Peavey Josh Homme Decade Too

In its 60th-anniversary year, Peavey updates a little amp gone by, aka Josh Homme's "secret weapon"

- PETE EMERY

THE PEAVEY DECADE Too largely shuns 45 years of progression and stays faithful to the original 10-watt 1x8 practice amp, albeit with a few additions. The instigator behind this is Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme, who has ID'd the Peavey Decade as the "secret weapon" behind his more wiry recorded tones, leading to some internet hysteria and skyrocketing prices for that discontinued amp. But is there a place for it alongside some much more capable, feature-rich and affordable practice amps that've emerged since?

We'll have to keep that context in mind when it comes to the sounds; however, the build is solid. Its open-backed, wooden construction feels sturdy, and with metal braces at the corners for reinforcement, this thing will surely be long-lived. It's still a very portable piece of gear, with an 8" speaker you can chuck in the back of any car. A tiltable extension cab ($199.99) is available separately should you need more.

The volume is controlled via a pre- and post-gain, and there's a 3-band EQ to tweak the tone. New for the Decade Too are switches to boost the bass and top end, plus a Saturation (overdrive) switch. While that's a fair amount on the front panel, it's all well laid out and mostly self-explanatory.