Peavey Classic 30

NOTE: This review is for a C30 with a 112 classic extension box.The same as the other posts - all you need except a footswitch for the boost circuit.

I hot rodded my first C30 (review below) and decided to get another as a benchmark. All I have done is put in a good set of matched output tubes. I compared it to my modded C30 and was quite surprised! This amp sounds killer unmodded - while the mods do smooth out the distortion and change the character of the tone somewhat, this stock amp ROCKS. The extension cabinet really makes a difference it adds a ton of bottom end. I can nail Santana's tone on "Europa" (better than my original hand built 78 Mesa Mk I - which is what I assume was used on the record). The amp is very quiet. I tried a bunch of different speakers in the extension cabinet (JBL, Celestion 70 & 25, Altec, EV and Fane) none sounded as good as the stock speaker (much of this may have to do with it being 16ohm and the others being 8). I have an extensive variety of guitars and all sound great with both C30's (Tried Hamers -w- Duncan; P90, Seth Lover, JB's, 59's and Dimarzio's SD, Strats with stock Fender, Dimarzio, Duncan stacked, EMG sc & hb, Lace sensors [red, blue and gold], Parker -w- Dimarzio's and the Fishman piezo's - and a bunch of of misc. others). The amp remains true to the pickup tone - however, I prefer the sound of the humbuckers (particularly the Parker Dimarzio's and the Hamer Seth Lover's). The thing I like most about the sound is that I can get a great lead tone that is controllable, quiet and readily feeds back without any stomp boxes. The thing I like least is the clean sound lacks headroom for use at higher volumes - this is a function of only 30 watts. I have a pile of amps (antique, boutique and production) from many mfgs. including many sought after "classics" (not Peavey classics) NONE have the overall tone and versatility of this amp. Sorry to burst the bubble of many owners of overpriced amps but this is the honest truth. Yeah I have old tweed amps and Mil Spec boutiques that sitting in a quiet room have more character, but on the bandstand with the drummer banging away, those subtleties get quickly lost. I'm still looking for something better (and continue to use the C30 in the meantime). I read these reviews and everyone thinks their amp sounds the best and is a "10". Since I am still looking and have amps with either a better distortion or clean sound (but not both)I will rate this one an 8.

Pretty straightforward design - NO the transformer is not interleaved and paper wrapped and YES it does use circuit boards and board mounted tube sockets. The chassis is light guage and components are mediocre (pots/caps etc.) but in average use I have found the C30 very reliable (0 failures in 4yrs). I do suggest two modifications (1) put a fan cooler on the tubes & (2) relocate the main power fuse to an external fuseholder. Puttiong a metal strip across the back of the cabinet to protect the tubes is also highly reccommended.

Don't know, never used them - but they were Johnny on the spot with schematics.

For the volumes I need an amp to provide, the overall sound/tone, versitility, size/weight and reliability this is a great amp. When you factor the price it is an amazing one!

Short on features, but flexible enough for what I used it for. You already know the drill: all tube, 2 "channels" (reall ajust a gain boost). EL-84 Power tubes, like all the Classic series amps

I am playing a Hamer Special with Duncan P-90s through my Peavey. It is really noisy because of the single coils. It either sounds really good, or really bad-- kind of love/hate with this amp. The distortion "channel" sounds really good only in certain places-- at 5.5, it is some if the most beautiful sound I have heard. Most of the gain channel sucks, though, to be honest.

This thing is NOT reliable. Internal fusing, PC mounted tubes, and chintzy component quality mean only one thing: disappointment. It has gone down on me three times, twice during gigs. Not acceptable. It now only gets played in my bedroom, where a failure is only mildly annoying. I have to mention how Peavey really pissed me off. Something inside the amp came loose, shorted to the chassis, and took out the transformer and a few diodes. Simple fix, right? WRONG!!! Peavey won't sell you the parts unless you have them fix it-- AND IT WILL COST A FORTUNE! My repair bill for this adventure was $150, of which $120 WAS LABOR!! Labor I could have done myself, had I been allowed to get the parts. (Besides, what kind of moron takes 4 hours to ake apart a classic 30, replace two diodes and a transformer, and put it back together? How was the coffee?)

I don't understand Peavey. Somethings they make are so wonderful, but they always find a way to ruin it. For example, the 5150 cabinet is one of the best sounding ones out there-- yet the casters are so crappy that most people replace them when they bring the new cab home. Why be such a corporate tightwad? Are real casters THAT expensive? I think Peavey needs to reconsider where it cuts costs.

I have playing for 9 years very seriously. Because of this, a Mesa Heartbreaker is now in the budget. For the most part, I like the amp, but it has qualities (useless boost switch, exposed tubes, unreliability) that really irk me. Still, it is the best I have heard for the money. If I was 19 again, and looking for my first tube amp, I would buy it again. But I am not, so I will be replacing it with a better, but more expensive amp (maybe a classic 100 w/ a 4x12)

I bought the amp summer of 98 and believe it's a 97. I play blues or blues based music almost exclusively, for which it is perfectly suited. The chicken head knobs are nice, but I think they're upside down since people usually adjust from the front of the amp, not standing behind. Other than that they are high quality. Three 12AX7's and 4 EL84's sit under the chassis, so Peavey needs to put at least a metal rod behind and in front of them - they stick out in the open inviting accidental jarring. The amp is really one channel I believe, and the footswitch puts the signal thru another gain stage (the second tube) for the distortion (this is lousy for versatility but makes for a smooth transition between clean and distortion - and cuts costs). It has an effects loop, but with my Boss Super Chorus (CE5) it sucks - the tone fades and my pedal seems overpowered. I need to get another type of chorus to see if it's my pedal or the loop. The footswitch has reverb on/off: as said by others, STUPID. Please Peavey, put a midboost on/off in its place. My model has the old "no name" 16 ohm speaker. The new ones have the Blue-something-or-other. If I had the money I put a Jenson or a Celestion Vintage in its stead.

I play at blues jams in small bars and this amp is tailor made for the task! My main ax is an Am. St. Strat. I also have a S-S-S config'd tele with Van Zandts and a stock Les Paul Custom. The Les Paul pushes the 30 like hell, so I volume down and eq appropriately. For the other guitars I put the 3 band eq at the lowest settings for smooth creaminess and saturate the tubes. The eq on this little amp is outstanding - I can go from Clapton to Albert King in seconds. The clean side is great (I've never overdriven it), and the more gain (labeled "post" I think) dialed on the distortion channel the more it compresses. This is good if you like it smooth. If you like "chunky beef" you'll need to keep the gain lower and the pre volume raised. It's true, the louder this amp goes the better it sounds. Nice in a bar or small club, and it is quiet. Put a mic on it and you won't go wrong. My only complaints are that the high eq is on the shrill side - so the scooped mids tone is not what it should be. Also, I tried to use my Boss Graphic Eq pedal as a volume boost; no problem on the clean, but on the distortion side the amp CANNOT handle it. Furthermore, no matter what tubes I've used, the distortion has a point at about 7.5 on the dial where it goes from non-compressed to compressed. I'd like a more gradual transition.

One thing you can say about Peaveys - they are damn tough amps. Never had a problem.

Never dealt with them.

For the music I play and where I play, this is the best sounding of all the amps I've owned. I had a Yamaha T100C Soldano-designed amp that didn't measure up so I sold it. If it were lost or stolen that would be an excuse to run up my credit card so I'd take the opportunity to buy something bigger. I've been shopping around for a gig amp and find that I compromise more with other standard amps than I do with the PV 30. For the price it absolutely can't be beat. I compared it to a Fender Blues Deville (too loud, too heavy, noisy), a Princeton Chorus, and to others - but the 30 was perfect. A boutique amp will probably be my only option to get everything I want (great tone, expansive volume distribution, clarity, smooth distortion, light weight, open reverb, solid construction, pedal-compatible effects loop, sweepable mid eq - I'm dreaming! If you know this amp tell me). My heros are David Gilmour, Albert King, Luther Allison, SRV, and Albert Collins. This amp sounds good playing along with all of 'em. If you play the blues check this amp out. NOTE: A lot of harmonica players use these Classic 30's and they sound GREAT. Especially with a Green Bullet Mic.

The features are well covered by others so I won't go into them much. It does have two "channels", so it rates slightly better than average. It lacks a presense control. The footswitch SHOULD switch the boost, not the reverb. The boost is useless for altering sound when playing live.

The sound is exactly what the name says - "classic". I've read all the negative comments and agree to a point. When the amp is cranked and you get that nice power tube distortion it sounds VERY fine - classic. At low volume there is too much high end and the distortion is too harsh, but, played at high enough volume to clip it sounds nice indeed. The clean channel doesn't have enough compression (or any for that matter) until the power section starts to clip. Again, this is not a problem when you are turned up, but is very bad at low volume. The boost is useless because of where it is placed in the circuit (compare to Mesa-Boogie). It COULD be a third "channel" - a third distinct distortion sound - if designed correctly. Let's face it. This stuff isn't rocket science, computer science, or voodoo. It's just tubes, caps, and resistors and how the stages cascade. Why did the designers make the choices they made? Who knows? The overall sound is a good old-fashioned tube amp - classic - sound when cranked. To get a good, singing, creamy distortion sound, you will definitely have to give it some help. It doesn't have a pleasant sound at low practice level volumes. But, playing loud it is very good. It is what it says it is - classic.

No data available. It does get very hot. Knowing that it is circuit board based makes me nervous.

You wouldn't believe the crap that I have been playing through for years, so anything would be a big improvement. I don't mind enhancing the sound with add-ons. I have a Peavey Rockmaster that I am fond of for a nice, smooth, heavy distortion, for example. I was looking for a low cost, basic two channel, low cost, all tube amp, that was low cost, inexpensive, and cheap. Did I mention low cost? This was it and it does nicely. Its not a Mesa. Hey, its not even a Peavey Ultra. But it cost $235. Can't beat it.

this amp is pretty simple: an all tube combo, with reverb and two channels. It has an effects loop and a boost seitch that is my opinion is pretty useless for the lead channel but is OK in the clean channel. Good boues/rock amp. Don't let the 30 watts fool you with the expension cabinet (Classic 112) this baby is good enough for most clubs. My guitars are An Ibanez 550 with a tone zone in the lead position and an Air Norton in the neck, An Ibanez PGM (same configuration) a Hamer Vector and a fifties reissue Strat with texas specials. I can quickly dial in god tones on all on these guitars although the Ibanez PGM is my main instrument.

Great low end, the Mids are pretty overpowering so I keep the mid knob at about 4 the treble is balanced nicely on the amp. Clean tones are nice with the amp even at relatively high volumes, I use a delay through the effects loop and get a realy nice tone that can be used for country and clean blues stuff. the lead channel was a little harsh with the stock tubs so I replaced them with groove tubes and that made a world of difference. I also use a Marshall Drivemaster for extra lead punch when I need it, though that isn't very often. I would call the tone I get as being smooth and thick but not really distorted...it's seeet.

I haven't had it long enough to say for sure. I do wish the tubes were better protected.

don't know yet, I hope I don't have to find out.

I have been playing for 15 years and have gone through Marshalls Hiwatts, GK's, Fenders, Laneys and other amps. I was using a Marshall JCM 900 50 watt combo amp when I first heard this Peavey. I took it home and tried them side by side and preferred the Peavey. I still have the Marshall and consider it to be my backup.
By only gripe is that I wish it had separate equalization for the lead and clean channels. Since this amp isn't a true two channel box that isn't possible so I have to live with that and , so far, have been able to do so quite well.
I am thinking of buying a Classic 50 410 also. I am impresses with Peavey lately, apparently they skimp on the workmanship to keep the prices down but I haven't experienced that yet. I'd recommend the Classic 30 to anyone except for flat out Metal players.

30-Watt All-tube with 1 12" Speaker, Lead and clean channel. Nothing fancy but a nice little amp.Purchased in 1994.

I use a Squier Strat with three single coils. I play oldies/classic rock/country. I occasionally play my old Univox LP copy. This is a good sounding amp. It definately needs a little volume before it sounds its best. I gets a nice clean sound and an alright overdrive tone when you crank the pre-gain. My biggest complaint is that the "in-between" tones are a little lacking. If I back off the pre-gain I seem to lose all my tone. (I'm still using the original tubes and I'm using the stock cheapy strat pickups so that may account for some of it.) I purchased a Peavey Bandit 65 back in '82 and it was the same way. I can get a pretty good oldies tone by cranking the reverb and playing on the neck pick-up. For country I alternate between positions 2 and 4 on my pickup selector. I've found the bridge pickup is just a bit too "bitey" in the clean channel but I use it quite a bit in the lead channel. I use the mid boost only on rare occasions. Again, I get the best results when I'm actually "moving some air." The reverb is acceptable but it aint no Fender!

What can I say? I haven't changed the tubes or anything since I got it. I've taken good but not great care of it and have had no problems at all. I've been concerned about the location of the tubes (it's easy to snag the power cord on them when you pull it out of the back of the amp) but I haven't had any problems yet. I have played many times without a backup amp and will continue to do so.

I've never had any problems with any Peavey gear. I've owned 3 of their amps and have an ancient 6 channel PA I use for practice and it's all worked great. I've never actually had to use their customer support but I assume it's good.

I've been playing about 18 years. I'm into using a whole lot of crap between my guitar and amp. I do have a Peavey Stereo FX processor pedal occassionally (it's a great little unit by the way) but usually I just go straight into my amp. I like this amps compact size and its sheer volume for just 30-watts. It's been loud enough for me in my four-piece band. It looks great. I removed the funky brown plastic Peavey logo because I think it detracts from the vintage vibe. I've never really used the loop so I don't know how well it works. It's been a good, no-frills amp. The only thing I'd change is the fact that the lead channel is a bit bland until you crank the pre-gain up to about 8. It's difficult to pull off a good, slightly overdriven 50's/60's sound. For the money, this is a good little amp which I would recommend to anyone needing a reliable, inexpensive amp.

The Classic 30 is a pretty good little tube amp for the budget minded. It's got reasonably good tone, and makes a lot of noise for a small fairly light box. Before I bought it, I did a lot of comparison shopping with other amps in the same general category-25-50 watt tuba amps, but they all sounded pretty much the same. The Fender was 100$ more, even the Crate Vox knock off was more expensive. I play blues, country and jazz and find that this amp is fine for that kind of thing. In retrospect the construction of the amp does seem a little flimsy, and I'm, not fussy about how the tubes are so exposed.

I play guitars with both single coil and humbuckers-the amp sounds good with both, but benefits from the extra bottom end you get with the humbuckers. Suits my style well,but could use just a touch more cleanliness at high around 7 volume on the clean channel.Keeping fresh tubes in the thing might help (any suggestions?). Find that the overdrive channel set for a clean sound is really good for country, or for an Albert Collins kind of blues sound if you push it some. It's not a particularly versatile amp, but a resourceful player could get a lot out of it

Just after I bought it, the speaker conked out on me, covered under warranty so got a new one, but it was a drag to have this brand new amp, and not be able to play it for a month while I waited for the new speaker. Since then no probs. I play most every weekend and the things works fine. It seems a little hard on tubes, but I like a ceaner sound so I change them pretty often. I have several sets and am always messing around with something. I've owned a bunch of Peavey's and they're pretty reliable

As I mentioned I had to have the speaker replaced under warranty. They were quite helpful after I gave them a bit of a nudge; I had to phone them a couple of times to make sure they were on the case

I've been playing for over 20 years. I've owned a bunch of Peavey amps and find that they're good value for the money. They're not a 56 Bassman, but they don't cost an arm and a leg either. I think back to when they started out in the early 70's, and were making their 'vintage' line of tube amps-everyone else, including Fender, was trying to push transistors down guitar players throats and Peavey was the only one who seemed interested in keeping the tube sound available.

It's got a whole lot of goodness. But no standby switch, seperate eq for each channel, or footswitch option for the boost on the drive channel. I only really care about the last problem, but not anymore now that I got a pedal to but in front.

I play a MIM Fender Strat with lace sensors into a Boss Blues Driver into the Classic 30 + 12" cab. The amp flat out rocks. I like every sound that comes out of it. I can turn it on after moving it from somewhere, with the knobs way out of whack, and find a new sound that is great. My favorite thing to do with this amp is to use the gain channel with pre down low and post cranked, and use my Blues Driver for distortion. The gain channel is smoother with a pedal than the clean channel. Tubescreamer in front wails for a solo, so does the boost button, but again, no footswitch, arrgghh! 12" cab with closed back really adds punch, and makes up for low watts.

After couple of weeks, up and faded away. One of the connectors in the tube sockets came out when we checked the tubes. Took it back into the store and got a new one within a week. New one is good so far, but speakers are going out from crankin it.

Replaced this one with help of local store, Peavey not involved. Earlier though, I requested schematics for another amp, and they gave it for free.

This amp actually belongs to my friend, but considering his guitar is short all but the wood, he generously let me borrow it until I could get one for myself. I was so impressed that I've purchased the Classic 50 4x10. It got me through the first couple of gigs of my first band, all the while competing with a knob happy lead guitarist using a 150 watt Johnson Millenium. I wasn't impressed at first with the 30 watts, because it changed too much as I cranked it, but then I grew to like this tone (my first taste of power tube saturation) and turned down the pre so I could have more post. After solid state amps for three years, the Classic 30 is exactly what I hoped for out of a tube amp. Buy one used for about $250, and you will get the best tone for your dollar out there.

A very versatile amp...but it's distortion channel is nothing to brag about. Its features include Reverb (decent), high-mid-low tone control, a bass boost (not very good), effects loop, foot-switch jack (extra $30 for the switch), a 16 Ohm external speaker jack, and the classic "back panel" setup. The tubes are in the open, so it somtimes makes me nervous.

I don't get much sustain out of the either the clean or the distortion channels. The distortion is pretty ruff, and sounds the best when it's loud. The clean channel pops some times. I use a Stratocaster Elite prototype with three s-coil pickups and an active pickup. I'd suggest a rackmount compressor of some sorts (not a pedal!). Get a Roktron Preamp to go with it if you are serious about getting good distortion out of it at low volume levels. I'd rip out the tubes and put nicer ones in.

It's sturdy, although as I stated before the tubes are in the open. I haven't had any malfuntions yet.

I called about a foot pedal, and all I could get onto was their Newsgroup. This was helpful, but it took a day or two to get an answer.

To get -- Compressor/Limiter/Gate; Tube Preamp;

This is new amp made in 98. The the amp has lot of versatility for its size. It has two channels and a boost and avery nice reverb. The footswitch cost an additional $22US and is well worth it. Tweed covering, chicken head knobs and very easy to use. This is a great amp to play out becuase its so simple( and better yet- light). It does not have a standby switch, however which would b a nice addition, and the fuse is not easily replaced. (Its very VOXlike in some respects.)

I use it mainly with a Les Paul double cut standard. From the compliments I get it must be OK. I've heard about the tubes being poor, mine came with Sovtek power tubes ad Yugoslavian preamp tubes, and sounds fine. It has an unusually high degree of natural compression, so much so that I only kick in my Boss compressor to get a higher attack. I play exclusely with the boost in and the only complaint I have is that the volume isn't ver linear. I play it at 1&1/2 to 2 and its plenty loud! It sustains quite well. The only tone problem I have is it will oscillate if I use an overdrive pedal before the lead channel- but since the tone of the amp is so sweet I rarely use the pedal (Daddy-O) any more. I haveplayed my Strat and Tele through it also. The Tele gets a nice country twang with theboost off. The amp has a HUGE bottom end. I usually run the treble at 11 and the mid and bass at about 5. I play out about 3 nights a week and the times I don;t have this amp I wish I did.

So far, so good

Hope I never find out.

I am considering buying a second to have as a backup. I just get "that sound" when I use this amp. It sounds more like a Boogie than my Boogie does. I play southern rock and blues and this amp/guitar combo fit like a glove. The nice thing is I can buy four of these for what I paid for my Mesa Boogie, and it sounds better. Hey, sound is all a matter of opinion, but I love this amp. Its my number one workhorse out of 6 amps I own. I've been playing over 20 years and it took me that long to find this amp. It sounds like a DeVille 4x10 but without the harshness and ear shattering treble.