Peavey or Crate?

[getuhgrip]

Anybody had any experience with Crate's Stealth (GT-50)series or Peavey's Ultra or Prowler? I'm seeing some of these on Ebay that are in the budget ($350-$400). Looking for an all tube head or 2X12 combo. 50 watts would do down in my basement but obviously I could live with more. Any suggestions?

[jeffteel]

I've played the Prowler, and while it wasn't my thing, it might be the right thing for you. Definitely play these before you buy one.

[Carter Simcoe]

get a fender or a marshall........... oh yeah, im realy drunk so sorry if thatt offends you..

[getuhgrip]

I'm just offended all over the place!! Actually, I'm not a fan of any amp in particular...I do have a buget as the only constraint. Havin a Marshall would give me a hard-on every time I looked at it, but I gotta go with the cash flow. That's pretty much why I'm asking about these "odd-balls".

[dragonworks]

I only have one word for ya, ampeg.

[CMiller]

If the amp you want (in this case a Marshall or Fender), why not just save your cash until you're in that range? Is there some emergency situation that requires you to sacrafice your tone in the name of having an amp today? Seriously man, you're just hurting yourself if you can't wait till you have the cash. I'm not bagging Peavey or Crate (although I could without anyone caring I'm sure), I just think you're crazy if you don't wait to get what you want.

[Wallycleaver]

I'll bag peavey and crate. The are poo! Save another $100 and you can get an amp the won't blow up and suck tonally!

[psmith66]

I played an ampeg recently and was very impressed. For a couple hundred more bucks, it left the Fenders and Peaveys in the dust.

I agree with the comments about saving up. I started several years ago with a Tascam Porta (cheapest one) and traded it in less than two months! At the same time I bought a shure sm48 - not bad for certain applications, but I quickly discovered that I should have bought a sm57 in the first place. Same thing for cables, etc. I have a Marshall but need a smaller tube amp - I was going to buy something "economical" but I'd rather wait and buy something good for the long haul. I was going to buy a decent set of pick-ups for my strat-like Alcivar/Squier creation, but then decided to save up to buy an American Strat (or something comparable). I don't need a strat that bad currently as my main gun is a LP.

By the way, there's a company up here in Canada (Griffith's) which builds great custom strats. Order will take 4-6 months but I think it's a worthy alternative to an American strat (for approx $1200 CDN - you can do the conversion to $US). Check out:

www.bigguitar.com

[someone else]

Check out this site, a music store just down the road from me, they have tons of vintage equip, and ampegs among them, I'm sure there are some other sites for used equip, and I'll look up a few for you.... will post as I find them... hope you're not in a real big hurry......[URL]parkwaymusic.com

[getuhgrip]

I'm not in that big a hurry. Thing is, cruisin' through some of Ebay's listings gives me an idea of what kind of prices different equipment is bringing and I've tried to set a loose budget to facilitae other equipment. I'm not giggin' this amp...just want something decent to record through down in the baesment. I'm not real familiar with amps in terms of tone. Harmony Central is helpful, but I've seen posts where if some guy blew a tube or two, the amp gets black-balled. Anyway, I had really hoped to get some models to look for thrown at me. I bow to all the collective wisdom and wouldn't feel like a man if I didn't shop for a Marshall at this point! How about whippin' off some models of heads or combos worth having that might come in under $500.
Thanks guys

p.s.- At the risk of souding like a whiner, I need a new mixer (I might have to settle for a Behriner ) and don't know what I'm gonna do for some effects (can't afford a boat-load of seperates so I'm looking at Digitech's RP2000 ). Sometimes ya gotta make some sacrifices.

[gnarled]

What about a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL401 (40 watts)? You should be able to find one for under $500 used. I haven't heard it yet, but I've read good things so far. You didn't really mention if the amp would be used mainly for recording. If so, the DSL201 (20 watts) could do the job, too. I've been itching to pick up a smaller tube amp myself 'cause a 120watt tube half-stack is a pain to record. And if you ever play live, the sound man will love you if you have a small combo amp.

Steer clear of peavey and crate. You'll be throwing your money away. Although I did play through a crate blue voodoo once that made my guitar sound like a chainsaw...

[Slackmaster2K]

When I first read the title of this thread I thought you were joking. Both Peavy and Crate sound like shit. SHIT. Didn't quite get that? SHIT. This stuff shouldn't even exist! Don't be fooled by, "well, THIS model is different, it's their good amp." They say that about all their crappy amps. If you go into a music store looking for a guitar, and you don't know what you're talking about, the first thing the salesman tries to pass off is a Fender Squire. They will never recommend that you save up for an american strat. Likewise, go into your music store and say something like "I need an amp...just something for myself...I'm not really sure what to get"...will they take you to a Fender or Marshall? No, they'll sit you in front of some clunky Peavy and you'll spend $400 on a shitty amp that will depreciate so fucking fast you'll end up paying somebody to take it out of your house within a year. Peavy and Crate are like the Hewlit Packard or Compaq of the amplifier world. They offer rock bottom prices and they're able to pump out so much fucking gear with their name on it, that it almost makes you think "well, if everyone is using this stuff, it must not be that bad." You know what? Almost everyone is an idiot.

But you don't have to be. A little 30W fender combo amplifer will blow the tits off your chest and sound 100X better than a Peavy. Plus it probably won't cost too much more. Add some pedals and you're rockin. A smaller marshall amp will be pretty expensive, but will likewise slap your balls up against your ass and sound 100X better than a Crate. Fender and Marshall have very different sounds though, and tone varies from model to model...etc...go play some

Oh Peavy and Crate make me soooo mad. You know why so many people think the POD sounds so great? Peavy and Crate amps. Do you know what's causing all this global warming? Peavy and Crate amps. You know what every single one of your super guitar heros plays through? Not a fucking Peavy or Crate amp I'll tell you that much. Do you know who gives out the best prices and the most free crap to music stores? Peavy and Crate. Do you know who's responsible for turmoil in the middle east? Peavy and Crate. Want to know what kind of amp to get if you're looking for that Poison guitar sound? Peavy or crate. Want to know what the landfills would be filled with if Fender lowered its amp prices by about half? Peavy and Crate amps. Do you want to know when you'll begin to wish you had bought a Fender amplifier? Right after buying a Peavy or Crate amp.

Did you know that if take the words Peavy and Crate, and rearrange the letters, you can spell "eat very crap" or "cary pee vat." I just figured that out.

So anyway, I guess I'm not recommending Peavy or Crate. But I worry about you ya know. I have a feeling that right now you're looking at some big giagantic peavy head on ebay. You're looking at all the knobs, and oh how sweet they all look. Imagine the total control over your tone with all those knobs! And then you notice that their distortion is patented. Oh man, it must be pretty awesome to be patented. Then the numbers will start popping up. You'll notice that for a simliar price, you can get 20 extra watts if go with Peavy over Fender. Oh, and look, 1.2dfk over 7500MKS. Man, that sounds important. Then you'll notice the price. Oh my, it's $300 cheaper than the cheapest Fender amplifier. Just think of all the extra gear you could by with that $300! Maybe you could buy a $300 POD and use it to make your crappy Peavy amplifer sound better! Great plan!

Ok ok I kid. The reason I kid is that it makes me feel better about myself. You see, when I was 14 I bought myself a Peavy amplifer. At the time it sounded so huge, because anything sounds huge compared to total silence. As the years went by though I started to realize its sad limitations, but alas, I had no money to buy anything else. I've sat down at the music store and played through various other Peavy amps, thinking I could "upgrade" cheaply. UCK. They all sounded like crap. Their vintage models sounded like vintage crap. More and more years went by. I started drinking, and I blame it all on that stupid Peavy amp. More years went by, and my life finally settled down and I started acting a little more financially responsible. So what did I do? I went out and bought a POD. What a fucking retard I turned out to be. Ok, so the POD has it's uses, but I still ain't got no stinkin tone. Sure it sounded great compared to the stupid Peavy I was used to. Damnit...everytime I would play out at a friend's place and plug into a Fender I was always sooo impressed....but you forget what that sounds like and when you suddenly hear something that resembles it coming from this ass shaped red box, you have no choice but to buy it. Idiot! So anyway, it's now 14 years later and I'm still stuck with this Peavy amp. It won't go away. It's like having a retarded dog locked in the closet who I'm too embarrased to get rid of, yet I know that I can't afford two dogs. Every now and then he gets out and embarrasses me in front of my friends. I leave him in there in the closet for months on end...just hoping and praying that he'll die...but when I open the door, the ugly dufas is standing there wagging its tail like a fucking idiot. So I feel bad and play with him for a while until I just can't tolerate it any longer, and back into the closet he goes. I try to buy it a fancy collar and drug it up, but people can still tell the difference and they whisper things like "who's the guy walking the drugged up retarded dog with the shiney red collar?"

So anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, wanna buy a Peavy Studio Pro? I'll give it to your for $100.

Slackmaster 2000

[getuhgrip]

This amp is for recording in a basement studio exclusively. Now, does that suggest that power needn't be over 50 watts? I want something versitle in that I want mainly growling distortion but the ability to get a smooth clean sound as well. Just emailed a seller on Ebay to find out what model his JCM900 combo is.
-Thanks

[S8-N]

Peavy and Crate both make some good gear... but their good stuff costs just as much as Marshalls good stuff.
I actually play a Peavy preamp through a Crate poweramp (and have for about 10 years) and with a little tweaking (Alesis MEQ-30) I can get a tone that doesnt make me cringe.
Thats about $500 worth of gear that produces 200 watts of power. My concern (and yours will be too when you play in a band) is volume rather that quality. That sounds pretty lame, but what good is an awesome sounding amp that cant make itself heard above the drums? And forget relying on the soundman for your volume level... You will learn quickly not to do this.
But if you are in a basement just playing with yourself, then there should be a combo out there for you. I'd never by an amp I couldnt try out first. Go to a music store and play with a few untill you find one you like... then search the internet for the best price.
The Peavy I am referring to is the Rockmaster tube preamp and the Crate is the SPA200 poweramp. each of these can be had for under $200...

[Carter Simcoe]

Slackmaster,
That is truly one of the best posts I have ever read. BTW, is that avater a knob from your peavy???

[getuhgrip]

Damn Slack! .......what can I say? Hell, I don't know whether I should thank you..or if you should be thanking me for giving you the opportunity to get these issues of your chest and out in the open! That had to feel great! I'm talkin' that musta been like being constipated for three weeks...and then suddenly...shhh...what was that? Could it be....can't get my hopes up....there it goes again....YESS!! Get the hell outta my way and show me the shitter!!!
Hey man, I hear you loud and clear....I don't know dick about amps. That's why I asked. You're right that the inexperienced inclination is to get a hard on over big watts and lots of knobs on some rig that's priced cheap. And if it's purported to be "ALL TUBE", then it's gotta be a winner. Like I said a while ago, I submit to the greater wisdoms and have broken off the search for a lesser machine. I'll be diggin into my effects board's budget, but hey, I bought an Ibanez RG170 not so long ago that I have forgotten the value of patience. Thanks for helping to push me back over the fence.
By the way, was Al Gore ever aware of Peavey's contribution to global warming? What a dumb ass...thank God for Florida!

[Carter Simcoe]

Of course he was aware of it getuhgrip, infact he invented peavys and global warming. Its nice to see a fellow Al Gore hatter, most everyone around here seems to like the guy for some reason. BTW are you a Bush supporter or just a Gore hatter???

[psmith66]

Slackmaster is right. And that's an understatement.

But don't everyone go hiding their Peavey's and Crates - it's alright, it's ok. Take it easy. The Slackmaster's message was very simple: you generally get what you pay for. Amp sounds are relative. I am also looking for a small tube amp for my basement - the only acceptable amp I've tried is the Fender Blues Jr (haven't tried the Marshall DSL's). When I would look at the alternative brands, which were $200-$300 cheaper with additional "features", I would eventually cast them aside, telling the disappointed saleperson that I'd rather save. I remember one guy who tried to sell me an American Strat. When I told him I didn't have the dough for it yet, he told me straight to my face that he could sell me a Mexican strat for a third the cost and basically it was the exact same thing as the USA but just put together by underpaid Mexicans. Now Mexican strats are fine, but they aren't US quality.

As for the amp wattage, what's all this chatter about not being able to use it in a band? Ever heard of micing via the system??? Ever heard of stage monitors??? In any case, turn a standalone Marshall 50 w tube combo to 6 in a 200 seater and I'll guarantee you'll be heard - or fired. Actually, to put things in perspective, Allman and Clapton apparently recorded all or some of the Layla album using Champs - one each propped on a table.

[getuhgrip]

I started out supporting any opposition to a pathetic excuse for a public figure. "I invented the internet....Raise the cost of tobacco and kids will quit smoking....global warming" What a moron! Anyway, I was a fan of Bush Sr.. My thoughts have always been that he had a sound financial package but didn't get it into action soon enough to filter down to lower income groups before election season rolled around. He screwed himself not the people. Clinton (I won't even start!) inherited the Bush Eco Plan and made it work. Good for him (Another pathetic parasite). I liked the idea of Bush Jr. having a strong avenue of advice by way of his father. I don't think he's nearly as polished as his daddy, and I don't think he wrote half of his acceptance speech ( ), but I do think he's pretty solid.
We'll see.....

[Carter Simcoe]

sounds good getuhgrip but I think we should stop before we get yelled at and told to go to the cave Nice to know there is at least one ohter person around here with faith in GW.

[someone else]

PS is on the right track, the post I left earlier, about the music store, those guys had a used blues JR for $399, probly would take $325-350....well within your buget, I'm sure you could find one somewhere close to you, if not, try Daddys junky music, I think their website is just the name, without any spaces....
good hunting By the way, this amp might be small, 40 watts I think, but it really has a kick ass sound, and the tone is strictly fender... but like a few other people have said, drag your axe around to a few stores, and try some of these small amps out, you never know......you may just run across sumpthin that you never thought of, like a small trace elliot, or ????

[psmith66]

The Blues JR is "rated" at 15w! Obviously wattage ratings are not comparable with respect to volume, or anything else for that matter. I was very impressed with that amp. Nothing fancy - just good tone, from good old-fashioned tubes, from a company we all know and love. That price seems steep for a used one though. I can get a brand new one (but without the tweed which they stopped making - don't think it affects the sound unless its "tubetweed") for $CDN 600 which is basically $US 400.

[someone else]

It was tweed, and I think it was the next up on the chain, a little bigger than the JR. Had one 12" speaker, and all tube of course...!!

[S8-N]

To make an across the board statement like : "Go with Marshall or Fender" is to give reckless and stupid advice.
Marshall has produced scores of bad sounding amps and Fender had produced LEGIONS and LEGIONS of amps that are just unlistenable.
To my ears the Peavy 5150 is one of the best sounding amps around and the Crate Stealth is very good for a heavy sound.
I dont recall anyone asking what kind of sound this confused lad is going for, but if its a heavy sound, than Fender is out of the question.
Its also my opinion that the "Marshall" sound is a generic sound for generic musicians. And you need like 2 stacks to project in even a tiny club... THey arent loud. I went from Marshall to Carvin to Peavy... and I will stick with this Peavy untill I get the cash for a Mesa Boogie... Which, by the way, is the only 50 watt combo amp that stands a chance of projecting in a 200 seat club.
I like to use the formula 1 Watt for each seat in the place. I dont leave home with less than 200.

[getuhgrip]

Cofused lad plays 70's and 80's rock with thick and chorused strings: Boston, Bad Company, Kiss, AC/DC, Frampton, Journey, ect. Some cleaner stuff like CCR, Beatles, CSN, blah, blah. Just saw a JCM601 for four bills. Think I'm gonna jump on it.