Peavey Vypyr

Unholymoondog · **Posted:** Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:08 pm

I walked into my local pr0n shop today and there was a huge stack of Peavey Vypyr 15 watt practice amps in the middle of the floor. The shop had only just started stocking Peavey and after reading many reports about the amp, I was keen to get testing.

First off is the specification.

15 watts.
24 amp channel models.
Three-band EQ, master volume and pre- and post-gain controls.
12 amplifier presets.
11 editable rack effects.
8'' (203mm) custom-voiced modeling speaker.
On-board chromatic tuner.
Tap Tempo button.
Studio-quality headphone and record out.
MP3/CD/Aux input.
Patented TransTube® technology in preamp and power amp.
Dimensions (HxWxD): 15'' (380 mm) x 16.7'' (424 mm) x 9.25'' (235 mm)
Weight: 16.5 lbs (7.5 kg)

I would say that it's pretty impressive, as it is simply bunged full of features 8-)

The first thing you notice when you switch it on, is the sheer number of LEDs, it lit up like a Christmas tree 8-)

(Where's me wallet :roll:

) The number of LED's installed must surely equate to at least 10% of the cost. Every switch and button has one and there is a ring of them round every dial. It may be a tad overkill, but it certainly looks pretty cool. When you tweak a dial the corresponding LEDs light up, so it is easy to see what position any particular dial is set at.

Enough of the lightshow :roll:

The are a multitude of amps modelled, 24 in total, of course they had to go 2 more than the Vox VT range, being in direct competition. There is also a multitude of built in effects, I didn't have a chance to test them all, however the ones I did try sounded OK. There is so much to tweak, you could spend a very long time doing so, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. One thing is for sure, it will take a long time to exhaust all the options.

Ok on to the sound...

The cabinet is open backed, and has an 8" Speaker, I didn't note the model, but 8" seems to be the standard for a 15 watt practice amp.

Peavey have "Trans tube" technology, although there is no tube in sight :roll:

It's processor is a 266 MHz Dual Core SHARC SS, so I don't know where they get the "tube" part from :lol:

Vox use a 12AX7 in the power stage, to give valve tone to the VT range and it works. So does the trans tube technology give the Vypyr valve tone ?

Well in one word, NO ! It sounded pretty typical SS to me, akin to the Roland cube series. i.e. A little too cold and clinical. Don't get me wrong it is competent at what it does, it just lacks valve tone and warmth, that is apparent with the VOX VT series.

I made a few "cat fight" :roll:

noises at quite a high volume and was expecting the tone to be rather thin, given the fact that it has an 8" speaker and open back design. On the contrary, it sounded pretty fat and full. Pretty darn impressive for an 8", 15 watt practice amp.

Now comes the most important point, the cost....

£85, yes only £85 Wow

It really is impressive that they can pack all the features in at this price, of course we have to take into account that SS components are ever decreasing in cost, but even so, it is just slightly more expensive than Roland's Microcube. I know the Microcube is great for portability and busking etc I know what I would choose !

Then there is the warranty ! Well Peavey give a 5 (yes 5!) year warranty as standard :shock:

If your after a practice amp and have limited funds, (or even if you ain't broke) the Vypyr certainly is well worth a look. I would certainly urge you to check one out, next time you are in a Peavey dealers shop.

Of course I was mainly testing out guitars today and I would have liked a little more time with the Vypyr. Hopefully I will get to test it some more, over the next few weeks.

Peavey Vypyr

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