Peavey Classic 30

I had this amp years ago.
Then I thought I had to have a 4x10" Laney-Box.It was great.Just not with the Classic 30.
I always loved the clean sound, which made even LP sound clean.The Drive wasn't my
tone back then.Well, unfortunately I gave it away for a Marshall JCM 2000 TSL.Plenty of
dialing knobs, MIDI, Footswitchable Channels and FX-Loops... you name it.
After all, that wasn't my sound.Stupid as I was, I didn't return to the classic 30 but
bought an Ashdown Peacemaker 40, which I still own but which is absolutely not my
type.Remember, the only flaw the Classic 30 had, was that it didn't go too well with
the Laney-box- Which I sold shortly after the Marshall...

Well, lot of struggle soundwise with the Ashdown...

And finally, I came to senses. And got one used.Yeah, pretty used.Not in every aspect
technically ok.But the Clean sound still is in there.I stuffed it with JJs in both Pre and
Poweramp.The thing about this amp is that it lets you feel the tunes you play.I'm a
very percussive kind of player.With the classic 30 back, I finally start playing melodies.
You have a very direct feedback of what you're doing with your guitar.You can give
the tone the body you want- it's in your fingertips!

To all those speaker-replacers: you don't know what you're doing! Seriously!
The Blue marvel is great.You just have to play it long enough to get rid of the hard
character.And then add an external Speaker.I made a box with the Eminence guitar
legend which is said to sound like the Green Back.After all, all you're complaining
about is that the Marvel lacks Bottom and nice Highs to complement its Mid-range.
And the Eminence does just that.I constructed a transmission-line type
of box to greatly improve Bass response and deepness.And if I want, I can get a 4x12"-
like Clean sound with the Combo, while preserving the openness of the open cabinet.
You won't achieve anything like it by just screewing in another speaker into the amp.
My external box was a total of 100 Euro (110 Dollars) and well worth the money, still
a lot less to carry around than a 4x12" and so much more of what the amp likes.

With it, the tone keeps the direct and intensive character, but gains a lot in sheer power
and body.

The one i owned years ago, never let me down.Was like my Peavey T-60 guitar, which
never cut a single string during live performance.No matter what you plugged in or
how hot that baby became (oretty hot), it never blew a single fuse.It doesn't have a
standby-switch and didn't do anything bad when switched off and mack again, which
seems to push other amps to their limits.

The one I bought used, has a defective Reverb and the drive channel's Post Gain doesn't
respond at all. So I'll have to have it checked, but I think that it was rather abused than
treated well.And it doesn't necessarily have to be a design problem.

The first classic 30 even jumped off the Box it stood on once and just kept on playing.
So I'd say in most situations, it IS reliable

1x12 Eminence Blue Marvel 144. The amp came with four Sovtek EL84's, one Sovtek 12ax7LPS in the phase inverter, V3, and two Electro-Harmonix 12AX7's in V1 and V2. Single channel w/extra pre-amp gain stages in Drive mode.ALL TUBE AMP.

Having owned a Fender solid state amp and the Vox AD50VT which had a tube in pre amp only, this is the first ALL TUBE amp I have owned. I have to tell you it blows away any solid state amp including the Vox. I now understand what people mean when they describe the fat warm all tube sound. This 30 watt amp is ear hurting loud! I could not believe the power this amp could deliver. There are 2 channels one clean and one distorted and both channels are amazing. I play at level 2 volume wise which is fairly loud, but can crank it to 12 which is max volume and actually kill my ears but remainig clean.

Looks rock solid and I do not anticipate any trouble at all.

N/A

I have been playing guitar now for over 20 years, I own an Anniversary American Strat with HSS and a limited Edition Gibson SG Special. Both guitars sound unbelievable thru this amp. I was looking at the Marshall stacks at 100 watts and this sounded not only louder but cleaner and more true. I am totally satisfied and somewhat schocked at the power and sound of the Peavey Classic 30. This is worth every penny of 500 dollars and then some. They are a little hard to get because of their legendary reputation and it is well deserved. If this were lost or stolen I would run not walk to the music store to replace it with the exact same amp.

1x12 Eminence Blue Marvel 144. The amp came with four Sovtek EL84's, one Sovtek 12ax7LPS in the phase inverter, V3, and two Electro-Harmonix 12AX7's in V1 and V2. Single channel w/extra pre-amp gain stages in Drive mode.

Replaced the speaker with a 50 watt Eminence Private Jack, G12M Greenback clone.

The Eminence Blue Marvel is good for some clean Fendery things and modern high gain tones; that said, it's hard to get a loud and tight tone from the Drive channel without pushing the EL84's into overdrive.

..SO the best tones out of this amp come from the Normal (clean) channel w/EL84's cookin'. If you know how to handle the Bass knob, you can get a very tight sounding EL84 overdrive. Adding more Bass at high volumes pushes the speaker into a nice low-end break-up. Some people call it "mud", but that's vintage speaker tone... only an AlNiCo magnet speaker will do a better job of it.

It's a great amp on it's own, but many more tones can be obtained by changing the speaker. Some complain about the amp lacking in bass and low-mids, or not having enough top-end sparkle and sell it before giving it a chance; it's only the speaker's voicing.

I installed the Eminence Private Jack, and it completely changed the character of the amp. Now the Classic 30 acts like an old non-master volume Marshall.

With the Normal channel, Volume 12, Bass 0, Mid 10, Treble 4, Boost out, you get a rich EL84 crunch with long sustain. Ease up on the pick attack, and the notes clean up nice; same thing when backing off on the guitar volume.

Volume 12, Bass 0, Mid 0, Treble 0-4, Boost off with the Private Jack, yields a thicker Greenback tone.

I notice more upper-mid & treble detail as I push the EL84's into overdrive; using a bright pre-amp tube in V1 will give me a brilliant, glassy tone. Using a dark V1 balances the high-volume clarity of the power section. EL84's get bloated in the bass when cranked, so you don't have to add any Bass EQ at those volumes, unless you want the speaker to break-up.

I find that the Sovtek LPS in V1 gives the amp a subtle high-end chime, great low-end, w/flat upper-mids that are slightly crisp. Using a JJ Electronic ECC83S in the V3 phase inverter slot will smooth over the EL84's overdrive crunch.

As for the choice of power tubes, standard Sovtek EL84's have a nice mid range honk, a crispy upper-mid clarity/bite, and a great high-end crunch that doesn't sting like the JJ EL84's. The JJ's are good when using speakers with smoother highs. They have a warmer low-end and a clear upper-mid with strong highs.

After playing for a couple hours at high volumes, the amp & speaker settles in, and the EL84's really "come alive"; they warm up, tighten up & the crunch smoothes over a little. A more touch-sensitive/dynamic tone with great single-note clarity.

At lower volumes (4-6), with the EL84's on the edge of overdrive and the Bass knob (5-7), you can get very warm, FAT vintage tones. Great for jazz & blues.

The Boost switch works off the Treble knob. With Treble at 0, the Boost fattens up the low-mids a bit. Dailing in more Treble w/Boost increases bass with an emphasis on the upper-mid range; also depends on your choice of EL84's.

Still no problems, and it's been over a year. All the tubes are still working, and pumping out great tone.

N/A

Amazing tone, amazing value, neat fit & finish. Swapping speakers is kind of a chore, having to rip out the chassis & reverb unit, but after a few times it comes natural.

Noak Westerberg was right about the capability of the Drive channel; it's very versatile.

With the right pre-amp/power tubes, guitars, pickups & wiring and SPEAKERS, you shouldn't have any problem finding great vintage tones on the Normal channel.

This one is made in 2004 I think. It's got basic features: One clean channel and one extra 12AX7EH tube for the distorted sound (which is NOT a seperate channel). Serial FX-loop. It's got only one shared EQ-section, but that's OK with me since I think both cleans and leads sound great at the same setting. The reverb in this unit sucks IMO, I never use it. It's got a boost switch on the amp, witch I think sound great for solos. Too bad, it's not footswitchable, instead of the crap reverb... I play everything from jazz and blues to hardrock and this thing covers it all. I use this for practising, rehearsing and gigs, and I never felt that it needs more power, it's always loud enough for me. I give it an 8 because of the lousy reverb and the unfootswitchable boost function. I wpuld also like a standby switch...

I use an Epiphone les paul custom with Gibson pickups and an Ibanez 320FM with dimarzio pickups. The clean sound is sweet. Not as bright as a fender, but not muddy either. It's somewhere in between. I use this for blues and jazz and clean rythm sounds in any category, it works great. This channel is easy to distort with the volume knob, but I usually don't need those volumes providing post amp distortion.

The distorted sound is great, I can tweak in sounds from Ritchie Blackmoore to John Petrucci and Steve Vai with the only the gain, honestly. This one also works great with various music styles. The boost switch increases the level of the sound and changes the character of the sound, giving it a good punch in the mid's. The clean channel sound great for jazz and distorted sounds like Allan Holsworth, very nice!

This amp always worked freat so far. I've had it for about a year now, so i depend on it.

Noidea

I'm 19 years old now, and I've been playing for about 5 years. I previously owned a peavey bandit, but I wanted a real tube-amp, and this was exactly what I wanted. I have in the FX-loop Ernie Ball volume pedal > digitech digidelay > electro harmonix holy grail reverb. It's great to have good reverb effect, especially with the clean sound. I also use various pedals in front of it (phase 90, dunlop wah, compressor etc.). I am getting a marshall 1960AV cab next week, and it will be very interesting to find out how it sounds. I am happy with the tone i get from this one, and for the money, you won't get anything this good, I think. I would maybe think twice about buying another one if it was stolen though, and maybe go for something more expensive.

My Classic 30 was made in 2004. I bought it in order to achieve the characteristic 70's sounds.I guess you all know the features, i only use the clean channel and the reverb. I use it at home and in my rehearsal space with may band and this is a LOUD bastard.

My rig consists; Gibson Les Paul Custom and Fender Toronado----> Teese rmc-3 wah, lovetone cheese source, Loooper 5 including: Fulltone Choralflange, Maxon ad-9, Boss dd-20, Zvex Fuzz Factory, boss Tu-2---> Zvex Lo-fi loop junkie, Mesa Boogie V-Twin.
I use the clean channel with my pedals. The clean sound is great, yet, with so many pedals it requires some tweaking in order to achieve your own sound... I got mine and I'm preety much satisfied, especially using the V-twin. I use this amp to play Progresive/Experimental Classic Rock. As I told, this amp is a LOUD motherfucker, yet, it breaks up about 5 giving you a bluesy sound. The semi-crunch channel sounds a bit fuzzy for my tastes, i prefer to use pedals instead.
I previously owned a Fender Twin Reverb Reissue and I clearly prefer the Classic 30 which is cheaper, lighter in weight, sounds better in my opinion, and has a visually appealing look.

Seems well constructed. No problems so far, no noise whatsoever.

Music Store is responsable for the warranty, and they're very professional.

Great little box, nice sounds, portable, beautifull. Classic all over.

Nice portable tube amp with all the features I need. Plenty of power for gigs. LOUD! Mine's about 8 years old.

I play a Fernandes Dragonfly Pro, Tele, strat, SG. All sound good thru it. I play everything from blues, rock, alt., metal. It handles it all! Amp dist. is nice and pretty versatile. For metal step on a pedal! I run a Marshall lead 1960 4x12 and whoah! If you own a c-30 you gotta try it. The clean channel at 6 has an amazing punch. Reverb is decent- no fender. Stands up well against my fender hot rod deville 2x12 and is so much lighter. Definately gig worthy, very loud. Perfect amp for most situations unless you need to be REALLY loud & clean( the clean breaks up at 4-5) Got mine from my buddy Nick when he passed. He is missed and had great taste.

Has not failed in any way. Always sounds the same(GREAT!)

No clue

Been at it 17 yrs. Own a deville, carvin x-60 head( excellent tone!), vox valvetronix, epiphone galaxy, fender & lab series solid state amps. Lots of stomps & multi-fx, samson wireless. The C-30 is 2nd only to the deville. Just an awesome amp regardless of price range. I want another one or two. Modeling and solid state amps in this range just dont compare. Not even close. Sounds awesome plugged straight in. Likes pedals. Run a ext. cab for a huge sound! Fool who steals can deal with Nicky upstairs.

30w 112 tube amp, clean and dirty channels sharing 3 band eq, spring reverb, channels and reverb are footswitchable, 16 ohm extension speaker output, boost switch, effects loop. Seperate EQ for channels would be nice. I use the amp at home for recording and the occasional, high-volume stress relief. This has enough power for most situations, even keeping up with a full band in a large venue with an ext. cabinet. Of course you can always mic it. 1 pt off for shared eq. I've never missed the standby switch that all my other tube amps have had, but I don't play out either.

LP Classic with Seymour Duncans, Atiquity neck and Seth Lover bridge, through many pedals, right now: Bad Horsie, Ibanez phaser, modded tube screamer, pro co rat into amp, arion sch-1 chours and rocktek delay in effects loop. I play anything from light finger-picking to heavy metal, with lots of blues and rock n roll in between. I even screw around with country if I've had too much to drink. This amp is versatile, fits country, blues and rock just fine. I think it would be great for jazz as well, but am not schooled in that genre. With higher output pickups and the gain maxed I got some decent metal tones. I get any kind of distortion and overdrive I can imagine with my mellow pickups and combo of pedals. This amp loves pedals. It loves em in front and in the loop.

I have had a Zinky MOFO w/ 2x12 cab (that I use with the PV) and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12. I still have an old 60's Fender Dual Showman with a 2x15 cab and a Randall RG75 112. I use the 2x12 Zinky cab with this amp because without it, the PV is too boxy and sharp in the upper-mid eq zone, for my tastes. I guess harsh and somewhat less lush. The Zinky cab is very dark, too dark for my tastes, but balances with the mid/treble happy PV perfectly. I've heard one played stock, no effects, no ext cab, mic'd to pa, in a large night club and it rocked 70's - 90's rock no prob. Another thing about this amp is that it is very responsive to preamp tube changes.
The clean is beautiful. Great, warm and glassy tone. It does break up with louder volumes, usually past 6-7. I love this break up, perfect for raucous blues. Tap the Tube screamer at this volume and OMG, sweet! So, the clean channel at room levels is perfect for recording clean guitar, reacts well with pedals, and breaks up quite nicely with volume.
Dirty is blues to rock, AC/DC Zepplin all day, and the tube screamer again just pushes this channel over the edge to nice sustain and chunkage. This drive channel is much better than the Fender drive channels. The drive is not as nice as the Zinky, but I have no need for 50 watts in excess of $1000 price tag when I can get close at 30w for $300. 3 points off for need of an extension cab to get rid of upper mid harshness (I almost sold the amp), plus a point for great tubey clean and rock n roll drive in a versatile package for not a lotta moolah.

The el84 tubes shake loose at higher volumes, even with use of a tube tamer. Frustrating! But, other than that, I've had it for while now, and nothing has smoked, blew, burnt, or rattled besides tubes. The handle cover did come unglued, and that is a minor irritation. Minus a point for those two things.

Couldn't tell ya.

Been playing for...wow...ummm...17 years now. I've had all kinds of expensive guitars and have listed the nicer amps I've had (and the Randall). I'd shop around for another amp if this was stolen. I love to shop. I doubt very seriously that I would find anything close to this for the price. I'd love to own a Soldano HR 50+, but alas, am not financially prepared for such a purchase at this time. Maybe in a couple of years after graduating college, again. The Soldano Atomic is a tempting package, but have never had the opportunity to play one. Overall, good sounds stock, versatile, loud, rocking amp, capable of filling many many needs, recording, bedroom rock, live gigs, for a number of genres, all with better overall sound than the Marshalls I've tried and the Fenders I've owned, at a fraction of the price. I almost lost the amp because of the harshness, but the ext cab opened it up and made all the difference for me. A solid 8, and a 10 for the money, really.

My Classic 30 came home today on 10/12/2005 it was born on 8/4/2005.
This amp fits my style like a glove. I play rock, jazz, and blues. The amp only has 2 channels that are switchable along with the reverb. There are no features I wish it had at all. I don't mind only having one set of passive eq to share between the channels. I just want to play not tweek knobs. I have only played the amp in my home office (for 4 hours straight). I can't beleive I can type right now. With 3 12AX7's and 4 EL84 this is the warmest sounding tube amp I have every heard. It was nice to hear every note for a change instead of the mud I was used to with my ADA MP-1. Talk about easy to find the sweet spot(s). Notice I say spot(s) not spot. It is versatile because the tone is so good in both channels that you don't need separate eq's.

I have a Jackson USA soloist, a Charvel, and a 50th anniversary S1 switching strat. They all sound fantastic. I think I am going to call in sick to work tomorrow so I can stay home and play this thing. The amp suits me so well I feel like I lost the 15+ years of life only getting one now instead of when it first came out. I am thinking about buying a second one tomorrow. I did not push the amp. I want to break it in so I don't know about the high volume stuff yet. My wife came in and asked me to turn it down because it was to loud so I had to step down from 2 to 1. I can't imagine 12. I found the dirty channel sweet spot with the post up between 2 and 3. This is a warm tube sound distortion. Not a compressed saturated low end heavy metal type. But I put my Boss Metal Zone MT-2 in front of it (which has great eq options and tones of saturation (too much for some people)) and I just got the missing third channel and the missing heavy distortion at the same time.

Don't know yet. Just got it today.

Don't know this stuff. Read the warranty or play your new tube amp. That was a "no brainer". I played but I think it is a year.

I have been playing for about 30 years. Studied guitar in college. Played in Jazz and Rock bands. I am going to buy another one of these or maybe even the Classic 50 if I can find one. WHY didn't I get one of these before now? What a dumb ass. Also to date I didn't know I could play like that. It pulled tone from my fingers. They are killing me now. If you like jazz, rock, and blues this is IT. If you like metal, industrial, and heavier stuff it will still be great but you will need a pedal. Get the crunch and the sweet sustaining lead from the dirty channel. You need the mids in there to easily drive the sweet spot. Get the scooped mid compressed heavy rock metal lead from the pedal. My boss MT-2 sound increadable in front of those 7 tubes.

2 channel. I only use the Gain channel.
The clean channel does sound great, big & fat.

It has great Tube tone. I put an Eminence Governor 12" speaker in the combo & put the stock speaker in a 1x12 cab & I run them together. It sounds great. The gain channel sounds incredible. Much better than Fender Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville. The gain is very tight sounding. I play Hard Rock music (AC/DC - Redd Kross).
I would mic it in most situations, but it can hold it's own with most 50 watt combos & any small or medium sized room.

Peavey makes great gear. Fixed bias on power tubes, YES!
I've been a gear snob for far too long. I had no idea Peavey
amps sounded this good.

Probably the best phone support I've ever delt with.

This amp makes we want to use a combo again.
I've been on a serious quest for tone over the past 4 years.
This is a keeper. I have this Classic 30 & an old Peavey
Butcher head & a VL-1001 Ampeg (2 of the best amp heads ever)
After going through Mesa, Hiwatt, Marshall, Sovtek, Laney &
probably a couple others this combo really makes the Rock happen.
Don't be a dumb ass like me & dump your hard earned money into
over-priced gear, try one of these. It will be the best $300 to
$400 you'll ever spend on an amp.

2000-ish 30 watt EL84 powered tube amp. Need I say more? The PEAVEY CLASSIC 30 is the missing link in your rig. If you are at all interested in playing the Blues, or classic rock, and you probably wouldn't be here if you weren't, this amp is the Holy Grail, and you just discovered it. The clean channel sparkles, and the overdrive flat out rocks, and this thing will drive a 4x12 5150 cabinet all night long, no problem.

I don't use the boost feature, yet, although I an thinking of having it modified footswitchable for leads.

Reverb is great, it's always on or around 3. I enjoy having the fx loop, good addition from earlier versions.

Not a good choice for hardcore or death metal players, but if that's what you're looking for, 1)I'm sure you wouldn't be looking here in the first place, and 2)you definately wouldn't be buying an amp that has the word "Classic" in the name.

I mainly play a stock 2001 Epiphone Les Paul Standard, and occasionally a homebrew strat that I have been tweaking for almost 15 years now. The old Ovation CS257 sounds great through it as well. As for tone settings, I peg everything for rock and back off on the mids a bit for blues on the drive channel(pre@6-8).

The clean channel is an exceptional test bed for stomp boxes. I've used it with an '83 TS9, BD2, orig. Bluesbreaker pedal, Screamin' Blues, and even an old HM2. Great results.

One more thing that I like to do is connect the preamp out from the C30 to the power amp in of my 2x12 5150 combo, and yes I have to back the bass off a bit to keep the pictures from falling off the walls. What a cool sounding combination though.

I haul it all over Michigan and it fires up every time. A very formidable piece of engineering.

Hats off to Roger, Leon, Robin, Enzo, and everyone else I didn't mention on the Internet boards. If you have a problem with your amp, there is always an abundance of helpful posters willing to give you a helping hand. What a great community.

I've been playing for 15 years, rock, blues, some country, folk, and metal to boot. From this day forward I will always own at least one PEAVEY ClASSIC 30 Guitar amp.

The only addition that I would make, is possibly a full/half/quarter power switch. That would make it even more so the all time ultimate amp find.

standard 30watt 1x12 speaker amp. 2channels blah blah blah. bought it new. no complaints on the features except maybe a headphone amp but that in it's self is kinda silly for a tube amp. i give it an 8 because it could have more i guess

this thing sounds great both clean and dirtied up i use it for recording and mostly not over 2 for volume (need the sweet spot sound) in the clean and push it hard for dirtied....over all though i would never do a show with this amp the 1 speaker is limiting for a full guitar sound plus a line out di or some other non sense has to be worked into the over all tone at a show ...i'll stick with the vox or jcm800 for a show. any way cranked it starts to flutter a little but it does what i want it to. and for the price u can't beat it

had it now for 2yrs and no major problems...but lately the speaker is starting to crackle maybe cause i'll play for 3-6 hours straight either way thats why they sell replacements. wouldn't drop it because it's gear but i'm shure it would be ok if i did....unless it went 10 stories or something.

couldn't tell you never tried to reach them

overall it's a decent little amp great for small budgets, recording, newbies who want to get into tubes and introduced to tubechanging or something worth lending to you band mate but the amp is not a superhero

Black trim - pre & post volume, 3-band EQ, single channel but comes with a "boost" button. f/x send & return. 30watts RMA 12AX7's and EL84's with a lovely glow 'round the back when it starts cooking. Has everything I was looking for and anything else would've bumped the price up. Made in the US!

I'm a relative newcomer to the electric guitar and I've only started to gig - solo with loops and backing tracks - because my timing is hopeless and no drummer of bassist would want to go near me. I have just two guitars - a JJ Retro HB (twin humbuckers) and a Pacifica 412V - enough to cover humbucking and single-coil needs. I rarely venture to the bridge pickups. I'd tried solid-state amps and a digital amp (Vox Valvetronix) but just couldn't get the tones I wanted - simply because I was trying to emulate the tone from a valve amp! In the end I bit the bullet and went for a valve combo. I tried a Fender Blues Junior, an Ashdown, a Crate, a Boogie (nice but out of my price range) a HiWatt, and eventually returned to the Peavey - I wanted something flexible enough for both singlecoils and h/b's. Strictly speaking I couldn't find anything that covered both bases; the Fender was best for the Pacifica, the Ashdown for humbuckers, but only the Peavey was a sufficient compromise. I play (ha ha!) in the "style of" Dave Gilmour (hence the PAC) and Santana (hence the JJ). With the Peavey I can nail the SG2000 Santana tone with the JJ (think Europa) on the dot. I can get some of the Gilmour-like tones with PAC, but I really need that out-of-phase bridge/middle singlecoil. In the meantime though I've found a hoot load of custom tones for my own stuff.

Invariably the amp is attached to a Boss GT-6 via the "4-cable method", , so with the cab/speaker emulation of the GT-6 turned-off, it becomes just a series of available stomp-boxes. For practise some MIDI cables are attached to the GT-6 from/to my laptop, allowing me to edit on-the-fly with GT Edit. However I like the tone of this amp so much that I regularly play it clean, with just a Vox volume pedal attached.

One snag, which is probably not uncommon with valve amp users is that to really get this thing to generate those tones that I like - when its breaks-up and all the valves are glowing - it has to pushed hard, and that means nigh defening volumes. I wear earplugs and for rehersal (when I really do want to hear those tones) I'll wait 'till the neighbours are out. With the Vavetronix I could dial in 1 amp, 5 ampts, 15/30, even 60, but of course the result was why I have a valve amp now.

All new. Nothing awry yet. Seems built like a tank, although I understand valve amps are a little delicate.

Seems very US/Canada-centric. Do Americans just not understand that exporting firms have to provide some international support outside there home countries?

It it was nicked I'd probably have to look all over again at valve amps (there's a quite attractive Randall just new to the market). I regard it as a decent starter valve amp, and good value for the money, but the next one will be a bit more expensive - though it could easily be a more upmarket Peavey.

Hav a 2005 model. Enough features to shape the tone. Good finish. Looks, handles and sounds like a pro amp.

I play a Mexican Strat with a Gibson PAF in the bridge. Use the bridge with the overdrive and position 4 switch for clean sounds. Also use Boss 7 band EQ. The sound is great. Will recommend to use an EQ, it does wonders! There's a vibration rattles at high volumes. I know where it comes from and will fix it some time during the year. Sound is great for jazz and blues.

Have a Bandit for 10years+ and the C30 for 6 months. Nothing broke - yet...

N.A.

This is one of my best buys I've ever made with guitar equipment. Close your eyes and buy one. Won't be disappointed.

Several years old, probably; bought second hand. The best features are, one portability, two good amount of power, and three, warm tube tone. I also like the tweed and brown grillcloth.
Another good thing is that when you turn the volume knob from one to three, the volume doesn't jump radically. This is my complaint about the Fender Deluxe hotrod. When the volume isn't evenly graduated, it makes the amp hard to use except when playing loud.
I like the fact that there are only the necessary amount of controls for tone (VOL, TREB, BS, MID). I think amps that have many controls for tone are making my job more complex than necessary. If the amp has a good basic sound, you don't need those bells and whistles.

For my clean jazz sounds, it's excellent. It's a little bit too bright. Maybe this could be corrected by modification, or a different speaker. I don't know exactly how to define "presence" but this amp has it!

NO breakdowns after one year.

No experience.

I would buy another, but I think I would try the "Delta Blues" with the 15" speaker next. Maybe you'd get a little mellower sound.

Bought new in July 2005. Play mostly classic rock and blues. features are good; my only complaint is no standby switch.

Schecter Custom Strat. Clean tone is very nice and warm. Overdrive channel is surprisingly good. the distortion is very smooth and refined.

Seems okay, although Peavey should add a simple bar across the back to protect the tubes.

N/A

I've been in the market for a portable tube amp in the 15-30 watt range, and after lots of research and tryouts this one emerged as the clear winner. It clearly beat out the Fender Blues Jr in features and power. And it blows the socks off the Traynor YCV-20 that I bought and returned. This is a very very nice little amp. and it looks super nice in the vintage tweed!

I'm a jazz player, and use clean sounds. Versatility is not my concern as much as a good basic tone. The amp is great in that it is compact and powerful: smaller and lighter than the old deluxe reverbs and more powerful.

With my Ibanez AF-207 7 string archtop it's good. I've heard complaints about the amp being too trebly but with the DiMarzio Blaze pickup I actually have to turn the bass down! The middle control is effective as is the boost. Maybe the sound is not quite as refined as a Fender, but it has its own charm.
I think it would sound great with a Jensen speaker.
Although the high end is pronounced, it doesn't have that warm crisp edge that you get with the Fender bright switch.

Good. However there is tube rattle which is a problem during recording.

237 responses. That tells you something. Isn't it nice to get what you pay for? So many products where they give you some jive, snotty hype about why you should spend extra money for their product. Then it breaks anyway. I like Peavey because they offer reasonably priced, good sounding stuff for working people.

ampli 30w valvolare,2 canali(clean e overdrive) e ottimo reverbero.non ha il footswitch incluso nel prezzo(o almeno cos? a me hanno detto!!) e non ha il pulsante per lo standby.

io utilizzo questo ampli con una gibson les paul standard e con una fender stratocaster reissue del '62 e con un p? di pedaletti che, devo dire,si interfacciano partcolarmente bene con ques'ampli.
il canale pulito ? veremente tale fin quando non si supera un certo volume,ma nei piccoli club o in luoghi dove l'ampli viene microfonato ? pi? che sufficiente...il canale distorto altrettanto mostra il suo lato migliore fino a che non viene portato a volumi troppo alti perch? poi inizia un p? a tremare il case,essendo molto piccolo....l'unica pecca che trovo per ques'ampli ? il fatto che ? un p? rumoroso,probema che per? si riesce a risolvere in parte utilizzando buoni cavi...e poi per quello che costa a qualche compromesso si pu? tranquillamente scendere!!

finora l'ampli non mi ha dato nessun probema,l'ho soltanto dovuto rivalvolare...ma per un ampli valvolare usato ? del tutto normale

nel corso degli anni ho cambiato parecchi amplificatori,passando da testata e cassa al pod,ultimamente possiedo anche anche un fender hot r deluxe e ritengo migliore la qualit? sonora del classic 30...? un ampli adatto all'utilizzo in piccoli posi e sicramente ? vincente se si prendono in considerazione il peso, la grandezza e il costo!!

Price paid: Cant remember Bought it 6 years ago brand new.
Very versatile, enough for me anyway. I play classic rock,blues,pop etc..
I rate it 9 only because I think I lacks a prescence knob.
Incredibly loud 30 watts. My bandmates think its louder than 30.
The only Feature I dont use is the boost button.

My set up is as follows: 2004 U.S Highway One Fender Stratocaster, Wasbhurn HB-30 (Gibson 335 copy), korg Cmp-1 compressor, Line 6 mm-4 Modulation Modeler and Dl-4 Delay Modeler both through the amps effect loop, Peavey Classic 30.
Im a profesional guitar player from Chile, South America and Ive had this amp for at least 6 years. A friend of mine traveled to the states and I asked him if he could get me a Tube amp. Of course I wanted a Fender or Marshall but they were too expensive and he bought the peavey. When he came back and told me what he had bought I was really dissapointed, because as you all know Peavey was not known for great tube tone at the time. Anyway I decided to give it a whirl. I turned it on and ever since until now I fell in love with it. Every time I turn it on its very inspiring.
I play in 2 bands to make a living. One of them is a dance band and we have to cover everithing from Zeppelin to Maddonna. This amp does a wonderfull job. I always use the volume on 5 on the clean channnel with the strat (4 on the 335 copy) and the gain on 7 max. on the dirt channel, I hate too much distortion anyway, but on 7 you get creamy sustain and still hear the tonal caracterisitics of each guitar, specially at high volumes. On the other band, which is a blues trio, I crank the volume a little more (between 6-7) on the clean channel to get those el-84 overdriven and its awesome. I can nail S.R.V, B.B king , E.Clapton pretty much. When playing the blues I also use the dirt channel with the gain between 5-6. The other day there was nobody around on the rehearsall room and I tried the 335 copy on the clean channel at 12. It really sounded like Clatpton playing with Cream!!.
The clean channel is not like a Fender but its good enough for me.
Ive read a lot of reviews about changing the tubes and speaker, but unfortunately you cant get JJ?s tubes or many Celestion speakers in Chile. Anyway, why fix something that is worling allready. The only question I have is how does the amp sound with a cabinet. I would like to get a little more bass and thickness in my sound.Does is sound better with a 4x10 or 4x12? since I can save some money and maybe get a marshall cab.

I have played at least twice a week with it for 6 years and never had a single problem. I change the power tubes once a year anyway since they start to rattle a litlle bit.

Never had it repaired, I think there is no peavey authorized center in this country.

I have been playing for 20 years now and ive played a lot other amps including Marshals, mesa boogies,etc.. this is the best ive heard for the price and styles I play. I dont know what would I do If it where stolen since they dont sell them in this country. I think mine is the only one here. The only thing I wish it had is a prescence control. I think you would get a little more of articulation and clarity kinda like a Fender Twin on the clean channel.
Its a fantastic value for the money since I can recall the amps price was cheap.

2005 model Classic 30 - 1 x 12" speaker.

This amp only has ONE channel with additional/switchable gain stages (which make it seem like it's a two channel amp), bass/mid/treble controls, "clean" master volume and separate "overdrive" master volume ("post") control, "pre" volume pot which determines how much the signal is overdriven/distorted, reverb, switchable "lead boost" function, effects send/return, speaker cab extension jack, footswitch jack.

** NO STANDBY SWITCH **

When playing covers I play mostly retro rock - stuff like The Stones, Cracker, Beatles, G Love, Black Crowes.... even tunes from artists like Chris Issak, and IMHO, this amp is great. Like a lot of other players, I went through the whole "gotta have a Marshall 100W stack" mentality, then progressed to the refrigerator size rack/stereo setup, and these days I just want something that I can crank up and sound great with - all in a package that I can fit in the back of a Jeep - this amp does it.

As mentioned in a lot of the other reviews for this amp, it doesn't do high-gain type of distortion well, but for most other styles, with the right guitar, it is possible to pull out some great sounds. Although FWIW, like most combo amps, it pretty much is just a one trick pony - but, if you like the one trick that it does, you'll get plently of it.

Judging from it's name, you'd think it's a genuine 30 watt amp, but it's actually only 22 watts RMS. Which means that it's going to be able to give you 22 watts all night. How does that relate in a playing situation ? Well, unless you are playing with a REAL hard hitting drummer, it's plently. Plus, unlike say, a Fender Blues Deluxe, you can crank this amp to get the tubes really working, without peeling paint off the walls behind the bar - which is why experienced players buy tube amps in the first place - to get the distinctive sound of a tube being pushed past it's normal operating specs.

Volume-wise, again, you will not peel paint off the walls like you have to with a 100w Marshall to get good tone, although this amp is plently loud in a normal gigging situation. Will it do Shea Stadium un-mic'd ? No, but if you're at that stage, just put a mic in front of it, and let the P.A do the work of projecting it's tone - simple.

Although FWIW, just make sure that you put it on an amp stand to get it elevated off the ground - you'll pick up a lot of volume that way, and from my experience, you'll get a bit tighter bottom end that way too.

When testing this amp out before I bought it, I played a bunch of different amps that we're in my local store at the time - a couple of Badcats, some Fenders (Bassman, Deluxe, HR Deville), a Carr, some Marshalls and even a Dr Z. After playing through each amp, I kept on coming back to this amp. For my personal taste, the Dr Z was the only amp that I thought had this amp beaten for tone - but it's about 3 times the price ! And IMHO, it's just not a 3 times better sound.

Admittedly, I'm not one of the guys to go out and fully mod a $500-odd amp, to make it into what I want, but even when I take the affordability of this amp OUT of the equation, on the day that I tested this amp, it beat A LOT of higher-end amps in pure sound quality. Sure, it might not have a lot of features, or be able to go from Chet Atkins to Metallica, but not a lot (if any) amps can do that anyhow. In a mutshell, THIS AMP SOUNDS GREAT !

The only thing I wish this amp had was a usable boost feature. The one that it does have boosts the mid frequencies WAY too much for my taste. To the point where I'm actually considering getting it modded by my local amp tech, so that I don't have to bother carrying any additional volume/overdrive pedals etc.... I just want to plug into a wah, and play.... Plus, with the (admittedly) small stages that I play on, I just don't have the room to spread pedals all over the place and need my amp to do most of the work for me in that regard.

Just recently, when I was trying out some overdrive/line-booster pedals (to get around the lack of a really "usable" lead-boost circuit on this amp), I did start to get some of the tubes rattling in the back (apparently a fairly common occurance with these amps), but only when the volume was CRANKED - and I mean DIMED. FWIW, it hasn't come back, and up until that point I haven't had any real issues with it.... FWEIW, I play 4 nights a week with this amp (since I bought it about 3 months ago), with it normally around 6 on the "pre" volume all night and it's hanging in there.

Like with any piece of gear, a full service every 6 months to a year, and I'm sure it'll be fine. I usually go to a gig with a POD as a back up just in case (I used to use an old Fender Deluxe that let me down more times than I can remember, so I learn't to bring a back up the hard way), but so far (touch wood), this little amp has as been reliable as could be expected.

I haven't had to deal with them yet, although I'm sure the local store that I bought this amp from would have no problem in standing by this product's warranty.

SUMMARY :

This is a great amp, and in the event of something happening to it, I'd definately look for another one.... maybe even the 2 x 12 50 watt version, just for that extra bit of headroom. Just be sure to not let the Peavey name fool you - Peavey are well known to have put out a lot of mediocre sounding "starter" amps in the past, but this amp is a great sounding, solid little amp - period. If the name bugs you (like it did with me), just unscrew the Peavey tag on the faceplate, and wait for all the compliments for your "boutique" amp.

Bought it new from a Shop in summer 2005. Just everything you (I) need is there. Effect Loop without fader, but, anyway, I use a volume pedal only.

Great Sound, warm and rich, very easily set for many different guitars (I play a 73? Fender Maple Neck Strat, an early 90s Fender Japan Rosewood neck Strat, a 79? Tokai Breezysound and a 90?Tokai Love Rock). Even the Love Rock sounds fine when played clean. Still sounding great at low volumes, good also for practicing in the house.

Unfortunately, the reverb coil is noisy (humming). After a complaint at the shop we compared it to a new Delta Blues - there the reverb was also humming. So these folks explained to me that the Classic?s reverb is bound to hum. Earned big laughter when I referred this to a really experienced amp technician and engineer - he told me that none of the older Classic 30s he?s had in service had that rev-hum. He thinks id could be insufficient ICs and explained, that within the new generation an IC is used for the rev coil.

So, although otherwise sounding great, only 4 of 10

Hm. The first gig I played it the stage power supply failed. After pushing the fuse back in everything was fine - exept for my Peavey, which stayed dead. Started looking for the amps main fuse - no way to change it quickly. You have to loosen 14 (!) screws and remove the whole amplifying section from the cabinet to change the fuse.
If you want to play gigs with the Classic 30, you better have a backup - or even better, use another amp where you don?t have the problem.

Tried to complain because of being unable to fix the fuse easily, and because of the humming reverb. No answer after eight weeks! Arrogant wan...

I love the sound, I hate the hum and the customer support. At least two reasons to buy something different in case of loss or theft - or an older issue where you don?t have to battle to obtain you warranty rights.

Same as everyone else wrote

I use a Gibson SG Special w/ 57 classic (neck) and Angus Young (bridge)/ This Amp is perfect for Cream ,'DC, Sab., ZZ as well as some of the stoner rock bands like Nebula and Fu Manchu. I can also get a legit Bluesbreaker, Albert King, Elvin Bishop type of sound also. It is great.

I leave this amp set at 5 - 7 on the Pre Gain (it goes to 12) and it sounds great.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE THE BLUE MARVEL SPEAKER. The EQ's (Bass/Mid/Treble) are great with this amp. You can get almost any sound except for Thrash Metal. The Pre Gain set at 9 or higher sounds "loose" to me.

No probs yet

I have been playing for 2 yrs- all blues and rock and I think this amp is great.

My overall rating is a 9.99 because a footswith to the boost channell would help.

I brought that used bout 5 years ago and don'T buy a used classic 30 why

cold solder broke up about 2 months the tube are expensive to replace and I don'T like Peavey before and that is the conclusion of what I thinked is a pure crap it is a sound like amp not the real deal the only thing i found ok on it is the distorsion

I have a fender strat '57 RI and I dont like peavey spend money on a used hot rod deluxe is really more reliable but for the drive channel I like more the peavey but for the clean the fender blow it 2or 3 time

No it cause to me affraid to touch another peavey again :(

n/a

I have been playing for 5 years now , I own now a hot rod deluxe since 3 years and if you whant a clean sound don'T buy a classic 30 buy a hr dlx it wort much than the crappy fake tweed I wish peavey stop to make crapy tube combo or made it better

Amp was made in 2005
Footswitchable preamps, one with and one without a master volume. 3 band passive eq. Extension Speaker Jack. 12ax7s and EL84s.
Plenty of power if you like to get the power amp tubes cooking just a bit for that tube feel. Need a little more volume? Plug it into a 4x12 cabinet.
I wish it had a standby, 1/4 power switch and a presence control but that would increase the price I'm sure.

I use a Les Paul Custom Gold Top with EMG 85s
Ibanez AS73 Hollowbody with customized pickups Almico II magnets.
This amp is versatile enough to play Blues, Country, Oldies, Classic Rock, and even 80's metal like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden etc...
Amp is pretty quite, Turn the clean channel up about half way and she begins to growl a bit. Distortion is great, gives me more than I need. Beyond 7 becomes a bit much for my taste.

Typical Peavey Construction, No Problems

Contacted them on amps from the past, the best, very helpful.

I've been playing 20+ years.
I would replace it.
Compared Marshall JCM800, DSL 50, Line6, Ampeg Reverberocket, combos and heads with 4x12's. The only amp this didn't sound better than to me that I compared it to was an Orange Rockerverb 50, and it just sounds different.
You will be hard pressed to find an amp that sounds better and you won't find one in this price range. Back in the day their was a stigma about using Peavey, country players used them and us old school hair metal rockers were using Marshalls, Laneys, Boogies, etc... I let a couple of doubters listen to it when we were making comparisons and they could't believe their ears. If you are into names, get a Marshall 4x12 and sit this little gem behind it. Then get ready for the complements.

30 watt tube amp with channel switching and reverb.Features include effects loop,extension speaker out jack.Only thing I would change on the design would be seperate eq controls for each channel but the amp sounds so good it does not really matter!

Amazing tone for a amp I bought used for 300.00! I play classic rock as well as motown and blues and this amp can produce any sound I need.The clean channel is very "Fender" sounding with great warmth and punch and at very high volumes has a nice breakup that is desirable with any type of amp.The lead channel has a sound that will make any Marshall or Boogie fan smile!Creamy distortion with the pre-gain set at 6 or higher and responds nicely with my volume control.I play a Hamer archtop with Duncan 59's and it sounds really smooth with this amp.Here is a important bit of imformation....Dont change the stock speaker!!! I have tried several high end speakers including a Celestion Vintage 30 and the results were very dissapointing.This amp sounds best with the stock speaker.It was voiced for the amp and has the best sound IMHO with this speaker.The Vintage 30 sounded harsh and brittle,especially at high volumes.It is the classic case of "if it is not broken,dont fix it!"

I have been gigging with this amp for 2 years with no problems.The only changes I made was to replace the 3 preamp tubes with Mullard Groove Tubes for improved tone.

I have been playing in front of audiences for 25 years and have tried countless amps and effects.This amp just sounds great! Dont let the name "Peavey" fool you into thinking this is not a worthy amp.Best amp they have ever produced,worth 3 times what I paid for it.If you see one used grab it up and plug in and wail! If you cant find pleasing tones out of this amp you should quit "trying"to play guitar and find another hobby! This amp is great!

Amp was made in 2004. Purchased in spring of 2004. Had it for a year upon writing this review.
Use it for contempory worship in church 2 to 3 times a week and practice.
See other reviews for overall features. Having one eq works well for me. I prefer simplicity. I switch from one to the other throughout a set and have found both to work well DEPENDING on the guitar I'm using. I play a 2003 strat, 2002 ash strat, & 2003 telecaster. All made in America. Each sounds fantastic. Will comment more down below.
Eq settings change tones dramatically with this amp much more than does the eq on my Fender Blues Junior.
I run it stock. Don't like the boost, never use it. Wish Peavey sold it with an amp cover and footswitch. But overall pleased with the features.
Very durable and attractive amp. Mine's tweed.

As stated play with Fenders but have used American and Korean PRS' through it and like it as well. Would use compression when playing the PRS' to not have to change volume from settings for Fender's.

Primarily a lead rythym guitarist in band.

I have discovered that I am very picky about TONE. Have tried numerous amps, simulators, etc. This is a great sounding amp, even stock! Much better than fender amps, as it has more warmth and growl than does the Fenders. That, though, is a matter of preference. Each channel works well with all of my guitars some better for different songs and sounds.

I keep my setup relatively simple. MXR dynacomp, EH Deluxe Memory Man, into the input OR effects loop. Sound is effected between the two. Warmer in the input, clearer in the effects loop. Again, a matter of preference.

I considered changing tubes and speaker upon reading reviews and tried Groove Tubes. Decided I liked the Sovteks better because they breakup nicely for me and kept the stock speaker. Changing the eq really changes this amp! Work with it, you WILL find a setting that takes you to your happy place. The shrillness you read of can be taken care of with eq adjustments without losing clarity!

I run the gain channel at 4 in the pre position and prefer it over any of the numerous distortion pedals I have tried. (Too many to list)
Overall sound reminds me of a Vox AC30 with the ringy, chimey, tones with a little dirt mixed in. More punchy than Fender and Traynor amps in same price range.

Haven't had one lick of problem with it. It's quiet even at loud volumes, reverb is excellent without any hiss, and it looks like its built for the road with metal caps on each corner and thicker than normal wood that I've seen on Traynor and Fender amps.

One negaive - when I turn the amp off with the gain channel on it pops slightly. Always turn off with the amp set on the clean channel, problem solved.

Great knobs, on / off switch, good channel and boost switch.

Haven't dealt with them.

Playing for 8 years and have had this amp for 1 year. Primary amp for me. Definately loud enough on its own but have always miked it to blend in for overall mix and recording. I love this amp and have considered buying another.

I would replace it instantly if it were lost or stolen. It's officially a part of my rig and sound from here on out. I am very particular about tones and this amp meets my requirements and less than $500!

I really wish it came with a footswithch, amp cover, and the thing that bothers me the most is the plastic nameplate PEAVEY placed on the grillcloth. Overall, great amp for church, rock, country, alt. rock, but not metal.