Members tlbonehead Posted April 16, 2011 Members Share Posted April 16, 2011 very cool little amp and an absolute steal if its healthy. And the tubes are mounted horizontally, which makes them heard to see. But it also makes it really simple to build a head case for the chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members foose4string Posted April 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 The amp is definitely healthy. Nothing wrong with it other than the fact the tubes have never been changed...and it still sounds pretty good despite that! I just ordered a new set of JJ tubes. Very much looking forward to hearing it with the new tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tedmich Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 1991 Amp of the year I believe, and 2 x EL84 are about 16watts tops, at least with this B+ Replacing the speaker if THE hot ticket, many like Celestion V30, but a guy on Youtube had his through a Mesa Thiele and it sounded godlike, with a ported cab making the bright EL84 sound just about perfectly dark. The reverb is a problem as most squeal above "5" so bagging it can help, The PS caps could use a replacement likely, with bigger values in the same size making things quieter,many swear by bypassing the "coring diode" noise gate but it only changes the clean channel a bit IME, and WTFCs. my Bravo was $50 from a Clist ad that had one of the heater fuses burned, a great little amp usually (stupidly) sold by guys who buy the "gotta have 120w 4x12 stack if you gig twice yearly" bull{censored} and live in regret forevermore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members foose4string Posted May 16, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 16, 2011 Been a couple of weeks since the new tubes. Definitely cleaned up the tone a bit. The clean channel has a little more sparkle. The distortion channel has a little more chunk and not quite as flubby in the bass response. Mids seem about the same....maybe a little more clarity there too. Overall, the amp seemed a little warmer with the Peavey tubes in it. The overall volume is about the same. Neither set of tubes sounds bad, just different. To be honest, haven't done a carp load of practicing on guitar and have not had a lot of time to break the new tubes in. Playing fiddle in 3 bands has been keeping me pretty busy lately, so most of my playing time has been devoted to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MetalHed Posted May 16, 2011 Members Share Posted May 16, 2011 New tubes and a new speaker really bring this bad boy to life. Replacing the baffle board with something made of better wood also helps, but the speaker is the most important replacement. The stock speaker is garbage, just about anything will be an upgrade. I personally found the G12T-100 to be a great match with this amp as it helps beef up the low end that the amp lacks on it's own (due to using EL-84's, which are mid heavy, and due to being an open back combo). Others have had great results with the Vintage 30. Would love to hear a G12H-30 in a Bravo, that might be the ticket..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pioneerprogress Posted May 16, 2011 Members Share Posted May 16, 2011 New tubes and a new speaker really bring this bad boy to life. Replacing the baffle board with something made of better wood also helps, but the speaker is the most important replacement. The stock speaker is garbage, just about anything will be an upgrade. I personally found the G12T-100 to be a great match with this amp as it helps beef up the low end that the amp lacks on it's own (due to using EL-84's, which are mid heavy, and due to being an open back combo). Others have had great results with the Vintage 30. Would love to hear a G12H-30 in a Bravo, that might be the ticket..... I'm leaning towards putting a k100 in my combo, or maybe looking at some of the emi legends. It sounds killer through my 1x12 with the k100, that is an open back cab.It sounds awesome through my 1960, but also have to take into account that's a closed back cab, and perhaps a t75 wouldn't sound that good in an open back combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madrigal77 Posted May 16, 2011 Members Share Posted May 16, 2011 Nice score!! I little Peavey combos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members foose4string Posted May 16, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 16, 2011 I've been eyeballing the Carvin(Eminence) guitar speakers. If just about any speaker is an upgrade from the stock speaker, then would a Carvin speaker be worth it? A V30 would be nice, but it's more dollars than I feel comfortable throwing at this amp at the moment. There aren't too many V30 haters, and it seems like it would be a perfect match though. A Legend might be a good compromise. The new tubes were a fun experiment, and by all accounts was probably a wise decision to change, but I think that $50 would have been better spent towards a new speaker. I hate being cheap, but seeing as guitar takes a backseat most of the time, and don't know that I'll be gigging with this amp any time soon, I need to allocate my funds wisely. Ever priced a set of good violin strings and bow rehairs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members osodf Posted April 25, 2013 Members Share Posted April 25, 2013 I just got one for the second time, and this time I try it with my main guitar and I just dont belive it!!! a small amp for $100 bucks sounds like a $500, frist time I knew it was a tube amp but I just try to make some money out of it, this time Iwas more interested than a cat with a string under the table, so I took it to my music room, play it by it self and I was like woooowww than I hook it to my Genz-Benz Gflex 2x12 cab wow even better, than try it with a 4x12 Fender cab mmmmm not good, the cab sucks even with celestion vintage speakers yet this amp realy rocks, I know I can play a lot new metal under 25 watts for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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