Peavey Vypyr 15

The Peavey Vypyr 15 is a 15-watt solid-state modeling combo amp with an 8" speaker on-board and a variety of different amps, channels, stomp box effects, and other features. Being only 15 watts, the functionality of this amp is somewhat limited. There is no jack to connect to an external speaker and there is no effects loop or any of the other advanced stomp box functionality that comes with some of the bigger (30-watt plus) Vypyr series amplifiers. Peavey incorporates a lot of the functionality by making the knobs on the front panel push/push knobs that activate different modes or different amp channel models. Each amp model has a low-gain and a high-gain channel, and can be incorporated with one of the stomp box modelers and fed into the equalization and output stages. The amp also has an 1/8" jack so you can hook up an external music player so you can jam along to your favorite tunes. It also has a recording out jack that you can connect directly to a DAW for direct recording.

UTILIZATION

It's not difficult to make this amp sound good. It's apparent that Peavey took the time to research the amps and try to emulate them as closely as possible. The amp is very touch-responsive, most likely due to Peavey's Patented TransTube technology. Being a Peavey product, many of the modeled amplifiers are Peavey models such as the 6505, JSX, and XXX amplifiers, but it also includes everything else you would expect such as Fender cleans, Marshall Crunch, boutique amps, and even some metal amps such as Diezel and Krank made the cut.

The only gotcha with this amp is that if you don't have a 1/4" guitar cable plugged into the input when powered up, it goes into a "light show" mode to save the LEDs and won't exit until you plug in a guitar, then power-cycle the amp. It makes sense from a component-saving point of view, but it's slightly impractical. Also, one of the prevalent issues with the amp is that, at times, if you turn of the amp it will not turn back on unless you let the amp sit for ten minutes.

SOUNDS

I play most of my standard Dimarzio-equipped Neal Moser guitars, Ibanez, and Gibson guitars thought this amp and it really excels in the space of a practice amp. You might be able to get some good recorded tones with it but I never tried. The EQ is fairly wide and there are LEDs that track with the position of the knobs so you can see where everything it set easily. Mostly, I use the Fender Deluxe cleans with a slight chorus and the Krank overdrive with a Tube Screamer up front. With the gain dialed up very high it can get a bit "fizzy" but one must have realistic expectations from a $99 15-watt solid-state amp.

OVERALL OPINION

The Vypyr 15 is a fairly simple and easy to use practice amp. I happened to pick one up second-hand for an extremely low price. If you're in need of a practice amp and don't need other features like a graphical interface so you can edit presets via a computer GUI, this is a great-sounding little practice amp.

The Peavey Vypyr 15 is the smallest amp in the recent line of Vypyr amps. It is packed chalk FULL of cool features that kids today are ridiculously lucky to have in a $100 amp. It features 11 amp models with 2 channels each, several different effects, a separate delay and reverb section, and the ability to dial in tones from Fender clean to Diezel or Mesa grind all at the twist of a few knobs. It's a solid state 15 watt amp that contains a small 8" speaker. It also has a master volume and 1/8" jacks for aux. in and headphones.

UTILIZATION

Dialing in this amp can take a bit of time if you're new to the world of guitar but it's a pretty intuitive interface that can get learned pretty fast. Peavey lays it out much like a typical amp/effects setup, with your preamp tones (amp sounds) first, then your effects, and then tweaking the power amp tones (EQ controls like bass, mid, treble, etc) and then finally a master volume to control the overall level. It's pretty cool and once it's figured out anyone can have hours upon hours of fun with this little box.

SOUNDS

This amp is great for many different sounds from clean to high gain. While it lacks the general tube feel of the high dollar amps it's emulating, I really can't expect much better tone out of a $100 practice amp. It covers a wide variety of different tones and sounds great at all them. Some of the high gain sounds a bit compressed for my liking but for a beginner I'm sure it is just cool to have so many flavours of distortion tone available, plus all the cool effects built right in. I really like some of the low to mid gain sounds like the AC30 and Badcat with the gain turned right up as it gives a more natural tube like sound than the higher gain Mesa/Diezel/Krank models do.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Peavey Vypyr 15 is a FANTASTIC bargain for the $100 new that they cost. It's really quite mind boggling to think that such a small and cheap amp can sound this good with a wide variety of sound emulators. It's definitely my go-to recommendation for a small practice amp as there is simple no better bang for your buck than the Peavey Vypyr series.

By far the most impressive amp modeling amplifier out on the market! It uses some sort of hybrid technology that is exclusive to Peavey that uses analog features with the solid state functionality. I am not a big fan of amp modeling but this is the best sounding unit that is out there today. It responds very like a real amp with the interaction between the preamp and the power amp section.

I may come off a little intimidating with all the switches and options that are on the faceplate. But the more you play it the more you figure out the way it interacts.


Peavey Vypyr 15 Modeling Guitar Amplifier Features:

* 15 watts
* Four channels with 3-band EQ, master volume and pre- and post-gain controls
* 11 editable rack effects
* 8" custom-voiced modeling speaker
* Onboard chromatic tuner
* Tap Tempo
* Studio-quality headphone and record out
* MP3/CD/Aux input
* Patented TransTube technology in preamp and power amp

UTILIZATION

Type Solid State
Number of Channels 4
Power 15W
Speakers 1 x 8"
Effects Yes
Reverb Yes
EQ Low, Mid, High
Amp Modeling Yes
Number of Models 24 Amps
Number of Tubes 0
Preamp Tubes No Tubes
Power Tubes No Tubes
Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Aux (1/8")
Outputs 1 x Headphone (1/8")
Footswitch I/O No Footswitch I/O
Effects Loop No Effects Loop

SOUNDS

I like high gain amps and since most amp modelers have a tone of clean amps but not usable distortion tones, but this amp does have a great amp distortion. If you are a fan of high gains and need an all in one amp with effects and settings than this is the amp for you.

The clean is just as good as a Fender or Roland clean, but the distortion amps is where this thing lives. another cool thing is that this thing has stompbox models as well not just amps. So there are really more options available here than any other amp modeler that i have seen.

OVERALL OPINION

If you need a solid amp modeling amp that is cheap and compact then this is the best amp for you. At new they come in at around $99, which is a smashing good price for the quality of workmanship in this unit. With 24 amp models it has more options than anything is this category.

I would recommend this amp to any person who needs a great practice amp that has everything built into it. With an onboard tuner all you need is a humbucking style guitar and your can practice at home or in the office. For the price you cannot beat this amp! I am going to buy one ASAP!

Amps has Modlisation 15 Watts.
Between instrument (better)
Ente Auxiliary
A Headphone Output and Record.
11 + Delay and Reverb effects
11 Modlisations amp has two channels each or 22 modlisations.
1 Tuner integr.

USE

The use is very simple, if you know what kind of amp or multi purpose we will not be lost. The manual is available on a CD included with it is a pity he is not in French, but English does not cause me to worry.

SONORITS

Given the number of Modlisation contained in the amp, there's something for all tastes.
They are of good quality even if some are alike. There are no bad sounds. I also love Line6 but I find that this model is better than Spider for the same price.
The sounds Mtal his standards (simulation of a Krank Diesel Front peavey xxx) And we also find good clear sound and great simul Marshall Plexi.
I know that it does not sound like the originals, but I do not care for me.

NOTICE GLOBAL

The report price and super quality less than 100 EUR, against the finish is not unique knobs are very sensitive. But it comes with a range between and amps with nice sound for less than 100 euros, not expect was an exceptional finish.
I strongly recommend this kind of amps at either or beginner or persone who seeks versatility at lower cost.