Peavey ValveKing 112 Combo

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!!!!!