# Peavey Vypyr 75 a good amp?



## Jake (Sep 6, 2009)

Im thinkin of buying a new amp, preferably one with built in effects(i know i know, evry one hates modelling gear) because i dont have the budget to buy lots of effects. So are the peavey vypyr amps any good? I tried one out and liked it alot. Are they good quality??


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Jake said:


> Im thinkin of buying a new amp, preferably one with built in effects(i know i know, evry one hates modelling gear) because i dont have the budget to buy lots of effects. So are the peavey vypyr amps any good? I tried one out and liked it alot. Are they good quality??


well, that's a tought question realy...Good quality compared to what?...if you are into all those "built in effect", ok maybe it's worth it. depend if you're looking for a good tone, of a million different sound basicaly. 

Depending on your budjet, a Bogner Alchemist might be better..and it's a tube amp.


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

Sure, it will save you money as compared to getting all the effects that it models, plus a big pedalboard to put them on, but how many of those effects are you really using?

A friend of mine bought a Line 6 Spider for the same reason, ended up ditching it because he never used the effects and couldn't get a single usable overdriven tone out of it. Same story with me and a Roland Cube 30 -- it sounded okay for what it was, but the tube amp that I bought to replace it absolutely wiped the floor with it for everything.

What do you play, and how much are you looking to spend?


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## Jake (Sep 6, 2009)

i play a wide variety of genres from good old classic rock (zepplin boston van halen gnr) to some metal (metallica pantera ) mostly hard rock to metal but a classic sound is needed to. My price range is $400 max. I am only 14 so i need something loud enough to cover small gigs(possibly :smile i dont really get money constantly (no job) so if i got a small tube amp not much money for pedals . I figure this would bridge the gap from amateur to professional. Maybe some years from now ill have a nice rig but rite now i have a low budget.


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## Drazden (Oct 26, 2007)

We just got the Vypyr series in at the store I work at. I quite like them, for what they are. There's a wide range of amp models to work with, especially in the higher-gain territory, and they tend to sound pretty good. Several effects sections, and I believe the 75-watter actually has a tube preamp in it. 

The preset sounds are ridiculous, of course--all of them set to show off the crazy stuff the amp can do. But if you start with the basic sounds you need--Clean, Crunch, Distortion, Crazy Over-The-Top-Scooped-Pantera-Kill-Em-All-Disto, and add effects sparingly, I think it could be a pretty nice beginner/intermediate amp.

A few of the amp models were a little lackluster in the one I tried, but in a beginner rig, to figure out all of the basic sounds you can get from the various pieces of gear around without spending a fortune buying and selling a trillion amps, pedals, and other ephemera that comes with playing the guitar, I think they're pretty great value, especially with the big-ass footswitch. Don't expect 100% recreations of all your favorite tones, and don't expect the depth and liveliness of a real tube amp, and you'll have a great practice / small gig rig that'll cover probably 90% of the tones you need at about 80% of the quality you want. 

The other option is to get one amp to get 100% of the quality of one sound, and then just try to forget the others. It's a trade-off. For where you are, it's probably a worthwhile one, though...and if you don't like it, you can always sell it and get a Traynor YCV20.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Excellent post by Drazden. At 14, you likely have lots to learn and experience, this type of amp can give you a bit of everything until (and maybe you never will) you refine 'your sound' down to something that does one thing well. Or until you can afford some big iron and a big pedal board :rockon2: I've played a couple of Vyprs in stores, at store volumes, and been reasonably impressed.


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## Jake (Sep 6, 2009)

Drazden said:


> We just got the Vypyr series in at the store I work at. I quite like them, for what they are. There's a wide range of amp models to work with, especially in the higher-gain territory, and they tend to sound pretty good. Several effects sections, and I believe the 75-watter actually has a tube preamp in it.
> 
> The preset sounds are ridiculous, of course--all of them set to show off the crazy stuff the amp can do. But if you start with the basic sounds you need--Clean, Crunch, Distortion, Crazy Over-The-Top-Scooped-Pantera-Kill-Em-All-Disto, and add effects sparingly, I think it could be a pretty nice beginner/intermediate amp.
> 
> ...


Well, would you reccomend it to someone new to the gigging world? Im not looking for pro sound, just a decent amp with enough tones to make a cover of a song sound good. Mostly for covering a wide range of sounds minus the pedals required for a tube amp. Not saying I don't want pedals and a tube amp, its just that I don't have the money to buy a serious rig. If I bought a tube amp I'd be limited for sounds due to not enough for extra pedals. Do I have the right idea here?


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## Drazden (Oct 26, 2007)

Jake said:


> Well, would you reccomend it to someone new to the gigging world? Im not looking for pro sound, just a decent amp with enough tones to make a cover of a song sound good. Mostly for covering a wide range of sounds minus the pedals required for a tube amp. Not saying I don't want pedals and a tube amp, its just that I don't have the money to buy a serious rig. If I bought a tube amp I'd be limited for sounds due to not enough for extra pedals. Do I have the right idea here?


That's exactly it. With a rig like this, you can experiment with using a model of an amp with an effect for a song--say, a clean 'Fender Twin' with a chorus for a song like 'Come As You Are' by Nirvana, then save a preset for it, get another preset for the distortion sound, etc., etc., AND THEN be able to click a different preset bank or whatever and have crazy balls-to-the-wall Pantera tones. Or Hendrix. Or Clapton. Or Van Halen. Or etc., etc., etc.

There's a lot of different sounds in the Vypyr, enough to cover a really wide variety of clean, effected and distorted sounds. For covers, it'd work really well--instead of being limited by such problems as, "I don't have a chorus pedal!" (which has bugged me to no end at points) you simply click the switch over to 'chorus' and there you go. The big footswitch you can get for them can apparently activate a looper, as well, which would allow you to record a riff, then solo over top of it. 

I would recommend it for someone in your situation; they seem like a really great starters' rig, and I'm sure they could handle the pressure of a gig, with the effects patches set up beforehand. All the amps at a show get mic'ed anyway, so having a huge 4x12 cabinet is less necessary than you'd think. I played my very first show with a 30-watt Marshall DFX modeling amp, and I did fine.

Well... The amp did fine. I wasn't quite so lucky.


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## Jake (Sep 6, 2009)

Thanks, I'm glad you didn't try to convince me to buy a tube amp like other people have. All im really looking for is an amp that sounds good and doesnt cost me a pile. Plus i think the looper on the footswitch is great for when i jam with my brother (drummer).


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

drummer brother? man, you got it made!


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

I like them..Not the best but better than the cheaper Line6 Spyders.

At our local pub jam a few weeks a go a kid came up with his Spyder 15 which they miked. Did not sound great but with the rest of the band it was more than passable. The Vyper will do the job, get the best one you can afford and have fun.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Budda said:


> drummer brother? man, you got it made!


Saved EVH a lot of grief I imagine! (The closed I ever came was my brother played bass drum in the militia marching band, before I played guitar.)

The Vypyr may cut it briefly, but if there is any way you can upgrade (shop used) do it. The trade value of the Vypyr isn't likely gonna be great either.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I tried a Vypyr, and compared to the Roland Cubes I thought it wasn't even close. The quality of the models in the Rolands is very good. Before you buy, give the Roland and Vox modelling amps a try. They're a little more money, but they're well built and sound good.

Shawn


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I agree with Rugburn. Try the Roland Cubes. I haven't tried a Peavey amp that I've liked yet, but the Rolands are pretty solid.

fwiw - when I was starting out as a teen, I also wanted to get a solid-state amp with digital doo-hickeys on it. So I got a Line 6 2x12 with a bunch of effets and stuff. Played with it a ton and had all kinds of crazy presets. It was fun for a while, but when the novelty wore off, I realized that I don't _use _a ton of effects, I don't _like _a ton of effects and I don't _need _a ton of effects. I traded it in for some cash, sold a couple other things and ended up with a Traynor YCV40, which was, hands down, a much better amp. No bells and whistles, but a pretty decent overdrive sound.

Bottom line - figure out what you like, what you think you'll used, etc. No reason not to go digital for now, because it helps you sort out what is useful to you and what isn't. You'll find yourself drawn to some effects and not to others. I think the modelling amps are decent do-it-all beginner packages that are great for getting your feet wet.

*BUT*

I wouldn't gig with one.

The few I've tried since my Line 6 all share the same problem it had. Unreliable. Counter-intuitive sometimes. God forbid you have to change a setting!!! Sometimes what sounds great at home or in the jam space doesn't quite sound right live. With a tube amp or an OD pedal or something like that, it's usually just a tweak of a knob away. With modelling amps, you have to go through menus and stuff and it could take forever. Certainly not on-the-fly.

If you don't have the scratch for a decent amp right now, go get your modeler and maybe rent a small tube amp for gigs? Usually about $30 or so bucks for a day.

One last thing - Tube amps and pedals don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. After using pedals for years and going through a ton of them, I'm happiest now when I can crank up my JTM45 and plug my guitar directly into it. The only effect I use in that case if delay, and only for a few songs here and there. I could definitely get rid of the delay as well and have absolutely no pedals and still be pretty darned happy with how I sound and what I can do with my rig.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

hollowbody said:


> *BUT*
> 
> I wouldn't gig with one.
> 
> The few I've tried since my Line 6 all share the same problem it had. Unreliable. Counter-intuitive sometimes. God forbid you have to change a setting!!! Sometimes what sounds great at home or in the jam space doesn't quite sound right live. With a tube amp or an OD pedal or something like that, it's usually just a tweak of a knob away. With modelling amps, you have to go through menus and stuff and it could take forever. Certainly not on-the-fly.


That's what's great about the Roland Cubes, there's no menu to contend with. You just pick the model and then tweak the volume, gain, and tone knobs. It feels more like a conventional amp in this regard.

Shawn.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i agree. i have one, and i love it. (the cube)
the thing for me is, i probably should have gotten a smaller one than the 30W. the amp really sounds better to my ear within a certain range of volume i find to begin just below and continue above my apt's eviction threshold. i just have suspicions that a smaller speaker wouldn't sound as nice as this one does. the "sweet spot" of this amp's volume is especially evident when using the effects. i bought a nice set of headphones to avoid disturbing people, and it's working out really well _for me_. i compared this amp to the marshall MG30FX abd the fender GDEC30. the roland walked all over both of them, i thought.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

cheezyridr said:


> i agree. i have one, and i love it. (the cube)
> the thing for me is, i probably should have gotten a smaller one than the 30W. the amp really sounds better to my ear within a certain range of volume i find to begin just below and continue above my apt's eviction threshold. i just have suspicions that a smaller speaker wouldn't sound as nice as this one does. the "sweet spot" of this amp's volume is especially evident when using the effects. i bought a nice set of headphones to avoid disturbing people, and it's working out really well _for me_. i compared this amp to the marshall MG30FX abd the fender GDEC30. the roland walked all over both of them, i thought.


You should be able to tame some of the "girth" of your volume by adjusting the volume and gain knobs. I find each amp model needs it's own tweaking to sound just right. It's surprising how well these little puppies can be EQ'd, especially the cleaner amp models. Part of the Cube magic is the quality of their speakers and ported cabs. 

Shawn.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

Rugburn said:


> You should be able to tame some of the "girth" of your volume by adjusting the volume and gain knobs. I find each amp model needs it's own tweaking to sound just right. It's surprising how well these little puppies can be EQ'd, especially the cleaner amp models. Part of the Cube magic is the quality of their speakers and ported cabs.
> 
> Shawn.



totally true, i've noticed. i'm really surprised at how well the tone can be shaped. and also it was apparent right away that each amp model needs separate tweaking. that's one of the things i really like about it. there's not one model that i can't get a really nice tone from.


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## tonydawe (Feb 25, 2009)

when first starting out i had a small SS amp with a Zoom multi effects pedal. same idea. the small SS amp has been replaced with a traynor bassmaster and the zoom has been replaced with individual pedals that suit my needs. at 14 it sounds like what i would have done, and i wouldn't change a thing.


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## Phlegethon (Dec 18, 2009)

I have heard stories of the vyper locking up and not working due to software related problems. . .so with that in mind I wouldn't recommend it as a gigging amp. a digital amp having software problems means no sound, and if you're doing a gig you don't want to be caught with your pants (and amp) down without any recourse. these are rumours, but not the kind I'd be taking lightly.


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## Destropiate (Jan 17, 2007)

I'm not knocking the modeling stuff but i think they are better for home use. When I was in my teens I played alot of noisy parties and some smaller places where mic'ing my amp wasn't an option. If your brother is a heavy hitter a solid state modeler might not cut it. 

If I were you I would look around for a used tube amp. I'm not sure of the songs you will be covering but most metal and rock songs you will be playing wont need more for pedals than maybe a delay or reverb. Most tube combo's you'll come across will have built in spring reverb as well as a nice clean tone and a solid gain channel. If you needed more FX you could always just pair a decent tube amp with a cheaper Multi-FX unit. The only downside of a used amp is the tubes may need to be replaced, but hey Christmas is right around the corner so I'm sure you could put some new tubes and mabey even a pedal on your wishlist.


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## jetavana (Feb 2, 2010)

try the fender mustang, cheap and sounds awsome!


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## Steve Adams (Dec 31, 2009)

jetavana said:


> try the fender mustang, cheap and sounds awsome!


I'm with him.....so much so, I own one. Soon to be 3 of them. 

Sent from my ARCHOS 80G9 using Tapatalk 2


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