Severely Underrated Solid State Metal Amp | Peavey XXL

[@metalsnake3557]

A good clean channel is important as a pedal platform for when i want my neighbors to think im completely psychotic with fuzz pedals

[@lordcuddlebuttz3336]

i agree completely, fuzz pedal’s need a good clean tone that won’t muddy up the tone of the pedal, i have a cheap solid state fender mustang V 100 watt head that i strictly use as a pedal platform because the FX Loop has one of the most clean and sterile sounds of any fx loop i’ve ever heard, it’s an excellent pedal platform and i don’t have to dime the volume to get the perfect tone if im trying to be discreet

[@INeverWanted2010]

Peavey has stumbled in recent years, but I still think their high gain offerings will always be legendary.

[@Soloist1983]

NGL that black painted front panel looks killer on that amp! Sounds great! I played this side by side with the XXX at the NAMM show when they were released, I remember John Fields, the engineer, being really excited about this one. I also remember John Petrucci peaking in the glass and giving me a thumbs up while I was playing it...what a moment that was :) Went to talk to him later, and he said, "I had to come over and find out who was playing", I was 19 at the time, that blew my mind!

[@lydiagraham2188]

Great sounding amp! and you know I wanna see the xxx vs xxl :)

[@Stretchwreckedem469]

Sometimes I wonder if Peavey’s solid state tech could possibly get them back into the high gain spotlight. Idk if they’ll be able to get back to where they were in terms of popularity after the situation with Undercover Boss, but I feel like because of the success of the Super Crush 100 I feel like more amplifier companies could see some success in making solid state amp heads to win over the crowd who don’t want to bother with tubes like myself. There are shockingly a lot of people who prefer the sound of solid state for Metal tones, which is pretty awesome.

[@TaylorDanley]

It's a good question. I'm surprised they don't make this amp anymore. It seems like a really good offering in a price range they don't have much else.

[@TheKLeifheit13]

​@@TaylorDanley I've been trying to convince John Fields, one of Peavey's lead engineers who actually designed the XXL that they need to make a pedal amp or preamp version of the XXL and make a comeback

[@Astral_Wave]

@@TheKLeifheit13 An all analog amp head with a "modeling" type of layout with several of their preamps to choose from (transtube series, xxl,bandit, Supreme?, ultra, piranha6505 ; )

[@TheKLeifheit13]

@@Astral_Wave sounds like a Vypyr actually, that's how it worked! Would definitely be a cool concept. Even making an XXL/Ultra 100 Watt (or 200 Watt class D) pedalboard amp would be sweet

[@DmitriSkif]

@@TheKLeifheit13 , old Vypyrs (pre-VIP era) are absolutely good. Kind of an ideal practice amp, in some aspects better than Blackstar's TVPs (gauge indicators e.g.) and totally better than any starter digital stuff like Hotone of Valeton.

[@AndrewSkinburn]

This amp is great for blues, bluesrock also.

[@barryprosser1370]

Hell yeah. 🤘🤘🤘 Amazing solid state amp for the money. Thanks for the shout-out dude!!

[@TaylorDanley]

🥳

[@TheRosswise]

Yeah this amp with Vintage 30s and K-100s have been my go-to for over a decade. It gets really nice JCMish and Soldanoish tones, along with a very jangly Fenderish clean. Cant ask for much better IMO. On top of that, it was practically new when I got it and was only $120. I also painted the metal place flat black, not sure why they didnt do that at the factory.

[@TaylorDanley]

Yeah, much better black!

[@DreadNovella]

I have this amp and i couldn't be more happy with it. Its a great amp. I always use it for shows mainly because i don't like carrying my tube amps. Tube amps are a little more delicate. My XXL is a tank and never has issues.

[@deangullberry5148]

For anyone that's not familiar with old Peavey amps; This things lineage starts with the Bandit. The XL Head was the Bandit in Head form, and the XXL was the XL with a third high gain channel. Not sure if Peavey still does it or not, but they use to refurbish used amps at no charge. You just have to take it to a Peavey authorized dealer.

[@judsongallien]

You missed the original non-XL TansTube Supreme with block logo and black front panel.

[@KevinTheMetalhead]

I totally would want a shootout between this and the Triple XXX. I've been waiting for a while for Kyle Bull to do it.

[@donsmith5385]

Padreblue has done that, but if you are familiar with the Ultra circuit, there were lots of changes, what I like about the xxl version of the Ultra circuit is it sounds great with lots of different speakers. The og speaker was the Sheffield 1290, it really tames the mid range of the Ultra circuit, the xxl Ultra channel has less of that cocked wha sound

[@KevinTheMetalhead]

@@donsmith5385 I use my XXL with 1290 speakers in a Peavey MS412 cab. The speakers do work pretty well with the Ultra channel.

[@BoltXThrower69]

@@KevinTheMetalheadsame that’s what I use 90% of the time. I definitely wanna get a better cab loaded with some better speakers but the ms412 and the XXL work decently well.

[@raysheetz7782]

I hadn't heard of this amp. Sounds great! Thanks Man.

[@destroyallheresy]

Ultra Modern setting is unironically the one I use the most. Lol but yes, an incredible amp that I was lucky enough to score for cheap a few months back! Takes pedals great on the clean channel and is extra brutal / chuggy on the gain channels. So good!

[@TaylorDanley]

Hey to each their own!

[@sssyntax]

Excellent, honest and unbiased review.

[@bedrockhead]

I'm quite the Peavey fanboy/nerd/collector, so I have many Peavey tube and solid state amps, bass and guitar. Every TransTube amp is a beast in varying mode. This one, the Supreme and Supreme XL are awesome. I converted an early '80s Bandit 65 into a head, and it rocks pretty hard. But yeah, the XXL is a hella-badass amp.

[@Astral_Wave]

Cool! I'm becoming disenfranchised with lunchbox tube amps, pedals, and mostly digital modeling. I am getting interested in checking out a lot of these old transistor amps. They're really just massive "dirt pedals" with an amp 🤷? Idk

[@TheKLeifheit13]

@@Astral_Wave nope they're fully discrete, two channel amps, rather than just a clean channel with dirt layered over it for a gain channel. You won't find a solid state amp that sounds as natural and dynamic as a Peavey Transtube

[@vasco2377]

not me currently stalking the internet for one of these. great video as always Taylor!

[@BoltXThrower69]

Got one back in march after watching this video. Came back to say I don’t regret it at all I absolutely love it!!!

[@waynegosson1793]

I have one slaved into a modeled valve king with two equalizers, one before the pre amp out and one before the power amp. With an over drive. I play thought the clean channel model channel. The lead and ultra are never used. Using the valve kings effects loop I'm going to combine them into one custom rack here shortly. Thanks for the video

[@TaylorDanley]

🙌

[@Gate11Studio]

It is super underrated! That cabinet is really making it sound awesome!

[@bsmetal]

great video. truly, amazing content as always.

[@JeffSeib-f1o]

Sold my combo several years ago. Going to buy the head now! BTW great shirt!

[@cliftongardner4367]

Awesome video! I made one about an XXL combo on my gear channel a while back. It really is a great amp. That said, mine was pretty noisy too. Now that the world knows how awesome Bandits are, it only seems right that they learn how much more awesome the XXLs are!

[@zanewalters5606]

Please shootout the XXX and XXL! I've been wondering that for years. I'm not in the market for either, just a super curious gear geek. Thanks bud!

[@TaylorDanley]

Being a geek is how this whole channel got started. lol.

[@barryprosser1370]

This!!

[@jimmybiter2936]

Bought one new in 2004, has operated flawlessly ( got to keep the pots and jacks clean with these), primarily used as a gigging amp, I use a Peavey Wiggy 2x12 with Celestion Classic Lead 80s and it sounds great🤘🤘🤘

[@samizdat113]

The effects loop is parallel while the pre out/power in is in series. If memory serves correct.

[@TaylorDanley]

That makes sense.

[@robertdamron898]

Most of Peavey equipment is very reliable Currently using late 90s SP2’s for my FOH I also watched my Bassist Basic 60 amp Fall off the back of a truck on the highway At about 35 mph. Plugged it in. No problem at all. Just a big dent on Two Corners. It kinda rolled when it fell. Lol.

[@thebigv57]

I've got the XXL and the Triple X both are awesome. My XXL appears to be much louder. I run a noisegate in the effects loop of both. Sounds great!

[@darklight4815]

Peavey is notorious for bringing something kick ass to the table and then immediately abandoning it,and this seems to be another example of that. 😮

[@TheMirrorify]

Sounds great man!

[@azidalesoterica5997]

Love mine when it decides to work. The volume drop issue seems to be kind of common on the XXL. Sometimes it'll just drop out entirely and go mute for hours on end.

[@stoshua88]

Did sooooo many shows with this old king, miss it sooo much 🖤🫡

[@jamesfindice2871]

Yeah man, please do compare this to the XXX!!

[@roscothedude]

Love mine, bought it for 300$ 10 years ago. Settings are at on Ultra Edge 7 - Body at 4 | Bottom at 4 | gain on 7 | Also mine does the volume drop thing and it has fuzzy nobs.

[@eriklazo7886]

I’m assuming you cleaned it with contact cleaner ? Have the same amp and ran into the same issues .

[@bigwomp932]

This one's been at the top of my list for a while.

[@Catywampus.Kerfuffle]

I think I need to get one really soon. I bet even these will end up skyrocketing as bad as old Peavey tube amps have.

[@TaylorDanley]

Yeah they definitely could. Who knows!

[@joshcountryman4461]

I have one of these as well as a 15watt evh 5150 iii and i honestly can’t tell much of a difference in sound between the two amps, this one’s really that good.

[@adriancole9681]

I used an xxl for awhile for shows and jamming on the garage and it ripped. Very solid(state) amp head. Ended up selling it for one of those Line 6/Bogner heads.

[@sahlomonic]

Great amps. I owned 2 of them, and coincidentally I painted the faceplates black on both.

[@xfremenx]

Thanks to you i got mine for 100€, best money ever spent in my life. Two questions, whats the pedal with the tube screamer. What is the model of the cabinet?

[@samizdat113]

Damn it Taylor. These amps USED TO BE a well kept secret.

[@higler.]

I know I hate him lol

[@TaylorDanley]

Blame Kyle Bull...

[@samizdat113]

@@TaylorDanley I do

[@luisfernando4725]

​@@TaylorDanleyshould've done the triple, the one they nobody really likes.

[@samizdat113]

@@TaylorDanley "My dog thinks he has to have every toy with him at all times" - Kyle Bull "I have 87 guitar cabs at my house" - Same Guy

[@StrongBornBullies2]

Thanks for your work on these types of videos!!❤ I bet that Mesa cab and your micing skills helps this amp out a little 😁

[@TaylorDanley]

Well it's consistent, so if you like that then this is the place for you!

[@RichardGaston-u9q]

Should check out the Hughes & Kettner vortex and attax amps as well for nice solid state amps. They still go cheap.

[@MatthewBlackMetal]

Too fix volume drops spray deox-it in the effects loop I did this with my crate gx130c and ampeg vh140c worked like a charm. Spray directly in the input Jack's 10 little sprays each then plug in the cable and unplug about ten 10 times each it'll clean that up for you bro

[@MatthewBlackMetal]

Also make sure to unplugg for about 20 minutes first. You don't want to die. Let the it dry after cleaning for about 5 minutes too..

[@RichardGaston-u9q]

Had one of these years ago I got broken for $50. Only needed a $10 part to fix it lol. I remember it sounding good, but also it needed to be turned up to sound good. Has a massive power transformer. Crate Shockwave I had as well was a similar situation. Sounded even cooler if you ran the preamp into a tube power amp.

[@ManuSDP]

I so want this amp. I have the Ultra Plus 120 and this could be the best companion for it.

[@TaylorDanley]

I played an Ultra 120 for a long time before I realized that it had really good distortion channels 😂 I used to just use a grunge pedal into the clean channel because I thought that's how you were supposed to do it. LOL

[@ManuSDP]

@@TaylorDanley Oh no! Hahah in my opinion the Ultra Plus is the best Peavey amp ever, and this XXL? Ooof! The Ultra/XXX series amps is underrated still, hopefully Peavey remakes them in the future. They’re becoming few and far between

[@KingKong-mp6gj]

Sounds nice but there is some serious clipping in the recording, anyone else hearing it?

[@rocklandsally]

the 212 combo is VERY nice as well.... and was very cheap on the used market

[@TaylorDanley]

They are. The only reason I never buy combos is I'll never use it as a combo, so it just becomes a very large and heavy head lol.

[@_-Unity-_]

Sounds dope. It would be cool to see you try out some old school peavey combo amps.

[@PearlHarbor138]

I have one of these in combo form… if you replace the speakers and get it maintenance she will do you good. Never understood why peavey stopped making these or some of their other models

[@grippysocksftw]

I really really like this amp. I just got it a few days ago and my neighbors hate it lmao. I love the British variation on lead

[@jeffgerek6180]

I have the latest bandit transtube sounds as good as my tube amps very underrated.

[@BuHeTy]

Man, that amp sounds delightfull! I bet it has the transtube tech in it ;)

[@bartvschuylenburg]

Yup, but Peavey went one step further with this one. They could emulate the sound of tubes with their solid state trans tube tech, but they found out it was missing one specific characteristic of a tube amp; the saturation of an output transformer and they couldn’t emulate that. So they put an output transformer between the transistor based power amp and the speaker connector.

[@markdoolan3424]

Had the combo version 20 years ago it was a beast if I remember but had a chrome grill on the front not matt black!!

[@TheKLeifheit13]

Would love to see you shoot this out with your XXX. I plan to do the same soon but you don't want me making a video of it 😅 the XXL really is great if you can tame that Ultra channel but maaaaaan does it take patience.

[@NecropsY1]

That has to be one of the coolest looking amps ever honestly

[@RyanMaloneymusic]

Yes please compare tripple xxx tube vs solid state

[@joshuachavez6859]

The solid state amp that no one’s talking about is the Hiwatt crunch series head and combo’s. They are brutal!!

[@TheCyberMantis]

If it's noisy at idle, it probably needs a re-cap job. ( Along with all the pots cleaned, solder joints checked/reflowed, jacks cleaned, connectors tightened, etc... )

[@andycpd6669]

I nearly got one of them a few years ago lol but I had a jvm 210h and got it for £300 from a second hand shop lol I loved that amp but had to sell it due to losing my job near Christmas so I could get my girls Christmas presents. I miss it so much and would love another one but I can't afford it 😢

[@TheDeedeeFiles]

Awesome Peavey man

[@erichfrederick9229]

I owned and gigged the peavey triple xxx and double xx for 18 years. Very reliable. Especially the double xx. I ended up selling my full stack peavey triple xxx and double xx. Because I didn't want to load them around anymore. I got 2 boss katanas 100watt 2-12 combos. I had 1 triple xxx head and 2 double xx heads. For years I had friends asking to buy one of double xx heads and I wouldn't Because I wanted a backup. I just up and sold it all. The katanas are good enough for what I do.

[@DmitriSkif]

Was that front grid painted black, or that's black film? I wanna make the same mod for mine. Mine also has LED color strip mounted inside and RGB controller from the former owner, making nice colorful flame and sparkle effects.

[@CrushingAxes]

Nice! Dude, Peavey is great! Awesome tones!

[@dam7ri]

This one is interesting. I have a three channel Hughes & Kettner head that sounds pretty good for clean, for AC/DC and early Judas Priest and Iron Maiden on crunch, and Slayer on lead. Three voicings on each of three channels is bound to give everyone something to like. I would say that about the only thing missing is a boost, but an overdrive or eq in front of the amp can do that.

[@seniorzolo3433]

Ugh. I really need the power cable for the combo version of this amp. My brother and I both have the combo and he can't find his cable. I have a ton of specs for it I could post here but it would make this comment look like complete salad. I mean, there's got to be suitable replacement cables for amps that are no longer made right? Can anyone suggest a cables forum or something?

[@bribradt3450]

I played shows with this amp for years. Its a pretty solid for high gain

[@voss451]

I used to have a Supreme XL back in the mid 2000's and really do kind of miss it. It's a shame Peavey stopped making solid state heads because the Transtube amps really weren't that bad for the price.

[@TaylorDanley]

Yeah, definitely a shame.

[@JesseQuinn]

Def sounds solid state. I’m not anti-SS amps. This thing got some gnarly metal tones! Doesn’t quite sound tube, but it’s got some grit that pushes really gnarly

[@benmiddleton9984]

I own this amp and run it through a Randall 412 and it sounds incredible

[@bishop2334]

ultra sounds good if you balance all the eq beneath 60%, i wouldnt put bass more than 50% just cause how boomy mine sounds

[@seenproveseven]

Faaaaawk! Ye lucky devil! That's a killer amp! Tis a great, burly bastard and looks great as well. FWIW, the matching 4x12 also suuuuper sexy.

[@noisezone]

Still using this amp.

[@RÅNÇIÐ]

Hey man, any chance you could get an *Ibanez TBX-150H* on the channel? I remember having it years ago and it sounded sick.

[@TaylorDanley]

It's always a possibility!

[@RÅNÇIÐ]

@@TaylorDanley That'd be awesome

[@jcrowre]

I had one of those a few years ago. It was broootal!

[@paigdyll]

Should try a crate flexwave 120h nice unit

[@riffsnoleads]

The preamp out/poweramp can be used as an additional effects loop but it's design is actually for doing a master/slave rig. It's old tech from the 70s for adding more power to your rig. Peavey and Ampeg are the only two companies that really have them really at this point. The volume drop with these is due to the FX loop and speaker jacks failing if I am not mistaken. This is a very common problem with this amp and the Supreme XL (same amp with one less channel) since they are just really flimsy plastic jacks. A lot of people swear by these but IMO this is the beginning of the bad era for Peavey where they really started cutting corners to the point of making less quality of rigs. This, the Supreme XL, Windsor and the Valveking. All okay amps... for a while, but always full of failing components.

[@TaylorDanley]

That totally makes sense, that's where I found it shorting. I basically tightened the fx loop jacks and the volume came back. Good insight on the production end, that totally makes sense!

[@ShreddingFinn]

Sounds like a great one stop shop for a Dime tone

[@gm4050]

What about the Peavey supreme 160, any thoughts?

[@jamesalvarez8543]

I've had this before mani love this amp I had to sell it years back for financial reasons. Having a family is no joke. But anywho. Man if I had the chance to grab any amp head ever again I'd use the same set up I have. I ran it on a vintage marshall 4x12 cab and bairly half way turned up and the bass at a. Quarter of the way up u can actually over power the drummer 😂 and u never get a burning smell. Even though the head will for sure get hot a s"*** but what do u expect but it never shuts off . U can jam a whole session with a band no problems of it cutting off and be ok.

[@JackStolz]

These were so awesome. They always come up on marketplace for sub 300 bucks.

[@NecropsY1]

Their Transtube shit was awesome - i wish i own something with transtube

[@stephenjohnson899]

Is $350 for the amp and matching cabinet a good deal for it?I found one with all the cables and stuff for that price.

[@KevinTheMetalhead]

I’d say so, though the matching cab will probably have some sort of Sheffield speakers, which you may or may not like. I’m kind of out of my honeymoon period with my Peavey cab with Sheffields and it doesn’t sound the greatest.

[@stephenjohnson899]

@@KevinTheMetalhead I'm going to get it and plug it into my Marshall cab with vintage 30s in it..Those are some good speakers in my opinion.

[@KevinTheMetalhead]

@@stephenjohnson899 You could get it and try to sell the cabinet, someone might take it lol.

[@akaboo69]

Sounds like a brutal death machine love it

[@TaylorDanley]

Certainly can be!

[@guitarandgames1386]

So ive been wanting a second amp for metal recently. I do mainly death metal in the style of Vader and Malevolent Creation. I use a 6505+ full stack. Would this amp compliment that or should i go for something else? Any input is appreciated man good video!

[@TaylorDanley]

I mean, I think a 6505+ is pretty metal... but if you wanted to try one, I'm sure you could get it and if you don't like it resell it and not be out much money. They're cheap enough it's not a big financial risk. Try one!

[@KillaFXZ]

Sounds like classic used contact cleaner job needed, I learned that from you!😂 After that, amp usually sounds new.🎉 Sounds good though.

[@TaylorDanley]

THIS IS TRUE 💪

[@guntotinguy16]

I have this amp...plays well...takes petals well...all in all not a bad solid state amp for sure.

[@_vez]

Ah yes the clean channel sounds like a clean channel

[@samhainlimon]

I'd love to see the head to head against the XXX tube! Back in the day I was the guy running a SS line 6 HD150 with 4X12 because that all I could afford and I didn't have experience. The other guy had the original Peavey 5150 2X12. Yep I would pretty much dissappear. Couldn't hardly hear my own amp right in front of it lol. It always sounds like there is a blanket over the SS. No surprise about the Line 6 VS the 5150 though. I would like to see the how the transtube tech does against it's tube big brother. IMHO the transtube stuff blows away the line 6 stuff (at least the amp stuff I used years ago).

[@samhainlimon]

Awesome job on your videos by the way. Very entertaining and interesting

[@tonymazz1721]

I've had the 2x12 combo since 2005. Sounds great but yeah, very noisy no doubt. Love mine though

[@sonofhorror1995]

Mine died on me from volume bleed, to the point where it doesn't make any noise anymore, and I have been too strapped to take it to a tech and see if they could save it. Before it died, dear god, it was a monster.

[@TheKLeifheit13]

Hey dude I know I'm a year late, but try putting patch cables in the effects loop and preamp out/power amp in. Those jacks short out and cut the signal.

[@pinkyellowblue007]

Solid state amps are some of the best for metal, there's a reason many legendary players like George Lynch and Chuck Schuldiner used Randall RG's etc., there's a nice tighter gain not the coarse and grainy voicing like many tube amps.

[@jackarmistead5353]

I love this amp. It needs a good servicing, but once that’s done, it is an insane amp and very little noise actually. Since you are having noise issues and the dirty pots and stuff, maybe have it serviced so it’s at its best. The reliability is also top notch with this amp.

[@jackarmistead5353]

Mine also needed a couple capacitors replaced, as they were dried out and microphonic.

[@Durkhead]

You know how thers some amps that are really made for country music but the have a good high gain? This amp is the opposite its a metal amp that has a good clean channel for country music

[@TaylorDanley]

The way it should be

[@musicmore5169]

THE PERFECT AMP ILL NEVER OWN 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️🤘🎸🧬🔥🐦‍🔥🌹💯

[@oskarwroniewicz]

Damn, how did you achieve this b-roll kinda shot at 0:53? It looks really interesting

[@TaylorDanley]

The slider cam? It's just a cheap motorized slider from neewer on a tripod.

[@blvckno_1]

I own this amp, i love this amp.

[@itachi9567]

Am i the only one who prefers solid state amps over tube ones? I think the tube amps are much more dispersive and the tone isn't tight as solid state amps one. Of course there are many differences between amp and amp but... in general... i find solid state amps much more "tight" and "aggressive" than tube ones. I may be crazy but that's just my opinion

[@robspectre1973]

I’m a big fan of SS amps. I own a Mesa 100w Nomad tube amp (love it), a Victory Kraken V4 180w valvestate, and a Fender GTX100. All 3 are excellent amps. Been leaning heavy on the Kraken. Sounds amazing through my Mesa 212

[@akosbrett2564]

I have one, recorded my ep/demo with it! 😜🤘

[@vhslaughterhouse931]

Could we the people get a proper peavey underdog amp shoot out?!

[@nelsongraw276]

I've seen the guys from Blood Incantation using this amp, Killer tones on stage

[@higler.]

Really? I've only ever seen them use 5150's live

[@TaylorDanley]

I have no idea what they use, but awesome band!

[@nelsongraw276]

@@higler. yeah I guess they use both, mostly 5150's for sure

[@davidstone3780]

Just ordered one for 250 from GC