dynamic tone, but still getting full gain when i dig in. Also, there's a bit more treble response at the 50 watt setting. I basically use the a-a/b knob to controll headroom, i'll usually get a nice clean tone, and then use the a-a/b knob to tune in breakup, or just go A and get some nice dirt.Reverb sounds good, not great, but for my uses it works out just fine.
Lets face it, the lead channel sucks. sounds very solid state, it cant dial in "breakup" at all. You get no bass. Theres also a lack of direction - it seems to be voiced for extremely high gain sounds, yet there's not enough gain for that, or bass for metal players. the dirty channel is only good for leads high up on the neck where the lack of bass is less noticeable and with the reverb cranked.

But this amp isnt meant to be a dirty amp. to be honest, they should have left off the lead channel and given more parameter control over the clean channel. A presence, and master volume would have been much more useful.

there was one scare where it got quiet and distorted, and i looked at the tubes and they were a vibrant orange. came back a half an hour later, and they were fine. no problems for the last few months, so i dunno.

great clean and american bluesy tones, crappy distortion. good reverb.

Follow up review. Lots of features as previously described. Changed the stock speaker for a vintage Hiwatt Mackenzie. substantial improvement here.

THIS IS THE ONLY AREA WORTH READING! channel 1: Nice clean at low levels, at gig levels the 6l6`s really shine. LOVELY spankey rounded sound with rich tube overtones. 9/10 for this. READ CAREFULLY: channel 2: rather gritty unsubtly traansistor-like distortion. its NOT the tubey bloom and breakup every tube amp should have, its been engineered for high gain, it comes in WAY too soon, its not particularly nice whatever you play through it and however you tweak it. I put this side by side with a Laney VC30 (which costs roughly the same secondhand in the uk, see smartass know-nothing comments below) for USA readers substitute peavey Classic 30. The Laney is MUCH better built, EVERYTHING has a more substantial feel. the clean channels are on a par, if i`m completely unbiased I slightly prefer the laney at low volume and the peavey at high, but its very close.
The gain channel however is a NO CONTEST and if you disagree i`m afraid youre deaf or have NEVER heard a class valve amp. the Laney starts off almost clean breaks up beautifully at about 4 for all those classic blues tones and goes right up to vintage rock tones at 7+. full up its too compressed but if you want to play thrash or nu-metal use this and a Marshall jackhammer. I put a gov'nor GV2 and a bluesbreaker in front of both the Laney and the Peavey. the tones from the Laney are to die for. YOU SIMPLY CANT RATE THE PEAVEY MORE THAN 6 ON THE GAIN CHANNEL, ITS NOT GOOD BY ANY STANDARD. SO IVE GIVEN IT 7 OVERALL BECAUSE THE CLEAN IS NICE. It took a lot of tweaking to get a nice sound on channel 2, the Laney took NONE! The Flextone III does comfortably better blues and thats just poor for a valve amp.

Given it a good thrashing and its stood up well

no experience to date.

Ive been playing NEARLY 35 years. ive had just about every decent amp up to 1000 dollars. this is a reasonable amp for the money BUT buy a secondhand VC30, LC30, Classic 30, JTM30 or Delta Blues and a marshall govenor. its WELL WORTH the small extra outlay. The valveking is a well built, decent, good value, loud valve amp. I just think Peavey have voiced the drive channel all wrong. If youve rated it for sound more than 7 your a kid into metal, never played a valve amp before or your trying to justify your choice. Ive got one to sell so this review it totally honest. its not bad but there are several better choices for not much more wonga, thats all.

First off, this is a follow-up review. I have owned the 1x12 50 Watt Valveking combo for about a year and a half now.
Quick Specs List: 50 Watts, 2 channels plus Gain boost on Channel 2. Bright switch on Channel 1. Volume boost on Channel 2. Channel 1 is Volume and 3 band EQ. Channel 2 is Gain, Volume and 3 band EQ. Master Reverb, No Master Volume. Front panel: Effects Loop, Rear panel: Resonance Switch for Speaker Dampening, Footswitch Jack and Dual Speaker outs.
Tubage consists of 2 6L6GC tubes in the power section and 3 12AX7 tubes in the preamp section.
I don't notice any difference when the volume boost is engaged. Perhaps mine is defective. That aside, the Valveking lineup is generally a very versatile set of amps. This is very loud for 50 watts. I would place it between Marshall and Fender Volume wise. Gain is very dependent on the pickups you are using. The gain structure does a very nice job of conveying the intensity (or lack thereof) of your pickups. I am currently using a Parker PM-20 with a Dimarzio Paf Pro in the neck and a D-Sonic in the bridge position.
The sound quality is fantastic and much more powerful as compared to the stock Parker pickups. However, there is a slight drop in clarity due to the higher bass response of the D-Sonic. But, as I said, the amp follows the tone of the pickups very well.
I play mostly variants of Rock, but this amp is capable of handling most anything.
I have played out a few times with this amp and it is quite capable of handling itself live whether playing clean or dirty.
A master Volume would take this amp up to at least a 9, but it's not a huge deal if you don't have to make adjustments on the fly.

Unfortunately, this amp is a bit noisy on the dirty channels, but as long as your guitar isn't noisy as well, it's not too bad.
I covered the guitar and pickups and style in the section above.
The distortion isn't a Mesa, but it can come close with high gain pickups (such as the Seymour Duncan Dimebucker or Dimarzio D-Sonic as well as EMG 81 actives). Lower gain pickups give a more sedate distorted quality, but, still very versatile for a lot of styles.

I feel this is a dependable amp and I have no choice as to whether or not to use a backup as I only own one amp.
However, I have never had any problems with this amp. It even still has the original tubes. The tube cage seems to do a great job of protecting the little buggers well.

No Opinion. Not yet needed.

While this is my first tube amp, I have had the opportunity to play a wide variety of amps, both tube and solid. I feel that for the price, this amp compares very favorably with anything close to the price and some things out of the price range. The big brother, the 2x12 is even more capable and is on a par with anything made by Fender or Marshall under $1000.

I honestly love it... its the best amp i have ever had... before i had this one on i had two crappy amps a behringer v-tone....and as bad as this is going to sound a firsts act bass amp from wal-mart...ha ha ha

i do use it as a bass amp as well as a guitar amp

i love how it works .. i love the way its sounds

its AMAZING

i have a washburn bantam xb120 4-string and a agile les paul knock off .. i play preaty much as heavy as i can and the amp meets all my needs and standards for what i need to do... i play in bars in my small town and it preaty much gets the job done.. as said earlyer that i had two small amps .. i kept on gettting out powered by my drummer ... that dosent happen any more .. HA HA

its perfect size and everthing .. as a small note it works great as a bench when your on stage.. ha ha .. but in all seriousness its reliable .. its big but not too big .. its easy to transport and it one takes a minute for the tubes to warm up...

i bought it used form a friend so i am not the person to ask...sorry

i have been playing bass and guitar for five years now...i am nineteen and i will continue to use this amp until it breaks... and then i will fix it... if it was stolen broken damaged lost ... I WOULD DEFINATLY GET A NEW ONE... i love the fact that its small and still puts out enough sound .. and i hate nothing about it....i mean the only other thing i could think it could need is a picture of chuck norris .. but then it would just explode..

ha ha


so think what ever you want of me and my age.. i have been around this stuff since i was 3 ... my dad tought me everthing about what to look for in an amp... and i learned ... so i might just be some teenaged punk to you but.. i know my stuff

i would sugest this amp to any one..

Amp is about four years old. which means it was probably made in 2004. I've used it for country, southern rock and got it after playing one belonging to a 90's nu metal guitarist. I would have no problem using it for anything from Metallica to Johnny Cash. Two channels, Clean and Lead. Clean channel is pretty simple volume, treble, middle, bass and a bright switch. Lead channel has treble mid,Bass, volume, and gain, it also has a clean boost and a gain boost.
The clean boost and gain boost are footswitchable, but not seperately if the button is pushed in on the amp the pedal turns it on or Off. I wish it had an independent button on the footswitch for the gain boost mainly because it sounds really good with the clean boost on for certain rhythm parts and it would be nice just to hit a swith for the leads with the clean boost already on. I've mostly played it at home but I have played it out at rehearsal and it has enough power.
I also wish it had resonance and presence control pots rather than just the resonance button. The effects loop on the front is very handy and the class A-A/B knob does a lot for tone adjustments. The bias on mine was too low at 13ma per tube. I got another set of tubes that brought it up to 20ma but I'm sure 33ma or so would be better. If you get one of these that sounds bad, try some better tubes..

I use a mohogany body guitar with dimarzio's that are like hot gibson pickups (496t 790r style). It has coil splitting and can sound close to a tele or strat as well. I play everything from old country, surf, metal, 50's 60's and 70's rock. I'd like to try a different speaker in it. when I hooked it to a cab it came alive.
Running a boost pedal in front helps the dynamics alot, as it does with most good amps. Also with a good 412 cab and good tubes this thing gets a ton of distortion.

I got it used and it was cutting in and out a little. I found over half the screws that held the pcb's were missing. Once replaced it worked perfect and continues to do so. Peavey is very good about getting you parts quickly and easily..

I did get some missing screws from them. While it was not too difficult, they have a little trouble getting the parts nailed down exactly because the parts folks don't have an exploded view of what you are looking at. so if you tell them what you need they kind of have to guess which part it is. They got a couple of them wrong and sent replacements out right away for free. second time was the charm. Parts were inexpensive and shipping was free,

I've played for almost 25 years and like and play many style of guitar based music and so far I would say this is the best bang for the buck.. If anything this good said Marshall or Fender on it, it would cost twice as much.

I've tried or owned, classic 30's, Blues Deluxe, Blues Jr, Pro Jr, Rivera R100, KHR, Bogners, Diezels, Mesa,s and too many others to list, so while I agree that there are better amps out there, It's hard to find one in the $500 range... If it were stolen, I would probably replace it with the 212 or head because of the resonance adjustment..

??269.00 for a good 50 watt valve amp

??269.00 for a good 50 watt valve amp

??269.00 for a good 50 watt valve amp

Lets face it for the minimal outlay I have paid for this amp it sounds great and is a well built little amp thats easy to transport, it does have gig worthy sounds, and with a little tweaking you can get all the sounds, if you want to be a mug and pay double for an amp that sounds the same thats fine aswell. hail to the mighty communistic manufacturing plants of the peoples republic of china...

Reasonably well put together, not heavy to carry around, smart looking and loud enough, the few additional features that you wouldnt expect at this price range A/AB control & resonance are subtle to say the least.

Used with a really good quality frankenstrat the clean channel is pretty good, breaks up nicely at about 6, if you need a fender type clean sound all the way to 10 forget it. The gain channel is where this falls down. I read the review in guitarist magazine and bought it mainly because of that but i disagree with the review strongly. it had distortion with no real raunch or guts and fizz with none of the liquid sustain offered by a good quality valve amplifier. Changed the stock speaker for a Mackenzie and the valves for new old stock Brimars. i played this side by side with a Laney VC30 and it was a complete no contest. the laney doesnt have the level of gain available BUT in every other respect, clean headroom, warm blues clipping, crunch with body and tone, quality reverb and subtance of build it was streets in front. Preferred a Flextone III to the valveking, even though its transistor it was just better in every respect.

Well built too new to comment on reliability, but it appears to be decently made.

Not dealt with peavey yet.

I will be letting this go as soon as. I wouldnt replace it. From memory a peavey bandit i sold about 10 years ago was better for cleans and crunch rhythm and following the reviews i was disappointed. Ive been playing 34 years and can only assume the positive reviews are from kids into thrash that are happy with the amount of gain on tap. My advice? Buy a Laney VC30, an LC30 MK2, Peavey Classic 30 or Delta Blues and just about any decent overdrive pedal for the extra gain. You get what you pay for and I couldnt live with the compromises the valveking serves up.

Amazing amp....Buy it...its really gud...

Gud sound, clean and overdrive...

Gud...had it 4 a wile and it is still as gud as new...

Sam ash so idk...

Gud amp buy it...

You read the rest. 50 watts 2 channels , etc... Bought used without a reverb tank, so I cant comment on the stock reverb yet. Has everything you'll need for gigging.

Humbuckers & P-90's, it loves both. Goes from fendery cleans for country & rockabilly to jazzy smooth to great blues crunch, all on the clean channel. Takes a bit of tweaking on the controls for each guitar, but it's there if you bother to take the time. Quiet as a church mouse, quieter than any other tube amp I own. Great OD channel goes from classic rock to heavy blues to whatever short of metal with EASE. I swapped out pre amp tubes, and I suspect that the negative reviews here are from players with little or no experience in the care & feeding of tube amps. The stock pre amp tubes were harsh and sterile sounding(EH). Sounds great now, blowing away boutique amps at a regular jam I attend. If you cant get good tones out of this amp, I can only conclude you have no clue what you're doing with a tube amp.

New to me but it's a Peavey. I giged with it the day after I got it, and 3 times since in 2 weeks. Seems sturdy to me.

Best in the business. Reverb tank on the way.

Been playing for 35 years and have owned 30 different amps over the years from near every manufacturer. I have 8 different guitars, varied makes. I gig 3-6 times a month, and I can tell you this amp is the real deal. China, shmina. This amp rocks.

Brand new (2008) Valveking 1x12 combo.
2 independent channels, global reverb & series effects loop.
Bright boost on clean channel, gain & volume boost on lead channel.

I wish it had channel assignable reverb or separate reverb controls for each channel, because the reverb sounds pretty bad on the lead channel.

I also wish it had an global master volume control after the effects loop. The effects return is gained way up to accomodate low-voltage effects pedals. The problem is that the amount of gain is overkill for even the whimpiest pedals. The result is a constant hiss that cannot be dialed out. You can turn down all levels & reverb, and the hiss is still there. A master volume between the effects return gain stage & power amp section would allow proper effects recovery gain setting. It would also provide a simple, one-knob way to change the overall volume of the amplifier.

The clean channel is certainly based on the Fender Twin & Super. However, Peavey uses a linear taper treble potentiometer which turns up the highs quicker than the audio taper pot used in a Fender. To compensate, Peavey uses a 1-Meg bass pot, which allows too much deep bass. As a result, it is difficult to get a good balanced clean sound without getting too boomy on the low end. Tweekers may want to try changing the clean bass capacitor from 0.1uF to 0.01uF-0.022uF. Unfortunately the clean headroom is also very limited on the Valveking.

The lead channel sounds nice at bedroom volume, but totally falls apart at higher volumes. The stock speaker is largely to blame for this. It has brittle mids & the top end dissapears as the speaker starts to break up. You can even hear the brittle mids at low volumes if you bring your ears in line with the speaker. I swapped out the Valveking speaker for a Celestion G12T75 from my Marshall cab, and the problem was cured. However, I think this amp has way too much gain on tap, and isn't voiced properly for an open-back combo. This amp wants to shred, but the focus & definition is lacking due to the open-back cab. With a speaker upgrade you can get decent classic rock to AC/DC sounds with the boost off & the gain in the 1 to 5 range.

The Reverb is pretty bad. At low volumes it's useable, but it really gets splashy as you turn it up. It also gets much worse when you run the amp louder. It could be that the opamp reverb drive circuit is clipping, or perhaps the tank is picking up too much mechanical vibration from the speaker.

I bought the Valveking 112 to use as a low-cost, portable amp for rehearsal & small gigs. Unfortunately it has too many issues. So I returned it to GC for a full refund. You gotta love their 30 day return policy. I took it back after 29 days of evaluation.

Peavey packed a ton of cool and useable features into this amp. The front mount effects loop was an awsome idea, the texture control is also a great feature. It aloows for a wide array of sounds out of this little amp.

The independant EQ's for each channel with a Gain and Volume boots is great aswell.

Kudos for peavey for hitting all the features many boutique amps miss.

The amp is amazing right out of the box. I literally played in for 3 minuted in guitar center and fell in love with it. The clean channel can do anything from jazz to funk and the gain channel can do anything from slight overdrive (gain set on 2 and gain boost disabled) to full on shredd. I play with alot of gain and I constantly finding myself backing off the gain and / or turning the gain boost off. I have still yet to turn the gain past 6.

I am amazed that this little $400 amp can deliver tones like this

I have toured most of the US with this amp, dropped it countless times and pretty much beat the snot out of it. This thing is still going strong. I have had it almost a year and I havent had a single problem.

Amazing as always, Peavey has the best support around.

This is the best tube amp I have owned. I have been searching for this tone for 15 years and I have finally found it. Its got a very Marshall type sound and the amount of gain available is incredible.

You would be hard pressed to find an amp that sounds better in ANY price range.

This is an intitial pre-gig review. I give points for the Texture control, independent EQ's, reverb, effects loop (although I havent used it yet at all) and bright switch. I take off points mainly on the lack of a line-out and because the footswitch was not provided as part of the amp. For now I am indifferent with the 2 inputs or the resonance switch at the back.

I bought it for a pop-rock gig with songs ranging from Beatles to Evanescence, but we've only done practice sessions with it so far. The amp will have to be miced on the gig because it's 700 seat venue. I will make a follow up review after the gig. It's noisy only if the gain and volume levels are set to >12 o'clock and the gain boost is on and the guitar volume is maxed too, of course the amp will go into uncontrolled feedback. This is my first all tube amp. Clean sounds are excellent: loudest on class AB on the clean channel. The 2nd channel channel's high gain sounds are not bad but not to rave about when on class AB but get better as you move the texture knob to A - but this causes loss of headroom on both channels. I HAVEN'T done much tweaking yet but I am happy that every now and then I discover a new sound that provide new ideas just by fiddling around with the EQ's, gain and reverb. The reverb is adequate for pop/rock. For a 1st ever tube amp I am happy with the sounds but I know there are many other reasonably priced 50 watt amps with better high-gain sounds at loud class AB volumes. The amp appears suitable for all musical styles except really heavy guitar music like thrash/death metal.

Not sure but am being very careful with it. I bought this just before Christmas 2007. I bought a tiny desk fan to use with the amp on the gig. I cant afford a real backup - the only other amp I have is a small Vox Cambridge!

N/A. This will be serviced by the retailer. 3 year warranty.

I've been a hobby player for years but it was only last November when I got busy. Lost or stolen, I might try something else, but not because I dont like it, but because now I know it's limitations.
I compared it with a 50 watt Nomad which sounded too focused on midrange. I didn't bother testing other tube amps as they were out of my budget. The Valve King is heavy.
I chose the Valve King because it was the most affordable 2 channel tube amp with adequate clean headroom I could buy in Auckland, New Zealand. My bandmates wish it had a line out so that we didnt have to mic it onstage. I wish the AB high gain sounds were a bit more focused.
For a first all tube/valve amp, it's excellent value for money. I wrote this review so that people thinking about buying their 1st ever tube amp will try this amp - but please test it first before buying!

It's a 50 watt Peavey Valveking, made in 2004.
2 channels with a shared Reverb, Bright Switch and Volume Boost on the Clean and Distortion channel respectively.
A seperate 3-band EQ for each channel, and a extra input with reduced gain for high gain pickups.

Overall, great features for the money and my god it is loud for its size.

I use a 2004 ESP NT-II Horizon with SD Jazz/JB pickups with a GT-8 in the loop for effects only. I guess it suits me alright but the distortion isn't tight enough for me. I want something along the lines of ENGL type of distortion but the Valveking has a kind of loose Megadeth's The World Needs a Hero distortion. Sounds fine but doesnt have the character i want.

The dirty channel is good though, EQ works good for molding the sound to your needs. Has a slight hum on that channel(Hum, not any buzzing or annoying noise), but nothing serious.

The clean channel is amazing. With a little tweaking I can get everything from Danzig's How the Gods Kill to Pink Floyd's Run Like Hell(with the Bright switch on and a little effects). The Reverb works really well with the clean channel.

I give it an 8 because of the quality for the price, although i'm not completely satisfied with the Distortion channel.

I used alot for the first year but then put it in storage for a while.
When I dusted it off and cleaned the pots about 6 months later there wasnt even a hint of noise or scratching from it.

It has been bumped and dropped slightly without any problems and it feels quite sturdy, i'm pretty sure it could take some rough gigging.

Never had to service it in any way since 2004. That is pretty damn good for an amp that cheap.

I've been playing for 6 years and I would recommend this amp for anyone that is moving up from their first practice amp. Not too complicated, great reliability, good sounds and it wont bite your wallet too hard for a 50 watt tube amp.

This is a 50 watt,1x12 combo with 2 channels,a reverb,a buffered FX loop and a Peavey designed "Texture" control. The speaker is a Peavey and the tubes are unknown. For $360 out the door,this amplifier is insane.

One word,Awesome! I cannot belive Peavey can still make such amazing guitars and amplifiers at the price point that they do. The clean is great with a dash of stereo chorus and reverb. The dirt channel is my only concern. It is voiced heavily in the midrange and not enough in the treble. I use a W.A.R modded BOSS SD-1 and a W.A.R Lead Booster and that gives me the tone I desire. I use a Parker Fly Deluxe and a selfbuilt KickAx Strat. Overall,with the stock components,6 out of 10 and with the pedals [and hopefully a Vintage 30 soon] I give it a 10/10.

This amplifier seems to be reliable.I have gigged with it a few times. Knowing Peavey,I feel confident in the amplifier's construction. Kudos to Hartley Peavey for building such an insane amplifer. NOTE: I find the knobs rather cheap and insufficent. I feel they should be replaced with higher end ones.

Peavey is known for their awesome customer support and standing behind their product. I feel confident that they will continue to do so.

I am 13 years old and have been playing for 10 years. I use a Parker Fly Deluxe,a selfbuilt KickAx Strat and a modded 1990 Yamaha RGX 112. I bought this amp to replace my old one,a Yamaha DG-60. While the Yamaha was good,it lacked that tube crunch. When I found the ValveKing 112,I sold my 1979 Hondo II Longhorn and the next week,I went and picked it up. I got it home,plugged my dirt pedals into it and BAM,there it was. 10/10 for this insane amplifier!

This amp was a great Idea...it just sounded so bad that no amount of features (though it it does have several) could compensate.

This amp sounds like total Crap!!
I even put some hot tubes and a killer speaker in it and it still sucked!
I can not express how bad it sounded!
I owned it for a year, but only played it for the first couple of months...that was all I could stand!
I would pull it out now and again thinking I would give it another shot, put it always went right back into the closet.

Of course it will last forever...the crappy junk always does!

Total Crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do Not Buy!!!!!

Amp was made in 2007. Amp is quite flexible for any type of music besides really heavy metal, in that case you would need a dist pedal. I play mostley hard rock like AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath and other bands along those lines.

It's a 2 channel amp with EQ's for each channel. It does have footswitch so you may switch channels but it is no included. Has effects loop but no headphone jack.

It has Reverb but I seldom ever use it. I wish it had some effect like on my Crate VTX I traded in for it (auto wah, slapback delay and ect ect) I have a wah so that fixes one of my problems, but at the momment I'am looking for some type of effects unit for a auto wah and delay effects.

I use it in my bedroom at the momment for person play and practice. 50 watts of power for a person in my situation has more than he or she needs. I was rocking out on new years with this thing with the "texture" knob turn so I only had about 5 watts. I had it half cranks and I hurt my ear accidently.

50 watt tube with switchable wattage from A class 5 watts to A/B class 50 watts. Great all around amp!

Can get many sounds out of it, from a Fender clean sound with the "bright" switch pushed in. Can get a very accurate AC/DC sound with the Bass at 5 1/2, Mids at 6 and Treble at 5 with gain boost pushed in and the distortion at about 4/5. Just the sound I was looking for. Pretty good amount of head room I'd say.

The distortion is deffinatly not brutal enough for real metal heads. The most extreme metal you could get out of it would be Pantera, no more then that. Can get very nice old Metallica out of it.!

I have a Epiphone sg 65 reissue with a maestro tremolo and a Dean ML Phantom. I use the SG for hard type rockin, while with the ML I use mostley for harder rock and metal.

If you have the TV off and you dont stand or sit close to it, you should have no feedback problems unless you have a dist pedal on.

I would depend on it if I were in a band and playing a gig. I wouldnt trust it for gigging everynight 5 days in a row. I just have a hunch it might crap out on me if that were the situation. Maybe I'm just being cautious since this is my first tube amp...

The only thing that has broke on it (which was my fault) I took my guitar chord outta my guitar and threw it onto the amp accicently and it broke the "gain boost" knob off. It was totally my fault, no fault in the amp at all. It is gonna be getting fix in a month or so.

Never delt with Peavey yet but I suspect they are good people. 5 year warrenty on the amp. 90 days only on the tubes though.

I have been playing 2 and a half years now. I own a Epiphone SG 1965 reissue with a maestro tremolo and a Dean ML. Effect I own are a Boss DS-1, Marshall Guv'nor plus and a DID YJM308 sigbature pedal.

If it were lost or stolen I would probley not buy it again. Not cause it's not a good amp, cause my first amp was a Peavey and I would liek to try out some other amps like a Mesa Nomad 45

I bought this amp because it offered three channels and thought it would cover all my musical tastes(hendrix, sabbath, maiden, and a little blues). It has an effects loop, which is nice to keep tuners etc. from degrading your tone. I like the A/B texture knob. However, I will be honest... it sounds better on full power. If you want a class A amp, buy a class A amp. The A/B knob only really cuts the power to one tube. Sounds good though.

Here is where this amp falls short. If you are looking just for a clean amp... then this is a great amp.

The clean channel does have a nice hendrix clean sound through my SG on the neck pickup. Not the best, but a really nice tone. However, on the bridge pickup, the clean channel just sounds harsh and thin, and that is with a humbucker.

The distortion side of this amp is just "strange". If you crank the gain past 6 it sounds like a bad solid state amp( I actually like SS amps, not bashing any good amps out there). The only usable part of the distortion channel... is the gain around 4, crank the mids to 7/8 and turn the treble down and roll off your guitar vol. and crank the volume to 5 and you have a nice meaty zz top to AC/DC tone, but that is it.

If you hit the OD for the 3rd channel... forget it... it just sucks. This has led me to a recent and non stop hunt for the perfect pedal chain. I have tried a Wasabi OD pedal(not the best, but decent) and it is good on the clean channel, but sucks on the distortion side. I have purchased a zoom g7 and in the loop as the preamp it sounds good for what it is. However, into the front and using the ts808 models etc. ( and the ts808 on the zoom is almost dead accurate when tweaked right) it just sounds bad and like I will keep saying... the distortion side just hates any pedals so far.

The fx loop on this amp is really nice though. I use the zoom g7 in the loop for delay and chorus and it sounds really nice. The zoom has the best analog modeling for delay and their flanger is up their with the best of them.

Anyways... I am going to re-tube this sucker and hope for the best... or it going on ebay. My recent gear purchases... an ibanez shark distortion from the early 90's, volume pedal by dunlop as a gate or master vol. in the loop, Yamaha distortion 10m II and Yamaha Flanger 10m II. I have a wasabi ax-1 distortion pedal on the way... and so far none of them sound great or even that different from one another. Which has led to the fact it is the amp.

My suggestions. If you are looking for a clean amp for a gig setting and play blues, jazz, or clean toned hendrix- this amp is great. Anything else you will spend more time and money trying to find what pedals sound good etc. The time and money that is spent you will not only go crazy... you will realize that this is why peavey tubefex to new line6 pod pros are and were so popular with the beginner to pros. Midi offers a lot crystal cleans and a ton of gain options.

I am going to say it is not built to well. It rattles a lot past 4 on the gain channel. Everything is plastic, which I can not stand. If a B-52 can offer a tube amp with porcelain sockets in the same price range etc. Get my drift... made in China and mostly plastic. I think Peavey should just build American amps. Nothing against stuff out of China. I am typing this from my APPLE MAC that was put together in China. Besides, Chinese build one hell of a hot women.

Never dealt with them. Heard they were pretty good though.

Overall a 6.

Innovative. Two channel, Class A/B and A amp simulation in rear. Loose and Tight setting. I prefer loose.

I have to say that I am picky about my sound and absolutely insist and using a sonic maximizer dx-100 in the effects loop of any amp I buy to squeeze the absolute most tone out of the amp. Without the sonic maximizer, the tone is average. But with the sonic maximizer, clean is sparkly, full and has plenty of bass and the distortion sound is responsive, defined textured and musical. Distortion can get to that cascading, wall of shimmering distortion chunk thunk sweet lead at high register distortion.

new owner

I give it a 10 for portability, 10 for usability, 10 for simplicity, 10 for innovation, and 10 because it fits my budget and style. 10 for ULTIMATE VIBE!

I don't buy anything unless I fall in love with it.

Lot's of features which is one of the reason's I bought this amp over an old school plain tube amp. Most of the features aren't really usable though.

The clean channel is good, but not great. Sort of Fenderish in the Class A-B mode but I'm not hearing much Vox chime in Class A mode. The overdrive channel is more or less useless, it's too over the edge. A little overdrive to some distortion would be better. It needs to be tamed down as it is very harsh sounding and it doesn't have any low end. The reverb in any channel is absolutely horrible. Also, I can't seem to dial a mid range that I like.

Seems built OK, I don't see any quality issues either. The line cord might be too thin (too small of guage wire). The knobs and nameplate are cheap but that's reflected in the lower cost. As long as they work.

Not happy with a the last 2 phone calls I've made and did not get resolution to the issues but I've always had vey positive responses in the past.

This is the first Peavey product I've given low scores to. Been playing for a long, long time; both live and studio(have had some air play). When you play this amp in a live situation, you realize it's shortcomings (horrible reverb, poor mid frequency adjusts, and lousy overdrive channel).It sounds good with most pedals and has some nice snap in the Class A-B mode. I like the volume control, it's smooth and doesn't have any volume notches or jumps. I really wanted a Fender Deluxe Reverb (but I didn't want to mess with all the tubes) or Fender Blues Deluxe (couldn't keep the volume under control). I also like the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe but it has that notch / jump in the volume. I tried the Classic 30 and Delta Blues too. Both beatiful amps but I thought some low end was missing. I would not buy the Valveking 112 again.

Lot's of nice features, but not all useful or toneful. See below.

Until you play this amp in a live situation with a band, you won't realize where it falls short. The spring reverb is horrible, almost the worst I've heard in a tube amp. It sounds even worse if you put an overdrive pedal in the effects loop. The distortion channel is too much over the top and unusable in many applications. It would be better to see that channel with some overdrive crunch and lighter distortion. Seems weak for 50 watts, I have a 15 watt Blues Jr that's almost as loud. The Class AB setting in the clean channel has some nice Fenderish snap but I'm not hearing any Class A Vox like chime at all in the Class A setting. There is something missing in the mid frequency EQ as well. The placement of the line cord is in the wrong spot; you can't lean the amp against a wall to get an angle so you can hear it.

Seems built OK, I have other Peavey products and haven't had any issues. For a 50 watt tube amp, the line cord is too skinny (too small of guage wire); it can't carry enough current and it heats up a little (it's also too short).

Very dissapointed. I bought this amp brand new when I heard they upgraded the spring reverb. They wouldn't send me the upgraded reverb tank. I could see the reason if I owned the amp for a while and played it, but it was brand new. Then they wanted $50 for the reverb tank which is about 2X what it should be. I will say, I've contacted them in the past about other products and have been completely satisfied.

Been playing for 35 plus years and have had some air play. I bought this amp because it had a lot of features; which turned out to be more or less useless for live applications. They don't even include the footswitch. The one thing they did right was make the volume control linear, there are no notches or jumps in volume. I would have bought the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe but I wasn't able to keep the volume low enough for smaller venues and I didn't want to deal with all the tubes in the Fender Deluxe Reverb. A re-tube would be expensive. I read Guitar Players review of this amp and I thought they got everything right. They mentioned the reverb and the EQ as well. I wonder if it's just the reverb tank that is undersized or the whole drive circuitry that feeds it. I like Peavey products but I would not buy this amp again.

I've owned this amp for about a year and a half now, so I thought it was time to write another review.

The amp was probably made in 2005/2006, I'm not sure really.

This is a very versatile amp with loads of buttons, switches, knobs etc. Separate EQ for the 2 channels, gain boost, the SUPER COOL texture pot etc. You can read all the specs in other reviews and Peavey's pages.

As far as features go, there's really nothing more you could wish for.

The amp can make a variety of sounds, which is cool, but for my taste, when I take a look at each of those sounds on their own, they're not really great. OK, but not great.

The clean channel is decent, has a nice character and is very EQable, especially with the bright switch, but I believe it distorts easily as soon as you crank it up (don't remember exactly at what setting, it's been a long time since I've did it).

The distortion channel, for my taste, is where the bad part comes... the gain level can get pretty darn brutal, more than I think anyone would need. Suitable for any kind of rock or metal. That's the OK part. Now for the bad part. In my opinion, the distortion is just too darn muddy!!! No treble what-so-ever. This has been bugging me ever since I got the amp. It's like the treble knob controls the 'grainyness' of the tone, not the treble level. It's not that the sound is dark, it's muddy and loose. If you're playing on high-gain levels, you might not find the treble that much of a problem, but if you have the gain boost switched off and played more lower-gain stuff, it's terrible. Imagine the sound when you're playing with the tone knob all the way down. It's kinda like that, except the treble is all the way up everywhere. So, I've tried putting an EQ pedal infront, that didn't work too well, then I put the EQ in the FX loop. It cleaned and brightened up pretty nicely, though it sounded a tad bit too harsh. I've tried the amp with various distortion pedals and none of them sound remotely as muddy as the amp distortion.

Having said that, I'm currently in the market for a distortion pedal to use as my main, or maybe just an EQ.

However, I compared this amp to other more expensive amps and I must admit that the sound itself isn't much worse at all. I don't even dare say 'worse'. Great for the price! If only it weren't for the treble problem...

I play an American HSS Stratocaster (with a maple board - even brighter!). The amp is by no means bad, I just did a bad decision choosing this one. My style changed and it doesn't suit me anymore.

Oh, and, the amp is NOT noisy.

Never had anything die on me. Everything seems to work well with no problems.

Never dealt with 'em.

I've been playing for almost 5 years. If it got stolen, I'd probably check into other amps, especially the Classic 30 or Classic 50. I like the amp overall, just really don't like the tone on the distortion channel. I've compared it to several amps in different price ranges, and I dare say it's definetly as good as most of them. I wish it had more treble and maybe a knob for the gain boost level.

I bought this amp new fron a store. It has two channels, effect loop and a few other features.
The best feature is the A/B and A class switching. This is a very useful feature. It can make your guitar sound really funky and skanky and it can make it sound very clean and jazzy (depending on your fingers ofcourse).
I use this amp with a band at medium volume. It definitely has enough power to catch up with the rest of the band (at the moment we play disco / funk / soul).

This tube amp really has alla the features you need. The built in reverb is not so great, but it has one (spring reverb). I'll give this a 9 on features.

You can get really wonderful clean sounds from this amp! With the class A/B and A switching you can get a REALLY clean sound even at high volume, or you can get a more "dirty" clean sound which breaks up VERY nicely when you git hard on the strings (very useful if you want a good funk sound).
I really have no opinion on the overdrive channel. It works for me, but I don't use it all that much. It is not the best overdrive, but with the gain set to really low, I can get a nice "mustang sally" sort of overdrive that will really let you hear the GUITAR and not just som e fuzzing fuzz sound.

Now comes the bad part: This is a really cheap amp, and it shows. Like all peaveys this one too has a huge problem with vibration. When you play at medium volume and hit some middle or bass notes, there are some parts in this amp construction that will vibrate and produce a terrible rattling noise. I tried tightening some screws on the front and back, and it helped a little, but still, I would not use this amp in a recording session. It works great however in a band or live setting, since the guitar still will be a lot louder that the vibrating noise.

It ALSO makes a "hummmmm" noise in idle mode with no instrument cables connected (and with). All these noises makes this amp very irritating to use if you play by yourself. In a band setting -however- this amp works great and is really a bang for the buck!

This amp really sounds awesome and producese a VERY good guitar sounds... too bad about the poor construction of this unit (I have tried several, all with the same problem).

I would give this a 9 in sound quality (10 for clean, 8 for dist = 9), but the noises are just horrible.

Since this is a tube combo that produces a lot of vibrations, I feel like the tubes might wear out pretty soon. I would however, gig without a backup because it has a wonderful sound.

No opinion

I have been playing for about 12+ years. If it were stolen, I would by a more expensive amp to replace this one. You can really notice that it is cheap. I you're looking for a cheap tube amp to use in a band or live setting, this is the one to get! If you're looking for a dead quiet amp to use in a recording session, look elsewhere.

I will give this amp a grade of 8.
10 for the price (bang for the buck), 9 for the sound, and 6 for the construction of this unit.

Basic 50 watt, 1x12 all tube combo. 2 channels, seperate EQ for each, bright switch on the clean, gain boost and volume boost on the lead channel. No master volume, but does have master reverb. Peavey has a few of their own little finishing touches on the amp too in the form of a bass resonance switch, and a texture control. Footswitch controls channel switching and gain boost on lead channel. These features suit me just fine, the only thing, I might like would be a master volume, and some way to control just how much boosting the gain boost does. Oh yeah, and I'd rather have a way to switch the reverb on and off than the gain boost, but oh well.

This amp is great as a working musician's tube combo, which is exactly what I bought it for. I use it with a strat loaded with EMGs, or with a Hamer Les Paul copy loaded with duncans. Not much into effects, I occasionally use a wah, or maybe some delay. The clean channel is great, plenty of punch and definition, though I have to keep the bright switch on to get it to sound the way I want. I haven't played much with the texture controls, I just leave it all the way to the "Class a/b" side. Either way, the clean is very clean, but can get a little dirt playing harder and at higher volumes. The dirty channel is awesome! Seems like it's somewhere in between a mesa and a marshal to me. Without the boost, I can get a good low distortion, OD type sound, perfect for quieter parts, it almost gives the same effect as rolling the volume knob back a bit. With the boost on, I can get greatloads of distortion, perfect for heavy crunchy parts, or solos. Overall, the sounds on the amp are great. Sure, the clean isn't quite up to Fender level, and the Dirty isn't quite a marshal, but it's a huge improvement over my old solid state Trace Elliot. Basically, this thing sounds good.

Been great so far. Granted, I've only used it in my apartment, or a garage so far, but it hasn't given me any problems. The footswitch is kind of flimsy plastic, but it works so far.

Never dealt with PEavey.

Basically, like I said, I bought this thing for a decent tube combo. I lover fender clean, and Boogie distortion, but both those amps are a little too expensive for me. Also, I'm not to into boogie cleans, and fenders never seem to give me the distortion I like. Anyway, the fact that this thing has a speaker out jack and can drive a cab is especially nice, though so far, it's had plenty of volume.

I did a review on this amp when I first got it. So this is an update.
First off on the Texture Control... This effects the clean channel.
For those that don't hear a difference try it again and do this test.
Turn the amp up to about 12 o'clock on full power. Play your strings lightly and then play them hard. Single coils will stay clean and Hums will break up only slightly hitting hard. Now turn the control full to the other direction. Still clean when strummed lightly with a little less roundness in sound. Now hit it hard, hear that nice Blues Break up? NO? Then you've played too much loud RnR, LOL. This works best in my opinion with speaker setting on loose.

Just A/B'd this against my 65 Twin Reverb.... You can definatley hear the similarity in the use of 6L6's in the Power Section. The Twin has a little more definition but this is mostly due to the use of 2 speakers and the difference in sound of the speakers. For a 3rd of the price if you want a nice light package with a Fender BlackFace Twin Reverb sound, the ValveKing is an excellent way to go.
I'll be putting in an Eminence Texas Heat Speaker and will get back to you all on the difference in sound if any. The Peavey Speaker will be going into a Tweed Cabinet to be used with my Classic 20.
She gets a 9 only because it doesn't sound EXACTLY like a Twin.

I still have a 22 year old Peavey KB100 Keyboard amp and a 15 year old Peavey PA head that work great.
They Have the usual problems with solder joints but my guess is this made in China Tube amp has tighter quality control than the old Peaveys did.

Always helpful in answering questions when calling Techs. Have never needed service from Peavey and have had a PA Head, KB100, Bandit, TKO bass amp and an old 4 track cassette recorder. Still own a 1983 T-60 Guitar I bought new.

'07 VK112 switchable 2-channel with treble, distortion, and volume boost buttons (available foot switcher) tube amp. 3 X 12AX7; 2 X 6l6.
Chinese.
Two inputs, one attenuated.
1 X 12" combo amp. Decent sized speaker magnet.
Both channels have their own treb; mid; and bass tone controls (passive).
Class AB - class A capability.
Fairly light to carry. Looks like real plywood used in cabinet.

Bright sounding.
Good power.
Clean sound has a Fender quality to it (2 X 6L6, go figure).
Speaker handles the output well enough.
Gain channel has a couple buttons for more, and still more.
Clean channel has a bright and vol boost button.
Back panel has a tight/loose damping button and a pot to sweep from class AB/class A (rolls off one of the output tubes gradually).
The controls do what they say they will.
Good range of tone and distortion control. Pretty versatile.
I think the reverb sounds decent though I don't use it much on jobs.

Looks well built.
I have used it outdoors (un-mic'd) at its limits with no problems. Keeps up with another player's 100w tube amp (Seymour Duncan Convertable with 2 X 12 cabinet).
I usually keep a spare amp in my car, plus a repair kit with tubes, fuses, solder, connectors, tape, etc.
No extraneous noises, buzz, hum.
Well behaved but can rock out.

5 year extended warranty (if you send in the marketing survey).

I've had other Peaveys. Never had a problem, even when they're ancient.

Playing guitar almost 50 years. All styles.
I suddenly needed a cheap, loud amp, so despite being Chinese I tried this and like it a lot.
It does what a tube combo 1 X 12 amp should do, without nuisance features.
I like that it's light enough to carry for its power.
The gain and distortion are better schemes than Fender's current tube amp line up, and the controls aren't as notchy.

I'd replace it with the same if something happened to it, even though I'd rather buy American made stuff usually. It's cheap for what it delivers ($400 out the door).

My version of the Peavey ValveKing 112 was made in 2007. I play blues, country, classic rock, sometimes METAL ;-), and this amp can handle all of my playing nuances and styles without a hiccup. Two channels with a volume boost that acts as a sort of a third channel, optional footswitch, two instrument inputs (high and low gain), and an effects loop. The output jack defeats the 12 inch speaker (bummer) but this amp really takes off when jacked into a 4x12 cab.

The little ValveKing 112 is loaded with useful tools and deceptively small- much smaller than pictures online and similar 1x12 tube offerings would have you believe. I don't use the footswitch much. I've played out live without being miked, and also used it in a studio setting, and had nothing but a smile to add as a review, so the trend continues here. The amp has excellent power, the ability to go from 50 to 30 watts with the turn of a knob, and fantastic tube tone. Loaded. 9/10.

I was addicted to the lightweight nature and crunch of Pignose G40V tube amps for years, but was looking for something with a little more versatility, a little more style, and perhaps a little reverb. So, I went into my local music store looking for the little Peavey Royal 8 recording amp to buy (and hopefully crank), saw how small the 1x12 ValveKing was, plugged it in, and took it home the same day.

The clean tone with full power is fantastic, and the reverb is spirited, indeed. You can go halfway volume-wise, add a quarter of reverb, and enter single coil heaven that doesn't deafen those around you like playing a Twin at three on the volume knob tends to do. Humbuckers sound great, also.

The gain channel, especially with the boost engaged, is absolutely unreal. Shred Zeppelin, eye-popping unreal. Some of the distortion fades as the volume increases, but that's the way a lot of tube amps saturate as the power amp tubes get involved. Mind you, this amp crunches like a wrecking yard with only three preamp tubes, as well. Easy on the wallet when it comes to replace or upgrade the tubes.

Slick, wicked, little amp with mucho cajones. 8/10.

Made in China (from a USA design) at a cost, but all of the work, jacks, and components are high grade construction. A rock; Peavey-style. 9/10.

5 year warranty when registered (I did mine online), and magnet dealers are everywhere. 9/10.

I've been playing for the better part of a decade, and use heavily customized Ibanez GRG170DX's straight into my Peavey. Blues are my thing, even though my setup looks metal. I'm happier than I have ever been with my simple rig that consists of 2 guitars in flight cases, a simple tuner, extra picks and strings, and my ValveKing 1x12.

I run my ValveKing mostly in Class A simulation: Clean Low at 4, Mid at 5, Treble at 6 with the Treble Boost engaged. Gain channel Gain is run at 6, Treble at 6, Mid at 0, and Low at 6 (666, eh). Reverb is around 4.

This amp is a no-brainer. It's like buying an AC30CC, a Hot Rod Deluxe, and a cranked B-52... all in a little, silver, boxy package with wings. And, on top of that, it's got the reliable Peavey name with a 5-year warranty. The best amp under $1000 I've played in years. Solid tube tone, classic looks, and everything you need to practice and gig without breaking your bank or lower back. Buy one. Or perhaps two. 10/10 overall.

See all the others!

Awesome sound for the money. Clean channel is Fender-like. Distortion is perfect for my playing, probably will need a stomp box if you are a metal player. I use a LesPaul Standard with Duncan Alnico Pro II's installed and sounds killer, dare I say Slash-like! My Ibanez RG4EX1 with DiMarzio Evolution and Breed pickups sounds pretty good too, but not as good as the Gibson. That's what you would expect though, Ibanez can't hold a candle to a Les Paul! I installed an Eminence Texas Heat speaker, made a world of difference, original speaker breaks up a bit at higher volume.

Never a problem with this and previous Peavey products.

Never used, but I bet they're pretty good!

I love this amp, I would like to get the 4x12 half stack some day when I play out again. I use an MXR M-108 10-band EQ thru the effects loop, a Electro Harmonix chorus and Boss Flanger at the input. I recommend the EQ and speaker change, it turned this little amp into a fire spitting monster! I think Peavey is an emerging power in guitar amps, you don't have to spend thousands, unless you really want to.

All tube - 2 channel. I can't see anything of great importance missing. If I was using it in a different way - ie: without my Zoom G9 for rock gigs or without my Fender RI Reverb Tank for surf, then I would probably moan about not being able to set different reverb levels for the clean and distorted channels. Also I wish the external speaker socket didn't cut off the internal.

All i can say about the distortion channel is that it sounds fine to me when playing it at home because I didn't buy this to use for rock gigs (I use a Peavey Delta Blues with a 2x12 Celestion G12H cab for that) so all I am writing about is the clean channel. People have very different ideas about what makes a good distortion anyway - as any Harmony-Cental user product review for amps will show you.

I bought this to use for Surf Guitar. Although I was looking at the 100w one this went on e-bay very cheap so I bought it. I was looking for a loud 'Fendery' clean sound with plenty of headroom so that the reverb from my outboard 'tank' would be reproduced faithfully. I have owned pretty much every type of 'standard' amp (ie not boutique) in my 30-odd years of playing pro and semi pro - Fenders, Marshalls, Vox, Peavey and more and I can tell you these are damn good. Comments in some other reviews here that the speaker or the reverb are 'crap' are both untrue and unhelpful - what they mean is that they don't like them, whereas I quite like both. The speaker has a very warm character which I can quite believe gets muddy with high output humbuckers - but I think it sounds great with standard single coils. The reverb is bright and splashy and quite usable at the lower settings - it isn't a Fender spring but it isn't rubbish. Tone controls and bright switch work well. It's very much an amp with it's own character I think which can't be a bad thing. It doesn't sound at all like a Marshall, It doesn't sound like the Peavey 'Classic' range and it sounds a little bit like a Fender. The closest in tone (but not that close) I think I can compare it to is a Fender with JBLS (although it's 10 years since I owned one) which is just fine for me. It doesn't have the top-end sparkle or brute muscle of those but I felt the response was similar. Warm round and smooth - but by no means dull or without zing - at least with a single coil guitar. There's a slight boxiness to the sound in comparison to a 2x12 - because it IS a small box. As Scotty said - 'ye cannae change the laws of Physics'.

Bringing me back to my earlier point, few people would describe a Twin Reverb as 'crap' because it's no good for death metal - It's just unsuitable and that may be the case here. In summary; warm, round and smooth are the adjectives I would use to describe the clean tone. The distortion you will have to decide for yourself - but as someone said earlier, you can always use a pedal. If you crank it right up (and it stays clean a long way round the dial) the clean channel will start to break up in a very pleasing way for blues/country.

I have had an excellent experience with pretty much all the Peavey stuff I've owned (and that's a lot). I must have done several thousand gigs by now using Peaveys without a 'backup'... The only blip I ever had with Peavey reliability was years ago with the old 'Scorpion' speakers which used to blow regularly in both a Peavey Special I once had and a Stereo Chorus 2x12. I swapped them out for Celestions (The G12H is my favourite) in the end as I didn't like the sound of the Scorpions much either. The reliability of both the Sheffield and the Blue Marvels has been superb. Too early to say for the Valve King.

Peavey's after sales is brilliant - certainly in the UK at least. The have bent over backwards to be helpful in the past.

I've been playing for 35 years both pro and semi-pro . I own lots of other stuff because I have chronic G. A. S. :) 17 guitars and 7 amps - 3 of which are Peavey.

I think this range is stunning for the price. If you want a great clean sound or a cleanish blues sound you should try this for sure.... I'm just not qualified to comment on the distortion sound on this particular amp beyond home use where it sounds pretty good to me. I'll get round to trying it for a rock gig sometime - but I'm really happy with my current setup for that.

I like this so much I'm probably going to buy the 100w 2x12 as well!

It has all it needs for a tube amp. As stated by others.

I play RnR, RnB, Country, ect. I changed the speaker to an Eminence 8 ohm Swamp Thing and the preamp tubes to NOS 12AT7's. "Holy Crapload of Distortion peddels, Batman". This thing puts out like a 58 year old whore in a dateing contest.It makes any style of music sound like anything you want it to. Loud, clean, wonderful break-up right where it should be. This thing is gonna go a Gigging with me from now till it dies. Then I will get another......20 points here.

Hopefully it will be durible and reliable. Look OK.

Have yet the need after several months of ownership.

Been plaing for 35 years through all kinds of amps. An awful lot of good ones and a good lot of awful bad ones. But for around $400 plus $150 in upgrades, this one cannot be beat. I hope it's durable because it's got everything else. 30 points awarded here.

You can dial in the tone you seek with just the turn of a knob. Volume boost, Gain Boost, Class A, Class A/B, Bright, Reverb, and the list goes on. You can get almost any sound you want out of it with a little tweaking.

This amp can go from great clean to decent distorted. I'm not much of a fan of on amp overdrive, more of a pedal kind of person myself, but this amp's lead channel isn't bad by any means. Sure beats the hell out of my old hot rod deluxe. Where this amp really shines though is if you have a good overdrive or distortion pedal because you can crank up the volume to get that nice tube grit and then distort the hell out of it with a nice pedal. I currently use a Russian Big Muff distortion pedal and lets just say things get ugly when I hit the stomp box. One feature I love though is the fact that every guitar you play on this amplifier has it's own sound. I didn't pay for an Gibson SG for it to sound like my mini hollow body Jay Turser, and that's pretty much where I was at with my old Hot Rod Deluxe. I had replaced the speaker, the tubes, everything and that beast just sounded the same with every single guitar I plugged in. I took it down to Guitar Center and took a look at all their combo amps they had in stock. I played with B-52, Vox, Crate, Fender, Mesa, and out of all of those the only one that came even remotely close was the Mesa Stiletto (comon it's a friggen Mesa what do you expect?). So I traded in my old Hot Rod for the Valveking 112 combo, still toying with replacing the speaker or maybe getting a 1/2 cab for it but it has plenty of balls and it's the best small tube amp I've seen outside of $1500 boutique amps.

This amplifier is cheap, and a tone monster, but also it depends greatly on guitar. Where as with a Mesa or Vox you could plug a stick with rubberbands in and it would shred like no other, this amp rely's greatly upon the guitar's voice to give you good tone so if you have a shitty guitar this amp isn't going to give you great tone. But if you blow a few bills on a decent guitar and get this amp you will not be disappointed.

This is a great tube amp. It has 2 channels, clean and overdrive. The clean channel features a bright switch (not footswitchable tough) which really boosts the treble. The distortion channel features a volume boost and a gain boost.
The amp is pretty basic, the only effect built in is a nice reverb.
There are however two features which are pretty unusual, cabinet response and class. If you turn you amp around you find a switch to set you cab response from thight to loose and a turing knob to dial any tone between class A and A/B (nothing spectacular though but it's a nice feature)

The sound out of this thing rocks!
I play a 1984 Fender American Strat directly in my Peavey Valveking 112
The clean tone is super, i always use it with the bright switch engaged. This way it has a nice twang to it (especially with my TBX built into my guitar)
The distortion is just enough for rock tones. I'll be honest, you can't get super distorted tones out of it but that's not what it was built for.
The reverb is also pretty nice.

This thing is built pretty tough. The tubes are well protected. I've had but one little 'accident' and that is that my second guitar input is jammed (so no big deal)
I've had it for about a year now and i haven't had to replace any tubes so i gues that's ok.

I haven't had to deal with them but i know that peavey is pretty helpfull. But the reason I gave it a 10 was because you get 5 years warranty which i think is pretty long

I've only been playing for about 3 years but i find this thing pretty ok. I can get some real nice tones out of it and i haven't had much problems with it.
Overall an ok amp though I recomand you buy the 212! It's just 50???+ and it has way more tonal possibilities!

this is a relatively new amp, I've had it for a few weeks, purchased in early 2007 but the serial number starts in 06 so I'm assuming it's a 2006 model. The amp has a number of features, all have been reviewed earlier. I'm not much into channel switching, boosts and all that stuff. When I bought this amp I was looking for a decent, inexpensive back up amp which had a good clean channel and reverb. That's what I got. I use this amp primarily at band practice but lately I've been using it at small club gigs. This amp has all the features I would need plus some so I give it a decent rating.

I can get a good fender type clean tone using this amp with the texture control on A/B, as the texture knob is turned it gives the amp more of a vox typer response. Now note this is very subtle and shows up mostly on the clean channel. Some have reviewed this feature and said it made no difference, then they classified their styles as Metal - well duh, read the manua and experiment a little on the clean channel with the gain not maxed out. Anyhow, I find the amp offers a few good sounds. I don't use the overdrive channel, I prefer a good stomp box so I'm not going to make any comments on the tone, I personally don't like preamp overdriven tones from any amp. I use several guitars with single coils and humbucking pickups, this amp will take either/or without a problem but be prepared to tweak the controls some if your swapping guitars - or set up the two different channels (one for singles, one for humbuckers). This amp suits most rock and blues styles just fine, it's what I play and it works great. Unlike some other reviewers I find this amp to be very quiet, even at high volume settings - but then when you've got the gain cranked all the way and the extra gain button pushed in would it surprise anyone if the amp wasn't noisy??? Get a noise gate..... I give this amp a 7, not because it sound bad, it sounds fine for an inexpensive tube amp but it pales in comparison to my other amps.

I use it as a back up now, it appears to be built well. I've been using it pretty regularly for a couple of months without any issues. Nothing is perfect... but the quality of this amp is better than where it's priced.

No dealings so I can't answer.

I've been playing for a long time, over the past 10 years I've gigged regularly, had a variety of different guitars and amps, nothing cheap. This amp is the least expensive purchase I've made in quite awhile, when I went looking for a backup/practice amp I was expecting to get a Deluxe Reverb Reissue, but at half the price this amp sounded as good.

Like I said earlier, I'm looking for a good clean tone, if I get that and the amp handles pedals well then I'm set. This amp did that out of the box. After having the amp for a couple of weeks I put in a Weber Classic British speaker, it improved the overall tone of the amp tremendously, some folks have an issue changing tubes or speakers - but sometimes to get a better tone that's what you need to do. I've done it with $2,000 amps so popping in a new speaker on this budget amp is probably a must do. I haven't fiddled with the tubes, right now they sound fine.

One thing I like about this amp that I didn't like about others is that the volume control can actually be turned up past half way without maxing out. On my amp a good club volume is at about half way up, it doens't really start to break up much until almost maxed out. My other amps have a major volume spike after getting to 3 or so on the volume knob. Peavey got that right.

I compared this to a DRRI and some crate amps that were in the same price range, the Peavey sounded better than anything in the $400 class and as good as the DRRI at twice the price. Some may argue but hey, those who don't believe me can go check them out.

Although I don't channel switch I do believe the amp should come stock with a footswitch, I think it's a little cheap on Peaveys part to not supply one - To reach a customer satisfaction level equal to their competition this should be a given, as such I'm dinging them some for that.

Overall, it's a good sounding rock or blues amp at a great price - if that's what your looking for then try one out.

This is a 50w all tube combo, It has an A/AB class adjuster and comes preloaded with 3-12ax7 and 2-6L6GC's. It has two channels and a master reverb. A footswitch is optional. My model is a 2005 model and has a very nice responsive but loud sound.

The clean channel on this amp is CLEAN! I have had it to about 6 and it does not get muddy or distorted, I have playeed once live with this and it has a great high volume tone as well as a low volume tone. The Gain channel is very versitile also it has a wide range from Blues bite to a not too heavy Metal distortion. The class control really changes the sound alot it gets from smooth and less violent to very aggressive. A very good sounding amp I would give it an 8

I have had no problems and I got it for christmas in 05

Never Dealt with them

I have been playing for 4 years and play many styles including Rock, Jazz, Metal, Blues and others, the amp is very good sounding for everything, I also have a decent Multi-effects pedal run through it beacuse the reverb lacks a bit.

Earlier reviews have already described this amp in detail. I've had mine for about 3 weeks, now, and still haven't found anything disappointing, except the lack of an included footswitch and a cover. I tried it out in the store, first, and then took it home. Both places I was pleasantly surprised by the sounds I could get. Since I bought it, I have used it for a few live gigs. This is one of the few amps I've had that sounds great, right out of the box, at home, and at a gig. Let me add that I already knew what sounds and features I was looking for, so I zeroed right in when I saw this combo.

Most of the reasons I bought this amp were the nice clean channel, and the lead channel. This amp sounds great on the clean channel with a pick turned around so you're hitting the strings with a rounded corner. Sounds even better being played by fingers, alone. I didn't really care, initially for the reverb, but it has grown on me, especially after trying out a few outboard reverb pedals. The disortion channel sounds good for my use. Again, I knew what sound I was looking for, and this does it for me.

So far, no issues with repairs. I would, and have used it for gigs, already. I baby this amp and I do plan on keeping it on a real good maintenance program.

I did the survey, so I have the 5 year warranty in effect. No problems, yet, so no contact with Peavey. I did inquire about the specs on the speaker, and got a courteous reply back almost immediately. Having owned a couple of other Peavey amps in the last 25 years, I will say that I never had a breakdown.

I've been playing 42 years. I've settled into this amp, and I'm using a Gretsch 6118-120(Double Anniversary 120th Year Anniversary) through it, with a Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay pedal.

I would replace its loss immediately with the same amp.

Love the sounds I can get from it. Can't find a thing to hate.

I've tried out many amps and combos over the years, and this is one of a few that immediately impressed me.

I would like it to come with an included footswitch(I just ordered mine). But I realize that this was probably a cost issue, and also some customers may want a choice, if they don't need the footswitch.

The price included delivery, so what a bargain. Made in China, USA design. Mfd at a guess in late 05 or early 06 possibly, bought in Feb 2006.

Channel switching all-valve guitar amp at a knock-down price (only ??50 more than the Bandit), not too many unnecessary frills. Can go very loud and keeps fairly clean. At rehearsal and gigs the volume is at between 4 and 6 ('Clean' channel) depending on the guitar I'm using. Rated at 50 watts RMS which is loud enough for anything. I don't know if I could stand to be in the same room or on the same stage if I cranked it any further, and that's just the 'Clean' channel.
The Lead channel is very useable, if that's what you like. It's all so subjective anyway, but if you want to wind it up and control the volume/saturation from your guitar you can do that.

Features include the usual footswitchable two channel stuff, plus two twiddly bits on the back: one to change the valve sound from Class A to Class B ('texture'), a difference I can barely discern, one seems slightly quieter but cud be my imag. The other twiddle ('resonance') changes the speaket sound from loose to tight. Loose sounds best I think. Id rather they'd put an effects loop in, or better still a line-out. No headphone socket, so you'd best use the POD at night. There is a speaker socket, presumably for another 16-ohm load as it cuts out the amp speaker. What's that about?
Never mind, it is a very pleasing design with a nice old-fashioned feel about it and the front panel is thoughtfully laid out. A spring reverb is bolted to the bottom of the amp (in my case with only one screw insted of two), sounds as all guitar spring reverbs do. No s/state built-in effects or effect/amp modelling, praise be.

The two preamp valves are probably 12ax7s, but more interesting is a pair of 6L6s for the output stage which as any fule no, have been useed historically in fender amps... so, loud clean, then. The amp is an open-back design with less wood at the back than I'm used to, in fact just the chassis at the top with a steel cage around the output valves (which isn't the case with my (made in USA) Pro Junior as I found when I unseated one of the preamp valves bending two of the prongy things in the process). It came with the footswitch which apparently some people who have reviewed this amp have had to pay for as an extra. Pointless really, as I only want the clean channel.

I've used this amp for 10 months now. It's been my practice amp at home (was 3-4 times a week now down to 0-1), my rehearsal amp once a week, and my gigging amp.

Well, it 's a valve amp. It sounds good, plenty of poke, defined, warmish but not Vox-y. Valve amps are funny, if you change the valve components everything can change. Sound is subjective. Guitars all sound different. This amp can give a very loud fenderish noise on the clean channel, or a blues crackle, or overdriven lead. For wacked out metal you'd probabaly want a pedal.

I use pedals for drive, distortion, along with modulation etc so I don't use the Lead channel although I think it does sound as good as anything else I've heard.

I play in a functions band, we play all styles from James Brown (RIP) to Santana. I use a Jap Strat with original pickups, or my mashed-up Aria Knight Warrior with Kent Armstrong Screamers, or my SG200 with stock but brutal humbuckers (back-off the amp volume to 4-5). My own personal style is basically old-school blues/rock. It seems to marry well.

It can get noisy with unscreened (unpotted? haven't checked) single coils, and CS2 into DS-1 into TS-10 (compressor into distortion into overdrive). Which is what you'd expect without a noise gate or noise reduction.

Compared to an AC30 it can go a lot louder and stay clean, compared to a Marshall TSL100 it's not far off. Very possible to do convincing loud clean solos.
Using half-decent distortion and drive pedals you can get warm blues drive SRV tones with a strat or searing Santana with feedback.

Weeeeeell... practicing a few days ago, loud hum, lights died and the sound went. On inspection one of the tubes was glowing red-hot.
I unplugged it and took it for repair a few days later.
Here's where my friendly neighbourhood repairman gave me some insight.

The weakest point on any valve amp is probably the valves. In most combo amps the valves are upside-down - incidentally heating-up the printed-circuit board - and exposed to the vibration caused by pressure waves emanating from the speakers and surrounding baffle. According to Jesse, a rogue particle had probably dropped into the inverted valve at some point and cause the malfunction. On replacing the 2-amp chassis fuse, all was found to be well, the amp powered up and tapping the valves did not produce any microphonic noise.
It is recommended, therefore that I carry a spare two-amp fuse - and probably a five-amp plug fuse as well - and source a matched pair of 6L6s from Watford Valves. In future I will carry these as backups.

So, I'm not blaming the amp, particularly, for this, as I believe it is a fault more attributable to this style of amp design, ie upside-down valves within a speaker cabinet.
My previous long-term experience with a combo amp is with two concecutive AC30s over a period of about twenty years, which never exhibited this problem, so it all seems to make some kind of sense as the valves in 70s AC30s stick upright.
Makes you think though, maybe a backup amp for gigs - never have done, maybe I've been lucky?

Is it fair to mark the amp down for this. If I'd been at a gig it would have been an embarassment, to say the least so I'd have to say, yes. After regular but kind use over ten months I'm disappointed.

Contacted Peavey with a warranty query, they responded promptly.
Took the amp to a trusted repairman rather than get involved with carriage to the dealer (Sound Control Birmingham) and then warranty stuff. Fixed while I waited, had to force ten quid on the man for his time.

I reckon Peavey would be OK or their UK agents, they are pretty much up there with the main names these days.

1/10 to Sound Control Birmingham though for not sending me either a manual or the form to apply for the Peavey extended warranty in Europe, despite requesting twice. I've given up now.

I'm giving a 5 for the Sound Control thing.

Been playing xx years eek
oh man it can't be that long. I'm still trying to learn.

Other gear - currently marshall tsl100 halfstack, fender pro junior (very rude) homemade pedalbox with assorted pedals. Fender jap reissue strat, jap squier strat, yamaha sg200. Plus the PA.

Have owned loads of stuff.

D'you know what, if it was lost/stolen/worn out I would replace it with something else, probably a Bandit - or two. Not that I'm unhappy with it but I think that my priorities since the 'temporarily blown valve' sketch have changed. Reliability and freedom from hass is number one.

I like it, for its flexibility, tone, power, portability and affordability, but the valve thing (and the valves are Russian Sovteks, not Chinese) has definitely got me thinking - it's not as if I've thrashed the thing, never over halfway-ish anyway, I take care of my gear.

Sorry Peavey, a reluctant 7, I do like this amp.

Made in late 2005 / early 2006 - I suppose. I'd say it's pretty versatile - should cover all of the needs of a modern guitarist. Plenty of gain, warm clean channel, boost, separate EQ's, effects loop, a very neat texture pot (which I use all the time - extremely useful!), resonance switch, etc. No headphone / output jack - other than the external speaker cabinet output.

I wish it comes with a footswitch, and maaaaybe a headphone jack. (but it wouldn't do it justice since it can't sound that good through headphones)

Also, a gain control for the gain boost would be useful, but that would almost be like a third channel.

I never use the resonance switch, and the volume boost - it does absolutely nothing.

I use this amp at home, only cranked it once at a friend's house, pretty loud - I have the texture all the way down and still never play it above 2/10 if the gain is set a bit higher.

Overall - I'd say the features are great, it's a very versatile amp.

This amp can make all kinds of sounds - including crystal clean, bone crushing distortion, classic overdrive, crunchy cleans, etc.

The clean channel tends to get a bit distorted at high volumes, though.

The distorion can be VERY brutal - even with single coil pickups.

Unfortunately, even after 6 months of having it, I still haven't tried it with a decent guitar, just my Squier Strat and a few low end Ibanez's, but it still sounded decent.

What bothers me a bit is the drive channel - it seems to be a tad bit muddy - so I have to bring out the treble more than I usually would. (but that could also be the fact that I play it at low volumes and with a relatively bad guitar)

It suits my music style well - blues, rock, a bit of heavy stuff.

BUT, if you're aiming only at low-gain stuff like blues and classic rock - I do suggest a Classic 30 / 50 instead.

This amp is NOT noisy. I stop playing and turn it up to 5 and still not hear a thing - and I'm sitting about half a meter away. (ofcourse, not with single coils) This is what surprised me the most.

I'm not sure on this one - since I've only used it at home, but it seems pretty well built and reliable. In the past 6 months - it has never broken down, nor did I have to go to service.

I did send some e-mails - and they replied quickly. Nothing other than that.

I have been playing for a little over 4 years now. I haven't own much equipment - I have a Squier Strat, a Squier Dreadnought and an Ibanez AEG10Ebk electric-acoustic. The amp I had before this was a small Squier SP10.

This is my first 'real' amp so I don't really count as being objective, but I have played a lot of tube amps in the past couple of years and I can say that it's certainly worth the money (even though it is much more expensive in Croatia), because I've played amps that cost three times as much and almost don't sound better at all.

I like its versatility, but kinda dislike the muddyness on the drive channel.

If it were stolen, I'd probably go and try out a few more before buying it again, because I haven't done that before this one. I'd have a look at the Classic series.

I compared it to a Classic 30 - and it seemed a lot quiter, the Classic 30 was more 'real'.

I've chosen this amp because it attracted me with it's versatility - I wanted separate EQ's - a bit more gain (than the Classic 30) - THE TEXTURE POT - etc.

My advice is - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. (I didn't)

Don't get me wrong - I am not dissapointed, but who knows - maybe I could have gone a better way if I tried a few more.

If you're into heavy stuff - this could be the amp for you. If you're more into vintage-like sounds - I'd reccomend the Classic 30 or the Classic 50 instead.

This definetly IS a good amp for the money you'll play for it, though.

I bought this amp when it first came out. All the features have been stated before me in other reviews. This amp was bought for a 1991 gibson les paul studio lite with 496r hot ceramic and 500t super ceramic pickups. A very dirty and hot rock setup. So far its holding up for what I was looking for

As for sounds it is very well suited for the price. You can go out and spend an arm and leg and get the best but I was looking for an amp for 1 certain guitar and in the real world you cant just drop a ton on an amp that will only get used for one guitar. It took me about a year to get it dialed in just right. It may sound like I'm stupid but trust me, It just wouldnt dial in for the style I was looking for. everything from a twist of the dial to string types to diffrent calibrations on the neck to get it right. I play a great varitey of music and this is not used for any giging at all. I use this in my home studio and writing of originals. I also use a varity of pedals on this amp as well to give it a little spice. But in all honesty I have had poor luck with getting the sound I was looking for out of it. but again I am pretty anal about sound. It means everything. Like I've stated I am using a guitar with not so ordinary pick-ups with it. When played with one of my les pauls for the 70's with 490r and 498t pick-ups it sounds pretty good, but not great. Run through one of my vintage les pauls with soap bar 90's the sound quality lessens even more. Fender strat whether its a pre cbs to some of my newer vintage reissues and relics, its really hard to get bad tones out of. On my telecasters, not good. My 52' reissue sounds like crap my esquire sounds like crap custom shops sound like crap and the only tele that sounds a little better then crap on this amp is a j-5. In my opinion it really does matter what is being plugged into this amp for sound quality. It seems to like hot humbuckers. So i guessing ibenezes,jacksons and so forth would sound good through it. I would say If you has a beginer guitar up to a pretty good guitar, dont waste your money till you get that guitar you froth over just by hanging on the wall. Then take that guitar and plug in till you find the right mate for it. Great This is a great amp for certain guitars. But its also a shitty amp for certain guitars too. Dont just buy one and take it home to play for the first time. Take yor guitar with you and take my advise on this. Spend some time dialing it it in before you buy it. for as few options it has it is a touchy little bastard all in its own.Its not a classic series at all but it is a good little amp all in all

So far so good thats all I can say.

Never had to use it but I know my local little owner operated shop would take care of it if I did have problems. I only buy selected items at big box stores. Always support the little guy, and they will always support you. Try walking into a big box and borrow a high ticket item for the night to see if you like it, doesnt happen. thats the advantage of the little guy the 1 on 1, even low ball prices dont beat that that kind of customer service.

I am 31 years old and have been playing since I was about 11 or 12. Starting to get some notches in my belt. I started with a no name les paul copy with a no name amp and have worked my self to the point of where I have 1 off srv and my recentlyly aquired blackie relics. I have gotten to the point in my music life where I know I'm not going to be A platnium recording star, but it has done me very well in the aspect of being able to write and do session work with artists who are and will be there is fine to me. Theres alot of hopeful and ego players out there who know everything. I dont nor do I pretend to be. If I did my face would be on the cover of all guitar mags. But I do know what I play and for what I was looking for this works well for it. I do recomend this amp to other with the eception of it really does matter what oyur plugging into it. A $300.00 guitar is and always will play and sound like a $300.00 guitar. Play a $3000.00 guitar through it and theres a diffrence. So remember every intrument has quirks where others dont. Certain items work well with others as certain Items dont.

OK, here's an update on my previous review on this amp.

I own an Ibanez RG2570E and I never noticed how good this axe really is until I heard/saw a video of a guy with the exact same guitar. He did use some reverb and perhaps something else, but now that I know how my guitar is supposed to sound like, I can only say this.

This amp must suck bigtime!

I know, I know, I hear you all say: "what did you expect from an amp with a price-tag like that?"

Yes, well, from now on I will never compromise in tone again. This compromise is way to big!

I don't own one of these, but I did spend some good time researching and playing them in order to learn more. My main amp is a Mesa Boogie Tremoverb 2x12 combo, which I'm pretty convinced is the best sounding and versatile amp I've ever come across. I need a lighter amp for playing smaller things and that led me to research smaller all tube amps. This is definitely one of the best Peavey amps I've ever played in terms of tone. The cleans are great, it can pull of a nice vintage overdrive sound, and beef up for some kick butt distortion. I play a lot of kinds of music, everything from mellow to hard rock. For the money, this amp is definitely in a class of its own, with some awesome features (including a gain boost in the overdrive channel letting you beef it up for the choruses, solos, etc.).

Strengths: Decent tone across the board (much better than solid state "overdrive" and you can get a nice distinct, yet thick, hard rock tone.), great price, all tube, lots of options for clean and overdrive tone, only weighs about 45 lbs.

READ THIS BEFORE BUYING THIS AMP!!!
Weaknesses: A rather annoying part of this amp is that when you switch from the clean to overdrive channel, it fades the sound out and then back in. It's very quick, but there nonetheless. I can't believe that this amp made it to the stores like this. For all of the well thought out features and tones, I can't believe Peavey overlooked this. What this means is that if you often need to switch from the clean channel to amp distortion/overdrive, then you'll need to take a one beat rest of silence to not have an awkward channel switch heard. You could use an overdrive pedal instead of the amp distortion to make the switch smooth. No it's not a mesa, but I have to say it sounds really good and for the money, it's hard to beat. I haven't bought one yet, because I'm trying to decide whether this idiotic channel switch will drive me nuts or not. I hope Peavey fixes this for the next version of these.

Made in 2006, Tube amp, clean channel, distortion channel, separate EQ on both channels, Texture control for Class A / Class AB, bright switch, boost switch, effects loop. 50 watts, plenty loud.

The guard for the tubes is a big plus.

As is noted elsewhere in these ratings, this is a versatile amp. I play a Morgan Monroe PRS style electric with humbuckers.

I've been looking for an amp for several months (been playing through my effects processor>computer. I've played through various Marshalls, Mesa Boogies, Fenders, Sundown, and Peavey amps in the last twenty years, so I know what a good sounding amp sounds like. I play predominately rock and blues, and this amp delivers. It's not going to sound like a $3000 boutique amp, but it does have beautiful tone and a great distortion.

When I went to the music store to buy this amp, there was a Peavey Classic 30 for $369.00 (brand new - not used). I tried both amps because the Classic 30's price was so good. After about half an hour of playing back and forth between both amps, I decided to get the VK112 because of it's versatility and the distortion channel sounded sweet. I think the classic 30's clean channel was a bit better, but the VK's clean is good too.

I was a little nervous about buying it because at the music store I was getting a hum when I had the pregain cranked, but the salesmen told me it was their flourescent lights. I was thinking, "sure it's the lights". When I got it home I cranked the pregain up and there was no hum. I've played around on it for a couple hours and it seems to be pretty quiet.

Haven't owned it long enough to have an opinion. Seems reliable other than the knobs seem a bit weak (as compared to the Classic 30's knobs).

I got a two year warranty from the dealer and another three years on the warranty from Peavey for registering on their website (you can also fill out the warranty card and send it via snailmail). Five years on the warranty is pretty good.

I didn't give a rating because I haven't actually dealt with their customer support yet.

I've been playing for twenty years. As I said earlier, I have a Morgan Monroe PRS style electric. Also I have a Digitech 2120 VGS preamp/effects processor and a Behringer V-Amp Pro. I haven't hooked up the Digitech or the Behringer unit to it yet.

I gave it a nine for the overall rating because the knobs seem weak and the reverb unit wasn't screwed down tight when I got it out of the box. Other than that, this amp is a great buy. It sounds better than amps I've payed over $700 for.

As mentioned before, the Peavey Valveking 112 is an all tube combo. It features two channels with independent EQ for both channels. As far as all the knobs and such go, this is a pretty versitile amp and for my purposes, the simple layout makes me happy. I play mostly blues and classic rock, and everything I needed for my sound was there, including some very interesting tone tweaking knobs such as texture and resonance on the back panel. I didn't mess with those too much, but it's probably good to have that stuff there as you can get a lot of different sounds I'm sure. I bought mine around December of '05 if I recall.

As I've mentioned, I play classic rock and bluesy type music. I pretty much only used the overdrive channel, even though the clean channel was definately louder at similiar volume levels. My guitar army inclues Les Pauls, SG's, some Strats, among others. It seemed to go pretty well with all of my guitars, not seeming to favor one style of pickup over another. However, when I first had the amp for a good six months, the settings I had it on would allow for a very annoying buzz from the speaker when I would dig in and play any notes high up on the neck. I assume that the speaker wasn't able to handle the load I guess. Eventually, I found that by pinning the Bass, Mids, and Treble on the OD channel and leaving the volume at 5, and Gain at 2, I was able to eliminate the buzz 100%. But for $400 I love the amp and it isn't that much of a problem. The amp had a good solid crunch, probably more Marshally than Fender. It can get pretty gainy if you want it to, with the gain boost and actual gain knob.

I've had it for about a year, and so far there has been nothing wrong with it. I've played it out a few times and it seems solid as stone. It's put together very well.

I've never dealt with them.

I've been playing for nearly 7 years and I've collected a plethora of instruments and amplifiers. This Peavey has certainly served me well and I would recommend the amp to anyone looking for a quality tube amplifier for a reasonable price. If it were lost or stolen, I wouldn't buy another just because I just recently handed it over to my mother for her to have because I just commissioned the construction of a handbuilt 20 watt replica of the famed Marshall Bluesbreaker, which will serve as my new #1 amp. The only bad thing about the Valveking 112 is the speaker, but overall, it's a great little amp and I enjoyed the time spent with it.

I think mine is an '06
Versitle 2 channel
All Tube

Purchased in 2006.
The features and detail of this amp are well covered in previous reviews. What makes mine different is that the cabinet has been cut down so the unit is now a pretty neat head. Just peeled back the covering, cut the sides down, re-attached the bottom, re-glued the covering, some mods to the speaker board and cloth and voila'.
This amp is used in gig situations and has plenty of power coupled together with a seperate speaker cabinet with 2 x Celestion Vintage 30's fitted.

I only use the clean channel with pedals for distortion, chorus, delay ect. The reverb is horrible. In a gig situation I have only ever hade to turn the volume up to around 5. As far as guitars are concerned I use a Squier Tele Custom Deluxe (les paul setup) and a Cort G254 S/S/H through a Digitech Bad Monkey, Boss Blues Driver, Boss Super Chorus and an Ibanez Delay pedals.
I am presently in a duo using backing tracks so the music styles are hugely varied - 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's ect.
A previous critic of the Valve King stated that it hissed and popped, well so does mine. You can only hear the noises when you are not playing so I guess there is no problem until such time that you can hear them over the volume of the guitar. The Valve King speaker installed in the amp rates alongside the reverb - horrible.

I cut the amp down and converted it into a seperate head because I am of the opinion that combo amps cause vibration and premature failure of the tubes. I experienced this with my Classic 50. I did not want to cut the Classic 50 down and make seperate head so the Valve King fitted the bill quite nicely, although the sound of the Valve King is not a patch on my 81 Classic 50. Neither amp has ever broken down or left me in the lurch.

I have dealt with Peavey via e mail regarding details of my Classic 50 - age, wiring diagrams ect. They were super efficient and mailed me what I wanted the same day. Us guys in South Africa are not used to this level of service.

I am 55 years young, have been playing for 46 years and have owned too many guitars and amps to mention. Presently have in addition to the Valve King, an 81 Peavey Classic 50 VT series with 12" Scorpions. A Squier Tele Custom Deluxe (Les Paul layout)and a Cort G254 with a Dimarzio Norton in the bridge position.
In South Africa today gear is definitely more likley to be stolen than lost. Neverthless if it were stolen I would take the insurance payout and possibly purchase a new Peavey Classic 50 or pocket the money and carry on with my 81 Classic 50, if that was not stolen along with the Valve King.
Do not love or hate anything in particular about the Valve King. I bought it because it was flood damaged and was offered at a good price.I wanted a seperate head and the Valve King having stood in 1 1 1/2" of water for a few moments was easy to cut down and convert to a head. I then purchased some 3/4" plywood and made a speaker cab to house my 2 Celestion Vintage 30's.

I tried to do this review before but I must have failed the math test at the end. My valveking was made in 2006 I suppose. It's a very versatile amp and I play a lot of different music styles such as blues, blues rock, classic rock, country, hard rock, outlaw rock and southern rock. No sense in repeating all the features, they have been listed in many of the other reviews. I do like the saturation where you can go to Class A or Class B or in between. It makes it where you can get good tube tone at low volumes when you are playing at home. I use this amp in my music room at home and I don't have any complaints about the amp at all. Someone bitched because it doesn't have a footswitch but my God an all tube amp for $400? Give me a break man. I also get tired of hearing about Peavey just being a good amp for the money. Peaveys are damn good amps and if you blindfold people and have them listen to this amp and a Marshall DSL 401 side by side, chances are they aren't gonna be able to tell the difference. Excellent amp with tone that is equal to amps costing much much more. Features wise it has everything ya need.

Blues, Blues Rock, Country, Country Blues, Country Rock, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Outlaw Rock, Southern Rock, Jazz, Punk, Grunge, Funk you name it, this amp can do it. Some thrash and death metal heads that are 15 years old might not be satisfied with it, but then again they will probably grow up someday. Clean channel is great and having the bright switch makes it a lot easier to go from chimey twangy stuff to warm clean. I haven't cranked it up all the way but it appears to have plenty of headroom. Distortion is great for me. You can have a little - which is one of the complaints I have about solid state amps or you can have a lot. With solid state amps, I could never find that slightly dirty blues tone ala Hendrix. This amp gets that perfectly. Turn the gain up, push the volume button and the boost and turn up the bass and the treble and cut the mid out and ya got good metal. I don't play metal but I've experimented with it. Now for me, the perfect setting is the gain on about 4 with lows at 7, mids at 4 and high at 5. This gives an awesome blues rock tone with just enough crunch to make things interesting. Keep those same settings and crank the gain to about 6 and you have good AC/DC or Jackyl type tones. It does everything I need it to do. I have a 61 fender strat with 3 single coils, a telecaster with 2 single coils, a tex mex fat strat with a humbucker at the bridge, an SG, hollow body Les Paul and Ibanez GAX70 all with two humbuckers. The amp sounds great with all of them but particularly shines on my tex mex strat. The only time there is any noise is with my single coil guitars. Awesome sounding amp.

It's a peavey. People talk shit, but they are reliable amps. I have been looking for a peavey valve amp ever since I moved to the Philippines and have had to settle for solid state amps until now. I have had marshalls, fenders, vox, washburn and Ibanez amps that all sucked and all broke. I had been using a laney LX65R solid state amp and it was ok - but still solid state and still not as good of quality as peavey. It's an american company and even though they are making amps in china, the quality is still there. Try one of those made in India marshalls out and you will see what I mean.

This is the 4th Peavey Amp I have owned. I have had a 5150, a Delta Blues and a Classic 30 in the past. Never had one break down so I have never needed customer support.

I've been playing for 40 years. I'm a guitar tech and I've played in several professional bands over the years. Aside from the stuff above, I've got several acoustic guitars. I'd get another one if it were lost or stolen and if it was stolen, they would have to give it to me in jail because I'd crack the guy who did it up side the head with my heavy old tele. I compared this to a Hartke Piggyback Rig (piece of crap) a Marshall AVT20 (not to bad for a hybrid) and a Hartke GT100C (another hybrid that was crappy) as well as a couple of Behringers. This one won heads over heels but of course, I was looking to buy this specific amp anyway because it is good for home practice and MORE than loud enough to gig with.

If you're looking for the features, go to the site. I think everyone knows about now. If you want an amp with all the imaginable pretty effects, get out. OR... buy this one along with a multi-board...

I won't rate a product on features. I mean, hey, if you don't like the features, get the heck out. Otherwise, stay tuned.

I must say that the sounds you can have this amp produce is (dare I say?) very versatile. And the distortion IS good. If you don't think so, why don't you try buying a guitar that is suitable for metal first, hm? I've got an Ibanez RG2570E, and I can make the amp do whatever I want.

I must agree with some person below, that the reverb isn't really exceptional. But, if you wan't to use effects, I suggest using a multi-effects board. Or you can allways go and buy a Vetta II.... And you may get yourself a Porsche while you're at it...

But seriously, the tone is good enough for me. Quite versatile. I haven't tried on real high volumes. The amp is not noisy.

At first, I had some smaller problems with the amp. I had a lot of feedback (with high-gain, of course) and at some point, there was sometimes this high pitched whistling sound. I had to let the tubes cool off to...uhhh... remove the sound. When I took it back to the dealer to do something about it, the dude played for some time on it, with somewhat higher volume, and the problem was solved. Both of 'em. Guess the tubes needed some more warming, or something....

So. I hear the Peavey amps are usually very reliable. I'm not very certain about this one. However, it didn't actually break up on me.

Never dealt with 'em.

I've been in the musical business (no, not professional) for about 12 years now. 2 of those I've spent with the guitar. After the spider II, this amp is a relief for my ears.
I think I would buy this amp again if it got stolen. For an amp with sounds like these, the price is rediculous.
I used to have an Ibanez SAS36FM. It produced an incredible lot of feedback. Now I have an Ibanez RG2570E. Nice sounds, no feedback (not anymore). So now you have a reason to go get yourself a serious guitar!

So, if you want an amp that has a gazillion type of effects, get out. If you're a no-fx player, like me, knock yourself out!

This is for a -06 peavey valveking 112 combo amp. It got my attention mostly because of the price wich was around $550, extremely cheap for an all-valve amp. the thing that struck me when i first tried it, was the extreme thickness in all the channels(2, +boost), it makes it sound lmost like a 5150 or at least close. I use it with a boss chorus ensemble in to the input, and it is definately the most impressive clean sound ever.(think 'nothing else matters'-intro). I play heavy/death metal, and the separations stringwise is awesome for an amp this cheap. with a 4*12 it sounds even better! best amp for the price!!! oh, dont care about the categories, all i'm writing is righ here!

got this thing 6 months ago. it is 50 watts all tub has 2 6l6 power tubs and 3 12ax7 preamp tubs and is supposedly class a to class a/b variable. i dont notice any diferancewhen going from one to the other.it has bass mid and treble 2 channles a gain boost and a volume boost as well as speaker dampining lots a features for a tub amp

the overall sound was good a bit muddy at times replaced the speaker with a celestion g12t-75 the factory speaker couldnt handle the power to much cone breakupthe new speaker is lots better makes it sound almost marshal like its more crisp more defined and less muddy. i am using an austin lespaul with humbuckers over all the sound now is great the factory speaker is kinda a peace of crap

mine died 45 minits after plugging it in.sinc it was the only on in stock the store checked it out and fixed? replaced 2 bad preamp tubs{came with electo-harmonix they put in crappy rubby tubs} made the amp sound overly bright,i replaced the rubbys with electro-harmonix. also the class a to a/b seams to have no efect at all to changing the sound seams usless. and the amp has good days and bad days never know how its going to sound some days it sounds sweet other days it sounds sick not vey happy with it traded in a peavy classic 30 wish i never did.

not at all happy with the support i got from henries music where i got this pile of junk

wish i would have not gotten .wish i kept my peavy classic 30 it may not have ben as punchy or had as much gain but never had any problems os any days that the amp sounded bad and my digitec df7 sounded better threw the classic as well will probably traid the valve junk in for a new classic 30 or even a 50 the vaveking i got is a $400 pile of junk

My amp is a new 2006 model, I think, I just bought it a couple weeks ago. The amp has all the features I need plus some I don't. All I had for amps was 2 half stacks so I looked for a nice all tube combo so I didn't have to always haul a half stack everywhere. I found some good reviews on this amp and liked the price so I bought one. One thing I wish the amp had was sepperate reverb controls for each channel. I like lots of reverb on clean stuff, but very little on distortion. One feature I don't need that this amp has is the texture control. I find that it sounds best at full A/B mode, I would give up this feature to have sepperate reverb controls. The 112 doesn't have resonance and presence knobs like the 212 and head has, but the reason I bought this was to downsize and I didn't want 100 watts. One thing I like about the amp is it uses the same tubes as my Mesa F-50 head so I can use the same back up tubes in each. I read a couple reviews where people complained about the tubes that came stock in theirs, but mine came stock with Electro-Harmonix pre, and Ruby power tubes, no problem there. Oh I almost forgot the real big feature that's missing, YOU HAVE TO BUY THE $39 FOOTSWITCH SEPPERATE!

My main guitars are an Epiphone Les Paul custom, and an Epiphone G-400 korina. I have a Boss Me-50, but for this review I ran no effects.
First I messed around with the clean channel. It didn't take long to dial in a nice clean sound. I run the bass at 8, mids at 3, and treble at 7, reverb at 2, and it has a nice chimey clean. It has plenty of head room for bedroom, practice, or small gig volumes, or would be great mic'ed for larger gigs. As a matter of fact this clean sounds as good as my Mesa F-50, could be because my F-50 runs into a closed back 4x12 so cleans are dark on it.
The distortion channel took a little longer to get a sound I liked. At first it seemed a little boxey sounding, but I now seem to have it dialed in pretty good. It's hard to brighten the sound up without adding to much treble causing the buzzsaw effect. Right now I am running the gain at 6, bass at 7, mids at 4, treble at 6, and it has a pretty good "old" AC/DC sound. Now kick on the gain boost to play harder stuff. On gain boost it seems to pick up more on the highs and I have to turn the tone knob back a little on my guitar to tone it down a little, but there is lots of gain on this channel with the gain knob only at 5 or 6. One problem I have with the distortion channel is when I have the reverb where I like it for cleans it's to much with the distortion, which is why I like sepperate reverb controls per-channel.
Non boosted distortion is where I can really tell this is a tube amp. With the gain turned back to 4 or 5, I play single notes and it sings with very little distortion, then when I hit a chord the distortion picks up more, (kind of like the old Santana sound).
After messing around with the texture knob on the back, I don't even care that it's there. The amp sounds best in full A/B mode to me so I leave it there.

Seems pretty solid. Haven't had any problems with it yet. Nothing was loose or anything, except the reverb tank, but that's supposed to only have 2 screws in it from the factory. If it bothers you put the other 2 in yourself.

Haven't needed them yet. I do wish the owner's manual had a little more infortmation in it though. It doesn't even talk about different speaker options or anything. It comes with a 16ohm speaker, but the speaker output jack says 8ohm min, so am I to assume it's safe to put an 8ohm speaker in the amp? Right now the stock speaker sounds fine to me, but I might want to swap it out in the future.
I guess you could count that as customer support.

I have been playing around 20 years. My other stuff is a Mesa F-50 head with the matching 4x12 cab, one of those B-52 solid state half stacks, Boss Me-50, Epiphone Les Paul Custom and G-400 Korina, Morley Bad Horsie 2, SKB rack, Furman power conditioner, BBE sonic maximizer.
It it were lost I would replace it with the same thing again. I would love a Mesa combo but they are twice as much(used), but the cleans on this amp sound as nice as my Mesa head and the distortion isn't far behind. The tubes sound so good together I ordered the same kind as backups and I plan on using them in my Mesa when the time comes. Mesa power tubes are $42 a set, Rubys are $29 and got really good reviews and they have the same 6 month garentee as Mesas.

What do you want to do ... spend over a grand for a retubed JCM800 that is over 20 years old? Ok fine, knock yourself out -

For non-Nu-Metal rectumfication rock studio recording buy 2x 2-12 100w combos and substitute the speakers for Red Zone Tonespotters or whatever you flav is, then get two of JJ tube sets:

Set 1: https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php? ($73.50)page=view_products&category_id=8&sub_category_id=93
Matched pair of the JJ 6L6GC's and four hand picked high gain ECC83S's with one balanced for the phase inverter in V4. Very punchy and full with great definition! If you're looking for an EVH, Malmsteen, Petrucci or Satrani type tone then this is the kit for you.

Set 2: https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=9&sub_category_id=45($92.00)
Description: Are you kidding? You need more GAIN!! ( Of course! ) This kit includes a matched quad of the JJ E34L's and four hand picked high gain ECC83S's with one balanced for the phase inverter in V4. Very punchy and full with great definition!

If you're really bold, get a third combo and do the outer KT88 or 6550T thangy at half power (50 watts). See eutotubes website for this.

Self-biasing holmz - sell all your other shit thats been collecting dust for the past 10 years in your mildew closet

Now you have the best of most tone worlds!
Happy douchebagging!

All tube, 50 watt amp with clean and dirty with reverb. Two inputs for lower and higher output instruments. Seperate eq for each channel. The whole point of the amp though is the Texture knob on the back that lets you change from class A/B power(full) to A power(low). This lets you get more tube sag at lower volumes essentialy by lessining the output of one of the 2 power tubes. The tubes are 2 6L6GC power tubes(nice) and 3 12AX7 preamp tubes(nice). I myself play classic rock and require a great tube sag distortion to get my tone.

This amp doesn't produce many sounds. The reverb leaves much to be desired, any Marshall would beat it. Nowhere near Fender reverb. And yes, all reverb should be like Fender's. The Texture knob allowed for different amount of tube saturation on the clean channel, with full power being very clean all the way up, and low power being much dirtier. The distortion is a joke. It's hard to tell where the knob is at if your not looking at it, but suddenly jumps up on gain once you hit 10, which sounded good actually. To bad 1-9 sounded bad. The footswitch has a ridiculous delay and is made of plastic. The boost feature is nice, which can add more gain and volume, but not much. The clean channel sounds alright I suppose. Nothing like any amps know for their clean sounds aka Fender Twin. Now for the biggest problem of all. I own a Fender(who'd of guessed it) Blues Junior for practicing and recording. I absolutely love this amp to death. However, I wanted more power at home and a distortion channel, so the Valveking for 400 bucks looked like a good deal. Wrong. The Peavey is rated at 50 watts and my Fender is rated at 15. Clearcut winner volume wise right. The Valveking should blow this away, its got over 3 times as many watts. Well, not quite. The Valveking was QUIETER! Good lord thats a problem. I bought this thing for more power, not less!

I've been playing for quite a while now and know my way around tube amps and what a good one sounds like. The reverb is pitifull, as is the distortion and clean channels. I got my money back for this one. So quiet. Hope this helped convince you not to buy this pathetic amp.

Made in 2006. Same features that are previously listed. Great to have SEPERATE EQ for the clean and SEPERATE EQ for the dirty channel!
A lot of amps don't have this, and if they do, you're paying BIG bucks for it.

This is NOT a METAL amp, so if you want metal, get a Marshall and pay out your ass for it.

I think it sounds GREAT! Can't put the drive channel above 1 in the house, or it's TOO loud.

The clean channel is nice and warm, not high-endy and trebly, and actually has great presence. I bought this amp because of the gain
channel, but the clean channel is a plus! I have a Fender Blues DeVille that is a great clean amp, but no distortion channel to speak of.

I got this amp because of its size and gain channel. Great for blues,
70's-80's rock!
HINT: With ANY amp switching from clean to the dirty channel during
a song, is a pain, not just with this one. THEREFORE DO THIS:
Get a distortion pedal, and stomp on it if you have go from clean
to dirty during a song. If the song calls for distortion for the WHOLE song, then use the GAIN CHANNEL ON THE AMP! You should only
use the gain channel when you DON'T have to switch between clean
and dirty within a song.

This amp is PLENTY loud, kiddies....if you need more volume,
put a mic on it and pump it thru the PA system.

If you're dissin' this amp...you either got a lemon (it happens with
the best of products) OR you don't know dick about what you're doing....More than likely, the latter is the case.

Seem durable enough. Get a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp cover. This fits
it pretty well. Check it out on MF for about 18 bucks.

Good

I've been playing for over 30 years. Have had numerous amps, and this
is one of the best for my purposes. I play classic rock, hard rock and early metal. Like I said, if you want a real heavy metal sound, you can use this amp, and put a distortion pedal on it. A RAT or a digitech hot rod works well with it. Otherwise, get a heavy metal
amp.
This is probably my second favorite amp of all time, next to my Fender, and it's even better than that on the gain channel.
I play a Les Paul and SG thru it. Sounds great. Get one.

PEAVEY VALVE KING/VK-112 amp.(Made in October 2005).
Tube amp (with two 6L6 tubes and three 12AX7 tubes).
50 watts/rms thru one 12" (Peavey Vintage)speaker.
Two channels: clean (with bright sitch) and overdrive (with boost & gain switches) on the O.D. channel.
Belton reverb unit with master control.
Buffered effects loop on face of amp.
Footswitchable channels (with optional footswitch).
Control for "tight or loose" speaker response.
And a control for class A or A/B power settings (full or 60% less power).
This 50-watt Peavey has a surprising amount of power and good tube tone for the money!
It's very portable and can hold it's own with amps of similar and greater power ratings.
All in all: a good valued amp with nice tube tones.

My current guitar is 2003 Fender 70s reissue Stratocaster (with stock pickups and stock hardware).I chose the Peavey VK-112 beacuse I was tired of my solid-state Marshall amp that was noisy and had no usable distortion channels. The Peavey excels at clean and natuarl tube distorted sounds...very "real" after the bland solid-state Marshall tones I was used to. The Peavey responds like a good tube amp should: with a reduced volume or easy attack it cleans up and on heavy attack it breaks up nicely!
I play a mixed bag of rock, country, blues and jazz textures and the Peavey seems to repsond well to anything I do.
As far as the distortion goes- think along the line of Cream's "Disraeli Gears" and you'll have a good idea of the amps "natural" tone. The clean channel (with the bright switch engaged) is capable of a wonderful Fender tube amp "shimmer" (like a Super Reverb or Deluxe Reverb models).
The VK-112 is quiet!! My solid-state Marshall was noisy at all levels that had to be harnassed with a noise supressor.

Peavey has a proven track record with reliability and value. The VK-112 follows that thinking. I will use it without a backup amp.
The stock Sovtek tubes will probably be replaced with Groovetubes when they expire sometime in the future. For now, I'm happy with it's performance.
The 6L6 tubes are sheilded by a steel cage that protects them from damage in transport...the cage is very sturdy! The 12AX7 tubes are also covered with metal covers to protect them as well.
Peavey seems to have their homework with this amp.

I have never delt with Peavey personally but they have a reputation for fast & friendly service. I bought an extended two-year warranty from my dealer just to give me some "peace of mind" in the event something goes wrong.

I've been playing for 35 years and I've ownwed a lot of great equipment in that time. My Strat, VK-112 and Boss ME-50 make up my "gig rig" at this time.
I auditioned two VK-112s before I bought this particular one. I found one model that had a "rogue-reverb" that just could not be controlled. That particular amp also didn't seem to have power in the clean settings either. The model I purchased really performs well with tone and power that satisfy my needs.
Peavey amps have provided the backline for performers like: Lyrnyrd Skynyrd, Journey, The Buckaroos and Ted Nugent (on the recent VH-1 "Super Group" TV series). Peavey's "been there and done that" with their amps, guitars, basses, PA systems and drums!
In today's "world market" Peavey has found a way to compete with this series of amps (made in China with Soviet tubes). If Fender can build amps in Mexico and Marshall can build them in Korea then anything is possible. Gone are the days when all American amps are made in California or Mississippi...times have changed...
Hartley Peavey is man (like Leo Fender or Orville Gibson) with a dream and a passion for helping musicains to play their hearts out!
I'm glad to be a Peavey user today...thanks.

You've read the blurb elsewhere. The key features are the A/B texture blend and speaker attenuator. Very usefull.

I play with an 80'd ibanez RG550 with a moutherbucker in the bridge for thrash stuff and a stock dean Z79 tuned to B drop A for doom and stoner sillyness.

I find this amp works well for most metal tones and is great for doom. Metal wise it aint the highest gain amp so high gain freaks may do well to look elsewhere. Set the texture close to B with the speaker set to tight and you have a good fairly solid thrash tone.

For doom set the texture all the way to class A and get the speaker shaking on loose and up those mids to dirty things up. The result is a satisifying wall of filthy fuzz. Not for everyone but if you like to stray away from 5ths and arent shy of tuning to B or lower its great. With the dean I get a mastodonesque tone but just a little dirtier.

The clean is very clean. Fans of karate will like this channel.

Generally the amp is quiet and has lots of useable tones. My only complaints sre the lack of a master volume is a bit odd at first but you soon get used to it and the reverb. Ah yes. The reverb on this amp is shocking. Don't ever think of setting it above 2 or 3.

One major plus point is that you can get decent tones out of it at low volume. Good news for those of us with less than understanding neighbours.

I bought this Christmas '05 and have had no trouble.

Never dealt with them

I've been playing on and off for 15 years I have owned alot of gear. For the money you cannot go wrong with this amp and it out performs many similar combos that go for twice the price. If you're worried about power try the 2*12 which I think is 100W or buy the head and a 2*12 cab.

I love this amp and I'd buy it again if I had to. I'm happy with its performance. Its not often you can say that about your gear.

2006 model amp, very versatile mainly due to good built in gain, and a good clean channel. The texture nob is somewhat usefull. helps dial in certain tones. In my oppinion its the not the loudest 50watts ive heard. But it certainly will be plenty. Wish it were operating at 8ohms. Running it into a mixmaxed cab will kill tube life.

Currently running humbuckers through it. Gets plenty of distortion, but does not do modern metal in my opinion. palm mutes leave a lot to be desired. I get really good Suicidal Tendencies type tone out of it. does old school punk-classic rock best in my opinion.

would i gig without a backup? probably?? Really have not owned the amp long enough. A couple months is hardly enough to judge its reliability.

???

good amplifier. Receiving brand new unit for 380, that is unheard of. On top of that it is actually a pretty good amp. Buy used if you know exactly the type of tones you want. Be it a Mesa or whatever else you need. But if you need a little bit of versatility on a budget than I recommend this amp. Gets the job done, for a fraction of the price. Love this amp so much more than my old Solid state.

Tooooo many features for a blues player but I needed 30W in class A so I bought it anyway as it was DEAD CHEAP: US$400 for a brand new combo in Switzerland that's like paying $200 in the USA - a gift !

Usually I use Gibson GA15RV or even Epiphone Valve Jr 5W but with 2 conga players I need now more clean headroom for latino jazzy songs.

The only objection is that all is dark so you do not see what you've dialed once you are on stage ...

I give it 10 for sound to compensate for some ignorant non-objective people below, but in reality it is 9.

TOO MUCH bass in general - I have to keep it at zero all the time:
I guess they tweaked the bass for metal-kinds who love the bottom end.

So, the clean channel has too thick, artificial bass that was probably somehow tweeked in the preamp as this is not a natural bass sound of my Strat; still it is clean and with bright ON it is VERY CRYSTALLINE.

Not a Fender Twin clean, but more like Big Barnum circus pompy-clean. Usable but not as sexy and as classic as THE Fender Reverb ...

The distortion channel has more mids and overdrive and I can arrange some intermediate gain level and play the whole evening with just that setting ... when tubes warm up it is almost 10 for sound. I will change the tubes eventually and I guess I might change the speaker too if <i keep this combo - it has a potential and can satisfy a pro for any situation even though it is not my refernce clean tone.

Mind you I have THE best amp in the world THD Univalve and I used it as a pre-amp to Valve King and it makes Peavey cleaner and more articulate so I can gig with both: THD gives the fine pramp-sounds and OD while the Peavey does the amplification beyond my drummers :-)

Too new

No idea

A bargain. If you buy an extra speaker of your choice and the best valves in the world you will spend say $250, in total $650 and end up with a stunningly versatile gig-combo.

Yes, you can get some other used tube amps for $650, but if you need the versatility then this is a very good alternative.

I might exchange this & Fender Cyber Champ for fender Deluxe Reverb eventually but that's because I pay mostly blues.

For contemporary players . verify this combo but TEST IT as the quality control may vary in these Asian made amps.

2005, All tube, 2 Channels, Effect loop, Class A/Class A/B adjustment, "Tight" and "Loose" switch. NO footswitch (has to be ordered seperately)
I have owned this amp for about 4 weeks. I bought it because I wanted a clean tube-sound. I play in a 5 man band: Drums, bass, keyboard, singer and guitar. We mostly play 60's pop/rock for about 100 to 300 people at our gigs.
For smaller gigs this amp is loud enough. For larger gigs I plug the effect send into our PA.
For me an amp is an amp. Wanna use effects? Buy them seperately!
This amp has all that I need.

I use a standard US Strat with 3 single coils. (2 stock pups and a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo at the bridge)
This amp responds very well to different settings on the guitar. It suits my music very well. The stock speaker however is rather "sterile"
for me (great at low volumes, But when crancked up it does tend to get very loose and deliver "fart-sounds" when playing loud)
It is surpisingly quiet. No problem there.
I havn't really used the distortion live, but this amp does have lots of nice distortion. The reason I don't use the distortion at gigs is: THERE IS A VERY ANNOYING DELAY ON SWITCHING!.

Well. Its a Peavey - They make good stuff.
Some have said that the fact that this amp is made in China, might be a problem. Why should it be a problem? Flip over your laptop, or look inside your PC! Made in USA??

Peavey has a very good website. Try it!!

Ok! this is actually a very good amp in my opinion (remember I just wanted a clean tubesound) Just don't play it too loud!
But here's a tip: Take out the stock speaker and drop in an EMINENCE "THE TONKER" speaker. I did that and now I'm able to play very loud and very clean. This is a HUGE improvement!
In my opinion The Valveking 112 with an Eminence Tonker is the perfect match!
If Peavey sold this amp with a Tonker, I would give a 10. But the stock speaker is to weak for me.

A good price / performance feature set, however see the reliabilty issues which completely undermine this.

I run a recording studio, so had some of the regulars, who are largely Marshall fans, audition three different amps in the shop. After 30mins of rocking out, the declare, somewhat surprisingly to all concerned, the ValveKing to be the winner.

I have several line 6 amps, Flextone III and spider HDs, they are great amps, but the peavey did seem to have that mysterious tube magic that modelling amps come close to, but still just don't cut it.

Some clients are suspicious of modelling (others love it) so being able to offer both is very important.

Oh dear. 10 mins into a try out in the studio and there are crackles and buzzes and the speaker sounds like is has a tear. Notice that there are two missing screws in the reverb tank, I take it back to the shop and they call Peavey next day, who say that there are only supposed to be two screws. I go back to the shop and go to try out the amp again, only this time it doesn't any sound. Take another and brave a gig with it, no problems, so I think oh well, perhaps I just had a duff. One week later, in the studio, from a cleaned power source, the amp is cracking like a pot has gone,except all the pots are down, but the amp is poping and cracking again. Back to the shop again :-(

Waiting, but may get a refund and go for a marshall.

Clearly some corners have been cut to achieve the price and unfortunately it shows. I wouldn't feel comfortable relying on this amp at a gig, two separate amps have let me down in a very short period of time. Reading the reviews here it seems that there are problems with the footswitch too.

A pity as there is a lot of potential, but somewhere poor decisions have been made on quality control, which will make me think twice about buying or recommending more peavey kit to clients.

I won't go into the features as it has already been discussed. I will note that the 1x12 combo doesn't have the resonance dial like the 2x12 and heads do. But it does have all the features you could want.

I've had the amp now 6 months so I figured it's time for a review.

* What guitar and pickup styles are you using it with?

I don't play any high end gear: I have a Dillion PRS copy that I modded with DiMarzio's and a Washburn IDOL WI64.

* How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
I like to play a range of things, from Dream Theater-type metal to Pearl Jam to BB King, so I want versatility more than anything. When I bought it I was hoping for a cheapy bedroom amp I could practise with and get some decent variety in tones, with the understanding this wasn't me dream amp (Mesa Mark IV, Fender Twin Reverb). I liked it initially but 6 months from now I can honestly say i'm underwhelmed by it. It's not a HORRIBLE amp, and you likely won't hate the sound (for the price), but for me there's just something missing. I keep getting the, "it's ok" feeling when i'm playing through it.

* Is it noisy? On what settings, and in what environments?
I found this amp can get quite noisy when cranked, but I haven't experience much of the rattling or anything out of the ordinary. Stock this amp was not cutting it so I replaced the tubes with JJ tubes and the speaker with a Celestion Vintage 30. This improved the sound only marginally.

* What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?
The amp doesn't seem to have much variety in it's tones, and I'm really not liking the distortion channel as it doesn't seem to pick a niche. I dunno, not metally enough but not bluesy enough? To me it seems best for Van Halen-type stuff which is ok...but a few non-musicians i've demoed the amp to don't like the distortion channel. The clean channel is fine for an amp in this range, it's clean.

One major annoyance of mine is that unless have the volume boost on the gain the distortion channel seems very muddy, so i've been finding I need to have it on at all times and back WAY off the gain to no more than 1/4. I've tried different settings, different guitars, but it's always muddy and not very smooth. Dunno why. Perhaps someone could e-mail me some better settings or something.

Have had no issues with it yet.

Haven't had the need yet.

I've been playing guitar for 10 years now and it's more a hobby then anything. I have yet to own any premier gear but have circled the bargain wagons a few times over. If it were lost or stolen I would definately not buy this amp again, I would look at a smaller practise amp or save some cash and move into a higher tier of amps.

This amp is good because it provides a feature-rich introduction into the world of tube amps. It is, however, very underwhelming in everything it does. In my oppinion Peavey needed to find a niche with this amp instead of trying to stick it in between practise amps and real tube amps. What happens is it's too expensive for beginners and underwhelms everyone else.

To be honest I didn't do a whole lot of comparing. I sat down with this amp and it sounded good in the store, but that's a mistake I won't make again. If I was reading this review I would take a hard look at what you REALLY want; if it's a practise amp spend less and get something smaller, if it's an entry-level tube amp i'd look to spend my money elsewhere (used). While I have a dream to one day own a Mesa Mark IV I just don't have 1500 to drop on a bedroom amp. But if you are looking at this Valveking, take a look at the Peavey Classic...it doesn't do metal, but at least it does the blues exceptionally and doesn't leave you as underwhelmed as the Valveking has left me.

2005/06 production. Features: As listed, 2-channel all tube amplifier with a clean and a gain/distortion channel. Control on back to fade from classA/B power to simulated class A ,(approx.50%power according to manual). A footswitchable volume/gain boost in addition to channel select. Effects loop....I eagerly awaited the arrival of this amplifier at local music store. If we are to judge features by 'claimed' features I have no choice but to give a high rating. It was the very features claimed for it that kept me in anticipation of it's arrival. The class A/B to class A fader control would seem to answer 2 of my desires for features in one offering; (the ability to switch to class A AND the ability to drop to about 20-25 watts) Also the volume OR gain boost feature(selectable) was just what I wanted as it would allow either a solo volume boost without gain or tone alteration OR a gain boost to thicken things up at my discretion. Nice idea. I do not use any effects either in effects loop OR in line to input. If an amp gives me the sound I want, I use it. This is not snobbery, I don't frown on those who successfully use pedals; I'm just a hopeless klutz and am more likely to hit the wrong button or fall off the stage than make a seamless switching successfully. So this amp had all I would DARE try and work without incident! So for me, if it lived up to hype, all the features I needed were there.

I use Stratocaster(s), all single coil with series wiring switches for boosts. Flying V, with my custom wiring. Showmaster sss. More, but this gives the general idea. Now..How does it suit my musical style AND what is that style? I find it a bit difficult to nail down my style. I was born in Memphis,Tenn. and Lived in New Orleans most of my musically formative years. I play Rockabilly,Country,Blues,Zydeco,50's,60's,70's and 80's Rock. Well, here lies the problem. The particular amplifier I took home was incapable of giving me a sound I could like for ANY of these! I must digress for a minute though to state that unlike some people who give revues..just because I don't care for something it is not automatically junk! In pouring over other revues of this same amplifier, I repeatedly read how loud it was! Well loudness is a somewhat subjective matter, but it is not nearly as open to individual interpretation as tone is. I can tell you that the particular specimen I had (briefly) had never even been introduced to loud, much less possessed it! This leads me to think that a bit of a quality-control issue lies at the bottom of the wide discrepancy in the tone of the revues posted on this amplifier.Having said what I just did about loudness you might possibly think that I was holding out unreasonable expectations for the amplifier which it just could not meet,but this is FAR from the case. I was actually looking for an amplifier that was NOT TOO LOUD, to use at practice. I had(and now still do use a Fender Blues Jr.) I was looking for something in that volume range (or ever so slightly louder), but with more features,channel switching etc. I figured with the Valveking set all the way over to class A, at about 20-25 watts it would be perfect. WRONG! Set to A/B at it's (so-called) 50-watts, my Blues Jr. would beat up on it something fierce! The Jr. was noticably louder! And I haven't even begun to mention TONE yet!The 'clean' channel had far less volume than the distortion channel, even with the distortion channel used very sparingly. The cleans were not pristine nor did they breakup smoothly. The distortion channel's voicing was ragged and uneven. Some notes blended into an indistinguishable mush while others stood out cold and toneless!WELL! I've got a ton of tubes, so I decided to see if some swapping would help! I KEEP ON HAND different grades of the most used tubes so I can find which bias range works best with any particular amp. I started with 'soft' power tubes that break up quickly. waemed the clean a little but sent distortion channel over the top!Went all the way up the scale..finally found some that made the distortion channel sound acceptable(JUST acceptable),but then the clean channel had crossover distortion and was as 'cold as ice'!By the way the stock power tubes are in my opinion pretty decent. They are Sovtek 6L6wxt+ 's. I use them in some amps and like them. They are protected in a little cage on the back assessable by 2 screws. Convenient, logical.NOT SO the preamp tubes. They are circuit board mounted deep beneath the surface of the chassis. As if this moronic design flaw were not bad enough, standard 12AX7 TUBE CAP SPRING RETAINERS ARE USED! These are mounted to the surface of the chassis, which leaves you about a half-inch of sloping slippery glass to grasp if you wish to remove the tube for ANY reason. The bayonet-catch base lock prevents a proper grasp. So what do you do to change, or check preamp tubes? Well that's simple, you just remove the entire amplifier chassis from the cabinet! TO CHANGE PREAMP TUBES! The tubes were Electro-Harmonix 12AX7's. No complaint there!But having been forced to this extreme to find out what they were I went ahead and did 2-different speaker swaps to see if that would improve sound. First I tried a Peavey Scorpion 12-incher(personally I have always REALLY liked these). Some improvement. Next tried Celestion Vintage 30, also an improvement. But no combination of ANY of these changes could raise the volume to adequate or significantly improve the tone. Having read all the other revues I noticed (and if you check them you will to) a reaaly big disagreement in people's opinion of this amp. Occasionally you see this, but I think it points to a quality or standards control issue, either that or half the revuers are idiots, the other half geniuses! YOU PICK WHICH HALF!I think some folks got genuinely good amps (at least I hope so) and the other s (like me) got the raw ingredients for a lemonade stand.Yhis is only the second 'new purchase' amplifier I've ever returned in all my 30+ years of playing. After playing a blackface Twin Reverb, I bought a new 1972 silverface..(without hearing it). I took it back too. I must rate the sound. For me it was NOT satisfactory, but some may have liked it..but it definitely lacked comparable volume to others in it's class. I restate this MAY JUST BE THE ONE I TRIED AND A FEW OTHERS..but I must judge what I heard.

I CANNOT JUDGE THE RLIABILITY ISSUE!I did not have but a weekend, A very dissapointed weekend. It looks rugged enough, BUT, If as I have theorized quality control issues are at play here then, reliability is going to be another victim of this shortcoming. IF,IF, this line survives and I hear some admission of 'guilt' from Peavey, and a sign that they are taking responsibility for the erratic behavior and shortcomongs than I will give it another try. I really DID LIKE THE CONCEPT! A point to ponder;You decide what it means to you: China Has embraced capitalism but with a fuedal twist.Large corporations make more money when labor is cheap. There is no cheaper labor than 'slave labor'.So the Chinese have made many things illegal so as to be able to arrest and imprison folks in 'work factories', Being an Evangeical Christian is a crime that can find you soon assembling circuit boards. If you or I were so treated might we not (just perhaps) engage in a little sabotage as protest?

I had always heard how helpful and friendly Peavey was so I was somewhat surprised by the reaction I got when I called about the volume isssue. When I suggested that if perhaps all amps were no louder than the one I was trying out, perhaps they should change their marketing approach to avoid creating irate 'Heavey Metalers' and cater more to the practice amp slot..and perhaps check the power rating as well. ..I must have struck a nerve! I was asked if I was suggesting that they were liars and had misrepresented their producr?! I was NOT asked this in a friendly OR helpful manner. There was no good natured chuckling to suggest he was just kidding either. I merely replied that I knew what I knew and no more. I didn't know squat about wattage ratings or measurements. I just knew that my Blues Jr' rated at 15 watts would eat their 50-watter for breakfast.

Been playing since 60's.Can't lose it I don't have it. I did love the claimed features, I didn't love the sound (or lack thereof)I wish it had the ability to sound like I thought it would.

2005 Peavey Valve King 112. All Tube.
I've been playing Classic Rock/Blues for 20 years and presently play in a 4 piece social band. My main guitars are a '91 modified USA Stratocaster and a Yamaha AES420 with a Bigsby. I've played through a hell of alot of different rigs (started playing in the early 80's so you can imagine!)and in the the past 5 years I have reverted back to 100% analog. The only effects I ever use is an old Crybaby wah on a few leads. Hell, I won't even use reverb if we're playing in a hall.
Anyways, just previous to this my main amp was a 100 watt HIWATT custom with a Force 212 cabinet. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the Tone of this rig, absolutely nothing beats it when playing at master volume of 40% - except for the fact that at this setting the billion dbs it puts out completely drowns everyone else, I am forced to play at @ 15% and the HIWATT just isn't working hard enough to produce the edge I want.
So I chose to check out the 112 Valve king. I thought that playing a smaller amp a little harder would give me what I was looking for. I'm happy to say that I was right! What this amp really reminds me of is a Fender Hotrod Deville my buddy had back in the eighties. The 2 channels featured along with the class A/B texture control gives me a plethera of sound choices (Took a long time to come up with the 2 I presently use). Since I'm not a huge reverb fan I find the pan in this unit at @ 15% is perfect. I run master at 50% and achieve the tone/ring and dbs that makes everyone happy.

This unit is as hissless as any of the good tube amps I've ever played. There is the infamous 1/2 second delay when jumping on the overdrive channel when using the footswitch (I've read other users say it 1+ seconds, and I'd like to see them hold their breath for 2 minutes), but I've adpated to it with a little anticipation and it doesn't bother me.
I found with a little patience I obtained the exact sound I was looking for and can't tell you how much I appreciate that I can walk up to a gig with this amp in one hand and a Strat in the other and be pretty well evenly balanced.

I've had the unit for about a year now without so much as a crackle, as I do carry spare tubes, I don't need a backup.
As I'm not a big tube swapper (usually wait till a 12AX7 starts crackling) I haven't replaced any of the tubes. When I do, they will be matched NOS tubes which I'm sure the little amp will give huge justice to.
I do run the 212 (8ohm 75watts)Force cabinet at 16ohms (I put a 4/16 ohm switch in it) with this amp and have to admit that the sound of the amp improves signifficantly. If ever anything (even trivial) happens to the 16ohm speaker the unit came with, I'm sure I'll replace it with a TT Ceramic "40/40" - 12".

I've never dealt with Peavey and since the studio 112 I own has fallen down stairs and never had to go in, I probably will never have to.
It does have a 1 year warranty on it - here's hoping that's useless.

Said it all before this!

50 watts tube (3 x 12AX7 + 2 x 6L6), 12" speaker, knob to switch from class A to class A/B.

I like the tone and it's quiet, no static. If you're having a static problem with this amp, it's probobly not the amp, it's probobly your source of power. Get a power conditioner. It really surprised me for $400 out the door. I worked at a music store for a long time and I've tried just about every Marshall, Kustom, Roland, Ibanez, Traynor, and Fender amp that's been made in the last five years. Nobody makes a tude combo amp (or a modeling amp) that sounds as good or is as reliable as this amp in this price range. It's not out there. There are other combo amps out there that are better that the valveking, but get ready to drop about two grand for a marshall tsl and the tsl has a lot more tube noise than the peavey. This amp has a really smooth tone. The overdrive channel has the ability to get a lot of fuzz without losing tone. It does have some bite to it, but it's not as much bite as something like a Marshall. That's not really a problem though, just get a tubescreamer or a dod 250 or something if you need more bite. A lot of people on here have really put down the tone of this amp (probobly because it's not really for metal), but that's why we have overdrive and distortion pedals. If it dosen't have the exact sound you want plug in your poison of choice. FOR GOD'S SAKE IT'S ONLY $400!!

it's sturdy (like all peavey amps) and I've had no problems. all the tubes are covered and protected. some have said they've had problems with the reverb unit, mine is screwed down just fine. it's not loose or anything and it works great. if you're really worried about the reverb unit you can do one of three things: not treat your equipement like crap which is what you're suppossed to do anyways; drill in a couple more screws to hold it down more securely; or check your equipement every now and then and see if anything is loose. any peavey amp i've ever owned or had any dealings with has lasted forever. i expect the same out of this amp.

haven't had to deal with them at all. never had a problem with a peavey product i've owned.

You're not going to find a better tube amp for $400.

This amp is extremely versatile. With tweaking you can go from a Jazz Clean to Blues or Pop on Channel 1. Channel 2 will expand the "grit" from heavier Blues to Classic Jimmy Page. With the "Boost" pushed in you can get Van Halen. The amp also has a knob on the back that when turned in one direction gives Class A features and when turned in the other direction gives Class A/B. It can also be turned anywhere in between and does alter your sound. The effects loop is located on the front panel which IMHO is easier than the back. The only feature I wish it had was a Master Volume to conttrol the overall volume of the amp.

When I brought this amp home for the first time and started playing with my Strat, I thought " this one's going back". I'm very choosy about amps and the ValveKing sounded like a "glorified inexpensive solid state amp" with tubes thrown in. I was very dissapointed. However, the next morning before returning the amp, I thought I would give it another try. I decided on trying my Strat again along with my PRS to get the humbucker sound and single coil. I wanted to test the clean on channel 1 first, then channel 2 with slight gain, then channel 2 with heavier, Van Halen type sound. To my surprise, the ValveKing sparkled in each area of testing. What I discovered was this amp is very versatile if you play around with the EQ as well as the gain and volume. Just as important was the many variations by going from 10 on my guitar's volume to 8 or 6 and the same tweaking on the guitar's tone knob. Suddenly, I was liking this amp and was learning how to "tame the wild beast". What I really wanted when buying this amp was a lightweight, versatile amp that I could just plug into (no effects) and get all the sounds from clean to Metal and everything in between. I admit, a lot to ask of any amp in any price range. I got it!

Can't say about reliability. Peavey has confused me. They go the extra step to put a metal guard arount the power tubes and metal tube sleaves around the 12AX/7's but use only 2 screws for the reverb tank. Also, the amp does not come with a channel switching foot pedal (has to be ordered seperately), they took the time to give this amp many usefull features like the Texture Control, but then use knobs for the controls that seem flimsy. Time will tell but I really believe Peavey couldhave elevated this amp by some simple and inexpensive things like adding 2 more screws to the reverb tank and using sturdier control knobs.

Never had do deal with Peavey but based on others they sound as though they will support this product. I have had other Peavey's (Classic 30 and Classic 50) and never had a single issue. I believe the ValveKing comes with a 2 year warranty.

I've been playing 30+ years. Played Fender, Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Soldano, Carr, Crate and Peavey. I play a wide variety of music ranging from Jazz to Blues to Classic Rock and Metal. I am very picky about amplifiers. Some of the "big name boutique" amps do not justify their cost while sometimes lower cost amps like this Peavey deliver everything at a fraction of the cost. This amp cost me $399.99 but will go head to head with other amps costing 2 or 3 times this. I admit, I did swap out the pre-amp tubes for Phillups NOS 12AX/7's and I replaced the Russian 6L6's with a set of Groove Tube "white" 6L6's and this improved the sound quality a couple points. If you are looking for an affordable tube amp and are willing to "get to know it", this is worth serious consideration.

You should know the features.

I have been playing a long time (over 20 yrs). I've accumulated a lot of gear. My latest is a rack system (16-space) it includes a Boogie Mark IV, Marshall JMP-1, T.C. Electronics G-Major, various pedals and controlled by Digital Music Loop Selector and the Ground Control. Needless to say it's a pain in the ass to transport when I don't take my trailer. Now, having said that, this is where the search for a small combo comes in. I wanted a tube amp that wasn't expensive, 2-channels, small and wouldn't care if I spilled something on it. I ordered the Valveking 112 thinking it would fit the bill. I auditioned with my strat (texas specials) and my Les Paul (Burstbucker Pro's). The clean sounded pretty good, a little thin, not much punch or headroom. The distortion sounded the best. Since I didn't have the footswitch, I pushed the extra gain button, very cool, more sustain and usable. The volume boost is a good feature as well (wish there was a control for that). I thought it was OK but not what I was hoping for. Out of curiosity, I plugged my 1-12" extension speaker (w/Celestion c90,8-Ohm) into the speaker jack and what a surprise. The cleans took on a new dimension - better than those Fender Hot-Rod amps, the distortion was taken to the next level as well. Now I had a gig-usable amp. I was lucky and had an extra Vintage-30 speaker (8-Ohm) and put it in. I verified with Peavey about the 8-Ohm speaker, they said that would be fine. I must say, the 8-Ohm speaker is the way to go. I have more headroom in the clean channel. I play with a loud drummer and i haven't had to take it past 6 (no breakup). The next thing i needed was a footswitch - Peavey was out of the Valveking but they said the Rockmaster was the same wiring, so I ordered it -$43, I was not happy about the price. If it was a heavy duty switch w/LED's I'd be OK with it - but it's shit materials w/LED's. So I get the footswitch and when i switch channels there is this 1-second delay. After many days of playing phone tag, they suggest taking a resistor out of the circuit board on the amp. Well, I tried playing live with the delay - it was miserable. So I decided to play doctor and cut that mother out. (Peavey did send a schematic to help me) After cutting it out (wire cutters), that did the trick. It is now a contender. I was dissapointed that Peavey would distribute an amp with this glitch and also over-charge on a crappy footswitch. Never the less, I was determined to make this thing work. If i didn't have an extra speaker, I probably would have sent it back. But with the speaker upgrade (8-Ohm) it is much more enjoyable to play through. I play in clubs and auditoriums (miked) with it. A couple pedals in one hand and the valveking in the other - very simple and easy.

Peavey should be ashamed of themselves for having their customers play amp tech to fix their screw ups.

Peavey has been responsive.

2005 model I believe. Play mostly Punk,Metal,some rock and blues suits my needs just fine, its got a sweet tone to it, not your commercial sound like a Marshall(although similar), which is what I was looking for. 2 channels - clean channel has a footswitchable bright switch, overdrive has footswitable volume boost or gain boost or both. Effects loop located on front of amp, no headphone jack. Has 2 inputs 1 for high gain and another for low gain. Has a knob on the back that changes the amp from a class A to a class A/B or somewhere inbetween. I wish it had a master volume and a parallel speaker output(if you hook it up to another cab it disables the internal 12" speaker), I use this amp in band practise with a drummer, bassist with half stack and another guitarist with a Marshall AVT275 - it handles itself pretty well alongside the Marshall(its not as loud as the AVT obviously) and can definately keep up with a drumset. I used to use an AVT275 but kept hating to lug it around to gigs to only turn the volume up a quarter way, I needed an amp that could cut it in band practice as well as a medium gig(larger ones are just mic'ed up anyway) and something that doesn't break your back

I currently play a Gibson SG Standard with stock pickups and a Custom Fender Strat with a single EMG-HZ alnico pickup(no use for active system just yet). The amp does feedback at high volumes a little, but I use a noise gate to solve that...no problems. The sound of this amp is similar to something you may have heard but just can't place your finger on... Its not a Marshall sound, not a Mesa sound, Not a Vox sound but a different tone on its own, cause really if you want a Marshall sound-buy a Marshall. The 3 band EQ per channel is very nice, you can dial some good tone out of it. The Texture dial on the back is great and varies the tone ever so slightly but with a notible difference. The clean channel can be described as a dark-clean sound, not sparkling but settles right for rock music. Distortion is great, it can't do the whole mid-cut nu-metal crap, but does a solid rock tone, if you're looking for other sounds put a pedal in front...its not a brutal distortion but more a smooth flowing sound(depending on your texture knob)
Its an open back cabinet so doesn't have a huge bottem end but its still manageable, this will be killer if plugged out into a closed back 2x12 cab. but of course sound is purely subjective.

I would use it in a gig without a backup, hasn't broken yet(but I just got it) so only time will tell.

Its not a USA make but a Chinese make, but that doesn't bother me at all.

The reverb tank was loose when I got it but I just tightened the screws and all is well.

never dealt with them

I've been playing for 9 years, had almost every brand of guitar amp out there. If you're looking for value for money, you can't go wrong with the Valveking.

If it was lost/stolen I would probably get the 2x12 version or the head version.

I compared this to a Marshall DSL401 and a Fender Hot Rod deluxe, and the dsl was nice but it was a sound thats been heard before and you can't justify the price of Marshall amps nowadays. The fender HRD has a nice clean channel but the overdrive isn't the greatest(subjective of course)...

I will be hooking this up to a 2x12 1922 Marshall cab as this will just broaden the sound and give more of a punch.

I'd highly recommend this amp to someone who is looking for there first tube amp or even a higher end solid state. This blows solid states out the water, but don't expect it to be entertaining stadiums...

Brand-New 06 112 VK. Feature its LACKING that needs to be mentioned. The Ext. Speaker jack when in use, MUTES the internal speaker! Also the ext jack alone doesn't seem to put out adequate power? Amlifier is Single-Coil friendly but reacts negatively to GOOD Humbuckers. Gibson BB-Pro's, Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan. Texture control works OK to the left Class-A but the A/B to the far right tends to sound full of static.

The amp is a disappointment. After owning a Classic 30 I was expecting a much better tone from this VK. My Fault! OD leaves much to be desired and the clean is mediocre at best. Reverb is eh! iF YOUR LOOKING FOR BEDROOM LEVEL Volume, then this will work OK. But for something to play out with this amp leave's much to be desired! I'm sure it could be tweaked and upgraded with better tubes/speaker's but even that is only going to to do so-much. With SC's as I said it is not a bad amp. But Humbuckers ..... forget it!

Remains to be seen! Good warrenty from Peavey though.

N/A, But I will give them the benifit of the doubt. Comes with a 2-year extended warrenty also. So its 5 all together.

Been playing since the late 60's. I really wanted to like this amp. But it is lacking in the TONE dept. The head 100w or the 212 100w might be much better? I'm sure it will have at least more clean headroom. But the 112 is NOT a Pro-gigging amp. Better off with a Peavey Classic 30 ANYDAY. Much better amp IMHO! Peavey needs to take this one BACK to the drawing board! It was all here in the reviews! I just chose to ingnore it thinking I knew better. Fotunate I bought it new and was able to return it. Bought a Fender Blues Deluxe RI on the return. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Should have did this to begin with instead of trying to save a few bucks!

Alot of features. I've read some people talk about "getting what you pay for" and "good for the money..." these people are crazy. For $399 this is the ONLY thing you should buy.
This is a real, 50W tube combo with 2 channels. Plus, it DOES NOT need biasing when you change the tubes - this will save the average player hundreds of dollars in guitar tech fees over the life of the amp (especially in new york city). Just pop them in yourself.
And a knob that switches from class A to A/B? Come on. For $399 you would need to be a complete novice to ask for or buy anything else.

This amp is very loud and sounds very warm and thick. The clean channel is beautiful and if you use a distortion pedal and a tube screamer you don't even need the distortion channel. I mainly use a 70's strat with a JB Jr. in the bridge, a tube screamer, a DS-1 and a Boss ME-50. I've heard about the footswitch delay problem, but I don't really bother with switching channels. One good tube channel on a Soldano or VHT or Bogner or whatever would cost as much as 5 or 6 of these amps and, to tell you the truth, they don't sound 5 or 6 times better. They don't even sound twice as good. This is a real, quality 50W tube combo and it sounds like it.

I use this amp for live shows in rooms from 15 to 300 people. What's the difference - you're putting an SM57 in front of it anyway. This amp has never let me down and never had any problem. It's more reliable and solid than ANY Marshall or Fender within 3 times it's price range, and I've had them all. In a "do or die" situation, I'd always rather have a Peavey behind me because, although they may not be the finest amplifiers in the world, THEY ALWAYS WORK.

When I replaced the tubes for the first time (they never went out on me, just felt like it was time) I emailed Peavey customer service about biasing and within a day I had a response that these amps require no biasing. I was very pleased with the response time and the answer! I guess they get a 10.

I can't believe this amp exists. Been playing for 15 years and don't like to carry around a van full of crap to play a show. This is a high quality, great sounding, loud tube amp for $400. There is nothing close to this on the market and if Marshall or Fender decides to compete, their product will, most likely be total crap compared to this thing. Even their $600 amps sound like junk and hardly work. If someone stole it I would laugh and buy 2 more. Buy this amp now.

I bought this amp in December of '05 because I wanted a smaller combo to be able to jam along with instead of lugging my 5150II halfstack around everywhere.
I play a range of styles from blues, to rock, to heavy. Overall, I am quite satisfied with how it sounds for the price I paid.
I am not going to go over the features, since they have been listed time and time again, but like I said, it gives plenty of options for the price I paid for it.
There is easily enough power from this thing to use at any event. If you are that concerned about how loud it is, buy a cabinet of some kind.

My main guitar is an Agile 2800DLX (les paul copy) with an EMG 85 in the bridge, but I also use a stock Fender Mexican Strat.
As I said, I play a variety of styles, using all brands of distortion as well as cleans, and this amp on it's own I have to admit is somewhat lacking. When I first plugged it in, I noticed that it seems to get along with my strat much more than my Agile. And so I was somewhat disapointed. Over the past few months however, I have had a chance to listen to a few other guitars being played through this amp. One of which was a Peavey Rotor EXP, and I must say, this guitar and amp combo sounded absolutely amazing when it comes to playing metal riffs.
I also decided to plug the amp into my cabinet that I use with my 5150II and I must say WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! After plugging into the cabinet the ValveKing sounded like an entirely different beast! Absolutely amazing. After hearing this, I have decided that I am going to have to buy a replacement speaker sometime if I ever plan to use the amp on it's own because it's definitely not the amp that sounds like crap, it's just the speaker that comes in it.

Lately though, I have been just puttering away with the amp off and on, and I do enjoy it even on its own. Perhaps the speaker has not really had a chance to be broken in and the sound will get better with time, I guess we will have to see.

I will post an update once I do get a new speaker for it though. If anyone has any suggestions from their own experience, please feel free to send me an email.

So far, no issues, it seems to be solidly built. It was still intact after shipping, so I guess I can't complain yet.

As for gigging, I would certainly use it if I couldn't bring my halfstack for some reason. After all, that's why I bought it in the first place.

Never had to deal with them yet.

I've been playing guitar for 5 and half years now, and I have become relatively atune to what I consider to be good tone. I beleive that good tone is entirely possible through this amp, even moreso with a different speaker. Some people beleive that in order to play heavy metal they need to have the gain constantly on 10, and if you are one of those players, then this amp probably won't give you the sounds you are after, so save up and get a 6505 or a XXX. As for me, I can slam out a convincing metal riff even without the gain boost engaged, although it is nice to have in case I am feeling a little more raunchy.

This has already been covered quite throughly. I really wish it had seperate resonance switches for the gain and the gain boost channels. For that matter, a seperate eq, volume, and gain controll for the boost function would be nice, but that would make it a 3 channel amp. It would also be nice to have the bright switch as a footswitchable function. Oh well... The real issue with the features is the cut out when switching from the clean to either gain settig, or from low gain to high gain. The amp cuts out for about 0.2 seconds, which doesn't sound like much, but it's really annoying if you want a smooth transistion. I simply avoid this by not sustaining anything while switching, but it sitll sucks. I contacted Peavey about this and they said that it was normal for the amp and it could be fixed by removing one of the capacitors, but then it would pop every time you switched channels vis footswitch. Overall, the amp has an impressive feature list for the price, but anyone who rates this amp high in this category is simply lying.

I have played this amp exclusively with my moded Epiphone Les Paul, which has PRS McCarty pickups, Tonepros locking bridge and tailpiece, push-pull tone pots for coil tapping the humbuckers to their outside coils only, and a few other mods as well. This amp is seems to fit a range of rock styles pretty well. With the gain at about the ten o'clock posistion and no gain boost, it yields a decent classic rock tone, but nothing outstanding. If you crank the gain controll with no gain boost engaged it has some standard hard rock tones. Engage the gain boost and the amp compresses quite a bit. This gives you more sustain, but if you don't have the resonance set to the "loose" posistion you end up with a rather thin, seething tones reminicient of 1980's metal lead tones. However, with the the resonance set to loose, the amp becomes much more bottom heavy and it yields more of a modern high-gain tone, but it still compresses quite a bit. That's all cool, but if you want to use the gain channel without the gain boost on and you leave the resonance switch set to the loose posistion, you get really flabby, unfocused low end. NOT cool if you want to use it for a classic rock or blues tone. Overall, the gain channel is about average. Not fantastic on any setting. It will give you anywhere from blues to moderately heavy modern rock tones, but not really a great amp for the modern metal player. I have found the overdrive to be a bit "buzz-saw" like, and not in a good way. I am considering switching to some lower gain preamp tubes, like 5751's, to adress that issue. Sweeter, and smoother gain tones come with the character knob set full to the class "A" side, but the bolder tones come out with the knob set to class"AB." The clean channel, however, is fantastic. It has a real smooth tone and is nice and warm with the neck humbucker and the bright switch off. It sounds really glassy and sweet with the bright switch engaged and the bridge humbucker. Also, with a digital delay, the bridge humucker coil tapped, and the bright switch engaged, you can get some great U2 sounds. I've heard the others say that the clean channel distorts when you really crank it, but I've never needed to go past half way on the volume so I can't really adress that issue. I almost forgot to mention, the eq's on both channels are really great. They give a really wide range of controll that is always smooth and mostly musical. Overall, if you're looking for a real tone machiene, seek elsewhere, but it far surpasses any solid state amp you're gonna come across in the tone category. In relation to my dream tone, this amp gets a 6.

This remains to be seen. The cabinet seems to be made of good materials, but it isn't the most solid consttuction. It probably couldn't take the beatings of a tour unless it was babied inside of a flight case. As others have mentioned, the reverb tank only has 2 screws. However, the inputs, potentiometers, and switches all feel pretty good.

When I did contact the company about the switching issue they were fast, curteous, and forthright about the problems inherient in the amp's design. The amp comes with a 3 year warranty (if I remember correctly).

I have been playing for the past seven years and have had the chance to play some nice amps, guitars, and the like. At this point, I am a college sutdent and I can't afford the gear that I would really like, but perhaps with a degree that will change someday. If this amp were stollen I would probably replace it with something in the 500-600 dollar range instead because this amp has some shortcomings that make it quite a bit inferrior to the amps in this range. If you want a amp that sounds better than solid state at the solid state price and can live with the channel switching issues, this is a good deal for you, but if you've got the cash for something a bit higher end, I'd spend it.

oh my lets talk about flexability,i can nail a KWS strat tone,,think KINGS HIGHWAY,and i get a pretty good PLEXI TONE,,think WARREN DEMARTINI,BUT A LITTLE MORE TRANSPARENT,,,,,,.THE REVERB IS NOT BAD,,TEXTURE KNOB IS WHAT REALLY GIVES THIS AMP THE MAGIC,,,AS FAR AS THE CH SWITCHING,WELL ITS THE WORST I EVER HAD,

I PLAY A STRAT & A IBANEZ SA160 WITH TEX SP IN THE NECK & DIMARZIO AIR ZONE BRIDGE,CLEAN BREAKS UP AFTER 6 WITH SINGLES,,DISTORTION ON THIS AMP,SINGS<IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN>SINGLE NOTE LEADS AND CORDS ARE VERY MUSICAL,NOT MODERM HIGH GAIN BUT MIDRANGY,LIKE A SOLDANO..I HAD A HR 50.I HAD A BUNCH OF AMPSTHIS AMP IMOP,IS A CROSS BETWEEN A 5150&XXX,,THE CLEAN IS NOT AS NICE AS THOES OTHER 2,BUT OK,DOESENT SUCK,,THE DISTORTION IS MY FAV,TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME AND IT CLEANS UP,,THATS WHERE YOU GET THE KWS TONE,LEAVE IT UP AND YOUR GETTING PRETTY CLOSE TO THE WARREN TONE

KNOW IDEA,ITS ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD,BUT ?

IF YOU EVER DELT W/THEM,YOU KNOW 10S

OK HERES THE DEAL,,SOLDANO HR50,MARSHALL DSL 50 2204 30W ARTIST,PEAVEY 5150 XXX VALVEKING VMT60,LANEY AOR & CLASSIC,JACKSON JG2,MESA SINGLE REC,I CAN GO ON ALL GREAT AMPS,ITS JUST UP TO YOU,I LIKE A AMP THAT UNDERSTANDS MY MOODS,,THIS 1 AMP COVERS MORE OF MY MOODS THAN ANY OTHER,,IM CONSIDERING GETTING THE HEAD FOR MORE HEADROOM ON THE CLEAN CH,I TRYED ONE OUT AT THE MUSIC STORE,NOT REALDIFF FROM THE COMBO,JUST MORE VOLUME

Ok, features have been covered extensive already. Read the other reviews if you're not sure what this amp has. This amp has all the modern features that have become standard. Only things that are missing are a master volume, a presence control, a half-power switch and a headphone jack but no amp has to have everything. It's definitely loud enough.

primarily, I use guitars with humbuckers and I play rock music. I do need a really good clean channel though and this is where the amp does a good job. The clean channel has enough headroom and doesn't get gritty unless you push it. The EQ here also works very well so you can tweak many sounds.

The distortion channel is just awful. I think it has a horrible quality. It is very raspy and doesn't have any warmth to it, especially at higher gain settings. Reminded me of a tiny solid-state amp. The EQ still works fine and the gain and volume boost switches do provide extra tonal options, but the basic tone of this channel is horrible. Overall, the amp sounds very boxey as well, probably due to the speaker. As other reviewers have mentioned, there is also the volume dropout when switching channels. I did enjoy having the resonance switch on the back.

given the unusable nature of the distortion channel, I tried using distortion pedals with the clean channel, but that didn't work well. I wouldn't say the clean channel takes pedals well.

I bought it online and when it first arrived, the spring reverb wasn't working right; the tank was really loose and one of the springs broke off. Also, out of the 4 screws to hold down the reverb tank, I only had 2. I exchanged the amp and got one with working reverb, but still only 2 screws. Is this some cost-cutting measure for Peavey? makes no sense to me.

Construction seems sturdy enough though. Weakest link would be the reverb tank I feel.

I emailed Peavey about the reverb tank and they responded quickly and politely, detailing how I could get it fixed. Good enough for me.

I'm quite disappointed with this amp. The clean channel is ok, but the distortion channel is hopeless. I'm not the type that's overly picky about tone cos I believe you can always tweak things to work, but the basic tone of the distortion channel is just awful.

I returned the amp after a few weeks of trying to get it to sound right to me. Perhaps changing the tubes or the speaker would improve the tone, but I didn't want to buy an amp and have to modify it. I had high hopes for this amp and think that Peavey makes decent products, but I don't think this amp is right for anyone unless they intend to modify it.

3 12AX7A Preamp
2 Channels
4 6L6's
Texture Modeler
and standard eq reverb
50 watts All tube




pretty good tubes for chinese made amp (using russian tubes)

I play all styles of modern rock. I'm dissapointed
I've owened many peaveys, and am no novice to lower mid price range tube amps and tube hybrids.

I tried this amp for about 2 hours at Guitar center for about one week straight, with almost every commonly used guitar (Lespauls, Strats, Schecters Blackjacks, Ibanez prestige, Ibanez RG570, ESP, Peavey Wolfgangs ect. jackson DXMG) Have not been able to get a good sound of it. The bass is lacking, and is very bad for open string palmutes. The clean lacks the warm glassy sound of tube amps, or the full body. The distortion is extremeley higain, and fuzzy sound however, lacks the warmth of tube amps. I wasn't expecting a peavey 5150, but i was expecting this amp to match higher end solidstate peaveys, crates and randalls. Personally I've had more luck getting a warm tube sound, with articulate distortion from peaveys Transtube line. Any one looking into this amps should save another 150$, and look into the 550$ range you'll have more options there and will be able to find a few decent sounding amps such as Crate V30's and Peav



I've regularily used at some point in th past Peavey Triumph 60, Peavey Ultra 40, Marshall 8240 Valve State, Crate Vintage CLub 5212, Rockotron Eganator TOL 100, Peavey Duece II, Peavey Revolution Head, Pignose.

I don't know, havent purchased it
looks pretty solid tolex is slightly weaker
than older peaveys from 1988 or so

I've been playing 4 years. Like i said i've had plenty of experience wiht midrange tube amps, i'm not a tube snob or anything. The amp seems like a good deal on paper, and certainly unusable. It does provide the volume and cut tube amps have, however the distortion channel lacks articulation for the gain and the amp lacks bass, the amp maybe okay
if one were to run pedals on the clean, but the clean isn't warm or fullbodied as most other amps. Users in the 400$ braket would be better
to consider high end solidstate amps, including peavey's own for better tone, or save another 150$. Those who really want tube but only have 400$ should seriously look on ebay for Crate Vintage clubs (blues, and 70s rock players), or Peavey Ultra these amps typically sell used around the same price as the peavey and have a world better tone.

Let me start with how I came upon the Peavey ValveKing.
I currently own a Peavey Classic 20, a Fender 1965 Twin Reissue and a Fender 112 SE (Transistors)... I play Blues, Classic Rock and Country Music so my guitars range from an America Fender Strat and Tele to ES335 and Les Paul Copies (Ibanez and Agile) amongst the mix is a Peavey T60 and Fender 72 Tele Thinline Reissue both with humbuckers. I am partial to that Fender Tube tone and the depth of a 12" speaker. My Fender Twin has the tone, that real clean, deep tone that the amp is famous for. It has only 2 drawbacks. It can not get a dirty tube sound at any volume and it is way to heavy to cart around. The Peavey Classic 20 can get the dirty tones for great lead lines but has very little headroom for clean sounds and the 10" speaker to my ear is a little thin. Installing JJ tubes in it recently made a world of difference. Now the Fender SE at 160 watts is very clean and the distortion channel is ok for hard rock but not for blues. And on 1 it is too damned loud. So I went out looking for an amp that could cover the best of all worlds so to speak. I tried them all. Tubes, Transistors, Crate, Fender, Marshal, Vox, Behringer, Line6. Nothing sounded right. The only one that caught my attention was a Mesa Boogie and they start at over 1k... I had no intention of spending a lot of money and will sell the 112SE to offset some cost so I very carefully considered a Fender Blues Jr. But the BJ although better in clean tone than the Classic 20 just still did not have the headroom I was looking for and not much range in dirty tone. Then I came upon the ValveKing and I'll be damned if it doesn't do it all. This is NOT an amp modeler but the real thing. The amp has two channels with a gain boost almost as if you had 3 channels. With one draw back which I'll cover under Sounds below.

I love the sound of this amp with all of my guitars from single coil to humbuckers but enjoy it best with my Les Paul Copy. It is great for any song I play from Blues to Classic Rock to Country.
The amp is fairly quiet until you get it cranked way up but not as noisy as my Fender Stage 112. At those volumes you'd be going deaf and really should be miking the cabinet at a lower volume anyways.
(Get your drummer to learn feel and touch)
The clean channel stays fairly clean at high volumes but breaks up as any good tube amp should. 65 Twin excepted. You can utilize the A rated A/B rated knob on the back and get clean tones while picking lightly with varying degrees of breakup hitting harder, depending on where you set the knob. This is a great feature and accounts for the many different styles of music you can cover. The distortion channel can go from Blues to Heavy Distortion. Most of the tone comparisons I covered above. Sorry about that. Here's the draw back with the gain boost. Yes as other reviewers have said there is a slight pause when switching from the distorted channel to the boost. I don't see that as much a problem (gives you time to set up for your lead from rhythm.) as the fact that the increase in gain is too much. Way over the top instead of just enough boost to come up from the mix. As the pause is not there going back down it is my belief that this was put here to save your speaker from the huge spike in volume. I tried using a fender single switch and it is no problem going from clean to the second channel or back. The gain boost is just an added feature I don't need and is not a reason for not buying this amp. I use a Bad Monkey distortion pedal for an increase in boost anyway. And the line in and out on the front is very convienent for my Digitech RP50. The Fender amp's are on the front also. I don't really understand why anyone would want them on the back.

Too new to know about reliability but I've owned several PV guitar, bass, keyboard and pa amplifiers and know for a fact PV to be a reliable product.
In fact I still own a PV keyboard amp that is 21 years old. The American made PV transistor amps have a tendancy to get a little dirty in the solder joints and need a tweak on the head now and then.
My bet is this Chinese made ValveKing will hold up better in the long run. Sure you have to replace tubes now and then but don't let that concern you. My Twin was purchased in 1991 and still has the original tubes in it and my Classic 20 purchased in 1994 just had a tube change only to try and get more headroom in the front end.
Here I am rating PV a 10 (not this particular amp) due to the longevity of the PV amps I have owned.

I've never had to use customer support for repairs of any PV product.
But have on occassion talked to techs over the phone for stupid questions. They have always been very kind and willing to help.
Never rude on any occassion.

I've been playing guitar for over 40 years with the use of many different guitars and amps. (Started out as a drummer so guitar took second place for awhile) I've utilized tons of effects and pedals lightening the load down to a Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive pedal and a Digitech RP50. Basically I prefer a raw amp with reverb and tone have much appreciation for that bathroom digital sound. Although the RP50 is in line for when it is appropriate and for the built in tuner. I do use a Line6 POD in my recording studio for guitar and the line out of my Roland Cube 100 Bass amp for Bass and Keyboards. It is just easier that way rather than trying to isolate sounds to mike amps. Basically and truthfully the Peavey ValveKing 112 is an excellent value and has the best tone you can find for the money. Sure tone is subjective but I'd recommend this amp to anyone.

I may have gotten a lemon, but I'm not impressed at all with the tone.
I also know that that is relative, but it was missing that organic, warm
responsive tone. I was very disapointed when I got it home. Let me also say, it was very inexpensive and as I just said I may have gotten a lemon, but I am already having to send it back to get fixed. Anyway, not for me, but everyone's got an opinion.

I had problems with it from day one. As many reveiws have said, there is a very bad delay when switching chanels. And for me the switch box for the amp did not fix the problem. The construction is very poor. By the second day of gigging, the top was making a horrible noise. The only way to stop it was to put lots of pressure on the top of the amp. And now all the 6l6's are shot, and I've only had it two weeks. Let me stress that I may have gotten a lemon, but I will be getting my money back (hopefully) and just spending the money to get something I feel confident in.

Personally, I don't think this is the amp for a working musician. I'm not saying that it wouldn't work for other applications, but not something I can depend on. For the money, you can still get a decent amp
that will last. Hopefully I've not been to negative, but this has been my experience with this amp.

2ch tube amp with indy eq, loop, reverb, 50 watts, all in all nice features. no foot pedal came with amp but any stereo jack 2 button wil do.

this amp sounds decent. loud enough for small sessions. OK here's whats wrong with this thing. the drop out on channel switching is real. it happens on the switch ups. comming back down its better but not perfect. i had called peavey and they said at an authorized dealer it would be fixed at no cost. by the way i did have the valve king footswitch and it didnt fix a thing, and it cost $51. thats to much. another problem occurred with the master cranked up to 5 or above with the gain at 5 and gain vol at 7(heading in to high gain/high volume mode)it sounded like something was shorting out when i played my low B on the E string. that did it! i sent it back to MF. also the reverb was no good.

i dont know how it would last over the long haul cause i returned it