Peavey ValveKing 112 Combo

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.