Opinions on Fender Ultimate Chorus DSP or Peavey ValveKing?

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jndietz

The Way It Moves
I've been reading the reviews on this amp. Its a solid state amp, but I am really looking for a nice upgrade from my Peavey Envoy 110 I bought it originally when I first started playing, and its time for something a lot nicer.

I have been looking at ValveKing amps too. I am really interestdd in a 2 x 12" model so that when/if I want to play in a live setting, I will be able to. Or would I be fine with a 1 x 12"? I would like a tube amp, but it doesn't absolutely HAVE to be one.
 
Valveking 112

Have had the 112 for about 4 months or longer, sounds much better than solid state.

I am sure someone will chime in and tell you it's not as good as a Mesa, whatever. Just remember it cost less than the tone knob on the Mesa.
 
I've been playing a Peavey Bandit II for a number of years now and have read the debates about tube amps for long time. I have never found the sound I wanted with the Bandit, even though I did like the amp. So I looked into the Peavey Classic 30 and it is the sound I've been looking for and the price is right approx. $300 used. If you need 2x12, then look into the Classic 50. Still a good price used compared to other tube amps.
 
The Valveking 112

I didn't get a chance to gig with the 112. It was pretty nice, but you'll find my thread somewhere about my issues i had with it. I ended up taking it back, but in retrospect, i really think it was just a dud. the guy at the store told me tube amps buzz like that, but mine was bad, and it varied if i touched the amp. anyway, try it out, it has an amazing clean. the distortion was a bit partial to a fuzz pedal more than an overdrive in my opinion. but you might like that. the 212 was even more fantastic clean, i tried it in the store, but was out of my price range.

oh and if youre wondering, i now play a laney solidstate 112. plugged into my 412, its fantastic. exact same price as the 112, some simple effects if youre in a pince with no pedals. its an MXD 120 by the way. it puts 60 watts through the celestion 70/80 in it, and 120 out of the speaker jack. i love it.

Adam
 
Go to the Peavey website and listen to the soundclips of the Valveking. To me it sounds terrible and not at all like a tube amp should. The sad part is if you listen to the soundclips of the solidstate Supreme XL it sounds far more like a tube amp than the Valveking does.
 
dont know about any soundclips on a website(do people really choose amps this way?), but our shop has the little valve king on the floor and it absolutely slays on both clean and OD channels. This is THE BEST value in small tube combos IMHO!
 
Flamin Lip said:
dont know about any soundclips on a website(do people really choose amps this way?), but our shop has the little valve king on the floor and it absolutely slays on both clean and OD channels. This is THE BEST value in small tube combos IMHO!
Most people don't work in music stores so soundclips are a valuable tool in determining which gear to purchase. Why do you think most companies have soundclips on their websites? They give you a better idea of which gear to audition and which gear to avoid when you do go to a music store. Go to the Peavey website and listen to the ValveKing soundclips. Is that not what a Valveking sounds like? It sounds just like the one that I played through at the music store. Does the one in your shop sound different?
 
I think the classic sounds a little more like a fender and the valve king a little more like the british sound. At that price point, they both sound good, I prefer the classic.
The Delta Blues, however kills 'em both. The only downside there is the printed circuit board, but that is almost the rule under $100
 
Any opinions on Fender Ultimate Chorus? Apparently they aren't reliable :confused: :confused:
 
ocnor said:
Go to the Peavey website and listen to the soundclips of the Valveking. To me it sounds terrible and not at all like a tube amp should. The sad part is if you listen to the soundclips of the solidstate Supreme XL it sounds far more like a tube amp than the Valveking does.

I have the 112, it sounds nothing like that sound clip. Peavey should take that down, bad representation.
 
jndietz said:
I also have the opportunity to get a Peavey Classic 50 2x12 Combo for $400 including shipping... should I spring for it or something else?
That's a nice amp. Not very metally, if you care about that, and a good pedal will fix that anyway.
 
I bought a peavey classic 50 212 recently. It's alot louder that I thought. I have been working over the past few gigs trying to dial it in. The chicken head knobs tend to get moved easier than the knobs on my old peavey classic, so I have to remind myself to check them.

I use it set clean and run my pedals into it. It's just for the transition> I really think it has a good sound on the lead channel, if you keep the drive under control. I just am too chciken to leave the pedalboard at home for gigs. I am going to drag it out to a few blues jams and use it with no pedals to dial the tone in.

By the last set saturday, I had it singing. It may have been because I had gotten the blood flowing to (and from) my ears. I like the amp and it is defeinitely possible to get a good sound from it for rockabilly/roots american music.
 
jndietz said:
I also have the opportunity to get a Peavey Classic 50 2x12 Combo for $400 including shipping... should I spring for it or something else?

And that is a good price. I paid $100 more for mine and I thought it was a good deal.
 
Put the cry baby before the distortion.

The peavey classic cranks pretty good and I think the deal on it is better than on the valve king. I think the valve king was cheaper than the classic every where I looked.
 
I loooove the clean sound on the Fender Ultimate Chorus. It's beautiful. Reliabilty-wise, the solder joints on the filter caps can break due to their location near the inputs, but other than that they seem pretty solid. I've been thinking about buying one to use as my "clean channel" with my Crate V30.
 
Ultimate Chorus

i agree with heroics. the clean sound on the ultimate chorus is great. clear and smooth as hell.
 
Try the classic 30. Virtually no difference in volume than the 50 and will push to tube saturation sooner. Got one and love it. Lots of folks cahnge out the speaker and do other mods. Good amp but like lots of combos can be prone to microphonics b/c of vibration. Just choose sturdy el 84's for replacemnts if that becomes an issue.
 
There is a huge difference in clean volume between the 30 and the 50.

If you just want to fuzz the shit out of your sound, then it probably won't matter, but the 30 will not stay clean loud enough for me to play live with it. The 50 will blurr your vision with volume and stilll stay clean.
 
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