Peavey Ultra & XXX Opinions?

[Isaac]

I have found a Peavey ultra and a XXX locally for sale/trade. I have some gear that I need to get rid of, so a trade for a new amp would be nice. what do you guys think of either of these amps? I haven't been able to come up with much on these amps, but from what read, the Ultra is the precursor to the Ultra Plus, which then became the XXX? What is the George Lynch connection behind these amps?

Both these amps are used, what sort of price range should I be looking at? From what I can see, a used XXX goes for about $650, and a used Ultra goes for about $250. Is this correct? What did they go for brand new?

Most importantly, what tones come out of these amps? I've heard that Marshall and Boogie tones can be had on the crunch and ultra channels respectively. How true is this?

Isaac

 

[marvcus]

I would take the Ultra over the XXX, personally.

I gigged with an Ultra back in the late 90s and it cut great.

XXX is way too noisy, IMO, and just not the same caliber, tone wise.

I know it's not what you asked, but I would sooner get a used Classic 50 or
such and add a pedal rather than the other two if I was going Peavey.

 

[Isaac]

its because i have a chance to get either with a trade. i prefer the ultra just from clips. more marshally than boogie. how much gain is on tap for the ultra?

 

[tweed]

I have an XXX and yes it can get noisy, but it's easy to fix with some good 12ax7's installed. Very versatile amp paired with the right cabinet. Can do blues, hard rock and metal no sweat.

 

[ranalli]

If the XXX was noisy I have to say the culprit was probably your guitar or you're dialing in way too much gain as the amp has way too much gain stock.

Mine was silent.....dead silent even at the tightest and loudest gigs where I was right in front of it.

 

[sg guy]

i have the xxx,..it has the most gain out of the ones you listed,..with some tube changes there not a bad amp!..i just put some kt77's in mine and run them hot,..sounds pretty sweet so far!...(i also changed the preamp tubes previously)

i dont think any peavey sounds like a marshall or a mesa..thou the xxx is supposed to be a triple rec. clone....i previously owned a jcm 800 50 watt, peavey 6505+,mesa stilleto amoung others and the xxx is my favorite among them.

i have played an ultra and realy liked it!...i think there a steal at the prices there going for. if i was you i would try them all out and pick the one ya like the best!

as far as the xxx being noisey,..it's the quietest high gain amp i have ever played!,..with no pedals i can stand directly infront of it with my hands of fthe strings with no noise/feedback. if you add any type of signal boosting pedals in front of it,...you'll get plenty of noise/feedback then thou,...but nothing a noise surpressor wont completely cure,..(whatever brand you like as long as it has a seprate loop)

george lynch was responsible for the active tone controls on the xxx,...very cool tool...lots of different tones to be had with them,..but they take some getting used to,..if you tried dialing a xxx in like any other amp with passive tone controls it will sound like ass...

one of the biggest issues with these (the xxx) is the speakers that you choose,...i almost sold my xxx when i first bought it and ran it through my marshall 1960a cab with 75's in it,...sounded like shit,..it was the fizzy/buzzy mess that people associate this amp with,...as a final try..(at the advice of a friend)..i through the xxx in my van,,with my guitar,..and went to all the music stores in my area and went speaker/cab hunting,...basicaly anything with v-30's (i have a mesa recto. cab) sounds great,..night and day difference over the 75's.....i am dying to try it with a evh (3) cab with the evh green back in it thou!

sorry to ramble on.

good luck