Hello all, meet my new 1973 Peavey Vintage Tube Amp. I know there isnt too much love for Peavey here, but I think the legitimate vintage series is a real hidden gem in Peavey's lineup over the past 48 years.
I recently picked up this bad boy at a resale shop for a cool $300. Have confirmed it's from 1973 and has had some work done on it somewhere in the past few years.
I absolutely love this amp, I don't have much experience with super high end amplifiers so to me a vintage tube is my first real introduction into authentic vintage sound. When I play some low down fuzz through this baby with my LP I feel like I actually am the rolling stones for a second.
There are a few things I was weary off when purchasing the amp but I'm up to the challenge to make this baby my new main gig amp. I have searched the forums and done a bit of research off the site and haven't found anything too specific so I was hoping I could get some advice on how to take care of a 40 year old amplifier.
Normal Channel (2 inputs) + Bright Channel (2 inputs)
All my knobs go to 12, which is great because spinal tap, but one thing I was worried about greatly was that little guy you see all the way to the right in this picture below
Taking a closer look here we have a ground switch and a fuse. I knew older amplifiers had ground switches, but I wasn't entirely sure of their purpose.
Now the amp has been updated with a 3 prong outlet, but I still have worries concerning this ground switch. First off, the back of the amp is entirely exposed there is no cover. I plan to buy a cover but am unsure how to securely put it on.
I am very unsure of how the ground switch position effects things, but as you can see the ground switch is indeed still connected to the fuse and the power. I have shocked the ****ing shit out of myself twice now trying to clean the pre-amp a bit. I do not know how to safely disconnect this ground switch but i know it is not needed anymore as the amp has been updated with a 3 prong plug.
Last but not least, 4 big beautiful tubes.
The amp pops if i try and get too crazy with it. Turned up my big muff and got experimental with my strymon blue sky and it didn't like it one bit. I always make sure to warm up the tubes for a solid minute or two, then turn it on and just let some high voltage DC flow through them for another solid minute before giving it any signal. The louder I go, the more the popping exist. The amp is incredibly loud and the tone is phenominal but as you can see this amp has seen some rough days.
Is tuning up this amp something I can do myself or should I shell out some cash to a professional to make sure this can handle my next gig? I need to clean the tweed, it is very dirty, but am unsure what to use that wont damage it. I am unsure if the (very loud) popping is due to the age of the speakers or the condition of the pre-amp (which is pretty dirty too). I am very worried about this amp becoming live without my permission due to the ground switch issue, also it ****ing HURTS ALOT when you accidentally touch pretty much anything on the pre-amp when its turned on.
The tube's perform well but they have seen use as you can see. Peavey does not have an archived manual for this amplifier and their customer support has been less than helpful. If anyone has any advice on how to take care of this baby I would be greatly appreciative. I absolutely love the tone of this thing and want to get it working well enough to be my go to amplifier.
Thank you for reading,
-Git
I recently picked up this bad boy at a resale shop for a cool $300. Have confirmed it's from 1973 and has had some work done on it somewhere in the past few years.
I absolutely love this amp, I don't have much experience with super high end amplifiers so to me a vintage tube is my first real introduction into authentic vintage sound. When I play some low down fuzz through this baby with my LP I feel like I actually am the rolling stones for a second.
There are a few things I was weary off when purchasing the amp but I'm up to the challenge to make this baby my new main gig amp. I have searched the forums and done a bit of research off the site and haven't found anything too specific so I was hoping I could get some advice on how to take care of a 40 year old amplifier.
Normal Channel (2 inputs) + Bright Channel (2 inputs)
All my knobs go to 12, which is great because spinal tap, but one thing I was worried about greatly was that little guy you see all the way to the right in this picture below
Taking a closer look here we have a ground switch and a fuse. I knew older amplifiers had ground switches, but I wasn't entirely sure of their purpose.
Now the amp has been updated with a 3 prong outlet, but I still have worries concerning this ground switch. First off, the back of the amp is entirely exposed there is no cover. I plan to buy a cover but am unsure how to securely put it on.
I am very unsure of how the ground switch position effects things, but as you can see the ground switch is indeed still connected to the fuse and the power. I have shocked the ****ing shit out of myself twice now trying to clean the pre-amp a bit. I do not know how to safely disconnect this ground switch but i know it is not needed anymore as the amp has been updated with a 3 prong plug.
Last but not least, 4 big beautiful tubes.
The amp pops if i try and get too crazy with it. Turned up my big muff and got experimental with my strymon blue sky and it didn't like it one bit. I always make sure to warm up the tubes for a solid minute or two, then turn it on and just let some high voltage DC flow through them for another solid minute before giving it any signal. The louder I go, the more the popping exist. The amp is incredibly loud and the tone is phenominal but as you can see this amp has seen some rough days.
Is tuning up this amp something I can do myself or should I shell out some cash to a professional to make sure this can handle my next gig? I need to clean the tweed, it is very dirty, but am unsure what to use that wont damage it. I am unsure if the (very loud) popping is due to the age of the speakers or the condition of the pre-amp (which is pretty dirty too). I am very worried about this amp becoming live without my permission due to the ground switch issue, also it ****ing HURTS ALOT when you accidentally touch pretty much anything on the pre-amp when its turned on.
The tube's perform well but they have seen use as you can see. Peavey does not have an archived manual for this amplifier and their customer support has been less than helpful. If anyone has any advice on how to take care of this baby I would be greatly appreciative. I absolutely love the tone of this thing and want to get it working well enough to be my go to amplifier.
Thank you for reading,
-Git
