Peavey Valveking 112 Combo

I got mine from MF - at the initial reduced price - it was worth the wait and I am surprised. It features high and low gain inputs, clean channel and lead channel with gain boost and the A-AB knob on the back of the amp. The foot switch is not included and seems like a very disappointing and unnecessary cost cutting measure - unusual for Peavey. Over all the features that affect sound are very good. I really like the effects loop up front. There are no luxury features -footswitch or LEDs.

I am very please with the range of tones you can get from this amp even without all the tonal features of the 212. I tend toward metal, punk and blues and have found several tones to match my style moods. The clean channel has a bright button which provides a very glassy sound but with a rich strong tone. The lead channel is good and can cover a blues style to metal. It does not have the bone crunching thump of a Triple X but the range of sound possibilities is much greater. The lead channel can be a little muddy but tweeking the EQ and the A-AB knob seems to smooth out the distortion. The reverb is much stonger than the 5150/6505 or Triple X. It is kind of a return to prior amps (80's models) that featured very heavy reverb - I am not talking Dick Dale reverb but close. The amp is rated at 50 watts and sounds like that is what it delivers. The valveking speaker is capable of volume and decent bottom end.

Here is the big question - It feels solid but that remains to be seen. It is a new model and very "affordable". We'll see.

I have had good dealings with them in the past. I have owned several Peavey products and have been please with all.

I have been playing for 20 years and have never been a gigging musician but I love the electric guitar and searching for different tones. My main guitar is an Epi Les Paul. This is a very affordable tube amp that can deliver a wide range of sounds. On the other hand to make it very affordable you miss some of the little things such as LEDs on the panel that indicate active channel, foot switch and the knobs are pretty cheap. As for internal components I can't address their quality but keep in mind the amp costs $350.00 to $400.00. I would have to say that if you are a bedroom player this is a fantastic amp. If you are a gigging musician the jury is still out on the endurance of this amp and the Valveking line. If you are looking to make the switch from the brittle sterile sounds of a solid state I think this is a great starting point. If you are looking for great sound as well as creature comfort features then you should probably keep looking. Overall very capable in terms of tonal capabilities but sparce features to maintain the low price.

Features seemed to be already summed up pretty well already. For the price, and it's form factor, I'm rating this very high. My only gripe would be that the footswitch for the gain boost, channel switching, and volume boost is not included. For the money this amp costs, it's the obvious cost-cutting measure, but it would have been nice to get one with the amp. As it is, the construction of the amp is surprisingly well done. The knobs are sturdy, the covering has no flaws, and the amp feels very sturdy.

I play mainly hard rock/metal, and this amp is more than I could ask for. I'm using a Jackson SL2H and an ESP Eclipse II, and they both sound equally well through the amp. The gain on this thing is pretty amazing. Without the gain boost engaged, the most gain you'll get would be an AC/DC- ZZ Top sound. With the gain boost engaged, you can get most any metal sound, (Lynch, Van Halen, DiMartini, etc..) but you'll have to add a pedal to get the ultra gain scooped nu-metal sound. I'd have to say the distortion is not as honky as a Marshall, and not as dark as a Mesa, but has a unique quality all it's own. With the gain and volume cranked, there is some hiss, but much less than a Marshall or Mesa. I normally don't worry about the clean channel, but this amp does a remarkable job. Very clear and clean, with tons of headroom. Not as sparkly clean as a Fender, but with a nice chorus pedal, very nice. The EQ's for both channels are VERY responsive, and can make a world of difference in the tones you can make. On my Marshall, I normally dime everything out, but with this amp it was way too much. After some tweaking out some of the highs, this thing purrs. The texture switch on the back was intriguing to me, but the difference is very subtle. According to the handbook, it's supposed to allow a more cranked sound at low volumes, and actually reduces the overall volume by 60%. It also tends to make the sound a little flabby as well, so there's a sweet spot you need to find with it.

I have owned a few pieces of Peavey gear through the years, and they make the most reliable equipment you can buy. Now...this is a Peavey amp made in China, so the jury will be out for a while. Let's hope Peavey passed along their secret to the Chinese.

Never dealt with them.

I like this amp! There...I said it. I have to say I never thought I'd be saying that about an all tube, sub-$400 Peavey amp! The day I bought this combo amp, I was just going to the music store to get some strings, and a pedal. My dealer asked me if I had heard about the ValveKing amps Peavey was putting out. I laughed, and asked him why he thought I'd care about Peavey amps? Especially ones made in China? After some more talk, I figured I'd waste a few minutes and try it out just to get him off my back about it. After about 20 minutes I realized this amp was coming home. I really think it's important to remember that this amp is all about VALUE. For the money, there's nothing out there that can compete with this amp. In fact, I'll be very curious to see how all the other manufacturers will respond to this. I always said I wish someone would make an affodable tube amp, and here it finally is. I always have had issues with music manufacturers charging outrageous prices for tube amps that use technology back to the early 1900's! I own a Marshall JCM 800 50 watt, and an old Laney AOR, and this amp sounds sweeter to me than either of them. In fact, I like this amp so much I had my dealer order me the 100 watt head and matching 4x12. The ValveKing line is all about value, and it seems that Peavey has nailed it.

Brand new! Got lucky and bought one from MF before the price went up. 1-12" 'valve king' speaker, 2 sovtek 6L6 power tubes and 3 electro harmonix 12ax7 preamp tubes. Has a short tank reverb with only one master control for both channels. Each channel has it's own set of treble, bass, and mid controls. The 1-12 doesn't get the presence and resonance controls but it gets a tight/loose switch and still gets the class A-A/B knob. INCREDIBLE USABLE FEATURES FOR THE PRICE.

I'm using an 80s jap fender stratocaster and a samick Tr-2 SG. Both guitars sound great from clean to heavy gain on this amp. However if you try to crank the volume on the clean channel the speaker distorts before the power tubes saturate (only with the knob all the way to class A. With it to A/b it's clean all the way to 10) but the lead channel has great range from slight breakup to full out gain so it redeems itself there. The short tank reverb is just about perfect as is everything else on this amp for the tiny price tag. I'd say this is amp is the perfect size for anyone who wants to rock the house but has neighbors and doesn't want to rock the houses around them... 10 for the price.

No idea how peavy is as far as reliability or customer support.

I hope I don't have to find out. The warranty is manufactures for 2 years +3 more if you fill out the warranty card.

I've only been playing for 4 years but I am a fan of all great guitar from the blues gods (SRV, Clapton) to the metal gods(old metallica and pantera). I've owned alot of the cheaper tube combos. Fender BJ, HRDlx 1-12, Crate VC30, crate V-50, as well as 2 P2P wired 60s Traynor ycv-30's. My first real amp was a fender cyber deluxe. This is day two and so far I'm in love and my 4 year amp search is over. The crate vc30 came close but its clean tone just wasn't thick enough. Feel free to contact me on aim or via email if you want sound clips or you have questions.

- I recently had the opportunity to try out a Peavey Valveking 1x12 combo at a local guitar store so I figured I would do a review.

You can read about the features online but for the price, this amp is a pretty good deal. It has 2 6L6 power tubes and 3 preamp tubes as well as reverb, presence, and resonance controls. Each channel has it's own set of treble, bass, and mid controls also.

I didn't check it out myself but I heard that it comes with a footswitch also. 1x12 speaker of course and open back speaker cabinet. The biggest feature is probably the texture control knob on the back, which allows you to switch back and forth between a Class A and Class A/B type of sound. More on that later.

I wish the amp was closed in the back but that is just my personal preference.

- I grabbed an LTD EC-400 guitar equipped with an EMG-81 and EMG-60 pickup set. That is the guitar I have at home. Overall I have to say that the tone is very much like what you would expect from a Marshall DSL or ENGL amplifier in that the mids play a bigger role than some other amps. You don't get that "scooped mids" sound out of this amp, that's for sure. I really expected it to sound like a Peavey amp but if I would have had my eyes closed I would have guessed Marshall. Before I personally tried the amp out, I heard clips, and they sounded like a Marshall to me.

Gain-wise there is no doubt this amp can do everything from clean jazz to metal. The clean sound is very clean. I was surprised actually. Probably alot to do with the open back cab. Sound was very full and clear. With the gain set in a lower range, you can get a great AC/DC type crunch. In fact when playing, I found myself hitting bluesier type chords rather than shredding, etc.

With the gain set higher and the scoop button engaged, it definitely can do metal but it is not a modern type metal sound in my opinion. I heard a guy doing "Slayer" clips and the amp seemed to lean toward that type of sound (Marshall JCM 800). Obviously, since it is a combo and not a stack, it is not going to have the thump of a Marshall stack but through a different cab I think many would be surprised.

Did seem pretty noisy but that is to be expected. I mean, the amp is below $400 for cryin' out loud. I think a noise gate pedal would do wonders for this amp. It didn't bother me at all, just wasn't silent. Amp definitely could get loud but I didn't crank it all the way. It is 50 watts of tube power so I'm sure there wouldn't be an issue. The reverb is a spring reverb type so too much of it gets you leaning into surf territory. Not bad, just needs to be used sparingly. I would rather have a closed back cab for a tighter sound but I'm sure the clean would suffer.

- Felt very solid, surprisingly. These amps are made in China so I think the reliability issue is up in the air. This is a very cheap tube amp so I'm sure they had to cut costs somewhere. I didn't see it though. The amp was built-well and didn't hear any loose parts or see any shortcuts in the building process. Seemed well made.

- For this price, you could have two backups and still be around $1000. What other amp could you buy and pull that off?

- Peavey seems like a great company. Up until the 90's, Peavey really did'nt have the popularity of other companies like Mesa, Marshall, Fender, etc. Then they started coming out with nice amps (5150, Triple-XXX, JSX) and now they seem to be climbing. Looks like they are trying to cover all the bases as far as sound goes. This amp definitely sounds different than their other amps. Seems like a great deal.

- This amp is a steal in my opinion. For $350, you can barely get a nice solid state amplifier. I don't even know what the cheapest tube amp would cost but I know that Peavey's tube amps seem to be the cheapest. Like I said, the jury is still out on how this amp will perform, hold up, etc. but from what I heard it really seemed like a nice piece of gear.