Let’s face it, as important as guitar amps are, many guitar players hate huge amps that are quite hard to carry around or tour with. The ideal guitar amp should be portable or [in the absence of a better word] transportable.
As a guitar player, most playing scenarios do not favor overly huge amps that are quite heavy or hard to carry. This is where the Peavey Special 130 comes in. The Peavey Special 130 is a solid-state guitar amp that was birthed in 1980.
Weighing about 47 pounds, it offers a very clean tone and loud enough volume for bar gigs, studio recording, and even home practice. This is a spectacular guitar amp in its own right; it is suitable for both beginner and seasoned guitar players alike.
In this article, we will talk about everything you will need to know about the Peavey Special 130. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to make your first purchase of this amazing amp or simply trying to know more about the one you already own; this article is for you.
Table of Contents
A Brief History of Peavy
Peavey remains one of the largest audio gear manufacturers due to its value, quality, and innovation consistency over the past decades. In 1965, Hartley Peavey started his company by building amps one at a time.
Eventually, that led to him being the pioneer in all facets of tube-driven and solid-state amplifiers. It has currently designed some of the world’s best amplifiers.
When the company was initially launched, it manufactured only two amplifiers; the Dyna Bass and the Musician.
They had simple features and were used by working musicians. In 1973, the vintage Fender twins with 6L6 power tubes and two 6C10 pre-amp tubes were introduced. The vintage series served as a pioneer for the now-famous all-tube classic series.
Its features include an EL84 power section that can easily merge fender and vox-type tones in one versatile amplifier.
In short, it is effective for many styles of music. Solid-state amplifiers were in great demand during the 1970s and 80s. Due to this demand, Peavey produced one of its best amps in the 80s, known as the Bandit.
Peavey released their Butcher and VTM series during the 80s when the demand for high gain increased, and musicians were looking for better features and increased specifications.
As compared to Marshal’s EL34 tubes, Peavey continued to manufacture their amps with their 6L6 power tubes.
This made the Peavey amps give a more upper-mid presence and darker tune. The next grand release for Peavey was the tress channel Ultra Plus.
It later served as a precursor to the triple XXX series with enhanced aesthetics and switchable power tubes from stock EL34s to 6L6s.
With the increased demand for more gain and new techniques over the 80s and 90s, Peavey eventually pushed forward by manufacturing the most famous 5150 in 1992. The 5150 was popular for producing rock metal tones.
Since then, Peavey has always strived to provide the most affordable, powerful, and good-quality amplifiers.
Peavey Special 130 General Overview
Peavey special 130 is a solo series guitar amp with high and low gain functions. It is a solid-state amplifier but gives the sound effects of a tube amplifier. It provides a clean sound without any distortion upon mixing levels of input.
It has two channels and can give a very clear result even at louder volumes. It is a portable amplifier with a durable and compact build. As compared to the older Peavey amps, it has more knobs and features with better sound and volume.
The reverb is absolutely fantastic, and the amp offers excellent headroom. This amp is a 130 watts amplifier with excellent dynamics. You can play it very low or very loud as you please.
The two channels include lead channel gain and normal channel gain. The lead channel gain can help increase the power by pulling the knob, volume, and saturation. The lead channel also works great when connected to a pedal.
It is a very versatile amp with fantastic reverb. It can produce an absolutely amazing sound when the clean channels are used with the pedal. The Peavey Special 130 has a darker and heavier sound.
The amp weighs 47 pounds and offers additional clean headroom. It has a powerful and warm sound, and the clean and dirty sounds blend well while switching.
Peavey Special 130 Specifications
| Model | Peavey Special 130 |
| Serial no. | 02424978 |
| Power Source | Solid State |
| Watts | 130 watts RMS |
| Weight | 47.6 lbs |
| Dimensions | 20 x 11 x 20.5″ |
| Speakers | One 12″ Scorpion Plus Speaker |
What Makes the Peavey Special 130 so Special?
Peavey has been in great demand by musicians who wanted more gain in their amps.
The Peavey special 130 offers high gain and enough headroom to its users. Many users have praised its huge, warm sound and the powerful/clean headroom it provides.
It has a long life with versatile functions and is suitable for people who wish to produce darker and heavier tunes. Another differentiating factor of this amp is its blending capacity.
This amp can easily blend dirty and gritty tones with clean tones and still produce a very clean and pleasing result. As compared to other amplifiers, it has a low-mid and high-mid knob, and its speakers are out.
Another thing that makes this amp special is its volume. You can easily play this amp very loud according to your surroundings. Similarly, the volume can also be decreased accordingly. It has a vast volume range.
The lead channel has pre/saturation/post-saturation controls which makes it ideal for different types of sounds. While most vintage amplifiers only have one level that can deal with only clean tunes. The amp is compact and portable.
You do not have to worry about the amp getting damaged when taking it somewhere with you. The Peavey special 130 is very reliable and can be easily used for gigging. You can use it for years without any deterioration in sound quality.
Its quality and durability are great, and replacement parts are also available in case of any damage.
Who Should Get Peavey Special 130?
The Peavey Special 130 is best suited for musicians who need a high gain without distortion. It is mainly used for playing country tunes. It has a clean reverb and is best used for mixing different tones and producing a clean output.
Although not exactly a huge amp with extremely loud volume, this is more like an amp that works just fine regardless of your style or playing scenario.
Its versatility makes it ideal for different situations. The 8ohm gives an absolutely phenomenal result in many situations.
The Peavey Special 130 is used by bands where its loudness feature is utilized to its full potential.
The volume can be cranked up even in the presence of heavy drum sets. It is also feasible for musicians who are looking for tube-like distortion in their music.
Although being a solid-state amplifier, it gives a perfect tube-like distortion. The Peavey Special 130 is made as a solid-state amplifier for guitars.
Its sweepable mid feature is best for musicians who are looking for a clean volume. You can also enhance the sound quality by combining the clean channel with pedals.
However, it is fantastic for players gigging in small venues like bars and for home rehearsals. It is usually used as a go-to country gigging amp for practising musicians.
It is very reliable for people who gig for a living. It gives a nice, loud, and snappy sound while gigging and is best for playing 60s and 70s country songs.
Apart from that, it is also great for gigs without mics. It can easily handle a vintage D8 Gibson guitar and tele at the same time. Even if the tube head goes down, you can still gig because of the large headroom it offers.
Conclusion
The Peavey Special 130 is a versatile, reliable, durable, and compact amp with many features, excellent reverb, loud volume, high and low gain options, and other characteristics which make it best for people who are into warm tones and darker music.
Its high wattage and clean output are an added benefit, along with the affordable price and quality of music produced without distortion.
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