I played one at a Guitar Center a couple years back. I loved it. A little box of massive crunch. Anyone who hates this amp because it's not just like its big brother is simply foolish. You have to look at what you get for the money. I also love Joyo Bantamp mini heads and owned a Firebrand for a stretch. I'm probably going to get the Zombie II in the near future. These things are awesome.
I got a lot of shade thrown at me in my early band days in the late 80s when I would use whatever equipment I could get my hands on. I remember getting booted out of a band because I showed up with a Peavey Bandit combo and a Boss Overdrive. Nevermind that it sounded absolutely great, especially mic'd up, but the bassist and the singer who was also the rhythm guitarist thought I was unserious because I didn't have a Marshall combo like he did. I'd been jamming with the drummer for three months at that point, which is an eternity when you're thirteen. But now the band dynamics were changing. The drummer had my back but I got pushed out by the bassist and singer. They didn't even want to hear my amp, which I think actually sounded more metal than the singer's JCM combo, especially as he didn't know how to dial in a tone and couldn't play good rhythm guitar for all the tea in China. Then he started dogging my guitar, a strat with a Hot Rail. Well, it was all I could afford. Eventually the drummer ditched those jerks and we formed another band together, this one with a better bassist who also handled vocals. We played a lot of gigs, changed the band name every other week. Even if we were great we never would have built a following. So we were known by our peers as "Those three dudes who got a band". But the Peavey did the job. I used it a lot till I got a Randall RG75. I also got shit for that amp from the pretentious crowd. Guitar players just buy into too much witchcraft. My rule is that if it sounds good it is good, simple as that. I don't remember who said it, but I recently came across this quote again, to paraphrase, "You'd be surprised how much classic rock and roll was recorded with cheap equipment." That's because in the studio it comes down to the player and the skills of the producer and engineer. Billy Gibbons recorded much of Eliminator, ZZ Top's biggest selling album (Diamond at over 10 million records in the US alone) on a solid state L5 amp. It sounded great in the studio. Ty Tabor of King's X also got his own unique sound through a combination of an LG and his Fender Elite Strat with active circuitry. Nobody in 1987 sounded like Tabor and he kept his rig a closely guarded secret for years. Now, why was it so hard to figure out what Ty was using? I'd say lack of imagination. Because too many players don't trust their own ears. They look at the glossy ads for Mesa Boogie, Soldano, Hughes and Kettner, and assume this is what all the big boys are using. Not the case. Players need to trust their ears and focus on their playing and focus on developing their own style, their own sound that works for them. EVH didn't come up with his sound for the sake of impressing the guitar world. He came up with that sound because it worked well for his style. This open, big sounding distortion that was still clear, where every note in a chord can ring true, where tap and artificial squeal harmonics jump out at the speed of thought. That's what worked for him. A tone like that never worked for me. I was never a good tapper and was more into the pre-EVH classic rock tone, like Schenker's tone with UFO. To me that is the ultimate kind of guitar tone. Also Thin Lizzy's tone once you got the team of Gorham and Robertson. Tone perfection. That's what I love. Knowing who you are as a musician is liberating. It means you don't have to get hung up and go down an endless rabbit hole. Yes, it can be fun to go gear crazy. I love gear. But in the end I keep in mind that it's all about the music. Right now a lot of players are going digital/solid state. Why? Because it sounds great and it makes economic sense. Really, what makes more sense for a new band doing their first tour, or a bunch of gigs around a large city like L.A. or Chicago or NY, lugging a wall of amps which is like moving furniture without getting paid, or using a small box on the floor that goes right into the front of house and always sounds consistently great? Big artists like Def Leppard are also using digital systems. Viv and Phil are using Fractal's AxFx instead of walls of Marshalls and Boogies and Soldanos. They can afford any amp on the planet, and yet they choose Fractal. Why? Because it's consistent and it makes it easier for them to set up the stage the way they want. I remember seeing Leppard do the In-The-Round thing on Hysteria. There wasn't an amp in site, and yet we knew there were amps on that stage behind the grill. Back then I recall they were using Randalls. Whatever the case they sounded great. Lynch used a single Randall RG75 with the Celestion like the one I had (only mine was covered in grey carpet) on the Tooth and Nail tour. He had this fake, cardboard cutout wall of Randall stacks which he used to promote is endorsement, but behind the stage, propped up at an angle on a chair, was the RG75 which was providing all the metal.
I'm a big fan of all these tiny class-D amps coming out that sound and feel like their older and massively heavier class-A counterparts. Peavey, Vox, Blackstar (stuck it all on a pedal), Orange, plus a few off-brands like Hotone and Joyo. Ever since the modelling revolution fronted by Line 6, we get more and more options every year for less. $200 would have bought crap sounding flinger bleeding stuff back in my day - these days, the same $200 unadjusted for inflation can buy pretty descent sounding stuff these days that sounds almost great, but didn't cost that much. Schecter axes included - undervalued on the used market. Someone wants a Paul feeling/sounding axe that looks like a strat - with smooth neck joint - that's Schecter for under $400 used. Plus to boot, even the 5W ones can power a 412, just not at gigging volumes though. If anything, these little amps have me buying verb, noise gate, and little green distortion pedals again.
As an owner of a Piranha and the matching cab, I think a lot of folks struggle with it because it doesn't come off strong out of the box. Yes, when you place an Overdrive to it it changes everything. For the record, I still use it for recording. I still love it.
I own one and it is definitely a cool mini... But... If you are interested in getting a hybrid mini, i would recommend checking out the Orange Micro Dark... 🤘
Dang!!! That's a new guitar? I am jealous! That thing is gorgeous!!! The answer is simple about why it is getting so much hate, is has 6505 on it and sounds nothing like a 100w tube 6505 that is quadruple the price (if not more!). People listen with their eyes. No it's not a 6505, yes it has a single tone knob and not the most versatile in the world but it still sounds good and a damn good deal for the price.
For micro amps, I don't think anything touches the HOTONEs. I've got the VOX one. Effects loop! Pump it into my 1x12s, 2x12, or 4x12 and it's stunning. One of these days I need to run it into my Power Station and re-amp it up to 50 watts of 6L6 goodness. That would be a absolute legitimate great sound 50w tube amp rig, but for jamming, those HOTONEs get surprisingly loud and sound fantastic - all for the price of a pedal.
that little amp is sooper kick ass! I have a Vox Lil' Night Train (12AY7>12AU7>12AU7) - that little critter rocks! I would grab a baby 6505 anyday. I just received the DOD FX56 American Metal. I took the chain off and now she's warm and fuzzy. Good Times.
My dad raised me on Peavey and Line 6 amps. I’m now an Orange guy but Peavey is probably my number 2 or 3 depending how I feel about Marshall at the time.
Just like morality, spirituality, philosophy, art, lifestyle, politics, etcetera, everyone has an opinion and EVERYONE CLAIMS THEY'RE RIGHT! 🤣I had my friend's 5150 for years because he was always busy and moving around, so I had plenty of time to d-ck around with it. I love it and hate it at the same time. 🤪I liked it better for just amping my "custom and already sculpted" guitar processor sounds... the Peavey 5150/6505 is just an odd beast. I do like the new Fender 5150s way more, had one briefly. To me, the original Peavey 5150s were noisy and unrefined, but I did like their "chug." As far as clarity and beauty, not so much... BUT, matched with appropriate tweaking and other equipment, you'd be surprised. I believe most people's ears were tricked by the 5150s - They heard MASSIVE gain and confused it with quality. I'm on both sides of this argument. 😜
Not gonna lie, I love all things Peavey. Yes, they've been guilty from time to time of using less than stellar speakers in their cabs, but I've never seen a Peavey I couldn't get a good sound out of. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I've tried a LOT of peaveys. The proof is in the puddin'
I would like to know if you used an actual cab or ir. I had one and the joyo…and I preferred the joyo..mostly due to the power section being rated for 8 ohms on the joyo and the peavey rated at 4 ohms…while i am sure it’s fine at the 4 ohm setting, I don’t have any 4 ohm cabs… it seems to lack so much more when I ran it through a peavey classic 1x15 cab rated at 16 ohms…I sold both after I got the orange micro dark…that one is seems to push that cab a lot better.
@@RobertWJackson I love it, it’s simple, sounds great and is fairly versatile. Any gear that helps me sound better is a plus. I need all the help I can get!
Got mines from fb marketplace for 50$. For the price, can’t beat it !! But it did came with a dead preamp tube and me not being too much of an expert, I asked the guy for a refund and he agreed to it. But after finding a 12ax7 tube laying around my parts, it started working normal and now I feel bad for asking for a refund but hey, FREE PEAVEY !!
What I'd love to see is a shootout between this and a Peavey Vypyr's 6505 setting. I'd say compare it to the Vypyr Tube but those are higher in watts so it wouldn't necessarily be fair. It would be more fair to compare it to the 30 watt Vypyr head, which is entirely solid state.
@@RobertWJackson Fair. I get that modeling amps have their limitations. I am aware that the Piranha is a hybrid though. I may pick one up myself some time.
I’ll take 2, I know why! Because big daddy RobertJ didn’t show’m what it sounds like. Sometimes! It takes a bad ass to sell something like this. ❤ya bud!
Because they blow! I wasted my money on essentially the same amp - a Crate Power Block I think it was. Just stopped working one day. Got it cheap on a blow-out sale. Figured it would make a good backpack amp and take pedals well. It didn't do anything well. This Piranha sounds just like that Crate did. Lifeless with no dimension. No note definition at all.
So in other words, you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about because those two amps aren’t even remotely the same. They’re not even in the same class. The Power Block was designed to be a pedal platform, for the most part, as the preamp section on its own doesn’t do much. It’s also 150 watts. It’s probably not anybody’s main rig, but I take it with me to every gig as a backup in case my main amp goes down. I’ve had to deploy it a couple of times, and it’s been rock solid. ua-cam.com/video/EoD-ckN1mUw/v-deo.html The 20-watt Piranha, on the other hand, is designed to be a bedroom practice amp on its own, used with minimal pedals at low volumes. If you don’t like either one of them, fine. But your experience sounds a lot more like user inexperience to me. Or at the very least you ran them through a cheap cab.
I love Peavey and will probably pick a Pirahna up in the near future, but I run a Tube Screamer or my Boss Metal Zone through everything, so the Pirahna won't bother me one damned bit, Robert! I like it's mids and bass. 🤘
I appreciate how you demonstrate the range of amps and pedals and let the sound samples speak for themselves. Great review.👍
I played one at a Guitar Center a couple years back. I loved it. A little box of massive crunch. Anyone who hates this amp because it's not just like its big brother is simply foolish. You have to look at what you get for the money. I also love Joyo Bantamp mini heads and owned a Firebrand for a stretch. I'm probably going to get the Zombie II in the near future. These things are awesome.
I got a lot of shade thrown at me in my early band days in the late 80s when I would use whatever equipment I could get my hands on. I remember getting booted out of a band because I showed up with a Peavey Bandit combo and a Boss Overdrive. Nevermind that it sounded absolutely great, especially mic'd up, but the bassist and the singer who was also the rhythm guitarist thought I was unserious because I didn't have a Marshall combo like he did. I'd been jamming with the drummer for three months at that point, which is an eternity when you're thirteen. But now the band dynamics were changing. The drummer had my back but I got pushed out by the bassist and singer. They didn't even want to hear my amp, which I think actually sounded more metal than the singer's JCM combo, especially as he didn't know how to dial in a tone and couldn't play good rhythm guitar for all the tea in China. Then he started dogging my guitar, a strat with a Hot Rail. Well, it was all I could afford. Eventually the drummer ditched those jerks and we formed another band together, this one with a better bassist who also handled vocals. We played a lot of gigs, changed the band name every other week. Even if we were great we never would have built a following. So we were known by our peers as "Those three dudes who got a band". But the Peavey did the job. I used it a lot till I got a Randall RG75. I also got shit for that amp from the pretentious crowd. Guitar players just buy into too much witchcraft. My rule is that if it sounds good it is good, simple as that. I don't remember who said it, but I recently came across this quote again, to paraphrase, "You'd be surprised how much classic rock and roll was recorded with cheap equipment." That's because in the studio it comes down to the player and the skills of the producer and engineer. Billy Gibbons recorded much of Eliminator, ZZ Top's biggest selling album (Diamond at over 10 million records in the US alone) on a solid state L5 amp. It sounded great in the studio. Ty Tabor of King's X also got his own unique sound through a combination of an LG and his Fender Elite Strat with active circuitry. Nobody in 1987 sounded like Tabor and he kept his rig a closely guarded secret for years. Now, why was it so hard to figure out what Ty was using? I'd say lack of imagination. Because too many players don't trust their own ears. They look at the glossy ads for Mesa Boogie, Soldano, Hughes and Kettner, and assume this is what all the big boys are using. Not the case. Players need to trust their ears and focus on their playing and focus on developing their own style, their own sound that works for them. EVH didn't come up with his sound for the sake of impressing the guitar world. He came up with that sound because it worked well for his style. This open, big sounding distortion that was still clear, where every note in a chord can ring true, where tap and artificial squeal harmonics jump out at the speed of thought. That's what worked for him. A tone like that never worked for me. I was never a good tapper and was more into the pre-EVH classic rock tone, like Schenker's tone with UFO. To me that is the ultimate kind of guitar tone. Also Thin Lizzy's tone once you got the team of Gorham and Robertson. Tone perfection. That's what I love. Knowing who you are as a musician is liberating. It means you don't have to get hung up and go down an endless rabbit hole. Yes, it can be fun to go gear crazy. I love gear. But in the end I keep in mind that it's all about the music. Right now a lot of players are going digital/solid state. Why? Because it sounds great and it makes economic sense. Really, what makes more sense for a new band doing their first tour, or a bunch of gigs around a large city like L.A. or Chicago or NY, lugging a wall of amps which is like moving furniture without getting paid, or using a small box on the floor that goes right into the front of house and always sounds consistently great? Big artists like Def Leppard are also using digital systems. Viv and Phil are using Fractal's AxFx instead of walls of Marshalls and Boogies and Soldanos. They can afford any amp on the planet, and yet they choose Fractal. Why? Because it's consistent and it makes it easier for them to set up the stage the way they want. I remember seeing Leppard do the In-The-Round thing on Hysteria. There wasn't an amp in site, and yet we knew there were amps on that stage behind the grill. Back then I recall they were using Randalls. Whatever the case they sounded great. Lynch used a single Randall RG75 with the Celestion like the one I had (only mine was covered in grey carpet) on the Tooth and Nail tour. He had this fake, cardboard cutout wall of Randall stacks which he used to promote is endorsement, but behind the stage, propped up at an angle on a chair, was the RG75 which was providing all the metal.
I'm a big fan of all these tiny class-D amps coming out that sound and feel like their older and massively heavier class-A counterparts. Peavey, Vox, Blackstar (stuck it all on a pedal), Orange, plus a few off-brands like Hotone and Joyo. Ever since the modelling revolution fronted by Line 6, we get more and more options every year for less. $200 would have bought crap sounding flinger bleeding stuff back in my day - these days, the same $200 unadjusted for inflation can buy pretty descent sounding stuff these days that sounds almost great, but didn't cost that much. Schecter axes included - undervalued on the used market. Someone wants a Paul feeling/sounding axe that looks like a strat - with smooth neck joint - that's Schecter for under $400 used. Plus to boot, even the 5W ones can power a 412, just not at gigging volumes though. If anything, these little amps have me buying verb, noise gate, and little green distortion pedals again.
Love the little solo on that intro clip man!
Thanks man!
That intro was GREAT! Thanks for the very interesting review too.
As an owner of a Piranha and the matching cab, I think a lot of folks struggle with it because it doesn't come off strong out of the box. Yes, when you place an Overdrive to it it changes everything. For the record, I still use it for recording. I still love it.
Hace poco intercambie con un amigo.....una nux mg 300 y un piranha...y realmente no me arrepiento es un amplificador espectacular 👌
Cool! Nice and simple.
I own one and it is definitely a cool mini... But... If you are interested in getting a hybrid mini, i would recommend checking out the Orange Micro Dark... 🤘
Peavey as a whole has lost favor with players when it went over seas but I'm a fan of the made in America stuff since the 70s
Dang!!! That's a new guitar? I am jealous! That thing is gorgeous!!! The answer is simple about why it is getting so much hate, is has 6505 on it and sounds nothing like a 100w tube 6505 that is quadruple the price (if not more!). People listen with their eyes. No it's not a 6505, yes it has a single tone knob and not the most versatile in the world but it still sounds good and a damn good deal for the price.
It certainly is cool, and it definitely delivers the correct tone, although very quietly, 20W is practice volume, I dig it!
For micro amps, I don't think anything touches the HOTONEs. I've got the VOX one. Effects loop! Pump it into my 1x12s, 2x12, or 4x12 and it's stunning. One of these days I need to run it into my Power Station and re-amp it up to 50 watts of 6L6 goodness. That would be a absolute legitimate great sound 50w tube amp rig, but for jamming, those HOTONEs get surprisingly loud and sound fantastic - all for the price of a pedal.
@@castleanthrax1833 I think you'll be impressed! Let me know!
that little amp is sooper kick ass! I have a Vox Lil' Night Train (12AY7>12AU7>12AU7) - that little critter rocks! I would grab a baby 6505 anyday. I just received the DOD FX56 American Metal. I took the chain off and now she's warm and fuzzy. Good Times.
Great video as usual, thanks for what you do brother!
The only thing missing is a bit more power. Otherwise it's a great little amp. Peavey has a lot of badly underrated stuff out there.
My dad raised me on Peavey and Line 6 amps. I’m now an Orange guy but Peavey is probably my number 2 or 3 depending how I feel about Marshall at the time.
It's a nice little Amp.
I purchased this and returned it. Was first tube amp lol. Decided wanted something better, Got MT-15.
It's sounds good and perfect desk amp.
@@castleanthrax1833 Yes correct a hybrid. So I guess first tube amp would be MT-15
@@castleanthrax1833 2nd peavey invective MH. I really hope they release EVH Iconic mini head.
Just like morality, spirituality, philosophy, art, lifestyle, politics, etcetera, everyone has an opinion and EVERYONE CLAIMS THEY'RE RIGHT! 🤣I had my friend's 5150 for years because he was always busy and moving around, so I had plenty of time to d-ck around with it. I love it and hate it at the same time. 🤪I liked it better for just amping my "custom and already sculpted" guitar processor sounds... the Peavey 5150/6505 is just an odd beast. I do like the new Fender 5150s way more, had one briefly. To me, the original Peavey 5150s were noisy and unrefined, but I did like their "chug." As far as clarity and beauty, not so much... BUT, matched with appropriate tweaking and other equipment, you'd be surprised. I believe most people's ears were tricked by the 5150s - They heard MASSIVE gain and confused it with quality. I'm on both sides of this argument. 😜
I saw one video where it sounded good, but the Orange Micro Dark sounded better side by side. Maybe thats why it gets the hate
Not gonna lie, I love all things Peavey. Yes, they've been guilty from time to time of using less than stellar speakers in their cabs, but I've never seen a Peavey I couldn't get a good sound out of. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I've tried a LOT of peaveys. The proof is in the puddin'
I had one of these briefly...honestly, I like their 80s solid state amps more
@@jasondorsey7110 yeah, their 80's solid state amps are hard to beat
I would like to know if you used an actual cab or ir. I had one and the joyo…and I preferred the joyo..mostly due to the power section being rated for 8 ohms on the joyo and the peavey rated at 4 ohms…while i am sure it’s fine at the 4 ohm setting, I don’t have any 4 ohm cabs…
it seems to lack so much more when I ran it through a peavey classic 1x15 cab rated at 16 ohms…I sold both after I got the orange micro dark…that one is seems to push that cab a lot better.
I used an IR. I hardly ever mic up a cab anymore.
I think these had a high rate of failure or were doa as a purchase if I remember correctly.
Plug it into the right speakers and it’s excellent.
I love Peavey.
Sounds great to me so I can't understand the hate. Great video Robert🎸
🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Another Time Machine sighting! How are you liking it Robert?
Same sighting. I just recorded multiple videos back-to-back. That was the delay pedal I already had out, so I kept using it.
@@RobertWJackson I love it, it’s simple, sounds great and is fairly versatile. Any gear that helps me sound better is a plus. I need all the help I can get!
Sorry, just discovered the Laney IH IRT Studio on you channel.
I love my IRT-Studio. 4 years later, it’s still my main recording amp.
It sounds fine by itself until you AB it with something. Then how thin it is shines through
Got mines from fb marketplace for 50$. For the price, can’t beat it !! But it did came with a dead preamp tube and me not being too much of an expert, I asked the guy for a refund and he agreed to it. But after finding a 12ax7 tube laying around my parts, it started working normal and now I feel bad for asking for a refund but hey, FREE PEAVEY !!
And yes he let me keep it too. Since we met in the middle of a parking lot, he Venmo my money back :P
That amp ain’t no slouch.
What I'd love to see is a shootout between this and a Peavey Vypyr's 6505 setting. I'd say compare it to the Vypyr Tube but those are higher in watts so it wouldn't necessarily be fair. It would be more fair to compare it to the 30 watt Vypyr head, which is entirely solid state.
A modeling amp on this channel? Sorry, ain’t happenin’.
And the Piranha is actually a hybrid amp with a tube preamp.
@@RobertWJackson Fair. I get that modeling amps have their limitations. I am aware that the Piranha is a hybrid though. I may pick one up myself some time.
I know several people that own one but never use it 🤷♂️
Probably because it is lacking in the power department. But it was also designed specifically low-volume situations.
🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼Fucken heavy!!
The amp has a cool sound. But it's too small for a gig.
I’ll take 2,
I know why! Because big daddy RobertJ didn’t show’m what it sounds like. Sometimes! It takes a bad ass to sell something like this.
❤ya bud!
🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
So much bass
🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Because it doesn’t have 8 billion 12ax7’s in the gain stage Lolol 😊
🤣(+1) 😂
I bought this, tried it and quickly returned it. Sorry, no love.
I don't hate these, but it's just not a real 6505. I think the name is just unfortunate at best and misleading at worst.
Because they blow! I wasted my money on essentially the same amp - a Crate Power Block I think it was. Just stopped working one day. Got it cheap on a blow-out sale. Figured it would make a good backpack amp and take pedals well. It didn't do anything well. This Piranha sounds just like that Crate did. Lifeless with no dimension. No note definition at all.
So in other words, you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about because those two amps aren’t even remotely the same. They’re not even in the same class. The Power Block was designed to be a pedal platform, for the most part, as the preamp section on its own doesn’t do much. It’s also 150 watts. It’s probably not anybody’s main rig, but I take it with me to every gig as a backup in case my main amp goes down. I’ve had to deploy it a couple of times, and it’s been rock solid. ua-cam.com/video/EoD-ckN1mUw/v-deo.html
The 20-watt Piranha, on the other hand, is designed to be a bedroom practice amp on its own, used with minimal pedals at low volumes.
If you don’t like either one of them, fine. But your experience sounds a lot more like user inexperience to me. Or at the very least you ran them through a cheap cab.
Power Block kicks ass.
@@RobertWJackson if you consider a 1960a a cheap cab (among others), then so be it. Lol
k
I love Peavey and will probably pick a Pirahna up in the near future, but I run a Tube Screamer or my Boss Metal Zone through everything, so the Pirahna won't bother me one damned bit, Robert! I like it's mids and bass. 🤘