# income tax done, time for an amp! Invective FTW....



## soldierkahn (Jan 31, 2019)

SO, after i filed my taxes and effectively shit my pants, looks like 2019 is gonna be a good year. Getting my second 970XL, paying off the 2027XL, and now onto my amp of choice, Peavey Invective. While the Spider Valve MKII has been keeping me happy, its not fully tube and I want tubes lol. Huge fan of the 6505+ back when I played tubes 15 years ago, and I heard that the Invective is that plus more so Im sold.

Now while I know its an amazing amp, theres also just so many 2x12 Cabinet choices out there and I have such little experience with them, I would like to see what people opinions are. Back when i had my 6505, i would run it through a Mesa 4x12 with v30s (i was hooked on Chimaira at the time), but I dont know whether the 2x12 has the same impact. For the time being, i can use my speakers in the MKII as they are Celestion V30s already, and just set the Invective on top of it. But before spending money on a 2x12 cab for it, I want to make sure it would make enough of a difference to warrant the extra cost.

@bulb ?


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## buriedoutback (Jan 31, 2019)

For home playing, I'd take the v30s out of your spider and put them into a decent empty 2x12 cab. I'd then convert the spider into a head and keep it as a backup or 2nd head.
For playing shows, I'd sell the spider and get a used mesa 412.


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## soldierkahn (Feb 1, 2019)

buriedoutback said:


> For home playing, I'd take the v30s out of your spider and put them into a decent empty 2x12 cab. I'd then convert the spider into a head and keep it as a backup or 2nd head.
> For playing shows, I'd sell the spider and get a used mesa 412.



once Ive got the right cab ill be using the MKII to play my bacground music coming from one side of the room, while my new amp hits me from the other side of the room. im gonna go deaf with a smile lol.

Nick from AP actually gave me a bomb suggestion tonight about grabbing an Engl Fireball instead of the Invective, so now my heads spinning with ideas lol


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## bulb (Feb 1, 2019)

Get the Invective and get any sick cab. If you dig 4x12s go for that but if you are just jamming at home it may be overkill. Fireball ain’t got shit on the Invective.


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## sakeido (Feb 1, 2019)

soldierkahn said:


> once Ive got the right cab ill be using the MKII to play my bacground music coming from one side of the room, while my new amp hits me from the other side of the room. im gonna go deaf with a smile lol.
> 
> Nick from AP actually gave me a bomb suggestion tonight about grabbing an Engl Fireball instead of the Invective, so now my heads spinning with ideas lol



fireball sucks, don't do it


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## soldierkahn (Feb 1, 2019)

sakeido said:


> fireball sucks, don't do it



other than your blanket statement.... can you ellaborate on WHY it sucks?


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## soldierkahn (Feb 1, 2019)

bulb said:


> Get the Invective and get any sick cab. If you dig 4x12s go for that but if you are just jamming at home it may be overkill. Fireball ain’t got shit on the Invective.



sick cab to someone with no experience with cabs doesnt help much lol. but thanks for the input Bulb


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## bulb (Feb 1, 2019)

soldierkahn said:


> other than your blanket statement.... can you ellaborate on WHY it sucks?


One dimensional, overprocessed, not very “Ampy”. If you dig that sound, you can easily get it or better with a modeler or software. Also just a completely different class of amp. The Invective is the better amp by far but it’s honestly not even a fair comparison to the Fireball haha.


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## soldierkahn (Feb 1, 2019)

bulb said:


> One dimensional, overprocessed, not very “Ampy”. If you dig that sound, you can easily get it or better with a modeler or software. Also just a completely different class of amp. The Invective is the better amp by far but it’s honestly not even a fair comparison to the Fireball haha.



well i cant edit the original post to correct how i made it sound. Nick didnt know I was planning on getting an Invective, I asked for some suggestions based on what i was looking for. i didnt mean to make it sound like he was reccommending it over another product.

That being said, I was looking for an amp that I can use with a good 2x12 as my house is small and my neighbors are sensitive. Id love to have an amp that can sound just as amazing at low volumes as high volumes, can handle a lot of low end for my tunings, doesnt require a boost to get a great tone out of.

Had experience with a Mesa Dual, but couldnt get it to saturate enough for me, and couldnt get a good tone at low enough volumes.
My 6505+ was great at high volumes but couldnt get a decent tone at low volumes (and I know the Invective is the 6506+ with some added features)

The pros that I was given about the ENGL was that it can saturate at low volumes, can be used at low volumes with great tone, dont need a boost, has a built in gate as well, and of course ENGL is great for low tunings from what i hear.


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## zimbloth (Feb 1, 2019)

I like the Invective and the Fireball 100 personally. If you dig the 5150/Peavey vibe, then the Invective is the ultimate realization of that. If you dig that polished ENGL vibe, then the Fireball 100 is one of the better choices. I enjoy and utilize both actually, but year after year I'm blown away by how good my FB100 sounds so I recommend them often. It's definitely NOT an organic, open-sounding amp. It's got that ultra tight, compressed thing all high-gain German amps tend to have, but IMO the Fireball 100 does it better than most. The Powerball II however, I loathe.


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## lurè (Feb 2, 2019)

Yeah pretty much all ENGL amps have a compressed - tight feel. The most "open" sounding I've tried is probably the Invader. As far as compression is Powerball II > Fireball > Invader.

If you like the 5150 sound the Invective is the right choice: has a built in boost and gate, lots of features.

The ENGLs don't necessarily need a boost but you might want to throw at least an EQ because they tend disappear in the mix.


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## FILTHnFEAR (Feb 7, 2019)

My Invective sounds great through my Mesa Recto 2x12 for lower volume at home playing and phenomenal at band volumes through my V30 loaded Trace Elliot 4x12.

Highly recommend it.


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