Peavey 3120 Demo - Part 2 - by Chris Brown of Ghost Circus & Roswell Six

[vainparasite]

Tried one of these over the weekend as i was going for a marshall tsl... Needless to say i saved myself a few quid and bought it on the spot. One of the most versatile amps ive ever played.

[deathcore1239]

that rg550 is really fuckin nice

[IlikeGOODguitarists]

I commented on on your CHUD video a while back, just thought I'd say that I ordered a 3120 a few days ago and it should arrive tommorow or the next day.

Unfortunately I have no cab, but I'm looking at a Randall 2x12 or any 2x12 really.

[MultiScoffer]

OK. My 3120 finally arrived today. Man, I am so stoked! I am play this through a Genz Benz G-flex 2x12 cabinet. The clean channel is soo sweet on this amp! IMO, this is the most balanced, versatile amp that Peavey has on the market. I can play all styles of music on this amp. Thanks again!

[bic4jesus]

Great demo!

What delay pedal are you using?

[AnalogKid1001001]

It's not a pedal, it's a rack unit: T.C. Electronic M-One XL. That's what I mainly use for delay and reverb. However, I do have a Line 6 Echo Park delay on my pedal board, for when I want an analog delay sound. It's a nice "swiss army knife" type of delay pedal and, if you're searching for one, I highly recommend it.

[MultiScoffer]

4:57 really shows that this is one killer amp.

[MultiScoffer]

You're right! This amp is pretty beefy. Has more beef than the 6505+, more low end which I love.

[themodernguitarist]

Just a quick question, are you gonna test out the 6534+ soon? =P

[frimpit]

Chris- great playing and nice video!! I am someone who has played for many years but have not had a real amp for quite some time. I'm not in a band and like to record at home mainly, and unfortunately in need of something that can have mounds of balls and still be very low. Can you get all the tone you are getting here at an even lower volume, or is this amp like a lot of the expensive high gain amps that require quite a lot of volume to really get their maximum tone.

[AnalogKid1001001]

@frimpit Yes, this amp holds it's tone very nicely at lower volumes. In fact, if I remember correctly, I only had the master volume at about 1.5 or 2 in this video. On top of that, if you ever do find yourself in a band at some point, this amp can get frighteningly loud! Pretty much best of both worlds there.

[waltdog177]

@AnalogKid1001001 Thanks, i think i might end up getting one :) i like that they have a pretty good clean tone as well :) 

[waltdog177]

Hey man, Great video!!! i'm considering buying this amp, i have a Marshall jcm900 and it just doesnt have the gain and balls i want for the stuff i play. i would be running it through a Marshall 1960a cab.

Just wondering, the tone im looking for is a Parkway Drive type tone, if you haven't heard of them, definitely check them out!!!!

just wondering if you rekon i'd be able to get that tone out of this amp? im quite sure i could but yeh, would like to know your thoughts :)

[AnalogKid1001001]

@waltdog177 Yes, you should be able to get the type of sound that PD has through this amp, and it'll save you a few bucks,(especially there in Australia) over other high gain amps.

[flamey088]

@AnalogKid1001001 Both guitarists run 6505's, but the 3120 has more than enough gain, but a better clean than the 6505

[crittoprrr]

3120 versus JSX?

[ericandtegan]

Hey man, absolute killer demo of this amp. I like how you were in depth with the settings, and played a good variety of stuff. Whats your opinion of this amp vs the 6505? It seems to have more variety to me, although im chasing more of a death metal amp, not requiring much clean stuff.

[AnalogKid1001001]

@ericandtegan - The 3120 will work fine for Death Metal but you'll want to tweak the EQ differently than I do,(add more treble, in particular, so that you cut through easily). This amp has an active EQ, so tonal tweaks are pretty easy. It produces less noise than the 6505 as well but the newer 6534+ model has the same noise reduction circuitry as this, so if you like the 6505 sound you might want to check it out as an option as well. Also, the type of cab you get makes a huge difference too.

[themodernguitarist]

Sounded awesome with the mids. The scooped voicing sounded... ew.

[AnalogKid1001001]

@themodernguitarist Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the scooped sound either.

[VoodooGTR13]

For 14 years I have been playing the Peavey Ultra Plus amp and have thouroughly ejoyed it. I picked it over the 5150 because of its vesatility and beautiful clean chanel. I play such a variaty of music it Had to. The 3120 is about as close as I have found to my amp (other than the JSX). For the money this is a great value and with a little tweeking, you can get the marshal and mesa sounds from it. I have played this amp and was impressed. My only complaint is no spring reverb built in.

[deathscout8]

whats better for deathmetal metalcore kinda stuff this or the 6505

[Kaelan66]

@deathscout8 its all personal preference but imo the 3120 has more options for high gain, the 6505 is a bit more one dimensional but that one sound is adored by many so its all your personal preference

[liondeag]

thanks for all the info chris! ive made my decision :-P. thinking about trying a marshall cabinet however! but again, thanks for all the info and very professional video man! keep shreddin!

[rob61091]

i found one of these for $600!!! I am doing everything i can to get it!

[metalmankam]

I was hoping he'd crank the shit out of that gain knob to like 3 o clock or even max level ):

[ridethelightningfat]

i have personally played this amp one of my freinds owns it and i played it with a stratocastor im a marshall type person but if i had to give this amp a review i would give it good reviews because it sounds good but on the other hand we have the almighty marshall jcm 900

[guitarbeast72]

does anyone know if i should get this or the regular 6505 because theyre the same price and ive heard great things about both of them but havent tried either one out. any suggestions?

[Xiphos2000]

Yeah I have a suggestion Get the JXS it does not have the nasty buzzing distortion. Everything about the JSX is better, if you don't have the cash save it. I'm sure you will like the JSX better.

[borntorun1970]

For all those here considering this amp, I played one and they are awesome! The clean is great, the dirty channels have tons of headroom and tonal variation. You can go from that killer Rhoads/Schenker crunch, to Death Metal. There's a series effect loop with send/return levels, and there's more than enough gain here to do ANY kind of Rock or Metal style. It's very simple simple to set up too. Don't waste your money on over-rated Mesa and all the boutique stuff. This amp is an INCREDIBLE value.

[lastangelsofrock]

i play a lot of blink 182, nofx, new found glory stuff and i was looking for a rectifier ( because i have a stupid line6 spider and i do lots of gigs and i want a tube head xD) and the peavey really got me intrested in it

[zeppelinman4232]

1:05-1:08 sounded like Spawn of Possession!!! Do you listen to them man??

[AnalogKid1001001]

Hadn't listened to them until you posted here. Looked up some of their stuff and it's great! I'm a fan of Cynic, Death, and such, so their stuff falls right in line with what I listen to. Thanks!

[zeppelinman4232]

Oh right on man, no problem!!! I'm a HUGE fan of Death and Cynic as well!! And by the way, absolutely killer playing... take it easy bro

[jlennozchin]

ok will this amp be able to give me a sound that is a mix of lamb of god and pantera?

[girdog1]

Lamb of God uses Mark V's and Dime used a Warhead. Try checking those out!

[tvelt17]

Those are both really different tones... It can probably get you pretty close to both.

Dime generally used solid state amps though so they were a little colder and drier than this. Not bad, just different.

[jigenzeta]

Hi, i'm in love with ths amp... i'm cosidering to buy one, but can it be as versatile as the jsx?.. Can you help me plz?.. Thanx...

[Jspetree]

Ya but bugeras aren't reliable.  Is this amp good for more clean sounds to. Like Steve vai sounds?

[hearshotkid91]

how so? owner of a 333xl for over a year... mine still works.... and I don't see why it won't continue for a longer time..

[MrJimmy1227]

u can get 2 bugera amps..6262 and or333xl for the price of of this head..and the bugera sounds much better.. imo..check m out

[dragon796]

actually the 3120 is $999 with a cab and the 6505+ is $1159 with no cab... the 3120 is and awesome amp

[betteroffshred]

Where can you buy it for $999 with a cab? If that's true, I'm all over it. I check MF and they are selling just the head for $999.00

[pakismyname]

isnt this a remake of the xxx? They killed the xxx, and this amp sounds pretty damn similar to it, with the three channels and the tone of the lead channel. seems a bit closer to the 6505 though than the xxx. looks classier too.

[afterdeath1990]

200 more than the 6505+ .. argghh. Tough call, this amp is nicer I think, in certain fields, I think it has more control over the gain and although really saturated its still got some control and you get more clarity and still have that complete DIRT tone haha but the 6505 has a certain .. chunk I guess to it. I dunno think I'd have to try them both out together and compare. Even though its a difference price range

[EngageTheKnot]

the word you are looking for is DRY...6505 have that dry saturation that doesnt have alot of fuzz in it almost like a Mark IV.

[superjesus117]

The 3120 and 6505 are both a grand...

[malicedixmois]

very nice, excellent demo. I'm going to compare this with a Mesa Boogie Dual Rect. soon, maybe with a cab that will give me a bit more bass response. This amp sounds great, and for the cash...well, that makes it that much more attractive, lol.

[jessejames1616]

I'm sold (:

[gistring]

is this the rusty cooley signature model?

[AnalogKid1001001]

Rusty just started endorsing this amp but it isn't a signature model. Essentially, it's a revamped version of the Tripple X amp that Peavey sold for many years. I do find it to be quieter,(less hiss on the high gain settings) than the Tripple X, and also a bit warmer - with a better clean channel - due to the EL34 power tubes used instead of the 6L6's.

[Cygnus325]

Very nice tone!...I may reconsider getting a Boogie. i just heard Gary Holt of Exodus play a Peavey rig tonight...very cool sound!

[nstygatr]

Check out the 333XL first; might save you a little coinage.

[madmuzzy84]

Thank you for this awesome review!

Did you tried it with some v30 cabs? I am hearing alot of "stuff" JSX cabs does to the sound witch I personally don't like, buit other than that this amp really sound awesome.

[AnalogKid1001001]

Sorry for the delay in reply. I'm recording three projects at once here and it's taking a lot of my time.

I have not tried any v30 cabs myself with this amp, but I have with the JSX, XXX, VK, and 6505 models. For what I do, and the sound I'm going for, the JSX was just a better fit for me. The JSX cab has a very tight sound overall, and does boost the mids a bit. However, it does handle the lows very well too and has a lot of presence.

[winterains]

+1 on the above AkiraSpectrum comment.

Chris buddy,You rock !

[WyldeAtHeart]

Thanks for this demo, I'm definately going to check this amp out!

[msmaximus]

awesome vid. Thanks. How does this compare to the Peavey 6505+? Which one should I buy?

[AnalogKid1001001]

That's all subjective to what you want in your tone. I chose this amp becuase, after trying a lot of amps from different manufacturers, this is the one that best allowed me to sound like me. Plus, I like the flexibility of having three channels, and the option to change from EL34's to 6L6's, if I should ever want to. I recommend spending some time with both the 6505+ and the 3120, in the store, to decide which one meets your needs.

[bretman444]

Really good demo, thanks so much! I really dig that the highs aren't so shrill on this amp, though I'm sure that's partly due to the cab you chose. I use Eminence Texas Heats for that reason, they sound great! I can't wait to check this amp out for myself...great price too!

[jem888888]

damn I love this peavey amp way too good , and very rasonable price . if this thing built in noise gate ,that is perfect :)

[AnalogKid1001001]

It doesn't have a built-in noise gate,(like the JSX) but it really doesn't need one. That was one of the deciding factors in why I bought the amp in fact: The fact that even on the high gain channel, with the gain really cranked, it's very, very quiet... unlike the Tripple X or the JSX,(which is still noisy as hell, even with the built-in gate at maximum).

[P0Psyckle]

i want one!

[kingkevin29720]

about how much is the street price on this amp head it is amazing i have gotta have it

[AnalogKid1001001]

The head retails for $999.00 at Guitar Center, and should be about the same anywhere else.

[AkiraSpectrum]

one of the best demos of any piece of gear that i've seen... the 3120 looks amazing.

[taterman13]

Awesome video! I just bought this amp a couple weeks ago and I've been looking for some videos! Thanks a lot!