I recently bought a Peavey ValveKing (tube) amp and even more recently I bought a WGS ET65 for it. I was initially going to get (another) Retro 30 but after listening to some demos, I liked the sound of the ET65 with its solid bass and sparkle. I recorded some simple (clean) stuff with the original speaker and today I did the same stuff with the ET65. I think that this provides a pretty accurate demo of the before and after. I also added a couple of short clips of songs played through the lead channel.
So far, I like the sound of the ET65. It adds some new life to the ValveKing and makes it sound pretty good. With the scooped mid-range of the ET65, I still have to determine if I need to add some boost to the mids to cut through the mix.
Overall, I'm happy with the amp and the speaker upgrade.
The comparison video: https://youtu.be/M-Krds7fUgE
Played my first gig last night with the ValveKing and the ET65 speaker. To put it in context we play 60's rock songs and I play guitar part-time with a mix of lead and rhythm (keyboard the rest of the time). The Club is pretty compact, a bit like a bowling alley with a couple of lanes. I only used the clean channel and clean tones. I have a Boss ME-50 multi-effects pedal that I put through the high gain input. I had the bright button on. I had the bass and highs about 12 o'clock and I turned the mid up to about 3 o'clock. The volume was a bit under half.
Bottom line is that I was very pleased with the tone (and volume) from the amp. The ET65 gives it the warm tone and scoops the mids to some degree but it was still able to cut through. For leads, I could make it loud without being harsh. I used the sustain on the ME-50 and in combination with the amp's natural sustain, it really worked. I previously used a Peavey Bandit (solid-state) amp which was upgraded with a Retro-30. I find that the ValveKing (with the ET65) has the tone and sustain that I wanted from the Bandit but I couldn't get. In hindsight, maybe the ET65 would have been a better choice for the Bandit. I guess it depends on the type of music that you play and the kind of tone that you want.
This is the correct link:
Comparison
Yea ... the ET65 is ALWAYS a good choice in a 1x12 combo ... and yes, you would have DEFINITELY likeed it in the Bandit better than the (bright) Ret 30.
Yesterday, I changed the stock speaker in my Marshall DSL40 out to my new ET65!
Major difference! Major joy! Gave it a good bone-crushing in the basement this morning. No more upper mids fatigue, which was the bane of this amplifier. Got an easy lead-playing hour in, instead of shutting it off and putting the amp aside. Went upstairs and did the dance of victory for the wife.
I'll bring it to the next rehearsal for a real go-through. Cleans up beautifully on the classic channel, exploding with power with my Sugar Drive pedal. The Ultra channel rocked with the wah!
I love this forum.