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Peavey Tour VB-2 All Tube head. need comments!

#121
LowB-ing said:
BbbyBld, Am i comletely off base to assume that it is a baxandall-based circuit with a pre-shaped mid boost that matches a passive mid cut circuit?
I dont really know what I'talking about, most of my analog electronics "knowledge" comes from the internet, haha.
Click to expand...

It's not a Baxandall-type EQ. The EQ network works by feedback around a tube stage if that makes any sense.

If you have 220V lines in Sweden, I suggest you try flipping the voltage selector on the back to 240. Some of the switches on the European version were installed in the chassis' backwards. You may notice a substantial power/headroom increase with the switch in one direction or the other. If you have 220 or 230V lines, you won't harm anything by trying. If you find that it is backwards, popping it out and flipping it around the correct way is pretty easy if you are willing to slide the chassis out of the cabinet.
 
#122
BbbyBld said:
If you have 220V lines in Sweden, I suggest you try flipping the voltage selector on the back to 240.
...
You may notice a substantial power/headroom increase with the switch in one direction or the other. If you have 220 or 230V lines, you won't harm anything by trying.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that on monday.

KPJ said:
I run my master volume all the way up and vary the gain controls for overall volume. This way, you can get an excellent tone on the OD channel.
Click to expand...

I can actually get god tone on the OD channel at almost any volume, and really good at higher volumes. I need to eq slightly different depending on volume. The EQ that gives me that tone is always different from the setting I'd like to use on the clean channel, however.

If I EQ for good clean channel, the OD is way to thin and bright. If I EQ for good OD, the clean sound is way to dull.

BbbyBld, is there a way to easily (for a competent tech) modify the bright switch, so it's only on for the clean channel?
 
#124
I have VB-2 that I run through a Ampeg 8x10, pure rock tone heaven. I've owned a bunch of tube amps SVT Classic, Bassman 400, SVT Pro 2, and the VB-2 holds its own. Sure it doesn't have the ampeg sound, but if you want that buy an Ampeg. I found that the OD channel sounds like crap with a active bass, but sounds good with my P Bass and Ric 4003. Plenty loud, Light Weight for A Tube Amp, Built like a tank. You would think 250 Watts isn't much but it is way louder than any of the 1000 + watt hybrids I've owned. Anyone use a tour 2x15 through it?
 
#125
BbbyBld said:
If you have 220V lines in Sweden, I suggest you try flipping the voltage selector on the back to 240. Some of the switches on the European version were installed in the chassis' backwards. You may notice a substantial power/headroom increase with the switch in one direction or the other. If you have 220 or 230V lines, you won't harm anything by trying. If you find that it is backwards, popping it out and flipping it around the correct way is pretty easy if you are willing to slide the chassis out of the cabinet.
Click to expand...

Went to the rehearsal space yesterday and played som more by myself.
I didn't notice any obvious difference between the settings. Then again I was pretty cautious. I turned the amp off, changed the setting, turned on, waited a bit, out of standby, THEN started playing again. With a minute or so between the tests it's hard to compare.

We have 230V lines in sweden, so I'm safe either way. But if I go abroad to a country that has 240V, would it still be safe to have the selector in the wrong position?
 
#126
Both the VB-2 and 3 are sexy looking. You guys need to do a rack mount / heavy cooling version of the VB-3.

I have mostly LOUDPEG for my Bass gear, but my baby amp and all my PA stuff since 1980 have been PV. Yeah my baby amp... two CS800S to a pair of 810's or 215's. No slouch there either. BOB
 
#130
mike costelow said:
they r made in china vb3 in u.s.a.
Click to expand...

You have bad info, the VB-2 is made in USA, also. The plan was to make it in China, but the manufacturer couldn't produce it to Peavey's specs.

I was i the host band for a multi-band benefit yesterday and provided the backline, my VB-2 into a retro-fitted old Peavey 215. It was nice to hear other people play through my rig. Everything you'd want a tube amp to be. Loud, punchy, and was on for about six hours straight in an 85+ degree hall without having standby engaged. I think it's broken in now.
 
#131
Rehearsal today got cancelled due to singer having a cold.
I did notice, when playng by myself, that I had a hard time gettin a full sound at low volumes. Not talking about the OD channel, just in general. The wonderful punch that this amp has at high volumes becomes honk at lower volumes, and it is difficult to dial out. I did manage to get rid of the honk but couldn't get really deep pillowy bass at the same time. Boosting the bass seems to reintroduce the honk. It sounds to me like the bass control is centered quite high (120Hz?). The most pillowy tone I could get was by leaving bass flat and cutting mids a lot at 200Hz, and cutting the highs a bit. I would have liked to cut the highs more to get more of a "deep" sound rather than a "scooped" one, but this reintroduced the honk in a strange way. It seems that the treble control has a subtle resonance and the frequency of it increases with the amount of treble. Turn the knob from zero up to about 7 while playing a note and you hear "wha" effect. I guess this causes the treble control to actually boost a narrow band of mids when cutting the highs way back, hence the honk.

None of this seems to be a problem at high volumes though. It's just too bad that it doesn't seem to be able to handle a quiet jazz situation as well as it seems to be able to handle loud rock.

Bbbybld: If I decide to mod the head down the line, would it also be easy (for a competent tech) to change the center frequency of the bass control? Is it just changing a few caps to different values, or is it really complicated, or something in between? A switch to change the center frequency would be quite cool.

I will certainly play the amp a lot more before I make any decision though.
 
#132
LowB-ing said:
The wonderful punch that this amp has at high volumes becomes honk at lower volumes, and it is difficult to dial out. I did manage to get rid of the honk but couldn't get really deep pillowy bass at the same time. Boosting the bass seems to reintroduce the honk. It sounds to me like the bass control is centered quite high (120Hz?). The most pillowy tone I could get was by leaving bass flat and cutting mids a lot at 200Hz, and cutting the highs a bit. I would have liked to cut the highs more to get more of a "deep" sound rather than a "scooped" one, but this reintroduced the honk in a strange way.
Click to expand...

I would try it with a few different cabs before you decided its all in the vb-2...
 
#133
hrgiger said:
I would try it with a few different cabs before you decided its all in the vb-2...
Click to expand...

I pretty sure it's not the cabs. I have owned them for over a year and used them with two other amps. I've gotten to know them by now.

Those cabs are borderline hifi and not at all honky sounding to my ears. One is a GB NEOX-212T, the other a Tecamp M212.
 
#134
It just occured to me that there's one more possible reason for the honk. I was doing my low volume testing with only the m212 connected. It's stacked on top of of the NEOX wich means a bit less lows. Still, I ran my yba200 the same way, comparing tones, and that amp didn't suffer from honk the way the vb-2 did.
 
#136
Bbbybld: If I decide to mod the head down the line, would it also be easy (for a competent tech) to change the center frequency of the bass control? Is it just changing a few caps to different values, or is it really complicated, or something in between? A switch to change the center frequency would be quite cool.
Click to expand...

The EQ is hard to tune circuit-wise. If you want to change one thing, you have to adjust everything. The centers of the high and low EQ controls change with the mid shift. The low control shifts down to it's lowest point when the mid shift is set to 200.

If you are playing at low volumes try setting the pre gain lower than you normally would. Sometimes the "honk" is pre amp distortion that is way more noticeable at low volume. This is only to a point, though. A lot of what this amp does is to make it sound good in a mix. Don't forget about the volume control on your bass.

If you want more pillowy bass, the resonance control is your friend.
 
#137
Thanks for the input Bbbybld.
Resonance was maxed. Thing is, Resonance seems to be less noticable on lower volume.

Just out of curiosity, what are the bass frequency centers at the various mid frequency settings?

Also, I'd really like to know the answer to the most important of my questions: Is it safe to run the mains switch in the wrong position even in coutries with 240 volt power?

Thanks again for your help. I appreciate it.
 
#138
LowB-ing said:
Just out of curiosity, what are the bass frequency centers at the various mid frequency settings?

Also, I'd really like to know the answer to the most important of my questions: Is it safe to run the mains switch in the wrong position even in coutries with 240 volt power?

Thanks again for your help. I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Here are the low centers on the various mid-shift settings:

200=50Hz
400=70Hz
600=80Hz
800=100Hz


As for the voltage switch, the amp won't blow up or anything on the wrong setting, but you will stress the tubes a little more if you plug into 240 using the 220 setting. Any product meant to run on 220V has to test out at 242V for 3 hours without malfunctioning to get CE certification.

Long story short...yes it's safe, and I know it will work, but I don't suggest that you try it out.
 

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