Members sultan417 Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Alright, as promised here is my review of the Peavey VB-2 and matching 810 cabinet i bought two weeks ago. I've been jamming this thing pretty damn hard in the bandroom so i can't comment on how it preforms live, but i will give it my best assessment based upon past experience with tube bass heads and bass rigs in general. I used both my basses, a Fender American J bass with Basslines 1/4 lb pickups and an EBMM Stingray with an EMG Musicman pickup (wired to 18v). I also used both picks and fingers extensively, this is more of a happy accident for you since im using it in a new band and im trying to find my stride as to what sounds best. On first blush this thing may well be the fabled "SVT" killer that so many of you have emailed me asking, so a lot of my findings will be contrasted with the Ampeg SVT and 8x10 cab. Ill go through both like a normal HC review. Features : 9 Many people asked where the head and cab were made, both are made and assembled in the U.S.A., not China as even i thought they would've been. The VB-2 is 2 channels, clean and overdrive which are footswitchable. High and low gain inputs, mute button, FX loop, XLR out (with ground lift, pre/post eq button and level control) as well as a tuner out. The effects loop is located on the front of the amp for people who actually play out live which makes using it a lot easier than if it was on the back. No speakon jacks, just 1/4 inch jacks. Separate gain knobs for the clean and OD channels. The eq controls are very similar to an SVT with a low, mid level, mid shift and high knob and bright switch. But Peavey has added a presence knob and a resonance knob(presence adds highs from the power amp tubes like a guitar amp as its turned up, resonance adds lows). These two knobs let you really dial in your tone and are extremely useful. Master volume knob as well. Its all tube of course ( 2 12AX7 preamp tubes, 1 12AT7 phase inverter and 6 EL34 power amp tubes). AT 225 watts some may question if this thing has the volume to work in a live band, this thing has more volume than anything, easily as loud as an SVT. EL34 power amp tubes are notoriously louder (volumewise) per watt than 6l6's or 6550's, so this thing is major time loud. The cab has 8 10 inc neoydium speakers, a 1 inch horn, and is ported. All plywood, i took off back control plate and did not see one piece of MDF, awesome! Its got the towel rack in the back and back casters similar to the Ampeg 8x10 but its a LOT lighter. At 111lbs its easier than moving most 4x10's, that aint no lie. This thing is a gigging musicians dream. Sound Quality : 9Amazing, simply amazing tone from this beast. The head is dead quiet in idle, a little hissy when in OD mode but not too bad. The clean channel sounds as good as an SVT but with the resonance and presence knobs it can get into a lot more territory than an SVT. It does not have as much low end as an SVT but close, more than enough for me anyways so im real happy. Its got a real warm sound and you can drive the clean channel very nicely and get a perfect Geddy Lee tone with a J bass like nothing. The Stingray almost sounded like Rex Brown or Justin Chancellor's tone with a pick. With a little tweaking i found a tone on both basses that i loved that supported the band really well without getting lost in the mix, which is a bit of a rarity since most do one or the other. The OD channel is a bit of a dud. The drive sounds great except that is cuts off way too much low end and adds way too many highs to be useful unless you are soloing. Still it is useful but dont toss out that Turbo Rat pedal just yet. This head is extremely sensitive as to how much output your bass has. My J bass can stay very clean in the high gain input with the gain on half. The EMG Stingray on the other hand has to be in the low gain input with the gain on 3 to be clean at all (keep in mind it is at 18v, not the normal 9v). The head seems like its made specifically for rockers and metalheads, i dont think country guys or jazzers would dig it as much since it likes to be real loud and fairly dirty. I think there is more there for other types of players but as i said before it feels very rock specific. As i said before, Geddy Lee, Justin Chancellor, Phil Lynott, Rex Brown, Gene Simmons, Nikki Sixx, Chris Squire, Lemmy, Cliff Burton - Thats the type of vibe i get from this head, mean and dirty but still very, very clear and super articulate. The cab is equally impressive. Its got a i inch horn which it does not need at all. The speakers have as much presence as an Ampeg 8x10 and a bit more lows. Since its ported the cab projects better than the Ampeg but wont be as punchy. Still its got a lot of punch and is a perfect live or recording cab. Very solid. Reliability : 8-9I have only had it 2 weeks so i cant really comment except to say both the head and cab are constructed with the finest materials and were assembled very well. I dont see the cab or the head giving me any problems and i think both will hold up perfectly on he road if the proper care is taken and they aren't abused. Customer Support : No Opinion Overall Rating : 10It is the SVT killer, no question and i respect that Ampeg devotees will want my credentials on that. I have owned an Ampeg SVT and 8x10 for 7 years and logged hundreds of gigs and many hours of recording time with them. I love the Ampeg stuff too, dont get me wrong. This Peavey rig will definitely give the SVT a run for its money and since the entire rig, cab and all cost me the same as an SVT head you'd have to be smoking rocks not to at least check this head out first. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar Peavey has knocked it out of the park in my opinion and really stepped it up. I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot more of these out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Nice review! I'd like to hear that head on the new Peavey 2x15 bottom also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks for the detailed review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Danke, any more questions feel free to email me and ill hook you up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ministryoflower Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Pics !!! ..........or It does not exist .......:poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rpsands Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 That 215 cab seems drastically overpriced to me. 800 bucks? I could buy two Dr. Bass 115s with kappa pro LFs for that price and weigh about the same, and yet be more modular. Even LDS can do that same cab for 450, so 100 bucks more for pro cabs with linex coating. 550 seems more like the price point to me, maybe 600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rpsands Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 The amp...it needs a blend for the channels! Other than that it looks amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wanderlusterer Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Pics !!! ..........or It does not exist .......:poke: He posted them HERE Sultan, That's an excellent review. Out of curiosity, have you had the chance to put the VB-2 through your SVT cab yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 He posted them HERESultan, That's an excellent review. Out of curiosity, have you had the chance to put the VB-2 through your SVT cab yet? I sold all of my Ampeg stuff months ago because i bought a house and needed money for the down payment, taxes etc, so no i havent. I doubt it would sound much different, probably a bit punchier but the Peavey 810 sounds very much like the Ampeg to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 The amp...it needs a blend for the channels! Other than that it looks amazing. My thoughts exactly, thats the only feature i wish this head had. But since i almost always get my dirt from a Turbo Rat pedal its not really that big an issue for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeonVomit Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Features : 9 Many people asked where the head and cab were made, both are made and assembled in the U.S.A., not China as even i thought they would've been. [YOUTUBE]DhM3R7HFc-w[/YOUTUBE] It says Made in China on the back in this video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted April 1, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2008 It says Made in China on the back in this video That was the original plan. One of the delays in launching the product was moving the manufacturing back to the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 That was the original plan. One of the delays in launching the product was moving the manufacturing back to the US. Yup - the other contradiction I caught in that video is that he stated it was one of their 1st tube amps for bass - to my knowledge, the AlphaBass and Classic 400 have been out for quite some time... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Glyder Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 That overdrive sounded like {censored}ttttt!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted April 1, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2008 The amp...it needs a blend for the channels! That's what a good amp tech is for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted April 2, 2008 Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 That overdrive sounded like {censored}ttttt!!!!!!!!!!! I actually would like to be able to blend both channels to my liking. Like about a third of the distortion channel to 2 thirds of the fat, warm channel. Actually running stereo is the best way to blend overdrive with fat bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted April 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 It says Made in China on the back in this video Surprised me too, hey either one really didnt matter to me. The Valvekings are killer guitar heads do i knew it would be good either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted April 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 That overdrive sounded like {censored}ttttt!!!!!!!!!!! Agreed 100%, thats the only thing i dont like on this head which is why im really glad i didnt buy it for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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