EXTENSION CHORDS

EXTENSION CHORDS

The Rebel And The Switchblade

Allen Hester

Look out, citizens, the Rebel, the Outlaw and the Bandit are on their way! Not to mention the Switchblade, the Cleaver and...oh my God!... the Razorblade! What’s coming down the road here? Progressive country legions headed for a confrontation with the new wave zealots? No, nothing as drastic as all that, but something that all musicians will be glad to hear about... new products from Peavey.

The Rebel, the Outlaw and the Bandit are all, as one might expect, renegades; that is, they are part of Peavey’s new Renegade Series of small solid-state amplifiers. And the Switchblade, the Cleaver and the Razorblade, well,'they are not the latest punk rock bands, but new guitar pickups, each one a part of Peavey’s improvments in 1980.

The Rebel is the largest and most powerful amp in the compact Renegade Series. This 140-watt RMS dual-channel amp features the classic twin-12” speakers configuration that has proven so popular over the years, but the electronic circuitry of the Rebel is a unique Peavey design. The Rebel incorporates two completely different kinds of equalization. One channel features active EQ with parametric midrange controls, while the other channel utilizes the conventional passive EQ. Both channels have the tremendous gain boosts and overdrive capabilities that today’s musicians need. Pull switches have been included to provide additional flexibility by changing of response and gain to provide even more tonal possibilities.

A new feature called “Saturation” has been designed into the Rebel circuitry to produce a smooth, natural tube-like distortion even at low volume levels. As the amplifier is turned up and the interplay between the preamp and the power amp/speaker combination comes into play, the Saturation feature gradually fades out and the amplifier’s normal overload dynamics take over, producing a wide range of distortion on both ends of the loudness spectrum. Each channel has an independent preand post-gain, and the unit has a Master Reverb control for both channels.

The Outlaw is the single-12” speaker model, but it also has two channels. One channePoffers active tone circuitry featuring active low, high and parametric controls. These active controls provide unmatched tonal versatility and can match almost any instrument’s frequency response curve.

The other channel is unique in that it features no EQ at all! The EQ is fixed internally to reproduce the exact tonal textures so much in demand by rock guitar players. Both channels have a tremendous amount of gain, but they are balanced so as to prevent uncontrollable feedback. The Outlaw features Peavey’s “automix” circuitry, which allows the player to blend the two channels together. Just as the Rebel does, the Outlaw has the new.Saturation feature. The Outlaw delivers a full 100 watts RMS into one 12 inch Scorpion speaker. The Scorpion speaker is itself a new product from Peavey, a company that builds all its own components instead of relying, on other manufacturers to provide components.

The Bandit, as you might already suspect, is smaller again than the Outlaw. This little renegade packs a 50-watt RMS punch, has two channels, and one 12’-inch speaker. The Outlaw features the Saturation and Automix circuits, which allow low-volume distortion and channel switching. The Saturation feature is also footswitch-selectable on the Bandit. Active equalization on the second channel gives the player complete control over the tonal quality of the amp through the use of the low, paramid and high frequency adjustments, as well as the frequency center shift control. In addition, a full range reverb has been included utilizing a current source drive circuit for optimized damping and maximum performance from the reverb delay line. The amp has ideal damping and bandpass characteristics, and a newly designed speaker whose characteristics have been carefully matched to complement the frequency response, power output and damping factor of the Bandit’s power amp.

The Switchblade, the Cleaver And the Razorblade are all three variations on the “standard” Peavey Humbucking theme. The basic model, which represents a good balance between high output and good high-end response, is the Switchblade. Although this is the new “standard” model from Peavey, the Switchblade has considerably more output and better frequency response than the old Peavey pickup. The Cleaver is a super high-output pickup designed for those players Who have the problem of cutting through a loud rhythm section in order to be Heard. Naturally, any high-output pickup sacrifices some high-end response, but for the placer who prefers the super high-end, Peavey has the Razorblade pickup, which is more of a cutting edge than the other two models. The best thing is that you can now order the Peavey guitar with any of these pickups as stock features at no additional cost.

Which brings me to mention some of the other improvements that Peavey has made in their T-60 guitar and T-40 bass. Both the guitars and basses are now available with either maple or rosewood finger-boards. Also, Peavey now offers a variety of finishes other than the natural ash finish: blood red, magestic iyory, and ebony black bodies are now available. Perhaps the most important improvement Peavey has made is the contouring of the guitar and bass bodies. Whereas the bodies were a little too heavy and chunky before, now they have a smooth front and back contour that not only reduces the weight but makes the guitar balance easier on the player’s body. So the Peavey guitar and bass continue to improve, as do all of Peavey’s products.

Another area that has seen some new developments at Peavey is professional sound reinforcement. Peavey has just developed a super-efficient three-way speaker system that combines a deep bass cabinet (the FH-2), a midbass horn (MB-1) and a high frequency horn (CH-4C). Notice that the MB-1 is described as a midboss horn, not a midrange horn. This is because the system is designed to handle the energy distribution of contemporary music, which usually puts a strain on the crossover region between a woofer and a high frequency horn. This, is roughly in an area between 10Hz and 1kHz, depending on the program material. In a conventional two-way crossover system, there is no way to pinpoint a suitable crossover frequency that will cause no distortion on either the high frequency horn of the woofer. Peavey has designed a midbass horn to handle this high energy area, thus moving the crossover points.to areas in the frequency spectrum where the energy is less (usually); the results are decreased distortion, improved headroom and increased power handling capability.

And as if that ain’t enough, Peavey has also released a new Electronic Crossover Mainframe which allows their plug-in crossbver modules to be used with other brands of amplifier^. You see, Peavey power amps can be biamped Simply by plugging in the proper crossover module, which is also made by Peavey. But other amps have no such plug-in capability, so this new mainframe, the ECM, makes the use of Peavey’s modular crossover network available to users of all types of power amps. And the ECM is virtually roadieproof, because the crossover points cannot be •changed except by plugging in another crossover module, nor can the unit be accidently turned off in mid-concert, because it does not have a main switch. Well, that’s one way to prevent trouble... make something so simple that nobody can tamper with it!

To me, the Peavey operation is a beacon in the night for the ailing American economy. Here is one company that just keeps getting better every year, without drastic price increases or loss of quality, at a time when other manufacturers have stripped their products of all structural integrity just to stay in business. I applaud, you, Peavey, for courage in the face of adversity!