Diaz CD30 Club Classic

Actually, I'm not sure when it was made? I bought it from a place in Hollywood, CA. in 2004. It was Elliot Easton's before. The CD-30 has a mid-boost foot switch, two channels ( Hi and LO ), and uses 2x10 Celestions. It has a great clean tone ( like a Fender Deluxe, to me at least )and is capable of some mean overdrive, although I rarely
use that feature. It has more than enough power and I use it only when I play bigger stages, as you really need to let this baby open up and breath to get it true tone, in my opinion.

I use humbucking, single coil and P-90 guitars ( although not always at the same gig ). It seems to like the single coil the best, although I can get some pretty rocking tones from a humbucker. I still have to work a bit more to get a P-90 tone I really like.

It's a quiet amp with lots a clean headroom. You really have to drive it to break her up, hence it only being used a big indoor or outdoor stage. I do not like to attenuate. I find the 'boost' pedal to be a bit much, volume wise so I do not use it... I wish it was adjustable! It has a master volume so you can get a pretty crunchy tone and that is useful in the studio, but not so much for me live, as I need to shift between tones pretty often.

I use a peadlboard with the CD-30 ( TC Chorus, Boss Flanger ( I like this pedal! ), MXR Phaser, Vox Wah, EH Q-tron, TU-2 Tuner, AC Booster, RC Booster, T-Rex Repliica ). I always use the Diaz with a 'Z-Best' 2x12 cab. I'm real found of a 2x10 speaker setup and the addition of the 2x12 just makes this baby breath fire! Glorious tone, my brothers!!

I use the 'pull up' mid boost on the amp, as it is much more controlable in the sense, that it is used in the initial setup as I dial in my tone. Don't really use the amp with out it on.

I use this amp in a Funk, Soul, Jazz fusion setting. It really seems to like this type of music. All in all I really like this amp very, very much.. the only drawback is getting the tones I like takes a bit longer that my other amps, but once it's there... brother, it's there!!

I carry it arouns in a flight case! Never has broken down on me and has always delivered the goods! Mind you, I do not use it at every gig, mostly during the summertime when bigger places ( outdoor )
are available to play

I've never had to conatct anyone.... I think Ceaser has passed.

If it were stolen, I don't think I could find another... hell, this was the only one I had ever saw or played. But, if I could swing it, I would snag another one. It could use a adjustable volume for the boost, but that's not going to happen. It is not the most versatile of my amps, but it does possess a uniqueness that I enjoy, just wish I played more places where I let this baby loose!

My amp was made in mid 90's.Single channel w/ master vol.Mid boost & pull cut switch.I play Modern & Classic Rock,Blues,Funk & Oldies.I have been touring professionally for the last 20 years.This amp kicks serious ass in all these styles & more.I augment other dirty sounds with pedals depending on the musical situation I'm playing in.This amp is amazing in the recording studio,you can get so many different tones just adjusting the controls & the features it comes with.

I use a strat as my main guitar & a Les Paul Classic for some tunes.Depending on the musical situation I'm playing in is how clean to dirty I set the amp up for my basic sound.I use pedals to do the rest of the nuances.This amp is real quiet at high volume.It is also a very loud & ballsey 30 watt tone monster.I can get most any sound just tweekin the knobs & playin with the features it comes with.The clean sound is great like an old tweed or blackface small to mid size combo amp & the dirty sounds can be set from a little dirt to all out melt.The boost switch also is a big plus in the tone shaping & I forgot to mention you can switch it down to 1/2 power 15 watts.

My amp hasen't broke down yet I ave. 150 gigs a year on the road.I lean it back point it up at adout a 45 degree angle like a monitor wedge & sound men are happy I,m happy .This amp is built like a tank.I've never had any problems.

Cesar is the best guy to buy from or get any repairs or mods done to anything musical oriented.I've bought other items in the past & changed my mind & Cesar just took it back no hastles & gave me what I payed for it.I had a pedal go out on me after using it 10 years that i had bought from him.He fixed charged me very little & I got it back right away.This guy will bend over backwards to do the right thing if something he makes or fixes breaks.No hastles here.

I've been playing 30 years.I own vintage fenders & marshalls.Bogner Triple Giant, Rivera Bone Head. Mesa Boogies,MusicMan an Engl & a Roland.If I lost my Diaz I'd definately buy another without any question.I love this amp.I wish he would make a 2 or 3 channel version of this amp.Fully switchable.But I chose this amp cause I can set it up for all the musical situations I play in,& use pedals for other effects to compliment the basic set up sound I use.

My club classic was made in 2000. It is covered in bright red tolex with a yellowish grill cloth. Mine is a 2x10 combo with celestion g-10L speakers.Mine was the cd-30 first made by Cesar since his transplant(i think that was around 3 years ago).It has some differnt features than a regular cd-30 those things are a fifty watt drake transformers. Cesar built it for him self in the initally. I also bought a matching 4x12 cab with celestion vintage 30s. It has four 6L6's power tubes in it,and 2 12ax7 and 2 12aty pre amp tubes.It also has a solid state rectifier. It has two channel hi and lo.The E.Q.has treble,bass,volume,master volume,and reverb.If you pull the treble it is a mid-boost and if you pull the bass pot is has a bass cut. I play out about 12 times a month. I play blues,funk and some jazz.It is incredible!!!It all so has a have/full power switch.It has TONE

I use it with a historic 335 and a custom fifty four strat. It is perfect for my stlye(blues,blues based rock,and jazz).It hums as much as a old fender when fully overdriven with mid-boost on,but what does it matter it sounds so sweet.The club classic can go from fendery clean to marshally with volume increase.Don't think i mean like a marshall it is way warmer and sustains forever.I truly don't think there is a better amp made ever.But every body's ears are different.I always get comment's about my tone.Listen to waren haynes(gov't mule)to get a idea of what a diaz overdriven sounds like.I think it is the best amp made ever.Not going overbored just the truth.

We are talking about a amp made by the MASTER.He is Cesar Diaz only a master of tone. Go to his web site www.cesardiaz.com and read about who he has worked with.Stevie Ray, Bob Dylan,Clapton,and the rolling stones just to name a few.I know it will be fine as long as i put tubes in it ever once in a while.It is built by him alone.All point to point on a glass epoxy board.Mr.Diaz use's only the best components. I Have not had a problem yet.

I truly don't think it could be any better.We picked up the amp in person at his house and he even took us out to eat.We comunicate by e-mail often.He truly is out to help you,he stands behind his instuments.

It is really a dream come true. I thought i would never find a amp that would forfill my tone adiction ,but i was wrong.If stolen or lost would buy it again if i could afford it, i really couldn't in the first place, i will be in debt for a long time,but it is totally worth it.I would give it 10 but it cost a lot and so i will give it a nine.No i have to give it a ten.It is not like people who give a peavy classic a 10 trust me.The is not a better amp made.I would like it if you e-mail me for questions or if you own one.

I think this amp was made in 1995. This is the sweetest looking amp you'll ever see, with maybe a very few exceptions. The red tolex with black panel and white knobs is killer looking, especially with logo having the gold backing (almost like a plexi type thing) and the gold/wheat grillcloth. I play a lot of stuff, mostly blues, rock, R&B type funk, and some jazzy stuff (kinda like a mix of Eric Johnson's and SRV's jazz leanings, less like "real jazz", though I've done that).

This amp gets 30 watts out of FOUR 6L6 tubes - you do the math (I was confuse at first too). Two 10" Celestion G10L-35 speakers. Controls are just your Volume, Treble, Bass, Reverb, and Master (there's a large gap between the other controls and the master, just thought you should know). Pull up on the Volume knob to activate the Bright switch, on the Treble control for Mid-Boost, and on the Bass control for Bass-Cut. I guess the bass cut is for really boomy jazzbox guitars neck pickups, but it really sharpens the sound a great deal - makes it really thin. Don't use it unless your neck pickup just has way too much bass. Also, the mid-boost funtion is reportedly footswitchable, but I've never had a footswitch to try it with

I guess I gave this amp an "8" because, while it has VERY few features, for the styles this amp is intended to cover it has more than enough features.

I use a variety of Strats, mostly a vintage stlye one with rosewood board and Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups, but I've also used them with EMGs and Lace Sensors. I've also used MANY humbucking guitars though it. I usually use effects like wah and fuzz (Vox Wah and Fulltone type overdrivers) and an Ibanez Analog Delay (which does everything I think a good echobox should do, and my favorite except maybe for an Echoplex). This amp doesn't have any more noise than a well-taken-care-of vintage Fender will get, except for when the gain is wide open (and then only just a little more). In other words, not real noisy as far and the hiss and hum goes.

The first thing about this amp is that it seems to be intended to be like a louder, softer blackface Deluxe Reverb. When I say soft, I mean the string attack (the initial "pow" when your pick hits the strings) is very soft. In fact, almost too soft for my tastes, but this can be compensated for somewhat with the controls (don't use too much bass). The gain can get almost to van halen territory with humbucking pickups, but you will get significantly less overdrive with a Strat (more so than most amps). This aspect isn't as cool if you just have Strats and want a taste more gain, BUT, it is very cool if you have a guitar with humbuckers and singles (or even better humbuckers with a coil splitter), like an Anderson or a PRS with a splitter. Even overdriven all the way and the volume up a good bit, you can still clean up considerably by lightening up your attack or by turning your guitar's volume knob back just a hair, or both. With a Strat, I always had the mid-boost engaged. This gives the amp a little more instant "ka-pow" like an old plexi Marshall (and a slight bit more mid response), the the amp still, even then, has that soft response. If the amp had a mid-knob to crank, the "too soft" attack wouldn't even be an issue. Then the mid-knob would just be a gain boost (which it is definitely with humbuckers).

One thing that was an issue for me was the lack of bass in some environments (for me, make that most environments). I'll say this - never play an outdoor gig with this thing. Some places you expect it to sound thin in, it wouldn't, and some places you thought it would be great, it sounded thin and hollow. And then there were some places you heard exactly what you expected. The only problem for me was that the only places this amp didn't sound good was where I really needed it too (clubs we play at often, studios, etc.), but it would sound good at places where I hardly ever play. And I hated to change the speakers, because when it sounded good, it sounded really good, and I wanted just that sound. I wanted sparkle, I wanted low end, and I staill wanted my overdriven brown sounds. I asked around to people I really trust and that know a lot more than I, and I was informed that as far as 10" speakers go, I could maybe get one or two of the things I wanted, but not all three. Bummer. Perhaps one of his larger amps would suit me better (like the Jimmy Vivino CD-100 with the 15" EV speaker, or the classic twin or something).

One thing for sure is that the amp is always rich and complex, even if it doesn't have the low end that I want. And the reverb is nice. Sounds pretty much like vintage Fender reverb, and you can even get surf sounds.

It's broken down on me once (I think a capacitor failed on me under heat or something), but it's been fine ever since. I also retubed it. Even though it failed me onstage once, I have and would continue to gig without a backup amp, because it hasn't even made the slightest wrong noise ever since.

I've e-mailed Cesar Diaz and asked a few questions, and he was very helpful about trying to answer them. To boot, he also just recently had a number of health problems, but he's recovering from them and is back at work (however, don't expect too high volume output from him yet, I think he's taking it slow first). He's got a band, and while I haven't heard them, everybody I've heard says they're great and how great a player he is.

I would also like to say that you're probably not going to find one of these as cheaply as I did. The person I bought it from was having some financial trouble, and had probably 15,000 amps, so he got rid of one or two. Cesar does excellent work, and he probably would e able to build the perfect amp for me if I had contact with him day in and day out (he rebuilt Stevie Ray Vaughan's old Fender amps), so I imagine he built the 30 to try and satisfy a number of different tastes rather than to try and make something that very few people would say "that's for me". The richness I hear in the sound of this amp indicates that he definitely knows tone and how to build it into amps. And this amp, if fitted with something like EV 10" speakers, would probably sound very close to SRV's Fender amps (forget about the Texas Flood sounds, that whole album was recorded with a 150-watt Dumble amp, Tubescreamer, and vintage beat-up Strat with lead pipes in place of the strings). This thing did sound wonderful at the guitar show, but I'm wanting different sounds now. I guess we'll see what I finally end up with that I'm satisfied with. I wonder if I'd even be happy with a Dumble. Keep in mind I'm very finicky as well. Remember, this is only my take. The reviewers below seem to love the amp and seem very happy. I've talked to one guy who has owned his CD-30 and Classic Twin for several years now and is still very happy with both. I guess the question is "what do you want your amp to do and to sound like?". I hope this helps you in your amp search.

I have had this amplifier for about 1 1/2 years, and, as the owner of about 25 quality amplifiers, old and new, it is one of my mainstays. I play music that requires a dynamic toneful sound, and the Diaz really delivers. The sound is very warm compared to most other amplifiers I have played through. Even-order harmonics abound, and this amp will really sing! I never fail to get great comments about my sound.
I utilize a number of quality guitars, including a Fender Robben Ford Signature, a PRS McCarty, a Sadowski Tele style HSH setup, and a 90's Tele Thinline. Single or humbucker, the sound is delicious! I had one problem with the amp a couple months after I got it...I was on the last song of the gig, and the sound just died. I was devastated! After I checked it out, I realized that the Celestion G10-35's blew out! Talk about power for a "30"watt amp! I replaced the original speakers with Celestion Vintage 10's, and the sound got even better. I highly recommend this speaker change for the amp. The speakers will add more bottom, and will sound sweeter.

Playing Blues and R&B, as well as some rock styles, the amp simply delivers a great basic tone to build your sound on. I do use a pedalboard to add overdrive and some effects, such as chorus and wah, and the input stage handles everything well. The real trick is to use the power stage well. The master control should be turned at least 50% of the way up to get the amp into the tone range. Although there is a 1/2 power switch, you really don't need it, unless you are playing in a very quiet setting. The Diaz is just the right power for most gig settings. It is very versatile, with interactive tone controls, and a useful mid-boost switch. The reverb is almost too sensitive, and will feed back at higher settings. This is not too much of a problem, as I can get enough reverb for any situation I'm in with the setting at 4 or below. Nice tone on the reverb, and a long decay from the full size Hammond tank.

I have used this amp regularly from day one, and had only one problem as described above...speaker failure. The old speakers were rated at 35 watts each, but the amp delivered enough to take them out! Extremely underrated power output. I never had it metered, but as an example, I DID have my other Diaz, the CD100, rated, and although it's rated by Diaz as a 100w amp, my amp tech and I tested it out in excess of 160 watts!

I did try to contact Caesar a couple times with support questions, and never got to talk to anyone who could help me. In his defense, Caesar was in failing health at the time, and I believe he makes these amps right at his house. Don't expect a lot of support from the company. You should have a good tech of your own that you can trust. All in all, it's still worth it.

I have been playing for 30 years, own in excess of 25 guitars, and about the same number of amplifiers. This amp is the one I use the most. Tone is similar to other boutique style, all hand-wired, class A tone machines, ala Bruno, Matchless, etc. If stolen, I'd sell other amps to get another. I also own the CD100 for the really big outdoor gigs, which is basically a Tweed Twin with custom improvements. That amp was a bit more tempermental, but that's for another review...BUY THIS AMP IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT!

This Diaz is a beautifully-made, hand-wired single-channel amp with a master volume and pull-pots for bright, bass-cut and mid-boost. Working with the volume and master volume controls can take you from a bright, clean Fender tone with just a trace of "gurgle," all the way to an extremely saturated overdrive... not an artificial, Boogie-style OD, but rather, a warm, very organic kind of distortion. Kick-in the mid boost and it's Plexi time. The amp is rated at 30 watts, but what a 30 watts! I regularly play with another guitarist who plays through a Boogie Mark I at the 60-watt setting, and the Diaz can hold its own. It also has one of the most lush reverbs I've ever heard. The bright and bass-cut switches can impart a Tele twang to the darkest of humbuckers, and help you to cut through the mix. Speakers are 2 10" Celestions. The cabinet is about the size of a Vibrolux; controls are mounted at the top rear, like an old Tweed combo, and mine is it's covered in bright red elephant-hide tolex with a nicotine-tan grille cloth. Looks as sharp as it sounds!

I play mostly blues and R&B tunes, along with a smattering of classic rock. There's not quite as much clean headroom as I'd like, but once again, we're talking only 30 watts. Cesar creates this 30 watts out of a quartet(!) of 6L6GCs, so the overdrive is really derived from the power tubes as opposed to the preamp section... consequently, it's very warm and organic. I play through a PRS EG3 with Fralins, and a PRS Standard and a Custom, both with the standard 5-position rotary switch. The amp can get a bit noisy when driven full-bore with the mid-boost on, but it sounds so good, you live with it. I've heard a variety of players and guitars through it, and there isn't a bad sound to be had, in my opinion. My only complaint is that it lacks enough clean headroom for my playing situation, but that's because I'm asking for more of it than a 30-watter can deliver at the volume levels I play at.

I bought it from a fellow who had it for a year. Two days after it was shipped to me, it developed a nasty hum and a power drop, but after Cesar changed a couple of resistors, it sprung back to life.

Cesar Diaz is a very busy guy, and can be hard to get ahold of, but he's busy 'cause he is very good at what he does. The servicing I had done was outside of the warranty. I don't think I'd take it anywhere else for servicing, unless I had no other choice.

I'd buy it again in a minute, and will probably save up my shekels to buy his 100-watt 2-12 combo someday.