Peavey VMP-2 Review: The Tube Preamp Nobody Wanted to Admit Was Good

Peavey. God.

It’s one of those brands people love to hate. And the company certainly didn’t do itself any favors when it moved away from much of its American manufacturing.

But Peavey occasionally made products that were considerably better than its reputation would suggest. The VMP-2 tube microphone preamplifier is one of them.

Before we get to that, I have a Hartley Peavey story.

Meeting Hartley Peavey

Around 1993, I was attending a trade show. Not a music industry trade show, mind you, but an electronics show.

I was there representing an electronics company, and Hartley Peavey, apparently, was there looking at networking products.

I noticed this distinguished-looking gentleman who looked as though he might have belonged in the Doobie Brothers. He was wearing a gold Rolex Submariner, and when I glanced at his name badge, I did a double take.

Holy shit. Hartley Peavey.

So I introduced myself and told him what an honor it was to meet him. We talked for a little while, and I eventually brought up something that had always bothered me.

At the time, Peavey was making some guitar amplifiers that looked rather like Fender Twins. And I said, essentially, “You know, I’ve never understood why you guys haven’t redesigned the logo.”

He looked at me and said, “Well, if we redid the logo, nobody would know it was a Peavey product.”

Which, when you think about it, is a pretty funny answer. And probably a perfectly reasonable one from the guy whose name was on everything.

A surprisingly good tube preamp

The VMP-2 was a genuinely good tube microphone preamplifier that suffered from two significant marketing disadvantages.

First, it had that Peavey logo on the front.

Second, it was made by Peavey.

And for a certain segment of the professional recording industry, that was apparently enough to disqualify it.

Which was a shame, because the VMP-2 was actually quite a respectable piece of equipment. It was built like a tank, which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with older Peavey products. And it arrived at a time when affordable tube recording equipment wasn’t exactly plentiful.

You could buy vintage tube gear, assuming you could find it, afford it, and keep it working. Or you could buy some very expensive modern equipment. The VMP-2 offered another option.

Tone controls on a microphone preamp?

One of the stranger features of the VMP-2 is that it has tone controls right on the front panel. That’s not something you encounter on most microphone preamps.

And while I’m generally inclined to prefer a preamplifier that simply amplifies the microphone signal without trying to be too clever, there’s something rather appealing about having a little tonal adjustment available without reaching for another piece of equipment.

It also made the VMP-2 feel a bit different from the typical studio preamp. Not necessarily better or worse. Just different.

Replacing the tubes

My VMP-2 originally came with Chinese-made tubes, which were what Peavey was using at the time. I’ve since replaced them with new-old-stock tubes, and in my experience, the improvement was substantial. The preamp sounded considerably better afterward.

Of course, that doesn’t mean every VMP-2 will benefit equally from a tube replacement. Tube condition, noise, and the particular replacements you choose can all influence the result. But in my case, it was absolutely worthwhile.

I’ve also seen accounts of people hot-rodding these units by changing capacitors and making other circuit modifications. I haven’t gone that far.

I don’t know exactly what earlier design, if any, the VMP-2 was based on, and I’m not going to pretend that I do. What I can tell you is that mine sounds fairly good, and it’s capable of producing a character that makes it worth keeping around.

Even Frank Zappa couldn’t make one expensive

One of the more amusing things about the VMP-2 is its resale value. These things generally don’t command particularly impressive prices.

And I discovered just how little collector enthusiasm there was for them when I came across a VMP-2 that had belonged to Frank Zappa. As I recall, it sold through Julien’s Auctions for $780, below its original estimate.

Think about that. It belonged to Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa, for God’s sake. And it still only brought $780.

Of course, for someone who actually wants to use the equipment rather than display it, that lack of collector enthusiasm can be a very good thing.

Final thoughts

The VMP-2 is currently the only tube microphone preamp I own. I don’t use it constantly, but every once in a while I’ll pull it out, and it does something interesting.

It’s not glamorous, and nobody is going to be particularly impressed by the Peavey logo on the front. But it’s a good-sounding, well-built preamp that can still be found for relatively little money.

If you come across one, especially at a bargain price, it’s worth considering. Replace the tubes if they need it, give it a listen, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

You could certainly spend a lot more money on something that doesn’t sound appreciably better.

The verdict: An overlooked tube preamp that’s considerably better than its reputation, and one of the more interesting bargains in vintage recording equipment.