NAD - Peavey Classic 50 2x12

[esandes]

It sounds amazing. It can do it all...pristine cleans and face melting saturated distortion.

The speakers are really nice for a Celestion man. They were made by Eminance. Massive headroom like a closed back 4x12. Chimey too.

It has an fx loop and footswitch for channel and reverb but the footswitch doesn't work. The lights on the footswitch don't even turn on.

I had a Classic 30 in the 90s and it was great but I traded it along with cash for a Marshall 35th anniversary 2204 JCM 800-which I also sold.

Anyway, this amp definately filled a void I was missing. Do you know if the footswitch problem is common and how much it should cost to fix.

 

[Mincer]

Usually, those footswitches are pretty simple electronically. I bet you can figure out how to fix it yourself.

 

[Securb]

Those amps have a surprising amount of gain

 

[JamesPaul]

@esandes My 212 was an older model and the footswitch was the non-LED type. Did you get it new or used with the LED footswitch? It was always in the manuals, although not as prominent as I thought it should be, the Channel selector on the amp needs to be in the Lead position for the footswitch to properly switch channels. Hope it is something simple to resolve.

 

[esandes]

@esandes My 212 was an older model and the footswitch was the non-LED type. Did you get it new or used with the LED footswitch? It was always in the manuals, although not as prominent as I thought it should be, the Channel selector on the amp needs to be in the Lead position for the footswitch to properly switch channels. Hope it is something simple to resolve.

I have the LED footswitch. I got the amp and footswitch, together, used and in mint shape. I'm the second owner. The amp wasn't even gigged before. I tried the footswitch with the amp on lead and no luck. The gent I bought the amp from was surprised the switch didn't work.

Thanks

 

[JamesPaul]

Peavey made 2 changes the Classics.

The first was from the standard tweed cabinet with logo on the grill cloth look, to the look of yours where the Peavey logo is in that tweed front section at the top. That was purely cosmetic changes.

The second kept the new look, but they did make some circuitry changes. I am only certain about the C30 as the C30 II I now have added a Standby switch and also made the Boost footswitchable.

The Peavey product pages still show the non-LED for all Classics except the new C20 MH.

Multi-Purpose 2-Button Footswitch

You might follow up with the seller and ensure it was the correct footswitch paired for the sale.

Again, hoping for a simple fix.

 

[esandes]

That's very promising. This is what I have..

 

[Explorer84]

Those Classic 50's are great amps! Here's a video of the potential that this amp has when modded.

Enjoy your new amp!

 

[JamesPaul]

That's very promising. This is what I have..

I will have to hunt up my C50 schematic to know for sure and it will likely be for the original generation.

What I was thinking is the non-LED footswitch simply provides a ground to activate/complete the switching circuit. Depending on where the footswitch is in that circuit, there may not be enough voltage to forward bias the LED and activate/complete the circuit. Or even when switched in the LED is reverse biased and still does not activate/complete the circuit.

 

[JamesPaul]

Those Classic 50's are great amps! Here's a video of the potential that this amp has when modded.

Enjoy your new amp!

I cannot find the videos online anymore, and they are likely 15-20 years old. There was a guitarist, Pascal V, who used an unmodified Classic 50 chassis and nailed all of the Satch tones. Even some bordering on Joe's liquid gain tones. Pascal did use either a JSX cabinet or had replaced the stock Blue Marvels in his C50 with JSX speakers.

Not as impressive as Pascal V, but in the 90's, I used an unmodified C50 410 with a 115E cabinet for all my Hard Rock and 80's Metal needs. I just used them with a Custom or Distortion loaded Les Paul when I wanted more gain.

 

[ehdwuld]

Wait
Blue Marvels are made by Eminence?

are you sure?

 

[JamesPaul]

Blue Marvel is only Peavey's "model" name for some speakers. Black Widow, Scorpion, Sheffield, Blue Marvel, etc. Over the years there have been several different manufacturers. I am confident from my time on the Peavey forum that Eminence manufactured some of them, however they may have only been specific size, or specific years, or etc.

 

[Hamster]

It sounds amazing. It can do it all...pristine cleans and face melting saturated distortion.

The speakers are really nice for a Celestion man. They were made by Eminance. Massive headroom like a closed back 4x12. Chimey too.

It has an fx loop and footswitch for channel and reverb but the footswitch doesn't work. The lights on the footswitch don't even turn on.

I had a Classic 30 in the 90s and it was great but I traded it along with cash for a Marshall 35th anniversary 2204 JCM 800-which I also sold.

Anyway, this amp definately filled a void I was missing. Do you know if the footswitch problem is common and how much it should cost to fix.

This is a beauty.

 

[ehdwuld]

Blue Marvel is only Peavey's "model" name for some speakers. Black Widow, Scorpion, Sheffield, Blue Marvel, etc. Over the years there have been several different manufacturers. I am confident from my time on the Peavey forum that Eminence manufactured some of them, however they may have only been specific size, or specific years, or etc.

So sometimes, maybe but not always
Or you don't know

Gotcha

 

[JamesPaul]

So sometimes, maybe but not always
Or you don't know

Gotcha

You got it.

 

[80's_Metal]

That's a cool old PV! May it serve you well.

 

[ehdwuld]

You got it.

I did see the article that said sometime but not always Eminence

I think they would be stamped as Eminence. According to the article

Most of the ones I have seen were Asian made and un labeled

I am sure the amp sounds great. My buddy has a C30
He swapped the Marvel out for a CREX

It sounds iconic

I remember seeing a 3x10 Classic 50 or was it a classic 40 , idk
But the cabinet was so jacked up it sat ricked to one side and was held together by the tolex

Sounded awesome

 

[JamesPaul]

Could have been a Wiggy cabinet:




Peavey actually did reuse this look for one of the Classic 212E's.



Or maybe they still had the wood from some unbuilt Wiggy's?

Maybe someone modified one of these into a Classic 312E? Would be interesting deciding what impedance one would target.

 

[Mincer]

I always dug both of those color schemes. And amp companies were generally pretty boring with their cabinet designs.

 

[zionstrat]

You found the magic..

My 50 4 * 10 is my primary tube stage app. Unbelievably versatile... from totally clean to hard Rock. Great effects loop incredibly sturdy, just an overall great amp.

Wish I could help you with the foot switch, but let us know how things go and when and where you're using it!