Finally after 9 years decided to try some EL34's in my VTM.

[bubbastain]

So I've had my modded VTM120 since early 2011. One of the things he did was make it compatible with EL34's. Well I'm gonna order some new EL34's for my Hermansson, so I decided to take them out of that amp and put them in the VTM. They are at least 4 or 5 years old. They are JJ EL34L's.

Video is way longer than I intended. But here it is.

So from what I can hear in the room, it's a little bit more compressed and a little less tight, but in a good way. I'm thinking some 6CA7's might be a good match in here.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Some people say EL34's are tighter because they don't' have the big bottom end.. Hard to get musicians on the same page sometimes.. But yeah, EL's have a rolled off highend with a looser falling apart upper mids thing with more compression. JJ EL34L's are the the most aggressive I think.

I tried their 6CA7's and they definitely have a bigger lowend.

 

[Kidkramer71]

Sounds killer!
Who made your headshell ?

 

[Beyond Black]

Damn, that amp sounds great.

 

[aside]

Rock and roll, good stuff man.

 

[Goat]

The VTM was initially designed for guitarist Ronnie Garvin of the band Stranger out of Tampa, FL. Ronnie had been playing Marshall's when he was approched by Peavey. Ronnie insisted that the amp had to sound identical to his Marshall's, and the VTM was what Peavey came up with. I believe Peavey was sued over it. In 1983, Ronnie had been asked to replace Paul Chapman in UFO but declined the offer.

Ronnie was buried with his best friend... His 1963 Fender Stratocaster. RIP

Ronnie on his VTM's... To be fair, I looked behind Ronnie's Peavey stacks, and saw his Marshall Super Lead heads sitting on a crate. Whether they were in the circuit, I don't recall?

 

[MetalHeadMike]

That sounds killer!

 

[paulyc]

The VTM was initially designed for guitarist Ronnie Garvin of the band Stranger out of Tampa, FL. Ronnie had been playing Marshall's when he was approched by Peavey. Ronnie insisted that the amp had to sound identical to his Marshall's, and the VTM was what Peavey came up with. I believe Peavey was sued over it. In 1983, Ronnie had been asked to replace Paul Chapman in UFO but declined the offer.

Ronnie was buried with his best friend... His 1963 Fender Stratocaster. RIP

Ronnie on his VTM's... To be fair, I looked behind Ronnie's Peavey stacks, and saw his Marshall Super Lead heads sitting on a crate. Whether they were in the circuit, I don't recall?

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

 

[Goat]

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

Wrong. A later version may have been, not the original. Keel wasn't even a band when Ronnie got the first VTM stack. Keel...

 

[errrrrl]

Jeeezus Bubba that thing sounds MONSTEROUS!!! Dig your riffage as well

 

[bubbastain]

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

Wrong. A later version may have been, not the original. Keel wasn't even a band when Ronnie got the first VTM stack. Keel...

The Brian Jay story is the one I've heard. Here it is again. Scroll down.

https://reverb.com/news/how-4-high-gain ... -with-mods

Jeeezus Bubba that thing sounds MONSTEROUS!!! Dig your riffage as well

It's been my #1 amp since I got it.

 

[Goat]

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

Wrong. A later version may have been, not the original. Keel wasn't even a band when Ronnie got the first VTM stack. Keel...

The Brian Jay story is the one I've heard. Here it is again. Scroll down.

https://reverb.com/news/how-4-high-gain ... -with-mods

Jeeezus Bubba that thing sounds MONSTEROUS!!! Dig your riffage as well

It's been my #1 amp since I got it.

From my memory, Ronnie was playing his VTM before Keel was a band. Jani Lane's vocal coach (Ron Feldman) was the one who told be how Ronnie ended up playing Peavey amplifiers. John (Jani) was the drummer with Dorian Gray at that time, so he had not yet left for L.A. I think Warrant and Keel both formed around the same time. It's been many years, so I can't be sure about dates. Ronnie's VTM's sounded great, but not as good as his Marshall rig. I think everyone was unanimous on that. I'll need to ask some friends if they remember it the same way.

 

[Tone Monster]

Sounds incredible. That tone at 3:52 blended with a scooped crunch tone from a Mark series amp would conquer the universe! PS A re-thank you for that drum track you did for me a few years back!

 

[paulyc]

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

Wrong. A later version may have been, not the original. Keel wasn't even a band when Ronnie got the first VTM stack. Keel...

Not wrong, putz.

 

[Goat]

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

Wrong. A later version may have been, not the original. Keel wasn't even a band when Ronnie got the first VTM stack. Keel...

Not wrong, putz.

Keel...

 

[Kordoba]

The original Butcher came out in 1986 and the VTM was based on the Butcher. According to Roger Crimm at Peavey, the VTM 120 was essentially a Butcher with the addition of the effects loop and dip switches.

 

[Dave L]

No, the VTM is a copy of Brian Jay’s (Keel) Jose modded Marshall.

Wrong. A later version may have been, not the original. Keel wasn't even a band when Ronnie got the first VTM stack. Keel...

The Brian Jay story is the one I've heard. Here it is again. Scroll down.

https://reverb.com/news/how-4-high-gain ... -with-mods

Jeeezus Bubba that thing sounds MONSTEROUS!!! Dig your riffage as well

It's been my #1 amp since I got it.

From my memory, Ronnie was playing his VTM before Keel was a band. Jani Lane's vocal coach (Ron Feldman) was the one who told be how Ronnie ended up playing Peavey amplifiers. John (Jani) was the drummer with Dorian Gray at that time, so he had not yet left for L.A. I think Warrant and Keel both formed around the same time. It's been many years, so I can't be sure about dates. Ronnie's VTM's sounded great, but not as good as his Marshall rig. I think everyone was unanimous on that. I'll need to ask some friends if they remember it the same way.

The VTM came out around 1986-1987. This is well documented, not the least by James Brown who designed it: "In 1986 I finally got my shot at designing amps at Peavey. My first amplifier project was designing the VTM tube amplifier. Adrian Vandenberg used this amp while touring with Whitesnake in ’87." At that point Keel had released several albums, so that part holds up too. My best guess is that you´re thinking about the earlier Butcher and not the VTM, they do have roughly the same look to them and the Butcher was out a few years earlier. If not, the most logical explanation is that Jani Lane´s vocal coach was misinformed and that he told you this a few years later somewhere in the late 80s.

 

[Kordoba]

About 1:50 in are you switching on the Fortin mod? Great sounding clip!

 

[bubbastain]

About 1:50 in are you switching on the Fortin mod? Great sounding clip!

Thanks man. Well he modded the whole amp. He revoiced the preamp(lots of component changes) added a depth knob, a bias pot, EL34 and 6L6 compatibly and yanked out the dip switches. He added the two switches. The one on the left is the diode circuit (changed that too) and the switch on the right, that I turn on around the 1:50 mark, brings in some highs, a little more gain and a little volume. It brings some grind for sure. I don’t use either very often. They are pretty much always off. I love the amp even without them. But....... They sure are fun to turn on occasionally.

 

[Goat]

The VTM came out around 1986-1987. This is well documented, not the least by James Brown who designed it: "In 1986 I finally got my shot at designing amps at Peavey. My first amplifier project was designing the VTM tube amplifier. Adrian Vandenberg used this amp while touring with Whitesnake in ’87." At that point Keel had released several albums, so that part holds up too. My best guess is that you´re thinking about the earlier Butcher and not the VTM, they do have roughly the same look to them and the Butcher was out a few years earlier. If not, the most logical explanation is that Jani Lane´s vocal coach was misinformed and that he told you this a few years later somewhere in the late 80s.

Makes sense to me. It was 35 years ago, so... ? It looked to me like Ronnie Garvin was running his Marshall Super Lead heads through VTM cabinets, hidden behind the Peavey stacks. A friend who had Uriah Heep tribute band use to play through a small miced Fender combo, with an empty Marshall Super Lead stack. There was a tiny transformer in the Marshall that powered the indicator lamp.