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Topic: My Apologies To Hartley Peavey |
Ron Shalita
From:
California, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2021 7:42 pm |
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I have had a lot of PV amps... and they were all great, never a problem .. I still have my LTD 400 that I will keep till I die.. I feel the same a.bout all of my vintage Fenders.. love and use them all everyday..
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Been playing all of my life, Lead Guitar, and Pedal Steel, sing Lead and Harmony.. play other Instruments also but I hate to admit to it.. |
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Dustin Rigsby
From:
Parts Unknown, Ohio
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Posted 29 Apr 2021 5:26 am Thank You Bill, Thank You Too Mr. Peavey !
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| Bill Ferguson wrote: |
Well Dustin, I sent you post to Hartley Peavey and got a reply last night.
Here ya go!
"Bill, Many thanks for forwarding this to me!!!....Back in the late 80’s tube production in the USA has been stopped several years earlier and all tube production (for Guitar amps) was coming from Eastern Bloc/China countries…I figured that when the Russians, and their “satellitesâ€, and China discovered how to make transistors and IC’s, that they would stop making tubes…. On this assumption, I asked my Engineers to make a solid state “equivalent†to a tube amp from input to output… My chief engineer was Jack Sondermeyer who ran RCA’s solid state audio division in Somerville New Jersey up until mid 1972 when he came to Peavey… Jack was damn close to an electronic Genious!!!... Of course when I discussed this with Jack he said that it was “IMPOSSIBLE†(just as he always did when I brought another crazy idea to him)…As usual Jack thot about it for about a week and then announced “I Have found the answerâ€â€¦.We made a “mockup†and it sounded damn near Identical to a tube amp….To “prove the point†re: the “Transtube Technology†we set up a “trial listen†at Sound Check in Nashville with 5 of Nashville’s
Top session men (AKA “golden earsâ€)… the name of the Event was “ FIND THE TRANSISTOR AMPâ€â€¦.Our (then) new “BANDIT†was placed behind a curtain along with 4 other TUBE AMPS… They all listened intently, with each bringing his own guitar… They couldn’t agree on which amp sounded best, but they ALL picked the SAME amp as being the “Transistor ampâ€â€¦ It was NOT our BANDIT but a reasonably well respected guy’s tube amp (Rivera)!!!!…. Frankly, I felt that if we could fool these the “Golden Eared Pro’s†we were good to go with Jack’s “Transtube†discoveries!! BTW we patented this approach shortly after this “A/B- Shootoutâ€â€¦BTW way we have been using this unique technology ever since…This is (as Paul Harvey used to say) “the REST of the storyâ€!!!.............warm regards………….. Hartley"
And Hartley shared your post throughout the engineers at Peavey.
Pretty neat. |
Wow, I’m pretty much at a loss right now ! I’m on the Z list of musicians and to have Hartley Peavey give me the time of day really blows my mind. You really don't know how much I appreciate the back story. I have often wondered how long they will continue to manufacture vacuum tubes. I think there are only two factories left in the world. Sooner or later, it’s going to have dwindling returns. Thanks again, Bill and be sure to thank Mr. Peavey for his response. It really meant a lot
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D.S. Rigsby |
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Mack Quinney
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 29 Apr 2021 7:32 am Peavey Bandit
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I have a Peavey Bandit 65 that is over 35 years old and still going as strong as the day I bought it used! I use it for my practice amp! I used to say, you can't destroy a Peavey amp, and I still say it would survive a drop off the pickup tail gate!
Mack
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76 Emmons Push Pull, Williams 600, ShoBud Pro I, MSA Classic, Remington SteelMaster dbl 8, MSA Super Slide dbl 8, Gold Tone 6, And other instruments and equipment I can't afford. |
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Bill Ferguson
From:
Milton, FL USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2021 6:39 am
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I sent Dustin's reply to Hartley Peavey's letter back to Hartley.
I received this letter from Hartley this morning.
All I can say is that Hartley is right up at the top of my list.
"Hartley Peavey
Apr 29, 2021, 6:08 PM (15 hours ago)
to me
Bill, Thanx for the comments and your response to my response!! Sadly many folk have forgotten the “art of caring†(AKA giving a damn)!! As (hopefully) my response indicates , I DO Care and a really DO “give a damn†about our customers, our dealers and our employees here @ Peavey…I think that this kind of “caring approach†in doing business is WHY I have been fortunate enough to survive in this highly competitive business for Over FIVE DECADES….
Peavey’s (and my) 56th Anniversary is coming up this June 1st!!! I have witnessed the music and sound industry change one hellova lot over the years… Sadly mostly NOT for the “Betterâ€!!
By watching the “circus†of the music business closely, I have been lucky enough to avoid the mistakes of my competitors, but I did encounter other mistakes that I didn’t anticipate… All these were “Learning Opportunities†for me as well as for our folks… I have tried HARD to learn something EVERY DAY, and if one does that for over 5 ½ DECADES
There are LOTS of lessons learned… Interestingly, almost all the people I competed with over the years are no longer in this end of the Music Business…. Most competing companies (even those with Famous Names) no longer have the same ownership, passion, creativity and/or management… NOT SO @ Peavey (Thankfully)… In any event, if “EXPERIENCE†is “THE GREAT TEACHERâ€, I have been in the “CLASSROOM†longer that anybody In our end of the business……
Bill, please know that we appreciate you for your PASSION for PERFECTION, and for being a “straight shooter†in helping us voice our gear…Sometimes people tell us that “everything is great†because they think that is what we want to hear…Thankfully, you “tell it like it isâ€, and that helps us get closer to “the best sound possibleâ€â€¦.Please know that we Do appreciate you as well as your Talent, honesty & willingness to help us in our Quest to be the BEST!…..
With Respect and Warmest Regards………..Hartley"
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AUTHORIZED George L's, Goodrich, Telonics and Peavey Dealer: I have 2 steels and several amps. My current rig of choice is 1993 Emmons LeGrande w/ 108 pups (Jack Strayhorn built for me), Goodrich OMNI Volume Pedal, George L's cables, Goodrich Baby Bloomer and Peavey Nashville 112. Can't get much sweeter. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2021 6:47 am
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I have always been a Peavey fan and now, more so! 
Erv |
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Dustin Rigsby
From:
Parts Unknown, Ohio
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Posted 3 May 2021 6:51 pm
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I’m firmly in the peavey camp now !
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D.S. Rigsby |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 10 May 2021 9:40 am
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When the Solo Series was introduced, Marguerite's Music put an Electrovoice EVM-12L in a Bandit. They had me try it out. I bought it immediately. Perfect match of amp and speaker. Played guitar and steel through it for years.
I didn't care for the next and later series. Seemed to "buzzy." But that might have been the different speaker. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 10 May 2021 10:05 am
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Rich,
Are they still in business?
I've bought stuff from them.
Erv |
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Bill Ferguson
From:
Milton, FL USA
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Posted 10 May 2021 11:09 am
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Please don't let this post get off topic and become an advertisement for other companies
Thank you
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AUTHORIZED George L's, Goodrich, Telonics and Peavey Dealer: I have 2 steels and several amps. My current rig of choice is 1993 Emmons LeGrande w/ 108 pups (Jack Strayhorn built for me), Goodrich OMNI Volume Pedal, George L's cables, Goodrich Baby Bloomer and Peavey Nashville 112. Can't get much sweeter. |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 10 May 2021 4:06 pm
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
Rich,
Are they still in business?
I've bought stuff from them.
Erv |
Marguerite's closed a few years ago. They are deeply missed, but a number of factors brought them down. I bought my MSA Classic S10 3X4 from them in 1979
. And a LOT of other stuff. |
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 18 May 2021 7:23 am
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A couple of years ago bought a heavily used early 80's Peavey Studio Pro 40. The CL seller said that the pots were noisy but otherwise it was fine.
I took it apart for a cleaning and well, there were a couple of other very minor problems. But some contact cleaner on the pots was the #1 thing that it needed.
Total cost? $25. (Don't hate me.) At that price I couldn't pass it up and had to take the chance.
To be honest, the Saturation circuit for my tastes leaves a lot to be desired..........until you tweak with it. You can't just plug in and turn the knobs to max.
For country or classic rock (not metal) I've read that the secret is to turn the Saturation off. Then use the Pre and Post controls just like a regular amp to get any overdrive/distortion. Then, if you want more, turn the Saturation up. I agree that this is the secret set up for this amp.
Using a footswitch, this is essentially then a two channel amp.
Even though this is a 40 year old amp, when I fired it up I was blown away. I expected some solid state, sterile, honky, fake sounding box. However, IMO this is not the case at all. This amp would do well in any southern rock type band. It really likes a Strat. The bright switch and the mid shift add a lot of tonal control. I was also surprised by the effects loop; I tried a Boss BF2 flanger and it seemed to work fine, although at extreme volumes it might overdrive the pedal. And speaking of volume, this thing is loud.
How impressed was I, you ask?
The next day I was stalking/prowling/cruising CL and ran across almost the exact same amp, with almost the exact same problems, a Peavey Studio Pro 50. However, this one was more expensive. $30. The best one went to a friend as a gift. The other will stay with me as a grab and go amp.
There is one odd quirk that I noticed with both of these amps. On both of them, the:
- Reverb send from the amp was connected to the OUTPUT on the reverb pan, and
- Reverb return on the amp was connected to the INPUT on the reverb pan.
The DC in/out resistances (not impedances) on both of the reverb pan were pretty close to being the same (100 ohms versus 300 ohms) so I don't know if it matters much.
I corrected it on the SP40, and when I got the SP50 later I noticed that it was backwards as well. Strange.
I have not tried reversing them to see if it matters one way or the other.
The other problem that is very common is that the knobs can come loose and fall off and get lost.
They are hard to find and expensive.
You can keep this from happening in several ways.
The cheapest is pulling the knobs off, then wrapping something around the pot shaft (even notebook paper will work), and reinstalling the knob.
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 18 May 2021 9:21 am
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Interesting that you should mention the Studio Pro 40. Several years back, I picked one up at a guitar show for $35 WITH a '66 Jensen EM1200 Concert Series (basically a C12N with a magnet cover) that sounded good. I figured I'd scoop the speaker and eventually get around to cleaning up the amp. It has sat for several years until late last week when I was reorganizing and trying to figure out what needed to go.
The amp was speakerless, and I figured, why waste a really good speaker on it. So I put in the speaker from my '75 Fender Musicmaster Bass amp, which sounded lousy in that amp but was in good shape otherwise. I could not believe my ears. Everything you said - rich, nice sparkly clean sound. But what surprised me is how good it sounded when pushed. I tried a Strat, Tele, and a LP style thing that I have set up for slide. All great. But the real kicker was how good it sounded with my Clinesmith cast aluminum 8-string steel. Absolutely unbelievable. I have some old and new Supros or a Princeton Reverb that I usually use, but side-by-side, I actually preferred the SP-40. Set correctly, running through Sleepwalk, I was stunned at how 'correct' that growl came through. I figured that if I liked it enough to think about keeping it, I'd replace that Musicmaster Bass speaker with something better. But not a chance. Another example of how a speaker can sound bad in one amp and great in another. Forget the specsmanship, it's the sound that counts.
I also have a Backstage and a Backstage Plus, the latter of which I leave down in Nashville for when we're down there. The Plus has a Rajin' Cajun, sounds good. The Backstage here has the original speaker now, which is a bit boxy sounding. I had a JBL in it for a while, much better, but I thought I'd sell it so I dropped the original back in. I'm re-thinking that. These are perfect grab-and-go amps for a lot of stuff for me. Built like a brick outhouse, these things are pretty much indestructible.
Mine:
They're both going to rehearsal tonight, and I'm gonna leave one of them at the rehearsal space. I need to finally clean up the Studio Pro 40 and put a different speaker in the Backstage. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 18 May 2021 5:16 pm
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A curiosity concerning the Session 115. After many years of people nagging Peavey to come out with another hi powered steel amp, seems like the players pretty much snubbed the new Session.
I'd be curious to know how many people here have one and how many overall were sold. I notice they are no longer listed on Peavey's website. Just the cabinets. The 2x12 RR and the single 115 cabinet.
Maybe there were so many other choices at the time they were introduced. It just seems they faded pretty quickly being that there had been so much squawking about putting out a new amp.
No, I didn't buy one....or any other amps as I'm well fixed for several years now and satisfied already. |
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Bill Ferguson
From:
Milton, FL USA
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Posted 19 May 2021 6:31 am
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Jerry, I don't know how many were sold, but you are right, they were snubbed.
REASON:
And I've talked to Hartley at length about this.
1. Too much time between announcement and actual production.
2. The prototype amp that I took to Texas show had too many problems. ie, a distorted sound, poor EQ, bad effects.
3. It took Peavey another 6-8 months after the prototype to correct the problems and get into production.
4. The amp was never MASS produced like other Peavey amps. They only built like 25 at a time, so availability was poor.
5. And foremost (IMHO). People thought that since it was a Peavey, that the price should be equal to Peavey prices in the past. And because it was somewhat of a "boutique" amp, the price was up there with many of the newer, lesser known boutique amps and people just would not pay that price for a Peavey amp.
6. The cabinet is large, like a Nashville 1000, and bulky.
It's sad, because I love mine.
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AUTHORIZED George L's, Goodrich, Telonics and Peavey Dealer: I have 2 steels and several amps. My current rig of choice is 1993 Emmons LeGrande w/ 108 pups (Jack Strayhorn built for me), Goodrich OMNI Volume Pedal, George L's cables, Goodrich Baby Bloomer and Peavey Nashville 112. Can't get much sweeter. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 19 May 2021 6:57 am
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Thanks for all that info Bill. I figured the main reason was #5 and that's a shame. Peavey amps have been the best value there is over the years. Bulletproof and many still going after nearly 50 yrs. of service.
I never understood steel players' paying top dollar for bars, seats, volume pedals, tuners and other electronics but skimp on the heart of the system....the amp. |
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 19 May 2021 9:22 am
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It seems like I defend Peavey a lot.....
When the 115 came out I posted a piece stating that I was thinking it was relatively a bargain for all you were getting and I still think that. Good lord, people will pay two or three thousand dollars for amps from someone they never heard of before, no offense to the customer or manufacturer of course. Here Peavey was asking like $1500 for a gobs of power amp with stereo capability and nice digital effects built in.
I can't explain it. No snob appeal I guess. I don't see how Buddy, Hal, Jeff Newman and those guys ever got a good sound without the latest and greatest boutique amps. Right. |
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Bill Terry
From:
Bastrop, TX
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Posted 19 May 2021 9:31 am
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| Doug wrote: |
| I don't see how Buddy, Hal, Jeff Newman and those guys ever got a good sound without the latest and greatest boutique amps. |
... or how they ever got and played in tune without some programmable tuner with a resolution of +/- 1 cents.. 
_________________
Lost Pines Studio
"I'm nuts about bolts" |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 19 May 2021 10:24 am
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On the Session 115 - I think the competition in the guitar amp business is brutal lately. There are so many amp makers out there now, and the emphasis on boutiquey-priced amps in the last 10-15 years has been on handwired tube amps. Even for steel players.
The other thing is that there are a lot of used Session/LTD/Nashville 400s out there, as well as Session 1000s and Nashville 112s, for a typical price of $350-400. They sound good, have been the pedal steel standard for a long time, and they refuse to die. Couple that with a lot of pedal steel players getting older and not wanting large, heavy amps. The Session 115 is large and not crazy heavy but not exactly light at around 50 pounds. Then add the competition from companies like Quilter putting 200 usable Watts into a 4 pound package, which has pretty well transformed the large, loud, clean amp business in just the last few years.
Right now there's a Session 115 in FS/Amps for $650. If I wasn't already awash in amps, I'd have already bought it. And I think you can add player inventory to the mix here - I believe a lot of players have more amps than they need now.
I brought both of my little Peaveys to rehearsal last night. They both sounded just fine. The Studio Pro 40 was a bit too loud for rehearsal, so I left the Backstage and I no longer need to drag amps to rehearsal. Everybody took a double-take - me with vintage tube amps and I bring these little, inexpensive, solid-state amps, and they sounded really good. |
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