Was SO close to selling the Peavey VTM-60

[anomaly]

Everytime i've been plugging into this amp (over the last few months) it has become progresively more grating on the ears... just ragged and fizzy sounding. So i give it one last chance today (adjusted a couple things differently) and there it is... smooth rock and roll crunch. WTF! I don't get it, but i'm happy i don't have to sell it now.

All i did was make a couple dip switch adjustments...turned off the first gain switch, kept the second one on (both were on before), turned the second bass switch on and cranked it up a little louder than i usually do. Seems too simple for such a difference.

BTW, Anyone else find these amps REALLY bright! It seems like i'm dialing in the treble lower and lower these days. Like 3.5, and the presence at 1 or 2.

 

[lol]

What tube do you have in V1? The Tung sol reissue was probably the worst tube I have used in the VTM. The treble became uncontrollable and it was fizz overload

I put JJ's in V1 and V2. Tamed the highs and sounds much better. I have the treble at 4.5 and presence at 4. I have both gain switches up, but I keep everything else down.

You can also clip the bright cap if you want to get rid of the brightness.

 

[anomaly]

What tube do you have in V1? The Tung sol reissue was probably the worst tube I have used in the VTM. The treble became uncontrollable and it was fizz overload

I put JJ's in V1 and V2. Tamed the highs and sounds much better. I have the treble at 4.5 and presence at 4. I have both gain switches up, but I keep everything else down.

You can also clip the bright cap if you want to get rid of the brightness.

I've got all JJ's in it.

I tried Tung Sol's...which were a bit bright for it (probably work better in a Mesa or something?)

Thought about clippin bright cap, but i just can't let myself do it. I'd like to keep it stock.

 

[lol]

The tung sols would probably work better in a darker amp. JJ's are darker sounding tubes and that is why I think they work fairly well with the vtm.

But yeah, I never wanted to clip the bright cap on my vtm either as i want to keep it stock too. But it seems like the only way to really control the crazy brightness on the amp.

I've learned to manage though. Keeping the presence and treble low and as long as you aren't dimeing the pre gain, you should be fine.

 

[anomaly]

The tung sols would probably work better in a darker amp. JJ's are darker sounding tubes and that is why I think they work fairly well with the vtm.

But yeah, I never wanted to clip the bright cap on my vtm either as i want to keep it stock too. But it seems like the only way to really control the crazy brightness on the amp.

I've learned to manage though. Keeping the presence and treble low and as long as you aren't dimeing the pre gain, you should be fine.

Yeah, true. I think the tung sol's were definitely made for darker amps.

To me, i think the trick for me was keeping the first gain dip-switch off and turning up the volume. I was always playing it around 1 or 2 or so on the master, and i think it needs to be up closer to 3 or louder to sound its best. That's the sweet spot, just seems to smoothen right out. It's getting pretty loud up at that point (band volume for sure), a little hard on the ears for bedroom playing.

 

[lol]

The tung sols would probably work better in a darker amp. JJ's are darker sounding tubes and that is why I think they work fairly well with the vtm.

But yeah, I never wanted to clip the bright cap on my vtm either as i want to keep it stock too. But it seems like the only way to really control the crazy brightness on the amp.

I've learned to manage though. Keeping the presence and treble low and as long as you aren't dimeing the pre gain, you should be fine.

Yeah, true. I think the tung sol's were definitely made for darker amps.

To me, i think the trick for me was keeping the first gain dip-switch off and turning up the volume. I was always playing it around 1 or 2 or so on the master, and i think it needs to be up closer to 3 or louder to sound its best. That's the sweet spot, just seems to smoothen right out. It's getting pretty loud up at that point (band volume for sure), a little hard on the ears for bedroom playing.

I'm gonna try that. I always kept the 2 gain switches up and never bothered with messing with them. Guess I will do some tweaking. The amp is simple but imo it needs a lot of tweaking.

But damn the amp is loud. At 1.5 on the volume the amp kills babies. Highest I went was 2 and it was godly. I've dimed the master on the low input though. With single coils, there is no break up no matter how loud you have it on the low input. Oh yeah, and it was damn loud.

 

[Mudder]

Does the high gain input defeat the low gain if you plug in two guitars? Or could you use an A/B/Y switch to get a sort of 2 channel thing going?

I'm watching a couple VTM on ebay right now. Not that I need another amp, but I'm always shopping.

Also, I've heard that a lot of guys swap out the OT for something more robust, did either of you try that?

 

[lol]

you cant plug in 2 guitars into the vtm. ive never used an aby box with it though.

I still have the stock transformers in my amp. Though the amp would certainly benefit from better trannies.

If you want a VTM, get one now. I've noticed they have been going up in price. 2 weeks ago I saw a vtm120 on ebay at $360 with still a few days left. Harmony Central is driving up the prices!