| Author |
Topic: My new old amp- |
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 20 Dec 2012 8:49 pm |
|
Now I know this is not an amp that is recommended for a PSG user. However, I had this amp for years and years however a few years ago it burned up several circuits etc. Well, it's fixed now and up and running and wow, I had forgot what a great amp it really is.
This is a trans/tube amp. It now has 4 brand new tubes, the Black Widow speakers have been re-coned and this thing now rocks!
I've been told this is a fairly rare, odd ball amp due to it's red color. I've been told the red Deuce VT series amp was only available through one particular dealer/music store in Nashville in the 70's therefore few were sold and even fewer still around today. Here nor there this amp rocks and sounds great. I've owned it since the mid 80's and it's been out of service for the past 5 years or more. Glad to have it back up and running.
The serial number also does have the BW code in it, indicating the Black Widow speakers. I also have the original 4 selector switch and THE original cover too! Kinda neat all in all.
I do have a pair of 12" speakers from another Peavey Deuce VT although they are NOT the Black Widows but they are perfect working condition if anyone is interested in them. I also have another 4 switch (Peavey Automixer) foot switch for any Peavey amp from that era if anyone is interested and it to works perfectly. I know these can be tough to find in decent working condition.
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Dave O'Brien
From:
Florida and New Jersey
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 6:18 am Speakers
|
|
Joe I may be interested in the speakers. And switch. Can u send me a pic? Are the speakers Scorpions?
_________________
Dave O'Brien
Emmons D-10, CMI D-10, Fender Deluxe Reverb, PV 112, Fender Pro Reverb
www.myspace.com/daveobrienband |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 6:25 am
|
|
Posting pics now, will take a few mins. Not sure what the speakers are to be honest. All I know is they are good and they sound excellent and they crank and they are they originals to the amp.
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 6:38 am
|
|
I bought this black Deuce from the original owner and I swapped the chassis into my red Deuce and put the chassis from my red Deuce into the black one. The chassis from my Deuce had burned up several small electrical resistors on a job one time. I then took it to a well known, long time amp repair shop here in town.
These guys are very well respected and happen to be authorized Peavey, Fender repair techs (among others). Anyway they removed the bad cicuits/resistors etc. and called me and told me they could still get them but the cost for the parts and labor all total would be around $200 and they thought I would probably be able to buy another Peavey amp off Craigslist for the same or less and simply swap out the chassis. Well they were right.
So, I now have this complete, left over non working Peavey Deuce with a good shell, good power supply, definitely good speakers, definitely good foot switch, knobs, pots, lights, etc. so it would be good for parts if nothing else...
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 6:52 am
|
|
The first $140 takes it! Dave gets first crack at it...
I think that should be a fair deal, I've seen these foot switches sell for $75-90 on Ebay and a good pair of speakers like this should be worth the balance. If not, make a reasonable offer.
I can disassemble or part this out as well, if someone just wants the switch or just the speakers etc.
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Dave O'Brien
From:
Florida and New Jersey
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 7:19 am Deal
|
|
This a good deal but not what I need for the amp I'm working on Thanks Joe - see ya in Lakeland!
_________________
Dave O'Brien
Emmons D-10, CMI D-10, Fender Deluxe Reverb, PV 112, Fender Pro Reverb
www.myspace.com/daveobrienband |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 7:22 am
|
|
Ok no problem!
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 11:33 am
|
|
I must say, even someone like myself that is a clueless PSG "player", having a good amp to play through makes a MASSIVE difference. I mean MASSIVE. Even my wife and son have both commented countless times in the past 24 hours how much better my playing sounds. If nothing else it is a confidence boost!
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 21 Dec 2012 9:40 pm
|
|
Spent 12 hours today playing my old MSA through my old Deuce! What a blast when things sound good. Well, ok the amp sounds good, my playing needs some serious help but still having fun!
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 22 Dec 2012 1:47 pm
|
|
Another 7 hours today!
This amp has inspired me! Now I am off to play drums for our Church band Christmas concert tonight! Sure am going to miss my MSA/Deuce combo! Just think if I could actually play this thing, I wouldn't sleep!!!
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
James Holland
From:
Alabama, USA
|
Posted 23 Dec 2012 5:25 am
|
|
| At first, I thought this was a vintage amp designed for steel guitars, based on the "spade" logo and the "Deuce" name - like a Sho-bud fretboard. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 23 Dec 2012 6:38 am
|
|
| James Holland wrote: |
| At first, I thought this was a vintage amp designed for steel guitars, based on the "spade" logo and the "Deuce" name - like a Sho-bud fretboard. |
I thought the same thing back when I first bought the amp in the 80's. The more I think about it, I bought this amp somewhere in the early 80's. So I have had this thing a long time. Just glad it's back up and working. Played some more last night when we got home from our Church concert. My wife thinks I am losing my mind. LOL Too late, that's long gone...
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 24 Dec 2012 8:15 am
|
|
I guess I should have asked this earlier in my post. Has anyone else ever seen a red Peavey Deuce VT series amp before?
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 26 Dec 2012 10:21 am
|
|
My Son just called me and told me he saw a Brad Paisley TV special over the past couple of days and Brad was playing his guitar through an old Red Peavey amp! Now I am scouring YouTube looking for said video. Hmm that would be totally cool to find this...
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Don Poland
From:
Hanover, PA.
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 1:15 am
|
|
| Joe, I have a couple of them old Peavey Deuces and had them "refurbished" via Ken Fox before he retired. Ken was very impressed with this amp when he worked on it and those that have played thru it had nothing but good things to say about them. In fact, Ken called it the "Twin Killer". I had 15" BW speakers installed with the neo-magnets and I am quite happy with the outcome. One of them I had split the cabinet. The original cabinet is now the speaker enclosure and Ray Walker made a new head cabinet and covered them both to match. Striking pair when you see them. If you would like to see pics, I can send some to you. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 5:17 am
|
|
| Don Poland wrote: |
| Joe, I have a couple of them old Peavey Deuces and had them "refurbished" via Ken Fox before he retired. Ken was very impressed with this amp when he worked on it and those that have played thru it had nothing but good things to say about them. In fact, Ken called it the "Twin Killer". I had 15" BW speakers installed with the neo-magnets and I am quite happy with the outcome. One of them I had split the cabinet. The original cabinet is now the speaker enclosure and Ray Walker made a new head cabinet and covered them both to match. Striking pair when you see them. If you would like to see pics, I can send some to you. |
Don,
Are either of the Deuces you have the "red" color? If not, have you ever seen a red one? Also, yes, I would so see pics of the setup you have!
In addition, I too consider this amp a "Twin Killer" as I have owner two Fender Twin over the years. A silver face and a black face. I just recently sold a Twin to a collector of sorts as I had one that was quite nice that had the "boost" switch, I had bought the amp several years back from a music store at a great price and then sold it on Ebay for a massive profit not too long ago.
Anyway, this Peavey Deuce can run circles around either one of the Fender Twins that I have owned and then some. Especially with the Black Widow speakers. Those things just crank and have a tone to them that is just beyond anything I have ever heard before!
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 5:38 am
|
|
I was working for a Peavey dealer back in the mid 70's and thru early 1982. I never saw Peavey offer but one custom color on the amps, it was white, like Lynyrd Skynyrd band used. They showed them in the catalog but actually we could never get then in the store, they would not build them! What you may have is a one of made for a special band or one that was in fact painted with upholstery paint.
The only red amps I have seen Brad use are Matchless amps.
The amps are indeed a hybrid amp, using op-amps for the preamp and tubes for the power amps. Before that VT Series of amps (Classic, Deuce, Mace and Artist) we had the same amps using discreet transistors. These early non VT Series amps had tremolo, the VT series had a phase shifter. Also in that early era was the Session 400 and LTD-400 amps that used all discreet transistors. When op-amps arrived on the electronic scene we got the VT Series and also the Session 500. No looking back, it was all op-amps after that. The non VT series was also an awesome amp series as well, I actually prefer them for my own taste. I used both a Mace and Deuce in the days and they were indeed "Twin Killers" for tone and clear volume on stage with guitar and pedal steel. In fact back in the mid 70's I replaced a Blackface Twin with 2 x 12" SRO speakers and a 4x12 extension cabinet with a Mace with 2x12" Black Widow speakers. That solved all my stage volume problems and got a great tone to boot. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 5:49 am
|
|
Thanks Ken for the info. I am going to look and see if I still have an E-mail from a guy in CA who I contacted some time ago about the red Deuce. He claimed to know about them and was the one who told me about the music store in Nashville being the only outlet for them in the mid-late 70's. He may have been wrong I don't know. However, he did seem to know what he was talking about as he sent me a list of serial numbers etc. He was supposedly a Peavey guru of sorts. He did offer me a fair amount of money for the one I have and even called me a few times a few years later after the E-mail as a follow up. So it seemed to me at the time that he knew what he was talking about. This was several years back so I will have to see if I can find his info...
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 6:09 am
|
|
| That is very likely the case. The amp looks very correct and not like a recover or a paint job! If so, that is a rare bird for sure. |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 30 Dec 2012 7:56 pm
|
|
I have put some serious hours on the Deuce this weekend. What a difference playing through a good solid amp can make. It truly makes a difference even for someone like myself who is completely clueless on the PSG. A clean, solid tone really makes playing more enjoyable and provides encouragements as well. Sounds crazy but when you hear something halfway decent coming out of the amp it really lifts your spirits and keeps you motivated. Well, it is for me anyway and I need all the encouragement I can get so I will take it! LOL
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
Leslie Ehrlich
From:
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
|
Posted 31 Dec 2012 2:35 am
|
|
| Ken Fox wrote: |
| Before that VT Series of amps (Classic, Deuce, Mace and Artist) we had the same amps using discreet transistors. These early non VT Series amps had tremolo, the VT series had a phase shifter. |
I had non-VT series Classic with tremolo that I bought back in 1977. The speakers were Ram speakers with square magnets just like those in the black Deuce amp in this thread. The Ram speakers sounded somewhat like Celestion speakers. The Classic I had sounded horrible with the master volume overdrive, but when I plugged into the series input the bright and normal channels were linked together and created a Marshall-like overdrive. That Marshally tone sounded great with my Gibson Les Paul Standard. I didn't like that amp's clean sound though - it started to break up when I turned the overall volume up halfway.
When I think of the more powerful combos like the Deuce and the Mace (which have more clean headroom), visions of Tele players in weekend country bands come to mind. I can't help but imagine some guy playing 'Good Hearted Woman' through a rig like that.
_________________
Sho-Bud Pro III + Marshall JMP 2204 half stack = good grind! |
|
|
|
Joe Gall
From:
DeLand, Florida
|
Posted 8 Jan 2013 6:47 am
|
|
At this past Saturday's jam I didn't tell the guys that I had repaired my Deuce, I wanted to see if they would notice. Right after the first song the bass player immediately asked me what I was playing through. I told him I had switched out my red Fender Frontman for my old red Peavey Deuce and he was blown away. The lead guitar player immediately asked if he could try it and of course I let him. This guy who has been playing through Fender amps his entire life (the guy is in his 60's) was absolutely blown away!
He couldn't stop talking about the Deuce all night long and said it was by far the greatest amp he'd ever played through. He has commissioned me to find him a a Deuce before he heads back home for the summer. I am now on a mission! LOL
He said he wants a "Red Deuce" like mine, I said that isn't going to happen as I have only ever seen one other one and that was back in the 80's and never seen one since!
_________________
Been at this damn thing for a few years now. Not so sure that I'm getting anywhere but it is fun. Sometimes. |
|
|
|
