Peavey Windsor Studio Valve Amp Demo Review

[Connor Baxter]

Here's a demo Review of the wonderful, rather rare Peavey Windsor Studio Valve Amp.

It's a class A Valve amp, with some great features, I hope you enjoy the video!

Any Questions, feel free to ask.

[WhiteStrat]

A nice video, Connor, well done!

I'd guess that you're not one of the oldest in the forum.......... 

You sure seem to have a good grip on the guitar/amp/playing thing........ 

The only questions I would ask are, Is the guitar in your video being fed 'clean' into the amp or are you using effects in the line. If so, which effects/settings? Which pick ups are you using in the various parts of the video?

The line out feature, standard on most amps, seems quite adequate. Not sure why they have switched this to a mic level signal rather than line, but, so long as it works. Quite often, there are more line level inputs on a mixer than mic inputs, since good mic pre-amps add to the cost..........
Given the choice, I'd always rather mic the amp, to get the overtones/warmth that speakers tend to add to the sound. The amp/speaker combination being a large part of the guitarist's sound. But, sometimes that's just not possible.........

The 'sponge' thing is a useful feature. Basically, it's a power soak/attenuator/damper device.......... Jim Kelly was one of the first to built one into a guitar amp in 1978........ 

Again, nice video, a good description and good playing, well done!

[Connor Baxter]

Hey WhiteStrat,
Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed the review.

To answer some of your questions, (this is where the guitar geekness begins )

The sound is a mix of the amps lineout, going into my DAW with an EQ, used to just touch it in a nice way, take out any harshness in the high, and boom at the lows etc.  And then also my Cameras mic as a room cam. (now thinking about it, the room cam seems to of overcome the mix).

I think they used an XLR line out instead of a Jack one, is because its a balanced cable, so i guess it could decrease possible noise from earth issues and such, but it seems to work great, and it's a nice little feature.

Also i was swapping to different pickup positions throughout the video, to demonstrate different tones and what not. The pickups themselves are just the stock ones that came in it. It's a 99' Indonesia Squier Strat, and the pickups just have a beautiful quirky sound.

thanks for the history on the Sponge Feature, i didn't know that. Much appreciated

thanks for watching 

[Hinfrance]

Good work Connor. I don't think it's the amp for me - you presented it well and showed the range to good effect.

I've got a more recent Indonesian Squier, an HSS. Only it isn't any more; I swapped the pickups for Wilkinson 'Hot' ones. Much more grungy. 

[Connor Baxter]

Thanks for the comments Hinfrance, really appreciate it.

ooo HSS Squier, nice one. what are the Wilkinson 'Hot' ones like? I've been looking at getting some for a while.

Good dynamics? the term "Grungy" is already begging me to buy them

[Hinfrance]

I should have a bit of free time today Connor, so I'll try to do a comparison recording between the Prophesy with the Gibson pickups and the Strat with the hot Wilkinsons. The difference is very noticeable

OK, here is a comparison of the sounds. Please excuse my cr*p playing 

Recorded with Reaper, Mustang 3 miked up with a Sennheiser E835 condenser just off the speaker edge. The first track is the Prophesy starting with the pickup selector at the top, then the middle, then the bottom. The next track is the Strat, again starting with the pickup selector at the top and working down - the same for the third (Prophesy) and fourth (Strat) tracks.

The clean sound is with the Mustang's preamp only setting (preset 83). The high gain sound is preset 53, British Steel.

You should be able to hear how much dirtier the Wilkinson equipped Strat is, with a bit of luck.

[Connor Baxter]

Thanks a lot for the sound comparison Hinfrance, found it really helpful. think i may have to investigate further and grab some of these shiny new pickups for my strat

Maybe i'll post some pics if i end up getting them!

cheers.

[Hinfrance]

Glad it helped.

I got my 'hot' Wilkinson single coils from eBay Vanson Guitars , although my set was black they only seem to have white and ivory in stock at the moment.

I'm happy because it gave the Strat a completely different character to the standard HSS setup, and gives me a totally different set of sounds compared to the Les Pauls.