The Peters Chimera has landed

  • Thread starter Thread starter indespise
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Everlone":675c1 said:
That is a bad ass lookin' amp.

How does it compare to the Fireball? Can it cover the territory the FB can't, i.e. Classic Rock/Mid Gain tones? Does it come with a footswitch and what is footswitchable?
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It's got a different feel than the Fireball, but it most definitely covers death metal ground with ease. The Chimera isn't the best choice for someone looking for versatility, but I'd say it would be pretty easy to get a good mid gain tones from the clean channel with the boost on. It comes with a single button footswitch, you can only switch between the high gain channel and the clean channel.
 
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mctallica1":4194e said:
Wow! That looks awsome!!

I have been looking at James' amps for a while now, but to tell the truth, just couldn't see the old headshell as something I would want.

That new design looks SICK.

When you get a minute, please post a detailed review of the gain channel with comparisons to some well know high gainers. I am particularly interested in performance at low/home volumes, but I am sure there are a lot of folks here who have never played a Peters amp (me included) and are interested.

Thanks and congratulations!
Tony
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I'll post something more detailed soon enough.
 
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vchizzle":6892c said:
looks great! all the clips i've heard Peters amps have been great. nice work James. i like the new look. though, i like the uniqueness of the "skyscrapers" too. if i was using the amp pimarily live, i'd go with the new style. if i wanted it for home or studio, i'd go skyscraper just cause they're different :)
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Skyscrapers! haha...they're not that tall! :D
Actually it's quite small for a head and easy to lug around....I like that head design. ;)
 
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carlygtr56":2f1b1 said:
I teased James about the tall enclosures, but this amp looks great. Very nice.
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LOL!!! I remember the "toilet tank" comment. Gotta admit it was kind of funny at the time.

This amp though looks awesome.
 
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JamesPeters":50fb1 said:
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The idea was to make the new amps as manageable in terms of size and weight as possible, go to a very accepted look, and have all the features I need for my amps in a dual channel format. These are 26"W heads that weigh 34lbs (the 50W model), and are PTP with two channels with more features than most PTP amps have, so that put the space on the front of the chassis at a premium.

Having the power and standby on the back right along the side makes it easy to reach behind to switch them on and off anyway, which is what I did. It takes a bit of getting used to if you've never had an amp that has switches on the back, but it's not a big deal. Also it reminds you to check that your amp is plugged into the cabinet properly with the right impedance selection, check your high/low power setting, etc. (which some people forget to do). :)
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James, (not to be too personal) is amp building your only source of income?
 
I like it, it looks like a Hiwatt sorta, and that to me is a classic look. So there is no footswitchable solo boost function?
 
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indespise":746cf said:
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It's got a different feel than the Fireball, but it most definitely covers death metal ground with ease. The Chimera isn't the best choice for someone looking for versatility, but I'd say it would be pretty easy to get a good mid gain tones from the clean channel with the boost on. It comes with a single button footswitch, you can only switch between the high gain channel and the clean channel.
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Cool. Thanks for the reply. Is the dirty channel more "shape-able" than the Fireball? It seems like the FB's dirty channel is a real one trick pony. :?
 
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scottcrud":b96fa said:
So there is no footswitchable solo boost function?
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I never have included that feature with any of my amps, no. However if you want a volume boost for solos, you can use any of the following in the loop:

-a volume pedal
-an effects device which has different patches set at different volume levels
-a passive footswitch with a volume knob built in to cut the volume for rhythm, to varying degrees. I have built these for a couple customers, and when I gave out the "design" on the Gear Page (so others could use these for their amps as long as they had serial effects loops) it met with some very positive reviews.

If you want to order the amp with "two of the same lead channel", that is also a possibility. The different gain, boost, master settings of the two channels would allow for very different settings a person can footswitch between.
 
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King Crimson":7d57c said:
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LOL!!! I remember the "toilet tank" comment. Gotta admit it was kind of funny at the time.
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I heard birdhouse, skyscraper, lunch box, refrigerator...I don't remember toilet tank. :) That's the funniest one, with birdhouse trailing a close second place.

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King Crimson":7d57c said:
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James, (not to be too personal) is amp building your only source of income?
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I do repairs and mods too, but not much. Until a few months ago I also had another line of side work (still tech/repair, but not amps), but since I moved to Winnipeg a few months ago I haven't picked up any side work and I don't know if I should. My cost of living decreased a fair bit since moving here so I don't need to do any other work at the moment, but I'll play it by ear.
 
Wow! These new heads look awesome James. Very cool. I would love to try one of your amps someday and I can't wait for clips of this one. :2thumbs:
 
I guess you could also use a EQ pedal in the fx loop, I used to do that with my old Boogie .50 cal+ but you could definately hear a big tone coloration and there was a drop in volume with any pedal in the fx loop of that Boogie.
 
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Everlone":b47d7 said:
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Cool. Thanks for the reply. Is the dirty channel more "shape-able" than the Fireball? It seems like the FB's dirty channel is a real one trick pony. :?
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Yes, the EQ is very effective, and the depth & damping knobs give a lot of control that you normally wouldn't have in an amp.
As far as mid-gain (or anything less than the type of tone I use) goes, I have to admit that I haven't even tried to set it up for that. My time has been pretty focused on getting a feel for the controls and refining my tone.
 
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Randy Van Sykes":16785 said:
>|<>QBB<Skyscrapers! haha...they're not that tall! :D
Actually it's quite small for a head and easy to lug around....I like that head design. ;)
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yeah, just giving James a little shit. i did'nt know if that one had been used before or not - it just kinda typed itself out as i was thinking :lol:
the only reason i'd go with the new design for gigs is its more road case friendly in size. otherwise i'd use the scraper just for the "what the hell is that?" factor :wink:
 
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JamesPeters":94e98 said:
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I do repairs and mods too, but not much. Until a few months ago I also had another line of side work (still tech/repair, but not amps), but since I moved to Winnipeg a few months ago I haven't picked up any side work and I don't know if I should. My cost of living decreased a fair bit since moving here so I don't need to do any other work at the moment, but I'll play it by ear.
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Very cool, James. I was just wondering because I can tell from your demeanor and conversations with others that you build top quality amps and know your knowledge on the subject of amps/electronics is quite impressive.

It seems to that the business that you’re in may be difficult to generate a great deal of traffic at times – but that’s purely project objective.
 
Dang, I wanted to go from .38 Special to Napalm Death with the flick of a footswitch. :jg:
 
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King Crimson":116ca said:
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Very cool, James. I was just wondering because I can tell from your demeanor and conversations with others that you build top quality amps and know your knowledge on the subject of amps/electronics is quite impressive.

It seems to that the business that you’re in may be difficult to generate a great deal of traffic at times – but that’s purely project objective.
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Thanks David! I'm not the most knowledgeable amp designer in the world but I try to keep learning and hopefully applying what I learn effectively. :)

It's an interesting business, that's for sure. I might assume some of its challenges are unique because of the product and the scale on which I build it, but I know other small business owners who've had just as much "fun" in similar ways. At least I'm comfortable with the way I do things, and business is slowly/steadily improving; that's a good sign.
 
Awesome looking amp, James!!
I MUCH prefer it over the taller design.

Great job!

Keith
 
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