Great Tube AMP!

I had been looking for a great tube combo amp to take the place of my old Marshall JCM 800 that just wasn't doing it for me any more. Did alot of research and stumbled across this great amp from Peavey.

Here's my rig which might be considered a little unconventional (Vox Tonelab), but I like simplicity: PRS SE Torrero -->Vox Tonelab ST -->Peavey Valveking 212.

First of all, this amp is LOUD. I only have to put the volume on 3 for stage or practice. Both the clean channel and the distortion channel can provide a great range of tones via the the 3 eq knobs and the texture knob on the back of the amp. The Texture knob will vary the amp from a total class A amp to and class AB amp with any combination in between.

The wood is thick which helps with the awesome tone it puts out. It has an open back. I don't think it will ever fall apart structurally.

This amp is good for ANY type of music you can think of. Great country/blues tones with a strat and great Classic Rock/Metal tones with my PRS.

For me, this is a very "Inspiring" amp. Since it sounds so great, it inspires me to play better while I am playing at rehearsal or live.

The pricing is great on this too. Get it!

i own a Peavy XXX

well i have the full 1960 marshall speaker stack w/ the XXx head ...and once you play this rig ...you are hooked forever.
carrying around all that weight and a reverb pedal/wah/and maximizerBBE unit with a boss and digitech distortion is NOT FUN...or quick.
i had a zillion 65-75 watt solid state amps from fender/ibanez/sunn/crate/marshall etc...so i bundled up a trade and went to guitar shop.
once we evened up and i took it home and played it side by side with the XXX..well i was a VERY HAPPY CRUNCHMASTER !!!
Peavy just "gets it" when it comes to servicing high gain players who rely on killer heavy tone ...yet need clear and high end articulation that sings and sustains forever.
plus the VK212 has reverb built in and that texture knob nmuances the tubes in so many useful ways. keep it at 8 ohms for loudest power and stereo operation. you can also out it to 4x12 cabs. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET !!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm in love and it's not even a blonde.

Great bang for the buck

I decided to sell my Fender Blues Jr SE and began my search for a new amp. I first test drove this amp and fell in love with it. I have never owned a Peavey prior to this and was skeptical due to some of the reviews out there. After owning it for over a month, I can only say that those who gave it the bad press probably had never played through it. This thing performs great on many levels. The main thing with this amp is IT IS LOUD! The clean channel sounds great throughout the volume range. The lead channel can give you the metal tone without the use of any external stomps or processors. The texture control which is located on the rear unfortunately does make quite the difference. I have found a sweet spot and stuck with it. The amp is a tank, weighing in around 65 lbs. $600.00 for an all tube 100w amp, you can't go wrong. In my opinion, this will smoke the cheap MG series Marshall's. Of course, those who tag it bad are comparing it to JCM800's and Mesa. It's a 600$ amp and not a $2000.00+ head. I think anyone that likes to play heavy should test it out, you'd be surprised at what this thing can do.

SWEET ! ! !

Recently been on search for a new tube Amp, looked at the fender family, Mesa Boogie, Marshall, etc..

I noticed the Peavey ValveKing family at a local guitar store, played the VK112 and found it very good, but the VK212 offered the direct out feature, and VK112 does not..
The VK212 is much warmer sound, and I consider the sound to be equal to the Fender twin, but considerable less price tag...
Built like a Tank..

The Clean channel is what Use most of time, but the distortion channel works well...I am totally satisfied with the product and if I needed a replacment I would purchase the same!!

GOOD JOB PEAVEY!!!!!

Great amp!

I love this amp. I bought this amp a few months ago and I couldnt be happier. It sounds amazing! My sales consultant Ryan Murphy was very professional and also very helpful. The shipping was extremely fast. I am now a sweetwater customer for life!

a great amp

sounds bigger than it is.clear cool cleans,awesome spank.the lead channel is very hot,i have to plug into the low input and still don't use full gain.now i'm not a "metal"player but i play down tuned power groove style and this amp nails it.sounds like a truck man!great for those sabbath riffs.VERY versatile with the texture knob,lotsa different sounds in here if you like to experiment.the only thing i don't like is the verb ain't footswitchable but hey,i can deal with that .good for the price?forget it.it's just plain good.sounds as good as more expensive amps and i've had em.a little heavy but that's a small price.TRY IT YOU'LL LIKE IT!

Great Amp Using a VK100 head & Cab same amp as the 212

Since this amp did not have many reviews I thought I would comment as the VK100 head is the same as the amp in the 212 I use the VK cab so the only difference is just about 2 speakers.

Just to give you some history. The band I'm in plays classic & new rock in the styles of ACDC, Metallica, The Killers, Matchbox 20, Tom Petty & Kid Rock. So I need a lot of tonal variation. My guitars are a PRS Custom 24, a Fender Stratocaster a Squire Telecaster and an old Washburn guitars with EMG hum-buckers. I use a Boss GT10 multi effects unit w/ 2 amps. Last year I was at a local show & heard a really nice warm tone. I asked a friend why can't I get that warmth in my sound. His reply was “it’s a tube amp”. So I started looking into them. At the 2008 Gearfest I got to see Johnny Highland playing out of 2 VK100 Heads and his sound killed. I researched more played lots of rigs. I felt there was no need to spend the equal of 2+ months mortgage on an amp. I decided on the Peavey Valveking head. I have a nice Clestion 4x12 cab already so just the head would do.

I spent the first month playing with just the VK100 trying to wean myself off of effects a little. I dug the new sound. Plus the guys in the band liked it a lot too. I got comments like “wow I can really hear you now” and “that’s what we have been missing”. People that see the band regularly commented you guys did something because you sound better than before. How can you argue with that? The VK100 really screams.

I really got into the amp when I started recording. The texture knob helps you dial in the right sound. It lets you to tame your sound a little when you need it. If you like the gain you have but need to control it just a bit use that knob. The tone I get is nice warm and CLEAR clean or dirty channel. The clean channel is very nice and the EQ controls are very responsive. I can hear the difference with little EQ changes. The bright switch does just that makes things very bright but useable depending on the guitar you use and the style of music. The reverb is nice and very responsive. I used it sparingly.

I was able to use an old Crate 2 button switch to move between the channels and add the boost. I may get the Peavey switch as the LEDs can come in handy live. It is a little pricy though half a start loss.

On the lead channel with just a twist of the gain knob I can get all sorts of sounds from classic 60's crunch to Angus and Slash sounds to some very Hard Rock tones. I don't think it will do industrial or super metal but I don’t need that and did not try to dial it in. This amp can do a lot in terms of gain tones. I get some very nice bluesy tones with the gain at about 3 then get that 80’s tone around 7. If I push the gain button and go to 10 it gets even hotter. It is almost like a 3 channel amp. Live the boost adds a nice touch when I go for a solo I get just enough to put me over the top where I need to be. The Texture control is a cool tool for recording to get different tones. I have a blast setting up tone with it. For Live keep it set to full. The Resonance and Presence control add a lot to tighten the tone. They like the EQ are very responsive. I spent several hours playing with the settings because I am a tweakhead. However, right out of the box I easily got tones I liked.

The unit I got uses Ruby Tubes. To experiment a little more I may pick up some other tubes just to have a few more options. Just in case you are wondering I’m very happy with it stock.

I have now managed to incorporate my Boss GT10 via the VK100 effects loop. Since I can have 2 separate effects chains with the GT10 I can use the VK100 pre so I keep the tube warmth and sound from either of the VK100 channels for my main amp + add some boss effects. Then on the other side of the stage use a GT10 amp model going to a solid state amp. I get the best of both worlds a cool tube amp on one side and amp models on the other plus what ever effects I want where I want them.

Recently I picked up a used Valve King 4 x12 cab and now use that with the VK100. It is very solid birch construction with easy to move casters big handles and excellent speakers most likely made by Eminence. It sounds bright but not to much and handles high volume and crunch very well. The band and myself like the sound of the Peavey cab better than the 4x12 I have with Clestions that is now under the solid state amp.

I would recommend this amp to anyone looking for the warm sound that is missing from their solid state rig. It is flexible in that I have an excellent clean channel that stays clean even at high volumes. The variation of tones you can get with the gain control runs form bluesy to metal. The EQ is very responsive to slight changes. You can really focus the tone with the resonance and Presence controls. The texture control allows you to tame your sound. Plus texture adds another great color for you. I played lots of models before getting this. My ears found no reason to spend 3 or 4 x more for something else that I did not like any better. It is built like a tank so I do not anticipate any issues. I got a killer amp for $500.00 that has really improved my sound. I hear this and other people have noticed as well. We all can’t be wrong. I would buy this again if it were stolen. Thanks Peavy

purchase good features not only the name

This peaveay series are really great, because you can plugged
into an all tube amp, without spend too much. The speakers has a good tone and also you can equal at you deserved sound. Perhaps the only remark is a little "shhhh" meanwhile the tubes are on.