Manley (VERSES) Peavey PreAmp

Gary Steele · Post by **Gary Steele** » 27 Mar 2003 9:21 pm

If you gear pro's were gonna buy would you go with a Manley Tube Direct S
Or a Peavey VMP-2
Has anyone tried or heard both of these?
Thanks,
Gary.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 28 Mar 2003 2:00 pm

I don't know how easy it is for you to find a VMP 2 where you are since they are discontinued, but you should be able to find the Manley somewhere nearby....Try it out and see how it sounds....If you like the Manley, buy it ....They make great gear ...Jim

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 28 Mar 2003 3:16 pm

To put it another way...if I had the choice for the studio Peavey vs Manley... Manley hands down.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 29 Mar 2003 4:07 am

I use 3 of the VMPII units in my studio rack. For mic and line inputs they sound great and are a good value.

The Manley gear is top quality and EXPENSIVE!!!

If you are talking about playing steel through the unit then save up for the Manley.
If you are needing mic pres and line inputs then find a used Peavey unit.

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 7 Apr 2003 10:15 pm

I use the Manley gear for recording and mastering. It's great tube stuff, just beautiful sounding. However, the Peavey VMP-2 is also a serious piece of gear. Peavey must have had a special development team for that one because it's a full blown, hi-end, solid, pro studio quality tube mic pre that sounds great. I wouldn't say that about some of Peavey's other studio gear, but the VMP-2 is a special piece. I wish I had one.

Brad Sarno
Blue Jade Audio Mastering
St. Louis, MO

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 8 Apr 2003 6:46 am

Brad, we appreciate your compliments of our engineering staff for the VMP-2, but the engineer who designed this particular piece has designed many, many other pieces of gear in the Peavey MI and recording product lines. Why was it so inexpensive compared to say, the Manley unit? Maybe a better question would be, "why is the Manley unit so expensive"? Because of it's price, does that make it a better sounding unit?

A correct answer can probably never be provided to these questions. But, I can provide our point of view on this. First of all, we have been in business since 1965 and have continually grown into the leading manufacturer of portable sound equipment. There is a reason for this; 1)since we manufacture many different products, we have the buying power for purchasing the best parts and components available in order to sell the finished product to the consumer at a reasonable price. 2) it also depends on how efficient the company operates. There are other considerations but these are two that come to mind as well.

I think that we sometimes get "caught up" in the idea that because a product is not "high dollar", it couldn't be as good as the next the next piece of gear, but that's not so and as tight as the economy is now, I think that there will be products that will come along that will surprise all of us, simply out of necessity.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 8 Apr 2003 7:19 am

So Mike, the VMP gets rave reviews everywhere you read about it. Any chance it would ever be reintroduced? I would assume that it was discontinued because of vendor cost issues, lack of sales volume, or both.

I've had an eye out for one for some time, they just don't seem to show up for sale anywhere.