[Harp-L] Peavey Transformer 112

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A few weeks ago I decided that I'd sell my Peavey Transformer 112 amp.  I bought it off eBay in mint condition a few years ago after I heard Peter Ruth's harmonica and yukele project CD, where the Transformer is all over the place.  It's a very modern amp with built-in amp modeling and effects, about 50 watts of power, and a 12" speaker.  I wasn't all that knocked out at the time by what I was able to get out of it, so I hadn't touched it in years, and I figured somebody else could use it.

So I listed it on eBay, and nobody made a bid.  I listed it again, and today, with a few days left to go on the auction, I decided to check it out again.  

Wow.

It's really a remarkable amp for harp.  It doesn't sound like anything else, which is something I really like in any instrument.  It has a big, modern tone--kind of like a heavy metal guitar sound translated to harp, rather than a Chicago blues tone, though it can do more-traditional sounds well enough.  The effects are very cool--the phase shifter is big, dark, and auto-wah-ish, the chorus is thick, and the rotating speaker effect really sounds like a rotating speaker.  The delay has a nice, floaty character too.  

So I spent an hour pulling some big, metal sounds out of the thing, and then I went to eBay and canceled the auction.   I'm keeping it.

Like I said before: never sell an instrument that makes a sound that inspires you.  And you know all that stuff I said before about never bringing a real amp onstage again?  Yeah, well forget that.  I'll keep using the Digitech for most gigs--it sounds great and it's easy to haul around, so why do more work than necessary?  But for some rock gigs, the Transformer might be the only amp I bring onstage, and for others, I'd bring both the Peavey and the Digitech with an A-B pedal to switch between them.  

Isn't gear fun?

Regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp