Peavey Classic 50

[Closed Eye]

I know I ask you guys about amps all the time, so I'll cut right to the chase...what are your opinions on the Peavey Classic 50?

Thanks for the help in the other threads...

 

[xerxes]

imo, best amp for the $$. i can get terrific clean sounds, blues overdrive, crushy classic rock, distortion driven modern sounds, and with a pedal tremendous metal tones.

 

[Young Angus]

Ive heard its the best amp of its type for the dollar, and thats not saying that it doesnt sound great either. Apparently its a good price and it sounds great!

 

[Mike M.]

I have the Classic 30 which is pretty close. I did two "mods" and this amp just screams now. The amp came equipt with Electro Harmonix pre amp tubes and Sovtek power tubes. Last week I installed all JJ tubes in my amp and the differance is amazing! So much better. The other "mod" I did was to replace the stock Blue Marvel speaker with an Eminance Legend V 12. I have this in a seperate cabinet. Gave me a LOT more clean headroom and helped to round out the amps OD channel. I also run a Boss GE-7 EQ in the effects loop to tailor things a bit. IMHO with JJ tubes and a differant speaker(s) these are great amps.

 

[rspst14]

I'll agree with everything that's been said above. You can pick up a used one on Ebay for under $400. There's nothing fancy about them, they just sound great. With the money you save, you can get some JJ tubes and upgrade the speakers. If you're handy with electronics, there are some mods that can be done to it to really take it to the next level. I can't recommend these amps enough. They can do everything from beautiful clean to hard rock distortion. I wouldn't really recommend it for extremely heavy metal, but it'll do Judas priest and Iron Maiden no problem. And of course, Peavey's customer service is the absolute best in the industry. They once sent me $30 worth of parts for my Wolfgang free of charge, even though the guitar was no longer under warranty.

Ryan

 

[Wattage]

I had the Classic 50 head and it sounded great until I used it with a band then it wouldn't cut for me. I wish I had been more knowledgable about the difference tubes made a the time I probably would have kept it. The Tweed covered ones are beautiful and they're really well made as is most Peavey stuff.

 

[Closed Eye]

Woah! Talk about rave reviews!

It's between the Fender Deville 410 or the Peavey Classic 50 Head (tolex, of course) now...although they both seem very similar. Are there any real differences?
I played the Deville and didn't really like the distortion, so I may have to try a Peavey at the *NEW* SamAsh they're opening here in town.

 

[take2]

I think you will find the Peavey a little more versatile - and a clear winner in the distortion category. Fenders are great for clean and blues crunch but after that they struggle IMHO.

 

[Gearjoneser]

During my wheeling and dealings of amps, I picked up a
Classic 50 4-12 loaded with Tesla JJ EL-84's for get this....$260!

It turned into a favorite real quick. The OD channel on the Peavey absolutely blows away that of the Fender Deville or
Hotrod Deville. On every shade of distortion, it blows it away.

The clean channel is really amazing on it, which is it's strongest point yet. The clean channel on the EL84 4-10 is on par with most boutiques I've heard. It's that good.

Keep in mind, the Peavey Classics came in both a 2 6L6 or 4 EL-84 version, so they have 2 different styles.

All of this is the reason why all the past posts have stated it's the best amp for the money. It sounds like $900 worth of amp.

 

[Jeffrec]

Overall the Crate Vintage Club amps are better IMO. I A/B'd them a lot when I bought mine. Also, I've heard that the Peaveys don't hold up, tone-wise, as well. Check out the new Crate V-series. They use EL34s

 

[Gr8Scott]

I own one of the tweed 2x12 versions. It's a good amp that I would recommend to others. The bass on the distortion channel drops considerably when compared to the clean channel and this is my only major complaint about this amp. The distortion still sounds pretty darned good for classic rock/blues tones. This amp will not get heavy metal sounds without using a distortion pedal of some sort. Just a little dirt from a pedal will drive it into a heavy metal type distortion if that's what you want. The clean channel is beautiful and versatile. It's a good amp that is reliable and sounds good to boot.

 

[chcjunior]

I have access to one at one of the rehearsal spaces I go to. There's also one at the studio I recorded at. I'm blown away by the versatility and tone that amp provides for the dollar. I'm considering picking one up as a second amp.

 

[xerxes]

ooo yeah, you can mod the piss out of them. ive seen them modded to jcm 800 2204 specs, and to blackface specs. and they basically sounded like those amps!

 

[Lewguitar]

I agree with what everyone is saying: very underappreciated amps. Sort of like a 59 Bassman with Vox AC30 output tubes...four EL-84s. Plus, you get spring reverb...the 59 Bassman didn't have reverb. Not much to dislike...except the "tweed" that is actually plastic with a printed tweed pattern.
Looks a little cheezy, especially when the "tweed" starts to wear off. Lew

 

[xerxes]

the reverb on mine is still the best i have ever played. it can go from a nice smooth reverb to pink floyd esk to you can barely tell the notes.

 

[Closed Eye]

Wow! I'm even more sold than I was before!

It's great because I'm not looking for anything excessively distorted, but more something along the lines of a White Stripes or Television mixed with a little bit of low done dirty blues and Pixies thrown in for good measure....or that's where my style is heading anyway...but yeah, I'd use a fuzz for the excessive feedback laden gain stage most likely....

Would a Classic 50 head w/ a 4x12 cab be a good investment or should I just stick with the Classic 50 410 and a 2x12 (4x12?) cab? Is there really a difference? or is it just cosmetic?

This would also be my first tube amp (when and if) I pick it up, is there any additional information I should know?

 

[Mike M.]

As a few of us have mentioned, a good set of JJ's will make all the differance with these amps. Really, I was amazed at how much better my Classic 30 sounded after I changed all the tubes to JJ's. Highly recommended. If you get one of the Classic amps, call Bob at Eurotubes (great guy), tell him what you're after and he'll set you up. Good luck.

 

[Wattage]

If you like the tweed look around for the early ones they were covered in real tweed. You know Tweety was pretty small so they probably ran out quick that's likely why they changed to the plastic version.:18:

 

[Biu]

Joe Satriani seems to like them, so they must be pretty good. I really wanna go try one out now!

 

[RACER X]

Id love to have one when I travel, great amp for the $$.