‼️Dweezil Zappa SHREDS light on one of most underrated guitar amps on the PLANET! The Peavey WIGGY🤯🎸

[@johnfields8745]

Scott Wisker and I designed this amp waaaaay back when we were both still puppies. It's great to see it getting some positive press....lol. We also did a tube version that was never released, which was based on the Classic 100 preamp and XXX power amp section with a sick tube graphic EQ that basically nobody will ever hear. Good times.... thanks for sharing!

[@thedweezilzappa]

I still have both of the prototypes I am going to make some Wiggy videos soon!

[@MastersofShred]

OMG! That prototype sounds INCREDIBLE!! 🤯🙌🎸 Thanks so much for sharing this with us and we are greatly looking forward to Dweezil’s upcoming vids showcasing it!🤯🙌🎸

[@thedweezilzappa]

@@MastersofShred I actually played it on the TV show called On The Spot. There's a video of me using it to play Crazy Train with Jack Black. I use the EVH Rasta guitar. The tone is just the Wiggy straight up.

[@Michel-r6m]

​@@thedweezilzappaI have seen that video 👍😎

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

I grew up in the Memphis, TN area in the 80s-90s, back when Peavey was still making a lot of stuff in Meridian, MS. In the pre-Internet days, most of our music stores stocked Peavey, Crate, and to some extent Randall after they were bought by Washburn/US Music. Fender, Gibson, Mesa, and Marshall stuff was boutique expensive, came from the coasts, and you didn't know if you would like it until you tried it, although it seemed every shop had an old beat up JCM800 in some stage of disrepair and modification. The usual brands I enjoyed like Charvel/Jackson, BC Rich, ESP (and later LTD), and Ibanez could likewise be very expensive, causing me to usually buy their import Japanese made stuff and then upgrade the hardware and electronics later. So, we in the mid-South and Midwest regions really appreciated you guys working, designing, and making stuff next door at Peavey, and of course once the 5150 hit it big we were happy because we could have a quality high gain amp for a reasonable price, especially once they became so popular that many of them hit the used market. Along with pre-Kiesel Carvin, I considered Peavey to be one of the best value American brands. Just about every club here had some old Peavey PA from the 70s that still worked like a charm. I hope everyone at Peavey today is able to turn the brand around someday. It's a great brand, especially its more iconic products.

[@joecole8658]

Dweezil playing through the amp on camera might be cool. 🤷

[@reverendg5937]

I own a Full Wiggy Stack. And I luv it!!!! 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@fabmsrohfm2593]

I remember in 2000's in Brazil... exposed in a guitar store for long time. Very scary to some people.

[@fabmsrohfm2593]

Peavey classic is ones the best valve amps in the market in 90s to 2010

[@tomcopsonjr9463]

Still have my Wiggy amp many years later with my footswitch. Love it.

[@MastersofShred]

NICE! We need to get that foot switch so we can really tinker with the different tones it can achieve 😬👍🎸🎸

[@thedweezilzappa]

@@MastersofShred There are so many interesting tones you can achieve, especially with single coil guitars.

[@TheTN24]

The Peavey Classic series were fantastic amps. Lots of big players of the day used them.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

They Classics were great all-rounders if I recall for those who wanted some distortion on tap but also cleans for a great blues sound.

[@gordancvetkovic1966]

They still are !

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

Dweezil is spitting truth about small amps. Michael Shanker recorded a good portion of the album "Obsession" by UFO with pignose and got a killer tone!

[@dennisrohm6372]

Frank used a pig nose to record

[@andyhayes7828]

Michael used the pignose for all of the guitar parts on the 'Lights Out' album, but only used a Pignose for the rhythm parts on 'Obsession'. This really made those Marshall powered solo's (cranked 50 watt 4 holer) really stand out. Michael did use the pignose for the solo's in 'Looking out for number one (reprise)' and 'Born to Lose'

[@killacoiler1707]

Clapton recorded I shot the Sheriff on a pignose amp. Hell Satriani recorded multiple tracks using a Rockman. So did Def Leppard and Boston. Just because an amp is small or solid state doesn't mean you cannot get stellar tone. If you have issues with getting the tone you are seeking from a solid state amp it is as simple as adding a really good equalizer pedal with 7 to 10 band adjustments. Onboard EQ is the most limiting factor of any amplifier because it doesn't have the dynamic isolation capability of specific frequency ranges the way that multi-band EQ does. The other important factor is matching speakers to the output levels and frequencies you are looking to achieve. If you are recording the speakers you are using will be mic'd and the volume won't be dimed so using speakers that handle less power would be more advantageous at lower volume levels because they in theory will react in similar fashion to your 4 or 8 count full stack with your Plexi dimed. You need to match multiple things and there is no one and done unit that will achieve such be it analog or digital.. This is what makes writing music and developing a unique and signature tone such an awesome journey is that there are endless possibilities, factors, and combinations that one can call upon to find that sound they seek; and there is no better or worse just simply individual taste.

[@williamcampbell163]

Michael Schenker rocks.Big influence.😊

[@guitarcafeguy]

I remember these in the Musicians Friend magazine and they were like $400, to show you how much things have gone up, A Gibson Les Paul Custom was $2,000!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

7:45 - I like this phrase, professionally offended! Rock forgot how to have fun! It’s so serious with a chip on the shoulder, but barely hanging on. Too many guitarists arguing about tonewood and the cost of a Gibson instead of trying to have fun with some awesome toys!

[@PolishHammer]

This is gold I could never figure that cool looking Peavey out at the store hahaha and that Classic 30 is a gem mine I hope mine lasts forever I have a black original version and it rocks.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

I remember when this was new and being pushed hard in the 90s and early 00s I think. It looks like a guitar amp from the Fallout games.

[@MisterBlue80]

Accurate description.

[@JalenRawley]

I loved the Wiggy! And Dweezil is exactly right about finding it in music stores without the footswitch. And the staff never knew shit about them either. I remember finding one in a mom and pop shop Baton Rouge in late '98/early '99 and I had to try it, and the staff there was looking at me funny like, "Really?" I was all hell yeah about it and rattled off all of the details about it, how Dweezil was involved, how even though it's solid state it had great distortion because you could really shape it, how they had to have the footswitch out for it, how because it's solid state it's an awesome pedal platform. I plugged a Parker Nitefly into it, twiddled some knobs and got a killer tone out of it quickly and they were blown away. They had no idea, they just thought it looked neat. I would have loved the all tube model too, I can't wait to see more about that!

[@MashaT22]

Yes revive this amp!! Also, why didn’t Peavy send the foot switch to anyone who didn’t get it for free if they failed to include it inside the box as it should have been? If I had found that out (assuming I ever owned one) I would have gotten the horn (just aged myself with that reference) with Peavy for that! 😂😂😂

[@Michel-r6m]

Few years ago my local store had one of these. It looks very nice. Dweezil Zappa 👍 Will always remember he as a kid was a bit of a fan of EVH and EVH called Frank and Dweezil took the phone...👍👍👍

[@charlesb7831]

I've been trying to find one of these amps, never seen one here. I have 2 teal stripe series Peavey I absolutely love , a Peavey stereo chorus 2x12 (amazing amp) and a Peavey Bandit.

[@paulmccabe2966]

Okay...I want a Wiggy...😍

[@dlmyrs]

Want? Need!

[@bobc.5698]

I liked the looks of the wiggy. I had a peavey bravo though.....the "stack in a box"....

[@EddieKingMusic]

I have one and love it!

[@Wunkter]

Well guess who’s kicking themselves for not snagging one of these a couple months ago when I had the chance? 😭😭

[@metalrules1135]

I never saw one in person back when it was out. I had no idea what kind of sounds it was capable of. The layout looked cool, but it nothing seemed very apparent, or intuitive, about what did what. So, not knowing what it did, and not being able to try one out, I just kind of wrote them off. And even after this video, I still don't know what does what or what the thing is actually capable of doing.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

As a metal player, what made me hesitant about this amp was I wasn't sure what it was supposed to sound like based on looks. Upon seeing it I thought of maybe a jangly Vox or rockabilly semi-hollow P90 Brian Setzer sort of sound. Something that was clean but would break up in a very unique way. It seemed cool as a novelty but not something I would use on stage (it would stick out like a sore thumb on a Marshall/Mesa/5150 backline). Putting this amp style out at the time took a lot of guts. Everything in the 90s for metal and rock had that Dual Rectifier or vintage Marshall look, and of course the 5150s were popular in the genre. This amp looked cool but it looked kind of like a toy or one of those amp shaped refrigerators you would find in the same part of the store as a Kiss casket. Somewhat gimmicky but a very cool, unique gimmick. (Peavey would revive tongue-in-cheek humorous gimmicks with the "hair," "body," and "bottom" on the XXX.) I'd say the only thing that gets close to this amp as far as unique aesthetics is the Fender Cybertwin from the 00s with the automated knobs. Not sure they sounded that great being early 00s modeling and solid state technology, but watching those knobs turn on their own to match the preset was a cool experience. Trace-Elliot and Buddha (still Peavey brands I think) were other amps with unique design aesthetics. Not sure how easy a Wiggy is to find these days (they seemed really popular in Musicians Friend and Guitar Center catalogs then dropped off quick with a lot of them showing up used), but if I recall Peavey has a Wiggy sim in their Revalver software. So maybe there is hope yet for those of us who don't own a real Wiggy to have a Wiggy sound.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

I just looked on reverb and guitar center and there’s nothing for sale. The last one that sold on reverb was almost $1000 I kinda think it was ahead of its time, maybe 10 to 15 years too early Like you said, when it came out pop and metal were gaining popularity, and it looks like it’s for some kind of quirky sub genre of rock or punk. Also, when it came out, marketing was pushing hard on tube amps and analog pedals

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

@@honkytonkinson9787 Kemper profilers look like futuristic 50s toasters, so I definitely see the Wiggy's look fitting in after being relaunched by Peavey as a modeling amp.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

@@AAAA-lt9hq I seem to recall Peavey had another amp that looked kinda similar that was a tube amp with all kinds of switches to attempt to sound like different kinds of tube amps. Called the Pentode I think

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

@@honkytonkinson9787 Sounds familiar.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

@@honkytonkinson9787 Randall's RM100 modular head/preamp of the late 90s/early 2000s was also a pretty cool innovation for the time. I seem to remember Anthrax's Scott Ian endorsing it for a while. Three channel heads with an intermediate gain channel were new back then because people wanted more flexibility. That said, Randall probably saw the benefit of selling the unit with the hope that people would come back to put money into the preamps, which weren't cheap at somewhere around $200-300 90s/00s money each. Same business model as selling a printer at a loss in order to sell ink. My reservation about the model was the difficulty of finding replacement parts and not every preamp sounds good with a static power amp, although I'm sure they had this in mind when designing it.

[@101xaplax101]

what rating agency are you referring to?

[@iamroberty]

I thought this amp was so cool.

[@dananthony6258]

I want a Ramones comic book amp.

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

I don't care what it sounds like I want one! That thing looks too cool to not own one!🤘 I will bet anything Joe bonamassa has one🤣

[@JPTyler]

I'm willing to bet he has them all now 😂 These were seriously goid& very unique amps that didn't get enough attention.

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

@@JPTyler 🤣

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

Isn't Joe double-Dumbled and Klon'ed?

[@icu469]

I still have no idea what it sounds like

[@JamieToddBand]

I enjoyed not seeing or hearing the Peavey Wiggy.

[@wernerhedgehog3627]

It’s truly groundbreaking content.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

So did most people, which is probably why it was discontinued. The irony is they choose with their eyes, not their ears.

[@sam_uelson]

Time for a reissue ?

[@alacajun007]

Did I miss a demo? Wth?

[@Ibaneddie76]

Why do I now want a Wiggy? If they revive this amp they should do something cool like throw a 5150 or 6505 channel in their it would be funny and functional!

[@careful...Icarus]

Did Dweezil just join Weezer?

[@Jimboishere11]

85? Uh.NO 😂