A History of Tone in the Palm of Your Hands: From Delta Blues to Modern Metal Peavey’s New MH Amps Have You Covered

The micro head trend in guitar amplification shows no sign of slowing down.  While standing in the shadow of a full-size stack is something to behold, they aren’t a practical solution for one’s daily playing needs.  Though let’s be clear; rattling the windows in your house (and maybe your neighbor’s houses) will never get old.

The fact is that most of us are either playing at home, rehearsal spaces, small clubs, or clubs with enough sound reinforcement technology that can make a practice amp sound huge.  So it’s no wonder that many musicians have added a “lunch box amp” to their sonic arsenals.  And thanks to the good folks at Peavey, two of the most renowned and enduring amplifier platforms to hit the guitar world have been “lunch boxed”; the 6505 and the Classic.

Volume and tone-wise, the 6505 has never messed around.  The full-size amp in the series (the 6505, the 6505+, and the 6534+) deliver their tonal fury at 120 watts RMS.  Now, there’s a whole science behind wattage and how humans perceive actual volume.  We’re not going to get into that, but we here at TheToneKing.com think you, dear reader, will agree that 120 watts is pretty damn loud.  For players doing their dirty work on smaller stages and at home, that’s a lot of amp.

Now, those who want to tap into the foundational metal tones of the 6505 series have a way to do it: the Peavey 6505 MH.  More than just a smaller 6505, the 6505 MH has been designed with the variety of routing options many modern players desire, such as microphone-simulated outputs for plugging directly into a PA or mixing board and a USB out, for connecting directly to your DAW.  A simulated plate reverb can add additional depth and size to your tones.  Speaking of tones, the 6505 MH has a ton of gain on tap, but is no slouch if you’re looking for a little bit of clean and crunch to go with the massive saturation that is the trademark of the 6505 series.  The channels and effects loop are foot-switchable, just like the big boys.

Of course, the soul of the all-tube 6505 MH is pure, unadulterated metal.  The 6505 series stands tall in the metal amp market, and the 6505 MH keeps that status intact.  Offering varying wattage levels of 20, 5, and 1 watt, you can take the 6505 MH from a living room recital for Grandma (her favorite Machine Head tunes will sound awesome) to your home studio to your band’s practice space all the way to the stage.  And it’s compact size and T.S.I. tube monitoring system means that Grandma can’t get out of playing roadie for you this time (just save her a beer or six).

Of course, Peavey is known for other great amp product lines like the Valve King series, which TTK has recently been making good use of.  It turns out that the Valve King MH is something of style bridge between the thundering 6505 MH and another new Peavey product, the Classic 20 MH.

The Peavey Classic series is known for straight-up, old school rock ‘n roll.  Bringing it into the mini head world, Peavey added some modern touches without sacrificing the vintage soul of the design.  Like the 6505 MH, it features the handy T.S.I. tube monitoring system, which is a step up from the “smoke pouring out of the back of the amp” system vintage designs used back in the day.  It has the same 20, 5, and 1 watt power setting selections available and the same USB and direct outs for easy connection to your computer or a mixing desk/PA.  A realistic spring-style reverb, dual foot-switchable channels, and an effects loop round out a feature set that most would believe could only be found on a full size head.

Like the 6505 MH, the all-tube Classic 20 MH serves up a variety of tones that belie it’s size.  The cleans are stout yet silky, while the Classic 20 MH’s grittier side is great for fat classic rock riffs and even old-school hard rock and metal tones.  It’s small size makes it a breeze to transport; Grandma could carry the 6505 MH in one hand and the Classic 20 MH in the other, and you’ll be set for whatever tone happens to strike your fancy.

Both the 6505 MH and the Classic 20 MH are fresh off their debuts at NAMM 2015 and retailers have started taking orders so definitely keep an eye out.  Adding both of these amps to your arsenal, you could conceivably cover just about any stylistic ground you need to in any situation.  Say you had a studio gig.  Given their compact size, you could easily bring both the Classic 20 MH and the 6505 MH to the session and add contrasting, layered tones to a tune in just about any style.  Dial up a killer, crunchy rhythm tone on the Classic 20 MH and plug it straight into the board, and then add a searing solo using the gain available in the 6505 MH pumping a mic’d cabinet in the live room.

Or maybe you’re at home and just want to enjoy a buffet of beefed-up tonal goodness.  Or you play in a Neil Young tribute band and an original band with a heavy sound and need two amps to achieve your tonal needs.  Whatever the situation, Peavey has you covered with these two new powerhouses, the 6505 MH and the Classic 20 MH.

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