Peavey Royal 8

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by thehundredthone, Oct 27, 2009.

  1. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    Worth trying to acquire?

    The upside:
    5W all tube
    Master volume
    $99 (!!)

    The downside:
    Rated for the US (110v) - will require a new transformer or a step down transformer, which is my biggest apprehension
    8" speaker (will probably look into an upgrade to 10" in the future?)
    Class A (dunno how much of a downside this is)

    Is a venture into all-tube territory for $99 worth it? Reviews are mixed. Some love it for what it is, others say it's shit. Now of course I'm not expecting Boogie standards for the price but at the same time even $99 is a decently big investment for me, being on a monthly allowance.

    I won't be able to afford a normal (>=15W) all-tube amplifier anytime soon. Plus there would be no way really to bring in anything much bigger than this, since it would be brought in by a friend.

    I would almost definitely look into putting it into a new cabinet with a 10" speaker or try feeding it to my Laney's 10" somehow (phones out to line in maybe?). Or maybe something like a speaker out jack if not a new cabinet.

    I doubt I'll be able to use it (clean at least) to jam with a drummer. But it should be bedroom friendly, and gig worthy with a speaker out/mic'ed (if it's driving a 10" speaker at least).

    So. Advice?

    Ultimately everything depends on the friend agreeing to bring it in. If he can't I might end up buying a Seymour Duncan SH5 or summat. Or most probably nothing at all, heh.

    Youtube has plenty of clips of modded/non-modded versions.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfCm3xvmfQg&feature=related
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqDMX--Fw5Y&feature=related
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLgrfnJkZ1U&feature=related
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt2wmmOUGLo&feature=related
     
  2. nandac

    nandac New Member

    converter

    >Rated for the US (110v) - will require a new transformer or a step down transformer, which >is my biggest apprehension

    i have a gibson tube amp and a roland micro cube. both are 110v. i use a converter which converts 240v to 110v. works fine. check your local electric shop. they should have one. but you have to get the right one based on the wattage of your appliance. take the manual and the guy should give you the right one.
     
  3. sanjivdas

    sanjivdas New Member

    transformer

    I can recommend the Maxconn stepdown transformer. Do not go for cheap digital transformers. Ask for a MAxconn 3 pin, it has ratings of 6amps if I am not wrong, more than enough for you. I use it for my Nady and one for my Behringer mixer. I vouch for the quality. You can get one in SP Road for about Rs. 250. Digital ones are cheaper but not reliable.
     
  4. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    You really want the tone? or you are just getting the "t00b erection" which you wanna satisfy?
     
  5. flood

    flood New Member

    it's a fun little amp, and can get plenty loud. it will only do cleans and light crunch though, don't expect too much out of it. i quite liked it when i played it.

    if you have a cabinet, you could go for a head version. the stock 8" speaker is crap.

    it's not a fantastic amplifier for sure, but DEFINITELY worth the 99$ and with tube upgrades, it'll probably sound a lot better too.

    voltage converters are a dime a dozen. just make sure you know what wattage you need, or make your life simpler by just buying a 100W one - that way you're definitely on the safe side.

    also look into the valve junior head or blackheart heads. blackheart amps are fairly versatile too.
     
  6. flood

    flood New Member

    seriously, what's with the tube hate?
     
  7. thepacifist2013

    thepacifist2013 V.I.P Member

    I've heard good things about the Valve Juniors.....especially from ppl on budget. It's a pretty simple circuit (from what I've heard, maybe flood can chime in here) which is easily modded. Also, it takes to pedals very well. Tube changes and Tranny changes are supposed to bring out the best in it.
    Not saying that it sounds good stock.....it definitely does.

    So you could try out the stock amp, and spread your investments on upgrades as you feel like. It's great for a stock amp, and keeps getting better the more you put into it.
     
  8. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    @alpha1: There isn't any particular tone I'm looking for, I thought it'd be a good experiment in sound. I don't really bother emulating any artiste's sound, I'm basically looking for my own. I want to try tweaking a real amp rather than play with digital presets. This gives me a cheap way to do that.

    @flood: There is no head version. My top choice would have been the Crate Palomino V8 if it were still in production, but alas. I can't get it off ebay because I'm not the one who's going to bring it in. I have a Metal Muff if you remember, so I think I'll manage if I need to push it. I have to look into reverb and compression though, I only have a 707II for that.

    The reason I'm inclined towards this as compared to the more expensive Little Giant is the price (obviously), and the master volume control. None of the other amps has one, and I can't push the amp to power tube saturation in my hostel room.
     
  9. flood

    flood New Member

    i would actually recommend the blackheart head over the royal 8 - it's an amp too be taken seriously and a better long term investment. the circuit board is EXCELLENT - high quality stuff here and they were smart enough to accomodate for any possible mods in the future. i wouldn't worry about master volume with either amp too much - with the circuit topology it doesn't make THAT much of a difference whether it's a gain control or master volume because it's essentially doing the same thing. the EQ will give you the tonal flexibility you need too.

    also, i think (not sure) the tranny on the blackheart has an extra winding for 220V. hurrah!
     
  10. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    You're saying I'd get saturation at low volumes on the Little Giant? How exactly? The doubled cost is something I'd have to work out.
     
  11. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    Or is it the pentode/triode which will do that job?

    EDIT: I seem to have overlooked the pentode/triode switch. I get what you mean. But I'm not sure if I'll be able to bring that much money together in a month. Seems like a much better option though. Although I can't find anything about windings on the head version.
     
  12. flood

    flood New Member

    the pentode/triode switch is indeed a boon, you'll drop the wattage down to 2-3W. only one thing - a pentode running in triode mode sounds VERY different from a pentode. not bad in any way, just different.

    i have a pentode/triiode switch on my DIY 6V6/6L6 amp. it sounds a bit less distorted, a bit more linear maybe and strangely enough somewhat darker. it saturates faster, but not as much.
     
  13. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    Even if I do manage to raise the funds in time, what will I do for the cab then? Mod my Laney and put a speaker jack into it? (Sounds doable right? If the jack is plugged in the Laney amp is disconnected from the speaker)

    One thing will give me nightmares for sure. One day someone is going to come and switch on the amp just for fun. With no load connected. And then I will have to blow my head off.
     
  14. flood

    flood New Member

    yep, just drill a hole in your cab and solder a speaker jack in there.

    that situation is easily avoidable, VERY simple fix - put a simple resistive dummy load in your amp. take two 16 ohm (or thereabouts) 10W resistors, solder in parallel. if necessary: change the speaker out jack to a shorting type (most likely, there's already one installed). attach one end of the parallel resistors to the shorting lug, the other end to ground. voila!

    even simpler: solder the ends to ring and tip connections of said resistors to a 1/4" jack. insulate if required with electrical tape. remember to stick this dummy load in when you disconnect your amp.

    simplest: keep the loudspeaker connected at all times. why do you even want to disconnect it?
     
  15. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    In the second option what houses the resistors?

    I don't have enough space in my hostel room to keep the head on the Laney and will often have to disconnect the head especially when the room is being cleaned or when I'm taking the amp to a jam session.
     
  16. flood

    flood New Member

    whatever you like... it's DIY dude :) you can just leave them "naked" if you like, or put them in a box of some sort. perhaps keep it conveniently placed on the head so you remember to plug it in. i would actually say the first option is the best... i think the BH has a fair amount of empty space inside too.
     
  17. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    Usually people prefer a reactive load to a resistive one right?

    Maybe I can also mod the speaker jacks, wire the jack switch such that that amp cannot be switched on without the speaker jack connected. Ah, castles in the air. I'm still waiting for my friend to agree to bring it in.
     
  18. thepacifist2013

    thepacifist2013 V.I.P Member

    AFAIK, as long as you need to just dissipate the power from the output tranny, a resistive load is enough.
    A reactive scheme is needed in case of power soaks wherein you are still deriving a signal (and the tone) at the end of it.

    Modding the jacks to control the entire amp powering would, in a simplistic case, require a switching relay unless you want to put mains on the jack. Maybe the standby scheme could accomodate this. I've never seen it though.

    Flood.....HALP !!!!
     
  19. flood

    flood New Member

    it doesn't matter in this case because the load is simply a safety measure. the reactive load is what you need if you want to take a line-level signal from the amp without running a speaker, e.g. to a direct box/PA or perhaps to the input of another amp. a simple resistive load will save your amp from self-destruction, and is all you need.

    that's what i sort-of described as the first method - some mono jacks have a "shorting" lug on the tip connection. when no jack is connected, the tip and the shorting lug, well, they short. when a jack is inserted, the tip is ppushed backwards, breaking the connection.

    practically all amps or effects i've seen have this somewhere; e.g., at the input, you tie the "shorting" connection to ground, so that the tip is shorted to ground when there is no jack inserted, thus quieting the amp. for speaker protection, i connect it to an appropriately sized resistor (2 in parallel is better). when there is no jack attached, the lug will short to the tip connection so the output transformer "sees" the load. very very easy to do, no cosmetic alterations, and it can save your amp.
     
  20. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    What about heat dissipation?
     

Share This Page