I previously owned the Peavey VTM-120 power amp with the same EQ on it, so I think I'd be credible to give a quick review here. I owned it for about 5 years and used it on a few recordings, which sounded pretty good, but like with all tube amps, you have to get the mic placement correct and find a useable speaker/cab combo first. That said, I would say the dipswitch EQ on this pedal is pretty much 90% of what the original on the amp does. However, the Pre and Post controls are nowhere near as hot as what the amp can do going into the High Gain input, especially if you get the impedance correct, which can turn it into a grinding beast. You have to really hammer the front end though. So gain wise, the pedal isn't even close or more like the Low gain input on the VTM-120. I think that would be pretty much a no-brainer though, since the pedal obviously doesn't have 6L6 power tubes, a row of 12ax7's and two giant transformers like the VTM-120. That's also why it was so freakin heavy.. and by heavy, I mean like a ton of bricks, seriously. It was twice as heavy as most modern power amps. As a matter of fact, it was so heavy that when shipped, it literally ripped right through the box like crepe paper. I'll never forget the day me and the delivery guy were laughing about it falling out of the mail truck, practically right onto the ground. lmao Now, contrast everything I just said above to a foot pedal and you'll start to get the picture. Bluntly speaking, cranking either the Pre or Post gain on the pedal is more like fuzz (think Soundgarden) than what the actual amp can do. Oddly enough, I believe the Soundgarden guitarist even used the VTM-120 himself ! How weird is that. So I would assume he used the Low gain input because, for example, if you were to slam an overdrive through the High Gain input on the amp, it can sound almost like a buzzsaw - BUT again, you have to get the impedance right. If I remember correctly, I used a low-Z to high-z impedance matching barrel with about 20db of drive and BAM, a raging hulk smashed through my speaker cab like a monster from hell. You should have seen the disbelief of my face. hahahha The pedal? Not a chance, pipsqueak ! AGAIN THOUGH, the dipswitch EQ is very close to the original, especially the Mid switch.. and that's why I titled my review "One trick pony" ! What that one switch does ALONE in my opinion may be good enough for some people, maybe even the Soundgarden dude. So what you'd do is, turn the Pre knob all the way down and the Post knob all the way up, then just use the Mid switch and you'll immediately hear what I'm talking about. What it will sound like is the VTM-120 going into Low gain, but not High, ever. lol As a side note, the actual AMP also has a wicked type of high frequency sizzle that the pedal does NOT have, again though, the pedal being more like Low gain fuzz with the ONE setting I described above. The rest of the switches did almost nothing for me. Maybe I'll experiment more later.. Good luck. ~ Jp

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My first guitar amps were Peavey, my first guitar was a Peavey, as were my first PA speakers and power amps. I still have my original 5150. One amp that I wish I still owned was the original VTM head. I had used this amp for years and the original owner offered to sell it to me, but I didn't have the $ at the time in the early 90s. Peavey wisely chose to offer this preamp and those great mini dip switches with their TransTube analog technology. Wonderful to have that sound coming from my amp again. Put this in front of a tube power amp & you will hear everything from saturated compressed heavy rock to high power twin grind. Try all the switches off and flip each switch while adjusting the full EQ and wide range of pre and post gain. There's so many usable tones I have only scratched the surface. There's some preamp noise with both gain switches and high switches engaged. Switched bass 2 and Mid on gave a great 70s Stones tone. I didn't want to turn it off.

One thing I expect from Peavey is ultimate build quality. This "Mississippi Marshall" is no exception. Apparently it's built like a tank feels solid every jack, knob and switch.

I hope these Peavey classic preamp pedals are a huge hit.

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