I'm a harp player, I've purchased this amp for practice as well as the smallest gigs our band does (places seating just 40 or less). I replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen P8R8 AlNiCo (for better breakup as well as a much, much nicer tone for harp) as well as both tubes (stock EL84 for quality EL84, stock 12AX7 for quality 12AY7 due to slight noise issues I had experienced when I cranked the amp, now it's history) shortly after purchase. I have played it for about 20+ hours now and can say that I am quite satisfied with the solid build quality, the separate gain and master knobs and the feedback resistance with medium and high mikes, even at higher volumes. A tone-enhancing pedal makes sense in adding a bit of the bass and the lower mids that are by default missing due to speaker size and of course the limited set of features. But, all in all, I consider the amp to be a very good choice for harpers on low budget with these mods, not only for home practicing but also for small gigs - forget the question "just 5 watts ?" - these are LOUD 5 Watts....

I purchased this amp after reading several reviews and visiting Peavey's website and viewing the on-site videos of this little monster, and playing one at a local store. This is the coolest little all tube amp on the market! I bought one because I was looking for a portable real tube amp to be used for jamming with my friends. I play stratocasters, and with 3 single coils, even using the high gain input, you don't get a whole lot of distortion. However, use a guitar equiped with a humbucker, and crank the gain knob, and you can get a decent amount of distortion ( not near enough to play metal ). The clean sounds is where this thing shines, ESPECIALLY with a strat. Even though this amp does not have reverb or chorus, you may do a double take because you can get very clear and rich clean sounds. This is also the first Peavey I have noticed to be made off-shore, this one being from China, but that explains the low cost I suppose. I am a DEVOUT Peavey amp user, owning several currently and have owned others, and this thing does have the Peavey quality that is well respected. The amp feels sturdy, and nothing about the amp really feels cheap, so I hope it will last like my other Peavey amps (some are 20 years old!). This would be a GREAT beginner tube amp as well, due to the simple design and control layout. The tubes appear to be replaceable easily enough. Time will tell if this becomes the next Holy Grail for small amp modifiers, but this amp has room for several small changes if one felt the need to tweak (speaker, tubes, transformers). I will be leaving mine stock, since I am very happy with it. Not the loudest amp by any means, but you can suffer hearing loss with it none the less!

Obviously a pretty simple amp. It took awhile to get it set up so my pedals (fuzz, fuzz, fuzz) to sound really good through it. I use the high gain input. I keep the volume above 1, tone in the middle, gain around 4. My fuzzes sound really huge now, sure it's no half stack but it gets the job done. I'd be confident in playing with a drummer. The speaker doesn't really sound the best, but it gets the point across. I'm not too picky though. I wouldn't use this amp without pedals, unless i was playing clean. when you overdrive the amp it's a bit "toy box" sounding. Fun, but nothing you'd record. Overall a decent amp, especially if you use pedals for your fuzz/distortion/overdrive. Alone it's rather bland. I still like it and it's a pleasure to play.

This is a class A amp. Which means it doesn't sound too good by itself, unless you just want mild distortion or clean tones for blues or country. So, don't expect a "stack" or heavy distortion sound if you buy it. Now, with that being said, you throw a decent "overdrive" pedal in front of it and this little baby can crank out some tones that rival amps costing five times as much. (Almost every famous player runs a pedal with their amp. Keep that in mind) For somebody wanting the wonderful "tube" sound, you can't get much better than this for the price. Peavey did their homework. Plus, the amp is built like an army tank (typical Peavey). It might be made in China, but it is well made in China.

I bought the Royal 8 as a practice amp. I am a Fender devotee but chose the Peavey because it had more controls and a headphone jack. It also sounded less boxy and toy-like than other little 5-watt amps. I figured if you perform with tube amps you should practice with them too since the feel is different from solid state, and I wanted to use my pedals and not onboard effects.

The good news: the Royal 8 is built sturdy, it has plenty of clean headroom, it has a larger speaker than other 5-watt amps and comes stock with JJ tubes. The amp has a good, full, warm clean sound and loves pedals, and it has the response and feel of a proper tube amp. The bad news: The Royal 8 has the worst, raspiest distortion in world-you must use a pedal for overdrive. The speaker is pure garbage; I replaced is straight away with a Jensen and the amp instantly spoke with more authority and richness of tone. I cannot stress how poor the speaker is (the Jensen has at least 3-4 times the weight). Even with the speaker change the amp is just kind of mediocre and uninspiring; very vanilla, no WOW-factor at all. It is just a basic tube amp and NOT a tone monster. The master volume control is kind of a gimmick because you can't get much volume unless you crank the gain. Therefore you have no more control than you would with just the single volume knob that similar amps have.

I don't regret buying the Royal 8 because it is still better than small toneless solid state amps or fake-sounding, cheaply made digital amps. Keep in mind that even playing clean you have to turn the amp up pretty loud to get a good tone so if you live in a dorm or apartment you might be better off with a digital amp (5 tube watts is as loud as a trumpet). The sound through the headphones is pretty flat but better than solid state. Keep in mind that I'm using single-coil vintage pickups. I have never used humbuckers with this amp. I have always thought the Valveking line was rather pointless (who would buy a valveking over the classic series?) but the Royal 8 is probably the best of the line even with its limitations. Like most Peavey stuff, this is a good but not great amp.