There is not one video online that does this amp justice. Holy butt smack. After only 2 hours with it, I have dialed in all sorts of killer tones. From pristine cleans (the clean channel on this thing is really nice), to Red dirt, to 80's Hair (this amp is made for this), to full gain onslaught.
This is, in schematics, a XXX with EL34's. But honestly, it is a totally different monster. If a XXX and a Marshall JVM had babies, this is what you would get. Best way I know to describe it. It gets the warmth from the EL34's, but still has the gain of a XXX. Which makes it very much NOT a one trick pony. And I haven't even made it to the Lead channel yet.
I also put my old RP500 in front of the clean channel and tried some of the pedal emulations out....and all of a sudden I like this pedal again. I can only imagine what a really nice overdrive pedal would sound like in front of it. I figure a lot like that vid I posted a couple of days ago with the dude running some nice overdrive pedals in front of his Peavey Ultra 60. As you Classic series owners know...Peavey is good at making clean channels that take pedals very, very well. And the 3120 is no different.
My amp search is definitely over. And I've only begun to explore what this thing can do. For tonight, I'm just noodling around in 80's hair tone bliss. All tube crunchy goodness.
More to come.....
And another really cool thingy....this amp works VERY nicely using the volume roll-off from the guitar to adjust gain. Stays crisp and bright when you roll the volume knob back on the guitar. Another added dimension to its versatility.
Tooled around tonight with some of the lower gain settings using my single coils. Crisp and punchy, with nice low end.
I'm happy. Done talking to myself. Cheers :)
Good luck with the new amp amigo. Sorry, I was going to comment but I am not a metal or very high gain fan so I have not much to say about your acquisition. But I wish you good luck and many long hours of enjoyment with your new gear.
New gear day is always a good day (if you like the new gear) ;D
So I'm assuming the previous amp went back? I for one am applauding that you're using real tubes because I'm a tube snob. Don't know much about this amp but glad you like it. 120 watts of power is insane.
Yeah, the Blackstar is on its way back to ZZSounds. Great amp for a young kid, or new-ish guitar player. And goes well up against the non-valve Spider amps and Valvetronix amps (though I would rate the tone from the Valvetronix amps higher).
As for the 3120, I'm not surprised that it hasn't gained a lot of press. Most folks (kids and metal monsters) who are looking at high gain amps tend toward the heavier, mid-scooped tones. 6L6 type amps. Folks who want El34 type tone are usually more mid-to-lower gain users (like a lot of us older geezers).
So it's an amp that is a little out of place for most players. Or at least in theory if all you go by is specs.
I'm trying to best figure out how to describe this thing. There are several cool thingies about it:
1) The clean channel is thick and sweet. Takes pedals like a Classic 30.
2) All 3 channels have their own EQ
3) All EQ's are active, and thus VERY responsive. So each channel offers a lot of tonal variety.
4) Like the XXX, it is built around high gain. But due to the EL34's, it is nowhere near as dark sounding.
5) The high end needs no taming like the XXX. Again I'm happy to say there is no 'Hair' knob. It doesn't need one. The 'high' EQ knob (on each channel) works just fine, and keeps the highs in-check pretty nicely.
6) I'm running my RP500 (only for effects) through the effects loop. COOL thing about the effects loop....it has in and out level knobs. So when both levels are turned down, it acts like a Variac. The overall volume can drop to almost nothing. So then I can turn the Master Volume up and drive the tubes....getting a full driven crunch tone at bedroom volume. Basically a built-in power attenuator.
7) Being a Peavey, #6 isn't really needed. It sounds good at bedroom volume anyway. But using #6, it sounds even better.
8) Tone - There are a LOT of tones to be had. Obviously, I dialed in 80's hair out of the gates. The Crunch channel alone has enough gain to cover ANY 80's hair band. Even with the EL34's, the tone isn't completely Marshall. It is kinda like a Rockmaster 'lite' mixed with a JVM. Still very much Peavey, but with some added warmth.
Hope this helps you define what this amp sounds like. It is a high gain Peavey with the warmth of a Marshall.
I actually found a video where someone compared all the modern peaveys--3120, those other weird numbered amps (3450? 6050?), the new vintage thing, and the JSX. I thought the 3120 came out well in that... not as much over the top gain or hashy high end as the other numbered amps or the JSX, more gain than the "vintage" thing. EL34 and 6L6 is not the reason that amp sounds different, the eq differences between those tubes alone would barely be discernable with the level of preamp gain in those amps. It's just a differently tuned circuit, and it sounds like it's one triode stage less gainy. Don't get me wrong, the 3120 still has ridiculous amounts of gain, I can't even imagine owning an amp that gainy! But it sounds good. Enjoy it.
Interestingly enough, i have found myself spending more time with the gain around 1 or 2, and noodling with various pickup selections. That, and the ability to roll off on the volume knob, has had me playing this thing more in the classic rock range than than the heavier stuff.
In fact, the whole volume roll off ability is actually changing how I play. Instead of depending on 'patches' for certain amounts of gain, I am learning to use my guitar volume knob to do that (to a certain extent). That is where an amp with this kind of built in gain is handy. I don't need a pedal to boost the gain. All the gain I will ever need is in the amp (and I really like true tube amp overdrive over pedal overdrive).
I said early on, there is no video on YouTube that does this amp justice. Everything you find is either some 3120 vs other high gain amps, or kids with 3120's cranking the gain, scooping the mids, and trying to go all metal.
Where this amp really shines, is in the lower gain settings. You can really hear the characteristics of the different pickups you are using.
But alas...this IS a high gain amp. And it will pretty much be seen by most as just that. Except for the few, like me, who dare to experiment with the lower gain spectrum it offers...