I wanted a smaller amp to goof around with. Sometimes plugging into my larger rigs feels like too much work. I had seen a handful of review videos (mostly from other countries) and I was rather shocked by the tones these players were getting. I know people have often look at these as being cheap, practice amps. Practice amp? Sure. Cheap? Yeah, it's inexpensive. Neither of these are negatives in this situation. And it's also a lot more than that. It's a goldmine of great tones and features. I have been quite surprised by the quality of the Blue Marvel speaker. It rips and roars and actually rattles the windows in my studio! The Vintage and Modern voicings can be tweaked nearly endlessly via the responsive 3-band eq. All kinds of blues, rock, and metal tones abound. The fun really starts once it is switched to the Stack setting. I was rather taken aback at how the amp started to really open up and unload on this voicing. Suddenly it sounded like I had two or three of the amps running together. The tone is full, rich, and booming. The gain never gets harsh. It always sounds natural and pleasing to the ear. I know I'm gushing over the gain side. The clean channel is equally as fun but just feels a little limited without a reverb but I know they were going for a more simplistic operation here, and I'm fine with that. The clean channel also makes a great spot to run your favorite gain pedals. But honestly, I've been so enthralled by the on-board distortion and overdrive tones, I haven't… read more felt the need to run any pedals into it very often. At the end of the day, it is still a small practice-size amp and is only capable of so much. I'd be fine gigging with it if the house PA were decent but it's not gonna keep up with a drummer on its own. That being said, I definitely plan on using this on some upcoming recording sessions and I look forward to getting more use out of this capable little amp. I've been a long-time fan of Peavey and they certainly didn't let me down with this addition to my collection. If you're looking for a practice/jam amp with a wide variety of tone that doesn't cost much, buy this amp with complete confidence.

Musical Background:
30 years of playing/gigging/recording

Musical Style:
jazz/blues/metal/rock read less