Peavey Classic 50-410

I don't know what year this amp was made -- I bought it used in 1994 for a mear $150. I've found so far that it's a rather versatile amp -- I went to school for music (have a degree in Jazz Performance) & therefore play a lot of Jazz & Fusion, but I also play some Rock when it's called for. This amp works fine -- serves it's purpose as a back-up very well -- doesn't have the tone of my Bogner, then again the Bogner literally cost me 14x as much -- Still, I like the amp -- It has never failed me - I can't say that about my others. Come to think of it, I've actually never replaced the tubes in this amp (wwooaahhh, 9yrs with the same tubes - think it's about time I changed 'em)!!! This amp has 2 chanels -- the cean is excellent, very warm & full -- the dist works well, a very classic-rock tone that can be adjusted to get a some what modern sound. I do like the tube warmth compared with the typical solid state. You can't go halfs so I give it a 7.5 rounded up to an 8

I'm actually using quite a few different guitars, depending on the gig (own 13). As of lately these are the eight I'm giging with:
*GIBSON: ES-175, Limited Edition Les Paul Standad Plus, Smartwood Standard, SG.
*FENDER: Strat Plus Deluxe 50th Anniv, Tele Plus Deluxe, Converted Strat with Roland GK2A-Synth with 3-mini-humbuckers(2-Dimarzio-fast-tracs & 1-Seymour-Duncan-lil'59er).
*TAYLOR: 814CE
As many others have said, you can hear the fan -- hey, it's a fan, how quiet is it supposed to be. It does seem to run a bit hot though. The clean channel doesn't seem to distort that much at higher volumes - which is a good thing. -- Again 7.5 rounded up to an 8.

Seems as though I've depended on this amp quite a bit. I've had quite a few different amps blow up during gigs, therefore had to use the 50/410 to finish the gig -- Noteably, it hasn't let me down "yet", unlike the others. I guess one can say I've neglected this amp more than I'd like to admit. As I said, I've never replace the tubes, going on 9-yrs - about time for it to be re-biased & re-tubed.

Never dealt with customer support.

I've been playing out for about 12 years now - have tooo much gear to list. If it were stolen I would probably get another one, just for kicks -- it's been my regular back-up for about 9 yrs now -- I might feel like I was missing something without one.

I own 2 of em, both 1999 maybe 2000s. I only use the power amp side of them. and run an RP 14 board into the effects returns. All controls set to 0. On stage they have plenty of power, I usually have to turn down.

I play Les Pauls, 2 PRS Santana's and a PRS Tremonti, sometimes a Tele for clean stuff. Mostly do original R&R kinda classic-kinda punky. SInce i use the RP 14 I don't care about the lead channel on the amp, altho the clean channel beats Fenders ass. Fender sounds brittle and thin to me and always a little distorted except for the Twin, which eats tubes

Replace my first set of power tubes in one tonite before rehearsal, thats 2 to 3 years on a set of tubes. The cooling fan has got to be the secret. My other doesnt need tubes yet.

Never talked to them

Been playin 10 years and owned alot of amps. Would love another JCM 900 but my last one was a piece of crap. My twin Twins gave me fits too. Probably would replace these two if I lost em. I also have 2 Classic 30s with the 15 inch speakers, I like them to, great backups

2 channels (but is it really?). You get a master volume, a clean volume, typical bass, mid, trebble tone controls. It has an effects send/return, reverb, and the oh so typical cheesy Peavey foot switch (holy crap my friend's 5150 had the same switch!). And of course, tubes. I like to rate products as a percentage, so this amp get a 7.8 (as in 78%). It has a satisfactory amount of features, but would like to see a few more, like a boost, or something to set it apart from the rest, of the combos out there, the most redeeminf feature of this amp is the 4 10" speakers. They provide quite a kick.

I have a Parker Nite Fly SA w/dimarzios, an Ibanez S Classic, and a couple of LP's. My stryle ranges from hard rockin' "me tone" to big fat Jazz sounds. When playing at low levels this amp in one word, sucks (so to speak). At low levels the clean tone is sterile and brittle, while the dirty channel is buzzy and solid state sounding. But when you get those tubes warm and crank it up, this little (well it's actually my biggest) combo has some good hard rockin tone. Not Numetal (or whatever), but serious Claptonesque character, with a hint of Fender glassiness. This little gem really shines with the p-90s in my gold top. Cranked up with my gold top the clean tone really has a natural earthy feel. If God played hard rock on an LP this may very well be the amp he would use. YES the fan is loud. But when you got it cranked you won't be able to hear it. Fo sound this amp gets an 8.4. I'm not an easy customer.

Well it hasn't died on me in 4 years! But the jack for the foot switch is extremely cheesy. They really need to up their standards, and at least make the foot switch look rugged.

Peavey who? Never called them.

I have been playing for 10 years now, and this is probably one of my work horse amps. It isn't the most versatile amp in the world, but it can get the job done in a pinch. I have a 70's Fender Bassman 100 amp head with matching 4X12 cab, a Fender Hotrod Deluxe, a Carvin PB200 (great little amp), an Ampeg B40 cab, and a Mesa Walkabout.

The thing I love about this amp is the 4X10 cab built right into it. Those four speakers really kick you in the gut at high volumes. I hate the fact that the amp is rated at 8ohms. I can't plug any of my 4ohm cabinets into it, and get some more speaker area. Oh I also hate that I paid 500 bucks for it (haha). It was my first combo tube amp, and I got excited and bought it. Oh well it has served me well. I rate this amp an 8.7. It's a great amp, and will most likely remain in my collection for the remainder om my, or it's life. Good job Peavey, you have redeemed yourself from some of the other garbage you have put out.
Oh, and...

I've had the amp for 4 years, and it has been a tank. In fact it weigh as much as a tank. If you are a small and generally physically weak person, you may want to get a lighter amp. I'm not a huge guy but it is a little heavy to me.

P.S.

1997 model. Tweed, 50W, two channels, master volume, effects loop, 3-band EQ. I picked up an amp cover from Peavey. It's really nice and only $22. Just call 'em and ask.

I'm using a Les Paul Jr. Special with P100 pickups. I re-tubed with JJs from Eurotubes (replaced Sovteks) and I actually didn't think that the difference was THAT overwhelming, contrary to the opinion commonly expressed with this tube/amp combination. I'd still like to try some different pre-amp tubes just for kicks. Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with this amp for the price and I think it covers a decent range of styles.

I have to agree that the sound of this amp best fits blues, classic, and hard rock. I'm using it to play mostly alt. rock, and I think it does a fairly good job. After trying the amps lead channel for a while, I decided that it wasn't for me and I've been using the clean channel with overdrive/distortion pedals: Boss SD-1 and ProCo Rat2. This is work rather well. I like the clean sound a lot. I compared this amp with a Fender HR Deville in a music store and like the Classic 50 better. I do love the Fender clean sound, but I felt that the warmer, rounder sound of the Peavey would suit my needs better. Plus, I was able to pick this amp up used for $425 in mint condition.

As far as the volume goes, everybody says that a 50W tube amp is "loud", but that doesn't really help much. Yes, it can get a lot of volume, but I don't think it is one of the louder 50W amps I've played. For me, this is actually a good thing. It means I can turn the volume up a bit without bringing the house down.

Seems very sturdy. No problems yet (10 months), but I haven't given it a real hefty workout yet. Only played a handful of gigs with it.

Well, they've been very informative with questions and such at the forums accessible from their web page (Peavey.com), and the ease of purchase of the amp cover was nice. Other than that, no I've not had to contact them.

I, like many, think that it is a great amp for the money. I've been playing guitar for 14 years. I own a Flextone II and a very old, reliable Yamaha solid state amp. If stolen or lost, I'd probably get something else, just to try something different. Perhaps the biggest negative about this amp is the weight (~65 pounds). For overall sound, I think it's a great amp.

MINE IS A BRAND NEW AMP, 1999-2002? THIS AMP IS EXTREMELY VERSITILE IF USED CORRECTLY. TWO CHANNELS (ALTHOUGH READ ON FOR THE ONE CHANNEL SUPER AMP) I WISH IT HAD A LINE OUT AND A BETTER SPEAKER OUT SELECTION. AND A HALF POWER SWITCH E.G. 50- TO - 25 WATTS

I PLAY A 74 STRAT WITH EMG-SA'S, MY STYLE IS VERY ECLECTIC, JAZZ-FUSION, FUNK, PROG ROCKY SUPER MUSIC, THE AMP IS NOT NOISY AND THE FAN IS NOT A PROBLEM. IF YOU PLAY A LITTLE TRICK ON YOUR AMP WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT IT WILL BE YOUR NEW WIFE. 1ST YOU HAVE TO BYPASS THE PREAMP IN ORDER TO HIT THE POWER STAGE HARD AS HELL, DO THIS BY PLUGGING INTO THE EFFECTS RETURN JACK,, YOU WILL NOTICE NOTHING BUT YOUR PRESENCE NOW WORKS, TO REMEDY THIS YOU NEED A GOOD EQ IN THE CHAIN TO THE AMP,,, A PARAMETRIC I WOULD SUGGEST,, SO GUITAR, THEN EFFECTS THEN EQ, (USE THE EQ FOR VOLUME CONTROL) AND INTO THE EFF, RET JACK , BOOM! INSTANT TONAL HAPPINESS

NO PROBLEMS YET

NO PROBLEMS YET

IMPRESSIVE AMP BETTER THAN ANYOTHER FOR THE MONEY, TIGHT BEAUTIFULL LOOKS, A BIT HEAVY BUT HEY YOU SHOULD ASPIRE TO NEED ROADIES

This review is to make up for an earlier one where I was a bit too critical. Mine is a 2002 and is very versatile. It has effects loop, but I don't use it. All I care about is the clean channel and once in a while the gain.

In my previous post I complained about a loud fan. Well, since then Peavey has done all they could to repair the problem - and they have. The sound on the Classic 50 is excellent on the clean channel. It isn't a Fender, but not everyone in the world wants a Fender sound. The Peavey is a fatter, warmer tone.
The clean channel stays clean at louder volumes. And what I love about Peavey amps is that they are very quiet.
I play jazz and blues mainly with a strat, and the sound is what I was looking for. I like a chimey, sparkley sound. The Classic 50 is it.

Peavey support is 2nd to none. They will do absolutely everything they can to help. They have bent over backwards to help me. After talking with them about my problem, they offered to fix it...and went beyond. So they are great to deal with!

I've been playing since 1964. As for the amp, let's put it this way, I hope it doesn't get stolen or lost.
I really can't think of anything I "hate" about it, although I'm not crazy about the gain channel. But I haven't put in JJ tubes yet.

Clean, dirty. Master volume. Reverb.

Play strats mainly. California pop.

Nice amp.Had a Fender 59 Bassman RI, CyberTwin, and the Classic 50 for a few weeks. The Classic was little boxy sounding, comparitively. It was less evident once mic'd/recorded, though.

Nice clean-but didn't touch Fender. Nice overdrive-no pedal needed, but couldn't match the Bassman with a RAT.

Sounds very even as volume increases. Meaning it sounded good at a low volume, and sounded the same turned up, unlike the Bassman, which needed more volume to really warm up.

The Bassman is staying. I'm only throwing this fact out for comparison...it costs twice as much, so it's not really a fair one, but...

I will also mention that the Peavey was not friendly to my wah or RAT. It seemed to change the sound very fundamentally.

Didn't have it long enough to comment.

same as above

I've been playing for 15 years. It's a great value, if price is a big factor. I had the cash for the Bassman, so I went that way. In the end, though, you can get a great sound from this one, too. And at lower volumes.

Newer model with effects loop which is useless. 2 channels. Clean is ok, lead channel really shines.

ESP/LTD H-100 with Dimarzio Tone Zone bridge and stock pup at neck. Suits my style great which is indie rock with a touch of soul and punk thrown in. All tube amps make some noise, but this one is fairly quiet. Clean channel is ok, but it lacks headroom. Lead channel is killer. I have installed JJ/Tesla EL84 power tubes and the preamp tubes are Telefunken 12AX7's in V1 and V2 and a Phillips 7025 in V3. The secret to getting a great sound out ofthis amp is using quality tubes. I keep the pre gain at 8 and the post gain at 10. The master volume varies according to the room. I can get a prett nice clean sound by rolling off the volume on my guitar, but the amp comes into it's own for crunch rhythm. At this time I don't use an overdrive to boost the gain for lead, but I plan on getting a AnalogMan TS9/808 Silver for that purpose. For now I'm 85% happy with the lead tone I get and I think the TS will take it over the top.

I gig with out a backup often and it has never let me down. Seems solid as a rock.

Haven't need to deal with the company yet.

I really like this amp. For the money you can't beat it for crunch rhythm and I'm sure the OD pedal will make a huge difference in the lead department. I plan on buying a used Delta Blues for clean sounds and ABing the 2 amps. For the money these amps can't be beat.

Mine is an older model, as it has no effects send but I guess the new ones do. I like the reverb, very rich. My fender reverb washes over too much while being tinny. Not this one, It's actually useable. Switchable channels are good and the gain channel actually sounds nice.

Gibson SG standard, mxr dist+, various other niose things. I bought this amp because it's clean and loud. And cheap. As mentioned above the gain channel can actually be used since it sounds good. Lots of warmth. Compared to my Fender DRII it was not quite as nice in the tone department but it was able to stay clean at louder volumes which my little Fender was unable to do. This amp has you know whats.

unsure, but it's pretty old and the knobs are all broken off and it is working perfectly.

What is bugging me is I'm trying to find a service manual for this thing. And I'd like to find out a manufacturing date. The owners manual is dumb and there is no indication that it's possible for a fellow to change out tubes himself. I did find the owners manual online at Peavey so that counts for something I guess.

The guy below who complains about the fan must have a defective unit. The fan on mine is barely noticeable. Mine is a few years older but I didn't even notice the fan for the first few minutes I had it at home. My computer fan here is way louder. It is a super quiet and nice and loud clean amp which looks cool (just like a tweed fender bassman) and costs cheap. My friends all bug me that I bought a Peavey but the joke's on them since the amp sounds great and cost way less than a beat up old fender.

I believe it's a 2002 model. The amp is versatile enough for blues, jazz and perhaps rock. It has a clean and overdrive channel.

I play a strat and a 335. The amp tone is great. OK, now for "Is it noisy?" YES!!! The fan in this thing is WAY too noisy!!! I mean, I turn it on and this loud fan comes on and kills whatever good tone you get.
I talked to the tech at the store and Peavey, and they all say that's the way it is. ??? That's retarded! Yeah, OK, sure, it has great tone. But who can stand that fan blowin' like that? They replaced it, but no difference. You would think Peavey would know how to make a quiet amp AND good tone.
So although the tone is good, this is the "sounds" section. And as far as "sounds" are concerened, there is a loud "sound" coming from that fan. So I'm giving this a 2 for the loud fan that Peavey thinks is fine and acceptable. It's not.

I'm sure that loud fan will last forever.

They think loud fans are good.

I've been playing a long, long time. I own several other guitars and another amp. I love the tone; I HATE the sound of that fan.
What do I wish it had? A QUIET FAN!!!!!
Anything else I would like to share? Yeah. If you like loud fans, get the Classic 50. If loud fans are irritating to you while you're trying to make music, then stay away!