All user reviews of 4/5 for the Peavey Ultra Plus Head

All Tube Amplifier Head:
4 12AX7 (preamp) and four 6L6GC lamps (Power)

- Power: 120 Watts @ 4.8, or 16 ohm impedance selectable
- Channels: Ultra, Crunch and Clean with Footswitch (the logo on the front panel changes color ...)
- Footswitchable Reverb
- Effects Loop
- Master volume
- Clean Channel: Volume, Bright switch, Low, Mid, and High
- Crunch and Ultra channels: Gain & Volume, Gain Boost Switch, Bottom, Body and EQ Edge
- Preamp Output Jack
- 3-Position Switch Resonance
- 2 Input: High and Low Gain
- Footswitch included
- Dimensions: 11 "H x 26.5" W x 11 "D
- Weight: 50.1 Lbs

UTILIZATION

The configuration is not a problem ... No need to spend time to make adjustments to get good sound ... The manual is somewhat succinct but it has the merit of being clear ...

SOUNDS

Well, here we go ... My amp on, the lamps warm, I start with the clean channel ... The logo on the front panel turns green, and I chipotte few chords with my Ibanez Sabre ... A bit of reverb to make the sound more air, and the result is nickel ... No complaints about the sound clean ...

Then comes the urge to let off steam a bit ... I spin a kick on my footswitch, and passes the canal Crunch ... The logo on the front turns orange, and I begin to improvise solos on blues accompaniments ... Here, again, is pure happiness, the distortion is super hot and it's really hard ...

I then decided to drop a little distortion for soloing over power peacefully ... Unfortunately, when the gain of the distortion is small, the sound becomes soft, tasteless and cold ... In short, it's worth anything ... Apparently, the distortion was not designed for that ... It's high-gain or anything ...

In fact, if I chose this amp, but rather to play metal ... I turn the channel Ultra, Peavey logo turns red ... I tune my guitar in open tuning in C, and off you go ... Ooh, the big bad and heavy distortion well ... Here we see that for which this amp was designed!

OVERALL OPINION

It's been four years since I use this amp ... And there is no photo, this unit addresses audiences to those who love the big tear that disto ... For others, go your way, or else, go for effects pedals ... Before this amp, I played a Marshall Valvestate ... Nothing comparable course, except that the transition from transistors to the lamps is feeling well ... Value just fine, with experience, I think I would try still more models before I decide ...

All Tube Amplifier Head (pre 4 * 12AX7, 6L6 * 4 power (all in Sovtek)) 120W.
3 channels: clean and crunch lead.EQ separate clean and crunch / lead.Volume separately on each channel and master general (redundant).
Accutronics reverb, mono effects loop, preamp output (without simulation hp, is not messing around either!).
Input high / low gain, half power switch / full power switch 3 positions resonance.
Footswitch peavey 3 selectors.
Purchased in January 2000 in leadguitars for 6000Frs neuve.Le cabinet used is a 1960 Marshall 4 * 12 ".

UTILIZATION

It's a fairly old-school head: one is not lost in the settings ... Gain, Volume, 3 band eq, master ... it goes fast (and it is quickly turn). Only the resonance switch may seem enigmatic and it is basically an adjustable bass boost for (or low-cut adjustable).
The volume of each channel is handy.
The half power switch can save 2 of 4 power tubes when you play a low volume, convenient ...
At full power is the Feast of the slip so we can push this amp (I have never exceeded 6 and was in a room of 200m ² with sound not ...) So those who feared the brand peavey can reassure c 'is a tube amp ....
As against red card (houuuu! hooouuu!) For the footswitch ridiculously small (3 cm in 15 switches: record to beat) and poorly thought lead / crunch left clean on / off and reverb to right center, IT'S IN CONCERT A CALVARY !!!!! Actually seen the size of the switch happens to press the clean has priority over other canaux.Résultat: CLUNG! CLUNG! when we wanted to spend crunch lead.
In addition, for 6000 balls we head right to expect anything but a piece of plastoc perrave.
So as this retail sanction me ruined pieces together like I send the big solo, not you got a clean perrave (and here, the public shows you the finger and does not care about your face ... it's been part of my therapy to write this opinion ...)
One can also regret the absence of level control loop effect and the fact that it is not switchable.
More (décidément!) peavey logo in lights and facade changes color depending on the channel: a beautiful bright green for clean, a very trendy for the orange crunch and finally a red blood DEATH for lead . It is certain that some players like to, but I have a Christmas tree peavey plu.Enfin ca me too ...
Note severe is mainly due to a footswitch sad, ashamed ... (I was clear enough?) But the head remains pleasant to use ...
I would add that it is rock solid and heavy as an anvil ..
It goes without saying that in the peavey manual is succinct as NUL.

SOUNDS

Here I play the head of métaaaaaalllll and frankly a good distortion (crunch and lead), although incisive while keeping the color "lamps" my faith strong agréable.Le gain can be pushed too far (more than a jcm 900) : lovers apprécieront.D Moreover a high volume I recommend using the crunch has pushed Burns made a gain that interesting. For lack of clean against the mouth and is quite banal so blah.
The EQ is very effective and large nag was surprised that I quickly cut up the bass and midrange (God knows it's hard to get a metal switch mediums !!!). The "resonance" is used with a parcimonie.Il must therefore spend time in groups but you can sculpt his sound well (!) and this is one of the strengths of this amp (especially when there are two scratch in the group).
The reverb sounds good (Because Accutronics) and is quite usable.
Also noteworthy is the relative transparency of the head that really respect the sound and personality of the guitar, so scratch the shit = rotten (Jim Harley enthusiasts are disappointed at the back of the room, I see you well). For cons with a Les Paul (same studio) it sounds really GOOD (You amaze me! And with a PRS, asshole?). I tried several guitars on it even though my guitar is a jackson ps4 main bofbof (to be polite ) and it feels really.

OVERALL OPINION

Here, I use the head more or less intensively for 4 years and I'm pretty satisfait.Je have preferred a more polyvalente.Je since 5150 have had no problems (if n ' is the inevitable change of lamp).
I do not find it particularly expensive for the proposed but do not expect to have the biggest guitar sound in the world because it has a more neutral than the grain or other marshall mesa, a personality that marks less marked nommées.C above is therefore knowingly choose the head must be knowing, for against, the instrument will be dominant in the personality of her (uh, I do not know if chuis clear here!).
If you play several different styles, the versatility offered is attractive.
So it's a very nice amp head and 7 seems to be a note that's not enough juste.Et peavey guitar rotten gentlemen !!!!!

The Peavey Ultra Plus is a 120 watt, 3 channel all tube amp head. Channels 2 and 3 have shared eq. It has foot-switchable on board reverb and an effects loop. There are high and low inputs.

It has a 'resonance' switch on the back. You can switch between tight, med, and loose. It basically tweaks the low end response. Its a cool little feature, but in my opinion it doesn't change the sound enough to make a noticeable difference in the mix.

UTILIZATION

Its really easy to get a good sound out of this amp on all three channels. Manual is really straight forward.

This is a fixed bias amp, which mean you can just put in a new matched quartet of 6L6s tubes whenever you need to replace the tubes. This feature makes it a great first tube amp.

SOUNDS

I used it with delay and a noise gate. The loop is fairly transparent but definitely tweaks the sound some, nothing noticeable in a mix though.

Channel 1 is very clean, I really liked it. Its an almost Fender sounding clean, very clear and bright. I used it a couple different times when tracking guitars in the studio and to this day its still one of my favorite clean tones.

Channel 2 is also really impressive. It has the typical Peavey eq curve, nice full sound with an upper mid spike. This channel is nice and crunchy without reaching high gain levels. Very nice tone.

As far as I understand it, channel 3 is the exact same circuit as channel 2, the only difference is the gain pot. This means it sound good, but it also means it sounds near identical to channel 2, especially since they share an EQ. I don't really consider this a 3 channel amp, more like a 2 channel amp with a gain boost. That sound, channel 3 sounds great. Its a killer metal sound.

OVERALL OPINION

What I like least about the amp is the shared EQ. It makes it so channels 2 and 3 do not have much tonal distinction. However, its still a good tone. For the price its a killer deal. These things can be had for $300-400 easily.

All in all this is a great tube amp, it has great tone and its built like a tank. I gigged this for months and I never had any issues, and the fixed bias makes it really easy to maintain. It makes a great first tube amp, or a great amp for those who want killer metal tone on the cheap.

Features the same.
my lights are:
- Power: 4 Svetlana 6L6 GC
- Preamp: 12AX7 Ei 1, 2 12ax7EH Electro-Harmonix, Sovtek 12ax7LPS 1

UTILIZATION

Tete super easy with 3-band per channel
very accurate equalization except for the earnings from a 7 is more highly differentiated.
manual: non-existent, the dismemberment site builder does the reference even more!

the foot-swich ... no comment!

SOUNDS

is clean through with a special brilliance.
really nice crunch! the big rock by the low gain entry to the maiden hi gain through the Van Hallen ... al what!
disto (ultra) BIG SOUND, more than fender, marshall. less typical mesa that not as much punch as the 5150.
remains a very good amp for the large metal!

Cabinet: Peavey 412m
scratch: ESP M2 Deluxe (EMG 81)

OVERALL OPINION

Quality / price ratio: HUGE big sound for cheap! and more ... OCCAZ

a choice not regret if a re ...

The Peavey Ultra Plus is a 3 channel, 120 watt tube amplifier. It's considered the precursor to the Triple X and the Joe Satriani JSX lines of amps. The amp is powered by the fairly standard compliment of 12AX7s in the preamp section and 6L6s in the power section. There is also an effects loop and a reverb on the head, as well as a full/half power switch and a three position Resonance switch for a tighter or looser feel.

There are three channels on the amp: Clean, Crunch, and Ultra. They are each footswitchable as well. Each channel has its own gain and volume control, and they all share the same set of standard bass, middle and treble controls. It can be somewhat difficult to dial in each channel with only one shared EQ, but once it's dialed in it was pretty killer. I haven't used the effects loop enough to comment on it. The reverb was nice... not too cavernous but also audible enough that you could hear it easily. All in all I felt that it was very well laid out amp and its modern voicing contrasted nicely to my Mesa Boogie Mark III head that I ran in stereo with it.

(The amp also has a really funky logo that lights up and changes colours depending on the channel you're on. Green is clean, Orange is crunch, and Red is ultra. How cool is that?)



UTILIZATION

As far as the amp's setup, It was fairly simple to do. The channels are laid out very simply. The clean was, well... clean. The crunch channel was akin to more of a Marshall-y vibe... think classic L.A rock gunslinger tone, very brown. The ultra channel was the highest gain of the three channels and it was kind of like the supersaturated modern tone that so many bands used in the late nineties and early in the 2000's. I found it to be a little bit tighter sounding than the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, but a different, more restrained voicing when compared to the 5150/5150II.

I'd say the biggest hurdle I had with the initial setup was getting each channel to work with the shared equalization controls. The amp naturally had a fair bit of high end in the distortion channels... so I would turn down the treble, but it made the cleans then rather dark. In the end I had to compromise with slightly brighter distortion tones than I would've liked just to make the cleans have some sparkle... but all in all I was happy enough with the tones. I found that the rig took to humbuckers better than single coils, so that's what I'm basing my tonal opinions off of.

SOUNDS

When I had the Ultra Plus head, I was using it with either a Basson 2x12 or an old Traynor 2x12. Guitar wise I had a Parker Fly Deluxe, a Warmoth Telecaster with DiMarzio Twang Kings and an eighties Yamaha RGX 612a with stock active electronics. Here's a breakdown of how I found each channel with my main rig (Parker Fly, U+, and the Basson cabinet):

Clean - Fairly neutral sounding channel. It had a bit of sparkle to it as you turned the treble up, but overall I didn't find it to be quite that remarkable. I'd say it was somewhat scooped in nature, so it lacked a bit of that midrange texture that I find so great. It sounded decent when I added in a bit of reverb... but most things generally do, so...

Crunch - I liked this channel quite a bit. It reminded me a lot of that classic L.A rock sound. Very biting and articulate and great for the Van Halen/Dokken/Loudness type of vibe. I found it to be best in the "loose" resonance setting which made it react more like a British amp. If you tightened up the Resonance and added a bit more gain I found that the channel worked fairly well for modern tones as well... just with a slightly more vintage flavour.

Ultra - This was definitely my favourite channel on the amp. It was extremely good for high gain riffage and soloing, but it was also quite dynamic and worked really well when I would roll my guitar volume back. The only caveat is that it sounded a bit too compressed when I had it in the tightest Resonance setting, but otherwise I quite enjoyed this channel. It was great for dropped D type stuff as well as a bunch of modern lead based passages. It compared very favourably to my Mesa Mark III as well... the pair of them made a very nice contrast!

OVERALL OPINION

Overall I feel like the Ultra Plus a killer value for the money. I think they're an extremely cool and underrated amp that are overshadowed next to the 5150s. The dirty tones were really cool, very modern and crunchy... and the Resonance switch allowed me to go from more of a classic voicing to modern. Like I said prior, the amp sounded killer in tandem with my Mesa Mark III head. The Mesa was more of a smooth, lead based voicing, so I set up the Ultra plus for more chunk and saturation... and the two of them blended together quite nicely. They're a real sleeper amp that can usually be had for under $400 if you look... I paid $300 for mine and I felt it was worth every penny. If you're looking for a well built, durable alternative to something like a 5150 or Dual Rec for high gains... give the Ultra Plus a shot for sure!

(For those interested, I did a video demo comparing the two amps a while back which can be seen here