Peavey Blues Classic

I bought the Blues Classic new in 1993. It is hands down the best amp I've ever had or heard anywhere. I've had Marshall combo(blew it up). Mesa Boogie Mark III, just sold it for a fortune! Gibson Gold Tone GRS, waste of money (too ducky, too heavy, broke down, it actually died at a big gig, very dissappointed with the Goldtone), sold that too! I'm trying Hughes and Kettner next, we'll see, but I'll never sell the Peavey. Can't gig with it much longer though too heavy and it's getting beat up, the chassis is actually coming apart. I don't know though, I'll probably keep dragging it back out on stage, because nothing sounds like it. The original speaker is still in there, I did have to replace the tubes last year after 12 years of weekly gigging with it, amazing!

I mainly use this amp for classic 60's rock and sometimes hookup a
2-12 Vox cabinet with it, makes it sound huge on stage, makes your pant legs move and I only have it on 6! I stupidly disconnected the cooling fan once, because it was too noisy through the speaker when I cranked the gain (I haven't heard anyone complain about this yet?), I resoldered it though since, too risky and have blown up amps from cranking them to ten. I mainly play SG's and Les Pauls though this, but have also used an old CX-3 organ(that just died) and varoius synthesizers through it.

The amp has never broken down, like I said I had a noisy tube a few years ago and have since replaced them all with groove tubes and it sounds fine now. No back up needed ever!

Never had to call Peavey. I have Mesa and Gibsons numbers memorized, not a good sign for them. I replaced the tubes myself.

Been playing for 25 years. Do yourself a favor and pickup this amp. You'll thank me and never regret it. I took a chance and bought it after my old Marshall combo died 12 years ago and I've tried many other top names in the business, but nothing compares to this amp!

Peavey Blues Classic 50 watts into a single 15" speaker

My main guitars are a 1952 Fender Tele re-issue and a Gretsch Streamliner re-issue. This amp makes 'em both sound fantastic! I have a matching Peavey Classic 50/410 amp as well. For shows, I stack 'em and run the 15 inch speaker as an extension for the 50/410. The combo is unreal. The 15 inch provides punding lows while the 4 10 inchers provide the mid crunch and sweet highs.

I bought it used with a few road scars but it is well built and still plays like a dream. Don't know how old the tubes are but it still sounds great so I'm leaving them alone. It's my main gigging amp and my only practice amp.

Never needed Peavey's help.

Been playing casually for about 30 years, serious gigging for about 7 years. I love the classic tweed look and sound. For my money it's every bit as good as any of the Fender Tweed re-issues at a much better price point. If this amp were lost, I'd try to find another one quick. I don't want my 50/410 to get lonely!

This amp was shipped in 1994, but I received it as a Christmas present a month ago. I play blues, blues rock, early prog (Captain Beyond, Mountain, Gentle Giant) & originals in those categories. Some rock when sitting in w/ friends. Although I've always been a Marshall man, this amp suits what I'm doing now w/out additional FX.
Two channels, clean & lead, foot switchable W/ single preamp pot for Normal & pre & post gain pots for lead. A little too clean w/ the Normal gain turned down, but it gets fatter w/ it set @ 9 or above. Lead channel screams w/ the preamp gain set high, & the reverb opens up both channels very nicely. HAven't used the FX loop yet, but plan on using a tube screamer & maybe a chorus on the loop for the Normal channel. Enough power to use w/out miking if I decided to, but haven't yet except for practice.
Four EL84s driven by a 12 AX7, two more 12AX7s in the preamp.

Primary guitar is a '84 Gibson Invader w/ Zebras, also a fat Strat as backup. No noise, but I've got conditioned power & don't use a lot of pedals. If I add pedals I'll run them through the FX loop to avoid power drop off & noise. Currently, I've got the Normal channel gain set @ 9, lead channel pre @ 10 & post @ 9, reverb @ 5. Equalization is set heavier on the bass & midrange, playing through the bright input. Presence is set @ 8, but I'm still playing w/ settings. The clean channel is just starting to get fat @ the current settings, but I haven't played it @ volume yet. Great sustain on both channels, lead just screams. Back up amp is a Marshall Studio 15 that we mike, no where near the flexibility of the Peavey, but it's a Marshall.

The guy I bought it from bought it new, gigged w/ it the whole time & never had a problem.

Peavey is known for their CS, & got right back to me on dating it & info on tube & speaker replacement options. Warranty was only a year, but I do most of my own work anyway.

Just recently started playing again after a long layoff. I'd mangle anyone that stole the amp, & would replace it. Like it better than the Fenders I've played through. Most of the comparisons I've heard were w/ the Fender Blues DeVille, but it's more versital than the Blues Junior & some of the reverbs w/ similar sound on the clean channel.

Not quite sure what year the amp is. I play mainly blues, but also dabble with jazz, country and soul. This amp will cover them all. I wouldn't suggest this amp for the metal heads. There are two channels, but I don't use the distortion channel any more. I've been actively gigging with this amp for about 3 years playing around 80 shows a year, and only had one problem. A drunk fan fell on a power supply and caused a surge. By doing this he blew the fuse in my amp, and our PA. It's 50 tube watts, and for me I have no need for more. The 15 inch speaker is great for the low end. If you want to hear what this amp sounds like check out my webpage at http://wtfeasterband.iuma.com . The version of Voodoo Chile is the amps overdrive channel, and the version of Little wing is the clean channel at a high enough volume to break up the tubes. (and also with my pedals)

I'm definatley a "strat" guy. I have 3 strats and a Don Grosh Retro. My main strat has Delta-tone pickups, and they sound great thru this amp. My texas specials also sound good. The only time I've ever had any noise is when i'm standing too close to neon, but that is normal for any amp.(as it is the guitar, not the amp) I love the variety of this amp. You can get Stevie Ray like tones without having to spend a fortune if you know how to EQ it right. You can simply add a little highs for a country sound, or add some mids for a great Hendrix sound. The only thing i don't like about the amp is that it has to get loud for natural tube overdrive. (again, normal for a 50 watt amp.) The overdrive channel is a bit "tinny" for my liking.

Very reliable. I've only had the one problem that was mentioned above.

N/A

I've been playing for about 8 years, and have owned or played some of the "greatest" amps for blues music. This one stands right next to them. If this amp was stolen, i would weep for about 5 minutes, and then hit Ebay in search of another one.

wsomeI don't know when it was made but i think it's couple years old.I play Blues,Classic Rock,and even 80's Rock with this amp.It has two simple Channels and good reverb.No headphone jack though.There's normal and Bright jacks for the guitar.It also has post,pre,and normal knobs.I play in a band with some bud's of mine mostly in my basemant.This thing has more than enough power for me!It also has 7 tubes and a 15" speaker that realy gives it a punch!!!!!!!!

I use Peavey nitro 3 custom with a semour duncan quarter pound neck pickup.It will hum a little if you get close to it with high gain and certin pickup selection's.It has Awesome vintage tone!!.It's very clean when light picking and crunchy when heavy picking.I use a ZOOM 5052 pedal and Semour Duncan pickup booster and it's loud loud loud!!!!!

Very relible!!!This is the only amp i use and no backup.It's never broken down or had any problem's and haven't put new tubes in yet.

I don't know haven't had to

I have been playing for a year.If it wher lost or stolen i don't know what i would do.I'd buy it again.My favorit thing about it is that vintage crunchy tone out the wahzoo.I don't hate any thing about it.It's like this amp whas meent for me.

I believe mine is a 1995 model. That's when I bought it new, it may have been sitting a while at the store. I'm a blues player and 95% of what we play is blues. When we get a request for the few CW or Classic Rock songs we do it is more than adequate for them. This amp is all about pure-assed tone. It's a straght ahead 2 channel, drive and clean, amp with basic EQ, presence and reverb. I've never fully understood how the post and pre gain settings work but I know they deliver a very wide range of tones. I guess a headphone jack might be nice, but I've blown enough of my hearing with them that it's probably best it doesn't have one!!

My main guitar is a 80's vintage Fender Esprit reworked to Robben Ford model specs. Seymour Duncan '56 on the neck and a JB on the bridge with a coil splitter. I also play a re-worked cheap Strat with Texas special PU's. This amp is the ultimate, for me, for the sound I want. Like a lot of amps, tube or solid, it doesn't like to be around a lot of neon. But, having said that the only time it really hums is in certain coil positions at certain volumes. I usually just turn off a few BUD signs around me. The clean channel, which I rarely use, is almost too clean, until driven a little hard. I've never played it at a level to make it distort. I don't know if it's fair to say this amp sounds best with single coil PU's because I love the big fat humbucker sound I get with it, but I do know it makes single coils sound much fuller. The big honking 15" speaker adds balls to the Strat sound and takes away that piercing, cover your ears, turn your head, brightness that you get with smaller speakers. I don't play with much distortion, just a little edge that will roll over when you get after it. It will get plenty dirty when you crank up the pre gain.

This is the first tube amp I have ever owned. I don't really know how long tubes are supposed to last. I have replaced tubes about three times I guess. The amp just starts to sound a little flaky, volume goes up and down. It's the only amp I have and it's never let me down.
It probably gets an average of 10 hours a week playing time. The first time it started acting up I took it to my tech and he replaced tubes and it was fine for another couple of years. Used to be you look in and see a tube not glowing and replace it. He says it's better to replace the whole set. Tubes are matched for bias, etc etc.
I've used Sovtek, Mesa, and now Ruby. These old ears can't seem to tell a whole lot of difference.
I just play em, I don't design em. Other than tubes, this amp is bullet proof.

Never dealt with Peavey directly.

I've been playing about 20 years. This is the first time I've ever rated anything on the net. Rating stuff is obviously very subjective. Wouldn't you pity the poor guy who has bought an amp and played through it for a while and absolutely can't stand it? This was the first amp I just plugged into and with minimal tweaking got a sound that just made you say, "Yeah, that's what I want." Everybody seems to want somebody elses sound. Like a lot of players, I have fooled around with effects gadgets. I've got a Boss GT3, Digitech RP300, and a few other assorted pedals. Most of them gather dust. The best thing I have and use is a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere. The 15" speaker on the Blues Classic has people looking for the B3 when I play through it on the clean channel. I don't even want to think about it being lost or stolen. We host a weekly Blues Jam and players of all different abilities come in to play with about every type of equipment you could imagine. Most of the better players happily quit dragging their amps in and prefer to play through mine while I happily set out in the club and get paid to drink beer. I am constantly amazed at how good the amp sounds. Another thing that I love about it is how it projects to the audience. Some guys bring in their little Mesa's and Line 6's and they make your ears bleed on stage and you can't hear them 15' in front of the stage. This is a blues amp, pure and simple. The only time I use any effects is for a signature type sound, ie. Johnny Lang 'Lie To Me' etc. Then the effect is disconnected and I play straight. The tone of this amp is so sweet. It's like having a patch cord from your heart to the amp.

This is a 1995? single 15",50 watt,2 channel,El-84 tube amp with FX loop,solid-state reverb.It is from the same family as the classic 50/30 amps that many guitar players are very fond of.The amp is no longer in production and seems to be kinda rare nowdays. I myself have never seen another in my country (NZ) and info on the web seems scarce. It's a very straight forward and easy to use amp,aimed at blues and 'classic rock' players i.e those of us that only want a few simple options in an amp and not some kindve multi-tasking modelling thing.This amp is for people that want an amp that will do a few sounds very well as opposed to one that has zillions of options, most of which are mediocre or unusable.This amp is for the tone afficionados out there.

I have owned this amp for about 6 years now.I have gigged with it for about 4 of those years and used it in band rehearsals and recording studios.It has been around the country twice on tours in just a cardboard box with some foam packing protecting it from knocks and dings,(crude i know but effective....plus roadcases are expensive).My two main guitars are a Gibson Les Paul Std, and a 72 Tele Custom reissue.My band plays original music that could be described as mid tempo rock with hints of country.
This amp is the business.
I agree with previous reviewer who desrcibed it as a cross between a Vox and a Fender.It has a woody midrange bark to it, a nice rich and resounding bottom end....almost too much,and sparkly well defined highs.The clean channel is fantastic. Kindve Bassman like.It just gets bigger and warmer and crunchier as you turn it up.Humbuckers will accentuate this.The drive channel is OK. It is not as loud as the clean channel and i see someone else commented on the discrepancy in volume when channel switching.I only use the clean channel so it's no probs.Might i mention though that the drive channel is quite nice though, can get fizzy in the higher settings,but is generally ok. Experimenting with different preamp tubes would probably solve this.I use a DM-3 delay, a Marshall Drivemaster, a modded SD-1 and an Ernie Ball Volume pedal in the fx-loop.It's very quiet and sounds alot better than putting them in between the guitar and amp.It is LOUD man.Damn LOUD.I have no probs keepng up with the gruntier 60watt, 6L6 combo that our other guiatrist uses.For ages i toyed with the idea of selling this amp and getting a 'cooler' amp.You know. Peavey tends to get sneered at by a lot of 'purist' guitar players. But if i had a dollar for every time someone come up to me after a show and told me how fantastic this amp sounds than id almost be able to buy another one...........almost.
Oh yeah,the reverb sounds great by the way. Very deep and swampy. I can get some cool pedal-steel sounds with it and the tele and the volume pedal.
Nice.

The only trouble i had was the original chinese power tubes dying on me. No probs. Put a combination of Groove Tubes and older Phillips 84's in and it sounded better than ever.Never died during a gig.I can see a long and prosperous future ahead of us.

Bought second hand so can't say.

Ive been playing for 12 years. It's the only amp ive ever owned.I use it with a fender rhodes stage 72 sometimes....sounds cool!
If it were stolen id......i dont even wanna think about that.
I love the clean sounds in this amp.They are some of the best ever!
I might prefer it in real tweed instead of imitation but who cares?
I have played all kinds of amps and my favourites of all time would be a 70's Orange 100 watt head, a 60's VOX AC30,a Fender silverface Vibrochamp and this amp.
This amp sounds like me. It helped me to find my sound.There are a million great amps out there.One could spend a lifetime in search of THE sound. I more concerned with playing music. If i was a 'collector' than my priorities would probably be different.

Straight forward controls. Takes a few minutes to find settings that work for you. All features covered in previous reviews. Why is it that Peavey makes an amp that stands out in the crowd and then stops production? This amp sounds best in live situations. I have been playing guitar since the 60's and have heard them all. It has a full, round, sound that comes alive in club use. The 15 inch speaker helps a lot to define this amps sound.

I use two guitars when I play out. I play out twice a week.My main guitar is a 52' Tele reissue that has a 68' Gibson humbucker in the neck, a Duncan Hot Rails in the middle and the stock Fender bridge pick-up. My back up guitar is a 65' Gibson Melody Maker With a Gibson humbucker in bridge. I play classic rock,( early Stones, Animals, CCR, etc.) blues, and soul music. This amp nails SRV best! We cover Tightrope and Let Me Love You and I get a very close SRV sound. This is using the drive channel. The clean channel can do anything I want with true sweetness. My favorite amps of all time are a Mesa Boogie Mark 11 C+, a 65' Fender Twin and a 59' Fender Champ. This amp in a live situation can make you sound good nite after nite!

Built like a tank! Peavey needs to reissue this amp!

Haven't had to.

I have been playing guitar for about 38 years. I own a 70's Fender Deluxe Reverb, a 64' Fender Bandmaster with a Marshall Model 1936 2X12 cab and a 59' Fender Champ (Think Layla album). The Peavey, mixed in with the band, in live situations, hangs in there with them all! If it were stolen I would try to find another. It's that good. It doesn't sound like a Fender. It is more like a cross between a Fender and a Vox. It has it's own sound.

Great versatile amp - for playing blues,rock,R&B,and country - just one man's opinion. I'm a bluesman,and this amp was made for blues!

Super amp for most club use. Great for outdoors. We rarely mic (indoors).I use the distortion for slide work, and a pedalboard with an Ibanez TS9, Fulltone Fulldrive 2,Boss Delay & Tuner, and a Cry Baby Wah for leads.The Blues Classic drips with great tone!This comes from a dedicated blackface vintage Fender amp collector/user.

Love the BF Fenders, but Peavey's Blues Classic,and Delta Blues series are the road dogs of amps (my opinion).Peavey needs to re-issue this amp!

Haven't needed it yet.

Been playing and singing the blues for over 30 years.Not only would I buy again (if it was lost or stolen)I'll buy YOURS - if the price is right!I'd love to have a back up, or two. Already own a Delta Blues.I play a vintage Gibson 335,a Les Paul Gold Top, and various parts-is-parts Strats (all with EMG's).

Bought my amp in 97 and beleive me it wasn't a hard choice. I play mostly blues, jazz, and motown r&b and this map covered it all. I tried the 4x10 and the 2x12 setup and this one blew them away. Has 2 channels, footswitch which came with mine, effects loop, .. butno headphone jack. Every feature you need to play the blues. But the one problem I have is adjusting the volume levels between clean and distorted sound when making the switch with the footpedal. The distortion side overwhelms instead of complements the rythm side when switching. Maybe someone has a suggestion on settings. Till then I simply use my rat and ts9 tubescreamer as a lead variation. Works great. I use this amp playing live gigs and at home when not using my GX-700 into my direct on mixer for studio work. 50watts of great power, more then I'll ever need, and nails the SRVnsound better the any other amp I've tried.

I use a 72 Fender Telecaster with original dual humbuckers, and a Fender Strat with Lace Sensor Holy Grail pickups. It suits my jazz, motown, R&B, blues style to a T. I havn't noticed any noise and the humbuckers and lace sensors really nail the unwanted noise. Usually set clean setting to 8 on presence, 7 on reverb, and 5 and 5 on post and pre amp settings with master at 10.5. Really great sound with a hint of crunch when needed. Use the ts9 and rat to grind it up when hitting solos and it sounds sweet. Have not noticed any distortion at high volumes. Love the distortion in the amp If I could just figure out a s tting that wouldn't knock me down when switching from clean to distortion. But this distortion is great, really nails early ZZ Top distortion.. Only reason I give 9 is because of the disparity in volume between clean and distortion.

I never bring a backup to gigs other then gx-700 processor for mixer in case amp dies. I have had no problems withamp.

Never used warranty or had to call Peavey. Hope no problems develop which would cause me to have to call them.

I have been playing about 8 years. I own a Digitech 2101 artist and a gx-700 processor which I use direct when playing through a mixer sound system. If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely look for another one. I love the true blues sound it puts out. I too hate the weight, but hey nothing's perfect. If your wishing for things it had, wish it had built in effects processor, but then it probably wouldnt sound as good as it does now, so I'll leave it as is.This is the ultimate blues amp with it's 15" speaker.