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The Peavey Penta head and cab

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This 140-watt all-valve head is rather different from anything Peavey has done before - it's simple and direct, but with a twist in the shape vinyl and cream fabric, our sample's finish isn't as perfect as it could be.

The radiusing on the front panel cut-out surrounding the controls is a bit lumpy and uneven, especially in the corner near the mains switch. Under the cream fabric, to the left of the Peavey badge, there's also a noticeable bump where a screw has been driven in too enthusiastically. These are small things, but not what you'd expect on an amp with the Penta's price tag. Having said that, this is an early sample and such gremlins are usually ironed out before proper production begins.

Construction and features

The Penta sports two gargantuan transformers that are probably capable of powering a small village, let alone a single guitar amp. These are crammed in at one end of the chassis, making the head unwieldy and difficult to carry on its single handle. Inside the chassis, the smaller components are fitted to one large PCB, including all the pots and valve bases. This board is riveted into place, making removal for servicing an interesting challenge.

Despite the simple control layout, there's a lot going on inside, with no less than 11 relays that could be mounted in sockets, but aren't. Relays are normally very reliable, although if by any chance they should fail on this amp, it won't be easy to repair. These reservations aside, the general standard of components, wiring and soldering is good.

The Penta's main controls are simple: a pair of input jacks to suit high or low output guitars, gain and master volume controls, plus three-band EQ and presence, all of which go to 11. Next to these is the Pentatone switch, a five-way rotary that does all the clever reconfiguring stuff. On the rear panel is another identical Pentatone switch that lets you select a different voice. You can swap between the two using the footswitch. In keeping with the Penta's purist design, there's no effects loop - instead, there's just a pair of speaker jacks with an impedance selector and a footswitch socket.

In use

The Pentatone switch is what makes this amp special, delivering five different amp sounds. With great wisdom, Peavey doesn't describe them in too much detail, thus neatly avoiding the trap of making the Penta out to be just another modelling amp, which it certainly isn't. Nevertheless, Da Vinci Code enthusiasts could while away a happy hour or two trying to work out the meaning of the five cryptic icons that represent each sound. Going from left to right, they are: Tree, Star (clue: actually a six-pointed badge of the type worn by US marshals), Bull, Cactus and Mudflap Girl (as seen on Peavey's Triple XXX).

Tree is a very big, fat, clean sound. Even with the gain control full up, there's only a minimal amount of overdrive, with a sparkly treble, warm midrange that isn't peaky, and a full bass. The Star setting adds a gentle dose of overdrive for a rich Plexi-inspired tone that works nicely for blues rhythm or lead. Bull piles on a lot of extra distortion - run the gain control high and you'll get an excellent hot-rodded Marshall-type tone, with a tight bass and smooth treble response. Cactus is similar, but with a brighter edge and looser bass response that's ideal for Texas-style blues or rock, while Mudflap Girl delivers the highly saturated bass and treble-heavy fizz that's perfect for thrash and metal.