New Amp: Peavey Valveking Royal 8, or Vox AD15VT Valvetronix?

[Blingdogg]

Hey guys,

I'm going to buy a new amp, and my budget is only about $250. I play an Ibanez GAX75, and mostly classic rock, blues, and some hard rock. I don't gig, just play at home, so I need something small. Where I live here in Canada, I don't have much options, even finding them used. I'll also have to buy before I can try. From everything I've checked that's available, my choices are:

Peavey Valveking Royal 8 5W:
http://www.lamusic.ca/default.asp?sz...duct&PID=14848

Vox AD15VT Valvetronix 15W: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...mbo?sku=481958

Also, I plan on using my EH Double Muff (which gives a slight fuzz and overdrive) or another fuzz pedal with my amp. I'm leaning more towards the peavey royal 8, as it's a true tube amp (From what I've read, the Vox are really solid-state, but with tube sound?). But does anyone know which amp has the best quality out of these two? I don't care how loud it is, I just need something quiet for bedroom playing at home. Headphones don't matter either.

I've heard that the Crate Palomino V8, Fender Champ, Epiphone Valve Jr, and some others were also very good. But they are not available where I live.

Thanks.

[Blingdogg]

well I'm leaning towards getting the Peavey Valveking Royal 8.
Anyone have any experience with this amp?

[Warped]

No experience but I reckon ya can't go wrong with a Peavey

[NEBFLOYD]

I have the next step up "Valveking 112" which is AWESOME. Tube Amps are simply the BEST IMO. The differences are: Valveking Royal 8 is a Tube Amp (6L6 and 12AX7) which is great, though, you'll need to have effects/pedals to use. The VOX AD15VT has only one tube (preamp-12AX7) but it also have amp modellings and effects built in. So the choice is simply which features are important to you. I have effects/pedals so I would pick the Peavey Valveking Royal 8. Check out link below for Valveking Royal 8 Demo. CHEERS!!!!
http://www.peavey.com/products/brows...AE+Royal+8.cfm

[Wayward_Son]

i think your leaning in the right direction with the Valveking, its a tube and a Peavey, CAN'T be bad! I have played the 15w Valvetronix amp and was not impressed, I was looking for something with decent effects (why else would you buy a Valvetronix??) and I thaught they sounded very processed and the distortions were weak, IMO.

[Blingdogg]

thanks for the replies, everyone. The Peavey royal 8 seems to be more of what I'm looking for, so I'm most likely going to get it.

I've had modelers for a while, like the GuitarPort by Line 6, so I decided not to get the Vox AD15. I love the GuitarPort, it has a lot of good tones, but I'd really like to finally get a nice real amp with tube tone.

The Peavey Royal 8 seems to be the best in my price range, and it suits my needs. Seems like it'll work well with the fuzz and overdrive pedals I have. I'll be getting it in about 2 weeks.

[Freakzilla]

Blingdogg, i agree on the peavey, i have the vox AD100VT half stack, at first you get overwhelmed by all its features and effects but its really not that great at all in my opinion, hence to why im getting rid of it, so cheap sounding

hope it helps a little bit more

[Blingdogg]

Originally Posted by Freakzilla

Blingdogg, i agree on the peavey, i have the vox AD100VT half stack, at first you get overwhelmed by all its features and effects but its really not that great at all in my opinion, hence to why im getting rid of it, so cheap sounding

hope it helps a little bit more

Thanks, this does help me. I decided that I'm getting the Peavey Royal 8 for sure, as it sounds good for a little 5W amp, and I think I'd regret it if I got another modelling amp. I've wanted to move on to tube amps for a while, and the peavey seems like a good one to start with.

[Wayward_Son]

I think thats a good choice. But remember there that "little 5W amp" will still have plenty of kick to wake the guys next door .

Best of luck --

[xTHANATOPSISx]

I've got a AD50VT Vox and, peronally, I think it's the cat's ass. It burried everythign else even NEAR its price when compairing it so Marshall, Randall, Peavy, Fender, etc.

My friend has a fairly solid Marshall MG Series 50 watt combo. The Vox eviscerated it instantly. I've got a meatier bottom end and a LOT more overall character to my tone. I have no need for a distortion pedal myself.

One trick to the ADxxVT amps is NOT turning the gain all the way to 10. Back it off. And don't jsut scoop it all the way out either. 20% on the mids and 85% on the gain will clean up the tone a LOT. Max the volume, always. On the larger amps with the variable power, crank the master and set the power output to what you will use. This will ensure you're getting as much signal from the pre-amp to the "Valvereactor" section. The Valvereactor is the part with the tube.

In short, Valvereactor uses a small tube amp section run at low voltage to create much of the tube experience. The preamp signal is fed into the tube. The Tube's operation is varied depending on what amp model you select. It switches from A to AB to match the original amp that's being modeled. From there, it goes to a solid state power amp.

I spend most of my time on the "US High Gain" model (Soldano SLO-100, gain channel). I also play around a fair bit on the "UK Modern" (Mid/Late-'90s JCM) and "Numetal" (Dual Rectofier) models.

The amps modeled by the Vox are as follows:

BOUTIQUE CL - Dumble 100w head (clean channel)

BLACK 2x12 - Fender 'Blackface' Twin Reverb

TWEED 4x10 - 1959 Fender 4x10 Bassman

AC15 - Channel 2 of a 1962 Vox AC15

AC30TB - Vox AC30 'Top-boost'

UK ’70s - 1971 Marshall 50w Plexi head (high treble channel)

UK ’80s - 1983 100w Marshall JCM800 head

UK MODERN - Marshall JCM2000 DSL100, High-gain channel

NUMETAL - 1991 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier 100w head (High gain channel)

US HIGAIN - 1991 Soldano SLO100 head (Overdrive channel)

BOUTIQUE OD - Dumble Overdrive Special 100w head (overdrive channel)

For $360, I don't thin one could be too far off buying the AD50VT. The rest of the ADxxVT line is comparably nice. The 50 features, exclusively, a Celestion 12" speaker.

I enjoy the hell out of mine.

[Blingdogg]

Well I bought this amp on Saturday, and let me tell you: It's great! Nice warm cleans and tone. Not too much gain, but can still give a good blues and classic rock sound after adjusting it. The tone knob could be a little better, but gets the job done. With the overdrive pedals I have, it sounds even better.

I like Peavey Royal 8 the best out of the 5W of this price range, especially because of the extra features it has. Unlike the Fender Champ and Epi Valve Junior, this amp doesn't have to be cranked to get a good crunch; this is a definite plus for someone like me who mostly plays at low volumes.

I recommend this amp to people looking for a small practice amp to play at home.