Invective.120 - 120-watt Tube Head Review

Hands Down The Best Amp Out There At This Price Point

I purchased my Invectivhave e 120 head and Invective .212 cab from Dave here at Sweetwater earlier this year (2021). I have played this amp every single day since I got it, and it still never ceases to amaze me. There are a ton of killer amps out there right now, but not a single one that I would rather own than my Invective. It is pound for pound the best and also the most versatile… read more amplifier available at it's price-point, but in truth there are plenty of amps out there that are going for $2000 and above that couldn't hold a candle to the Invective even in the hands of the best guitarist on their best day. It's impossible to get a bad tone out of this amp, especially if you have it paired up with either the .212 or .412 matching cab. If you can't get this thing to sound great, I can assure you it's user error and you need to step up the game on your chops, not go looking for a different amp, because you won't find one to top the Invective. I own several other amps and cabs (a 6505+ included), and have owned many many others over the years, because I am constantly chasing that tone in my head so I am always buying, selling and trading. With the Invective 120 I finally found exactly what I was searching for and I'm still finding more great tones all the time. Certainly this amp does the High Gain thing, and does it all too well with plenty to spare. And I love that about this amp, and it was my initial reason for buying one, but since I have had it for quite some time now, the part I truly enjoy the most is the hidden jewel that is Channel One. To say it is "like a block letter 5150 with a good clean channel" just does not do it any justice, and certainly not that which it deserves. "Good" is an understatement. Channel One on the Invective would be worth its price to me alone, and when I say that I would put it up against the best Fender cleans any day of the week I am not exaggerating in the least. I have a Supersonic 60 that has both the Bassman and Vibrolux circuits on its clean channel, and while they are beautiful and were my "go to" for cleans, that is all a thing of the past. The Invective literally packs THE BEST of BOTH worlds, finally within one truly remarkable amplifier. If I ever get to a point where I feel the need to go some new direction, I'll just keep my Invective and go there with pedals, because with it's clean, crunch, and lead channels, along with not one great sounding effects loop, but TWO, it makes a perfect pedal platform as well. You just cannot find an angle from which the Invective can be beaten, at least not in my humble opinion. This is a killer flagship amp for Peavey and its going to keep guitarists out there, including me, happy for years to come! So glad I own one of my own. If you are looking for your next amp, and want to step into the world of modern gear for something that's anything but a one trick pony, try the Invective on for size and you won't be let down. And if you do, go on and get an Invective .212 or .412 cab too. This amp sounds killer through any quality cab, but I took the game to a whole nother level when I plugged it into my Invective .212 cab, and I haven't looked back since!

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Simply the best

I am sure you have read up on this amp. Im sure you have read the specs and the reviews and watched videos. For me this amp is the absolute best over all amp I have ever owned. It will do everything. Clean, blues, jazz, rock, metal and beyond. It has all the features you could want and it lives up to the hype. Buy this amp. It will get you where you want to go.

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Metal "Swiss-Army" Amp

This amp has it all! I bought mine as a demo model but it came looking and sounding brand new. I plugged straight into the amp, no pedals, no effects, and this amp sounds killer as is. I usually run a TS9 and a ISP Noise Decimator but the amps built in BOOST and Noise Gate are just as good and there's no need for me to use those pedals to get a good gain sound. I'm very happy and… read more would recommend this amp to anyone that's wanting that modern metal tone and especially if your a gigging. The ONE gripe I have about this amp is the volume, you have to really crank the boost and post gain to get a good volume, however, if your playing in clubs and theaters, you'll most likely be mic'ed up anyway so there's no issue there.

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My experience with the Peavey Invective

I've owned this amp for about 2 years. Played it in live, practice and home settings. It excels in all situations. It has a very unique voicing. Maybe too modern for some. Even the clean channel has a lot of character. In fact that's how I'd describe this amp...lots of character. Cleans can be round and fat or chimey. The bass knob is very potent here. Cleans stay clean. Even with… read more high output pickups. If break up is what you want here engage the clean boost. Which is lovely. The taper here can go from barely noticible breakup to old school hard rock. Very very cool. Lots of options. You can even use it as a treble booster. Moving on to to the crunch channel. Unboosted this channel is super fat. Bordering on ridiculously huge low end. This can be used to your advantage however as it's a nice contrast to the the boosted crunch. Once boosted its plenty aggressive and tight. But retains a smoothness that I really love. A little different than previous offerings from Peavey. The midrange frequencies are very nice here. Engaging the gate really brings out insane clarity in bigger chords. Roll the noise gate all the way back and you barely notice it's on. Higher settings...djent city. I prefer less aggressive gating. Very nice! The lead channel is yet again another nice contrast. Very upper mid range focused. It's capable of getting EXTREMELY brutal. Leads are very responsive here. Lots of cut and attack. Now the master boost and post gain is tricky and maybe why some people don't understand this amp. Higher post gain settings will yield a more muscular tone while lower setting introduce more and more fizz. Even the master boost has some bearing on this. Personally I love that amount of control. The taper of ever knob is wildly usable. I would recommend the Invective cabinet. It really does bring out all the character I mentioned before. That's the thing...this is not a repeat of a 5150. The Invective is it's own beast. And an incredible one at that.

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Duuuuuuuuhjent

It djents I approve!

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