NAD...Peters BodyHammer

[MetalHeadMike]

I’ve had 7, 8, maybe 10 amps come and go over the last year or so and never bothered posting about them, but I recently acquired a Peters and am so impressed with the amp this last month that I felt it deserved a NAD. Been wanting to pick up one of James’ amps for the last 8-9 years as I’ve read nothing but good reviews and most people I’ve chatted with here and on other forums really seem to praise them. Almost picked up a used Chimera, Gryphon, and an FSM on numerous occasions but just never pulled the trigger. Even ordered a new Plasma Blade a year and a half ago, but bailed on James because of various reasons. Been keeping my eye out specifically for a BodyHammer and one finally surfaced and goddamn if it isn’t a great amp.

I’m a diehard Wizard fan, specifically the MCII… love the clarity, punch, aggressiveness, and open/uncompressed character. I’ve had 30 or so amps and most all were killer but the MCII just always came out on top. Well I have to say the MCII has finally met its match.
The BodyHammer is everything I love about the Wizard: Tight, aggressive, dynamic, fast responding with very little sag, crunchy, and extremely open/uncompressed. The Peters seems to have more grit & saturation, and is voiced different in the mids, low end, and highs. It's very aggressive and has some great snarl in the mids.

The controls are relatively simple but extremely sensitive to small changes and have a significant impact on the feel and tone. I am so thrilled with how tight & fast the amp is plugged straight in. Most people around here know that I boost EVERYTHING and there’s only been one amp I’ve owned previous to the BodyHammer that I was happy plugged straight in the front with no boost and that was the Savage 120.

Well I’m perfectly happy plugging straight into the BH with just an EQ in the loop and it’s tight and fast with loads of attack. Perfect for thashy gallops and tight chuggy death metal inspired riffs. It still takes a boost well which adds compression, more attack and more options. Tone and soul for days with a very lively feel and it has clarity and dynamics similar to the Wizard where all your nuances come through. Pick light and it’s super clear and aggressive but dig in and it saturates more & just gets meaner and meaner but still remains defined.
I’m not saying this amp has knocked the Wizard off the throne, but I will go as far to say that the BodyHammer is as close to sharing the seat as any amp I’ve owned.

I’ll also add that James Peters customer service is the best I’ve encountered in the gear world. I bought this amp second hand and received the amp with an issue and James helped me trouble shoot over the phone. I emailed him and he responded in like 15 minutes and then was cool enough to call me at like 8 o’clock at night to help figure out what the problem was. Not too many people out there that would take the time…Awesome!

Edit:
I forgot to make mention of the build quality...it is a work of art inside. Truly the work of someone who cares a great deal about what they're putting out there. Looks very serviceable also.

Recorded some clips but they're messy as I am battling tendinitis in both elbows and was playing with a sprained left hand to boot:

Plugged straight in no boost>eq in the loop

https://soundcloud.com/user-549632051/z ... KtSCzN0HGz

https://soundcloud.com/user-549632051/b ... eazGd8hqcV

https://soundcloud.com/user-549632051/b ... W8D20uTxiS

 

[311boogieman]

in

 

[Racerxrated]

Congrats!

I know that amp was on your 'must try' list for a while...

 

[DragonCrestPC]

Congrats!

 

[DeathbyButterslax]

Nice man, sounds super tight it has a really nice growl to it as well. How do you have the EQ set up?

Congrats

 

[Luca79]

Always been curious about this amps. What the crunch swtich do? Is a boost? I suppose the edge switch is the brite?

 

[rottingcorpse]

I've had a Gryphon/Vega,a Chimera/Hydra and now a FSM. Every one of them was kickass. The single channel FSM is the keeper for me since I am an ordained pastafarian minister.

James Peters amps are beautifully designed and built. Super nice dude with great customer service.

 

[ZEEGLER]

I've always wanted to try a Peters but never had the opportunity. Sadly I've never owned a Wizard, a Peters, a Morris, or a Fortin even though I'm in Canada.

 

[the4thlast1]

Nice man ! As you said, James Peters has excellent customer servics and takes pride in his work. I remember him taking the time out to answer a bunch of questions I had about his amps. I would def recommend.

 

[Fret-Shredder]

Congrats. Amp looks and sounds awesome. Nice riffing too.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Congrats!

I know that amp was on your 'must try' list for a while...

Thanks Tom!

Congrats!

Thanks!

Nice man, sounds super tight it has a really nice growl to it as well. How do you have the EQ set up?

Congrats

It definitely has a snarl to it Think I had presence 1 o'clock, damping 1 o'clock, depth 3 o'clock, treble 9 o'clcok, bass 3 o'clock, mids 11-noon.

Always been curious about this amps. What the crunch swtich do? Is a boost? I suppose the edge switch is the brite?

Crunch seems to add some saturation and edge tightens and brightens a bit.

Always been curious about this amps. What the crunch swtich do? Is a boost? I suppose the edge switch is the brite?

I've had a Gryphon/Vega,a Chimera/Hydra and now a FSM. Every one of them was kickass. The single channel FSM is the keeper for me since I am an ordained pastafarian minister.

James Peters amps are beautifully designed and built. Super nice dude with great customer service.

Killer amp for sure!

I've always wanted to try a Peters but never had the opportunity. Sadly I've never owned a Wizard, a Peters, a Morris, or a Fortin even though I'm in Canada.

The Canadians seem to make killer amps for sure...never played a Morris.

Nice man ! As you said, James Peters has excellent customer servics and takes pride in his work. I remember him taking the time out to answer a bunch of questions I had about his amps. I would def recommend.

Thanks!

Congrats. Amp looks and sounds awesome. Nice riffing too.

Appreciate it!

 

[RedB4Black]

Awesome! Clips sound great!

 

[RaceU4her]

sounds good, would love to own one of his amps one day. every clip i hear is badass

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Awesome! Clips sound great!

Thanks Matt! I think you'd like his work...tight, uncompressed, and present/cutting.

sounds good, would love to own one of his amps one day. every clip i hear is badass

It's right up there with the best of them IMO.

 

[JerEvil]

Same boat. Been wanting to try the Peterson stuff for years but have not been able to make myself commit as resale seems terrible relative to new pricing.

I’ll check these clips out for sure.

 

[godgrinder]

^ Find yourself an older model with 2 different gain channels, these are great bang for the bucks.

 

[Beyond Black]

That sounds pretty damn mean!

 

[311boogieman]

Finally got to listen to the clips Mike. Sounds great. You've got a great Rust In Peace tone going there. I liked your Wizard comparison description. Enjoy!

^ Find yourself an older model with 2 different gain channels, these are great bang for the bucks.

+1

I got to play one of these and it is a beast of an amp.

 

[JamesPeters]

I'm glad you like the amp that much, Mike!

Thanks to everyone for the compliments!

Been wanting to try the Peterson stuff for years but have not been able to make myself commit as resale seems terrible relative to new pricing.

With some amps, yes the resale has been fairly low. That can be said of amp designs in most lineups, though. Some of these amps are over 10 years old too, having been through several owners.

Something that's been contributing to this: people buying the wrong used amp for their tastes, sometimes directly against my recommendations (if they contact me at all). Then they flip the amps, and they circle around the used market. Eventually such amps end up in the hands of people who appreciate them for what they were meant to be, but in the meantime, you know what happens to prices of things sold multiple times.

I'd previously taken a design approach that the amps should have the potential to sound aggressive when the guitarist plays aggressively, but also that the amps allow for more subtlety than most modern high gain designs. However it turns out I'd been projecting my own playing style onto others, assuming more people were like me. Plus I was being too paranoid about avoiding what I thought of as "harsh sounding" aspects in a design (due to my being unusually sensitive to high frequencies). So most of my previous designs aren't what I'd recommend for modern high gain especially in the context of what people consider modern high gain today.

And designs like the Hydra, which people keep assuming are good for aggressive modern high gain: they're not. Hydra wasn't designed with that as a priority. Few people have been able to make it sound that aggressive. And it's better to get an amp that's specifically designed to be more aggressive anyway. I've been trying to warn people about this since I made the FSM starting in 2011 (which was meant to be "as thick" but more aggressive/tight).

My first recommendation (not just because I like getting sales because it's my job, and I get to survive, lol) is buying a new design from me. I'll figure out what design fits your needs best, and the newest ones (such as Plasma Blade) are specifically meant to be more in tune with what people want from a modern high gain amp.

The Body Hammer actually came about as part of a realization that I'd been holding back in terms of gain/aggression in my designs. It's a noticeable change from my prior designs.

Plasma Blade is a newer version of Body Hammer. There are changes throughout the amp which contribute to the amp sounding more aggressive (poweramp, power supply, loop, master circuit, preamp) so it's more about how the entire format evolved. It's not a huge difference but I feel it's an improvement. New "structure" switches are there too which help dial in the amp to have more potential "voicings". Mostly they're there to help get more "old-school" sounds from it.

^ Find yourself an older model with 2 different gain channels, these are great bang for the bucks.

Well, you're probably considering your preamp an "older model with 2 different gain channels", but it's not as old as a lot of the amps I made. It at least has an FSM channel...possibly the first time I made one. The FSM is the minimum I'd recommend to people for modern high gain (and has been, since 2011).

 

[MetalHeadMike]

That sounds pretty damn mean!

It can get angry sounding for sure Very present and grinding midrange...love it

Same boat. Been wanting to try the Peterson stuff for years but have not been able to make myself commit as resale seems terrible relative to new pricing.

I’ll check these clips out for sure.

Very articulate, organic, un-compressed, aggressive & crunchy Jer.

Finally got to listen to the clips Mike. Sounds great. You've got a great Rust In Peace tone going there. I liked your Wizard comparison description. Enjoy!

Thanks! Man...Rust in Peace...I'll take that!!! Haven't listened to that album since it came out, but it must have stuck in my head all these decades later. I need to revisit some Megadeth

I'm glad you like the amp that much, Mike!

Thanks to everyone for the compliments!

Been wanting to try the Peterson stuff for years but have not been able to make myself commit as resale seems terrible relative to new pricing.

With some amps, yes the resale has been fairly low. That can be said of amp designs in most lineups, though. Some of these amps are over 10 years old too, having been through several owners.

Something that's been contributing to this: people buying the wrong used amp for their tastes, sometimes directly against my recommendations (if they contact me at all). Then they flip the amps, and they circle around the used market. Eventually such amps end up in the hands of people who appreciate them for what they were meant to be, but in the meantime, you know what happens to prices of things sold multiple times.

I'd previously taken a design approach that the amps should have the potential to sound aggressive when the guitarist plays aggressively, but also that the amps allow for more subtlety than most modern high gain designs. However it turns out I'd been projecting my own playing style onto others, assuming more people were like me. Plus I was being too paranoid about avoiding what I thought of as "harsh sounding" aspects in a design (due to my being unusually sensitive to high frequencies). So most of my previous designs aren't what I'd recommend for modern high gain especially in the context of what people consider modern high gain today.

And designs like the Hydra, which people keep assuming are good for aggressive modern high gain: they're not. Hydra wasn't designed with that as a priority. Few people have been able to make it sound that aggressive. And it's better to get an amp that's specifically designed to be more aggressive anyway. I've been trying to warn people about this since I made the FSM starting in 2011 (which was meant to be "as thick" but more aggressive/tight).

My first recommendation (not just because I like getting sales because it's my job, and I get to survive, lol) is buying a new design from me. I'll figure out what design fits your needs best, and the newest ones (such as Plasma Blade) are specifically meant to be more in tune with what people want from a modern high gain amp.

The Body Hammer actually came about as part of a realization that I'd been holding back in terms of gain/aggression in my designs. It's a noticeable change from my prior designs.

Plasma Blade is a newer version of Body Hammer. There are changes throughout the amp which contribute to the amp sounding more aggressive (poweramp, power supply, loop, master circuit, preamp) so it's more about how the entire format evolved. It's not a huge difference but I feel it's an improvement. New "structure" switches are there too which help dial in the amp to have more potential "voicings". Mostly they're there to help get more "old-school" sounds from it.

^ Find yourself an older model with 2 different gain channels, these are great bang for the bucks.

Well, you're probably considering your preamp an "older model with 2 different gain channels", but it's not as old as a lot of the amps I made. It at least has an FSM channel...possibly the first time I made one. The FSM is the minimum I'd recommend to people for modern high gain (and has been, since 2011).

[/quote]


I think it's an amazing amp James Very aggressive but still maintains exceptional tone and feel. Very natural/organic/open gain structure which is what I gravitate towards. I like compressed amps for a while, but then I tire of them and always go back to those that are more open & articulate/revealing and this amp offers that in spades. Very lively and dynamic and just has a great tone.

I'm sure I'll eventually try more of your designs.