Peavey Classic 400

I bought this used 2 years ago so I don't know the manufacturing year. I heard the 400 was discontinued around '99. The features meet all my needs: one clean, one 'crunch' channel. They can also be combined and each has its own eq. The direct out line is pre/post eq. It has an effects loop (which I never use) and can be set for 4 or 8 ohms. I play mostly rock and acoustic music. My cabinet is an Ampeg SVT410HLF. At 400 tube watts, this is more than enough power.

This amp's sound will not be for everyone. This is a high-power, tube-based BEAST. It is capable of removing not only paint, but the entire wall itself. Most people looking for a quality tube sound in a loud rock/blues/funk setting will love this head. Jazz, pop and other bassists will likely look elsewhere.
Having said this, I've found another great use for it. I decided to play my acoustic guitar through it in church one day and quickly became addicted to the sweet, warm sound it gives. It actually made me sound good! It's like my Fender Acoustasonic Jr, but with enough headroom to fill a canyon. The only drawback is the weight. The head and cabinet are each about 100 pounds! I have considered selling it, but the killer tone is very hard to part with.

No reliability issues so far, and I rarely use a backup. As with any tube amp, maintenance & upkeep go with the territory, so know what you are buying. The 400 is built very sturdy. With regular servicing, it should last many years.

I bought it used with no warranty. I did email Peavey about info on the channel footswitch. They replied within a day with the model number and pricing.

I compared this head to Ampeg, Ashdown and Fender heads. It sounded head and shoulders above the rest. I have a Fender J-bass, Fender P-bass, a Gibson bass, and a Breedlove acoustic. Been playing since 1978. I love the tone this head gives all of them. I try to take good care of it. When I first looked at it, it had a small light stain on the top tweed fabric, probably from spilled drinks. I made sure everything was clean and functioning inside. I don't "baby" my gear, but I like it to look nice and don't set drinks on it. Aside from being as heavy as a small car, this is a great amp. It is not perfect, but the fantastic tone deserves a 10.

It has been said in the other reviews, but the blendable channels offer for some awesome tonal possibilites.

Greatness..love the distortion channel

This thing can sustain alot of damage from dropping and such. It's about $270 for a full retube if you want some good ones, but once you retube it should last you for a few years.. just make sure to have bias your tubes when installing them.

Very reliable people at peavey...they'll help you in anyway possible.

Well at 400 tube watts it's definately a force to be felt..

2000 all tube bass head. 400 watts, blendable clean/distortion channels. Plenty of power for any application I can imagine.

Great, grinding rock tone with the distortion channel enabled, smooth mellow bottom for more traditional sounds. Versatile EQ, with 4 postition mid shift knob. This is really a great rock amp, and gets the closest I've heard to the Billy Sheehan "grind tone". There is a bit of buzz, especially when the distortion is engaged, and when the treble is increased.

too new to say, but it is a Peavey. I did have a problem with loss of power a few days after i bought it, but my local Peavey shop diagnosed this as a bad driver tube. After replacing this, the amp works great.

Fantastic amp, I don't think I'll ever get rid of it. These amps are discontinued, so getting a replacement might be pretty tough. I love the tube sound, but there is a price to be paid: this amp is a heavy beast, weighing in at 97 pounds!! Lugging this to gigs is a workout, but it's worth it once you hear the tone.

400 watt all tube 6550 powered bass amp, though it is currently listed in guitar amp reviews. You will be hard pressed to find a more powerful tube head. More than usual features for a bass head. 2 channel, switchable effects loop, clean and crunch channels can be combined for a mix of clean and dirty, all controlled by 3 button footswitch still available from Peavey. Clean channel has selectable mids. Bass boost/cut Treble boost etc. switches. Resonance and presence controls.

Rock and roll! Great clean at low volumes, but if you crank it it will distort, and instead of clean/dirty channels you have vintage overdrive/modern overdrive. Good variety of sounds, just not too clean at super loud volumes. Tremendous bass response, if you can match it with the right cabs it would be the ultimate amp for 5 strings and lower tunings. The fuzz at high volumes cannot be helped, it's the type of amp it is. If you want clean get solid state. If you want the hugest fuzz beast on the planet this is the amp for you. no noticeable extraneous noise.

Never any problems other than replacing the crappy stock Peavey labelled Chinese tubes.

Haven't dealt with.

This amp isn't for everyone, but if you've wanted a vintage SVT but couldn't afford one, check this one out. If youve had an SVT but wanted MORE, check this out! Heard an SVT owner describe the Classic 400 as an SVT on steroids. It is almost the size of a new, small style 2 X 10 cabinet, and weighs close to 100 pounds. Get your guitarist out of the van and tell him he has to help you move it! I think good stuff SHOULD be heavy, it's a sign it's well built.

One other note-it is rated by Peavey at 400 watts. It's better if you think of it as 1000 watts when you consider what cabinet to run with it. My belief is that they stopped making this amp when they realized no Peavey cab of the day could take it, and rather than scrap all their cabs and start over they stopped making the amp. It pushes cabs very hard. It has left 800 watt, electro-voice equipped Mesa Boogie cabs crying for mercy. I run mine through a funky old Ampeg cabinet that I have changed the speakers in, this cab is 1200 watts and it is the only cab I have that can withstand the Classic 400's full power. If you use mere mortal cabs, be careful of you volume levels, especially the bass section of the EQ, this amp has tremendous bass response.

not sure what year i bought it new after they stopped production. as far as versatile im still testing that. i play in a rock band and with my peavey 8x10 tx it sounds great. i recently took a job playing for a church, using one of the the new peavey pro 2x10 and haven't got it dialed in just yet. the 400 has 2ch i combine them for the rock stuff, and use the clean at the church. i only use the effects loop for my korg tuner. as far as features my needs are covered. im mostly use the amp in clubs seating 500 or so people. it has plenty of power i set the clean ch. on 3.5 and the overdrive pre gain on 6 on the post gain on 5. this seems to balance the volume between the channels, and its plenty to drive the 8x10

i use it with an fender american p-bass deluxe. its not noisy at all. as far as sounds i haven't tested it too much i kinda knew what i was going for and dailed it in. with the new gig i got i will soon be testing other sounds.

i dont take a back up the classic 400 earned my trust. never broke down other than a tube going bad. but if you want all tube sound thats just the price you have to pay. i knew the rules when i bought it

this is a good one. we have alot of peavey gear. classic 400, t-max, 1x15 cab, 2x10 cab, 8x10 cab, (3) 5150 heads, a powered mixer, our pa mains. a couple of small backstage amps, and (2) sets of the radial-pro 1000 drum sets. the last time i dealt with peavey i was ready to load it all in the back of a truck and drive through thier front door. you might have better luck if you say your EDDIE VAN HALEN.

i have been playing 15 yrs. i own some fender gear, an american jackson, some yamaha. the 400 is out of productin but if yes i would buy another one. i like the sound , hate the weight. i compared it to almost everything. it just fit me

it sucks! no wonder why they stoped making them there not as loud as the classic not as good sounding sound it to tight close to gether not tube like an smoth is a better aucustic guitar head trust me! i know, get the svt classic , dont waiste money on the peavey 400

got it on ebay fast delivery

it weighs 97.3 pounds its heavy it is louder than the svt but it more tight bass im to sceptical cause im using it out of 2 12 kustom cheap guitar amp so i probably am just saying to much its great amphead i just need a bass amp, i got nothin to sell except a rmv drumset which i got a super deal on super! got it for 500 thats what i sell it for these are 18 percent harder than maple, im also selling a ampeg vl-1002 probably cause i want a mesa selling that for $500 yokodoe1@cox.net well goodluck i dont know what to recamend who am i kidden the classic 400 peavey head is excellent i just have a terrible amp , the best sounding head is mesa also there transformers are so small im sure they got no power the hughes kettner head looks the coolest i will recamend either the crate voodoo or triple x peavey or marshall or laney 100 head the heads with the blue capaceters mean there built good seeya jon :) peavy 400's the best i guess :)

This amp head is heavy as hell. 2 people to lift it on to the 8x10 cab. Clean Ch. has bass, 4-pt. mid eq, treble, hi & low boost & volume. Crunch channel has pre & post, H M L, H&L boost low cut, nice dist. from pre-amp tubes(ax7's?) Power 8 big tubes (400 w). You can combine the two channels or use seperately, so 3 sounds. FX loop. I blew the fuse at a concert. I also blew the tweeter of the 8-10 cab. There's a limiter on there so use it. I was using it but still had these problems. Unfortunate, but it did sound really good. It's fragile on the road. I had to re-tube it after a few months.

It's a good hard-rock amp, not too noisy. I put the 8-10 cab up agains Doug Pinnick's Ampeg 8-10 with my head, and Doug's cab sounded much fuller. It's also heavier than the PV cab, and more sturdy. My cab wheels are about shot and it has't really gotten that much road on it, really. Amp is not as loud as you would think for the size and weight. I used a Sadowsky 5-string and it handled the low B well.

I guess I already gave my opinion. Fragile, but so is an SVT head (but SVT's ARE a bit more thick skinned) which this was clearly modeled after.

The people over at Peavey are very nice and helpful. If you need a part just call and they'll send it.

I have a Peavey DataBass combo, 400 watt 15 w/ 7 band eq, bass, treble, all solid state. A lot of people slag this amp off, but it is one of the loudest, growliest little amps ever. Kick ass. I blew the speaker and got a replacement from Peavey. When I did, I realised that it had a full spectrum Black Widow 15 in it(like in a P.A.cab or something) so that's what I replaced it with. It now sounds almost as good as it once did.
The Classic 400 is great for the room, bad for moving around, unless you have a road case for it, in which case I reccommend that you also bring a lifter. I'm actually selling mine (black and black-not tweed) anyone know what they're worth these days?

this amp is from 1998 or so. i think they have stoped production in the tweed, but still make it in black. mine is tweed and I also purchased the matching 8x10 cab (the price above reflects that) I originaly purchased this as a bass amp (it's intended purpose) but recently have been running guitars through it and it sounds so so sweet. But how could 400 watts of all tube power sound bad? It has two channels (the footswich is a must have) one clean and one dirty. It has an effects loop. direct out and all the bells and whistles you would expect on a top line bass amp.

I use a 1974 Fender Precision. the band plays pop rock to "alterna-pop" and it does just fine. My only complaint is that when playing big rooms where I have to crank the volume up it tends to distort (even with 400 watts). Most of the time however this is not a problem. I simply use the direct out to run a signal to the board. and when playing guitar it never distorts out even at very high volumes. when playing guitar I use a Fender Tele Special (one humbucker and one single coil). the in its natural distortion sounds wonderful on guitar.

it's a Peavy. what more needs to be said. the amp is very heavy however (about 100 pounds). I feel perfectly comfortable playing without a backup. the amp has never broken down on me and since its a peavy it probably never will.

I have never dealt with peavy customer support.

I have been playing bass for around seven years I sold a marshall bass rig of some sort to purchase this. this blows it away! if it were stolen or lost I would attempt to purchase one again. I love the fact that it sounds great with either the bass or with guitar it's like a modern-day (and much larger Bassman)