Penta Head | musicradar.com

Peavey Penta Head £1299

Peavey’s massive Penta gives you five different amps at the click of a switch

The MusicRadar Team, Tue 23 Oct 2007, 12:10 pm UTC

The Peavey Penta head and cab

Manufacturer's description

The Peavey Penta(R) is a single-channel tube amplifier with five totally different personalities, courtesy its five selectable EQ/gain voicings. The Penta amplifier combines four matched EL34 tubes with four 12AX7 tubes and features ceramic tube sockets, custom transformers, ultra-high quality components and 140 watts into 16, 8 or 4 ohms. A product of extensive tube amplifier engineering, the Penta is a completely straightforward, classic guitar amp. Correction: five guitar amps. Using 100% analog Pentatone(TM) circuitry, this uniquely Peavey amplifier gives the guitar-playing world its take on five classic gain voicings on a single amp channel. These sounds are identified by corresponding icons and are accessible by a rotary knob. No fancy footswitches allowed, and no shimmering effects included—the Penta is for true plug & play guitar fanatics. The Penta's "Star" icon reveals a classic British plexi voicing, while the "Bull" icon produces a modified British voicing with tons of added gain and a tighter low end. The "Tree" setting is, simply put, fat and clean, while the "Mudflap Girl" setting is a super-high gain voicing with a more responsive EQ and power amp section. The "Cactus" icon lays on a thicker British voicing with a loose attack and slightly more gain.

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MusicRadar rating

3.5 of 5

Pros

Great sounds. Clever design with vintage stylings.

Cons

A half-power switch would be handy. Footswitch is too lightweight.

Verdict

The price for head and cab puts the Penta into amplification's premier division, meaning it's really got to impress. For tone and usability, it's as good as other similarly priced products; although the build quality is somewhat lacking. As for feautres, any player that clicks with that five-way switch will love it: a multi-voiced, simplistic stage machine.

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All MusicRadar’s reviews are by independent product specialists, who are not aligned to any gear manufacturer or retailer. Our experts also write for renowned magazines such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Computer Music, Future Music and Rhythm. All are part of Future PLC, the biggest publisher of music making magazines in the world.

Specification Show

Penta Head

Price:: £1299
Additional Features:: Pentatone switch on front and rear panel gives five switchable voices
Audio Output Power:: 140
Available Controls:: Bass, Gain, Master Volume, Mid, Presence, Treble
Channels:: 1
Country of Origin:: USA
Depth (mm):: 280
Description:: All valve single-channel Class A/B head with solid-state rectification
Height (mm):: 680
Width (mm):: 275