Peavey Classic 50-410

The amp was made in the late 1990s. Basically one channel with a "Normal and Lead" selection. I say one channel because they both share the same eq. I use it for jamming, and I use an ABY switch to toggle back and forth between the Classic 50 and my 5150 combo. It has more than enough power for jamming and when I play live I always MIC, so it doesn't need to be pushed hard.

The clean channel stays very clean, only starts to distort when the amp is pushed to the limit. Nice fat clean channel, best way to describe it as "SWEET", I find The Devilles lacked a certain warmth that the Peavey Classic 50 has. I use A Gison Les Paul, and a Fender Fat Strat, both sound great. The Distortion channel is surprisingly HEAVY, it may not be a Marshall or Mesa Boogie distortion but a very useable HARD ROCK distortion. Think Aerosmith, Bad Company, Spin Doctors. Roll back your Guitar volume a little and you get a very nice Tom Petty, ZZ top crunch. Hard to find amps that both a Clean and Drive nicely, but the Classic 50 is GREAT for both. a Plug in and Play Amp....TUBE TONE all the way

Yeah, I would use it without a back-up. It's a Peavey and they do make GOOD STUFF, Not sure why some people look down on Peavey Gear, they make great stuff, for the working musician at an affordable price. Hey if their stuff is good enough for EVH, or Joe Satrianni, it should be good enough for me eh?

Never dealt with them, but I hear they are quick to respond.

I have been playing for 20 Plus years, I am not a professional but have been playing clubs for fun and money for about 12 years now. My Other main amp is a 5150, it's a One Trick Pony I admit, but it does the HIGH Gain Trick so well...the best out there (IMHO). I like the style, very retro. I love the 4x10's, although the 2x12's have a sweet voice as well, but the 4x10's seem to move a lot more air, seem louder. I looked at the Deville 4x10, but the distortion on the Peavey was better, not as harsh. Also, the clean channel on the Peavey seemed sweeter, or fatter or something...just had more warmth. Bob at Eurotubes says that Peavey hit the Mark with the Classic 50, and I agree. I think it'll be the only amp you'll need to cover all genre's.

It has two differtent inputs, clean and lead channels, yada, yada, yada...

I am a class A junkie with a Bad Cat Hot Cat 15 that does not make a very usable practice amp (think insane volume), so I got the Classic 50 to fill the bill. At first, I was not impressed at all, but it worked. It wasn't until the power tubes gave out and I decided to replace all of the tubes. WOW! What a difference! When I pulled out the stock preamp tubes, two were Electro Harmonix and one was Sovtek! I replaced them all with the Mesa Boogie Chinese 1 and the amp can actually breathe now! I thought the "Blue Marvel" speakers might be contributing to the previous bad sound, but they actually sound good! After this revelation, I'm giving a nine!

Well, the power tubes went out, but that's normal...

No clue...

Not bad. I didn't think the tubes would make too much of a difference in the sound with an amp that has this much silicon!

For sound sample go to:

www.sikluv.com/music

I think it's late 90's. I bought it used.
It has a clean and a "lead", which can be switched either by a toggle switch or a footswitch. It has reverb, which I use as a substitute for echo. I know it's not the same thing, but it works for me. Sometimes the echo can be annoying. Reverb, I don't need to adjsut for each song.
I use it for shows and practice.

It has pre and post knobs that allow you to play with the distortion. You can make it sound really good.
It stays clean for as loud as I need it.
Im using a Gretsch 6118, no effects needed for my style...
I play a mix of rockabilly/psychobilly/garage

I turn everything to about 7, have the reverb cranked...

I've had it for a year, it's been great...
never a problem, never had it serviced.

na

I've been playing 10 years, I would get another.
I had a bassman, the holy grail for what I play, and I thought it was too harsh. with the post and pre knobs for adjusting, it takes that harsh edge off. I love it...

Made in 2005. 2 channels, global EQ which voices both channels together well. Plenty of power for any application. It's a pretty basic bare bones amplifier which is what you really need in a solid valve combo.

Extremely versatile amplifier. Solid clean channel and Good warm well voiced overdrive.

I use it for all kinds of rock situations, soft or hard. You can certainly use it for metal, although I doubt most people would.

I was so impressed by this amplifier that I sold my Mesa Recto & 4x12 cab to get this amplifier and the classic 30 for practice and backup. I realized I didn't need the "stack" thing to get a solid adequate tone. Besides rectos and modern heads are tone suckers and are often a bit lifeless.

Fantastic. This amplifier can get dark, bright, sweet, muddy, fat, warm, crystal clear, and breaks up nicely if you push it to do so. I have never used too many pedals and only use effects sparingly on recordings.

For guitars I use a '77 Gibson RD standard, a modified Epiphone Sheraton w/ classic '57 pickups, a Gibson SG Standard, and an Epiphone Supernova. I have used a fender jag through this amp, but I don't enjoy the sound of single coils as much as I enjoy humbuckers. I like a huskier tone without any spank.

This amplifier truly breathes on both channels. I did swap the tubes for JJ's and the amplifier had a much smoother and warm response, especially at higher volumes. The clean has plenty of depth and breaks up nicely at around 5 or 6 which sounds great. The overdrive is well voiced and is warm, thick and crystal clear. I generally leave the bass and mids up at around 3:00, and the treble and presence at around 10:00. I like a moodier and bold tone for my music. There are some covers that we play where the Classic can't get the job done, but these would include NIN cover tunes (just a few). For all of our originals, I only need the classic live, for the covers, I use a Vetta II combo live.

As far as the speakers are concerned, I tried celestion G10's in this, and a Vintage 30 in my classic and immediately returned them. Then, I tried Delta demon's from eminence and a Texas heat in the 30...not quite. For some reason, I'm very pleased with the Blue Marvels, they maintain a smooth rich midrange and maintain similar upper harmonics that celestions do. They're punchy and well voiced for the classics

I have veered away from celestions due to the harsh upper mid-range spike that they are often characteristic of (yes, even greenbacks and alnico blues). Especially in speakers such as the V30, or the G12T-75. The G10's were voiced similar to the V30, and I highly prefer the Blue Marvels. A spike in the upper mid-range brings out a brittle aspect of the classic's tone that I do not prefer.

Overall, amazing amplifier, I chose this amplifier over an AC30, a Fender hot rod, and any marshall in the shop.

It's a true working man's amplifier that has solid breathing tone that cuts through. My guitars sound expressive and their characteristics are not lost by over compressed tone that many expensive companies produce.

Cheers to an affordable, reliable, great sounding amplifier that looks stylish to boot.

Very reliable. Fixed bias is a plus to be spared from a day in the shop, and my combo was made soundly (no vibrations or rattling)

Very helpful via phone or e-mail. Timely responses and minimal waiting time. They are very attentive and give knowledgable feedback to any questions or concerns.

I've been playing for 8 years. I have owned a Fender hot rod deville, a Marshall JCM2000 DSL401, a Mesa Rectoverb, a Mesa Dual rectifier, a line 6 Vetta II, and now these two classic combos, the 50/401, and the classic 30.

I had been back to the shop to look at warmer combos (hot rod) and realized that what I wanted was really here. Affordable, good tone, reliable, it's all there.

I bought this amp new in 1993 or 94. It's an early model without the effects loop. It's original, tubes, speakers and all. It's got two channels; normal and lead, and reverb, all of which are footswitchable (switch was included). This I believe was Peavey's first "high end, boutique type" all tube amp, with peavey's usual bang for the buck kind of value. It;s got 3 12ax7 tubes in the preamp, and 4 EL84 tubes in the power amp section. These were introduced not long before Peavey introduced the 5150 amp and head, designed with Eddie Van Halen. It's very high quality, with solid plywood case, steel chassis and reinforcment, tough tweed like covering, heavy duty steel switches, chicken head knobs..etc. Yes, it is HEAVY! I wish it had rollers built in..
The lead channel has it's own pre and post gain knobs and the normal channel has it's own volume knob. This is all in addition to the master volume, presence, reverb, and mid, treble, bass knobs. It has a power on switch and a separate standby switch. The two channels can also be switched directly on the amp. There are two inputs, bright and normal.
As well, there are separate 16 and 8 ohm speaker output jacks.

Since this model amp has been around for some time you have likely heard that it has a very "classic" sound. Yes, but it is also quite flexible..
I use a fender strat with two gold lace sensors and a Dimarzio "quarter pounder" in the bridge. I also have a Peavey raptor plus (strat style guitar)with an Humbucker (of unknown origin, it's not peavey..) in the bridge. I play classic rock, blues and metal mostly, and it's very good for these.
LEAD CHANNEL: The amp seems better suited for humbuckers if you want marshall-like distortion in the lead channel. BUT, if you use a trick and plug an old cord into the bright input while you play throught the normal input, you get a slight boost in drive and harmonics. It works well with humbuckers to, but it sounds great either way. I play strat style guitars and I find that turning down the treble and the presence up, with the the bass and mid up gives the amp a very warm sound. Strong bass/mid range but with a strat's strong treble it still cuts very nicely thanx. Sounds a lot like Cream or Bluesbreakers era E. Clapton tone, but not quite as smooth.
NORMAL CHANNEL: I don't care so much for the clean channels flatness, but it is a good starting point, with lots of clean volume. It begs for a tube preamp pedal or other effect to shape it. I use a pedal to boost the bass, treble and gain slightly and give it a fender twin kind of sound.
I used to own one of Peavey's 70's (or so) era "Classic" amps and this is a totally different animal no comparison at all, except perhaps in the normal channel's sounds.

I've owned it for about 12 years and although it hasn't seen a lot of hard use, it's been totally reliable.

N/A

I love it, although it's a heavy sucker. I bought it so I would have a solid, reliable amp, with excellent tube tone for the future and it's given me no problems. Even after many years, I consider it more than ready to take on new musical projects I am starting.

I think it's a '98 or '99. I play classic rock and blues. Two input channels; one normal, one bright. I use the normal. Has switching and FX loop (which I don't use). I used the amp at an outdoor gig for the first time last week. not wuite powerful enough for that. Great indoors. Balancing the master volume, volume, pre and post controls is a little confusing....

I use a Les Paul and a Strat. Amp is quiet. Like all amps with built in distortion/overdrive...it's really not the same as just overdriving the crap out of a standard amp. It will get as dirty as you want, but the real bottom end 'whump' isn't there. That takes sheer power - more than 50 watts into 4 cheesy tens will provide. The clean channel sounds great and if you turn this baby all the way up, it sounds pretty cool.

I bought this amp as a back up. Haven't used it that much yet. I'd trust it. Haven't had any sevice on it...yet.

Bought used.

Been playing pro for 45 years. Main amp for 28 years now is a Music Man RD-100 head into two 10" JBL E-110's. Bought the Peavey from a buddy because I wanted something else cheap. Don't know if I'd buy another if it got knicked. Was also looking at the Crate Clubman 50. Got the Peavey real cheap. Not crazy about the stock 10's in it. Am thinking about either a JBL D-130 single 15 (build new baffle board) or a pair of Celestion 12's. This amp wants to see 16 ohms.

I'm guessing it's an early 1990's model. The versatility of this amp is probablly it's strongest point, you are able to attain a ery wide range of sounds with the 2 channels, clean and lead. Being limited in On the fly sound changing it could use 2 preamp channels, which would make it even better. I've used this amp in live settings and studio settings. It has the capability of being EXTREMELY LOUD, which is great for the studio, I'd suggest letting it heat up for a good hour before hand, allowing the tubes to really get cooking, it will sound even better thah it already does. Having an onboard cooling fan is genius, it keeps the tube temperature under control, which is always important. I read how people change tubes frequently in amps.. I don't see the rational in this ritual, tubes tend to sound better as they age. THis model I've acquiured was retubed at some point with groove tubes, which sound just fine.

I use a few different Stratocasters, a telecaster, and an Epiphone Casino. I play rock, pop, country and blues primarily, it's a really versatile amp. It;s not prone to being noisy at all. The types of sounds I can get from this amp are just so wide in variety, an example would be, a James Gang/Matthew Sweet, Oasis, To an SRV, then over to a country tone, to a solid pop sound, lots of versatility. You can even get pretty crunchy if you want to, but I don;t get really heavy I'm not into not hearing the notes, so i stay away from the super heavy tones which it can attain.

I've never had a problem with it at all, But I seem to have rattled a screw loose on the front, so I have to order another one. As mentioned above, it was retubed somewhere along the line.

I have no idea if it even has a warranty, being I purchased it used.

I've been playing since I was 6 years old, and have owned alot of different amps, this seems to be the most versatile gigging amp Ive ever owned. I'd replace it if it were stolen. I love the quality of the sound it produces. I do not enjoy the weight, it weighs like 7o lbs...I also use a fender blues deville 4/10 with a slew of stomp boxes, The peavey doesn;t have that fender sparkle, but you don't miss it, because the Peavey sounds great on it's own, it's not a fender clone sound...it shouldn't, and that is a strong point. I use my Fender mostly with BK Butler tube driver and an old MXR distortion II, and the Peavey gets the BK sound but actually better, with out pedal board BS happening ie humming, tap dancing around.. it's just easier and sounds sometimes better. I do wish it had 2 pre-amp channels, you could use it even more effectively without runing back to it between songs, it would be a good design improvement.
Just take time in feeling what the amp is about, it took me about 3 months to get used to what it wanted to do with different guitars. I had in a very reflective room and It sounded weird, but when I moved it to a tighter room, it sounded great. So, being it can project sound, it may throw you a little. Don;t fall down with it either it may kill you.

50 watt, two channel, 4x10 combo amp.
4 10 inch speakers. Mine is a '93 I believe, so I'm assuming they are blue marvels, but I'll ask Peavey later.

Awesome tweed covering over sturdy cabinet.

This amp is awesome with pedals. It sounds awesome plugged straight in. All around this amp is amazing. It was my first tube amp. Im pretty sure it will be my last as well.

I play in two bands. My main band is a hardcore/post hardcre/progressive band. My second is a side project. Its an ambient/indie/progressive kinda thing. Lots of delay.

Bottom line, this amp sounds amazing with anything I've ever done. It handles the high gain with aplomb and it sounds astounding with delays and reverbs.

The clean channel is awesome, and you can get some dirt out of it at hight volume with everything maxed out. Sounds awesome. The lead channel is so nice. The overdrive I get from this thing makes me melt. So nice.

I play a Fender Telecaster Standard, modded with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge, and an Epiphone Les Paul LE with 57' Classics.

Basically, I cant gush over the sound of this amp enough. AMAZING.

Its very quiet, even with the gain on the lead channel maxed. The clean channel is very warm.
The EQ has 3 bands and is very responsive. In conjunction with the Presence control, it sounds great.

Ive dropped this thing out of the trailer, knocked it off the top of my Marshall 4x10 during a show, tipped it over, kicked it (on accident) and have had people fall on it. Never a problem. I bought it used off eBay, and I dont know if the guy retubed it before he sent it or not. All I know is that I have had this amp for a year and 5 months and I havent had a single repair need. The tubes are the same as the day I got it. Sounds fantastic. This amp is super solid and rugged. Took it across the country and didnt have one problem all tour. Crazy!!!

Never dealt with them, but Ive heard good things.

Amazing amp. Spunds great, very versitile, and rugged as hell. Plus, I love the vintage look. Cant go wrong here.

I picked up this amp ( which looks almost brand new ) on Ebay for $450.00. THen I had to actually lift this anvil of an amp off of the UPS truck.. holy cats!!! I saw stars for a moment thinking I may have been transported to hollywood boulevard, but realized I had just caved in my nutsack lifting this beast. I have no idea what year it is. It came equipped with 4 noname speakers, which work, but I think they sound a little sterile. After spinning knobs for almost 1 month and driving myself batty trying to find a tone ( that I liked) I think I have a handle on this thing, it has a few sweet spots that are really wild. It reminds me of this particular tone, ( but you can call me crazy if you feel so compelled) the tone sounds like a blackface Fender Deluxe ( a real one ) and an "original" BK Butler 4 knob tube driver.... shut up.. I'm right about this, that's what it sounds like. Very versatile amp, just mind the preamp knob, it'll fool you. It can get super distorted at the slightest push past 5-6 wammo, then your into Nugent land and there's no coming back. And watch out folks, this thing is LOUD, and I mean it.....
I'm learning to love this amp. A few years ago I used one for a recording and was blown away, which is why I bought this one. It sounds.. similar from what I remember. The other one may have had betteror worse tubes, and may have had different speakers. all available if I get interested in swapping stuff out.

I use 2 different stratocasters both single coil setups, one has a humbucker in the bridge which splits into single coil, 1 being a creme/maple neck fender Japanese model (1990?) and a Red Ruggiero custom guitar, which sounds nice. I also have a telecaster which is made by Ruggiero, and prefer the tele over any other type of guitar, because they have a nice lunch box feel and workman approach, are basic and have endless tone varieties for such a simple guitar. My tele has a minihumbucker in the neck and a vintage tele pickup in the bridge for some teeth and richness. I play mostly pop rock, but I like to bring myself back to reality and pretend I can play some country western crazy poppin, chicken picken riffs, but I don;t practice enough to really do it properly. So, pop is my style. I also have a fender Blues deville tweed which I use with a variety of vintage effects that sounds just insanely great, but is very different from the peavey. I do not like the clean channel on this amp, it just sounds nasty and flat, zero color, no depth, that's what a fender is for!! The distortion is very controllable and rich, just don;t crank the bass too much or it will honk and woof at you which may cause you to make bad faces at your amp, or make weird noises of your own instead of concentrating on playing.

I don;t know, I'll tell you after I fall down a flight of stairs with it..and then after I get out of the hospital, if I survive the wily coyote amp on top of head drop.....
BUT usually Peavey makes products that are tougher than the nutsack of a 45 year old rhino.

I'd guess that they are as bored as the Maytag man.

I've been playing for almost 35 years ( yes including just dragging a guitar around, I count that because some people call that art..)
I'd probably replace it, sure. I love the texture of the distortion/overdrive, it's nice, I hate the weight. I chose this amp because I used one in a session and was floored at how it recorded/sounded and how versatile it was.
I wish I had more talent to squeeze out more tone from this beast.
Buy this amp if you like a versatile warm tone, do not buy this amp if you like the type of tone that renders your guitars tone useless, spend that money on getting your ears fixed then buy this amp.

i'm giving it a "10" because it has everything you need, and nothing that you don't. lead/ normal switch, effects loop, ext. speaker cab, footswitch jack....sometimes more bells and whistles equals features that are unuseable ( ie certain company's 3 or 4 channel amps...but they don't tell you 2 of them sound so inferior that they are unuseable!)..i don't need modeling/ digital effects.

also, i am rating the 50 model with the 4/10's. mine are the black back unlabeled speakers, not the blue marvels.

finally, an amp that sounds good on all accounts. distortion range is subtle od to hard rock. much, much better than compareable fender amps in terms of better distortion. works very well with an assortment of distortion/ fuzz pedals i have. i use sc guitars, with an assortment of od/ distortions ( rt 66, jeckyll and hyde, vox tonebender, dano black coffee if i want hi gain). the amp distortion on its own is great! reverb sounds good(not a main use of mine...but who knows? upgrade?)

i play mainly alternative rock/ grunge type of stuff. sometimes i'll doodle a little blues or jimi/ zep type stuff, and it's easy to dial in that sound as well.


this amp is exceptionally versitle in it's sound capabilities. you can use it for anything to jazz, to country, blues, classic to modern rock. you can't really get a metal zone, but get your favorite pedal, and it's no problem.

mine is used, but i think it will hang in there. peavey gives you great bang for the buck. i may replace the tubes soon ( i just got this used in a trade, and tubes are ?? age).

one of my thoughts is this: go into any pawn shop/used store, and you'll see plenty of 80's peavey stuff, still up and running. make of that what you will, but they have a great rep for reliability.

never have dealt with them, but as mentioned, i always thought you got a good product for what you paid for. again, great rep for reliability from peavey.

overall, this amp gets a solid 10. i've literally fallen in love with this amp. i traded a fender blues deluxe for this amp. ( which was a good amp, may i offer, but lacked the distorion i desired, didn't have an ext. jack)

if it died, i'd put money into it, or replace it.