# NAD and it sucks!!



## capnjim (Aug 19, 2011)

Crap...last year I paid 1100$ for a Rivera Venus. I love it....its the ultimate bedroom amp. Great master volume with a nice crunch at low volumes.

So...today I pick up a Peavey Bravo for 120$. Turns out, the Bravo is an all tube amp with spring reverb and two channels with separate EQ's. Its also ridiculously clean and even has the original footswitch and owners manual. 

It honestly sounds as good as the Rivera with maybe a better reverb and cleaner clean.
Crap....
Now what do I do with the Rivera? The market is crap....I won't even get half what I paid.
Stupid Peavey.


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## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

Gee, and you thought life was fair. Unfortunately all you can do is bite the bullet and take the hit or hang on to it and hope the market changes...


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## jimmy c g (Jan 1, 2008)

peavey amps sound real good and a lot of us get caught up in pricier stuff in the search for the grail, does the grail even exist ?^)@# J


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## garrettdavis275 (May 30, 2014)

Damn! A second amp you love the sound of... what to do, what to do...

AB/Y and take advantage of the Peavey's cleans. Run a sick pedal chain into it and bask in the roar. Nothing better than multi-amp setups.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I'd keep both--enjoy!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

garrettdavis275 said:


> Damn! A second amp you love the sound of... what to do, what to do...
> 
> AB/Y and take advantage of the Peavey's cleans. Run a sick pedal chain into it and bask in the roar. Nothing better than multi-amp setups.


Skip the A/B/Y and just get a stereo delay and stereo reverb pedal. The rest will sort itself out


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

I have used quite a few Peavey amps in the past, since the late 70's, and can say that they are very well built and dependable. Speaker change recommended on some models but other than that, good to go. I have a Backstage 50 that i still use and never let me down. Congrats Jim on a really nice little combo.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

jimmy c g said:


> peavey amps sound real good and a lot of us get caught up in pricier stuff in the search for the grail, does the grail even exist ?^)@# J


Agree, i a still searching for "the" sound.LOL


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

Thats not such a terrible dilemma lol...keep both I say


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

@capnjim, I had a Peavey Studio 50. My first "real" gigable amplifier.
It was awesome.
Then someone told me about the tube amp thing.
I tell you, ignorance was bliss.


Sent from my Other Brain


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## Thornton Davis (Jul 25, 2008)

So the used market is crap, the Peavey only cost you $120.00 that's really painless in my book. 

I'd look at as having two great amps with one of them costing me very little. Play and enjoy. Sell the Rivera when the market turns around if you're still happy with the Peavey.

TD


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

marcos said:


> I have used quite a few Peavey amps in the past, since the late 70's, and can say that they are very well built and dependable. Speaker change recommended on some models but other than that, good to go. I have a Backstage 50 that i still use and never let me down. Congrats Jim on a really nice little combo.


That Bravo 112 is one of the ones that usually gets reccomended for a speaker swap. 

If you're not hurting for money, I'd keep both and play around with them. Try stereo effects and what not. It's also nice to have a spare if your #1 goes down on you and has to go to the ship. $120 is a steal for that Peavey, there's an identical used one at my local shop for 350 bucks right now.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

cboutilier said:


> That Bravo 112 is one of the ones that usually gets reccomended for a speaker swap.
> 
> If you're not hurting for money, I'd keep both and play around with them. Try stereo effects and what not. It's also nice to have a spare if your #1 goes down on you and has to go to the ship. $120 is a steal for that Peavey, there's an identical used one at my local shop for 350 bucks right now.


Agree 100%


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

Just goes to show how we tend to think more expensive is better. While sometimes that can be true, that way of thinking doesn't apply to everything.

Peavey amps, from an electronics tech point of view are very well built (the 70's, 80's and 90's pieces I've worked on) and can sound very good (tone is subjective of course and a lot is heard through the logo on the front panel).

What I like about them is the quality of their tech support (schematics) and parts department (although with the new distribution deal they have with Jam Music starting Jan 2016, getting parts isn't as simple and easy as before). Their product support is absolutely top notch. They regularly update their databases when things like certain transistors go out of production to specs out a proper replacement. Conversely, take a Hughes and Kettner amp: They look real nice but tech support is non-existant and replacement parts are very hard to get, not to mention priced in such a way that they are very expensive to fix. I will never, ever buy or recommend an H&K, but I digress.

I had a few Peaveys over the years and the only one I wasn't thrilled with was the 1st get 5150 combo because of the amount of hiss and noise. The classic series has to be one of the best rock/blues amps on the market. The Butcher is another gem. The Bravo... there are a few more. I have a completely refurbished Mark VI bass amp from the '80s that I really like and a rebuilt Bandit 65, which is pretty cool.

I think that a lot of us get put off by the cheesy cosmetics, me included.

Enjoy the amp! Personally, I'd keep both.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Would not touch any of the newer ones. I like the late 70's, early 80's.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Ahh 80s Peavey. Great stuff. Fugly though.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Congrats! That was a good deal.


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