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NAD - Peavey XXX Head - Now I need a 2x12 Cabinet

yell03

By yell03
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yell03 Newbie

yell03

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It was weird how I ended up with the XXX, it was not even an amp I even considered.

 

I was actually only interested in a Peavey 6505+, a Bugera 6262 (I heard it was the same as a 6505+ for 1/2 the price), or a Krank Rev Jr Pro.

 

I played a 6505+ at GC on Monday and loved it, I was pretty much ready to buy it or the Bugera.

 

Tuesday I headed over to Sam Ash, they are the only local store that even had a Bugera in stock, it was not a 6262, but a 333.

No problem, I just wanted to check out the quality and see how it sounded compared to the Peavey it was copying, the XXX.

 

First amp I plugged in to was the Bugera 6262, the guy who works there told me to stay away (he is always cool with me as you will see later on), but I didn't care, 1/2 price for the same sound = DEAL!

 

The Bugera sounded nice, really nice, but right away it started cutting in and out. I could tell the Build Quality was no where near as solid as the Peavey.

I decided, stop being CHEAP and buy a quality amp.

 

Next up I went over to my first choice the 6505+.

It needed a speaker cable to connect it to the cabinet, so while the guy I know there went to get one I plugged in to a Peavey Triple XXX Head and cabinet.

Just like the Bugera, it sounded Great, and it felt ROCK SOLID, it had 3 nice channels, clean, crunch and ultra, but I knew what I was here to buy.

 

Next up I finally plugged in to the 6505+.

I played with it for a while and for some reason it wasn't blowing me away like it did the day before at GC?:confused:

The clean channel sounded really weak, the distortion was great, but not flexible.

It hit me, I think I like the XXX better.

No, I can't like the XXX better, the 6505+, 6505, 5150s are what everyone uses, I never even heard of a XXX.:rolleyes:

 

Back over to the XXX, wow, the cleans are actually nice, the gain is BALLZY, the crunch channel has more than enough without even turning the gain knob up, and the Ultra channel, Fugeddaboudit:lol:

 

I will say, the Bottom end of the 6505+ was tighter, but the flexibilty of the XXX was really amazing.

The 6505+ seemed like a real Metal Machine, but the XXX seemed able to go from Nice cleans, to Heavy Blues, to 80s Hair, and even pull off Metal.

 

Now, I did not know what XXXs cost, so when I saw a Closeout Price of it NEW for $999 I did not know if it was good.

A quick call to my daughter's boyfriend and a few internet prices from MF, GC, Music123, etc... and I found out the XXX actually sells for $1249 everywhere.:eek:

 

While I was on vacation I had received a 15% off coupon from Sam Ash, time to see if my buddy would hook me up.

 

I asked him if he could do it and without hesitation he said YES!!!:thu:

 

Next thing I know I am buying a BRAND NEW XXX head for $850, after tax = $909.:)

 

Of course now I need a 2x12 cab so I can't even play it at home.

 

Tonight after work I am going to check out some cabs, I am leaning towards a Mesa Rectifier 2x12 closed back cab.

 

I am probably going to trade in my Peavey Valveking 1x12 combo for one, if I do that alot of my distortion pedals are going to be expendable as the XXX does not need any help.:)

 

I will need to pick up a reverb pedal, but that is not a big deal.

 

All my equipment (amps and pedals) are only 30-60 days old, I am sure my local stores will take them back for sale price or pretty close if I buy a cabinet or Reverb pedal from them, heck, I give them enough business.

 

As for the XXX, I don't think my ears were lying to me.

I hope not, the 6505+ was really what I wanted.

The Krank Rev Jr Pro and matching 1x12 cabinet was a screaming deal with 15% off from MF = $680 shipped, but would I have really been happy?:confused:

The XXX has 120w, but sound good at low volumes which is how I usually play.

 

My big dilemma is which cabinet for portability.

 

I actually like the little Krank 1x12 cabinets, they handle 100w of power and I have the option of running two of them.

They are $199 any day of the week.

 

The mesa rectifier 2x12 cab looks good too, probably my 1st choice, but I just need to find one and I am not going to pay $600 for a 2x12 cab.

Locally I have seen some used for around $300-$400.

 

Ideally I would like to trade some gear rather than lay out more $$$, but if I find one I like I'll buy it.

 

Any cabinet suggestions?

 

I saw a Crate 2x12 closed back cab for $119 on sale brand new, but I don't think that will be high quality enough for the XXX.

 

Howard

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Aibric Newbie

Aibric

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I would say no on the Crate.

 

Th XXX cabinet has speakers in it that I think are similar to Vintage 30's (though not exactly) so you might look into an Avatar cab. You might actually think about trying G12T-75's with it as well. Any Marshall 1960 cabinet ought to have these speakers in it, so it isn't hard to find to try them out. The G12T speakers have a less prominent midrange, which could give you more control over the sometimes over-emphasized Peavey Ultra series mids.

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TheEsupremacy Newbie

TheEsupremacy

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Hey man, that was a cool post. You seem like you have money, but yet know how to spend with some f'n common sense. A Peavey Triple X is a DAMN GOOD amp. I swear, if I ever find a new/almost new/flawless shape combo, I'm gonna buy it. MORE killer metal cd's have been made using that amp than most people realize. I give you the latest Exodus cd as an example. Try boosting it for some insane gain (OD808 and it's crazy fun!). Have fun with that baby!!! It IS a really nice amp and congrats on your new amp day. Add a 6505 to that and you're metal tones would be beyond covered. By the way....

Vader cabs.

Period.

End of. You'll LOVE it. They are only like $690 for a 4 X 12. It WILL love your amp more than my typed words can ever express. Congrats again bro!!!! :thu:

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Aibric Newbie

Aibric

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Hey man, that was a cool post. You seem like you have money, but yet know how to spend with some f'n common sense. A Peavey Triple X is a DAMN GOOD amp. I swear, if I ever find a new/almost new/flawless shape combo, I'm gonna buy it. MORE killer metal cd's have been made using that amp than most people realize. I give you the latest Exodus cd as an example. Try boosting it for some insane gain (OD808 and it's crazy fun!). Have fun with that baby!!! It IS a really nice amp and congrats on your new amp day. Add a 6505 to that and you're metal tones would be beyond covered. By the way....

Vader cabs.

Period.

End of. You'll LOVE it. They are only like $690 for a 4 X 12. It WILL love your amp more than my typed words can ever express. Congrats again bro!!!!
:thu:

 

What type of speaker is in the Vader cabs? Isn't it a "custom voiced" eminence or something like that?

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MightyThor Newbie

MightyThor

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I tried the same amps this weekend too. The XXX is nice and is pretty flexible. I didn't care for the ultra channel. The 6505 is just way too much amp for my needs. It's a beast for sure. I went looking to buy a nice metal head but walked away thinking I'm reeally more of a combo type guy.

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Aibric Newbie

Aibric

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I tried the same amps this weekend too. The XXX is nice and is pretty flexible. I didn't care for the ultra channel. The 6505 is just way too much amp for my needs. It's a beast for sure. I went looking to buy a nice metal head but walked away thinking I'm reeally more of a combo type guy.

 

 

Yeah my only problem with the XXX is that the Ultra channel is basically pointless. The "Crunch" channel has more gain than anyone could possibly need already.

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K-Bizzle Newbie

K-Bizzle

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The Mesa Dual Recs I've played seemed to lack all the Ballz the XXX and 6505have, granted some people don't want that much gain, but I do.


Wow, will I still need my Metal Zone?



The ULtra channel is a bit much, but the crunch channel is perfect and I'll still use the Ultra channel I'm sure;)



I don't plan on buying the Crate.

I am leaning towards the Mesa Dual Rec cabinet, but I need to hear it first.

I is very compact which I need for my trunk.




I have been looking at Avatar.

They are bigger than the Mesa which could be a problem.

I have a medium size trunk, not lots of height for a tall cab.


 

 

Dump the Metal Zone and pick up a good boost of your choice.

 

I highly recommend V30/G12T75 speaker combo with this head, no matter which cab you get.

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K-Bizzle Newbie

K-Bizzle

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Does the Boss OD3 count as a boost?

 

 

Yes, I'm not familiar with how good of one it is but yes.

 

On my TS-808 I like to to max out the level, overdrive just slightly above 0, and adjust the tone to taste.

 

try that in front of it and see how you like it.

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fistacuffs Newbie

fistacuffs

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I wonder if other people would agree with me

 

that the 5150 head does not do store demos very well

 

It will sound better in a big room. even better when you add other players.

 

where is the master volume on the 5150. I owned one for years and could never find it.

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Aibric Newbie

Aibric

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I wonder if other people would agree with me


that the 5150 head does not do store demos very well


It will sound better in a big room. even better when you add other players.


where is the master volume on the 5150. I owned one for years and could never find it.

 

Yeah they sound kind of crappy to me at lower volumes, and i've never really turned an amp up in a store unless they have one of those sound dampened rooms for it. 5150 sounds {censored}ing awesome cranked though...one of the last shows I went to (which was like a year ago :cry:) was afestival where most of the bands played through the provided dual recto stacks. But Pagan's Mind's (an excellent prog/metal band from Norway) guitarist always uses 5150II and rented a couple of them here locally rather than use the Mesas he was unfamiliar with...and he had the best tone of the whole two day event. It was even the stock 5150 cabinets. :eek: Sounded worlds better than the Rectos and just awesome in general.

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yell03 Newbie

yell03

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A Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12 sounds pretty damn good with that XXX head, BTW! It really tames that fuzzy high end on that amp.

 

 

I'll look in to it, but they are hard to find.

 

I didn't realize the Mesa 2x12 sells new for $620:eek:

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