Peavey Classic 30

I own 3 of these babies (1992 Tweed, 1999 Tweed and a 2004 Black Tweed) and have seen little change in their build quality or parts selection. All 3 were purchased "pre-loved" on eBay and all 3 had minor problems because they had been used and abused for years before I got them. I work on my own equipment so this was not a problem for me (I could also get them cheaper if they had known problems as well).

They lack separate tone controls for each switched-channel (Clean & Dirty) and have no Standby switch (my biggest beef with the design). The Boost function (selectable by push-button only) boosts level AND mid-range content and I have found this only to sound good with a Stratocaster using the Bridge pickup and then only in the "dirty" mode. It sounds honky and weird to me on any other pickup combination or with Les Pauls on ANY pickup combination!

I love the size, lightweight and basic design otherwise. It has a great basic tone (reminiscent of the Vox AC30 it was no doubt designed to emulate) but I enjoy them even more with a few changes (see below).

For my use in small clubs and outdoor events I have found them to be loud enough (with a speaker upgrade and used with the matching Classic 112E external cabinet... also with the matching speaker upgrade).

I primarily play Rock and Pop in small-to-midsized clubs and I standardized on a Peavey Classic 30 "stack" because of their small size, relative light weight and their tone (when set-up properly). There are 5 changes I have made to my "stacks" that have transformed these amps from good to great:

1. Matched set of JJ tubes from Bob at Eurotubes (using EL83S tubes instead of 12AX7 types to help prevent microphonic noises, a very real problem in small combos like these).

2. Factory tube cage with dense foam "shock absorber" for output tubes (to prevent tube damage, rattle and minimize vibrational stress).

3. Small fan to promote circulation and keep everything cool.

4. Weber 4" Beam Blockers on all combo speakers.

5. All factory speakers changed to Avatar Hellatone 60L units.

If you primarily play a Les Paul with Humbuckers you probably don't need the Beam Blockers but I play most of my gigs using a Fender Stratocaster as my primary guitar and the Beam Blockers help smooth out the high-end on those single coils.

In this configuration, the Hellatone 60L speakers are very smooth, efficient and dynamic. I love the way they sound in this amp! There is a dynamic "body" in both clean and dirty channels (heightened when used with the Classic 112E extension cab) but not at the expense of "sparkle" and definition. The amps sound well balanced and smooth. This makes the lack of separate tone controls somewhat moot and with the 5-way pickup selector on the Strat it covers a lot of sonic territory!

Notice that I do not modify the amplifier circuits in any way, I just embellish the amp with creature comforts and carefully chosen accessories that make it a little more reliable, louder and better matched to my primary guitars.

I have been regularly gigging with the Classic 30 for almost a year now and I have yet to have a show-stopper sort of problem. I respect the amps and am careful not to bang and shock the amp while loading, unloading and setting up. If I notice a problem (like a noisy tube or loose hardware), I fix it before the next gig and I don't let the degradation accumulate until a failure results (this is called "maintenance").

The biggest aftermarket accessories made for this amp are "Tube Tamers" and "Tube Guards" because this is the source of most failures and problems in my experience with multiple units. This is a small combo amp and this puts the tubes right at "Ground Zero"... they are simultaneously being directly bombarded by the speaker's rear pressure waves and subject to additional mechanical abuse when power cables, speaker cords and footswitches are shoved in the back. This can result in abused tubes and broken tube socket receptacles.

It took many years before Peavey designed a "Tube Cage" for this model (it looks a bit like the tube cage that has always been standard on its big brother the Classic 50). Unfortunately it is an optional part that you must install yourself. By adding some high-density foam to act as output-tube "shock absorbers" (similar to that used in the Classic 50) you protect the tubes and prevent tube degradation and audible "rattle" due to sonic pressure waves with better efficiency and lower cost than using those third-party screens and "tube bars".

I protect my Classic 30s and 112E cabinets with covers from BS Covers (BSCOVERS.COM) as I have found that these work to prevent abrasion wear, damage from minor bumps and protect against moisture (it drizzles a lot in the Pacific NW so this is an important accessory for all my amps). These covers are very affordable, lightweight and top quality as well.

These amps are not built heavy-duty but if you respect them and treat them like a passenger in your vehicle they will repay you with good reliability. Just maintain them and don't abuse them until they exhibit problems!

Check this link for a photo of the rear of one of my amps so you can see the Tube Cage, Foam, Speaker and fan additions. I put the cables and footswitch into a "ditty bag" and that fits in the back opposite the fan and does not damage the speaker or tubes:

http://www.pacair.com/Reference/Classic30_Tweed_1.gif

I have never had to call Peavey with a question. Their manuals and schematics are easily found on the Internet and my only contact with them has been to order parts when I first rebuild them to my liking. I found the Parts Department to generally have knowledgeable and pleasant folks who have yet to screw-up an order. They have gotten it right every time and have called me back when I asked a question that they couldn't answer directly themselves (once).

So far so good!

I've been playing guitar and bass for over 40 years (since I was 10 years old) and I have a lot of equipment (over 30 amps and cabinets) at my disposal. At this point in my life, I wanted to standardize on smaller, relatively lightweight equipment that was loud enough to gig with a 5 piece band in local venues and small outdoor events. I was not prepared to give up tone, however.

In the Peavey Classic 30 I have found an amp that meets all my size/weight/reliability criteria AND sounds great! They are a really good amp stock (especially considering what I paid for mine) but can be improved dramatically without doubling the price tag.

I didn't wait to have a problem or get one stolen... I have 3 of these Peavey Classic 30 stacks so I have all my needs covered (home/backup system and multiple gigs covered). I think that about says it all from my perspective!

I have a tweed 30 head with 2x12 marvel cab, plus a 30 combo with a Vintage 30 Celestion. Won't waste time preaching to the converted.
A few tips if I may, to get this beast howlin'. Effects loop: run a 2, 1/4" jack rig with a volume control in between for another master volume pot, any old volume pot should do. Then you can run everything on the amp at 11 if you wish, and you have a final volume knob, works on both channels! Great for playing at home! I run a sraight in Boss ME50 and use the amps in stereo, big sound.

I use a few guitars with this setup. Mostly Fender and Gibson stuff.
Sure amp is noisier with single coils, but when you turn on the playing who can complain about any tube amp, they are tube amps!
More advice, play with the tubes! JJ tubes will make the amp come alive. Have JJ's in the combo, with Celestion classic 30, and Groove tubes in the head. JJ's are dirty and Groove Tubes get singin' tight punch. Perhaps I shall put some emminence redcoat speakers in 2x12 cab. Allways playing with sound. Have a Marshall and a Hiwatt, but I kinda' like what is going on with the peaveys.

Never used.

Been playing 40 years. I have 8 amps, 2 of them Peavys. Why would I buy 2 if they were crap? I have no bias, just a love for good amps, even have an old Garnet, made in Canada. But if somebody stole my old Hiwatt, I would hunt them down and kill 'em. Be true to the roots! Tubes rule!

Made around 2004,mint condition,very versatile combo,blue marvel speaker and valve guard.You all know the deal by now.
I hade mine moded which improved the tonal midrange and did away with the mid honkey sound and also made the boost switch usable,but for me when I put in a Celestion Greenback was the icing on the cake.I also have the G12H which gives a cleaner slightly toppier sound to the combo and added 3DB to the sound level,but I prefer the Greenback probably because I have been using them professionaly for 40 odd years with various amps and gives it a smoother break up like the speaker is renown for.An 8 for features,it does what the controlls say.

Fender Tele and Gibson Les Paul Deluxe,for Rock and Blues and Shadows!!!Suits everything I throw at it,I love the creamy saturation.
Clean Channel is chimey and breaks up when pushed to 5 or 6.
OD Channel I use mostly especially since the mods and speaker change,from mild break up to quite a nice saturation.Check my link for some sound bites from some of my recordings with the amp www.george-nixs.co.uk
Amp is well loud enough for rehearsal and medium gigs and miking up at bigger venues.Amp cleans up well with volume control on guitar.I use this for recording as well.
Reverb is not the best but still good to add a taste of space.
Not a brutal distortion so metal heads steer clear.For me it has to be a 10.

Have had no problems with the amp,or valves which are JJ's

I had to contact Peavey about my PA mixer head way back in 1993 and they sorted the repair no problem or questions asked.No problem with anything since.Still have the PA Head mixer and Pa speakers in use still

I have been playing for over 40 years,and own marshall heads carlsbro pro head and an old late 60's carlsbro 100 plexi type head,no master volume very very loud.2x12 cabs with greenbacks.
If this little beauty was lost or stolen I would get another usa model and mod and change the speaker again.It suits me after all these years of finding a small tube combo amp.

Tweed, 2004 version.
Quite a few features for a small amp; reverb, dual clean/drive channel switching, boost switch, treb/mid/bass.
loses a couple points for no standby switch.

I'm using mine mainly with a Telecaster, into a BD-2, Rat & a DD-3.
lots of crunch and pretty good cleans. Mine is all stock.
Overall the Classic 30 is great little work horse for the working musician who's after a fair amount of clean headroom and good tone in a small combo.

I know guys who've used the Classic 30 for years with no problems.
They have a reputation for reliability.

I really like my classic 30, it's served me for a while with no problems and great tone in a portable, fairly lightweight package.
It's no wonder that it's been a big success for Peavey.
Excellent value!!

Made in 2004.
Versatile amp for many styles, but one major drawback - there is no separate EQ for the overdrive channel. Also does not have a standby switch, and does not come with the footswitch - you have to buy this separately. No presence button or knob. Easy access to tubes. Was able to tame tube rattle with teflon tube dampeners. Boost feature is pretty much useless as it only boosts mids, and there is no button on the footswitch for it.

Use various strats primarily, plus a custom made Carvin with humbuckers. Play rock/alt, and christian worship music. Good cleans, but not quite enough sparkle - could use more presence? Reverb is just ok. Have tried many tube types - find that certain tubes such as Sovtek, EH and JJ's make the overdrive sound a bit brittle. Settled on good old Groove tubes which smoothed out the brittle overdrive a bit and has given it a Vox AC30 type sound with natural compression. This was my go-to amp until I got a Crate V32 Palomino- better sounding cleans and smoother marshall sounding overdrive, less noise, plus a standby switch and presence button. With my Classic 30, I prefer using an Ibanez TS9 tubescreamer or Marshall Guv'nor 2 (Marshall for heavier distortion) as the first level of gain (can EQ them), and kick in the amp overdrive (with pedal engaged) for screaming leads since it gives you a treble boost also.

built like a little tank. Tubes are exposed, so always a challenge to transport without damaging them.

Never had to use support

Overall I would give this amp an 8 - Easy to set up and dial in a decent sound, lightweight, plenty of volume, ok features, good reliability. Probably would not replace it if stolen though since I don't feel they are worth the new asking price of $550 to $600. I bought mine for $400 which was ok. For $500, I would get another Crate V32 Palomino if available, or look with something else with better features .

My amp is about 4 years old - I'm the 2nd owner and bought it about a week ago. Very versatile; I even cranked out some Wes Mongomery on it using an arch top and it sounded good. I just bought the amp and used it for practice with the band recently and it did a fine job. The bass player looked at it after hearing how good it sounded size and mumbled "it just isn't fair". He has to tow a lot of speaker to cut through the mix like this thing (plus a 400 watt Ampeg amp!). I wish it had an 8 ohm load feature, but a friend of mine said he used a dummy jack in the external spkr. out to trick his into thinking it had a load and it worked. I'm going to try a Celestion vintage 30 in it and see what that does, but the factory speaker doesn't sound bad like some have said on this forum, just a little too mid-rangey for my taste. I'm used to older amps, Fender mainly (Deluxe Reverb, Pro Reverb, Twin Reverb, Princeton, etc) which sound great but are feature poor. Just having an effects loop is good enough for me, so I give it a 9. Kaa-ching!

I'm guitarded in the worst way. I'll buy one to re-sell and wind up liking it and keeping it. But I still only have one too many guitars: American Std. Strat, Baja Tele, Les Paul classic, Gibson CS356, 50s Tele, and an older Washburn J10 jazz box. That makes 6 electrics - oh wait! I still need one more to have one too many. What was I thinking? The amp is quiet with humbuckers and noisey with single-coils, like all other amps. I don't like or use the distortion channel although the boost button looks appealing. Haven't fiddled with that one enough yet, but I see possibilities. The clean channel sounds great at the volume that I use, but it gets a desirable tube distortion at about half way. Its really too loud for me to use at that point because I mic my amps. I ran the volume at about 3 for rehearsal and it did the job. I use pedals to get the overdrive. I have a SF Fender Twin Reverb to compare it to as well as a Dr. Z-28. They both sound great and this doesn't have the same tone as either one, but it sounds great in its own right. I had to run the mid down almost all the way and the treble up to 7 and the bass up to 8 to keep it from sounding too twangy with my strat, but to each their own. I like it so far and plan to gig out with this one next.

I can't speak for mine since I've only had it a little over a week, but a friend of mine (who turned me on to this little jewel) has had his for 15 years, played out 30 hours a week, and has never had a moment's trouble - just usual tube changes.

I've been playing for a good solid 44 years now and have owned my fair share of vintage gear in the past from Traynor, Marshall, and Fender to Silvertone and other old tube amps. I like this amp well enough to say it has a permanent home. Heck, I may even sell my Twin Reverb now that I have this. The twin sounds great but is a bear to haul around. Nah, then I would have one amp too few! Besides, I still use the Twin for recording and for calming my nerves at the end of a long day. Plus, its like my link to the past. This little Classic 30 can do the same, but its NOT the same, you know? I'll just keep 'em both . . . . along with my DrZ and my Dumble. Its a great little amp, very gig-worthy, and easy to haul. Plus, it looks cool and won't break the bank.

Classic 30 Vintage Tweed 1x12 combo (cool looking amp!!)
Styles of music: Rock, Classic Rock, Roots Rock, Blues and Rock-a-billy. This amp has the ability to cover them all.
This is a two channel amp with the clean producing some real nice bell tones when humbuckers are used. The overdrive channel is awesome and breaks up nice at lower volumes (this thing cranks too!)It's got a standard effects loop and an external speaker output too. I use this amp in my cover band and it has plenty of UMPH! to stay up front for the leads. On the outdoor events, I drag out my 2x12 open back extenstion cabinet. I have to give the features a 1 as it is limited, but it is all you need! Volume, tone, a little bit of verb...

I primarily use a Les Paul Special with P-90's, Les Paul Standard, PRS and a Tele for the pickin' stuff. Playing the straight up R&R it suits the music style great. This amp is fairly quiet, but has the typical tube hum. The clean channel with a distortion pedal tapping in and out give you a great jazz/country/rockabilly tone. the dirty channel with a compressor used for leads is awesome! I do not use my distortion pedal for the leads as the amps own break up is nice. The Blue Marvel speaker that came with it has been replaced a couple times. It was too brittle for me. I first tried a vintage 30 (kind of the same result, but muddier), but settled on a Scheffield 5150. This speaker really beefed the amp up and gave me a much better hitting bottom end that it needed. I didn't really care for the spring reverb that comes with it, so I run a sep. reverb and delay pedal through the effects loop. I also replaced the power tubes with J&J's. Stock amp I'd give it a 6 for sound, with Mods, I'd give it a 10+...

Peavey USA,....What can I say their stuff is bullet proof and lasts.

I've never had to deal with them

I've been playing for 27+ years and over the years I've become somewhat a guitar/amp/effects whore! I have many vintage amps that serve certain types of music beautifully. I've got a few modeling amps that sound great, but just don't give me the tube amp response to string attack. I wanted a small tube amp that I could easily drag out to gigs and not care to much about beating it up. This thing is awesome and cuts through the mix with authority. For the price, you can't beat it.

Don't wanna post the features again. (Read the manual on the Peavey homepage!).

Because 'less is better' I give it a 10. Who needs amp modeling anyway when the amp itself is sounding right?

The sound is crystal clear and could turn to crunchy. Typical american tube-amp sound known from THD or Fender in my oppinion. Lot's of dynamics!

Because of the fact that this amp is sounding sweet with my Hofner 4579 (LesPaul-Copy) and my Fender Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano, I give this amp a 10 again.

Well, althought the fact that this little amp feels sturdy, I hope that it never breaks. The amp is not wired point to point and the el. parts are on 3 connected PCB's. This is done for cost efficiency and not for serviceing. If a potentiometer has to be changed, the whole 3 boards must be squeezed to remove from the chassis. This is definitely not the best way...
For this i give it only a 5

never needed it but the schematics can be found online.

Although the amp may be hard to service it was a good deal for me and it sounds very good with my Fender Rhodes Stage Piano

Okay, first of all I own the Peavey Classic 30 Head. I figured id add to this review to you can get an idea what the head is like versus the combo. The head is about 2 yrs old now. I bought it new. Features are explained well in all other reviews. This amp is very versatile for what i play, which is mostly blues and rock. Ive tried the mid boost switch maybe twice, and i don't really see any use for it, IMO! Im sure it could fit great into someones style, but not mine. I honestly don't really use the "2nd channel" often at all. I find the best way to get a killer tone from this amp is to crank it! All the tone you will ever need is secretly hidden in the "volume" control. Play light and get cleared up chimey notes, but play hard and you'll get what you ask for, plenty of smooth output tube saturation. It's really nice! I rate this 5 only as i don't use anything else but the clean normal channel and the eq with a small amount of reverb.

I play this amp with a custom strat with fender texas special pickups, an epiphone les paul with humbuckers and a godin sd with 2 SC's and 1 split coil Dimarzio DP161 humbucker. As for my cab, i custom made a pine cabinet with 2 12" Celestions, actually "Hellatones" which are broken in celestions. 1 speaker is a vintage 30 and the other is a G12H30. You can get all the info on this particular setup from avatar or steamcomusic. One speaker is 30 watts and the other is 60 watts. I have this wired in series to get a 16ohm load, speakers are 8ohm's each. My cab is open back. This setup yields great results. These speakers are nicely matched for this amp. They have a higher dB level, about 100dB's each, which would mostly likely be about 5dB higher than the Marvel's you would get stock. Celestions are very efficient speakers and a must for this amp. I play with the pre-amp tubes here and there, swapping them around to see what i get for sound. It's a fun way to easily change the dynamics of the amp. Currently ive tried JJ's, Electro Harmonix and RCA. I've tried almost every combination i can get this what i have and the results are great. My next test is a balanced Tung-Sol for the Phase Inverter with 2 JJ's in V1 and V2. I'm currently still using the stock output tubes (SOVTEK) and they seem to work fine, but im going to swap them for JJ's and keep the stocks as a spare set. I've heard great things about the JJ's, and i mean for $40 bucks, you cant really go wrong. All of my guitars sound mint through this amp. I play SRV, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Dire straits etc. I've found that if you really want a different sound from the "2nd channel", run an overdrive pedal with that channel but only set the gain up to halfway at the most. I find that with the channel gives a kind of compressed signal which is cool for picking dynamics.

When i rehearse with my band i can get away with the volume around 4. It's easily loud enough with drums and bass etc. At home, i usually play around 6-7. It seems to really be the sweet spot for me personally. Playing a 12 i find you hear more of the EQ settings.

No issues here!

Don't have any stories for this as it's never been repaired. I find you can get all the information you need for this amp online by doing searchs for what your intent is. A lot of people play this amp and there's a lot of good information out there as far as settings, speakers used, tubes, wiring mods etc. Take a look, its fun to experiment.

Also, for most who complain about the Tubes rattling, i see that in other combos as well. With a head, you wont have to worry about this as long as your cab is tight and doesnt vibrate too much. But even if your cab vibrates some which can be good as well tonally, you can set the head beside the cab or buy a stand which puts the head on top of the cab without setting it directly on the cab.

14 yrs ive been playing, first peavey amp. Ive had a fender solid state (JUNK) and an epiphone valve junior head which was fun to play with. Ive used traynors, fenders, marshalls etc. My father in law uses a 71 fender bandmaster with 2 12" jenson alnicos, a 59 reissue bassman with 4 10" jenson alnicos and a marshall JCM800 head with a 2 12 avatar cab with Celestion G12H30's. When i come home from his place i can always count on my peavey to deliver what i need, even though ive just played through some remarkable amps and cabs. I wish this amp had more speaker inputs for 4ohm and 8ohm. You are limited to 16 ohm and i find most used speakers for sale are 8 ohm and it would be nice to try those individually without taking out 2 output tubes.

2 Channels tube amp (clean, crunch). A "boost" (I don't use it). Reverb, etc... just the basic stuff but still just what is needed, nothing more or less... maybe a standby switch would have been useful, maybe not after all. Clean may lack a little headroom for big venues in my opinion but for normal use, volume is pretty much just right.

I have to add that it is super easy and fast to dial a great sound out of this amp, which may be the reason why I stick with it.

Clean channel is pretty good. I play clean mostly and use this amp as a practice amp. As I said, I think it may lack headroom for super loud gigs, but I don't do that often so for practice, this is just right.

Crunch channel is very good for rock and funk. It is a bit midrangey which is awesome, it just cuts through the band so well.

The amp is a bit "boxy" and directional, so it may be better to mike it or at least, tilt it during a gig. I ran it through an extension 2x12 once but it was too bassy for my taste.

My amp is super quiet (which is good since I am used to a Jazz Chorus).

Allright so far (about 8 years), changed the tubes a couple of times.

I have never been super-anal about tone compared to most people here but I am a pro musician and after all these years, I tend to stick with what sounds good. Other amps I have right now are are a Mesa Boogie Mark IV (main amp) and a Roland Jazz Chorus (JC120). I usually play with a strat or some sort of archtop.

I use this amp for personal practice and small band rehearsal (I'd rather gig with the Mark IV if I can though). Considering its size and versatility, I think this amp is amazing for what I do with it.

Everybody is talking about the mods on this amp but I don't see the point of that so much as I think it is fine as it is (instead of spending $300 on a replacement speaker/tubes/etc, I'd rather just sell the amp and buy something else). If I need something specific soundwise, I'll just get my Mark IV, but for practice or band rehearsal, this is just perfect: sound great, easy to dial and doesn't look like the dash board of a space shuttle (like my Mark IV).