Peavey Classic 30

Bought new in Nov 2001. Not a true two-channel amp ? EQ is shared by clean and lead configurations, but it has a wide range of sounds and
is very versatile.

I play mainly blues using a Gibson LP studio, so I?m not looking for tonnes of overdrive dirt.
I?m pretty happy with the sound. I wanted the valve amp sound, and it certainly delivers this. Some other reviewers have commented adversely on the valves as supplied new. The valves that came fitted to my amp (bought new) were: one 12AX7EH by Eletro-Harmonix (probably made by Sovtek), and the rest are Sovteks. Two 12AX7LPSs and four EL84s. The 12AX7LPS is a revised Sovtek design, which is supposed to have a better sound than previous Sovtek 12AX7 types, except that a reviewer on a valve webstore (http://www.thetubestore.com/sovtek12ax7lps.html) doesn?t recommend it for high-powered compos, as it can be bit microphonic. I have experienced no problems with this so far.
The clean channel doesn?t stay clean for that long, but has a great crunch sound, switch the boost option to get even more. I don?t think the clean channel sounds much like a Fender valve amp - well, the one Fender I?ve actually played that was built in the 60s, as others here have claimed. But I guess if people will change the valves for boutique amp quality, they might get different results. The amp doesn?t have the headroom clean of a Fender, but it does sound nice at low levels.
The lead channel is very versatile, and you can dial in quite high levels of pre-amp gain at low volumes. But like most valve amps, it really only delivers its best tones when cranked a bit, then you get the power amp going into overdrive.
When buying the amp, I compared it to the Fender Blues Junior but found the Fender far less impressive on tone, even if I prefered the Fender name. But it is the tone that counts.

Too soon to say but Peavey has listened to criticism it seems (at least that which has appeared in UK Guitar mags) about the exposed valves, and this one came fitted with a solid steel cage to protect the valves during transport etc. The cabinet is really solid.

Trying to get a cover for it aint so easy. Been waiting months for the UK distributor to send one to my dealer.

For the money, it?s a very good amp. You?d have to spend a lot more money to buy something significantly better sounding. If you want nice valve tones for not much money, this amp does it.

I like the feature it comes with. Normal channel volume, Gain channel volume and gain it self <post and pre>, reverb, bass, mid, treble. It also has and effects loop which i think is crap, it gives off way too much feedback. It has an etension speaker jack whish i like because i am planing on getting the classic 112E. And the footswitch is great for letting me switch between clean and the drive channels. My reverb is either broken or just really sucxks but hey i dont care since i never use it anyways.

Im playing an Epiphone Bully modified sg and it sounds great. Frankly i wont play anything else but twin humbuckers. And this is my first real amp and i love how it sounds. But it has a little bit too much feedback sometimes. i I play punk/ska and the drive and clean channels are perfect for how i play i just wish it wasnt such a low sounding amp. the distortion isnt too muddy and its not too soft its great for punk. i am currently practicing in the basement at my drummers haouse and it sound good there and in my basement too. Just one recomondation do not use effects pedals on this amp, exspecialy DOD.

I kick this SOB around all the time and i end up hurting funiture more then the amp. I also kick the amp to get a cool unnatural sound from the spring reverb. I have had no trouble from the amlp but the footswitch was being gay so thats why i bought a pedal and then i fixed it so now i dont need a pedal anymore.

never had to deal with them but i beat its good like the amps they make

I give it a ( because it could be better but for how much i paided for it i got more then what i expected. i love this amp and i recomend it to the upcoming. classic rock, blues,or punk/ska guitarist. dont try to use this amp for metal. if you wanna play metal then be a pussy and go buy a mashall and use that piece of crap. but if you want something dependable and crunchy then get this.

Decent features: Channel switching between "normal" and drive channel. Drive channel has post and pre knobs. Treb, middle, bass knobs (eq is even in both channels), reverb knob (reverb on this amp is not the best but ok), "boost" button which I normally don't use but does add more drive.

I'm using this amp with a hot custom made tele (Seymour Duncan stacked humbucker on neck, custom wound Harmonic Design SC on bridge, internal Black Ice module) and a stock 77 Gibson Les Paul Custom. The amp is a little noisy on drive channel with the Tele (expected) but near dead quiet with the LP.
Here's what I've found to drastically improve the sound of this amp: First get rid of that stock speaker..sounds flat and lifeless. Use any good 50 to 70 watt speaker, Vintage 30, Jensen C12N etc. I'm using a reissue 8 ohm C12n and an extension cabinet housing an 8 ohm black frame Kendrick 12". I connect both speakers through a small box I concocted that runs them at 16 ohm total load (what peavey recommends). Second: Replace all the tubes. In this particular amp I'm using (from right to left looking from the back) Raytheon 12AT7, JJ EC83, JJ EC83, Ei EL84, Ei EL84, Ei EL84,Ei EL84(Tesla yugoslavia). These simple and reasonble $ changes totally transfomed this amp from a "5 or 6" in sound to a 9+, bottom end is fantastic. It's astounding. Has very good headroom for a 30W amp. Clear tones are very Fender like, easily reaches that SRV tone by pushing the clean channel if you want it. I play a somewhat odd mixture of blues/Pink Floyd and the Vintage 30, setup in this manner, is more than capable of handling it. In front of the amp I'm using a modified TS-9, Boss DM-2 delay and Boss CE-2 chorus. Incedible sound. Power is sufficient for most situations and mics very well if necessary. Distortion can go over the top with drive channel cranked and post/pre knobs maxed.
Isn't a Dumble..only 10 I've ever heard..

This is an early tweed Vintage 30 that I bought from a bass player who bought it used. Not one single problem so far..except for having to change speaker and tubes. Can't imagine it breaking down. No backup necessary.

Never had to deal with them

Value would desrve a 10
Been playing for over 30 years..quite a bit over..and have owned many vintage Fender, Boogie, Traynor etc etc etc..blah blah blah..they were all excellent to great amps. They could all do one or two things well or awesome, this amp does several things extremely well. Incredible amp for the price. Don't hate anything about it..50W would be nice but not essential, better reverb would be really nice. I think I might have done a review of this amp here in the past..not sure and too lazy to look through them all, so this might be an update. If it was lost, stolen or destroyed I would buy another immediately. I see Daddy's Junkie Music has one in their used catalog right now for an unbelievable $170..hmmmm..

This amp offers a lot of bang for the buck. Channel switching, reverb, tone controls that work well and a boost button that is not my cup of tea but does offer another tonal variation.
The effects loop works well also. It may not have all the bells ina whistles that the new modeling amps have but the features it does have are all very usefull.

The clean channel is enough to make any strat or tele player smile. All of the nuances of these guitars come through. Granted the complexity is not what you might hear with some outrageously expensive boutque amps but hey for the working musician it's hard to beat.
The amp also loves humbucker equipped guitars. The lead tone are more suited to roots rock and blues than metal but they are very musical.

It appears to be well made. I have owned a couple of other Peavey amps over the years and have never had a problem with them. Great reliable gear that is resonably priced for the working musician.
I would gig without a backup but would have extra tubes on hand as you should with any tube amp.

Never had to use Peavey support.

I've been playing guitar for over 30 years and have been through many amps during that time. This little classic 30 is light, easy to transport, powerfull enough to gig with, reliable and has great tone.
What more can you ask for in an amp for the working guitarist.
I'm looking for a second used classic 30 so I can run them in stereo.
You can't beat this amp for the money whether you buy it used or new.
I give it a 10 rating because of the fantastic value this amp represents. You can spend a lot more cash, get slightly better tone with some amps but for what this amp represents it is very tough to beat.

Brand new C30. 1x12, All tube, 2 channels + reverb. Mine didn't come with a footswitch. It has an FX loop, and a boost switch. No standby switch or headphone jack though. I play blues/alternative. Great amp.

Using it with a stock Mexican strat, it suits my style, but it can't handle metal at all. It's pretty noisy....one problem mine has is that when you turn the reverb up, you get a hissing sound. The Distortion is actually more of an overdrive.

The tubes in the back are exposed, no problems so far

never dealt with em

if it was stolen, i probably would get an amp for more high gain type stuff. i like how it handles effects nicely, and i hate how much feedback i get though. I wish the tubes were caged in the back. All in all, a good amp.

Purchased this amp new in June of 2001. I'll spare you the details and try to get to you the information that I think you should know!

This is highly subjective, but here it goes.

First thing that I did was change the speaker to a Celestion Greenback just for fun. The difference was interesting. Smoother and more gradual distortion in the overdrive mode, and a smoother, blusier breakup in the clean mode. Fairly good for starters, but that's just the beginning.

Next, I purchased a Celestion vintage 30, and there was an even greater difference. More punch and volume now came from the amp. The overdrive channel now had a little more agression, and with more wattage being rated in the speaker, I could crank the volume up on the amp a little more and not worry about blowing the speaker. Buy this speaker if you want more punch and volume out of the amp, buy the Greenback if you want a stronger vintage sound and earlier breakup. I love the Vintage 30 in this thing!

A huge tonal difference was noted when changing the horrible factory suckteck tubes to higher quality Groove Tubes. I first changed the power amp tubes and noticed an immediate change in power. A little more power was noticed as well as a slightly more dynamic sonic range. TUBES ARE THE KEY IN THIS AMP!

Now for the greatest difference! I swapped out the preamp tubes for nice Groove Tubes. What I found is that at first, after placing a 12AU7 in the first stage of the preamp, trying to clean up the clean sound of the amp, the tone controls seemed to have lost a lot of their dynamic range. The overdrive channel became a little more agressive from the better quality tube, but a lot of the bite was taken out of the amp. The highs were not quite as dynamic, and once again, the entire sweep of the tone controls became a little mutted, but the amp was a little cleaner on the clean channel.

Then, I placed a new 12AX7 in the first gain stage, and the amp and the tone controls became much more dynamic. A great deal of life was returned to the amp simply by making this change. I don't know how the gain stages of this amp operate, but after placing a new tube in the first position, I put a new one in the second position, and the second channel gave me one of the best overdrive sounds that I've heard from a small amp. It sounded good with the first tube replaced, but after puting the second tube in, the highs gained a lot more sparkle and definition, as if it were operating as a presence control. I haven't the time or inclination to take some of my NOS tubes out of my Matchless and place in this amp, but I'm certain that this amp would sound that much better. I just can't justify puting in those expensive tubes into this thing. That just leads to more tube adiction.

So, if you're trying to hotrod this thing, tubes should be your first and least expensive step, unless you get crazy with some new old stock stuff. Then change the speaker.

I'm using several different PRS's with this thing, as well as a few different Strats. The clean channel is much louder than the overdriven channel when cranked, so if you feel that volume may be a problem, just run the clean channel and a good overdrive pedal in front of it. For the money, you will not beat it.

Watch the tubes, as they are not protected very well! I play the amp very loud and very hard, so I keep a close eye on tube life. So far, so good!

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 18 years, with the last 12 years being full time professional. I would replace it if it were stolen. It's one of the best bangs for the buck out there.

$360 for the amp w/ footswitch
$89 for the Vintage 30. Get it from Carvin!
$60 for power and preamp tubes. You do the math!

Wish it had just a little more volume on the overdrive channel.

Probably a couple of years old. Play the blues. Perfect for that. One channel,has also a lead channel switch, and a boost switch. Has a preamp and post amp knob so you can dial in as much distortion as you want. Has plenty of power for a small club setting. All tube amp.

Use it with Fenders and others with single coils and humbuckers. Sounds really good. You can get as much distortion as you want. Can be a little bit noisy.

Have only had it a few weeks. But generally Peavey's are long lasting.

Haven't used them yet, probably won't.

For the money you can't beat this amp. Almosta s good as my Deluxe reverb, but not quite. Bought it at E-bay. Worth looking into if you want a bargain amp that can kick. Stay away from solid-state!!

Born 2001. This brand new C30 tube amp has two channels, 3 channel equalizer, effects loop in/out, footswitch, speaker out, and a really horrible "boost" button (ruins the overall sound IMHO). The knob labels are readable from the front (I've heard they were reversed in earlier models -- and the useless manual still is). This amp has more power than I really need, however, I only use this amp for practicing, jamming with friends, and very amatuer home recording. All the features that I really need are here, however, I suppose if I made a wish list, I would wish that (1) there was some way to save settings and make them switchable (I've only seen this feature on digital/modeling amps, but wouldn't it be nice to see some knobs "magically" turning to my desired settings!) (2) that the effects switch on the footswitch would bypass the effects rather than just turning off the reverb (what a useless switch!).

I have an Ibanez Artist and this guitar interacts beautifully with the C30. I play blues, classic rock, alternative, folk, and country. The C30 accomodates all styles extremely well. With the occassional help from some effect pedals, this amp shines. Most times, I can dial in the right sound without any effects (I lean toward a cleaner sound). The amp's clean and dirty sounds are perfect for me. The distortion is limited, but adequate for most things except metal. Now, the really important thing about this amp is that it just plain sounds awesome! This amp, even with the standard tubes and speaker, provides a nice fat, warm, and rich sound. Not too high, not too low, goldilocks would have picked this one because it's just right!

I've only had this for a couple of weeks, but it seems to be built solid and I have not had any problems with it. The only complaint I have is that the tubes are exposed. At the store, one of the tubes was bent and broken before I even played it. Without much effort or money, I put a wire cage around the tubes.

I hope I never find out.

For the money this is definitely the best tube amp available. It is a shame that I was almost hesitant to buy this amp because it was a Peavey. I've been so conditioned by my other guitarist friends that I initially had a bias against the amp just because of the manufacturer. Listen, Peavey did a fine job with this one and I have gained respect for them solely because of the C30. If someone put a Fender logo on this amp, I have no doubt that someone out there would be saying how "Fenderish" the amp sounded. The Peavey name might hurt me in the resale market, but I don't think I will ever sell this amp.

When I was amp shopping I was very interested in a Line 6 Flextone II, Fender Ultimate Chorus w/ DSP, Fender Cyber-Twin, Fender Twin Reverb, and a Fender '65 Reverb (re-issue). If you know amps, you know that all of these are much more expensive amps. All I can say is that the "little" C30 kept purring to me and my wallet.
Modeling amps are fun, but to my ears, they don't truly match a real tube sound and that is really what I want the most (The Cyber-Twin came closest IMHO. The Flextone II doesn't come close IMHO). If I didn't have kids, a mortgage, a car payment, and still want to buy more "toys", I'd probably get one of the tubed Twin's, but all things considered the C30 rocks my world perfectly and is much more portable. Besides, now I can spend more money on other things (can't wait to get that Roland GR-33 guitar synth).

New C30 wtih 1 1/2 channels, not a real 2 channel amp and an effects loop. I changed the pre amp tubes to Sovtek 12AX7LTS and the power tubes to Sotvek EL84's.
This amp is plenty loud for small to medium gigs and jamming with a rhythm section.
My only complaint here is that the "Boost" switch is useless and even if it had a use the Peavey pedal doesn't have a button for it, just a useless reverb button. Who the hell turns reverb on and off in a song.

I play old rock covers in small venues, we also play some newer rock but mostly stick with CCR, Stones etc.
This amp is perfect for my style. It has the best distortion I've heard for the music I do. If you want nu-metal get a big muff and a mesa. If you want to rock, get this.
The distortion isn't brutal and that's fine with me. The distortion is smooth and really just brings out your pickups and guitars own sounds. I switched my fender single coil bridge out for a Little 59 and it smokes.
This amp can be noisy, if I jam with MP3s on my computer I have to turn off the monitor or it will buzz. Also some stage lights will make it buzz. Not enough to hear once you are playing but it is always there.

Had the amp for 4 months and no problems. Just be careful because the tubes are naked in the back of this thing and just beggining to be destroyed.

This amp is great, if you want a classic rock sound it is perfect. Sometimes when we play 80's hair metal or alternative it still finds that perfect sound. Unless you are about to join Drowning Pool or Rammstein get this amp. I DON"T USE ANY PEDALS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS. I just switch channels. It's great. A BARGAIN YOU SHOULD OWN.
Screw marshall. Get this amp.

this one's a 99-er.I play a very wide range of music styles so I needed an amp which can do anything..but most important must be clean unlike any other while overdrive can be worked on with external pedals and stuff.

I play a gibson es135 limited ed. with classic 57 hummies...yummie!!!
It's got an unique sound fitting perfectly with my G...very warm...very sweet but yet ..super screaming and very sharp nagging, delicious!
The distortion is way too fuzzy , I don't like it!!!So I added a marshall jackhammer to it and I am satisfied, although I usually think marshall in general sucks I found this to be a very unmarshall-like pedal!!!
When you drive this baby's clean channel up to 7 or 8 or more...whoosh!!! a nasty screaming amp that is, I love it!! it really responds to your guitar and you feel you are very present, even when you're playing with more guitarplayers.

had no problems this far , but I am really concerned about the tube-placement...now this is fragile.I think I will build a little cage around them which I can remove easily.
And.. shouldn't a valve amp have a standby switch???Well this one hasn't!

nope

I have been playing for over 13 years now and I own a godin acousticaster, a normal es 135 wine red with p100's, a yamaha FG450 folk guitar and a crate tube driven 35 ampy.I've owned lots of guitars like Gibson les paul, strats, teles, gretsch, ibanez but my es135 natural maple with 57 hums is the greatest yet.
One big disadvantage of gibson ... the laquer of the neck really sucks!!!When i'm playing it for 5 minutes it gets really sticky...I've had that phenomenon with each gibson I owned... but all that vanishes when it's plugged into my peavey and sings along!!!

2 channels clean & dirty, boost switch, reverb the bare necessities.
Installed Sovtek tubes and a Celestion V30

I use a 91 customized Strat with a humbucker in the neck position and a 91 Les Paul stock.
I play mostly classic rock style but I have been known to play anything from Allman Brothers to Zappa.
I have owned so many different amps looking for the "killer tone" I can't even remember half of them.
EVERY time I play through this amp somebody comments on how fucking killer the sound is and how do I get it? That's the best part...I didn't do anything!! Sure I replaced the tubes ( I didn't pick Sovtek for any particular reason they were just getting old) and the speaker I added for more punch and let me tell you what a difference ( just crank it at least half way on the lead channel and at least 8 on the gain)this thing sings! I use a Boss compressor and a Tube Screamer and that's more than enough to get the gain I need for ANY kind of music. More gain would just kill the tone (pay attention kids). I used to have (2) Classic 50's and a Mesa Boogie MarkIV for playing live but now in small clubs I would use this amp.
Currently I have a Fender Twin that I put V30's in but I think I might try using the C30 as a preamp and just use my volume knob for leads. I very rarely use the clean channel. I would rather cut down the gain to 5 and drop my volume on my axe. It gives me just a little edge and I can turn up for fills or a leads and theres always the tube screamer. Sorry for the lengthy message but this is the second time I wrote about this amazing amp, that's how much I love it!

Plenty of people (including myself before I discovered the classic amp line) rank on Peavey, but they have some of the most dependable amps made and the best bang for your buck by far!
I used to play in a southern rock band and we beat the shit out of our amps. Some of us were even known to kick one over on occasion when it didn't "work". Turn out it was almost always a bad cord. (oops)

never needed it.

Playing for 24 years (ouch I'm getting old!)
I would buy another one in a heardt beat. In fact before a shelled out a grand for my Twin I was going to buy two more and run stereo with a mono amp in the middle, but I was afraid it might not be load enough for bigger clubs.
YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER AMP FOR THE MONEY!!!!

See below for good review of all the features. I understand that this is Peavey's budget tube amp and I would say it offers great value for money. Lots of good features and some versatility. That said, I would have liked to have a bright switch or presence knob added.

I offer this review because I thought there might be others in my position. I am primarily an acoustic player and have developed a keen ear for good acoustic tone. My quest has turned to great electric tone in the last three or four years. I think great electric tone is harder to come by! So many variables contribute.

Anyway, I started with a japanese fender tele and a SS ampeg amp with a digitech RP6 mutlifx. They all were stolen and I replaced the amp/effects rig with a Flexton 112. This was a step up for me - I grew tired of the digitech which was fun to toy with, but difficult to get a great live tone from. The flextone ended up being similar. It was a blast to play through at home and offered a wide tonal variety. I wasn't a fan of its modulation effects (chorus/flanger), but liked the concept and package. Playing out at a gig was a whole other matter. I couldn't get a tone I liked - it seemed muddy and
distant. Maybe it was time to try a tube amp?

I read all kinds of reviews, but couldn't find many here that compared the C30 to a modelling amp. (In the meantime, searching for decent tone and just for fun, I sold the tele for an Ibanez AS80 semi hollow. basically a 335 clone.) I bought a used C30 and ab'd the flextone and C30 for a couple of weeks. Hands down, the flextone offered much more variety and even sounded cleaner or tidier on some settings. The C30, however, had a extra dimension to it - the tone sounded present and full. I especially noticed this when playing out. Finally I had tone that cut through and sounded good to me. Now the C30 has some flaws that have been well documented here and I agree with them.

I think the boost is useless as a boost, but can be used as a "channel" if you adjust the settings. I think the clean channel is decent. The OD channel is so-so to poor. The amp responds well to pedals and has the capacity to produce great tones with pedals and/or internal mods. The amp needs a presence or bright feature to push its clean more toward fender land and away from nasal midrange land. (The C30's clean tone is actually quite nice, but is not fenderish IMHO.) I think the reverb is surprisingly good and that overall, peavey has offered a GREAT package for the money!

So I offer this review to say that in my opinion, the C30 beats out the flextone for basic tonal quality. I miss the variety that the flextone offered, but love the two or three good tones I now get with the C30. In short, I have converted to tube amps and cannot agree that the flextone models a tube amp accurately. The flextone is still a great tool, but to my ears, definitely lack the tube character and dimension.

I will likely sell the C30 for a higher grade tube amp - I have played some Riveras that I like. Meanwhile, I would happily recommend the C30 for high value for money

My amp is at least 5 years old and showed no sign of slowing down

no need yet

see above for details. I'd like to hear from people who have found a low priced tube amp (under $600) that offers great clean tone AND great distortion/overdrive

The amp is a '95 classic 30 in "tweed". It has all the features you'd expect from a "classic" tube amp and one that's quite useless. The "Boost" button just sucks the tone out while increasing volume. It comes with a footswitch to switch from the "normal" to "lead" channel. I've been able to eliminate all distortion effects using the "lead" channel.

A Strat sounds a little thin (probably due more to the single 12" speaker than the amp),but plug in a guitar with humbuckers and this baby shines. My Hamer sunburst archtop with Seymour Duncans sounds like it was made to mate with this amp. The clean sounds are very "Fendery" while the lead sounds cover everything from blues to rock (maybe not extreme metal). You wil need to mic this amp on stage though if you want to keep any clean sounds because the "clean" channel breaks up (quite beautifully though) as you move up past halfway. In fact the "clean" channel at 3/4 is a dead ringer for my old blackface Bandmaster. Quite a bargain considering the price of this amp.

No problems yet!

I've only had it a short time but I expect to have to maintain it (it is a real tube amp).

I've been playing 31 years now and consider this one of my best values considering tone/vs/dollars spent. If stolen I would immediately look for a used "Classic 50" to replace it (the extra power is all that's needed). Don't spend the big bucks for a "modeling" amp that only emulates this "REAL" tube tone!

Y'all know the deal. All-tube, 2 channels. Wish it had a headphone jack and footswitchable boost. Footswitchable boost alone would boost the 7 to 8 or 9. The 30 watts is enough to play lead against my malicious drummer and my rhythm guitarist with a 90 watt fender 2x12.

I play my Yamaha Pacifica (s-s-h) through this thing. I used to think the clean sound didn't have enough sparkle, but after doing some recording with it I've realized that it's got just enough highs and that it's just oozing with thick mids. And in spite of what other people have had to say about the dirty channel, I think it's smokin'. Very thick, very full. I can get everything from smokey blues (a la Hendrix, Clapton, B.B. King) to in-your-face punk and hard rock (a la AC/DC, Rancid, Zeppelin, and Crowes, holy cow, does it do Crowes). My only complaints are the reverb--gets muddy at high volumes--and the rattling that comes from this thing, much more so than my old Fender Princeton 112. And don't ignore the boost: use it to get killer blues tones. Still, I wish it were footswitchable. So in sum, this thing sounds killer for blues and almost any kind of rock.

Only had it for a few weeks, so I obviously haven't had any problems with it yet. As others have said, it's kinda scary having the tubes so exposed in the back, but it doesn't worry that much.

Dunno. Got it used, without any warranty that I know of.

Overall, this is a great amp for the money. If you're looking for a tube amp that's loud enough to play with a band, go for the Classic 30. It won't do metal, but, hey, who the hell does metal anyway? This has been such a huge step up from my solid state Fender Princeton 112 klunker. I'm never going back to solid state.

This is a fairly new amp, 2000 I think. Due to $$ problems, I had sold all my amps and needed a "cheap" tube amp. I had a buddy with this one and I got it for $100 !! How could I pass it up? You know the features, 2 channel, tube powered w/ PCB board. I will talk about the sound quality in a minute. The tweed covering is great looking and the weight of it is even better. I think the amp would fit in my daughter's car seat !! 1 12" "Blue Marvel" (what the heck is a Blue Marvel?) speaker. This amp fits my needs just fine. Of course I wish I had 3 other amps to choose from, but if I needed one small amp to help me out in a crunch, this is the one.

I play an Epi Les Paul w/ SD Screamin' Deamons. This amp is easy,... I just plug in the amp and turn it all the way up. If not all the way, at least half. This amp is loud but not near overpowering. Example,.... I played in the bedroom with the volume to where I could not stand it anymore. That was on 3 1/2. I played at an outside gig last Sunday and had the amp all the way up,... it just needed more punch. I plug in my 2x12 extention cab in and that solves a lot of problems. I play mostly blues, classic rock and this amp is perfect for a poor man's Deluxe Reverb. It breaks up very early in the volume stage, but you can back off the volume on your axe to clean it up. This amp is in love with my pedals !!! I have a "Real Tube" 12ax7 overdrive, a Danelectro Daddy-o, a Crybaby, and a Danelectro Dan-Echo. (Love the Dan-Echo, get one if you can) It all adds up to a very good sound and I'm actually impressed with how it sounds. I will replace the Sovtek's and 12ax7's and the speaker. But it does sound ok with those in it.

So far so good.

Don't know

I love the amp. I was in a bind with limited cash and no amp and this little dude is helping me out. If anyone needs an inexpensive amp, but wants tube sound, get this amp! You will need to replace the tubes and speaker, but that's no biggie. Also, if you plan to play outside, get an extention cab, you'll need it.

A newer model Classic 30, probably around 2000. Tweed covering, very similar in styling to an old Fender Bassman combo. 2 channels, pre and post on the overdrive channel, reverb, 3 band eq. 1 12" Peavey Blue Marvel Speaker, 30 watts RMS. Four EL84 power tubes (Sovteks) and 3 12AX7's (stock Chinese) in the pre-amp. A really loud amp, perfect for recording or small club gigs. Nigel - mine goes to 12 - one louder than yours!

I'm a rock player, some of my favorite players are Jimmy Page, Sterling Morrison (Velvet Underground), Syd Barrett, Peter Green and Bob Stinson (Replacements) and Nigel Tufnel. I play a Fender Tele with a Harmonic Design Super 90 in the Bridge and a H.D. Vintage plus in the neck. I also play an Epiphone Sheration with stock pu's (soon to be upgraded to HD's) and a 74' Les Paul with a really shitty Seymour Duncan Alnico II in the bridge and a pretty nice SD '59 in the neck. This amp really digs the single coils. I can get some really nice clean sounds out of the clean channel, more akin to an AC-30 than a Fender. The boost switch that most people deem useless adds to the AC-30 mid-rangey sound in the clean channel. The real beauty is when I get a chance to crank the clean channel, hitting about 8 or 9 makes for some really nice power tube breakup. The Sovteks do a decent job, but some Tesla J.J's would really do wonders. The overdrive channel is quite a suprise! The sound is pretty Marshall-like, with oodles of overdrive. Why anyone would want anymore overdrive than this amp can produce is beyond me, but it is definitely not suited for metal. I bought a modded TS9-DX in anticipation of needing a little boost, but it's really not necessary. The stock humbuckers on my Epiphone now sound nice and fat, as where previously I was eager to replace them. This is the real suprise for me. Still, adding some Harmonic Design buckers would be an improvement. The Classic 30 really accentuates the natural tone of your guitar pickups with little colorization. Likewise, the shortcomings of the Alnico II in my Paul are painfully obvious.

I've had this amp for three weeks, so I don't know yet. Peavey's are known for reliablity, if anything.

I dunno.

Peavey products really have an image problem with rock musicians. I pretty much hate them myself, based on past experience in my easily impressionable teen years. I've been playing for almost twenty years, and the mere mention of Peavey usually resulted in nausea. I recently began looking for a reasonably priced used tube amp, and after pouring through user reviews I settled on the Classic 30. This is a remarkable product that is worthy of a name other than Peavey. I'm going to retube it and replace the Blue Marvel with a Celestion Vintage 30. This should make this really good amp a great one, and for $280 + tubes and speakers the sound will be second to none in this price range and on par with combo costing two or three times as much. My complaint is that this thing rattles, which is typical for a combo. I record on a regular basis and this issue will have to be worked out. The tweed look is a bonus, too. You can easily remove the Peavey logo to save embarrsement.

1x12 peavey blue marvel speaker 30 watts,2 channels,boost button,extension speaker jack,line out jacks,reverb,sovtek tubes.
sexy black tweed :)

Ill keep it simple.
The clean channel is good,though not near as good as ANY Fender Twin,deluxe,bassman,deville.
This amp has a compressed character to it,doesnt have the openess ,multidemsional sound that Fenders have,
otherwise its not bad in the clean department.
The dirty channel is way more pleasing for a amp in this price range.
Thicker,chunky distortion,more musical/less harsh than say a Fender Hotrod deville.It can almost reach marshall territory as far as gain goes.Nice, but I still would use OD,dist pedals none the less.
YES this is a very loud,powerfull 30 watter!
The spring reverb is very nice, not a nice as a fender,though way more richer than any marshall.3 dial eq works well also,accurate in dailing in your tone.

Had it almost a year,used for reheasals mainly,no problems so far.
TUBE PLACEMENT SUCKS,bent a few back into place so far,handwith care transporting it to gigs.

For the money I am very satisfied.
Sure I would like a more "complex" deeper,clean channel ,but for under $500 you cant beat it.
Small size makes it great for small gigs,rehearsals.Though I wish it had a mesh grill to protect the tubes(hello homedepot).

Nothing Is a 10.Never
only in gear heaven

This is a very simple amp, which I love about it. Clean and overdrive channels, reverb and thats about it. The controls are easy to use and the one I got has the labels readable from the front. I've noticed other people have complained about how when you're standing in front of the amp, the labels are upside-down. Well, I got on that's rightside-up.

Wow. I play a Gibson '66 ES-300 (two P90 pickups) through this amp, and the sound is so sweet. This amp came to me with the Celestion speaker/sovtek tubes upgrade. It has a lot more punch than I expected from a tube amp, even at low volumes. I never play it much above 4, and it is loud enough for my needs. I use it mostly at home as a practice amp, but I plan to take it around with me. I play in church, and there I have a Marshall VS265r 2x12. I love the Marshall sound, and the Classic 30 emulates that sound very well. Overall, this amp is smoother than the vs265 and a lot more quiet. In fact, its dead silent. Even when I play a single-coil guitar, there is almost no extra noise. This alone makes the amp a winner.

I think I'll buy a cab to run off this amp, just to add some extra volume. I like the disortion in the amp, it's perfect for blues and light rock. For anything heavier, it lacks the harshness of a diode distortion pedal. But hey, this amp isn't made for metal guitar anyway.

My other amp is a Fender Pro Reverb. The 90lb. beast is too big to drag around, so I use it at home and for recording. I love the soft sound sometimes, and other times wish for more punch. The Classic 30 gives me both, and comes in a nice lite box.

Just got it, so I don't know. I have a smaller Peavey that I never play (Rage 158) and it has held up pretty well. I guess we'll see.

Never dealt with them.

This amp is exactly what I was looking for. So far I've played my Gibson ES-300, Epiphone SG-310, Jackson AT-1, Yamaha Pacifica, and a borrowed Gibson ES-335. This amp sounds great with any of them. I still like the sound of the P90s in my Gibson the best, with the humbuckers in my Jackson coming in second.

If I lost it, I'd get another. No other amp comes close, for the price. I looked at smaller Fenders and they were all too much for the size. I can't justify $500 or $600 for a single 12". The Vox amps were all solidstate (in my price range), and I wanted tube. The Marshall I have at church is nice, but its a solid/tube hybrid, which I am not crazy about. This amp rocks, and you can't beat the price. (Did I say that already?)

As it has been noted by more than a few others, the best feature of the Classic 30 is its lack of "features." In fact, my only feature-related beef with my little tweed is the "Boost" switch. I generally think of myself as a pretty creative guy, sound-wise, and I'll be damned if I've ever found any use for it.

My guitar is an '81-or-so Ibanez Blazer with a maple neck and an ash body, two humbuckers, phase switch, and single volume and tone pots. I run a Digitech RDS 8000 Delay in the loop, plus a DOD 680 analog delay pedal and a Morley PVW volume/wah out front. If you ever see a DOD 680, by the way, grab it. I got mine for $25, and although it's rather noisy, it's really musical and beautifully fuzzy-sounding. I tried a couple of different overdrive and distortion boxes with the amp, and always ended up liking the dirty channel on the amp better. The clean channel is really cool; as a small amp, the 30 breaks up in the clean mode when cranked. The break-up is just fantastic and very usable, I've found. Again, since this is a relatively low-juice amp, it can be pushed harder and its dynamics exploited more fully than a bigger amp. This is also true with the dirty channel, where I could back the gain down to about 7 or 8, and got all the raunch I needed, plus some fine, fine power-stage compression. I really dig EL84s. For the volume needs of better than 85% of players, 6L6s never get pushed hard enough to add significantly to the sound of one's playing. I speak from experience. I owned a Yamaha T50(the Soldano-designed tube unit Yamaha made in the early 90's. If you need a big-balls rock rig, find one of these. They're louder than hell, and if you like Marshalls, they out-Marshall any Marshall I've ever heard). I did a recording with the band I was in at the time. It was mostly live, and to keep from killing everone else in the room, I never got to crank it enough to really work the tubes, especially the 6L6s in the power section. I wish I'd had my Peavey then. When I was amp-shopping, before I found the 30, I was struck by how much tweaking of knobs is required on most amps to get even an acceptable, much less a desirable, tone. Not so with the Classic. Plug in, turn on, and rock out. Just for shits and grins, I cranked all of the tone controls all the way up. Sounded great. Backed the middle off. That was pretty good, too. Jerked the top and bottom around, too. I really had to work to make the thing sound bad, which is really to Peavey's credit. The reverb is really fab. I like the fact that it's a little looser-sounding than a Fender. I think Fenders are too sterile. The drummer in a band I was in heard the 30 with the reverb on and a little delay, and pronounced it "pretty." Pretty, indeed.

No problems. I've only ever had to replace the tubes.

Only had to deal with them once, and they were friendly and knowledgeable.

I think that the 30 is a keeper. Simplicity and good sound are becoming rarer and rarer in this age of "modeling." I don't want an amp to sound like every other amp under the sun; I want an amp that sounds like a guitar amp. A little rude; nice and warm...I think I'll go play it right now.

I HAVE A 1999 CLASSIC 30 AND AS OTHERS HAVE POSTED MOST OF THE INFO ABOUT IT, I WON'T GO INTO DETAIL. THIS IS A GREAT LITTLE AMP! I PLAY SRV,WES, STEELY DAN, AND MOSTLY BLUES AND JAZZ. I USE BOTH CHANNELS AS NEEDED.I USE MAXON CP 101,A LINE 6 MODULATION MODELER,AND MAXON OD808 WITH THIS AMP..ALSO, A PEAVEY 112 EXTENSION SPEAKER . GRAET SOUNDS!

I USE A 1999 HAMER 25th ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION, A HAND BUILT TELECASTER WITH SEYMOUR DUNCAN MINI HUMBUCKER IN THE NECK POSITION,AND A QUARTER POUNDER IN THE BRIDGE POSITION (WHAT A SWEET CLEAN TONE), AND A HB30. I'M LOOKING FOR AN SRV TONE,WHICH THE TELE COMES CLOSE TO.ALSO, I'M LOOKING FOR A NICE JAZZ TONE TO PLAY WITH WES AND JOEY DEFRANCESCO,JIMMY SMITH,ETC. I FIND A VERY NICE CLEAN TONE, AND NICE DISTORTION WITH THIS AMP.I DON'T FIND ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS AMP ALTHOUGH I'M VERY INTERESTED IN ANY HELP TO IMPROVE THE SOUND, SUCH AS BETTER TUBES OR EFFECTS TO HELP ME GET CLOSER TO SRV,ETC.

IT SEEMS VERY DEPENDABLE WITH NO PROBLEMS IN 1 1/2 YEARS. I NEVER NEGLECT ANYTHING I OWN.

I HAVEN'T NEEDED IT TO DATE.

I STARTED PLAYING IN 1959 ON A $38 SILVERTONE FROM MY PAPER ROUTE.HOWEVER,I PROBABLY HAVE BEEN PLAYING IN REALISTIC TIME,ABOUT 6 OR 7 YEARS, WHAT WITH MARRIAGE,KIDS, DIVORCE, VIETNAM,ETC. I CAN'T SAY I WOULD BUY THE SAME AMP WITH SO MANY NEW PRODUCTS EVERY DAY.IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE SHARE THEM WITH ME. THANK YOU.

This is an update of a review I posted in June of 98...I have just upgraded the amp with a Celestion Vintage 30 and new tubes...a matched pair of Electro Harmonics 12AX7s in the pre-amp and a matched quad of Tesla JJ EL-84s in the output section...I have a high end Audio Glassics 12AX7 in the driver spot...The tubes came from Triode in Chicago and the Speaker came from Carvin, who had the lowest price I have ever seen on a Celestion Vintage 30...WARNING...If you are replacing the stock speaker, be aware that you will have to drop both the chassis and the reverb tank to get it out and the get the new one in...I learned this the hard way by poking a hole in the stock speaker with one of the baffle board screws...duh huh...After that, though, things went smoothly, about one hour for everything...

Wow!!!What a difference!!!The overdrive is thick, thick, thick!!! The Vintage 12 is so smooth and the JJs add a lot more punch...I try hard to be an amp snob, but I swear that you will not be able to buy anything that sounds better for less than $1,000...If you are considering a Valvestate or something like that, forget it...Find a used Classic 30 or even a new one, spend the $150 or so for the tubes and the speaker and you will have a great TUBE amp for relative peanuts...One other thing...I have a 112E cab which I run closed back...It adds a lot of bottom end to the sound and I never use the amp without it...It has the Peavey Sheffield 12 in it, which is the Peavey version of a Celestion that they also use in the 5150 cabs...I am now tempted to buy another Celestion Vintage 30 for it...With an overdrive mode, reverb, and an effects loop, anybody who can't gig or record with this amp just ain't trying...I use strats and an Ernie Ball Axis Super Sport with it and it sounds great...I can also carry the whole setup in one trip from the car...

Never a problem...

Never needed it...

Love it...Use it instead of my 1967 Super Reverb, so it won'y get lost or damaged...My only bitch is the internal fuse and no standby switch...For what it costs, though I am not displeased...Any other manufacturer would add these features along with a Celestion and charge $1000 for the amp...I will never sell it, but being afflicted with G.A.S., I might buy something else someday...

I got it 4 years ago, it has to channe, overdrive is gread reverb is bad ( In my opinion Fender has bets reverb sound). I play it at home on low volumes.

I have Stratocaster with kinman avn Blues pickups, Parker Fluy deluxe, Parker Fly Concert and D'angelico NYL-2. I play blues rock and jazz

Never had any problems with it, didn't even change the tubes at all still has a good sound.

they have a web site but I never need their help.

I've been playing a guitar since 1975 I had Feneder Deluxe Reverb II. Currently I have POD and J-Station but they do not come close to classic 30. If I loose it I would get THD Univalve if I loose it and go broke I will get Peavey Classic 30 again.
For that price range Classic 30 is the best.

Two footswitchable channels(clean and overdrive), effects loop and reverb

I use a 1996 Les Paul, a 2001 and 1992 Fender Strats. Play mostly classic rock, southern rock and blues. The clean side sound good and starts to break-up after about 6 but just roll off the guitar volume and she cleans right up. The gain channel sounds great for me up till about 7, anything past that is a little too muddy for my taste.

I have two of these amps (got one new in 1995 and one new in late 2000) and both of them had to be re-tubed within two weeks. The dealer took care of this in less than a couple hours at no cost to me. Other than that they have been rock solid.

Never dealt directly with them

If you aint got a lot of bucks to spend on a tube combo try this one-you will probably be satisified. I have really enjoyed mine. If stolen or lost I probably would get another one. The 1995 model has been great. The 2000 one is still a little noisy even after the dealer worked on it but when playing with the band you dont notice it.

I've looked far and wide for a small combo amp with an effects loop. It would've gotten a 10, except the Boost channel is not footswitchable (who needs switchable reverb?). I bought this small amp to use in my studio, so I can find the sweetspot without my wife divorcing me.

I retubed the amp the second day I got it with JJ ECC83S's and EL84's. WOW! What a difference! The OD channel is AWESOME. It sounds like a half-stack but at much lower volumes (Yes, Dear!). My Heritage 535 loves the gain set at about 4-5. The clean channel is nice, but not as smooth as my Fender HotRod Deluxe (too much midrange). I prefer 6L6's for clean tones.

N/A - I've had the amp only a week.

Even though I just bought this amp, I called Peavey to find out info about the stock tubes. They were very help and friendly.

I've playing for 23+ years and play all styles except death metal and rap. I would definitely replace this amp because it's going on my next CD. I really like having a club amp that is switchable AND has an effects loop. As I said, I wish the boost channel was swictchable instead of the reverb. I would give it a 10 if the clean tone was just a little more creamy. But it's worth buying for the OD alone, but only AFTER the retube with JJ's.

I have had this combo for about 6 years, so I assume it was made around or before that time period. I have found this thing to be extremely versatile for various music styles. I enjoy and try to play different styles of music, including hard rock, country, funk, and reggae. The combo has two channels, is all tube (3-12AX7's and 4-EL84's), 30 watts, has a three-way passive EQ., a 12" speaker, spring reverb, one input, an effects loop, a footswitch for channel and reverb, a boost function button (not footswitchable), and a jack for an external speaker.
Improvements could include seperate EQ's for clean and overdrive channels, ability to bypass the effects loop and activate the boost using a footswitch, and an extra input jack.
I have used this combo in a group in New Orleans for two years. We played a variety of music, including blues, rock, calypso, and country-like tunes. We played every Saturday and some Sundays with practice once a week, so I dragged this thing around alot.We played in a large older church that was obviously built before the concept of amplified music. It always retained clarity, even with multiple effects with distortion. The volume in this setting was great. Smaller combos allow you to crank the sucker up in small to medium size venues without causing blood to spurt from the ears of your listeners!
I also do not like the tweed covering. The exposed tubes on the back make it a risk to shatter or bend the connections. In practice, I broke one tube carelessly yanking a chord out the back. I also bent two of the powertube post after it fell on something (they bent back easily and still worked!).

I use three guitars with this combo. I have an old Pro-Line Series Ibanez with heavily wound, coil-tapped, passive humbuckers and a Floyd-rose tremelo; a Carvin AE185 with a maple top, fixed bridge, and two humbuckers that are coil-tapped and have a phase switch; and an Alvarez acoustic that I use a Lawrence sound hole pickup (I play slide on this as well). I currently run several analog effects in front of this (no models!).
I find this combo to work well with all instruments I play. The clean sounds stay clean at high volume levels and are very warm. I find the reverb to create a thinner sound, so I do not use this much. One of my favorite things on this combo is the EQ. I tried several different tube combos before deciding. On even higher end Mesa-Boogies, I could hear no signifigant changes when turning the knobs. With this one, the high, mid, and low all did something to the sound! (These were useful differences). The overdrive channel is also excellent. The gain levels, in my opinion, go way beyond what is useful, but this is usually a good sign. If the preamp is turned to around 3, an excellent rockabilly-surf sound can be obtained (great for smacking open chords). Around 5-6, the distortion gets more aggresive. Around 7-9, an aggressive harder rock/metal sound grabs you (AND IT GOES UP TO 12, NOT 11! Those smart-butt southern boys...). I find the attack less thumpy (one of the dwarves?) as say a combo with 6L6's in the power section, but I play with 10-11 gage strings and beat the devil out of the strings when I play, so this works for me. I find the distortion pulverizing without being harsh.
This said, it can be noisy depending on effects, single coil use, lights, and volume. You will not get a CD quality, pristine, Ricky Martin "shaking-my-little-tooshie" processed sound, but the tones make people take notice.
In regards to the boost function: this is a bizzare switch. It signifigantly boost the volume, but also seems to change the entire character of the Classsic. There seems to be less available overdrive but a ton of midrange boost. This causes the sounds to feedback at higher volumes, but it it controllable. It sounds great for thick, singing solos but not so hot for chords. Also from a practical view, the volume boost and need to tweek the EQ after it is engaged would be troublesome if this was used in a live setting. I don't use it much.
I really enjoy the sounds in the Classic, and many others have remarked on how nice it sounds. However, it is probably not for everyone (see below).
I think Peavey uses Sovtec tubes, and I replaced them with Groove Tubes. This gave a clearer and more powerful sound.

I have never had trouble with this product. I cannot say that I babied it, because I am rough on everything I own. The sounds were consistant every week, and this was nice. In the hot, humid environments I experienced in New Orleans, it never once farted on me.

I have dealt with Peavey in the past with a used combo I bought (a Triumph, an oxymoron if I ever played one..bad sound!). They provided me with a users manual and a tech spent time with me explaining the different tube functions. They seemed knowledgeable and were very friendly and professional.
I also heard they have a computer link with all their service centers that can help track solen equipment (take that, you thief).
Most places I have lived have a service center at least within driving distance. I never needed service on the Classic, so I cannot make comments in regard to this. My rating is based on the above listed limited experience.

Overall, I really enjoy this thing. It is portable, offers alot for the money, and is extremely versatile. It is not for a large venue, but its smaller size is closer to what most of us will play (keep your dreams, though). I also feel that equipment performance is heavily related to playing style, other interacting pieces of your sound chain, and personel preferance. I enjoy Metallica, but I do not like active pickups for myself. I have not found anything I like as much for the price. I wish it had three channels, as these could be set up with the various sound. I would buy this product again, and I am thinking of using two to have the sound combinations described.
I really like it, but again, YOU have to try it with YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT! Other guitars in the store are not yours, and it important to play it clean, loud, overdriven, etc, before buying. If the store personel have a problem with this, we live in a market economy; go elsewhere!
I have been playing for about 10 years seriously. I do music as a hobby but play whenever I can. I am a Physician and I write songs frequently. I enjoy all forms of music, although I tend to play rock the most. I just moved to south Georgia, and am working on getting another band together.
This is my first review, since I have only had a computer for a few months. Hope it is helpful!