Perfume on a Pig

[Lost_N_Austin]

Anybody ever have this happen to him or her? Put upgrades on something that does not really justify the effort or expense?

I bought a Peavey Deuce Amp at a Pawn Shop in Houston over the weekend. $40.00 out the door. A Peavey Deuce is a 70’s/80’s Twin 12 inch speaker Amp with a hybrid design, consisting of a solid-state pre amp, and a tube power amp. The output tubes are 6L6GC's and there are 4 of them. This amp puts out 120 watts into 2 or 4 ohms, 90 watts into 8 ohms. This amp has tons of power. It has 2 channels (normal and effects) and also an auto-mix feature that allows you to combine the two channels. It is a really vintage sounding amp, has a built in Phasor and spring reverb.

The amp was rusty and crusty with two speakers that turned out to be D.O.A. One speaker was a 12” Shaker and the other a 12” Pyle Driver. I figured the previous owner must have been using this amp for building demolition work and went deaf so he pawned it not knowing it didn’t work anymore.

I cleaned the exterior with a toothbrush and some Awesome brand cleaner and removed the rusted chrome corner protectors and polished the metal to a bright luster. I plugged in an external speaker and fired her up and all the tubes lit up so I plugged in my trusty Nashville Tele and Whoa. I like it. What would it sound like with two 12’s?

I researched the Internet for speaker options and armed with a mental picture of what I need, I went to Music Makers to see what they might have. Call it Karma or fate (not sure whether it was good or bad) but someone with lots of money had just taken delivery of a new Vox and had MM’s swap out the original Celestion Greenbacks for some AlNico Blues. The as-new, trade-in speakers were mine and headed for the old Peavey.

Now this reminds me of putting a supercharger on a Corvair or Perfume on a Pig as we used to say in the Sales and Marketing world. Take a piece of crap and add some new feature to try and sell it to some unsuspecting consumer.

What was the result? I got myself a great sounding and reliable “Tube” amp for under $260.00. All I need now is the footswitch that allows you to mix the two channels through a mic chord connector.

Anybody else plagued with this kind of problem or knows of a way I can explain it to my wife and my therapist?

[stantheman]

for a TFL5000D Dual Showman Head - some Younger
Folk'll find this hard to believe BUT there was a time....
in the Late 1970's when REAL Fender Amps were selling
for PEANUTS and that's the truth.
NOW - as to Your Condition - You need ONE THING to achieve "Sonic Chi" - and that's a Tech 21 NYC GT-2.
I currently own a "minty" Peavey Classic from 1978 with
Tremeloaloalo...one Generation before "Phase" and in all honesty my Classic with The GT-2 is THE SOLE REASON
why I can't release the moths from my wallet and go out and buy a Victoria Double Deluxe.
The only reason.

[timgreene]

Just wondering, are those greenbacks, 30 watt, speakers? Can they handle the deuce?

I loved the deuce in its days, with those black widow speakers.

[BB]

Now this reminds me of putting a supercharger on a Corvair or Perfume on a Pig as we used to say in the Sales and Marketing world. Take a piece of crap and add some new feature to try and sell it to some unsuspecting consumer.

What was the result? I got myself a great sounding and reliable “Tube” amp for under $260.00. All I need now is the footswitch that allows you to mix the two channels through a mic chord connector.

[/quote]

Or "polishing a turd" as some are wont to say....Anyway, these old Peavey amps can be a quite a tone bargain. The old "Classic", "Duece", "Heritage" were godd, workhorse amps. I think the guy is Skynard still uses a Mace from the 70's and it's still going strong.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a footswitch for you. They pop up at a few stores I frequent once in a while.

[Bill Ashton]

Local music store just had a Peavy Deuce and either a Session or Nashville (can't remember) for $99.00...!

I was thinking long and hard, 'poor man's twin' running through my head...

Then the pain from my very recent hernia operation cut in as a couple of nerve endings decided to find each other...

My ears are probably happy that I passed, much too loud for my basement...

[Lost_N_Austin]

timgreene wrote

Just wondering, are those greenbacks, 30 watt, speakers? Can they handle the deuce?

I believe the Greenbacks are 25 Watt speakers. I'm not in much danger of playing it too loud. Should I be concerned?

BB wrote

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a footswitch for you.

Thanks, I think I read where the newer switch pedals could be converted to work with this older amp and that Peavey tech support was good about helping with wiring diagrams. I know the technical manuals are readily available also.

[lenny]

tell her "some pigs are sort of cute if they don't smell funny"

[e-merlin]

Try calling Peavey's parts department. Those foot switches are discontinued/not in stock, but they can usually whip one up for you on special order. When you call, be patient. Peavey has had some turnover in a couple of their departments and it's taking a while for them to get to people. Their customer service has suffered a bit. Hopefully they will be back to normal before long.

[Daddy Elmis]

Originally Posted by Lost_N_Austin

timgreene wrote

I believe the Greenbacks are 25 Watt speakers. I'm not in much danger of playing it too loud. Should I be concerned?

you're putting 90 watts (at 8 ohms) of amp into 50 watts of speaker capacity -- at a minimum you're going to get speaker distortion more quickly, and blown speakers could be in your future. Of course, if you never crank the amp no worries -- but with a ss preamp section and tube power tubes, cranking is the only way you'll get any tube distortion out of the amp.