The $183 Tube Amp will RIVAL a SOLDANO!

Want to get a legendary Soldano amp, but don't have a spare $4000? Here's something shockingly close that only cost $173. Let me help you find one!
Get the Replay Box at: unitedstudiote...
Get it at this Sweetwater Affiliate Link: sweetwater.sjv... or Thomann www.thomannmus... Or
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Get the Harley Benton Vertical 2X12 Greenback cabinet from this Thomann Affiliate link: www.thomannmus...
Get the Dynamount V2-R for $50 off with the code SPECTRE at: dynamount.com/...
Lewitt 640 Rex at Sweetwater Affiliate LInk: sweetwater.sjv... or Thomann Affiliate Link www.thomannmus...
It's my FIRST choice to mic guitar cabs!
Proudly Sponsored by United Studio Technologies!
Many thanks to Jackson Ward at ‪@jacksonwarddrummer‬ for the awesome drum performance, and ‪@tommyareli‬ for the fantastic guitar work!
About Spectre Sound Studios:
I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We've covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
Everything you've wanted to learn about recording Hard Rock & Heavy Metal can be found right here on this channel!
I also respond to your comments & questions: The best make it into the SMG Viewer's Comments series of videos. Loads of fun, lots of laughs.
Thanks for checking out my channel & please subscribe!

[@damnbacon88]

I'm going to be a scary radical here and say that aspiring musicians being able to get a good amp without selling a kidney is a good thing, actually.

[@Introverted100]

Musicians need their kidneys for alcohol.

[@HerrNox]

@@Introverted100might explain why elitists who lost their kidneys are so salty

[@theedgeinshow]

"BLASPHEMY!" -some exec at Gibson

[@acidtek2043]

Woah there buddy! Too radical 😂

[@sgholt]

Good and bad in some cases...

[@user-hc4cc1bq4f]

I've learned more from watching your videos than I could have imagined in the 50+ years of playing music. Now that I'm on the recording side with a home studio you have become a valuable asset to me, Thank You..Keep up the excellent work !

[@nasticannasta]

yikes that's a real shame...this guy is a paid shill.

[@GL-iy7mj]

Well, I can imagine that Peavey Valveking price will go up now, thank you Glenn!

[@moosecooper]

Then, dont pay the raised prices. If things dont sell, then they won't go up. Take the bad monkey from a bit ago haha

[@CeresKLee]

Not to mention the price of fried ole Soldanoes to gut and replace with the Peavey electronics.

[@mrcoatsworth429]

@@GL-iy7mj time to sell my valveking!

[@riffsnoleads]

@@moosecooper the problem is that flipper scum will just sit on the high prices since there will eventually be a sucker and then the budget gear market becomes the new booteek and we all have to start looking for inexpensive gear again just to wait for youtube or forums to ruin it. gatekeep gear, not music.

[@Stratboy999]

There are thousands of Valvekings available. There aren't thousands of Soldanos. I can't see prices shifting much for either.

[@archangelsean]

I own a mk1 valve king the really old one and with a couple of mods that thing SCREAMS.. there's a noise suppression circuit that if you run a bypass wire and a couple other oddities the amp comes even more alive! Never failed me!

[@davidmarles9409]

It really does help when you loop the effects loop!

[@archangelsean]

@@davidmarles9409 mine has that internal now as soon as you plug instrument into 1 and a dummy jack into 2. It auto jumps. However with me having a TC electronic G system I need the loop as I use the 4 cable method etc...

[@wabbadu1]

I plugged a Tube Screamer into my Valveking 112 50 watt, (which I replaced the speaker with a WGS Green Beret), and was blown away! BRUTAL SOUND! You don't need much more than that!

[@joesalyers]

I have a friend who put a EV 12L in his Valveking combo and it is a MONSTER Amp! That sounds pretty Unique in a good way!

[@wabbadu1]

@@joesalyers I had one of those in it for a while as well. I think it was a 300 watt speaker. Overkill, but it sounded so clear.

[@darklight4815]

Eminence Governor ,Private Jack, or Swamp Thang are supposed to be good...WGS Retro 30 i have in mine, and have had a standard v30 in it before...the Celestion V-Type is an outstanding speaker as well

[@mjr2470]

I plugged my speaker input on a jcm2000 combo with a 1968 jcm unltra lead 412 cab and it made a huge difference

[@Jan-Sokolowski]

i run my VK112 with Jackhammer JH-1 or MojoMojo. both works great.

[@cliffstcroix3496]

Glen Thanks for your comments regarding “ Last Decade Dead Century “ and WS ! I’m the original guitarist and a founding member. My only writing contribution to the recording is “ I see the ruins “ . The SLO you pictured , going for 6K on Reverb probably belonged to my pal John Rico , who replaced me and recorded all of the guitars on that recording . Let’s talk sometime , I can tell you all about the disaster that band was , even from its very beginning !

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Awesome! I’ll reach out!

[@icestorm_rb9057]

Therapist: Commercial Glenn isn't real, he can't hurt you. Commercial Glenn: 11:34

[@clintmapes8454]

That was the funniest thing I ever heard

[@crowdkillproductions.]

People will play through an amp sim, change the IR and hear a massive difference in tone and STILL swear it's the pickups doing all the work.....

[@scamp7887]

Right, I can't understand why people don't believe the speaker and mic are the biggest difference, yet they probably have a catalogue of IRs because they all sound different.

[@scottashe984]

It's totally the color of paint that makes tone.

[@maynardperalta3188]

They’ll swear it’s the “tonewood.”

[@bazzathegreat3517]

One thing I have noticed over the years is that cheaper gear is fine. The major difference is that the more expensive stuff will often have a wider "sweet spot". Basically making them much easier to dial in a good sound. Where the cheaper stuff can sound good but usually at very specific settings.

[@abdullahkuzhan7247]

Exactly. More expensive often just means it's easier to use / requires less effort to make it sound good. Which is a fair reason to buy the expensive stuff, like the soldano, if you have the money. But most people, especially us musicians, are kind of broke, so it's most likely a waste of money.

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

100% this, I've had so many friends buy new pickups or amps and get like a 5% improvement or sometimes not really anything for new head

[@ElectronicsGuy666]

Cheaper gear can also be less reliable, have a high noise floor, or less features like presence and resonance controls, built in noise gate, etc. But… Peavey amps have traditionally had a LOT of features llike gain boost switches, etc and are super reliable and that makes them an even better value.

[@user-sk9yc5px5r]

that and the more expensive stuff is often more reliable, better customer service, and they often are easier to repair because they're meant to be gigged and abused and serviced by a tech on the road. that said I've never had any issues with any of my cheaper Amps or guitars and they get some killer tones but I'm also not a touring musician

[@crzxm]

Bingo!

[@nashjesso817]

I got my gen 1 VK112 for $200 canadian and it came with a full set of spare tubes, loaded with an eminence governer, and once I hooked up a footswitch found both "mesa" and "jcm" mods were done. I converted it a 50W head and made a oversized 1x12 cab, I absolutely love this amp. I've used it for both guitar and bass, it works for all my needs

[@nashjesso817]

Also Glenn, try plugging into the second input and plugging a dummy plug into the first as well as jumping the effects loop. Both tricks are said to tighten up the amp some, would be interesting to see what your findings on that are

[@linko994]

I bought a Jet City Amplification JCA22h for 249€ brand new wayyyyy back in January 2015. Fun fact: That amp was actually designed by Soldano, and at the time already rumoured to basically be a smaller cheaper chinese made version of an SLO. (There also used to be a 100W version). I had it modified by a local technician to clean up the low end a bit and add a depth knob, which in hindsight I don''t know if it was even necessary. That thing sounds fucking amazing. And yes its "only 20W", but let me tell you it can definitely cause some serious hearing damage if you're not careful. Just a beast of an tube amp for that little money. Couldn't be happier.

[@tommilitello198]

It’s ironic how guitarists think an amp sucks until someone makes a video showing it doesn’t.then by some miracle it doesn’t suck anymore and the comment section states what a great amp it really is,fn hilarious.it’s like people can’t hear with their own ears they need someone to tell them if it sounds good or not.no wonder the guitar community is a joke among other musicians lmfao

[@stapeld]

Yup, proud owner owner of a 22h too. Overdrive channel boosted with a Boss SD-1 is a great high gain tone.

[@kastiaskinner2683]

I have a little picovalve from about the same era. I did the river city mod and its a fun little amp. I think soldano had a hand designing it as well.

[@dustrider9306]

afaik is the jca22h is based on the hot rod + circuit, which itself is a slightly less gainy version of the slo. the design of the fx-loop is different from the typically (and often mourned over) soldano fx loop: it is finally usable for stomp effects which is a very good thing! So all in all, back in the days, it was a outstanding affordable amp - nowadays... idk (:

[@VintageSG]

Happy JCA20h owner here. Single channel box of goodness. Mines an early one with the toggle switches for power. £150 second hand. It can go from clean to utter filth. The previous owner switched out V1 + V2, leaving the Sino valves for the rest. They biased it to perfection too. No mods, bone-stock. It has served me well for many years. 20 Watts is indeed crazy loud. Very easy to control from the guitar volume pot. Hmm. Ply cabinet, thick chassis, beefy transformers, monster sound.. Winner.

[@howardmaryon]

The guitarists facial expressions cracked me up! Thats one guy that doesn’t take himself too seriously!

[@Kwert]

Back in the days of the MXTabs forum the recommended hidden gem, budget rig was always a Peavey Valveking boosted with a Bad Monkey in front. Both were cheap, both sounded great and both were very underrated. As we know, the Bad Monkey shot up exponentially in price on the used market after the JHS vid. Let’s see what happens to the Valveking now 😂.

[@Jinballify]

Yeah, but these days you can get a Tube Screamer copy, Klon copy and a Bluesbreaker copy for 40-60 bucks a pop, grab all and swich to taste! Add the 20-buck Behringer fuzz to the mix and you have rhythm, lead and sludge! So tone snobs can keep their bad monkey. 😉 I'm having tons of fun with NUX Morningstar into NUX Fireman (Friedman brown sound preamp type) with the Behringer as a solo bound. It's highly versitile rig that'll plug well to almost any clean pedal platform and cost me total of about 220€. And if you have something like valveking, actually good gain channel, just grab the overdrives. I'm stuck with Blackstar Venue HT club 40 mkII, which has a serious case of bees in a jar - syndrome with the drive channel, so clean with bpedals it is.

[@itsmileyy]

19:00 that was a SHOCKINGLY good unintentional Patrick Star impression

[@MotivateThis]

I've been playing through a VK100 head for over a decade. Love it.

[@travisspaulding2222]

I used to have the Mk1 100 watt head, and it is a good amp. Not a one trick pony like Glenn said because I actually think the clean channel is excellent, as well. The built in boost is pretty good, too. My issue with the VK was that it needed a lot of help to get a good tone. Definitely needs an overdrive, and I'm glad Glenn brought up the issues with the gain and the highs not going passed noon. Then the patch cable in the effects loop helps tighten up the woofiness as well, if you don't have an EQ in the loop which is almost a must. I ultimately ended up selling it because I was getting a usable tone from my 6505+ instantly, which was more appealing to me in a live setting. I always recommend a VK for someone looking for a tube amp but they're on a budget.

[@MotivateThis]

@@travisspaulding2222 Well said. A Tubescreamer was a must for lead tones. The "TEXTURE" knob on the back was the key for me. It definitely has a sweet spot.

[@O7777-u5e]

Those things are monsters!

[@MotivateThis]

@@O7777-u5e No doubt about it.

[@MarshallGTV]

I loved my valve king head. It sounded even better when I took off the Peavey badge. lol 😂

[@Mikey__R]

Every guitarist I came up with in the 90s got their first decent amp around about ages 16 to 18, and many of them are still using it 20 something years later. There's huge value in thoroughly learning the amp you already own and pushing it to its absolute limit before throwing money at a replacement.

[@DiegoAGimenez81]

im one of that, im still using my first amp...since 1997

[@JohnAvillaHerpetocultural]

I wish I was one of those. I got a Sovtek mig 60 half stack in 96’ when I was 16. That was an amazing amp. Every bit as good as the Plexi I owned after it. Both of those amps left me during the salad days so I could remain indoors. I am now in the market for a mig 60 and a 96’ fender std American strat in black with a rosewood fretboard to replace the best guitar I ever owned (arguably, maybe I am just nostalgic). I got an absolutely gorgeous Elite Strat (reissue not from the 80’s) in a silvery blue burst to hold me over and believe it or not the little Bugera I play through sounds pretty sweet. I want to start playing with others again though and nostalgia makes us spend money so the big amps are coming.

[@flash001USA]

Your channel just keeps getting better and better with info and tips. Thanks...

[@mxadema]

GLEEN. Man, the production value is through the roof. The editing is on point. I'm glad to see you leaning into in.

[@Farhadhp1]

Holy molly! that frequency response comparison at 7:56! very nice, Glen!

[@janwlaa]

Blues for the red sun! 🌞

[@BlackNoteStudios]

"We tend to listen with our eyes". As a life long audio engineer, I cannot agree more. When I teach classes, you'd be amazed at how many students get that deer in the headlights look when I turn off the monitor while they are mixing. USE YOUR F***ing ears!

[@jeremyjohnson9585]

You can't adjust anything with the monitor turned off, so the deer in the headlight look is very understandable.

[@BlackNoteStudios]

@@jeremyjohnson9585 Ah, you're referring to "in the box" mixing. Not if you're mixing analogue or with a control surface. But your comment is rather hilarious, "You can't adjust anything with the monitor turned off..." LOL. I wonder how they did it for so many decades before digital?

[@Jan-Sokolowski]

I had JCM 2000 TSL, JCM 900 hi gain dual reverb, and 2 years ago I switched to VK112 and now I am more satisfied than I was with Marshall.

[@user-sk9yc5px5r]

I love my valve king but it'll Never be a 2000 or jam 800

[@brendanflaherty6696]

@@user-sk9yc5px5r…but it can easily be a JCM900. I’ve had one for 20 years now, and its only use for me for the bulk of that time has been as a tube-powered speaker cab for a modeler (it’s actually really good at that). I cannot stand the sounds coming out of the amp’s own preamp.

[@JamesMurphyProducer]

curious about the differences between the Signal Art reamp box and the United replay box 😎

[@user-sk9yc5px5r]

@@brendanflaherty6696 I can get some pretty rockin tones out of mine and yeah its definitely modern Marshall in a lot of its preamp tone but its still has the peavey over tones too it especially in the power section, all great amps tho but I’m a Marshall guy so I’m a bit bias but it does rock and I have several other awesome peaveys as well!

[@JasonCooper80]

Glen - your comments are 100% correct about listening to music when dialing in your tone - my son uses that with noise cancelling earbuds and when I'm upstairs it sounds killer, when I'm in the room not so much. Same principle when you're at sound check before a gig and you're like "that's the sound?" and when the band starts it's amazing because the bass & drums fill in the frequencies. Saw you in the Hammer for Judas Priest - hope you're going to the Niagara show and will see you again

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

*Fluff enters the conversation* "do you mind? I'm the one who does the ridiculous Reverb listings!"

[@Impulse21s]

Why do I have a sudden urge to give Krazy Larry all my money? All of it.

[@skerryperry3]

I've been a peavey fan for almost 30 years. Always been able to get any sound I wanted. I got like 4 different peaveys and still didn't spend as much as I would have on ONE soldano

[@nerdsforcardgames]

Krazy Larry is my favorite bit you’ve ever done! Well done sir! 👏👏

[@djolestefanovic]

Hey Glenn! Peavey Valveking 2 50W Combo owner here, confirming every little bit of the words you've just said. GREAT AMP! Once you admit to yourself that you don't posses enough knowledge for something here, it becomes much easier. Same was with the processors, pedals, amps, recordings, etc on my side: once you figure there are a lot of the pots to be tweaked, where you don't know how that would react, you're in the dark. Know your gear, that's it.. More often: good advice is blessing... Thanks Glenn on tons of blessing!!! And, there is nothing bad to play some piece of the history, such as Soldano, or whatever. It's fulfilling that you have such a brilliance under you hands,... But, that's more like enjoying some luxury thing, then chasing some good tone... But, you can mess the tone with Soldano, also, ... and, the best: you can get decent tone with ie. Peavey.

[@Sentientfx1]

Great advice Glenn. IMO the Valveking is massively underrated..

[@arnieslab]

Everything is massive in 2024

[@blakegirouxphotography]

This is my Amp, it sounds amazing. You can make this thing sound insane, it just take a bit of patience and I got mine free cuz some guy said he hated it. My buddies ban Saint-Ivany uses it on every track especially on Waking Nightmare. These amps are much more impressive than people think

[@k2rocksstl]

Great IN-DEPTH video, Glenn! Layered information along with your trademark Canadian snarky whit brought it all home beautifully.🤘🏻

[@ManDudeBr0]

7:28 is what you're looking for.

[@erinsaviation1964]

I don't know if I'm smart for doing this or a total fucking idiot but I decided to listen to the amp test with my laptop lid closed so I couldn't even tell when the amp had changed, and I listened to it firstly on my headphones, then on a pair of studio monitors and I genuinely couldn't hear a difference. Great video as well Glenn

[@MashaT22]

That commercial was awesome! So was the rest of the video! Thanks Glenn!

[@davelanciani-dimaensionx]

I read that Tony MacAlpine recorded his debut album with a Marshall Lead 12 Solid State head into a Marshall 4x12 cab. That little amp only cost $200 back in the 1980's and sounded great (as long as you ran it into the big cab and let it breathe). Listen to that album - it sounds great.

[@TheLexluthier]

Bob Bradshaw used to use Lead 12's as a preamp in some of his rack builds. Some of the older solid state Marshalls were pretty good.

[@tihinter]

this is one of the most valuable YT clips about guitar recording! I have the exact same perception like you - after owning countless Vox, Fender, Mesa, Magnatone, Peavey, Marshall and Soldano amps, preamps, vintage Neumann and Telefunken mics, vintage Neve pres, VacRac tube compressors, highest end converters by DAD and so on, I do most of my guitar sounds with literally ANY amp nowadays, but spend much closer attention to speakers and cabs and mic placement. Most of the time I use a Fender Bandmaster with a Framus 212 closed back with V30s and a SM57 combined with an inexpensive AKG C4000. Or a Peavey Classic 50. Therefore I love my elder desk channels, that I racked myself. Those are not the highes end, rather talking bout Trident S80, MCI500 or Tac Scorpion. One nice thing today is, that there are jus so many different sound approaches, which all are valid somehow. There is no absolute right or wrong, just right in the track or not. If you listen closely and really take your time for dialling in your amp, you will get great tones from almost any amp. One of the greatest guitar tones I ever heard was captured by the legendary Alan Parsons at EMI studios cologne, while producing a young Swiss rock band. He put a modern Marshall stack (not an esoteric hardwired one, just one of the shelf) in one corner of the room, no pedals, and a single SM57 mic in the opposite corner. Literally like 6 meters away! SSL pre, no EQ, no compression just a little UAD plate reverb. It delivered one of the nicest lead tones ever! If it sounds right, it is right!

[@AnthonyVolpe]

4:02 “Lay Waste to the Universe” sounds like the perfect song title. Challenge accepted!

[@hadleymanmusic]

No different than a pitch for the pod

[@ruffriffs]

this guy knows his shit . I bought the peavey 6505 + combo as he recommended . wow cheap and awesome buy . im a big fan if this guy . he really helps people out .

[@mattdylan664]

cue every Peavy Valveking on Reverb and Facebook Marketplace now doubling in price after this. hell i remember when you could find the Roland Jupiter 8 synthesizer (arguably the greatest analog synth known to humanity) for $2000 anywhere in America , that was around 2002 , then thanks to the internet the price steadily rose and now in 2024 you're lucky if you can find one for under $30,000

[@adhaskym.a9536]

People like your good self are much appreciated in a way many can't. That is unfortunate as many fell for marketing tactics. Thank you for doing these.

[@johnpatitucci7919]

Wow Glenn! Seeing older video of you I can tell the difference! I think you look younger now.

[@lancedonati]

Tone can always be debated, but quality of work, craftsmanship and most importantly reliability all have to be considered as well. And that's what I always found to be a actual major difference between the affordable stuff vs dream amps. Especially when you're touring, leaving these things in the hot/cold trailer for 8 weeks at a time and putting hours and hours of actual full stress on them. Not a diss on the tone king, but an observation I've ran into over the years as a general statement.

[@izek01]

GLEN FUCKED UP LOL… yay he is still human… time stamp (14:03) 1 watt at 1 meter = 96db of volume out of greenback speakers… pmsl mate… they don’t quite work that way… off memory, 96db SPL is the max volume that model of speaker can audibly produce. If your pushing them speakers with 50watt of power, they will make 96db of peek volume at the cab and can push that sound forward approximately 100 meters (288ft) before the volume level starts dropping in increments of 1watt per meter until your too far away to hear it… i think thats about right… basically in an outdoor setting with the amp at max wattage (50w) you would be struggling to hear it from 150 meters away… Its amazing how sound travels and weird how the friction of air affects it. I do love your channel mate and have been watching for a couple of years now… thought you might want to fix that bit of mis-information

[@MrJohnnyDistortion]

Sound dissipates quickly outdoors vs indoors.

[@msmoniz]

You explanation on how the SM-57 boosts the higher mid-range makes sense why in clean to lower gain situations, amps like the Fender Princeton, Deluxe, or Twin Reverb, which have a natural mild scoop in the mid-range, seem to come alive when recorded or mic'd through a PA for a live situation when using a SM-57 as it seems to add a bit of those high mids back in.

[@Notinserviceij]

If you look at the graph it's from about 5k onwards I doubt the mid range "scope" on those amps is in that area 5k onwards boost does bring it alive but not because of what you are saying imo

[@mikesmith1290]

It’s funny how Mesa started by modifying Fender amps, and Soldono was started by modifying Mesa.

[@siriusamplification]

no they didn't. Mike started with Yamaha's

[@xsonicassassinx]

Everything is a bassman

[@DJBuglip]

Ok I've got one for ya. Line 6 Flextone HD. This thing is a beast. I finally got it running a month ago or so, and I'm just loving it. And 300 SS watts with both cabs.

[@jloiben12]

The importance of speakers is why I am such a big fan of the Harley Benton V30 cabs. They are so cheap that if you sell the V30s for the speakers you want, you basically can get a cab full of tones for the cost of just the V30s

[@hadleymanmusic]

I use od 1 hm 2 buncha junk pedals like that guv'nor sucks wish I never bought it. Every knob on 0 and hiss when you click it on

[@hadleymanmusic]

Sound Pressure Level spl 107db?

[@bobpatton9801]

Subscribed because of the content in this video. This guy right hear needs to be heard. Solid info. Reinforces everything I have learned (as a guitarist and subsequent sound guy. Truth, thanks.

[@MrJohnnyDistortion]

The best and most versatile rig that I ever owned was an ADA preamp, with a BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer with a Peavey Classic stereo 60/60 watt tube power amp and 4 Pyle 12" speakers made in the 80s.

[@Zaspor]

"Back in the day" the 100 watt 2x12 combo with Eminence Man o' Wars speakers was what I used to gig with and LOVED the sound! I plugged straight into the amp too and just played hard but it killed, so glad to know I'm not crazy and it does sound amazing

[@miguelbarbedo6419]

As someone who plays guitar, I'd say that your videos are the most demystifying videos I have seen in regards to great tone without the price tag, Very straight to the point. Mic (and mic placement) and speaker... man, I learned so much from this video.Thank you so much for making it.

[@WillTaig]

hey i just found a 50w combo on ebay australia for 646$ shipped from america to me ......thanks glen keep up the good work mate

[@leopoz]

I recommend the marshall DSLR Series, the Katana, or MAYBE the Peavey Vypyr! Mesa V30s are the best speaker imo

[@OfTheTimeLords]

I couldn't tell any significant difference. If I were in the market for an amp, my mind would be set. Thanks Glenn.

[@stevejurado8069]

Your correct sir, warrior soul never got recognition it deserved. Thanks for great video and great info.

[@radtats6899]

I actually liked amp A over amp B before I even found out it was the Valve King! And I've always loved the sound of a SLO, just WAY over my budget. Lol. Great video Glenn!

[@Outrider74]

You speak truth about this. I had a Mesa Boogie studio 22 watt amp that I used for live playing (we played modest venues). When it was miked up, it sounded just as good as the half stacks that other guitar players were using while sharing the stage with us.

[@heshion1]

Sheffields are (or were) used almost exclusively by Steve Morse for every recording and live show. He told me himself. So I doubt they're all THAT bad. Love your vids Glenn, and your dedication to helping people get good sounds for less $$.

[@sole__doubt]

Perfect timing. I was looking at getting a 6505 mh and the Valveking mh is similar but more affordable so maybe that is the way to go. Thanks for the video. \m/

[@Bleats_Sinodai]

The effects of the speaker, but ESPECIALLY of how you mic it, are very significant in an amp's sound. Best proof of it is The Angels' 1990 Beyond Salvation tour sound. According to Bob Spencer himself (mentioned in an SSGuitar forum post), he used a Squire practice amp, stuffed inside a road case, mic'd up by a Sennheiser 421, and going to the front stage speakers from the mixer. It sounds HUGE and rich, and it's just a tiny practice amp. There's also tons of producers that keep a Marshall MS-2 (the battery powered mini amp with a belt clip) on a drawer, and simply throw a mic in the drawer with the amp and record it from there when they want a usable "Marshall-y" sound very quickly. It's aaaall smokes and mirrors, friends. So forget about the brand badges and just use your freaking ears!

[@t3hch4d28]

I have this exact amp (well, my wife does). I replaced V2 with a 5751 tube, and replaced the stock speaker with an eminence Governor. Absolutely amazing sounding amp and the 5751 tube really helped cut back on the potential harshness and allows a lot more EQ, Gain, and Volume control.

[@becominghuman3561]

I bought a valve king for like 220 back in 2019. Was shocked at how great it sounded. Super versatile too as the clean channel was pristine. I ended up selling a couple years later because I didn’t really need it anymore.

[@phileickmeyer2493]

I have the vk100 head running through a line 6 cab that i swapped out the speakers. They were the celestion line 6 speakers which sound pretty good. Swapped those for vintage 30s. 10 years ago my old band recorded 2 full albums through that setup. Guitars sounded beastly. Only thing we tweaked in the studio was threw a tube screamer in the loop and barely turned the gain up. Thats all we did. I still have the setup and it still sounds badass! Cheap vk100 head and a celestion loaded cab is all you need

[@phileickmeyer2493]

Oh and we ran the factory overdrive. Cranked the gain and presence high. Ran the amp about third the way up and used a tube screamer with just a tad bit of gain. Bass 6, mid 5, treble 7. Nice, heavy and clean. Yes we also tried using different overdrives but found the factory overdrive and tubescreamer worked fine

[@Themis781]

This is why I love your channel Glenn. You tell it how it is and I love it. It is great to know that you don't need to spend excessively to get that awesome, heavy sound. I just wish I had the room to have these cabs and amps and a sound treated space for this. One day I hope!!!

[@JonathanMcCardle-s2e]

I knew before watching this video, it was going to be the Peavey Valve King II. I have one and love it. I put a Weber Alnico California 12 (paper cap) in mine and hello Dickie Betts tone! Love the ability to switch between 1,5, & 20 watts. Wish it had spring reverb, but that is what a Surfey Bear is for. I have the 20 watt version. I believe this is the most underrated combo "boutique" amp manufactured by large company. To note - my go to amp is my Fender Princeton but the Peavey Valveking II is my #2.

[@XBret64]

I can't believe i made it halfway through this informative video before realizing the Blues for the Red Sun shirt. Love Kyuss ❤️

[@sargentman1640]

Right ? 😂

[@RoderikvanReekum]

This is not surprising, Peavey is an excellent company making great stuff!! And made in the U.S.A what more do you need!

[@Craig52-zq1bt]

One of the reasons I play and record with a Crate VFX-5212 with Tone Tubby 40/40 greens. The overdrive on this amp is amazing, must by why Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh and loads of others use this amp touring and recording.

[@asherplatts6253]

They both sound really similar, and they both sound great

[@reyrey0629]

Hey man I appreciate your content. I love that every so often you take the time to remind your viewers that you record METAL. We're NOT talking live tone or other types of music (though some stuff -speakers-would definitely apply live). I chuckle because so many people seem to forget what you're about. I love that you provide affordable alternatives to the big expensive stuff as your average dude or dudette can't afford that stuff. Love the content, keep it up!

[@kitko33]

Best sound I ever got... Line 6 Tone Lab app to the original Bose L1 column without the bass extension. I designed my presets using studio monitors, plugged the smallest Line 6 USB interface, out straight to Bose L1 and BANG. Funny thing is that every preset sounded good. Full, tight, pleasant.

[@carwynvan]

Possibly your best explained video to date, giving valuable arguments with facts and valid opinions to back up your points! If people kick off over this then they clearly "watched" this with their fingers in their ears crying over the latest bank statement trying to justify their latest expenditure to themselves

[@ianedmonds9191]

Marshall Origin 20 into 2x12 Harley Benton with Celestion Vintage greenback speakers. Best amp/speaker combo I ever owned. I replaced my Valvestate 20 from 1990 or so. No tube in that one.

[@mikey-dubs]

4 commercials in one video is super impressive

[@blak1lyte]

I had that bug era not too long ago... traded for a cr120 with a carvin legacy stereo/m 412 v30s bottom. Couldn't use the bugera in home studio... didn't know how to tame it... now I understand more.

[@grisbain]

I got a valve king 212 for $250 Canadian. It lives in the rehearsal space and sounds good to me.

[@Rvezz28]

I've used a 50w Valve King combo for years! Just recently I chopped off the speaker and made it into a portable head amplifier using the 16ohm auxiliary output on the back. Brought it over to my buddies house and ran it through a proper cabinet and it sounded pretty epic

[@crucifiddle]

Great episode, Glenn! Ive had a Peavey Valveking combo amp for several years. The thing sounds really good plus its a Peavey, so you can drop it down a flight of steps and it still works fine!😁

[@marcmacbasa2019]

LOL I love my VK100 Head, Paid $200, it shreds through a Traynor with V30's, the Stiletto Deuce sits right above for A/B. 🤘

[@PandemiuM-gtr]

The problem with the 2nd division amps always is the same= If you use it in rehearsal or gigs, you must send to a technical for improving it and buy a better speaker. I did it with a jca50h (jet city) and a 2x12 celestion. 200€ + 150€ tech and 250€ for the speakers/cabinet. It's Very Affordable if you compare with a SLO, 5150, Plexi (I loooove it, bugera 1960 I'll see you) JCM800.... etcetc But for recording, the amount of money grows... mic, reamps boxs, AD/DA... If you want a budget record amp, buy a plugin and IR... (if you go to Neural Amp and free IR the cost are 0) I love these vídeos of recording in bigger studios with the bands, tons of gear... but only a bunch of bands can maintain It. Good video Glen.

[@TheGarageBandSyndicate]

Best speakers on the planet came in an old Crate 2x12 gfx combo. I stripped the amp out and use it as a stand alone cabinet.

[@Fergieguitar]

Ive the Jet City JCA50... it's soldano to the core and was €200... I love it.

[@BeardMan01]

I have a Saldano Slo 100, Mesa Stiletto Deuce, Carvin Legacy Steve Vai signature, Marshall DSL40C, a Mesa Triple Rec 150, A Soldano Slo 20, a Amazon special Purple Wind and a modded Peavey Valve King 100 that I got for $100. I play the modded Peavey with a Hot Plate and the Purple Wind more than anything else 20x over. As far as cabs go, I have a Mesa 4x cab with Black Shadow's, a British Marshall Lead 1960A with greenbacks and the Carvin Legacy cab with whatever Vai spec'd. One of my absolute favorite combinations is the Purple Wind 5w amp linked mono to the Marshall 1960A cab.

[@DJBuglip]

Ok. Just to correct something. When they say "the sound is in the hands" they're specifically referring to a distinctive technique. We don't all have one, a lot of guys play in basically the same fashion as most others, and there's nothing wrong with that. You can still sound amazing and get all of Blackmore's licks right. But there are some guys, Chris Buck immediately comes to mind, and I've heard it was true of SRV and EVH too, that just have a very individualized way of striking the strings, that contributes greatly to their sound. You'll hear another amazing guitarist say "Oh, yeah, Eddie let me come up and play his rig for a minute, and, you know... I sounded like me! And then when Eddie took it back it was like, 'Oh, yeah, there he is, Van Halen'". That's in the hands.

[@TheLexluthier]

The Peavey Prowler was the predecessor to the Valveking and very similar, plus it was made in the USA. They can be found cheap as well.

[@michaelsnydermusic]

Glenn, this video was a great way to sum up all of your past findings into one cohesive argument. Great video.

[@markolivares6943]

I’ve had my valve king 100 head for over 10 years not. Just broke it out of my closet after some time and damn that thing really rips. I don’t know why people say this amp lacks clarity when it surely does not. Pair it with the right speakers and you have your self a nice rig.

[@edalvarez8901]

I used to play drums in a band with 2 bass players and one of our bassists played his bass through 2 valveking 100 heads into 2 4x12s… I think he got them at a guitar center for like $180 haha MONSTER rig with a bass going through it

[@andrewphaggot297]

Turned a 50 watt valveking combo into a head and stuck it with an Avatar 2x12. Been my main amp for 15 years, much better than people give it credit for

[@billvilla7799]

Love when you do these things...it is impossible for me to hear a difference. Keep up the great work!

[@bedrockhead]

The import first VK 112 combo is the exact same design and configuration as the USA made Prowler 45 watt combo that preceded it. I had both, and they are nearly identical. Yes, run either into a good cab instead.

[@fullclipaudio]

I'm sitting in a room with 16 different cabs and each has different speakers. I'll take great speakers over a "great" amp any day. Side note: Chad Kelly is a buddy of mine and we just did product launches together at Sweetwater. That guy makes great mic's as well. I have his U47.

[@iggynub]

Doing important work here, man. You'll never convince people who're too deep in the gearhole as this is a long on-going problem, like with audiophiles and class-a/cables/general ignorance. However, the people that actually listen will be able to remove hurdles and get on with playing and producing. Thanks for doing this Glenn.

[@joeclayer5282]

I cant tell the difference between amp a or b. BTW, Your vids are quite accurate! For example ; Im using A GX14 pedal with 2 external IR's (stereo) and when configured properly, It roars! Does it match my rack system with V30's no, BUT, it's DI and mounted to a small pedal board. No carrying tube heads, a rack and 4-12 bottoms and it blows away most amps! So folks, listen to Glenn, He's dead balls on as I've been doing these experiments for years! Experiments??? more like obsession with sound!

[@HoldMeForever]

As a financially unable person, this is a great idea. Now to look for something that has good cleans and modern distortion and is available in the EU 😅

[@malegria9641]

the amount of times ive added low end to my guitar sound thinking it sounded great in isolation only to be disappointed when i unmuted everything else... i play reggae, not metal, but oh my GOD i love this channel!!!

[@XChristianNoirX]

He was also modding Marshalls in a similar way.... And adding 6l6. The 5150 is kinda based on the SLO, but it's actually built on the Peavey VTM 120 platform. James Brown can prove it.

[@Carepackage65]

This is a great video! Both for displaying the EQ differences in amp to amp, and explaining how beneficial reamping can be. If you haven't already, I'd love to see a video of you going through the process of reamping, and showing us how to get those EQ graphs.

[@davidmarles9409]

I think he said it best when he said what it sounds like in the room and the mix are different. For some players like myself I just play better when the amp sounds like I want. My brother had a ValveKing and I had a 6505+. The 6505 just had that certain tight low end punch we could never quite get with the ValveKing. On recordings it was barely noticeable if at all. The biggest difference being the two different players in the mix.