Peavey Classic 30

Two channel, Boost(useless,)Effect in/out, External speaker output make use of this feature. All tube epoxie board. The boost sounds solid state like a cheap fuzz box. But a good amp for the money.
I tried several preamp tubes when I first got it new in 1992, The triplet of tubes tested in the high 90's and have served well. the output tubes are unchanged.

I tend to think of it as having a marshall sound. Though I've never owned a Marshall, I have Jamed with a few Guitarist who used them and so you may or may not agree with that point. Anyway I mostly play an ESP mirage custom through it but it sounds pretty good with a Strat or Tele as well. I've played a guild DV-52 (trayed that for a 67 pointac) with a seymore duncon soundhole pickup through it and it sounded fine.

You can depend on it! I would you use it on a gig without a backup. The amp never broken down. People gripe about the tube retainers. I hauled it 1500 miles (just once) in the back of a chevy truck. I ment to remove the tubes, I forgot, no big deal, no damage.

N/A

I would replace this amp. After all I got it to give my vintage black stripe super a break. I've been Playin' 26 yrs. I would consider another low end Peavy to drag around.. It is a little noisey and thin with single coil pickups. It sounds better on the humbuckers or realy fat single coils. Lots of bang for the buck!

This is a 'posthumous' review of an amp that I sold- I needed the money...I should be shot...
It's just your basic two channel tube amp featuring 3 12ax7's in the preamp and 4 el84's in the power section, reverb, 3 tone controls shared by each channel, and a completely useless boost switch (which may prove to be of use if one runs the amp through an extension cab. Otherwise, it really just seems to add some mud and a 'boxy' groove to the tone).
I used this amp for jamming at my house, but it's definitely loud enough for small to medium gigs. As a Boogie owner, I feel qualified to make that comment. I would have loved to take her to some of the smokey bars here in New Orleans and just cranked her up...*sigh*

I ran a 2000 model ErnieBall/Musicman Silhouette Special(a quality handmade American Made axe)with h-s-s configuration through her with stock picks. I would have loved to hear her with a good bridge single, though- or conversely, a good neck hummer. But, I'm realizing now that I'm a single coil guy- and that's alright.

Take those stock tubes and throw them away. If you don't, then you will never know what this amp's potential is. With the stock glass, she's harsh and compressed, brittle when driven and bland when clean (blarghh!). Go to torresengineering.com and educate yourself about vacuum tubes and buy some Sovtek 5751's for the pre and a matched set of Sovtek 'green' el84's for the power section. If you want more clean headroom, get the Sovtek "blue's". I'll dispense with the tube reviews-but wouldn't it be nice to have a tube review section here at H.C.??
That being said, with the new tubes in place, what you get is a super-duper clean channel. I hate to use this cliche', but it's fender-like, or quasi-Fender, if you will. It's warm, deep, and inviting. Spanky too. When pushed, it's clipping is smooth and buttery. On the overdrive channel, you'll get that super smooth classic rock tone that I never admitted to liking in front of my 'Dual Rectumfryer' friends. Switch on the neck pickup and dig in hard, and you are rewarded with a super 'chirpy', low-down, smokey bar, greasy chittlin eatin', raunchy fingernail havin', yellow eyed, scruffy blues tone that'll make make you run to the mirror to see if you turned into Alber King. Seriously, you have got to crank it up to believe it. I know it's a Peavey and I've owned, sold, and traded Fender, Mesa, and others, but it's just a good amp. It belongs alongside of a good Fender or Mesa Sinc Mesa can't get that glassy, sparkling clean- and anyone that says that it can is obviously a tube virgin...where has time gone?
3 with stock glass, 8 with new glass, 10 with new glass and Fralins.

I don't like the way the tubes are exposed in the rear of the amp. Thast power cord is just waiting to lynch one of them. I also don't like the stock tube retainers, though they are functional. All in all, you can't beat the bang for the buck on this amp. Real tube tone, real tube feel, and if you get bored with the tone, you can change the glass real quick. Still seems solid. Bring xtra tubes with you on gigs becasuse you never really know...an 8 because she served me well for 2 years before I sold her. I know the new owner will be happy...*sigh*

Never dealt with 'em.

I've been playing for 12 years. When I was in highschool, I went through my Slayer, death phase, but as I mature, I'm noticing that I'm buying guitars with less and less humbuckers on them and amps with less and less gain in the pre stages. Kids, don't make fun of your fathers music, for soon, you'll be playing along with the classic rock station-yep, living in denial as I once did. Then one day, you'll turn around after hammering out that Credence Clearwater riff only to discover your friends staring at you in disbelief (shit, how'd they get in here??)and you thought you were still home alone! It's like getting busted when your 'choking the chicken'!
I love playing it, I love the sounds, blows my friends hotrod out of the water, so screw it, I give it a 9. I'm going to go buy another one.

Here's my pre studio mixing review of this amp following some basic tracks I've been recording. This amp is a winner.

On some tracks, I'm using an SM57 close mic aimed at the speaker cone and slightly off axis, with a second condensor mic with the 10db pad kicked in at a 3:1 distance ratio with a cardoid pattern aimed dead center at the 12" speaker. This amp loves the studio and I've had it running day in and day out, including rehearsals. The basic tracks sparkle and I'll probably mix the project at Stepbridge Studions on a vintage Neve BCM 10 sidecar synched to an SSL 4000 G series w/Total Recall. This is where I'll track the final lead parts on Neve, then bump it to SSL and mix. That's right, I'll be using this amp for lead parts.

Pick any current production tube amp from $1,000 down and the Classic 30 smokes all of them. When I'm finished mixing the project I'll send a CD to Peavey. As some of you know, I originally replaced the bass cap with a Sprague .022 uf 600/VDC orange drop and noted no difference in bass response, and the cap required precision bending to fit it into the eyelets, then had to be tucked in so it would not hang over the top of the PCB, because of its size. Well, the Sprague .047 uf 600/VDC orange drop cap is 25? to 30? TIMES the SIZE of the ORIGINAL .022 original cap that comes with the amp. So, for those of you contemplating dropping one of those in, GOOD LUCK! LOL.

See below.

I've been very hard on this amp since I bought it. Only because I'm interested to see if it will hold up. Usually leaving amps on for hours on end is not good. So far this one doesn't care and hasn't crapped out yet.

Don't know.

Recording presents a true picture of the source you're recording. When you have an excellent sounding source, you don't have to EQ it to death, process it, or fix it in the mix. So there you have it *)

I love it!! I play blues,&rock. It has two channles and a boost switch.(Distortion and clean) It also features an efx loop. It has an equalizer(bass,middle,and treble) It's all tube combo.

I own a Fender Stratocaster, and a Telecaster. The pickups are strat single coils, and an single coil Lace Sencer(High Output Humbucker). The sounds are really full and warm on the clean channle,but on the overdrive it's real ronchy.I love it!!!!!

I can depend on it. I would use it on any gig without a backup. The amp. has never broken down.

The warranty is up.

I have been playing for 8 years. I would buy it again if it were stolen. I love the look and especialy the sound.

All the features are listed in the reviews below. The 9 rating is in comparison with the Fender Blues Jr., which doesn't have overdrive.

I have 14 electric guitars of various configurations and styles that I play 14 electric guitars thru this amp. The amp can't do miracles but has a good clean crisp sound if not overdriven. The reverb is deep and pure. The built in overdrive sounds just as it should; gravelly but not grungy. If there is a disappointment, it is the 'boost' button which is unnecessary.

To soon to tell, but my other Peavey amp has been a workhorse.

Its great not to have ever needed them!!

After comparing the Classic 30 to a couple other small tube amps, there was no question as to the best value.

Before anything else, I just like to mention that I haven't used this amp extensively simply because I just tried it several times in the store. Anyway, the amp has 2 channels (clean and OD) and a Boost channel. 3 Chinese-made 12AX7s in the preamp and 4 Russian EL-84s in the power section. Did I mention reverb? Pre and Post Gain controls for the OD channel, effects loop, TWEED COVERING AND OXBLOOD GRILLE CLOTH for that Classic look, 12" speaker.

Using the stock tubes, I think the amp sounds a little bit middy and a bit noisy. The clean channel is fine; dark but not as much as a Marshall. The reverb is cool. The distortion is kinda fuzzy at higher gain settings and I think it gets a bit tinny. I don't know if it is because the stock tubes are kinda inferior, or is it because I am used to the fat sounding tube overdrive of my Mesa Boogie amp. The boost channel is very boxy, thanks to its mid boost characteristic, unfortunately it sounds too nasal.

I guess the observation that there is some kind of RATTLE when the amp is cranked up. Maybe the chasssis ain't that tough, or the components on the PCB are not that secured.

I have plans of buying this amp for the reason that I like tube amps. Been playing for nine years and I have been a tube tone worshipper since I have owned my first tube amp, and I have pondered on buying another one. The Classic 30 seems to be a good option since it is relatively more affordable than most tube amps in the market. Furthermore, I wanna have the amp with the vintage vibe. But due to some of the weaknesses of the amp on my first few tries with it, I might consider changing the tubes when I finally decide to buy it. As stock, it sounds well but not perfect. Many recommend changing the tubes and the tone improves by 30-40%. I just can't wait till I get one of these soon. I have tried a lot of other amps and this is one that belongs to the upper 25%.

This is my final review of this remarkable amp, in relation to which, I hope to fully clarify my previous reviews below. I want to thank many of you who have sent me e-mails; however, as I spend a great deal of time on recording projects, I do my best to respond to everyone. Thus, let me proceed: 1) the Classic 30 will offer you a transparent picture of your signal source. Thus, if you are using a cheap guitar with inferior electronics and shielding, don't expect the Classic 30 to perform a miracle, as no amp can possibly do this. 2) I don't recommend modifying this amp. For one thing, Peavey has delivered a solid product, and although I initially entertained the idea of upgrading the caps directly above the tube sockets from V1 through V7, where a great deal of heat occurs, here's why I didn't: a) the small round caps directly above the tube sockets will divert heat, as opposed to a larger cap which will not dissipate heat as quickly; b) although I replaced the cap for the bass EQ with a Sprague .22 uf 600vdc, this cap is 20 times the size of the original cap, and required precision bending and fitting the wires which barely fitted through the PCB eyelets and had to be tucked in so it would not extend beyond the top section of the PCB. Did I notice a significant difference in bass tone after the mod? No! I did not, which is why I did not replace the middle and treble caps; c) Fuses: the reason manufactures adopted internal fuses was because many of the vintage amps with external fuses were swapped out for fuses with much higher ratings, usually resulting in an amp frying and, moreover because of the much higher AC voltage being rectified into DC voltage, resulting in dangerous amps, since most of them used two prong chords plugged into sockets with an open ground. Rather than complain about internal fuses, look to the receptacle you are plugged into at the gig! GE puts out a 3 prong tester that when plugged into any receptacle will indicate: open ground; open neutral; open hot; hot/ground reveresed; hot/neutral reversed; and CORRECT. Likewise, if the receptacle you're plugged into is kicking out above 120 AC voltage, then YOUR POWER FUSE MAY BLOW! So consider using an inline voltage regulator, rather than worry about internal fuses. The Classic 30 uses an internal fuse on the power side, and an internal fuse on the circuit side. Fuses don't just blow! c) although I don't use reverb since I use close and distant miking techniques in the studio, resulting in natural room reverb, I removed the reverb tank. But, Peavey was correct in placing the reverb tank at the bottom base of the combo, as opposed to placing the reverb tank in the chassis, alongside with other components. Very smart move. Bottom line there is no perfect amp, but the Classic 30 is a winner. I don't work for Peavey, so I don't care what they think. I am only concerned with the sound and the artist or band I am working with in the recording trenches.

I'm going to be using the Classic 30 on an up-and-coming recording project. My hunch is that that it will kick some serious ass, but I'm not going to jump the gun, until the results are in. To date, this amp
is serious business, but I'll know more after the project.

Refer to reviews below.

Refer to reviews below.

Refer to reviews below subject to my clarification above. Take it with a grain of salt, as all sounds are subjective.

1995 with two channels, clean and dirty. Reverb/ common 3 band EQ.
Footswitch for reverb and channels. Effects loop and external speaker output. All tube!

I have a 91 Les Paul and a 91 Strat modified (pickups ae Texas Specials in the bridge and middle position and Lace Sensors Humbucker with single coil switch. I play anything from Jeff Beck to Allman Brothers and everything in between. I use the amp mainly in my studio (due to the power) but I have used it live and also a 50 watt version.
I don't use the clean channel much or not at all. It's great for any kind of music depending on what you use with it and how you set it. I put a tube screamer on to get really good sustain and a bit of crunch.
If you want natural sound that sounds like YOUR axe buy one of these!
Ive used my 50 watt with a Mark 4 boogie live but I always go back to the Peavey. It sounds really good for recording especially leads.

Never broken down. Ever! I played with other people who used them, they got dropped and kicked around, you know what happens when it's late and the club owner stiffs you! No problems, after all it is a Peavey.

never used it.

I have been playing for over 20 years and have owned numerous amps of different makes, but this to date is the best amp Ive owned and the biggest bang for the buck. It gets the vimntage tone at a VERY reasonable rate. Actually it's just right, every other company rips us off.

This is an update to my previous review below. I've put this amp through some rigorous testing since purchased. As a producer and mixing engineer, I am very picky about sound. Because I get to hear many different amps in the studio, I've been around the block. I highly recommend this amp.
It is versatile in that you have a wonderful clean channel and the second channel delivers a vintage Marshall tone! If you want metal, add a pedal! Most amps featuring channel switching either have a great clean channel or a radical overdrive channel. This amp is balanced and has both. What more could you want? Need more power? Try a Classic 50 it is similar to the Classic 30: 12AX7 in V1, V2 & V3 handing off to a quad of EL 84's, save for the larger trannies in the Classic 50, and other slight variations.
All combos rattle as vibration is transferred to the chassis. So, run a half inch bead of Permatex on the top and sides of the chassis, let it fully cure, re-install chassis, and it will act as a shock absorber and avoid the usual combo vibration syndrome.
There's a nice sweet blank spot where the PCB folds into three pieces behind the chassis. I drilled 1" holes for ventilation and park a fan behind the amp. It is super quiet compared to many other high dollar amps currently being produced.
I have added one Sprague .022 uf 600 vdc cap to the bass EQ. I do not recommend modding it to a .047. There's already plenty of bottom even when running single coils through it! The middle and treble are fine.
I like the metal corners, the construction, and I've had this amp running 24 hours at a time in the studio.
Now, for those of you freaked about the fuse. There is a fuse on the power side and an internal fuse rated a 1 amp. POWER FUSES DON"T JUST BLOW! They will blow when you have a bad power supply which is why we use voltage regulators on high end studio consoles. So when you hook any amp up in a club setting, check the receptacle to see if it's grounded, and if it's kicking out too much current.
Consider adding an inline voltage regulator rather than worrying about internal fuses. Also consider a adding a surge protector when playing any venue.
I would never recommend anything I do not believe in. I don't care who the company is, the bottom line is sound. I will never compromise an musician's sound in a recording situation.
As someone who has produced and mixed records for mega-platinum songwriter's and artists, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS AMP. I will continue to post my opinions in connection with any company that puts out junk. So, if anyone has a problem with that, zap me with an e-mail.

Refer to my review below.

Refer to my review below.

Refer to my review below.

I experiment with a variety of equipment. Most of it is unremarkable. Most company's are run by bean counters who know nothing about music much less what it's like inside the trenches of a recording studio. The Classic 30 smokes most of the competition, is very quiet and a pleasure to record. Kind of like a vintage Vox AC30 (clean) without the noise, and with channel switching for a classic Marshall sound.
Nicely made.

Just got my first opportunity to use this amp when we played in Montreal this weekend. I purposely brought it, even though it was in a small to medium sized hall, just to see what it could put out. I guess when one or two fellow band members tell you you're too loud, in a venue of that size, (on a fair-sized stage), then that's a pretty good sign! For the price, (Come On!!), it simply does not get any better than this for a tube amp! I didn't half to turn up the clean channel more than half, and around that point I began to lose the nice clean headroom. But remember, this is a little 30 watt combo. The gain channel sounded pretty good, but I didn't really get a good chance to experiment with it, (we do African/Worldbeat fusion whatever), so I didn't get to really make it "rock", so to speak. I used my Gibson Les Paul for this gig. I consider this the "baby" of my amp family. Ialso have a 60 watt Marshall JTM60 series amp, and my favorite, a 100 EL34 powered Marshall JCM 900 2x12 combo. But the Peavy makes a great "club-sized" amp. I'm happy!

Pretty good.

Features? Well Great sound and punch are features enough!!!
No Chorus, Delay or compressor, GOOD, plays like a real Tube amp, allows dynamics to be controlled by the player, manually!!

I'm using a Tele body and custom neck with a Dimarzio Hummbucker and single coil at the neck, I play mostly blues/rock some lead.
So far this amp has delivered everything I could ask for especially for the money ($399) new.
I suppose alot of the sound comes from the quality of the instrument attached.

Don't really know except, I've never had Peavey anything go bad, (CS800, Mark IV)

NA

Top notch for clean and gain, bright if you want, warm if you'd rather, Nice to find something do as advertized.

Bought this used from a super guy in Pittsburgh off an Ebay auction. Since most of you are familiar with the layout, I'm not going to reiterate here. The previous owner of this amp took great care of it, as it doesn't have a scratch and the tweed covering looks brand new. This is one great sounding amp right up there with the vintage Vox AC 30 (not the re-issue), which uses a quad of EL 84s in the power stage. However, the AC 30 features a valve rectifier and PTP soldering, as opposed to the PCB board of the Classic 30. But I'll say this, the Classic 30 is super quiet compared to the AC 30 or Fender Hot Rod amps. When I received the amp 3 tubes were damaged during shipping, despite being contained in bubble wrap (nothing like UPS manhandling). I've spent most of the day experimenting with a variety of dual triodes and pentodes. I settled on a quad of Ei El 84s in the power stage, and 2 Telefunken 12AX7s in V1, V2 and an Amperex BB 7025 in the V3 driver stage. The TFKs have provided a warm bottom end and smooth mids resulting in a lovely sound. The Amperex 7025 is very low noise and the perfect handoff to the power stage. I also swapped out the 16 ohm 12" speaker for a Celestion Greenback. This is a great sounding blues amp and the channel for overdrive is great for classic rock. I'm going to replace all the caps with sprague, mallory and Xicons. Only other mod will be two vents in the back metal chassis. I see no reason to replace the .022 uf bass cap with a .047, as this amp has plenty of bottom. Although the amp was louder with some of the other tubes I used in the preamp stage, it sounded harsh. The Telefunkens are the way to go in V1 & V2, smooths the beast down and offers incredible dimension. Lovely clean channel that seems to love humbuckers (rich, creamy, textured, and defination), plus doesn't seem to break up beyond 8 with the TFKs or EL 84 pentodes (that break up early and aren't noted for headroom). Nice reverb with no noise! Plenty of power. Distortion channel provides pleasing harmonics of the 2nd order, with rich bluesy sustain. The boost switch brings out the woman tone similar to the vintage Bluesbreakers, especially when rolling out the mids. Versatile amp and if you're into metal, add a Big Muff.

My main axes are a 1959 LP and Gibson SG Special Limited Ed. Custom. Check out my review on this SG (Harmony Central Guitars). Super quiet amp. Clean is clean. Will insulate chassis to dampen vibration. This amp smokes away the competition. The tiny Fender Twin with channel switching.

Purchased used and looks new and still up and running. I'll know more as I use it.

Don't know.

I've been playing for 25 years. This amp is well built. No plastic corners or input jacks like Fender or Marshall. I'm impressed considering this ain't the late 60s. This is a great sounding amp, and as I understand, when everyone switched to transistors in the 70s, Peavey still produced tube amps. This amp is remarkably quiet for a valve amp. I don't know what the new ones are made like, but this one is definately well made. Had a new Pro Junior that was the noisiest amp I've heard with half the power. Soldering was awful and transformer crapped out after about 40 hours of use. Checked out the Fender Hot Rods, and they sound noisy and the distortion channel sucks! New Marshall DSL 401 I tested in the recording studio does not sound as good as the Classic 30 and is made with cheap plastic parts, go figure! I'm glad I bought this. Maybe the best kept secret around!

The Classic 30 is an all tube, thirty watt combo with reverb. They all come standard witha a twelve inch Blue Marvel speaker. Mine has a British Acoustics 12" in it. Tube compliment includes: Preamp: Three 12ax7, third one is a driver. Power: 4 El84's. Control layout is as follows: Normal Channel gain, C/S Button, Pre-gain, Post Gain, Reverb, B, M, T. 2 Channels, switchable by footswitch. It also has a boost switch, which is nice but not practical for live use because it cannot be controlled by foot.

My guitar set-up is pretty simple. I play a Paul Reed Smith Eg Bolt on, with two humbuckers, and a middle single coil. This guitar kicks!
I run this strait into the Classic thirty because I don't currently use any effects. In addition to, well I should say with the C30, I run another Carvin 12" British Lead speaker in a homemade closed cabinet. That's it. Straight foward, sounds awesome! This setup suits my playing style very well, for lack of a better word, I'm going to say "Rock." Anywhere from Pop, edgy alternative, Emo, Metal, Noise Pop, Industrial, and New Metal. Setup with the extension speaker and using Groove tubes Ecc83's, this amp's sound is comparable to a Mashall! Not quite as much gain, but the crunch is definately there. It doesn't really do metal distortion, but I'm not a big fan of scooped mids. I love the thick British crunch I get out of this! Great for Emo and Alternative! When I look at amps I tend to pay attention to the distortion most, but the clean channel is great too. With the Bridge position humbucker, it's thick, punchy, and has just enough sparkle(high). Muted strings with this setting sound really cool. Clean with the PRS distorts around 6 or 7, but I don't mind, that's what tube amps do. Besides I bounght the PRS for the Raunch. Overall this is a great Rock and Blues amp. Lots of different sounds and tone shaping.

I replaced one tube, and then retubed all of them pretty recently. the retubing was just a "I bet it would sound cool if I did this" type thing, not a major maintenance issue. This amp got heavy use for about nine months straight this last year, as I was playing for at least two hours of practice twice a week, and playing every Saturday night. I use it without a backup, and it has never let me down. Haven't ever delt with Peavey, but I think they are the best bank for the buck!

See above.

I've been playing about five years, and about a year and a half ago I got the "itch" for a tube amp. This was by far the best I played in the price range I was looking, and I have not once regreted buying it. I love this amp, there are no major changes I would make to it. Would definately buy another if were stolen or lost, if I couldn't afford a Soldano 50 tube head and 212 speaker cabinet at that time. (Chances are pretty good I'd be buying another classic 30!) This is an awesome amp, and I think it will suit a professional guitarist!

Jesus Christ is the one Lord, Savior and King!

Plenty of features here, just read someone else's review for the details

I use a Les Paul DC Standard (1999) which makes almost any amp sound great. But before i got that, i used a cheap guitar that was probably made out of the back of some van and the amp still sound great. The clean tone is good for variety of styles, including slide (although that could depend on what kind of guitar you have). I used to just pop on the dirty channel (sorry mom), and rock out when i needed it. I didn't realize until after i added a real distortion pedal that the amps dirty isn't that great for my style (progressive rock/ sometimes harder). It works for when your pedals go bad, or when you forget a battery, etc. But it's just not my cup'o'tea anymore. The volume is excellent. I hardly ever put the setting above 3 and it can rock out a room that fits around 200 people (where i play the most). In bigger settings, i can crank a little more, but it doesn't need much. I've never changed the tubes so maybe i should. And like another review said, it does sometimes get a little distorted on the clean channel,but not too often, and that really gets to me. I've got my eye on a marshall but this has done great for me, just time to move on.

Fairly reliable other then the fact that nothing protects the tubes (i've knocked a few loose and even one out, but it didn't break so i just stuck it back in and went right along).

never dealt with them

This am was my first real amp but i've had it for three years and it's treated me great. I'm still very happy with it, but i would probably take a step up if i had the means. Other then the few and far between sound problems, this is a great way to go if you need a really great amp with out the outstanding price tag. And it does well for home, small, medium, or large crowds (i've played them all).

Mine is a 1999 model.
Total of Seven tubes.
4 EL84 Powertubes,one 12AX7 driver and two 12AX7 Pre-Amp tubes.
Spring reverb,pre and post gain.
Three band EQ.
Clean,Gain and Boost (6db boost in midrange)
Effects loop and expansion speaker output.
I got mine with a 2 button footswitch, Clean/Gain and reverb control.
Great for blues,classic rock,modern stuff but sucks for metal unless you use a pedal.
30watts tube but sounds like a 60watt solid state!
I love it.
Its perfect for me!
Change the stocktubes!
Also the 112e expansion speaker is worth it, your low range sounds so much better!

I'm using a standard strat with upgraded picks ups (Blue Gold Lace at neck,Gold lace at middle and dual red goldlace at bridge)

Suits my blues style,rock and so on.
Kinda noisey with both Pre and POst gain cranked up to about 7 or 8.
Cant hear it while playing.
Great sounds out of this little amp, tube power great clean and overdrive but it gets a little fuzzy because the STOCK TUBES SUCK!

Its a peavey they last forever.

Nope never dealt with them

Love it and the expansion 112e speaker.
Great little tube amp.
I bought this instead of a fender tube amp......no regrets.
Fenders are better clean but the "fat" button sucks.

This amp has a lot features in one package. Clean and distortion channels, good reverb, all tube circuitry. Mine has the charcoal gray tolex, which looks cool. But I had to remove that gawd-awful Peavey logo from the grille!

I use a Strat, Nashville Tele, and a Les Paul copy. No pedals because I've gotten the gain channel to work well enough without one. At first, I was very happy with the clean sound, but the distortion was very brittle and soli-state sounding. I know that there are internet sites that have info on making extensive mods to the Classic 30, but I wasn't interested in changing the nature of the amp. If that was the case, I should have bought a differnet amp altogether. I did change the tubes, though. And it made a tremendous improvement in the gain channel. I put a NOS RCA 12ax7a in the first position, and a pair of 5751's in the other two. I replaced the Sovtek el84's with some EI's and the change has been well worthwhile. Now, the gain channel is very usable, even though I tend to stay on the clean channel most of the time. This little amp has enough punch to cut through very well in the 4 piece rock and blues group I play with.

I've been using this amp for the past year and haven't had any problems whatsoever. But the exposed tubes in the back worry me a little. Also, I keep a small desktop fan aimed on the tubes when I'm using it. Keeps the chassis from melting down.

The one year warranty has expired by now, but I never needed to contact Peavey or the local dealer about any troubles. Peavey gear has a reputation for being sturdy.

For the price, this is one great little amp. Giggable power output, very good tone, clean and overdriven sounds available at the flick of a switch. On top of all that, it looks great with its 50's retro style. If it came stock with some quality tubes, it'd be almost perfect.

Lots of reviews of this one already, so I'll spare the redundant details. I've played a handful of these amps, and own one myself with the matching extension cabinet. Feature-wise, this amp is basic- no digital modeling or anything crazy, just a clean and an overdriven channel. The second channel offers enough flexibility that you can set it to provide a clean(-ish) boost if you use pedals for distortion. Solid.

I play an '87 Rick 330, a Washburn Les Paul copy, a Yamaha electo-acoustic and a Powerhouse Strat through this amp. The acoustic comes through with a pretty electric sound, so I wouldn't recommend it for folkies. The electrics all play with a clean, warm sound that is very pleasant. I like the midrange boost; it adds meat and punchiness to the sound. This amp lets the color of your guitar come through; all the models I described have very different sound qualities and the amp doesn't smother them.

I've played in clubs where you HAD to use the club's equipment- as it happens, they had this amp and it worked great in spite of the heaps of abuse I'm sure had been poured into it. That being said, my personal model has a bad whistling/breathy sound when you hit certain bassier notes- my repairman says he can't find anything wrong. Also, if you have the reverb set to moonwalk levels, you may get a slow-building feedback that is pretty uncool. Oother than that, it's never crapped out on me, andI bought mine used.

Small, light, perfect balance of power and convenience, looks cool. Get the extension cab.

More than enough for what I use it for (recording, small gigs)...
channel switching,effects loop,"boost",etc. It is loud and easy to carry. 30 watts,all tube(EL84s and 12AX7s),tweed w/ leather handle,
chicken-head knobs. Cool vintage vibe . Also "pre" and "post" gain controls for overdrive. 12" speaker.

This is a tone machine. I bought it for the sweet tone and didn't worry too much about other features. The EL84s are warm and buttery
clean or overdriven. Very good reverb(but like they say,not a Fender).
For blues and classic rock...tone,tone,tone.

No trouble at all with it so far. Came with Russian/Chinese tubes(?)
Where I come from, Peaveys are reliable and road-worthy, one of their strong points.

I've owned several Peavey amps over the years and have found Peavey
to be very accomodating and customer friendly...but I just haven't had
very much trouble with them.

Playing a Fender '62 Custom Tele with Texas Specials. Great tone.
This is the second one I've owned and would buy another without re-
servation. Sounds much,much bigger and fuller than the Classic 20. I
really like the tube characteristics and it seems well constructed.

I bought this new in '96 and love it today. It has a very sweet sounding clean channel, the only amp i have heard better is a 65 fender twin. the distortion is very close to a tube screamer, very SRV like when pre amps are all the way up. the reverb tank is massive, i leave it on 3, the tank is 2/3 the size of the bottom of the amp. the boost is good when you can play loud but i dont use it much.

I use a new american hardtail strat and an ibanez rg 570, to 6 boss effects, mt-2,sd-2,bf-2,dd-5, nf-1, ge-7 then a dunlop wah. i would recommend an equalizer, it makes a world of difference. The distortion on the amp does not mix well with other effects. I have had the amp up to 8, it gets a bit distorted, like an old fender champ turned all the way up. When only on a single coil the amp hums alot, i would recomend humbuckers for this amp.

Heres where i have a complaint. I have owned this amp all its life, have all the options for it(2 :P). About 6 months ago when i would turn it on there would be a burst of static then slowly calm down after 20 minutes. IT HAS GOTTEN MUCH WORSE!! Now when i turn it on when its cold, its very annoying and very frustrating. The knobs make no difference, except the boost. Its not a ground i dont think. It has the original tubes in and i dont want to throw parts at it hoping it will fix it. IF YOU CAN HELP ME PLEASE E-mail me at Juslisn2me@aol.com. I called a very knowledgable expert on these amps, and he told me he had found one of the same year with a similar problem, it went through 5 shops, nobody could fix it. He finally found the problem after 6 months with it. What happened is this, Moisture would build up inside the amp, and would make connects not meant to be made. this shorted out several component and was one of those easy fixes, the hard part he said was finding it. i hope its not what happened to mine. the tubes are very exposed on the amp, i have put a grill on to protect them. If you can help me please, I NEED HELP

I have called numerous times, but never got an answer, maybe its just the time when i call

I love it except the problem, i would recommend this amp to most anyone although i would buy new, because you never know where an amp has been.

tube amp, two channels ONE eq. Very basic

I`m using a Hamer SAT and Dean strat and with these guitars I would expect to get some decent basic rock sounds. Well, this is not the case. Lead channel sucks big time! It is very buzzy and has virtually no attack at all. With lowgain settings it`s weak and with highgain it`s absolute mush. Clean channel lacks character and will distort much too early. Don`t like it.

I had mine for just a two weeks. (one positive thing is that it looks cool and is easy to get rid of)

I made a mistake for buing it whitout trying first (In Finland it`s there`s not much choice ecpecially `cause I used to live on the countryside)

Dad bought this little amp eons ago (back when they first came out)...used it for years on almost every weekend. This amp is not very versatile but it does it's job well. It does Blues, Classic Rock, and Southern Rock quite well...these are it's specialties. Then after many years of well play he bought a Fender Hot Rod Deville and a Peavey Classic 50 4x10 and sold me the Classic 30 and the 1x12 extension speaker. It's setup is quite simple...treble, middle, bass, post (gain channel volume), pre (overdrive), and volume (clean channel only), boost switch, and channel switch. Has a channel switcher that switches between channel 1 and channel 2, and a switch for turning the reverb on and off (many reviews have stated that the reverb switch should be for turning on and off the boost switch, however, they go on to complain that there isn't enough of a volume boost for it to work as a "3rd" channel. In my experience the boost switch is used to give the amp a little more "umph" when playing at lower levels...allows for more gain and compression at lower volumes while adding little to the over all volume). I mostly play small blues clubs and bars and the boost switch is always in so that I can have the fattest smoothest tone possible. Power?!?! does it have enough power?!?! This 30 watt monster isn't a high end volume amp by no means...but it has enough volume to work as a good gigging amp as well as a practice or studio amp...as long as the player is willing to do with a little bit of natural power amp overdrive and more compression (oh shucky darns on that!!!) The effects loop works well for only one thing though...digital delay...and that is all I run through it...the rest is right out front...even the chorus...which is analog...so that is where it should be. The only real thing that I wish was different is maybe a little better of a reverb (the one in the amp does a find job but as others have said...it is no Fender by any means) and seperate EQ's for both channels.

I use a Fender Mexican Standard strat with a rosewood fretboard...you know...the lowest end Fender you can get without going squier (which I have one of those too...unfortionately), and an Epiphone Korina SG most of the time...so I have low level single coils and low level humbuckers (not that they are bad...just not top of the line equipment). But with these two guitars (mainly using only the strat) I get great tone for blues, classic rock, and southern rock and mix well with the other guitar player in the band; he plays a PRS standard 22 into a Boss OD-3 (for overdrive and compression) into a twin reverb. His tone is BIG, MONSTROUS even...but I mean...he is playing through a twin here...and my tone is F A T!!! We use similar settings but have tones that aren't the same and work very well with each other for playing different parts...bass around 6-7, mids 8 (him) 12 (me) (12 on peavey is equivelent to 10 on fender so not that much difference), treble 5-6 and loads of gain on when dirty (I set Pre all the way to 12 and Post anywhere between 6-9 depending on the club's size, he almost maxes the drive knob on his OD-3). With these settings I get a smooth, F A T, very distorted tone with controllable feedback when positioned anywhere with 5 feet of the amp and a few seconds patience...depending on distance...and sustain for as long as I am willing to hold the note. Keep in mind that I play stock single coil pickups from Fenders lowest nonspuier strat...so this thing makes lots of noise with the maxed out midrange and gain knobs on channel two. The clean channel is very nice, has a sweet clean tone up around 6 on the volume knob and the guitars volume down a little...but anywhere after 6 with a maxed volume on the guitar gets that natural power amp overdrive (keep in mind this a 30 watt amp...it will distort fast because it has less wattage to burn) but it sounds so sweet though not as smooth as channel 2. The distortion is not very harsh on either channel, both are perfectly suited to blues, classic rock, and southern rock...gets great vintage rock tones and nice comtemporary smooth overdriven tones (even at the same settings...just depends on either your pickup selection, pick attack, and where the volume and tone knobs are set on the guitar). I am also running it through the 1x12 extension cab so I can boost the amp a little and get more of the "good stuff" without having an overbearing volume...also kind of hard with a Twin on the other side of the stage...hehe.

Can I depend on it? Well, let's put it this way...I was leaving practice one night with this thing bungee corded to the bed of my dad's truck (I know...stupid stupid stupid...but he wouldn't let me put it in cab for a while...until we figured out how to fit in there without tearing anything up) and going over some railroad tracks (I am a slow driver believe it or not so it was very slow) and it slipped out from the bungee cords and slid to the tailgate. I stopped and gave it a thorough checkup for damage, broken tubes and the like...of which there was none visible. When I got back to my house, I plugged it in to check for any sound change...and it sounded exactly the same. Anything but that...it has only needed to have it's tube sockets cleaned and a new set of tubes from being run on 9-12 volume wise by Dad for years on end. Backup?!?! what is that...I am a college student (might find that hard to believe after you read about my guitars though...but that is all thanks to that wonderful guy called Dad!) but I do have a Marshall 65 watt Valvestate...the Classic 30 is much louder, fatter, and for my style...better.

I have never dealt with the company personaly, but Dad used to know the guy who started peavey (not personaly, no first name basis or anything)...his bass player would always blow his speakers by running a bigg muff pi into his cab...so the guy from peavey was having to fix this on a regular basis...I dont' know how he took to it...I just know he had to have hated seeing that one cabinet.

I have been playing for a little over 5 1/2 years and I own the previous mentioned guitars...spuier included it is a korean model from around 85-86, named the Squier II stratocaster (if anyone knows why there was II after the name or anything like that...or whatever...please e-mail me) an epiphone Dot, a Clapton strat, and a late 70's Martin Sigma acoustic. I also use various effects...wah, od (for a less smooth sound), distortion (this thing ain't a whole wad o' gain nor is it thin by anymeans or metallic, so I have this for extra umph with the guitar volume rolled down), micro-vibe (I'm a Robin Trower nut...those hypno uni-vibe tones are soooo cool!), a ce-5 chorus ensemble (got to have Leslie tone and a tone from a guy in florida named Steve Hucker...univibe tone if it was a chorus pedal...only way to explain it) and delay (love that echo). If this amp were stolen, I would probably cry for a week, but seriously, I would have to have another one...not anything else...the other models have different tone and different settings. I really love how fat and compressed this amp gets and to all of you who say that it does not have enough gain...then you have ht ewrong amp...for mine distorts quite a bit...and it has the sovteks in it...and will sustain for days (or until it blows up...if that kind of thing happens)! It has a beautiful smooth tone and is very pleasing...doesn't have very harsh tones or abusing...can get aggressive but that depends on how the guitar is played...not the amp. The only complaints I can seriously think of is the fact that it doesn't have that "bell like" quality that fenders do on the clean section...but hey...it feedsback at about 8 on my clean section, and it could use a seperate EQ for the clean channel. Keep in mind...this is more a tone specialist amp...I don't how it does with scooped midrange or even with moderate midrange...never tried it...like fat fat fat tones...so you would have to try that. For the fatness though...it hits that nail right smack on the head!

Made in 1998 good clean sounds decent reverb and good treble boost I only use mine for practice not for gigs but i have recently bought a les paul and intend using it soon in small venues miked into the bands PA .If you are considering buying one please change the tubes it makes a big difference to the amps tone. 2 channel amp with both channels avalable via a f/s as is reverb

Good basic rock sounds with not to much gain really a blues sound the clean channel is very good godd with both humbuckers and single coil guitars

Tube are very exposed and I have already damages 3 tubes with the power cord catching the other than that no issues

N/A

I have been playing 35 yearsI also have a Strat ,Gibson Les Paul Tele Gibson 335 and a Takamine LTD 1998 ,Amps are Peavey Classic 30 ,Marshall 265 effects Boss compacts, Zoom 2020, Boss GT3.I wish that this amp had a DI facility

Purchased new in May of '99, so I assume it was manufactured earlier the same year. There are lots of reviews with the features listed, but briefly - 30 watts, 12" speaker, 3 preamp 12ax7 tubes, 4 EL84 power tubes. Neat 50's retro styling with tweed covering and rear mounted control panel. Clean and Drive channels, reverb, effects loop.

First of all, let me say that I've found that switching out the cheap stock tubes and replacing them with some quality NOS tubes makes a BIG difference in the tone of this amp. It came with Chinese and Sovtek tubes that didn't sound bad, but this little amp really wakes up with some decent tubes in it. I put RCA and Sylvania 7025's in the preamp and some Hitachi 6BQ5's in the power section. It has a very rich, almost "woody" tone with my old Strat (single coils) or my Les Paul (hummers). Nice, clear sound across the spectrum. Loud enough to play out with in the small clubs I gig at. My only kick is that the OD channel seems to have a real narrow useable band. Not a big deal to me, as I mostly play it clean for blues.

No problems so far. It does seem to get pretty hot, so I usually keep a cheap little desktop fan blowing on the back side for insurance. The fact that the tubes are hanging out there in a semi-exposed postion kinda bugs me, so I'm real carefull when I'm moving it around. I might go ahead and stick a plywood strip across the back to give 'me some cover.

Haven't needed it.

I alternate playing this and a Fender Blues Deluxe when I'm gigging. The Fender is louder, but the Classic 30 is a lot lighter and more compact. Both have great tone. Either does a good job in the small clubs where I play. The rest of the band uses smaller amps too, so it cuts through the mix real well. This isn't something you'd want to use alongside a bassist playing through a 400 watt stack, obviously. But it's a cool amp that serves well for small gigs and rehearsals. Won't pull your back out of joint when you lift it, either. I like it.

It's a very simple and sweet 30w 112 tube combo with EL84's for the power tubes. It has a clean and a lead channel (pre and post gain), which both share master EQ and reverb, there is also a bright switch which boosts the mids. The channel and reverb are footswitchable, the bright switch is not. The one thing this amp lacks that would have been nice is a standby switch. It's nothing special, but it really doesn't need to be.

I'm using a Carvin DC135,which is S-S-H, through this amp. This amp is seriously a solid amp for blues and clean enough for jazz. It does a nice job with older classic rock, or any style that doesn't require too much gain. The clean channel is crystal transparent, rivaling Fender's best. The lead channel is voiced for blues, and southern rock also flows out of this amp. This amp was not designed for a high gain style of music, so if that's what you're after, look elsewhere.

Peavey has a solid warranty, and this amp doesn't look like it's ever gonna quit on me. Still.. it a tube amp and therefore isn't as reliable as solid state.

Peavey's customer service has helped me out considerably with various things. I've never needed anything for this amp but they're been helpful when I had other questions I needed answered.

I bought this amp because I wanted a small tube amp for Jazz/blues work, and it didn't disappoint. I think if it were stolen that I would buy a Peavey Classic 50 212 instead, because that amp has more power, but it really depends on what you need. I play many styles of music and this amp performed much better than my other amps for the blues/jazz sound that I bought it for. This amp has very sweet tone, and at the price I picked it up for, I couldn't go wrong.

I have nothing to add to the previous descriptions of the features: they've not changed since 1993 or so.

I like the sounds better after the Tweed Bassman Mod (see below). This rating is for the post-Mod sounds; I'd give it a 6.5 for the pre-Mod sounds.

My amp has been reliable both before and after the Mod.

I have obtained parts from Peavey reliably, but they seem to use the slowest, cheapest postage option available. Materials take a long time to arrive.

This review concerns the "Tweed Bassman Mod" for the Peavey Classic 30, described on the Blue Guitar website (maintained by Steve Ahola at http://www.techassessinc.com/blueguitar; the Tweed Bassman Mod is described at http://www.techassessinc.com/blueguitar/c30twdbm.txt. If you want to see what you might be getting into, download the "C30"'s schematic diagram and circuit board layout from http://www.techassessinc.com/blueguitar/c30schem.gif and http://www.techassessinc.com/blueguitar/c30layg1.jpg, respectively. (If these don't download directly, try aiming your webbrowser to the "Schematics and Links" page on the Blue Guitar website?maybe I don't have the URL right. Also, the Tweed Bassman mod is on the Blue Guitar website on the section titled "Articles on Guitar Amp Mods" on the "Articles on Guitars and Amps" page.)
For those who might want to know, "Tweed" refers to the late 1950s Fender amps which were coverd with "tweed" cloth covering, also called "luggage linen". Tweed circuits were notable for relatively low "headroom": the amps distorted at high medium volume, and also tweed circuits are notable for the absence of reverb. There's probably more to it than that !
You must be aware that the filter capacitors in tube amplifiers hold charge which can achieve dangerously hold voltages, even when the amplifier is turned off and unplugged !! The proper way to deal with this is to put alligator clips attached to test-probe wire on the terminals of the filter capacitors, so as to short-circuit one end of the "cap" directly to another. It's best to do this with a high-power, high-resistance resistor soldered in between the ends of the test-probe wire. This is discussed at http://members.xoom.com/BoxerAmps/discharg.htm.
The Tweed Bassman mod involves opening the amp up and disconnecting the circuit board, then removing the circuit board from the chassis, in order to perform "microsurgery" on it. The procedures for removing the amp are more time-consuming than you would reasonably expect. Taking the chassis out of the amp is pretty straightforward, but you also have to remove all the chickenhead knobs, and then all the nuts and washers holding the pots (potentiometers) onto the chassis. Then you unscrew eight machine screws holding the bottom panel of the chassis to the circuit board.
Once you're this far, then you have stress the circuit board to push the shafts of the pots back inside the chassis, as well as pushing the circuit-board-mounted tube sockets, in order to extract the board from the chassis. Plan on spending at least sixty to ninety minutes to get this far, unless you're experienced, and not very cautious, and quite lucky.
The circuit board is about the size of an 8 * by 11 inch piece of paper, but FOLDED into thirds, as if you folded the paper into three equal parts, making the folds parallel to the long sides of the paper. Hold the piece of paper in front of you with the folds making 90-degree angles, making a "gutter-shaped" assembly: that's what it looks like. One side of the circuit board is right under the control panel of the Classic 30, where the pots are; another side of the board is on the bottom of the chrome-plated chassis, where the tube sockets stick through the chassis.
The three glass-epoxy pieces of the circuit board are connected by about twenty wire jumpers. You could pretty easily break (or detach) the wire jumpers which connect the three parts of the circuit board if you pushed too hard while trying to remove the circuit board from the chassis.
I think you'd be unable to do this mod if you didn't get good desoldering braid. This product is fine, braided copper wire, which when applied to solder on the circuit board, soaks up the solder metal and takes it away from the solder joint altogether. The hot solder metal literally soaks up into the wire

Four EL84's, 3 12ax7's, reverb, effects loop etc. The remaining features have been stated extensively enough in this context so no need to specifically reiterate. The fact that there is no master volume for clean is condidered to be a great feature in my book and prompted me to purchase.

The clean sound is specifically why I purchased this amp. I use no distortion or effects in a majority of my playing and was reasonably pleased with the warm, slightly overdriven clean sound. I have tried the distortion just out of curiosity and was not very fond, however, don't care for distortion period. I play mostly jazz and latin jazz and occasionally some funk and the amp has done a respectable job for these styles. I recently repurchased a Vibroverb reissue which I had previously owned and after two gigs with that reverted back to the C30. I use it for anything from solo gigs to gigs with a 9 piece band and have used it with a 17 piece. I go through the house PA in larger venues but don't need to in smaller ones. I have had no problem cutting through despite an excitable trap drummer, 3 additional purcussionists (djembe and congas,)a loud piano player, bari sax and trumpet (always miked). I have not had to put the amp past 4, and although not 'twin' clean, stays reasonably clean with a slight tube overdrive (think Wes Montgomery - very nice). Groove tubes (4's) were purchased at the same time as the amp and immediately inserted despite the fact the GT's are generally not my favorite. The stock sounded ok, however, heard the rattles and decided to replace post haste. The GT's sounded good despite the inability to do any type of bias adjustment, which is concerning. Another note, unless using for solo to trio gigs, I purchased and consistently use the 112E cab (used $80) which greatly rounds out the sound and volume. I would recommend using this or a similar cab to anyone using this amp. I have used a Mesa cab with an EV, however, it doesn't sound nearly as good as "Sheffield" equipped ext. cab with this amp. The clean sound is full and warm with the this combination and with the mid turned down to around 3. I use a Gibson 175, washburn HB-35, both equipped with a Benedetto S6 in the neck and a am stnd strat with stock p/u's. They all sound fine. The rattles have been minimized by routine tightening of the screws and power tube replacements every 4-5 months. I may explore the weather stripping mod previously mentioned. The rattles can be very annoying in your practice room, however, inaudible when playing with others. It is also imperitive that the amp not be on the ext. cab and they be side by side or preferably separated by a few feet. The amp is very quiet with no hum despite the ancient wiring in my house. My fenders are much noisier (radios, hum). This is a warm sounding amp with a nice amount of tube overdrive at volumes 4 and above. If you need super clean, get a sterile JC 120. I have yet to hear a '10' and have played most of what's out there. It is a nice sounding and very reasonably priced little amp.

I have owned it for 9 months and have used it on approx. 80 gigs without a backup. Actually, prior to reading some of these comments, never considered the need. The fuse is problematic, however, I have screwdrivers, fuses and tubes with me at gigs. I have not had any failures with this amp. Tube protection may be achieved for about $4.00 by adding an oak or similar strip to to the back. I agree that it should have been done at the factory, but the amp is inexpensive and is very easily remedied by the user. My power tubes are replaced at least every 6 months and preamp tubes will be replaced annually unless needed sooner. The "fixed bias" is concerning as you may buy incompatible tubes. I will likely stick with the GT 4's despite the fact that their 6l6GC's and 6v6's, and EL34 have disappointed in some of my other amps. They are working and if you believe GT, will continue to if replaced with the same rating. An 8 is given as it hasn't let me down, however, fuse replacement would be a difficult and annoying task if were to go at a gig.

Sent in the warranty card. Checked out the site. No experience beyond that.

I have been playing 15 years. I own a 69 super reverb, deluxe reverb reissue, vibroverb, some polytones and a pv special 112, and music man rd65. I have owned a JC120 (hated). I love tube amps and have been very happy with this one despite its faults. If it cost more as much as a vintage or reissue fender, I would have to say 4-5, however, you really can't get much more bang for your buck for a new tube amp. If anyone is looking for a nice sounding and inexpensive tube amp, this would definately be worth checking out. Another huge asset is its reasonable weight. Altough a twin is a great amp for the styles i play, and the Super sounds great, I don't like hauling those things up and down stairs three times a week. I was skeptical and wanted to hate this amp. I can't.

one 12" speaker
reverb, effects loop, clean and gain channels
all footswitchable
very simple.

I use it with an epiphone 335 w/ humbuckers. The sound is awesome. Very full
and loud enough to play in a band with. Good Fender-like tone. Not good if you
want to sound like you have a Marshall stack.

Never had a problem. I'd be careful with the tubes i the back. They are exposed.

never needed

I used to have an old Fender twin Reverb. Nothing sounded better, but it was too damn big.
This surprisingly sounds pretty good in comparison, and doesn't weigh a ton.
I think this is better than the new Fender combos and a lot cheaper.

I really like the sound of this amp. I've had it about 7 years. Good compromise amp if you live in an apartment with bitchy neighbours

Distortion is a bit weak but definitley acceptable for blues etc... Clean is very sweet.

This my only complaint. I'm currently struggling with this. It's losing power and crackling on both "channels" when it's warm. It only does it when the strings are vibrating. I've brought it to two different shops for repair, but both times I've brought it in, they can't get it to do anything wrong. Quite annoying. The tubes (Sovteks) are probably 4 years old now

Never dealt with Peavey

Overall this is a great little amp. I just wish it would work better. I like to play Big Sugar, SRV, Hendrix etc... I've got a Strat (japanese) and a shiny new ES335. I get pretty much what I want from it. Of course Id like something bigger, but I've really got nowhere to put a Marshall stack so...

Just to add on to my original review that is further down the page. Speakers and tubes make a huge difference with this amp. I have turned my Classic into a true beauty by replacing the Sovtek tubes in the power section with groove tube EL84S' with a hardness of 7(these tubes are made by JJ)
I replaced the preamp tubes with beter ones also...tube 1 (Clean channel) is a JJ 12AX7A Tube 2 (drive channel) is a Jan Phillips 12AX7A and the third (driver) is another JJ.
I think the moral is STAY AWAY FROM SOVTEK TUBES. Spend some money and get some tone.
I replaced the stock Peavey speaker with an old Celestion (G12K 85) and am using a Seymour Duncan extension cabinet with a Celestion greenback.
I am using many guitars with this setup but the main two are a couple fifties strats, one with a trio of Texas specials and one with two stock Fender single couls and a Diimarzio Virtual Vintage Blues in the neck position. Humbucking guitars sound fine as well though I do not like humbuckers a lot anymore.

This is a follow up to my review a couple entries back. I have bought a Fender Super 112. It is a good amp, a very different amp, but here I am addressing one complaint I often hear about the 30.
I don't thing that the shared eq for clean and dirty on the 30 is any problem. It works great, I've never felt the need to tweek the settings between channels. On the Fender, however, that is not the case. Hence, I never use the gain channel, only the clean. No matter what I do the eq never sounds good for both the Fender's channels. Good thing I have pedals!

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.

I got this amp five years ago. I am mainly a bedroom player although sometimes I take it out to play with other people. It has enough power to get over a drum set. I lived with this amp for about four years and then I decided to do Steve Ahola's basic mods. I had given up on using the overdrive, because it was too harsh and lacked subtlety. I had been using the clean channel with a Boss Blues pedal, which has much better highs. So anyway, I had the capacitors changed, put in three new Mesa preamp tubes ($30) and put in a Carvin speaker ($44!).I choose Mesa and Carvin because they were cheap. The latter mod precluded my putting in an additional speaker, as the Peavey took up the 8 ohm jack. Nonetheless, the clean tones got much better and I have mainly been playing my strat without any pedals at all. The overdrive is still a bit fuzzy, more like a tube screamer than the boss pedal. I also got a boss reverb pedal, although the reverb is a nice soft sound; I just like surf music.I changed the capacitor on the boost, but it's till pretty useless. But, if you read the other entries, you'll see that people love this amp; 95% of the people feel that they got their money's worth. Basically this is a really useful tube amp that you can get into fairly cheaply.It looks nice and you can do a lot with it.Really, we all owe Steve Ahola a debt of gratitude because he has really made these little amps come alive.

I'm using a reissue strat with a Boss blues driver, DOD Grunge pedal and a Boss Reverb/delay, to play blues, surf and a little Django jazz. I basically use the clean setting, because I've been palying more jazz. The effect's loop is useful for all this. The amp hums frequently, but I've always lived in older homes and play a plain strat.The clean channel breaks up at about seven. The distortion is basic tube screamer.

The tubes are pretty exposed, and people complain about the crude stamps wiring. It doesn't effect my life.

I never dealt with the company, I just don't fly the amp that hard. I just always liked the idea of Peavey; making apopular amp in Mississippi is a nice thing. I saw blues players in the midwest using Classic 30's, including R.L. Burnside, although I don't know if they were hot-rodded.

I've been playing for 34 years, and I've had a Peavey transistor amp, an old Gibson, a Marshall Valvestate, Fender Champ and a Polytone. I don't foresee geting rid of this one, it fits my needs pretty well. If I lost it, who knows? I did play one of those little 33-watt Carvins at Carvin and it sounded nice and clear...I would like a standby switch, etc.; in fact, I'd like a lot of things. But this is a good amp.

Channel switching makes it work for gigging. Reverb is ok. Remote switching boost is a worthwhile mod (see S. Ahola's web site) but not manditory.

Factory sound was impressive for an inexpensive amp. But if you really want this bad boy to make magic do the following: Put S. Aholas's tone mods on, change the tubes (Ahola's recommendations are good), change the speaker (I used an old Altec but Mojo Tone, Kendrick, etc. also work well), fan cool the tubes, add an external fuse and bias pot. This done, you get clean and fat on channel A and killer (dial it up Scottie) distortion (blend equal parts Marshall, Matchless, Soldano and Naylor).

Use it exclusively for gigging - stays in the trailer between jobs. 0 failures in over two years of use. I did have the chassis and a couple of corner protectors get a little rust on them (result of sitting out in a trailer in wet weather) but it cleaned up O.K. with steel wool.

I own 30 amps many of which cost tons more than this one but it is what I use and with the mods it's all I want to use.

I used to own a Transtube Peavey 25W (lovely little object by the way). One day I decided to buy me a Guitar processor, at first I got the Digitech RP-3 super, but disappointed I returned to get an even grater trap BOSS ME-30! I was looking for a good 'ol solid massive distortion, but apparently my little Peavey was better than these "everything but nothing" processors. So Tony the shop assistant told me that he had something for my case, when he showed me the Classic 30 (1998) I sayd "no man i need a processor not an amp." But after plugging in my Guitar I fell in love and I brought it home with me! God bless horrible processors.

I was always told that it "ain't no sound" if a Gibson does not have a Marshall unit with it, well I say that is just a "leggend" I owned three different Marshall, and finally I got what a GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM deserves! PEAVEY CLASSIC 30. I play Blues/Rock and this babe screams hell out of it! Reliable,powerfull, Looks great and sounds Awesome! Perhaps when the Reverb is turned higher than 6, it fuzzes a little, but hey man! The distortion is a classic Peavey, I bet you to find a cabinet like this one with this price and with such great distortion. The clean channel sounds like "She talks to the Angels" by Black Crowes!

This cabinet is perhaps not to powerful to be used by itself live, but thanks to the awesome rear "Extension Speaker Plug" you can connect it to other Peavey Speakers (I did it at the shop! It sounded AWESOME!)and kick some ass live! I've been owning it for about three months now and it seems that everytime I turn it on it gets better and better (every day!)

The warranty is for one full year, but fortunately I did't deal with the company yet! Cos this thing is made to last!

Also thanks to the effect send-return plugs you can get the best sounds out of it! I connect it with a Yamaha Digital Delay, and with a Danelectro Fab-tone! This Peavey is simply GREAT! If you want to have a warm sound,a solid Amp that looks unique, and spend little money,Peavey created the machine for you, by the way it is made 100% in the USA! Peavey is like a MUSTANG 1954......a Classic.

This is an update to my earlier review (somewhere downt he list...s earch for "axe")

I just did the mods from Steve Ahola's webpage http://www.techaccessinc.com/blueguitar/c30_mods.htm and WHOAH!!!!! The tone is MUCH more responsive and thicker... blues sound is improved 100000% I was thinking about getting rid of this thing, but now I've got it for life! I still have a few bugs and changes to make, but I am 100% satisfied with the improvements!

Peavey customer support was so-so
Steve was Great whenever I had problems, though I would think he has a lot of mail to sort through....

The price reflects the money it cost for the mods I did.... If you have apeavey Classic 30 that is sitting around gathering dust, maybe you should try it.... I was a little less than impressed witht he tone of the amp, but once I modified it (there are many mods on steve's page http://www.techaccessinc.com/blueguitar/c30_mods.htm) I am VERY happy.

30-watt All tube (three 12AX7 and four EL84) two channels, boost switch, reverb, and effects loop. Also has an output for a cab (16 or 8 ohms).Footswitch controls channels and reverb(pretty cool). Doesn't have a standby switch, and there isn't any kind of guard or cover on the back for the tubes either, but the tweed covering adds a nice vintage touch. All the controls are straight forward. For only 30 watts I think this amp has plenty of kick. I noticed some of the other reviewers sounded like it was weak on power but with the master on 2 on the clean channel, it's almost loud enough to get me kicked out of my apartment. I don't play in a band so maybe it doesn't have enough power for a bar or club gig, but it's pretty damn loud. I can't even imagine how much kick it would have with a cab extension.

I use the amp with my Fender California Fat Tele, Ibanez TS-9 and Crybaby, and it definately has a very fat, bluesy tone. The clean channel is very warm and can be very bright if you tweak the settings. I haven't had the volume loud enough to see if the clean channel distorts. The dirty channel has a nice fat tone and it is very easy to dial in a good sound.

Haven't had it long but it seems pretty sturdy. However, be careful of the tubes, like I said there is not protective cover or guard on the back to keep you from bashing anything back there.

Haven't had to and hope I don't have to in the future.

This is my first tube amp combo and now I know what all the fuss is about. This thing sounds awesome. I will probably shell out another $150 to $200 to get a cab extension. If this thing were stolen and I had the same sort of money to spend I would buy it again without hesitation.

I purchased the amp along with it's accompanying extension 1/12 speaker cabinet for blues. For the money it seemed to be a perfect combo amp for my style and desired tone. I wish it had a standby switch and an accessible fuse. Other entries have highlighted this same concern but I have yet to blow a fuse. As for the standby switch I had a chance to ask about the lack of a standy switch with Joe Peavey (Hartley's son) after a trade show a few years back. It was a cost cutting issue with the amp's design that a lot of customers still as about from time to time.

After playing with the stock tubes and speakers I considered trading up to the Classic 50 4/10 but reconsidered after reading about modifications. I bought Celestion Vintage 30 speakers for the combo amp and extension cabinet. I then replaced both 12AX7 and EL84 tubes with Mesa tubes. This makes a world of difference in tone and volume. You can feel the air move in front of the cabinets in both clean and overdrive. I set clean on about 6, overdrive on 6, master on 6, and use a Danelectro Daddy-O Overdrive on my pedalboard to select an appropriate tone.
I play a early 80s manufactured Fender 62' Reissue Stratocaster with Texas Special pickups, an Epiphone Dot 335 with Seymour Duncan 59's and an occasionally my Squier Musicmaster Bass. This amp sounds great with just a few simple mods. Love it, love it, love it. As for concerns about not producing enough volume, this amp produces a very loud 30 watts. If this isn't enough in a club or larger venue, I mic it with my Sure SM57 into the mixing board.

After I bought the Amp from Daddy's Junky Music, I noticed a strange ringing noise and occasional feedback at medium volume. Daddy's replaced a bad tube which resolved the noise problem.
Other than that I have had no problems.

None issue here since I dealt with the dealer at Daddy's Junky Music.

This is a great amp for blues players. I have been playing for over 22 years and still regret the day in high school when I sold my old Fender Vibrolux, an amp that would now command a steep price. Like most young players you always think that the bigger the amp the better the sound. Wrong, wrong, wrong. If this amp were stolen or fell off of a cliff, I would probably get a Peavey Classic 50 4/10 do the tube modifications and replace the speakers with Celestion Vintage 30 10" replacement speakers.

I don't do the number thing. Instead of trying to quantify this stuff I'll tell you what I think.
The controls and doo dads have been pretty well covered by other reviews. It has everything I think I need except for a standby switch and adjustable bias. I've modded mine to adjustable bias and will be putting in a standby switch soon. A bonus would have been a half power switch. Unfortunately you can't just pull two tubes on this amp. The filaments are wired in series, so if you remove one power tube none of the others work.
I find the boost switch to be of dubious usefulness. It is a very radical change in tone and volume. If it were footswitchable it might be more usefull.
I'll clear up a few misconceptions about this amp. Just because it has four EL-84's and puts out 30 watts does not make it a Class A amp like a Vox (actually most Voxes are really running in "hot AB" but that's another story). It is designed to run in normal AB mode like most other amps.
This is NOT a self biased amp. Some Peavey dealers seem to be under the impression that since there is no bias adjustment pot, it must be self biasing. Intead it is Non-adjustable fixed bias amp. This can be a problem when it comes time to change the power tubes.
Oh yeah, one other gripe. The extension speaker jack and footswitch jack are right next to each other. It is very easy to plug your footswitch into the extension speaker jack. If you have the contacts closed on the footswitch and you play for awhile trying to figure out why your amps suddenly sounds horrible, damage could result. Be careful.

The looks of this thing certainly remind one of an old Fender Tweed combo. However, it inhabits the other end of the sonic spectrum. I would say more towards old, lower gain Marshall territory.
The clean sound is nice, albeit without alot of clean head room. With hot pickups you can begin to get just the slightest hint of grit on the initial attack of the note. Cranking it yields very pleasant power tube distortion. You have to get it pretty loud to do this though. I find it possible to acheive good clean to slightly overdriven blues tone with my Strat. My tubescreamer sounds very good with this channel.
The distortion "channel" (actually the clean channel with two extra gain stages and a pre-drive and master volume) is mediocre at best at low volume. Once you crank the master up to about 5, it sounds surprisingly nice for an amp in this price range. This defintely isn't an amp that you "can't get a bad sound" out of though. It takes some tweaking to get it right. Once I zeroed in I found very pleasent compression and a nice smooth midrange coming from the power tubes. BTW my power tubes are replacement Ruby's bought by the previous owner. This amp has a growling bark to it that took me awhile to get used to. It certainly has a different chaaracter thant he 6l6 amp I was used to. You can get a good distorted rock tone out of this channel. I would say it is even possible to approach Zeppelin territory gain wise. If you desire more gain than that, this amp probably ain't for you. At the very least you will need some kind of pedal. Interestingly, I haven't found a combination of settings that will allow my tube screamer to work well with this channel.
The unfortunate thing is, there is no setting of the tone controls that is optimum for both channels. It is possible to find a compromise setting, but to really eke the best sound out of this thing you have to have the tone controls set right for the channel you are using. PV elected to cut much of the bass out of the signal before it makes it's way into the extra gain stages. I believe this was an attempt to keep the amp from getting muddy under high gain. They went a little too far though.
The stock speaker is decent. It doesn't seem to subtract from the tone at least. I am considering a replacement. This amp is very directional by itself. Depending on where you stand it can sound very different. I was not used to this as I had been a 2X12 player previous too this.
I hooked the amp up to a 2X12 extension cab and the amp sounded very good. The bottom end filled out well and it became much less directional.
All in all, I think the tone of this amp is very good considering the price they can be had for. I am satisfied with the basic sound so I believe that attempting a few tone mods might be fruitful. The two things I am going to focus on at first are the boost switch and the voicing of the extra gain stages.
A gentleman by the name of Steve Ahola has put quite a bit of time into modding his Classic 30. His work is keeping me from having to reinvent the wheel with this amp. If you are inclined to tinker here is his website: http://www.techaccessinc.com/blueguitar/

Well here is where the griping starts. The cabinet seems sturdy enough. The chassis metal is thin and actually vibrates like a drumhead when you play with volume. Some wheather stripping between the chassis and cabinet apparently will help this.
The tubes are very exposed and mounted directly to the circuit board. This isn't a big deal if you are familiar with working on amps and can watch the joints for excess heat and touch them up every now and again.
The pots are top mounted and somewhat protected by being recessed below the level of the top of the cabinet. They are mounted directly to the circuit board.
This is of course a PCB amp. And what a printed circuit board it is! The board is in three sections and actually folds over on itself. It is a pain to remove and put back in. The three sections are joined together with solid jumper wires that are not made to be flexed. I broke two taking my amp apart to install the adjustable bias mod. The next time I take it apart I'll probably just have a soldering party and replace them all with stranded wire.
I can't rag on PV too bad though. They had to cut some corners somewhere. They did it in the construction and not the sound. The only thing that really doesn't make sense to me is that goofy folded circuit board. With reasonable care this amp should stand up to moderate gigging. Since I will be going over it, I would probably trust it to gig without a back up. If I were going to gig with it I would probably install chassis mounted fuse holders though.

I bought this amp used so there is no warranty. If it breaks I will probably fix it myself. However, a couple of years ago I bought an old PV amp made in 1976. The parts department was cheerful and helpful in tracking down a schematic for me. They sent me the wrong one the first time. However that was totally my fault as I had misidentified the amp. They didn't even charge me for the second one.

Overall I am quite happy with this amp. I can't think of another all tube combo with these features that I could have gotten for this price. It ain't a Matchless or a Boogie but if you are looking for a good bang for buck ratio you should check it out.
If you have more questions or would like an update on how the mods are going, email me.

This is a 30 watt amp which features channel switching, effects loop footswitching, and external speaker out. The eq is shared by the channels, which I have never had a problem with. The mid boost switch is useless. The amp has no stanby switch and the fuse is on the INSIDE of the chassis. Blow one on a gig and what then? The amp comes with a 16ohm 12" speaker, which sounds good to me. I would strongly advise anyone buying a Classic 30 to pop for the 112 extension cabinet. It can be operated open or closed back. Leave the back on it and it will give you a lot more bottom end. Without it the amp tends to have too much midrange honk. I really like the EL-84 power section. I bought the amp to use with my band when we began playing in a particular smaller club. I had been using my 1967 Super Reverb and a Tube Screamer, which was too much for this place. The additional amount of overdrive was a lot of fun to have at hand. The effects loop works great with my chorus and delay. I would not advise using the delay in front of the amp as the whole character changes if you switch from clean to overdrive. Our band had a large PA and the amp was miked. Always sounded good out front. i have also used the amp in large venue situations at music festivals through large PAs, blowing back at me through huge monitor systems. this really was great since I could run the amp full oput and let the power section distort. In these situations, I had the sound folks mike both cabs to get the bottom end. Sounded like a Marshall out front. Finally, its light. I can carry the amp and cab in both hands and trow them in the back seat of the car.

The overdrive is fine, but sounds better the louder you play it. The clean is good, but there is not a lot of headroom. Blues players can get some cool tones out of the clean channel cranked all the way up. The amp hs the overdrive whoosh when turned up. I replaced the preamp 12AX7 tubes with higher quality tubes as soon as I bought it. They would oscillate and hum with anything plugger in to the amp. I put in some higher quality tubes and have had no more problems. The amp does the blues thing well. I also have no complaints about the fullbore overdrive. I have used a variety of Strats, PRS's, and other quality guitars. The glassy clean strat thing will only go so loud before you lose headroom, but for the asskicking shit with humbuckers, it will do fine. One of my Strats has a Hotrails and it will kill. Overalll, FOR THE MONEY, it is pretty versital.

Other than replacing the original cheap Chinese 12AX7s, I have had no problems. I would hate to blow a fuse on a gig, since it is INSIDE the chassis. I also which Peavey had not straight wired the speaker so you could unplug it to just use the amp with another cab. I have gigged many times without a backup, but the fuse worried me.

Peavey dealers with service departments are everywhere around here, and Meridian is 175 miles away. I have never had to ask for help.

The $500 or So I paid included the extension cab and tax. I have been very pleased with the amp, but would move on to something else if I had to replace it. For the price point the amp represents and for what it will do, it is a bargain. Find a used one and you will be rocking on the cheap. The extension cab is important to me, so try to find one as well. It is a neat little tone machine if you are not a snob.

2 channel clean/dirty, fx loop, no standby, 112 combo, tweed, 4 el84's, 4 12ax7's, loud, built like a peavey but doesn't sound like a peavey.

With a strat plus (gold fls) the amp has a good full sound on both channels. My first tube amp was a Fender Twin, so the clean channel on this amp took a little getting used to. It is warm with decent reverb, and solid attack. It has great tone, pretty unique. It can get a little tinny at mid-level volumes. When cranking the clean though, I have gotten sweet natural clip from those beautiful sounding el84's. I love those tubes.
Dirty channel is good with some mids and bass. Decent sustain, but the drive gets a little dry when cranked. From playing my freinds Classic 50, I know that my 30 has a different character. It's those el84 tubes; the 50 has 6L6's. The british tubes are just tighter and sweeter, almost compress naturally, although 6L6's can compress too, from what I have seen. El84's are just buttery, but flatten out when really driven.
Overall, it's not a very versatile amp by any means. For blues or rock, it is good. Distortion defitely not brutal, but kicked ass on my Fender, because it was focused and tight, with just a little loosenes, whereas my Fender cranked was just plain flabby loose 6l6 bottom flopping around my bedroom.
Louder than you would expect for a 30 watt 112, but not at all loud enough for a stage amp.
One last caveat: played through a Marshall 410 on the drive channel, this amp rocked/punched better than any amp I have heard. Unbelievable.
My rating of 7 is only relative to other 30 watt, 112 combos. Comparing it to my Fender or Boogie, of course the rating would drop to about 5. Of course, through the 410 on drive channel, a 9.

I bought this thing used at a pawn shop. $225, plus I picked up a Marshall 410 cab for aonther 75 (yeah!). I have never replaced the tubes, they have stood up (about 2 years). Also, I used to play the 30 through the Marshall cab (8 ohms) which completely mismatched impedence. Never had any problems though. Through that 410 though, purely rocked better than any amp I have ever had, including my boogie!
Peavey's are generally built to last.
I wish they had a wooden bar in the back to protect the tubes (so I put a nice redwood one in myself).

Been playing 5 years. Owned another peavey tube amp, a Boogie 50 caliber, and a Fender Twin.
For the money, the reliability and tone is outstanding. But I say buy one used. I've never bought a new amp.

This tube amp (12ax7 pre-amp/el 84 output)is the vintage style with tweed covering and basic controls. You get one volume for channel one, pre and post gain for channel two. There is a global eq with bass middle and treble along with reverb. The amp also has a luscious boost knob that really sweetens things up. The 12" speaker is also well matched to this 30 watt output stage. There is also an effects loop. The whole package weighs in at a very friendly 45 lbs.

The classic 30 is a suprisingly simple and loud amp. At first I really wasn't sure that I like it. At the store I was thrilled with the tight reverb (two spring accutronics) and solid sound. The bass is very present but can be eq'd down. I was into jazz solidbody sounds and this amp just seemed to match that style very nicely. When i got this amp home i started to be dissapointed by the fact that it was a little hard to get cranking rock sounds...12 month later and many hours of playing and listening later I can now say that this amp absolutly rocks...The clean channel is excellent and allows my Les Paul to play very pleasant bluesy leads and when you back off of the gain at the guitar you can mix a very useful accoustic like sound. This is great when you need to accompany yourself on tunes that have a nice strummy rythmn. The lead channel is much different from the clean channel...the eq or inherent sound is more rocky...there is a hint of a sucked mid that sounds better and better as you pump the volume. Speaking of volume...I have never yet turned this amp up to anything near its maximum...like the instructions say...hearing damage can and will occur at excessive volume. This leads me back to the amp itself...it grows on you. The sound is a little bit hard to get used to...which is a good thing. The amp has a sound that is so warm and enveloping that it gives you a presence. The amp is a wonderful rythmn machine because you can establish your backbone sound very easily. The amp has a very distinct personality, it is full and charming. If you are looking for an amp that mixes well this is it. In my opinion the amp is great because you can get all kinds of super awesome sounds. The added bonus is that the amp has an inherent sound quality that is different from the usual Fender/Marshal/Whatever sound that typically dominates the lead guitar spectrum. Put it this way, when you go to play with other guitarists and musicians this amp puts you into a part of the sound that is uncluttered with other instruments. It makes you feel like you own a whole chunk of sound that doesn't get in the way of others. My only critique would be that the amp reflects it's design...it's simple. It can be difficult to really break it up or distort to the levels you might expect. The answer to this is simple...pedals. This amp really loves to be fed with a processed signal. It takes whatever you can dream up and stamps it with classic 30 identity, again, I think this is great.

I did have to have this amp serviced within 6 months. It was covered by the warranty and was repaired with no hassle of any kind. It turned out that one of the pre-amp cicuits had developed a burn-out and needed to be replaced and the reverb tank had a faulty component. Did this cause me grief and sadness...yes...but the reward was unexpected. The amp came back from the service center sounding better than it did when I shipped it off. My opinion was that the amp, like any tube based equipment, underwent the typical break-in period were all the components really warm up and cook themselves in. The amp survived this with minimal harm. Yes, the amp required service but only of the usual kind. Since then this amp has been gigged regularly to a local club as well as countless trips to the backyard and garage. It has never failed to the point were you couldn't play it. My advice regarding this amp and it's reliability is this...take care of it. I get the feeling that this amp is rock solid but you got to be careful with it. Don't drop it...be careful of the unprotected tubes in the back, especially when you go to put the cord away. don't leave it in the rain and don't loan it out.

Excellent...I have no complaints about the customer service. This includes the shop that I bought it from as well as the customer service center.

Overall this amp is a lot of fun. With a little work you can make this amplifier work any kind of music. The sound is a little intimidating because it is so beefy. The presence that the amp provides is astounding...everybody will know you are there. The beauty of this amp is that when necessary you can back off of the volume and tuck your sound inside of the mix. For example...you are playing a tune that lets other players do their thing...the amp has the ability to let you ease up and hide just above the bass and below the vocals. This could be mostly attributed to the kind of guitar you play but I think it also tells you a lot about the amp.

I just read through the other reviews here which sum up the strong and weak points of this amp (Clean channel sounds nice, OD channel sounds like crap, boost switch is useless). I'm not sure if this is appropriate in this forum but I did some extensive mods on my Classic 30 which I posted on my website including: -Redesigned boost circuit (more like a Boogie shift switch) -Added relay board so that boost is footswitchable instead of reverb -Capacitor replacements to improve the tone of the OD channel -Master Volume and Presence controls added -Bias adjustment pot added (with jacks to measure bias current) If you already have a Classic 30 and know how to solder, some or all of these mods can make your amp a lot more usable and versatile. (If you don't have a Classic 30 but can pick one up for cheap it does make a nice project amp.) With these mods, my Classic sounds like a fairly nice Mesa Boogie or Marshall combo amp, with a very usable OD channel.
The URL for my site is http://www.techaccessinc.com/blueguitar/

Mainly strats w/ Van Zandts and Fralins playing blues and blues/rock.

The amp is constructed very cheaply with a folded light-gauge chassis, and a 3 section circuit board that is folded over with "hinged" jumper wires. If you plan to work on the amp at all, the pot bushings can be easily stripped as can the knurls on the pot shafts.

I ordered schematics for Classic 30 and 50 amps, which were received within a week. Classic 50 schematic was missing all-important board layout drawings. When I told Peavy about that, they promptly mailed me the full set for a different amp (Classic 50 w/o FX loop). Well, at least they try hard.

With the amp modded as outlined in the Features category above, it is a real killer. While the OD channel sounds a lot better than stock, it is more like a Marshall or Boogie than an old Fender. However with the Master Volume mod you can get the cleaner overdriven sounds from the Normal channel. by turning its Volume up all the way, and setting the overall volume with the mv control. Retubing the amp helps a lot, too, if you'd rather skip the mods: V1: Sovtek 12AX7WXT+ (like a vintage Telefunken) -or- Yugoslavian EI 12AX7 (like a Mullard- warmer and sweeter than WXT+) V2: Sovtek 12AX7WB (lower gain than WXT+) V3: NOS GE 12AX7WA or Ruby Tubes 7025STR (use a very clean & powerful tube for the driver) EL84's: Mesa Boogie Note: the ratings I listed here are for the amp as stock. With the mods several of the ratings would be 2 or 3 points higher.

EZ to use, but where's the standby switch? Has channel switching but the switch is extra. Come on Peavey, include the switch!

The clean channel is pretty good and can get mild overdrive when cranked(if you don't blow the cheesy speaker first, like I did). The distortion channel sounds like sheet metal being sanded on a belt sander at low volumes, but at higher volumes it sounds pretty good (if you don't blow the speaker first). Take the original seaker out and make it into a bird feeder and replace it with a Celestion or a good quality Jensen clone speaker. This made a HUGE difference in the tone of this amp when I switched to a Celestion. This gave the amp a warmth and crunch it didn't have before, but still sounds good when in the clean mode. Noticed some crosstalk in the distortion channel at low volumes. The boost switch is pretty worthless, as it adds so much flubby midrange goo to the tone that you can't really dial it out with the tone controls. I never use it. The reverb is pretty good, like a fender. The amp sounds pretty cool when hooked up to a Marshall 4x12 cab (16 ohm only). Try this out at the store when testing out the amp. Never used the loop, so I can't comment on it. Overall it gives a good, workmanlike tone for a reasonable price.

Shitty speaker, otherwise no problems except for bad preamp tube.

The speaker wasn't covered under warranty, so.......

Replace the speaker and put good tubes in it and you'll have a decent amp at a reasonable price. If it were stolen I'd probably shop around and explore my options. I think the innards could be more solidly built for the long haul. The chassis is made of flimsy, bent sheet metal, not real heavy duty at all. I wish Peavey would beef up the construction on all their amps. If the amp is used at home for practice, then I would recommend it, as it is a decent amp at a reasonable price, but for gigs, I would like somthing more ruggedly built.

This amp is fantastic for a practice amp. Switching between the clean and dirty channels is smooth and precise. The effects loop is a little noisy. No headphone jack. The spring reverb unit is perfect. I wish it had a stand-by and a fan, but it's only a 30 watt amp! I had to trade it in b/c I needed more volume. The tubes that came with it are crap Chinese deals, but I replaced them with some Groove Tubes and it was amazing.

This is the strongest feature of this amp. I bought a Fender Dual Showman after I owned this and have subsequently traded it in because I couldn't get the Peavey Classic sounds I loved so much. The amp is noisy, a noise gate could help. The clean channel does get dirty at higher volumes, but again this is a 30 watt amp.

I had to replace the tubes, but I was glad I did. Never had to send it in to be worked on though.

Never had to deal with Peavey.

Great tone, end of story. This amp isn't meant for metal, but if you love that "cookin' the tubes" kind of sound - this is it. I ran a Marshall 1960a cabinet off of it and got some killer sounds when I recorded it by miking both speakers (the Peavey and Marshall) and mixing the two signals.

This amp was made mostly for rock and blues. I play mostly metal like music so it was kinda limited in sound. But very versatile for Rock and clean, bluesy stuff.

I use a LesPaul with a PAFPro in the neck and a DimarzioSuper3 in the bridge. I love the sound especially w/a pedal but I have since changed the preamp tubes w/ some german 12ax7's. I actually got those tubes from my fathers friend, I accidently put the tubes in backwards and blew a capacitor. But the Preamp tones have a very Hardrock almost metal sound now. All this in a 30 watt combo. But I'd like to try out some higher watt heads like the 5150,VHTPittbull.

I'd use this w/ out a backup I've dropped it off of a truck tailgate, fired it up and worked flawless, this was prior to my wanting to take a peek inside see above for details on blowing a capacitor.

Haven't had to deal w/peavy except I visited their site and requested some info and got it within a week and a half. Pretty cool in my book.

If it were stolen I'd probably go with a 5150 or a Laney. But as long as I live I'm not going to sell it. Great amp I just bought a Laney 4x12 cab for it. I couldn't believe how loud the amp was before with just a single 12" now I have to wear earplugs when I crank up to 6 w/ the cabinet. I love this amp but I will probably buy a 5150 since it has monsterous gain. The clean sounds are wonderfull and w/my alder bcrich warlock I can get a Eric Johnson clean sound. I have carvin pu's in that guitar. I couldn't belive how much you can do with this amp and since it was my first tube head I know know what kind of amp I'm looking for. . But I'd like to keep it simple so thats why I want to get a 5150 head.

The Classic 30 has all the features I need in my "alternative" band. It has treble, middle and bass Eq's, as well as a boost button. I t also has a distortion mode, and great reverb. Did I mention it's a tube combo? I also has an effects loop, which I never use. I use this amp when practicing with my band. It's loud enough to be heard over bass, drums, and vocals, so I'm happy. It also has a speaker extension if you want extra juice.

This amp sounds pretty good. I use it with my Jaguar, which has standard single coil pickups. Since the distortion on it is terrible, I use a Boss Metal Zone for distortion. The two get along well except for some feedback. I use this amp for our hard songs, as well as soft. It has a great range. The clean and reverb are among the best I heard in this price range. After playing it for a while the sound does get muffled though. And it rattles when you turn the volume up loud, so if your Megadeth, stay away. But if your Stone Temple Pilots you should enjoy it.

This amp does take a beating when I take it places, but it has survived. But it does rattle which can be annoying. But other than that it has been very reliable.

never had a problem

I would buy this amp again. It's done the job. If your in a high school rock band, buy it. If you playin' with heavy metal guys with monster amps don't buy it if you wanna be heard. Rock on.

This amp is all-tube, except maybe the rectifier, but what can you expect from something in this price range? It has two 12AX7 preamp valves, one 12AX7 driver and four EL-84 output valves. Peavey has fitted these amps with their own specially-designed speakers. It has some nice features: three band passive EQ, spring reverb, a mid-boost switch ( not footswitchable ), and footswitchable channel select and reverb. It's second channel, the lead channel, has PRE and POST volume controls, whereas the clean channel has one volume control.

Let me make this clear: this is not made to please everyone. The distortion isn't totally brutal, it looks unappealing to most guitar players I know, it's not loaded with features and built-in effects. It is, however a great amp for blues, classic rock ( it's not very suitable for hard rock, or punk, etc. ). It's tone can get pretty muddy at high volumes, but I suspect that my pickups are at fault ( cheap Epiphone stock on Flying V ). I don't care for the mid-boost; it muddies up the natural tone of the guitar. The tone controls are nice; they don't give overly dramatic boosts or cuts or act too subtly to be heard. The reverb is also quite nice. It's not noisy, it's not really twangy like a Fender F.A.T. series reverb. Personally, I don't like the overdrive channel. It gives a harsh biting tone that I don't like. I use a Danelectro Fab Tone instead. It sounds great! I plan to change the output valves to Mesa/Boogies, because the stock valves ( Sovtek ) aren't the greatest quality in the world. I think one of them has a loose plate, because I hear a rattling from my amp when I play a hard chord at a high volume.

These amps are very reliable. Despite my problem with the rattling in the back of my amp, it hasn't broken down or anything.

Never dealt with Peavey.

For the price, this a great amp. It can last a long time and sounds great next to other amps in this range.

This is an update of a previous review... 2 channels. share eq, spring verb, 12"bin, blah blahblah Note... it has a mid boost/shift button... it was the supposed saving point of the classic 20, needless to say if it is the same as the one on the classic 30... leave it out! maybe add an extra gain stage or something the mid shift really mudds up the works
the reason for the re-review... I bought mine, I liked it (not as much as the classic 50 212...) and then I lent it to a buddy, he killed it, it sounded like shit. just bought some Sovtek 12ax7's and I now remember why I liked the amp in the first place!

It rocks... the new tubes especially has cleaned up the clean tone... and the distortion finally sounds like it should!
I a, finally ready to say I am "almost" satisfied... it rocks, but can't do the metal thing... I formerly used a DOD thrash master and an EQ for my metal tone, but I just got a zoom pedal and.... actually, adding the eq in the fx loop, I can give it a little extra edge...

Rocks... stock tubes suck , but other than that it is cool, never had a problem witha peavey...

never dealt with them before, told their tech department about the tone problems I was having, they emailed me back in less than 2 hours... very impressive.

Love it, really like the thing, and witht he new tubes, I am no longer looking at smaller/used marshalls!
Stay loose, and keep the thing smokin!

Dual channels sharing one eq (bummer...) mid boost and spring reverb (HOORAY!) 1x12 speaker and 30 watts RMS, I think it has 4 12ax7's and 4 el-84's... but don't quote me on this...

My musical tastes range from crystal clean, to Bluesy distortion to Shred... needless to say this amp CAN NOT do it all... But it can handle clean sounds well and the distortion rocks, but not up to that "METALLICA" level of crunch. (Note: I was playing mostly SRV blues and classic rock when I bought this amp...so I knew what I was getting into...) I like the footswitch (Mine was included by the dealer) and the amp blows away the Stereo Chorus 2-12 I had before... It is a little noisy in the distortion channel, but that is probably because I play a 70's squire strat with a Seymour Duncan Humbucker in the lead, and a piezo electric guitar... (I'll see how it fares when I get my Ibanez RG565 and my Yamaha RGX back from my cousin...) THe clean channel does distort at high volumes, but since I am both a blues player, and mostly an at-home player, this doesn't bother me..

It was really reliable... until I lent it to a buddy... He needed it for a "week-end gig" which stretched into 2 months... He was a country player, but was used to a hundred watt fender custom, so he cranked the snot out of my amp... 3 nights a week, in a smoky bar. (and broke the logo plate) needless to say it doesn;t have the same kick anymore... But he REALLY abused it... I guess if you don't run it at ten for 4 continous hours though, it'll probably be okay...I figure that it's just the factory tubes crapin out.

Don't deal with them, Don't think I'll need to...

I bought it because I had just wanted a new "Real" amp. I've had a Yamaha Budokan 20 watt (Good first amp) a Rexx 100 watt solid state rackmount (shades of Triumph... but I used it with a SHITTY! cab, a 212 traynor from 78... with original speakers... and got discouraged) an original Ampeg Jet trem model (I had it cleaned up and restored by a friend... my first tube amp and WOW! the best blues tone I have ever heard... it blew up when my buddy left it on for like 8 hours one day) a Peavey Stereo Chorus 2-12 (A horrible amp to begin with, and mine needed a new speaker basket (bad voice coil)... good clean, bad distortion, traded it to get the classic 30.. But the ampp is fairly vesatile, You just need a good distortion box for super Metal Tone, and a 7-band eq pedal for dialing in that extra little bit of contouring all in all, I'd definitely buy another one, though I'd probably go for the 50 2-12, mainly because it's distortin was a little harder...

The Classic 30 has three channels: the clean channel, a mid-boosted clean channel (push the "Boost" button) , and an overdrive channel. Right now I'm not sure I like how the EL84s are doing in my Classic 30, and I may or may not change them: I put Mesa Boogies in in November 1996, and they sounded better for two months than they do now. There is an effects loop, and an extension speaker outlet: the manual says you have to connect it to a 16 ohm load, which is a little limiting of one's choices. The amp doesn't come with a footswitch: you can turn the reverb on and off, and switch from the non-mid-boosted clean to the overdrive, if you buy the $20 footswitch. The Boost function is by pushbutton only. The overdrive channel can be set for very subtle overdrive to raging British blues, and you can make a difference in the overdrive channel by pushing the mid-"Boost" button in and out. Like other Peavey amps, there are overdrive channel controls labelled PreAmp gain and PostAmp gain to control the overdrive saturation, and total loudness, respectively. The controls are labelled with white silkscreened paint on a chrome panel, which makes for more than a little difficulty reading them: I think they're also upside down when you're looking at the amp from the side with the speaker. Other reviewers have commented on the potential for breakage of the tubes. The circuit board might be flexed up and down--which risks the integrity of the printed circuit board connections--if you change the tubes without using a little manual restraint.

. The clean channel isn't as warm as my Hot Rod Deluxe: by "warm" I mean that desirable quality of harmonic richness, as opposed to clinical simplicity without overtones. The clean channel doesn't like low frequency sounds very much. According to Musician magazine, a lot of the clean sounds on the country/soul anthology "Red, Hot and Country" (? 1994) were played on Peavey Classic series amps. Check this out, if it's still available: you haven't heard full-bore southern sentiment till you've heard George Jones and B.B. King share vocal duties on "Patches" ("I'm depending on you, son, it's all up to you....") The midboosted sound strikes me as sounding like a Marshall would when playing through its nominal clean sound: I've not owned or played a Marshall since 1981 so maybe I'm not too reliable a source about Marshall sounds. The overdrive sound is pretty cool: it has a certain organic midranginess, a crudeness, that I like, without being always 25 decibels louder than the clean channel, which seemed to be the necessary case with my old Boogie .22 Caliber (see comments on my Boogie in my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe review from 8/24/97: I've since sold the Boogie). My Classic 30 has a little cabinet rattle at moderate volumes, which can be annoying if you concentrate on it. The sound is very directional: it sound a lot louder when you listen on-axis to the speaker, than when you are more than 30 degrees off-axis. I play a rosewood-neck 1982-American-made reissue 1962 strat, a 1995 maple neck Am Std Strat, and a 1994 Tele Custom, the Mexican-made guitar with with a humbucker in the neck position. I like blues/jazz. I don't get up in the morning hoping to sound like the Rollins Band I saw on a Saturday Night Live rerun last night.

No problems: I'm only a bedroom player, though, so I wouldn't know how it would fare in the gigging world. I'd be very careful about preventing objects from banging into the tubes while the amp was in transit: they are quite exposed.

I got a an answer quickly by phone when I called Peavey about the impedance requirements for the extension speaker.

. I just like the clean sound on my Hot Rod Deluxe better than on this amp: I will probably sell the Peavey one of these days. I did like the clean sound on the Classic 30 better than on my Mesa Boogie .22 Caliber when I had those two amps to choose from.

like the other classic 30

I use this amp with a stand.strat and an Hoyer ES335 with DiMarzio pickups. I play all styles from blues to Hard Rock and this amp does it all. For an hard dist., i use a self made distortion because the drive channel sounds sensationel for Blues but as an Hard and Heavy Dist. it's a little bit warm. The clean channel is clean and with my ES335 it sounds very brilliance.

Never had an problem

Never dealt with them

Yes i would by it again

Though only a two-channel amp, it offers amazing tonal flexibility. The effect loop is very handy. I wish the controls were in front, because I usually prop it back when I play. Sometimes, I set my processor on top, and that makes accessing the controls very awkward. The mid-boost control completely changes the character of the amp, making the tone raw and creamy when engaged. Lots of features for a small amp, though a headphone jack would be nice. Reverb is very sweet sounding, but not as good as an Accutronics unit like Mesa/Boogie uses.

This amp is a real pocket rocket! Somewhat limited tonal flexibility, though; it won't do extreme metal or hi-volume crystal clean. It provides the sound your looking for about 90% of the time. A guitar with P-90's in it sounds absolutely incredible through this amp! The high end limitation is apparent with a Rickenbacher or a Tele, it doesn't have the headroom to do a loud, clean, bright sound. (country players steer clear) However, this amp is loaded with personality, and is great for Blues, most rock, and Les Paul type clean stuff. This may be the loudest 30-watt amp around; it blows away a 2x130 watt solid state amp I once had. The clean channel gives an incredibly ballsy sound when cranked up to very high levels (8-up); think 1959 Plexi. Sounds best with a hardwood bodied guitar with humbuckers (Les Paul style). The extension cabinet is a sealed, one 12" affair and really extends the low end depth of the amp while tightening the sound. With my Hamer Special with P-90's, it comes alive. Lose the factory tubes, get Groove tubes, Sovteks, or Boogie tubes.

The unprotected tubes are scary and fragile, but mine is going strong. You just have to be careful, and don't store your wah pedal in the back of the amp!

Peavey's large customer service network handles calls quickly and professionally. Peavey dealers tend to be less helpful than the company itself.

I would definitely buy this amp again. Its soulful tonality is right up my alley, though the Delta Blues has a little more of an SRV sound. I wish Peavey would put their new, 5150-style logo on all their new products. The disco-era, lightning Peavey logo has got to go. This is probably the best value in a smaller tube combo amp around. Fender Twin users will miss a sparkling brightness on the clean channel. For 90% of the time, this amp will satisfy. For a certain range of blues-oriented sounds, this amp is almost indescribably wonderful.

All tube 4- EL84's, 3- 12AX7's, reverb, bass, mid, treb, pregain, postgain, normal, FOOTSWITCH IS NOT INCLUDED

This amp kicks some blues ass!! Clean stays clean, not quite a Fender clean but for $200 less than the Hot Rod Deluxe, I can deal with it!! The gain channel absolutely SCREAMS a great tone for blues this channel blows away the Hot Rod Deluxe (which just blows...), it starts to sing just past 4 with the preamp cranked.

I have used a variety of different amps over the years but alway find my way back to Peavey. It just gets the job done without fail.

Never had a problem, but they happily answered my questions.

If you are into Blues/rock/funk, buy this amp. If you are into metal, but this amp and a BOSS Metal Zone . Nuff' said.

All tube design, 2 channels - a clean channel with separate gain and a drive channel with pre and post gain adjustments, spring reverb, 3 tone controls, boost switch, FX loop, ext. speaker jack, footswitch jack, 30 watts into a 12" speaker. Tremolo which would have been a nice addition although its available in Peavey's Delta Blues model. I ended up buying a Voodoo Lab tremolo stomp box to use with it. Since I use it only at home a headphone jack would have been handy. Having separate tone controls for each channel would have also been useful. It's plenty loud enough for my needs - loud enough to hear over my son's drums, which I couldn't with my 20 watt Fender solid state. I bought the footswitch ($24 Cdn) which switches between the clean and drive channels and turns the reverb off/on. In general I prefer amp controls on the front, not the top like this has but its part of the "classic" look. I play whatever I can, which is mostly blues or rock/blues. The features of this amp are fine for this.

I like the sound of this amp. It is my first tube amp so I'm pleased with the tone after using my little solid state. I use it with a Strat Squire with Gold Fender Lace pickups. The clean channel is clean, at least at the volumes I generally play at, and I've had it cranked. The drive channel is very versatile, you can get just a hint of distortion or a lot. I sometimes use a Boss Blues Driver for distortion since I can control the tone and it gives a different sound. The amp is very quiet. The reverb sounds great and has a wide range of adjustment. Overall I find the sound to be bright (trebly - but you easily control this with the tone knob) with good bass response - it sounds great with my strat. It's easy to get a great blues tone, and of course it has that tube sound that's hard to beat. With the Lace pickups I can get a good jazz sound too. The clean channel is different from a vintage fender (no surprise). I've played through a friend's Fender Hot Rod Deville (4x10)and it's similar, although the Fender does sound better (but it is twice the price - and why just a couple of buttons for drive?). It is more different from another friend's '63 Princeton which sounds really warm and smooth. I've never noticed any rattle at high volume that others have reported.

Once developed a case of what can best be described as a case of laryngitis - resocketing the tubes cured this. This thing's three years old - still has the original (Chinese) tubes in it. As others have noted the tubes are exposed in the back. If I were to move it around a lot I would add some grill to protect the tubes.

Never called them so don't know.

I was looking to buy a tube amp when I came across this one used. I was looking at a Fender Blues Jr. (too basic), Hot Rod Deluxe (nice), as well as the Peavey Classic 30, Delata Blues and Bandit 212 as well as used vintage fenders. The market around here seems pretty knowledgeable so that finding a vintage fender for a good price is challenging.
For the money I feel that it was a good value purchase - tube sound, good features and in excellent condition. I probably would have bought a Fender tube amp if I could find one with similar features near the same price.

This amp's features are decent - See other submissions for details. I wish this amp came with a footswitch. The 30 watts is pretty loud.

This amp is very mediocre. When this amp worked it sounded ok. Clean channel is fairly clean until you crank it up. Drive channel sounds ok at moderate drive but sounds horrible when cranked. The speaker in this amp is cheezy and distorts at high volume.

I used to like Peavey. After owning this amp, I HATE PEAVEY. This stupid amp has cost me more time and heartache than any other amp I've owned. About 3 days after I bought it, it broke. The volume sounded like 1 watt and was all distorted. I took the amp back and they sent it in for repair. About a month later I got the amp back and it worked for about a week, then notta. No power. Nothing. I took the amp back to the store and they sent it off for repair. I got it back, opened the box and the tubes were smashed. The store replaced the tubes for me for free. I got the amp home and guess what?!?!? Same tinny 1-watt sound! ARGH! I marched the amp right back to the store and demanded a refund. The store manager sympathized with me and gave me a full refund.

All repairs were handled through the store I bought the amp from so I never dealt with customer service. I think the amp came with a 1yr warranty. I don't know

I don't know about Peavey's other tube amps, but this one REALLY sucks! I've owned Peavey solid state amps before and they never gave me a problem. I guess Peavey's reliability has really gone downhill with their new amps. I would never recommend or buy one again.

30 watts into 16 or 8 ohms, 2 channels (lead and clean), shared passive tone controls, Reverb, easy to carry.

I love this amp. I've been playing 20+ years, tried all kinds of stuff etc. and have to rate this amp a 10. I'm a rocker (evolved classic rock I guess!). The clean channel is clean (until you hit the mid-boost switch!). The lead channel leads. No doubt about it. It's a little rattly sometimes, peavey has a fix should you desire it but I think it helps color things. This thing delivers. Blows away the tone of the Fender Blues Deluxe that I mistakenly bought.

2 years onstage - no failures, blew a tube at the one year mark. that's all.

The support by Leon and Aubrey at Peavey is superb. Every year or so for the last 6 years I've called about something or other and one of these guys has been there. Really good work guys.

I'd buy it again, except that I'm gonna get it's brother the Delta Blues. It's the same amp but with a 15" speaker and vibrato. Cool Deal. Cut's past most 50 watters out there. Get it's extension cab and unless you other guitarist is REAL good his 4x12 is gonna be shamed.

No tremelo or built in FX. Has a (non-switchable) FX loop, which is useful. Channel switching, mid-boost. I like the FX boost and the master volume on the dirty channel, which gets nice distortion at low levels.

I like the distortion, pretty good "edge of distortion" sounds. Clean sound is noticeable inferior to my Deluxe Reverb--not as much give and compression to the sound. You can put in lower gain (12AT7 and 12AY7) tubes on the dirty channel to reduce gain and get more control over the distortion at low levels. This also lets you turn the volume up more and get more power amp tube distortion. Wide range of sounds, most of which are good. But there are specialized amps out there that do some sounds better. Changing the stock (chinese) preamp tubes for Groove tubes improved the sound considerably.

No problems, except for one preamp tube that broke while changing it. Slight rattling on some notes; tightening all the screws helped.

Schematics are available for $2.50; they answered questions before purchase when I phoned.

Good sound for money, versatile. I like the clean sound on my deluxe reverb better, but it can't get distorted sounds at low volume. I use the FX loop for a Quadraverb; I also run a Sansamp PSA-1 into the other channel of the quadraverb and then into the Peavey's output stage and speakers--that gets great heavy sounds, and gives me the flexibility to send either the Sansamp or the peavey preamp into my mixer.
I might try some of the Fender Blues models as well and see which I like better. For me the Peavey had the right mix of features, sound, and low cost. The versatility is why I'm keeping it even though I like the Fender's sound better.

This amp is a nice practice amp- It's loud enough to cover the drummer and bass player I think the reverb goes up too high-it just turns to mud

I use it mostly at school as a practice amp (Jazz combo) It's nice and clean and quiet enough, but I find it has too much treble, and always end up cranking the lows and mids so it sounds better I use a Gibson 135 or Les Paul This amp sounds great as a blues amp with my Strat, though

The exposed tubes in the back are scary-I already had to replace a broken one-be gentle with the tubes, but the rest of the amp is real solid- I once saw someone drop a (solid state) Peavey amp down a flight of stairs, and despite a little cosmetic damage-it still worked fine....

I've never had any problems with getting manuals and stuff but they really can't help you in the tube department

I like this amp, I'd buy it again for it's portability, price, and value

This amp has SOME good sounds, and with an amp of this size, you don't need many more features. It's a BASIC tube amp, which many manufacturers are going back to producing nowadays.

The one I am using, which is on loan, is very noisy when I turn it up. Especially in the gain channel, the thing starts whistling, and there is A LOT of feedback on either channel if the amp is turned up fairly loud and Reverb is on. The sound is OK. Maybe the tubes are bad on this one, but the clean channel isn't all that clean. At least not compared to some of the Fender stuff I've played.

It's reliable, although I REALLY don't like the fact that the tubes in the back aren't protected. I would always have extra tubes on hand JUST in case.

It's on loan, not mine, so what can I say?

For my money, I might buy one of these used as a practice amp, but the sounds aren't good enough to play in my country band at gigs.

I'm well pleased with the features of this amp - the volume rises smoothly, the tone controls provide a really wide range of sounds. I play mainly at Church, using a Yahama acoustic and a strat, both through a Digitech rackmounted effects unit.

Can't fault it, really - it my opinion it blows the Marshall 8080 valvestate out of the water. It makes my strat sound beautiful. This is my first valve amp and I really noticed the difference - it really seems to make the guitar sing, bringing harmonics out beautifully. The only problem I had was that it couldn't handle the extremely high gain on some of my presets - it squealed so much, I couldn't hear the guitar at all! (I'd had no problems using these sounds through a Yamaha tranny head). Once I turned the gain down, it was fine...
The overdrive doesn't really scream, but what the heck - I suppose it's aimed at the blues-y guitarist, and it sounds great.

It's never let me down - my only complaint is that the valves are totally exposed (I suppose they have to be, more or less) and it's easy to knock them or damage them if the amp is in the back of your car. That happened once - a valve dislodged itself and the pins at the base of the valve got bent, but it worked OK once I put it back in.

Never needed backup, but the warranty was only 30 days, which isn't much use...

No complaints - great tone, really versatile. I have a friend who is a music teacher / pro musician, and he says that tonally, it's more or less the same as his boogie amp. He was really impressed.

Extremely versatile little tube combo.No need to repeat the specs that others have already talked about.Effects loop seems well buffered.Quiet channel switching with footswitch.Very loud 30 watts.I use the amp for gigging and practice.The mid boost makes it sound like a different amp.

I play blues/rock/jazz/country/alternative/whatever.This amp excells in everything except for heavy metal and then external effects can be used. Background noise is exceptable compared to everything else out there.Tried everything from ADA to Warwick.This little thing is remarkable for the price and size.Very tasty blues amp when used clean or overdriven.Reverb is among the best I've used lately.Plenty of overdrive unless you need extreme metal.Very warm overdrive.Mid boost makes amp sound completely different. best I've used.

Dependable.Would gig without backup.No problems so far.Tubes other than Chinese would probably add some extra security since they seem a bit flaky in other amps I've owned or tried.

Good support.Never needed repair but have dealt with them for manuals or documentation.Lots of dealers for Peavey everywhere.Have owned Peavey products for years with no problems.

Probably have this amp forever.It's loud enough to gig with a band.Sounds better than most that cost much more.Light and small enough to save your back.Compared it with most Fender,Marshall,Crate,and Mesa products.Choose this amp at the advice of other owners and on sound comparisons.This little amp will fool you.It's built well too.

I played classical guitar for the last 15 years so I finger pick on the clean channel. The reverb is nice, although I am presently shopping for a chorus. On the other hand, I really like to wind the thing out with some Page type blues and have made some Frip-like bazare sounds as well. I wish I had gotten the foot switch right off the bat. I've had it for 3 months and I am still learning new sounds from the very few controls.

Very loud on the clean. Distortion very managable to bed-room, kids sleeping level. Very curious to hook it up to 4-12s just to see how it would whine. I have a friend in the country I think I need to visit to try this thought. 30 watts?? Oh, by the way, I've heard a set of Sovtek tubes will improve the sound. I can't wait till the new factory tubes start to die so I can find out!

Built like a brick outdoor bathroom type house. Metal chasis like our old 68 dodge polara. Don't drop it on your foot on weekends or holidays. New meat works the ERs on these occasions

Amp is practicaly new

I think I'll always keept the thing. It doesn't take up much room and people can't believe all the sound that comes from the little devil. It looks nice as well.

Very small tubecombo with: - reverb - two channels - effects loop - external speaker connector - footswitch - 3 tone controls, reverb control, preamp & poweramp & clean channel volume controls - 30 very loud watts, power seems to be no problem.

- very loud one, especially with an external speaker cabinet - three, if a preamp/fuzzbox like RAT is used. Clean, sharp & distorted - very well, I play Jazz/Soul/Funk/Rock - yes, but luckily rather nicely - rather, but also VERY musical with loads of harmonics. Like flexible railroadtrack...

- hope so, I have only used it for 3 months and one preamp tube has broken - yes - once, one preamp tube was faulty and started to act like a microphone

- very helpful - yes, it was easy - 1 year, 3 months for the tubes

- yes, absolutely!! - love the size & sound of it - compared to Mesa Boogie Caliber 22, Ampeg 60 W combo, Fender tube combos, Marshall 100 W head and some other combos - a tremolo would be nice - seems to work really nice with Stratocaster. Tried it with Les Paul too, did not sound as good.

2 channels, all tube (4 x EL84 power tubes). Channel 2 has preamp volume which allows distorted tones. Amp has channel switching, effects loop, no headphone jack. Also has mid-boost button that I don't like and nevver use. Power level is just right for me. Able to achieve power tube distortion without going deaf.

Amp is perfect for clean or fuzzy blues tones. Really sounds nice with my strat in the neck position. Only warm distortion is available. For nasty metal distortion, use a pedal with the clean channel, which works pretty well. Wire tube retainers rattle a little, but I don't usually notice.

I've had this amp for about a year and a half and play it a few times a week with no problems.

This amp is perfect for me and I got it at a decent used price (off the 'net). I will probably keep it forever.