Amp of the Day 12-1-09 Peavey Masterpiece 50

[Mark Wein]

http://www.peavey.com/products/custom/amps/index.cfm

YouTube- Peavey Masterpiece Demo

http://www.eurotubes.com/PeaveyMasterpiece50C.jpg


Masterpiece™ 50
• 50 watts
• 2 channels
• 2 fixed-bias 6L6GC output tubes
• 3x12AX7 preamp tubes
• Clean channel features volume, treble, middle and bass controls with bright switch
• Overdrive channel adds gain trim, gain and gain level controls
• Available in Head, 1x12 and 2x12
• Options: reverb and speakers


For Hartley Peavey, amp building is a way of life. And for a guy who built his first amplifier in 1957, there's not much he hasn't seen or done. Now, more than half a century and 180 patents later, Hartley has returned to his roots with a trio of new hand-wired amplifiers, hand built every step of the way to your specifications.

Whether we're designing in collaboration with a respected artist or developing new technologies, we focus on bringing to life the tones that appeal to players' individual ears and styles. Blues benders love our Delta Blues™. Rock and country pickers gravitate to the Classic®. Hard rock players crank the 6505®. And steel players prefer the Nashville™.

So what is the Peavey sound? As you can see, there isn't just one. The same is true of our hand built 19th Street Custom Shop amplifiers. Plug into the Sensation™, Masterpiece™ and Studio Special™, and you can embark on three unique journeys of tone discovery, with more available to adventurous players who take advantage of our custom tube, speaker and configuration options.


http://www.peavey.com/products/custom/amps/handwired.jpgHand Wired
Every 19th Street Custom Shop amplifier is wired, fitted and finished by hand, one at a time from start to finish.


http://www.peavey.com/products/custom/amps/solidcabinetry.jpgSolid Cabinetry
Our custom enclosures are made of the finest solid, finger-jointed pine.

[Prages]

I'd like to try one, as I usually like Peavey amps.

That said, I'm not sure that a 'boutique' Peavey amp is a great marketing idea. :idk:

[Mark Wein]

I'd like to try one, as I usually like Peavey amps.

That said, I'm not sure that a 'boutique' Peavey amp is a great marketing idea. :idk:

This was another amp I saw in Guitar Player this month. I would think Peavey should do a "Boutique" nameplate like the car makers do if they want to lift the bar a bit...

[Help!I'maRock!]

i just don't see what they have to offer that's any better than the regular production line.

[Denverdave]

I would think Peavey should do a "Boutique" nameplate like the car makers do if they want to lift the bar a bit...

That would probably be a much better move from a marketing point of view. Something like Hartley Amps by Peavey so some other similar name...

[Prages]

i just don't see what they have to offer that's any better than the regular production line.

But it's PTP hand wired. That means it has to be better. :o

[Aahzz]

It actually makes me a little sad....I have to see if I can find it, but I read an interview with Hartley Peavey a year or 2 back. In it, one of the things he said was he thought it was outrageous what boutique amp makers were charging, and that he could do it but felt it would be wrong to charge boutioque prices for something that still cost him next to nothing. Apparently his mind has been changed....

[Denverdave]

It actually makes me a little sad....I have to see if I can find it, but I read an interview with Hartley Peavey a year or 2 back. In it, one of the things he said was he thought it was outrageous what boutique amp makers were charging, and that he could do it but felt it would be wrong to charge boutioque prices for something that still cost him next to nothing. Apparently his mind has been changed....

I just looked up the selling price on these. :eek:

Stupid expensive. I'd get a Matchless, Dr Z. or Bad Cat in that price range.

[Help!I'maRock!]

I just looked up the selling price on these. :eek:

Stupid expensive. I'd get a Matchless, Dr Z. or Bad Cat in that price range.

exactly. he's competing with Matchless, Dr Z, Victoria, Budda, Splawn, and even the new PRS amps. its already a crowded market and Peavey doesn't have the same perception of their company. they're good equipment for gigging musicians, not boutiquey collectors pieces for snorkeldicks.

[Denverdave]

exactly. he's competing with Matchless, Dr Z, Victoria, Budda, Splawn, and even the new PRS amps. its already a crowded market and Peavey doesn't have the same perception of their company. they're good equipment for gigging musicians, not boutiquey collectors pieces for snorkeldicks.


You nailed it. Other than the EVH endorsed stuff, their reputation is as a blue collar company with quality mid-level equipment. To all of a sudden drop into the $3000.00 amp category won't work.

It reminds me of VisualSound's foray in the amp world taking on the mid level Fender amps. They lasted about a year before they gave up....

[Prages]

You nailed it. Other than the EVH endorsed stuff, their reputation is as a blue collar company with quality mid-level equipment. To all of a sudden drop into the $3000.00 amp category won't work.

It reminds me of VisualSound's foray in the amp world taking on the mid level Fender amps. They lasted about a year before they gave up....


Even the Peavey EVH stuff wasn't boutique priced. I mean, you could still get a 5150 or a 5150II amp cheaper than you could get a Marshall DSL or a Mesa Dual Rec or whatever.

Even the Wolfgang wasn't absurdly priced. I got my Standard for $1300 new back in '98. Pricey, yeah, but not unreasonably pricey. The USA Specials were originally about $700 new, IIRC.

[Help!I'maRock!]

You nailed it. Other than the EVH endorsed stuff, their reputation is as a blue collar company with quality mid-level equipment. To all of a sudden drop into the $3000.00 amp category won't work.

It reminds me of VisualSound's foray in the amp world taking on the mid level Fender amps. They lasted about a year before they gave up....

the problem with VS entering the amp world was ironically, a visual one. the hubcap they put over the speaker put people off. it didn't matter if it was a real innovation or not. if VS came out with another amp line that looked more like Fender or Marshall, they'd probably do pretty well.

[Denverdave]

the problem with VS entering the amp world was ironically, a visual one. the hubcap they put over the speaker put people off. it didn't matter if it was a real innovation or not. if VS came out with another amp line that looked more like Fender or Marshall, they'd probably do pretty well.


I never got a chance to play through one, but a friend of mine did and really liked the tone a lot. But I agree, that grill was doomed from the beginning. That and having nothing below 50 watts, though I assume that was to keep the amount of clean headroom the amps were designed to have.

[Mark Wein]

This amp?



http://www.otheroom.com/namm07/images/workinghorse_amp.jpg Workinghorse Amp
I not real clear on how the name "Workinghorse" and hubcaps go together, but what the heck. They've got single-speaker "Pony" and a dual-speaker "Stallion" models. If you buy one, Visual Sound will throw in a one of their Jekyll & Hyde overdrive pedals for free.
Visual Sound LLC
4922 Port Royal Road, B-11
Spring Hill, TN 37174
(931) 487-9001
www.visualsound.net (http://www.visualsound.net/)

[Help!I'maRock!]

i bet they have enough in their warehouse that if you buy a Jekyll & Hyde pedal, they'll throw an amp in for free.

[Denverdave]

This amp?


Yep...

And I already have a JH pedal....

[Mark Wein]

They should have built the Jekyll and Hyde and the Route 66 compressor into the amp.