For over 30 years Peavey has been making bass amps. The first amp I had was a Peavey bass amp. It was a TNT series bass combo and the ancestor of the Peavey MAX 115 that is only 60 watts as compared to the 150 my old TNT had. It was an excellent first amp for me but after a year or so I outgrew the little combo amp with its 150 watts of power into a 1 x 15″ speaker.
(The Max 115 by comparison would make a nice little first amp or practice amp. I doubt it could be played with a band before you would get drowned out. They are pretty inexpensive however which is why they are so popular.)
Since then, I have owned many pieces of Peavey gear but not another bass amp. However, that might change soon since they have been making a cool and well-reviewed tube bass amp called the VB-3.
The major appeal to me about this amp is its weight of only 37 lbs. I find tube amps particularity good sounding to my ear and they perform the tone I am looking for. However, I cannot handle the weight of the normal bass tube amp. The Ampeg SVT Classic that I had was 80 lbs. It got tiring lugging this monster through the tight kitchen backdoor of my house. I loved how it sounded but the physical depends eventually became too much. With the Peavey VB-3 bass amplifier, the weight is half!
The reason the amp can weigh less is because of its unusual switch-mode power supply. I do not understand these processes well enough explain it but the result is there is not the need for the traditional big heavy transformers. This type of power is new for a tube bass amp.
This amp has the same power of 300 watts at 4 and 2 ohms the Ampeg had. However, this amp will also handle an 8-ohm load at the same power as well. Tube power is documented as less in its watt ratings than many solid-state amplifiers. However, the power feels different. I have found that a 300-watt tube amp is roughly as loud as a 500 – 600 watt solid-state amp. Most people will not need to get that loud so this 300 watts of tube power is more than enough.
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The Peavey VB-3 comes loaded with 3x12AX7 and 2x12AT7 preamp tubes with 8xEL34 power tubes as opposed to the Ampeg Classic, which has 2x12AX7 preamp tubes, 1x12AX7, 2x12AU7 driver tubes, and 6×6550 power tubes. The Peavey has more tubes and I wonder a little about the EL34 tubes. I have heard they might burn out sooner. The 6550 tubes are known to last longer than other power tubes. I will have to look into this further but I have made a resent connection that would enable me to get tubes replaced cheaper and faster so may not be a problem.
This amp has a few extras the Ampeg does not have. There is a 9-band EQ, a four-band midrange selector EQ, an optical compressor, and an overdrive.
By using the vintage three band EQ with the 9-band EQ and midrange selector switch which highlights 200, 450, 600 or 800Hz, a bass player can get any EQ curve he wants. For me this is a lot to deal with because I am not big on amplifiers with many knobs and buttons. However, I am coming to grips with the idea more and now have a better understanding of setting EQ properly. It is a system of taking away rather than adding. I find this idea to work well.
The compressor is handy for thickening your sound. It can help produce many different compression levels. This is a fairly rare feature for a tube bass amplifier as it is more common on solid-state amps.
This bass amp also has dual channels which the Ampeg Classic does not. There is a clean channel and an overdrive channel. Each channel can be control somewhat individually. There is an independent volume for the clean channel and the overdrive channel is contained by a gain control. This helps you get the maximum grit into your sound without suffering a total loss of clarity.
Another thing that I find appealing about this amp is the Resonance and Presence controls. I like to switch cabinets all the time for different gigs. For big outdoor gigs I like a 610 bass cabinet and for some small little club gigs I like a 210 or single 1×10 bass cab. To get a sound I like out of such different cabinets I need flexibility with producing a tight sound or a wider floppy sound. These two Peavey patented controls enable me to do this.
Last on the list of concerns is price. The Ampeg runs around $1699 and is only $100 cheaper than the VB-3. With all the added features, less weight, and tonal flexibility, this Peavey bass amp works out to be an excellent a deal. Save Up to 75% with Hot Price Drops at Music123.com ( I always check here because sometimes I am surprised by the deals they give. Sometimes it is average but every once in a while they give good deals. They will match the advertised price from anywhere else too which is worth calling them on. Could save you up to a couple hundred bucks if you can find an amp or item advertised for less.)
(I always check here at Guitar Center too. I bought an Ampeg SVT-3PRO bass amp here a while back for under $700. That’s $300 under what they normally go for. I just made an offer and they went for it.)