Peavey Vypyr Vip 1 20W 1X8 Guitar Modeling Combo Amp Black For Sale (2024 Update)

Only issue is the recording out. Speaker is bypassed either USB or line out. I run direct but I have to wear headphones when tracking and crack monitors so I can hear instruments already tracked. I can adapt since its such a nice amp but thats the only complaint. I found it easy to set up and tweak and save presets. Bass guitar tones are quite good. Clean and no popping on low notes at drop A or B standard tuning. Clean guitar tones are really nice and heavy crunch tones are impressive. My baritone with emg 81 in drop A sounds pretty mean. The tenor in standard tuning sounds crisp. Recorded some test tracks and with HP and LP filters it cleaned up nice and sounded like a stack. The FX's are quite good to. Id recommend it, just be ready to wear headphones while running direct.house-cha

I bought this new at a local music shop. I had a tight budget and I wanted something with built in effects. I regretfully was willing to sacrifice fidelity for fun extras. I thought that I might play with the different amp models and effects combos to get a better idea for future purchases. I was wrong. Buying a digital amp like this was a mistake. It has a very low ceiling on its sound. To much bass muddies everything up and completely ruined the sound, which is ridiculous considering that this thing is advertised as a bass and acoustic amp. It handles bass catastrophically bad. The app makes things a little fun, since the physical interface is a bit intimidating. You get used to it very quickly, but it's no fun to navigate. Using the app allows for much easier adjustments, until it inevitably crashes, over and over. I thought my old guitars just weren't up to scratch with this new amp, until I got a new Les Paul, and realized the amp was making everything sound terrible. I pulled my old solid state Traynor TS-15 out of storage to compare, and there was no doubt. This old, scratchy, falling apart, 15 watt solid state amp blew this new thing out of the water. It was night and day. I'm selling this one and saving up for a tube amp. Maybe a Blackstar or Laney.Tony Baloney

I have been playing guitar for at least 24 years, and this amp is very useful for my purposes. I already had bigger amps and a very nice multi-effects pedal, but I needed something easier to travel with than my home studio rig. This amp has a wide range of capability in terms of having effects, good amp models, stereo headphones capability, USB connectivity for PC recording, Aux In capability, built in tuner, and last but not least: It's the only amp series I know of that is actually designed and marketed as an amp to play electric, acoustic-electric, and bass guitars. I play all 3 types of guitars, so this amp series was the perfect travel amp for me. I will say though that the acoustic-electric amp models were the least impressive to me as the sound is not as loud and powerful sounding as it is when using electric or bass guitar. Also another thing is that when the bass or acoustic-electric input preset bank is selected, it locks you into just those types of amp models depending on which input you've selected, where as when electric is selected everything is available. I also find that some of the effects are limited for the bass and acoustic-electric guitars. This amp is best with electric guitar, but it does ok with acoustic-electric, and when playing bass guitar this little 20 watt/8" speaker really puts out nice, thick, and powerful bass sound. The amp's cabinet does have a rattle on certain notes sometimes when you have your bass guitar's volume cranked. It will rattle sometimes with electric guitar as well. It may just be that I have a factory defect with my amp, but I almost kind of like the rattle with the bass so I'm not worried about it personally. This amp was very reasonably priced to the point that I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a nice travel sized practice/recording amp for various types of instruments. I would also highly recommend it for anyone looking for a beginner's practice amp especially for electric guitar.Metal Mcgyver

I have bought and sold several amps over the past few years, and I think this one's the keeper. It reminds me a bit of the katana 50 in that it has lots of features – but it is far easier to figure out how to use. I wish it had a slightly smaller footprint, for portability's sake, but the sound and usability make up for it. I also wish manufacturers would provide more useful documentation, but there are lots of helpful videos on the web. From clean, to crunch, to filthy – and some Fender Vibratone if you like – this amp can do just about anything.CR

Sound: Its odd they make you choose a rating for manufacturer support seeing as I imaging you would only contact them if you had an issue with your new item and zZounds didn't resolve it Overall: Its way louder than I expected. We don't turn it up past 3. The distortion sounds great. The amp modules sound great. For metal and grunge which my daughter plays its fantastic. I used the acoustic channel for jazz ukulele and it sounds great as well.James

I work at a guitar store so we recently got these amps in, I have to say that it genuinely shocked me? For the price and for what you get, it's pretty darn good
I'm really picky with my amps, so much so that I've only had one amp my whole 5+ years of playing and seeiing this new amp really, made me wanna get one, don't think of it as a legit replacer to a real 6405 or a XXX Head and Cab, think of it as a beginner amp, something to get started one, yes it has a lot of knobs and buttons that may seem intimidating, but take some time to get to know the little beast? You're gonna be kicking fun with this thing for hours.
It has some pretty alright effects besides the amp itself, the only thing I will say is that when passing 4-5 on a distorted amp like the 6505 it rumbles, and not in a good way as well as the whole amp kit app, IOS only? That's a bummer
Besides that, great amp.David Romero

I am huge fan of Peavey amps, I have several all tube stacks and combos, and a few solid state version, but was looking for a small portable solid state amp I could throw over my shoulder and lug around easily. After reading reviews I picked up this 20W Vypyr 1×8. unfortunately I found it pretty unimpressive. It has hundreds of settings and options and while it performs and sounds OK, I find it difficult to dial in a quality non digital sound. After a couple of months, my impression is that it does a lot of things OK, but nothing really great. And the amount of options can get overwhelming pretty quickly.marcsjunkcloset

I have a MIM Telecaster and had just picked up an Ibanez Mikro Bass. I had just sold my Mesa amp and was looking to try a modeling amp. I had no idea Peavey had one that would work for both! Saved me so much money on pedals and an extra amp. It sounds great for both guitars. Wonderful purchase.dougeelaw

I'm a beginner electric violin and electric guitar player. I needed an amp that would be able to accommodate both instruments. An amp that provided enough power and effects at an entree level price. It can record and play back loops as well as many effects without having to buy a dozen or more other devises to make practicing fun. If I ever decide to try acoustic or bass this amp is perfect for them as well. It can be hooked up to a computer for recording as well as an aux devise such as an MP3 player to practice along with your favorite music. The amp has exceeded my expectations and I am very glad I purchased it. Down side to it is it will take a long time to learn and use all of the features. But I believe well worth the effort. Note, always turn down the master volume before changing any function.onac3c1divad

I have bought and sold several amps over the past few years, and I think this one's the keeper. It reminds me a bit of the katana 50 in that it has lots of features – but it is far easier to figure out how to use. I wish it had a slightly smaller footprint, for portability's sake, but the sound and usability make up for it. I also wish manufacturers would provide more useful documentation, but there are lots of helpful videos on the web. From clean, to crunch, to filthy – and some Fender Vibratone if you like – this amp can do just about anything.CR

Sound: Its odd they make you choose a rating for manufacturer support seeing as I imaging you would only contact them if you had an issue with your new item and zZounds didn't resolve it Overall: Its way louder than I expected. We don't turn it up past 3. The distortion sounds great. The amp modules sound great. For metal and grunge which my daughter plays its fantastic. I used the acoustic channel for jazz ukulele and it sounds great as well.James

I work at a guitar store so we recently got these amps in, I have to say that it genuinely shocked me? For the price and for what you get, it's pretty darn good
I'm really picky with my amps, so much so that I've only had one amp my whole 5+ years of playing and seeiing this new amp really, made me wanna get one, don't think of it as a legit replacer to a real 6405 or a XXX Head and Cab, think of it as a beginner amp, something to get started one, yes it has a lot of knobs and buttons that may seem intimidating, but take some time to get to know the little beast? You're gonna be kicking fun with this thing for hours.
It has some pretty alright effects besides the amp itself, the only thing I will say is that when passing 4-5 on a distorted amp like the 6505 it rumbles, and not in a good way as well as the whole amp kit app, IOS only? That's a bummer
Besides that, great amp.David Romero

Very dissappointed in this amp on first round. I hope my replacement is better and if so I will re review. The amp made just a loud popping sound on start up and shut down. Yes Volume was at its lowest level and I even dissconnected guitar and tried alternate electrical outlets to no avail. I called Peavey and was told sometimes this happens from a discharge of power . How can there be a discharge on start up ? I was not satisfied with that answer and returned amp. So now if next one comes with same issues I will return and give up on this amp. It did sound pretty good when It was on , everything else seemed fine. Effect adjustments are a bit of a pain , need to install the included software to fine tune, here again they do not supply the needed specific USB cord to connect the amp to PC adding more cost . Volume levels on presets are all over the map and you would have to fine tune these also. I also do not like the fact that to use the looper you must invest in an outboard pedal another added expense. Of the two pedals offered the higher end one cost more than the amp itself. I hope Peavey revisits this pedal pricing, from what I know now it causes allot of folks to not invest in the amp due to the cost of needing the pedal . My replacement should be here soon I hope for the return process time wise from Musician Friends is way too long . I got first amp in 3 days. It has now been 10 days and no amp yet after I returned my first amp same day I got the RA from them and I brought to a UPS store myself not wanting to wait days for a UPS man to come to pick up for who knows when they would show up and what time of day. The return process in regards to shipping takes way too long in my opinion and promises made to ship new amp fast were not met until I had to call and get a supervisor to do so for me, but I am still waiting now going on 6 days and it is not due for another 3 days if on time , this after first amp was here in 3 daysBigangbo

I've owned this amp for about 3 years and during that time I used it at home for occasional use as a bass amp, drum machine, acoustic guitar, or for use as a second speaker when looping. I got the Sanpera 1 pedal. Just recently I thought I'd actually start to use it to see what it is capable of: playing loud and as an all-in-one package for playing out. It is complicated to understand, which is mainly why I never got to use it fully for those years originally. However, I made a concerted effort to crack it and I "programmed" it to my liking and found – it is pretty impressive. I use the 6505 model which for overdrive I think sounds the best, and the Twin + compression for clean. Some of the effects are not all that useful (when am I really going to use a sitar?), but most are pretty good. The amp has very good transparency and the sound is a nice full spectrum with good bass and, with the 6505 modelling, not fizzy in the treble. I am actually impressed. This is definitely a giggable amp and since it has all the effects you need you don't need pedals (nor tuner). The chorus is very nice when used with the Twin and the foot operated wah is better than my Morley wah.The digital reverb is excellent. There are a few negatives. The looper is only 30 secs – not much use and they make way too much of it in the sales pitch and in the Sanpera 1 controls. Get a Boss looper or similar if you want to do some reasonable looping. The Sanpera 1 volume/wah pedal is cheap and the foot pedal does not stay depressed. I use duct tape to hold it "on", otherwise you have to to keep your foot on the pedal at all times just have output. Maybe this has been fixed in the current version (?) I don't like all the amp models – but frankly I wouldn't expect to with any make of digital amp. The amp is cheaply constructed, but it's so inexpensive anyway! Today, I would check out the Boss Katana amps too. But I remain impressed: great value!Robin

Im glad i invested in this little amp. Blown away at the high gain tones you can get out of this thing. Sounds so good its crazy. I use this to jam late night since it has a headphone jack. I sit in my living room pop in a horror movies and just practice scales , new riffs etc. I highly recommend this little amp for anyone into death metal , thrash , black metal etc. Definitely brings those tones which is amazing to me for such a portable little combo amp. The effects are very awesome too i might add. I recommend reading the booklet to insure you know how to navigate thru all the setting. theres lots to play around with.Cropsy Maniac

I bought this amp at a local Sam Ash store. I actually kept it for 46 days, but they let me return it anyway – excellent service. I had an old Vypyr 15 that I liked, and I wanted to step up to a bigger amp. The Vypyr 3 is 100 watts, and has an LCD readout, so I got it. At first, I thought it sounded pretty good, except for a few things. However, after playing it for some time, and acquiring a Jackson guitar with a Duncan JB bridge pickup, I began noticing that the distortions, while smooth, didn't have much in the way of clarity. They sound fine with run-of-the-mill power chords, but anything more complex than that got kind of muddy. The reverb and delay sounded pretty good, but the other effects were just sort of OK, except for the pitch-shift effects such as 7-string, baritone and bass, were just lousy. The 7 string was almost acceptable, with only a little latency, but it had a strange warbling sound. The baritone, and especially the bass models had way too much latency, and with the bass model, the strings need to be hit pretty hard, or there is just not much sound. Do not expect to make your guitar sound like a bass with this amp. The high-gain amp models have a strange decay, almost as if they have a noise gate set very high. Either you get feedback (which sounds fine), or the sound just drops off. I think that as I'm becoming more serious about the guitar (I'm actually a bass player who has played guitar off-and-on throughout the years), I'm realizing that maybe I don't like modeling amps. After I returned this one, I picked up an Orange Crush 35RT (also from Sam Ash) which is pretty cool. No built in effects, except for reverb, but a great sound.Stelth

It's a Great Unit the software is lacking bad. Also they took about a dozen amps from 1st gen & gave us a bunch of nonsense toy like special Fx you'll never use. I wish they would kept the old amp models & left the Electric Violin & Synth model & the Resonator Gtr 12 string…no body's going to use that stuff that what I expect from Zoom old processors they were full of Useless Patches big WOW Factor but useless in creating music. I love the Vypyr series this was a let down but some great stuff like the Bass Amps sound Great & the Acoustic well….they can pass. The Power Sponge does a cool thing to the sound you need the Sanperea Foot controller to unlock this Amp w/out it you would have no Looper Wah or Vol….It's still got some solid tones in there, the construction is not up to Peavey's former USA built Gear RIP Peavey USA. PV could take this Amp so much further they would be on AXE FX back if they kept the momentum going in R&D they should stack those SHARC chips for more Processing power & more Loop time , there's 24 bit loopers for under a bill that record 6 Hours!!!Watchman

Got this amp for playing in the bedroom. I'm playing an Epiphone Les Paul Vintage Edition guitar via a VOX StompLab SL1G. I've been able to get good sound through the amp with some nice warm tones. Beefed things up a bit with some grunge and it handled it very well. At higher volumes the speaker remains clear and free of cracking as I have had in other smaller amps. It's a steal for the price and does what it was intended to do.ShaunH

I'm working out of the country and have a small apartment so a big amp is out of the question. This this sounds great at all volume levels and fits in my big suitcase. It's light so it doesn't even make my bag too heavy for air travel.Big T 13

I think they're amazing little practice amps if you can pick one up for under 50 bucks you won't be disappointed I highly recommend themwinvillanth

I am huge fan of Peavey amps, I have several all tube stacks and combos, and a few solid state version, but was looking for a small portable solid state amp I could throw over my shoulder and lug around easily. After reading reviews I picked up this 20W Vypyr 1×8. unfortunately I found it pretty unimpressive. It has hundreds of settings and options and while it performs and sounds OK, I find it difficult to dial in a quality non digital sound. After a couple of months, my impression is that it does a lot of things OK, but nothing really great. And the amount of options can get overwhelming pretty quickly.marcsjunkcloset

I have a MIM Telecaster and had just picked up an Ibanez Mikro Bass. I had just sold my Mesa amp and was looking to try a modeling amp. I had no idea Peavey had one that would work for both! Saved me so much money on pedals and an extra amp. It sounds great for both guitars. Wonderful purchase.dougeelaw

I'm a beginner electric violin and electric guitar player. I needed an amp that would be able to accommodate both instruments. An amp that provided enough power and effects at an entree level price. It can record and play back loops as well as many effects without having to buy a dozen or more other devises to make practicing fun. If I ever decide to try acoustic or bass this amp is perfect for them as well. It can be hooked up to a computer for recording as well as an aux devise such as an MP3 player to practice along with your favorite music. The amp has exceeded my expectations and I am very glad I purchased it. Down side to it is it will take a long time to learn and use all of the features. But I believe well worth the effort. Note, always turn down the master volume before changing any function.onac3c1divad

I was really surprised at how good this amp sounds. Years ago I tried Line 6 and was not at all happy with the tone; but this is another story. It does take me awhile to dial in a specific classic rock tone, but when I do, it sounds better than any other amp that I've tried. I have tried the Marshall Code, Blackstar id Core, Vox Valvetronix, Boss Katana; as well as some all tube amps. The only other amp that is a close 2nd is the Fender Mustang GTX; also a great amp. The Spider V is fairly easy to operate. It offers lots of choices for amp models and cabinets. I like that it has variations of a mic'd cabinet. The parametric eq is a plus. I haven't played around too much with the effects yet, so I can't comment on that. The only negative thing I could say is that when you're editing a preset and want to hear how it sounds before you save it, you only have a short time before it goes back to the Home Screen. This really is a small price to pay for the quality of the amp and all the versatility it has. I like the App too. Musicians Friend got me a great on this as well; and their agent is following up making sure that I'm satisfied. The funny thing is that I came across this by accident. I placed an order for a Peavey amp that was on back order. I called Peavey multiple times, but they never returned my call. I also emailed them, but they didn't respond to that either. As far as I'm concerned, Peavey doesn't have any customer support.crrkr

Been playing about a year, so my review is from the perspective of a complete newbie. The things I like- Lots of presets, mobile app functions, computer interface, and loads of user created effects available. Nice and loud, but no real basis of comparison to say if clarity is better or worse than other comparable amps. Don't likes- The micro-usb interface. I had to get an adapter and it's just not as good a connection as nearly anything else would be. IMHO, micro-usb is far too flimsy. Connecting to PC is far more problematic than just using the spider mobile app. It's probably a little more complicated than it should be for a beginner, but it's feature rich for the money.Nic T

I had a Line 6 120w amp for years that I regrettably sold a while ago and was looking for another amp. I looked at all the amp reviews I could find and decided that the new Katana was the way to go. I got the Katana home and absolutely loved it but the second day I had it it started a really loud buzzing that I couldn't stop. It probably was an easy fix but the fact is the amp was way too powerful for my purposes and their software wasn't compatible with the new Catalina OS. I returned and started looking again. I saw the 60w Spider V and the price was excellent so I made an on the spot decision to buy another Line 6 and I'm really glad I did. The tones this amp can get are incredible. There are so many amp models and cabs that you can dial in pretty much any tone you want from a crispy snapback country clean to the most vicious heavy metal and everything in between. You can use the presets as they are or you can use them as a baseline and tweak to your own liking or you can start from scratch and build your own rig from the ground up. The controls are intuitive and easy to use but there are some features where you'd have to be a professional to really know how to use or even care to use. The software and the mobile app are so easy to use and give you all the options at your fingertips. The amp comes with a lot of presets that I find are completely useless but there are a lot that are excellent as I already talked about. There are only four empty slots for your own custom presets and I wish there were more but if you use the mobile app you can have your own tone library on there. I bought the FBV3 foot controller so that gives me a lot of flexibility to have various effects. One of the limitations is the lack of good effects though. There's enough that if you work at it you can get a decent sound but there could be some better ones. Overall I would recommend the amp. Don't listen to the naysayers or the amp snobs, it's a quality amp and extremely versatile.Just Plain Joe

I was really surprised at how good this amp sounds. Years ago I tried Line 6 and was not at all happy with the tone; but this is another story. It does take me awhile to dial in a specific classic rock tone, but when I do, it sounds better than any other amp that I've tried. I have tried the Marshall Code, Blackstar id Core, Vox Valvetronix, Boss Katana; as well as some all tube amps. The only other amp that is a close 2nd is the Fender Mustang GTX; also a great amp. The Spider V is fairly easy to operate. It offers lots of choices for amp models and cabinets. I like that it has variations of a mic'd cabinet. The parametric eq is a plus. I haven't played around too much with the effects yet, so I can't comment on that. The only negative thing I could say is that when you're editing a preset and want to hear how it sounds before you save it, you only have a short time before it goes back to the Home Screen. This really is a small price to pay for the quality of the amp and all the versatility it has. I like the App too. Musicians Friend got me a great on this as well; and their agent is following up making sure that I'm satisfied. The funny thing is that I came across this by accident. I placed an order for a Peavey amp that was on back order. I called Peavey multiple times, but they never returned my call. I also emailed them, but they didn't respond to that either. As far as I'm concerned, Peavey doesn't have any customer support.crrkr

Been playing about a year, so my review is from the perspective of a complete newbie. The things I like- Lots of presets, mobile app functions, computer interface, and loads of user created effects available. Nice and loud, but no real basis of comparison to say if clarity is better or worse than other comparable amps. Don't likes- The micro-usb interface. I had to get an adapter and it's just not as good a connection as nearly anything else would be. IMHO, micro-usb is far too flimsy. Connecting to PC is far more problematic than just using the spider mobile app. It's probably a little more complicated than it should be for a beginner, but it's feature rich for the money.Nic T

I had a Line 6 120w amp for years that I regrettably sold a while ago and was looking for another amp. I looked at all the amp reviews I could find and decided that the new Katana was the way to go. I got the Katana home and absolutely loved it but the second day I had it it started a really loud buzzing that I couldn't stop. It probably was an easy fix but the fact is the amp was way too powerful for my purposes and their software wasn't compatible with the new Catalina OS. I returned and started looking again. I saw the 60w Spider V and the price was excellent so I made an on the spot decision to buy another Line 6 and I'm really glad I did. The tones this amp can get are incredible. There are so many amp models and cabs that you can dial in pretty much any tone you want from a crispy snapback country clean to the most vicious heavy metal and everything in between. You can use the presets as they are or you can use them as a baseline and tweak to your own liking or you can start from scratch and build your own rig from the ground up. The controls are intuitive and easy to use but there are some features where you'd have to be a professional to really know how to use or even care to use. The software and the mobile app are so easy to use and give you all the options at your fingertips. The amp comes with a lot of presets that I find are completely useless but there are a lot that are excellent as I already talked about. There are only four empty slots for your own custom presets and I wish there were more but if you use the mobile app you can have your own tone library on there. I bought the FBV3 foot controller so that gives me a lot of flexibility to have various effects. One of the limitations is the lack of good effects though. There's enough that if you work at it you can get a decent sound but there could be some better ones. Overall I would recommend the amp. Don't listen to the naysayers or the amp snobs, it's a quality amp and extremely versatile.Just Plain Joe

I use one of these for my nylon string Godin Multiac. I blend the nylon with a GR33 synth and run both signals into this amp on the clean channel. The issue I've always had with amplified nylon string guitars is the 'plucky' or 'plasticy' sound of them through guitar amps. This bass amp solved the problem for me. With the amp's treble and bass rolled off completely I can get a very round clear tone by using the guitar's eq to provide the brightness. Very light and powerful, and an unexpected solution to a long-standing problem I've experienced. The electric violinist in the band tried his setup through my amp with almost identical settings and he bought one also! Works very well for bass also, in a small setting.Jan-Mikael

TLDR: BUY IT! I ordered this amp when I bought my very first bass. For years I was stuck with a school Ampeg Little Stud bass from 1973. The bass itself was 40 pounds, and for all of its vintage appeal, I was not impressed by its condition or playability. The amp was even worse. It was a Backline 112 that weighed 50 pounds, and when I performed with it in a school gymnasium with a capacity of a mere 400 people, nobody heard me playing. When I bought my bass I knew that I needed a new amp. Enter the Rumble 100. If this is your first amp, you might think this is a little pricey, but trust me, it is beyond worth it. I'm only 5'1", and while I could carry the heavy Ampeg bass and amp, it was starting to hurt my back. But this amp is incredibly light. I almost expected it to have zero bottom end. But when I played it, I was shocked. The sound was very well-supported, even if it's played with the bass, low, and mid down and treble all the way up (which I wouldn't recommend… I mean, it's a bass amp…) I've loved this amp ever since. But I'm not a "pro" yet, so let me tell you what some professional musicians thought when they saw my amp. I performed with a popular local brass band that has been together since 1980. Altogether they have 50+ years of touring and gigging experience. They're used to lugging some pretty heavy equipment. When I walked in to the auditorium, I had my bass case slung over my shoulder, my amp in my hands, and all my music nestled under my arm. Of course the stage crew at the door all thought that the tiny chick (me) was about to drop everything, so they rushed over to help me by picking up my amp. They went, "What? We're wondering where the inside went, Is this it?" They thought it would sound awful. But that night, in front of 2,000 people (and there was a bass solo), everybody said they could hear me perfectly. The design is simple, the onboard controls are very effective and not too complex, and it plays loud and proud without hurting you.Bass Clef Kid

Like the rest of the bass players out there I've used all of the major brands. From old-school Acoustic Control heads and cabs from the '70's, to Ampegs etc etc etc…Well I've reached the point where that level of stage volume isn't needed for what I'm doing now; I shopped around, and despite some of the amazing combos available, I landed on this one. Actually the guitar player in our band mentioned that he had bought the 50watt version of this. I played through it and was impressed. For me it's the ideal unit for what I'm doing now – I still play some heavy rock (Mountain, Cream, Cactus, Trower), but when volume is required we of course use the FOH and good monitors for stage support. Having the onboard direct out is the best as it allows me to go direct into whatever board is being used, whether live or recording. Don't be fooled by the small size; the size is a real asset in terms of portability. The head is where it all starts, and the tonal range is wide so you can dial in your sound. In a live situation there's plenty of lows, highs and depth of tone. Playing in various size venues is no problem – this will carry without going through FOH in churches, smaller bars & clubs (50-100 capacity). Larger venues or live situations where stage volume is needed for impact or performance, then my personal recommendation is to use this as a personal monitoring device and go through the PA & stage monitor as a direct through the board. One last thing; the amp sounds as good on 3 as it does on 7. Any more than than 7 and it starts pushing the speaker, and not in a good way. But I've had this for several months now, use it gigging and recording regularly and overall am simply satisfied with the purchase. Like everything, this amp has limitations. You're not going to get the punch or volume of a high powered rig, and you really shouldn't be using a combo for something like that. But whether you're a beginner, novice, or weekend warrior or pro this amp, as well as the rest of this product line, is a tremendous option.jb

I bought this amp to have a small, cheap portable amp to play harmonica through. For that, it is decent enough. I use a Shure bullet mic and the amp produces good enough tone and is plenty loud for practice or small gigs. When I plug my tele into it the clean channel is decent and clear, but the overdrive channel is junk and hurts my ears. I would rather run the clean channel and use a fuzz or distortion pedal. So that being said it is decent enough to practice licks on and it is tiny so it tucks away easy. If you look around you can find a bigger amp with more features used for the same price but if you want a new amp, this one is probably worth what they charge for it. I would only buy it if you have a specific purpose for it though.Roy

It's small, and pretty portable. However, the sound quality is trash, given the speaker is tiny, but the overdrive is just horrible. If you buy this, try returning it. If you can't return it, just get a fuzz pedal and leave it on clean. Imo, just buy the mustang lt25-50Hotdog Games

I bought this amp to have a small, cheap portable amp to play harmonica through. For that, it is decent enough. I use a Shure bullet mic and the amp produces good enough tone and is plenty loud for practice or small gigs. When I plug my tele into it the clean channel is decent and clear, but the overdrive channel is junk and hurts my ears. I would rather run the clean channel and use a fuzz or distortion pedal. So that being said it is decent enough to practice licks on and it is tiny so it tucks away easy. If you look around you can find a bigger amp with more features used for the same price but if you want a new amp, this one is probably worth what they charge for it. I would only buy it if you have a specific purpose for it though.Roy

It's small, and pretty portable. However, the sound quality is trash, given the speaker is tiny, but the overdrive is just horrible. If you buy this, try returning it. If you can't return it, just get a fuzz pedal and leave it on clean. Imo, just buy the mustang lt25-50Hotdog Games

I live in an apartment building, and it's just not realistic to crank up my large tube amps while I'm at home. So, I searched for a small combo to use at home. I just needed something small with a great sound, for practice and songwriting. I looked at all of the usual contenders, but the form factor and name brand of Orange really caught my eye. I've played Orange tube amps before, but never one of their small practice amps. I set up this amp on my bookshelf, roughly at eye level. And wow, this amp sounds unbelievably amazing at home volume levels. I can play at a volume which I enjoy, without disturbing my neighbors. I can get an amazing tone without having to crank up my volume. This amp takes pedals so extremely well. I do not use the onboard distortion, but rather I just use my favorite distortion pedals. I simply cannot say enough about how awesome this amp sounds. I strongly suggest, however, that this amp needs to be at a higher elevation, ideally at the same elevation as your head. My amp is roughly 6 feet off the ground, on the top shelf of my bookcase, and it sounds incredible up there compared to having it on the ground. Time will tell regarding its durability. But, I don't plan on taking it out of my house or playing at live settings with it. I envision that it will just stay on my bookshelf permanently. I don't even adjust any of the knobs, now that I have it dialed in. I just turn it off and on.OrangeNYC

First one I ordered arrived D.O.A. That should have been my warning sign to get something else instead. Guitar Center was nice enough to quickly send a replacement, though. The replacement arrived and all was well for about 3-4 months. Amp didn't sound bad but it wasn't spectacular or anything. Decent distortion, nice clean tone. Basic. But now the replacement amp is dead too, for no reason that I can discern besides faulty workmanship or bad parts or something. It sat plugged in and never got moved the entire time, wasn't cranked to 11 or anything like that…it just, like, gave up. I probably had less than 10 hours total on the thing. My advice would be to avoid this one and buy something else.Just a Guitar Guy

So many good tones outta this thing. I bought it cheap but it does heavy metal just as well as clean styles and everything in between. Good amp. My friends love it as well.

Edit: she takes pedals like a total champ and I only say this because I am using very very cheap Chinese mini pedals and a boss metal zone. Lot of my other small amps dont like all the cheap pedals plugged in but the orange can handle all.

Edit 2: I've accidentally dropped the amp from about 4 feet twice now and she hasn't broken. Was 100 percent sure it was gonna be busted but it's fine. Tough little guy.Duncan Whopper

Great sounding clean tones for playing at home, which is why i bought it – my beloved Mustang 1.1 started having issues and I MUST have a great clean tone to relax. Wanted a tube amp and did my research. Decided on the Blackstar. I must say I'm extremely happy with it. The reverb is KILLER to my ear and does a great job at adding shimmer without destroying the tone. No external effects are needed to get a gorgeous clean tone – I use my Zoom G3Xn into the front end to get univibe and compression. The effects loop is very functional. The amp can be very bass heavy, depending on your instrument, but if you run a 10 band EQ (go with MXR) in the loop you amp can achieve any tonal result you want. My best sound comes with everything at 12, with some of the bass rolled off with the MXR EQ – but its just a matter of taste i guess. This amp moves a lot of air when you use the drive channel, and if your not pleased with the amps distortion it does respond really well to distortion pedals. I'm mostly in the clean blues zone but must brag on the amps darker side: it can get very loud and stay rich. I haven't tried any of the direct recording features. The 2 selectable characters of clean that the amp offers thrill me and ,again, the reverb is classy and a bit different from other amps ( I read that is a room reverb). Highly recommended.Tim H.

This amp out of the box sounds fantastic. Crystal clear clean tones and a snarly gain channel that lets you choose between a more American gain tone and a British gain tone. I would say ‘cater for everyone’. But, I received my first amp and within an hour of playing I’d noticed a loud ‘POP’ when changing channels. This pop occurred if a note was being played at the same time as the channel change. (Footswitch and Amp buttons) So, of course I returned the Amp to PMT. they arranged DPD next working day collection for me, completely hassle free. I awaited my next amp, as a direct replacement. A few days later the next Blackstar HT-5R mkii arrived, box fresh like the last. I plugged the amp in, let the tubes warm and away I went. Within minutes of found a great tone again, but the loud ‘POP’ I heard from the first unit was there again on this amp. I tried 4 sockets in the house in case there was any kind of interference/static, but to no avail. Absolutely gutted, I called PMT again. The amp was returned for the second time. Apparently this hasn’t happened to anyone else, I may just be unlucky or the amp may not get along with the electrics in my home. Just check this out as soon as you buy one. I’ve tried two other valve amps on my house since, including a Blackstar Artist 10 AE and an Orange terror with cab, and there’s absolutely zero noise with these. Very important to note here, this is not a slam of PMT, they’ve been absolutely brilliant throughout this whole thing. Customer service is second to none and they are very easy to contact. Used these for a very long time and I will be returning once stores open to try out a new amp.Jack H.

I had previously bought a Roland 80GX but it required too much tweaking to get the sound I was looking for. So I still wasn't satisfied. When I was playing out in the early nineties I was using an all tube Carvin half-stack which was pretty basic…clean or distorted with reverb and very loud. Great amp but I eventually sold that because it was way too much for home use, and frankly, it sounded best when cranked up. I teach guitar now and I don't intend on playing out again, but I still wanted an amp that was simple to use, solid state so I wouldn't be concerned about replacing tubes, and would be powerful enough to do a gig if I ever got swayed into that again. The only built-in effect on the Bandit is reverb which is all I want besides distortion. I've read that it takes pedals great but I haven't gotten around to trying any. The best thing about this amp (for me) is that I can stop searching for the amp I want. This one is perfect. Clean or dirty, it has great sound and can get seriously loud. For my purposes it also sounds very good at low volume.Russ

Overall: I was able to gig with the unit twice before I had to send it back for exchange. The one I got had issues that occurred,buzz started to happen when nothing is plug in and even when all the controls are set to zero,buzz is still fairly loud!and then the three way switch in the rear panel that switches from 100%-50%-25% does not engage to 25% percent. yes this amp is loud! and last of all you have to buy the peavey footswitch….The Great news is, this amp sounds very good both clean and dirty channel. The cleans can be dialed well(fendery!) and takes Overdrive/Distortion well and that's if you need a pedal. The Lead channel has great gain depending on what you use it for! I like the classic Overdrive/Distortion(aka- marshall) setting allot. I play in two different bands, the first band I'm in plays Rock/Alternative,Twang Rock,Blues Rock,Heavy Rock, Responds real well to volume knob adjustments on the guitar during live playing. The other band is more Funk,Jazz fusion,Gospel,R-n-B type and this amp does it well without any pedals! and that's what I bought this amp for! basically I don't wanna use pedals,just amp cable,guitar and the footswitch to switch from clean to dirty and solo boost when needed. And it does it very well! I dig this amp allot. All the features and especially the solo boost function is awesome! the effect loop works well. I hook up my Boss DD20 with two 15ft cables(not live just for home use!) and there was hardly any tone lost or I could not tell at all. And this is coming from an overly picky Guitar Player. This amp is well thought out by Peavey Engineers and last of all its pretty light amp!Now I just have to wait for the other Peavey Bandit to be delivered to my front door and hope its trouble free!,and thank you zZounds for taking care of business, you always took care of me when there were unexpected issues and you got on top of it fast. Thank youWb

Everyone treats this like either a country/blues amp, or a metal amp. But it does fantastic tones for bands in between. Think Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Kings of Leon, The Gaslight Anthem, Death Cab… those in-between tones…it NAILS them. The amp sounds tube. And i mean that. And i've played/owned a LOT of expensive tube amps. I love this thing. Sounds great. Is it a JCM800, Princeton, AC30, or Deluxe? No. It's not. But it can get amazing ballpark sounds. And I dont mean "Line 6, Fender Mustang" ballpark, I mean close your eyes and it would take a discerning ear. Sounds great at low volume but absolutely keeps up with a drummer at half volume. I can gig with mine no problem. If I HAD to pick something to gripe about, it's that by now the new ones should have the 3 different overdrive types foot-switchable. As it is, you can switch between clean and overdrive. But you set which type of overdrive (vintage, modern, high gain) at the amp and if you want to change your OD type you have to do so with your hands. This is an extremely minor complaint though and I'm being crazy picky. Especially considering that between a tube-screamer, Joyo AC Tone and the vintage channel, I can get every sound I'll ever use. I'm not really into the heavy stuff, but it does do that very well too. Oh also, it takes pedals like a tube amp. I've read reviews from people who say that it doesn't and they must be insane. Also..i dont know why the youtube videos comparing them to fender amps sound so muddy or dark, that is DEFINITELY a settings problem. I can get mine sounding VERY fender. And i'd put it up against a Hotrod Deluxe any day of the week.underXtheXradar

Great wee amp for the money as advised by Kenny's Music. Packed with features/fx. Perfect for home practice and the odd jam session.Reviewed by Kenny's Music custom

I use this in my basement studio for playing and recording. It has a wide range of very cool sounds and what seems like countless options to combine them (from wild reverb/delay effects to overdrive/fuzz). It's kind of daunting to get a setting you like and remember how to get it again, because of all the combinations of setting options. This would be a great value in a small amp except for two things: 1. Lots of extra noise and hiss (I checked and it wasn't the guitar or cables – I tried several) 2. The "on-off" button doesn't always work when trying to turn it off. I usually have to unplug the 9V adapter that comes with the amp in order to turn it off.Russell

Very cool amp and a bargain at twice the price! Amp models are all very good just as is, and the added surprise is that – other than the most high gain settings – you can roll back your guitar volume and the sound cleans up nicely. This is a keeper!Mike

I have played both electric and upright bass for 40+ years and like a lot of folks wanted a smaller, more portable, amp. I primarily play in a 4 piece acoustic group w/ 2 guitars, upright Bass, and violin. Volume is never an issue. I picked up a Max208 2 years ago and it has become my primary live amp. It sounds fantastic with either my MIJ fretless Precision A/E or any of my uprights. I have several larger rigs that sit in a closet as well as 2 Phil Jones amps (a Suitcase and a Briefcase) and I love the fact that the Peavey is: 1) Inexpensive, certainly for the level of performance. 2) Light and portable 3) Very flexible as far as tone control 4) Much better sounding live than the Phil Jones Briefcase which cannot match the low end of the 208. I did one mod to mine and added a Speakon / 1/4" combo jack to allow plugging in a small external speaker cabinet with it's own passive volume control that I locate behind the violin player who is on the opposite side of the stage from m and it works great for acoustic gigs giving a broad balanced stage sound. We only use (1) Bose L1 that all mics and guitars go through and it gives me an extremely portable system that has never let me down. I have a BSX Allegro EUB as well as a 53 Kay and an 80's Engelhardt. When I take the little Allegro and the 208 it is one trip from the car to the stage and ready to go. You can't beat it. If this ever gets lost, stolen, etc I will for sure get another. Peavey has a winner with this piece. I would highly recommend this to anyone (except someone looking to play loud rock) looking for a great inexpensive combo. If you want loud with it the 208 DI is very clean and it makes a fantasic stage monitor with the front angled speaker configuration.Steve

Great sound created by Peavey, in all ranges. Good deep sound with rich high and perfect adjustable tones. Light to carry to gigs and perfomence with enough power to fill the stage and halls. Happy with the Amp.micsne11

The sound to weight ratio on this amp is impressive. I bought it to replace/downsize an early 2000s Peavey TKO 115, and the 208 puts out more volume and weighs less than half as much as the 115! Simple controls, and enough options for a variety of genres. You get mild overdrive, vintage or modern voicing (via contour), sub-octave harmonics (via kosmos-c), and plenty of eq options. I'd recommend a cover (nearly any 12" loudspeaker cover will fit), because the finish is not as durable as previous models. I'm using this for small venues (no drummer) and medium venues with full band and PA.Trick

Great Amp/speaker for a portable PA system. Very clean sound with tone controls for 3 different channels. I play flute and bass flute, and want an acoutically accurate sound. I also plug an acoustic guitar in at the same time. I am picky about my sound, and am very satisfied with this system for playing small rooms.mmmark11

This amp is all most solo acts will need to play a room that seats 50-80 people. The features include all the essentials: balanced line out, 3 inputs with per-channel EQ and one XLR input; FX loop. The 10" speaker sounds great. The amp gets plenty loud on its own, and makes a good onstage monitor for very loud gigs where you can line-out to the PA. Easy to carry with one hand, not too heavy at less than 40 pounds. In its price range, nothing else offers as much mixer and amp together. If you need something really loud–like for amping a keyboard entirely from the stage in a heavy rock band–then this probably isn't for you. If you don't need the mixer, a powered speaker might be the thing. Otherwise, this is it.lightninrick

Sound: I'm going to use an example to try and explain the sound in a KB 3. Having a small recording studio, there has to be different amps, guitars, etc, in order to have the sound needed by different styles of music. One of my amps is a Marshall JVM410H with a Marshall 4X12 JCM900 1960 Lead cabinet. This half stack if purchased would cost you around $3.300.00 dollars. Even so, my keyboard goes way down in sound quality if I were to plug into the Marshall over the KB 3. On one hand you have a high price amp going against a small, much lowered priced Peavey amp. This is due to the speaker selection, and the ability that the KB 3 has in picking up the different levels of sound coming from the keyboard. My Fender Twin Reverb 65 reissue all tupe amp also is in the high price area, considered to be one of the best clean amps on the market, but it's no match for the Peavey when using keyboards. If your going to mic this amp, I suggest you use a Sennheiser e 609 SilverDynamic Microphone. This mic is flat faced, phantom powered, and works great for live or recording settings. I just bring the mic cable from behind the amp and let it hang down to where the KB 3 speaker is located. For those that may not know, a phantom powered mic requires a power source that has the phantom power ability to pick up sound. In order to tune in the sound I was looking for using the amp control settings. I played my keyboard around 10ft in front of the KB 3, and had my wife turn each setting while I listened. This is the best way to tune in what your looking for, without having to run back and forth to the keyboard and the amp. Features: Any amp that gives you the ability of some type of mixer/EQ , is more than most amps have to offer. My studio has 9 all tube amps, bass amp, and this Peavey KB 3. The Peavey was far less in money than any other amp I have, yet it gives you the ability to adjust the low, mid, high, and volume on each of the 3 channels. None of my other amps give me that ability, they go from $1,099.00 to $3.300.00 and are different brands. My hat is off to Peavey for making it possible to adjust settings on the KB 3, and it is easy to do. This amp is built like a tank, has the ability to plug in RCA jacks, FX loop for pedals, and the list goes on. The fact that you can plug your mic into the 1/4" or XLR jack, then plug your keyboard into another channel and adjust the settings for each channel. Then go to the main control and bring up the volume or some other setting for both the mic and keyboard says it all. This is much live having both a keyboard amp and a PA, which is all many will need. Ease of Use: Here again I will bring out what I said in my opening review. The control knobs are on the top which is great, but all of the inputs are on the back of the amp. If you have placed your amp where you can freely move all around it, the inputs on the back will be no problem. In my case, all of my amps set on stands (with the exception of my Marshall half stack), and are only a few inches from the walls in my studio. An amp stand leans slightly back, and I have a difficult time when I go to plug anything into the inputs. Quality: Again. This amp has been used by me for the last 5 plus years, and never has it given me a problem. The metal mesh speaker screen is easy to just dust off, and adds protection to the speaker. The tolex covering looks to be made from thick material, which will keep it from tearing from some little bump. The construction of the walls surounding the inner amp is made of strong material, and I can't see it falling apart for no reason. If this amp is not abused in ways such as; turning the volume past it's peak, not tossed in back of a vehicle like a ball, and kept clean. I'm not sure of the years one could use this without having any problems. If you did blow a speaker, I would replace it since the rest of the amp is so good. REMEMBER! If you come to the place where the drums are over riding you, don't try getting louder by maxing out your volume setting. Put a mic in front of the Peavey KB 3 amp, then run it through the PA. I'm more of a guitar player than a keyboard, but I was blessed at being able to play different instrments. If this amp is not high enough in power to over ride the drums, do something to enhance the power. If you want to increase the volume on the Peavey KB 3 run an OCD overdrive pedal through the amp. Value: This is the best price one could hope for in an outstanding keyboard amp. Manufacturer Support: NO The Wow Factor: As already stated. The ability of controling different channels, and the many inputs make this amp a fantastic purchase. This is not an amp I would use for my guitars, but is the best one for the money for keyboards. Overall: For a couple of years I played my Yamaha SO3 synth over a Fender solid state amp. Nothing seemed to be wrong in the sound I played, and I was pretty content. One day my son came over, and had purchased me this Peavey KB 3 amp. To say I was shDr.

Fender-esque tube amp. As it comes from the factory, the clean channel is borderline unusable, it is overdriven. An easy fix is replacing the 1st preamp tube with a less gainy 5751. I put a NOS GE JAN 5751 in mine. (70x gain vs. the original 100x). That yielded a very usable clean channel for me. The factory speaker is a bit harsh sounding, I swapped it out for a Jensen. It comes with a spring reverb, check if it is screwed down properly, they have a tendency to be loose and rattling. The spring reverb also has a tendency to feed back and howl. at certain settings, I have not figured out why it does that, perhaps it needs some acoustical isolation from the cabinet. That is still work in progress. You have to mess with the settings to get it to howl, does not always do it. I never noticed it, but at one time I was trying to sell it and the guitar store found the setting and demoed it to me. With the 3 changes I mentioned (tube swap, speaker swap, reverb tighten) it is a charming tube amp, sounds pretty loud for the 30 watts it has. 2 negatives: it is heavy, built like a tank, and the howling spring reverb. Do not be afraid to get a modded one, esp if someone swapped the speaker already. People usually do not ask for extra money for that, and this is something you likely end up doing anyway.code_slinger

My Classic 30 and related Delta Blues are both US built models so I'm unclear on whether the amps have changed since production moved to China. That said, the Classic 30 replaced my very nice Fender Hot Rod Deville that had been modified to reduce gain and improve the tone stack. The Peavey has a wide range of tones and can produce excellent sound at both lower and high level volumes. The pre/post channel produces a very useful range of overdrive. Finally the amp is an excellent weight and size in terms of portability. The Deville was very nice but still liked to be loud, the Classic 30 is comfortable loud or at home volumes.TomH