Peavey Ranger 212 amp

Cliff Swanson · Post by **Cliff Swanson** » 9 Nov 2000 8:08 am

In response to DVA's love affair post regarding his new (old) Twin (congrats Dave!), mention was made of the Peavey Ranger 212 as a hard-to-tell-the-difference Twin clone. I hadn't heard of the Ranger before, so thought I'd start a new thread relating to it.

Does anyone play steel through one now? Opinions? Anyone ever replaced the 2x12 speaker configuration with a 15" speaker? Truthfully, I prefer my Evans SE150 to the Nash or Session amps. Also, given that it's still possible to get a decent "players" Fender Twin for a reasonable "fixerup" price, the cost of the Ranger is a bit pricey by comparison. Just my opinions of course. In any case for the sake of becoming better informed, any info, opinions appreciated.
Mike Brown?

Cat[This message was edited by Cliff Swanson on 09 November 2000 at 08:13 AM.]

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 9 Nov 2000 1:01 pm

For your browsing pleasure--

http://www.peavey.com/mi/ranger212_features.html

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 10 Nov 2000 8:18 am

Although the Peavey Ranger 212 amplifier was not originally designed for steel guitar use, Bobby Bowman and I accidently found out that this amp sounds good when used for steel guitar. A couple of St. Louis shows ago, Bobby asked if he could borrow an a amp to use and I obliged by letting him use the Ranger 212. He told me after a day or so of use that the Ranger sounded really good for steel. So, I took this amp out on a gig one night and used it for a guitar amp and steel amp. It did sound good!

The Peavey Ranger 212 is rated at 120 watts and features footswitchable channels, spring reverb, tremolo and effects loop. It has external speaker capability and switchable impedance selector switch, two 12" Peavey Blue Marvel speakers.

I have been asked several times about an alternative Peavey amp for steel guitar and I always mention this model as a possibility. Feel free to check this amp out on the Peavey website at "www.peavey.com". It can be found under the PRODUCTS section. If you have other questions, feel free to contact me here at Peavey by calling 1-877-732-8391.

Bob Kagy · Post by **Bob Kagy** » 10 Nov 2000 11:25 am

Thanks Cliff, Jon, Mike. I perked up at this in the other thread also.

Checked the PV page - 77lbs. That's a load; the Twin Reverb Reissue is listed at 64. But still, the Ranger sounds like it's worth checking out.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 10 Nov 2000 3:58 pm

My point is that with the Peavey Ranger 212, we equipped it with switchable channel selection via footswitch or front panel(which the Twin doesn't have), a BOOST and MID SHIFT button on the lead channel(which the Twin doesn't have), RESONANCE and PRESENCE controls which allows you vary the damping factor of the amplifier at low frequencies. In turn, the PRESENCE control allows you to vary the damping factor for the high frequencies. On the back panel, there is a control that allows you to vary the output signal of the SEND jack in the effects loop. This will allow you to use virtually any effects unit on the market whether it is a low level device or a line level device.

Again, thanks for your interest in our products. If you have questions, feel free to call me with your questions. [This message was edited by Mike Brown on 14 November 2000 at 07:51 AM.]

Danny Hullihen · Post by **Danny Hullihen** » 11 Nov 2000 6:59 am

Like I said in another post regarding this amp, the Ranger 212 maintains the original sound of the old Black Face Twins, while at the same time, incorporating the latest technology for todays many after market processors etc. I've tried this amp out myself on a couple of gigs, and in my opinion, I really think that Peavey has outdone themselves with this one! Considering all you get with the Ranger 212, the weight is actually trivial.

Although this amp wasn't necessarilly designed for steel guitar, it works great with this application, and for many of us who use to use Twin's in the past, this amp will bring back a sound that many of us were very fond of. Price vs value, I think you would be hard pressed to find anything better than this when comparing apples to apples.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 11 Nov 2000 7:15 am

Any plans on issuing this as just an amp head, Mike?

Pardon my ignorance--was there ever a Twin head?

Chris DeBarge · Post by **Chris DeBarge** » 11 Nov 2000 7:42 am

John,
That would be the Showman - and especially the later Showman Reverb, that was exactly a Twin Reverb inside except some of them were 8 ohms output, some 4(the Dual Showman). Twins, of course, were 4 ohms out.

Cliff Swanson · Post by **Cliff Swanson** » 12 Nov 2000 6:51 pm

Danny... What is the street price of a Ranger?

Chris...Thanks for clearing up the difference between a Showman and a Dual Showman.. I never realized it's an impedence issue.

Cat

Danny Hullihen · Post by **Danny Hullihen** » 13 Nov 2000 6:19 am

Cliff: That is kind of hard to answer, as every Peavey dealer has their own idea of what they think an amplifier should sell for realistically. The best thing to do here is to contact your area Peavey dealer in these regards. If you need more information for a dealer in your area that stocks the Ranger 212, you can contact Mike Brown at Peavey Electronics, or visit Peavey's web site. www.peavey.com

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 13 Nov 2000 10:59 am

No plans at this time to offer the Ranger 212 in a "top box" version, but it does have a baffle that can be removed if you want to swap out to a 1501-4 ohm Black Widow shallow basket speaker(which was designed specifically for steel guitar applications).

We did quite a bit of R & D before this amp was released. Some Fender endorsers even assisted with this project. If you are a guitarist who now plays a Twin(pre CBS or otherwise), I highly recommend that you check this amp out as the channel switching capability will allow you to select the clean or distortion channel. This is a feature that I have missed with a Fender amp.

Bob Kagy · Post by **Bob Kagy** » 13 Nov 2000 2:00 pm

Mike Brown, thanks for all the info, you make a very good case, lots of desirable features.