Peavey Delta Blues

I play soul, blues, funk and rock and roll. I use a '79 strat and a dano U1. This amp is extremely versatile. two usable channels (clean and drive), a decent reverb, passable tremolo. 15 inch speaker, 30 very loud watts, and a channel/tremolo footswitch.

negatives: no standby switch, no reverb on the footswitch, no "presence" knob (would help as this amp is on the darker side).

I compared this amp to the fender vibrolux, twin, deluxe reverb, and hot rods and it came out way on top:
vibrolux: awesome glassy fender sound, awesome reverb and tremolo. BUT it drives too early and it's a loose, rumbly type of drive. don't dig it. also too damned expensive.
twin: stays clean, but too loud and too big, and too expensive.
deluxe: too small.
hot rods: drive too soon, and sound generic when they do. too expensive for what they are.

peavey: stays clean up the dial on the clean channel. drive channel is nice and very controllable. 15" speaker means really full, tight lows, and surprisingly bright, round highs.

i have a '52 tweed deluxe and this amp sounds very similar. only thing it won't do is a glassy fender clean (i've been told you can do a bright switch mod), but it does the round tweed clean beautifully. i like the 15" speaker a lot (less harsh than the 2x10 and better with distortion). the highs brighten with volume and pick attack. this thing is loud for 30 watts and will stay clean if you want it to. drive channel is very nice, very full. pedals work great with this thing. dano fabtone gives me a marshall sound. crybaby is great. reverb (transistor driven long spring) is nice but more subtle and slightly less interesting than fender. tremolo is okay, not as buttery or subtle as fender.

not sure, just got it.

not sure.

just excellent value. i like this amp because it sounds distinctive. i think it's the speaker. and it's versatile. and very responsive to playing. a balanced sound, a complex sound. seems a bit hard to record (might be the speaker size). but i love it and for the money you can't beat it.

The overall features are decent, however, with no master volume, when you change the volume of the clean channel you have to do a trial and error deal to reset the lead channel. A master volume control would remedy this.

I ues a standard Tele. I like and play the blues and a little Rock-nRoll. The clean channel sounds nice until you get it up about half way. Then, it gets a little muddy when you strum cords. The lead channel is only average. I actually think they should have called this amp "Delta Headbangers". If you like a very distorted lead sound, it's not bad at all but if a little warm distortion with sustain is what your looking for this is not the amp. I'm looking for something else!

Have not had to deal with Peavey for any problems.

I give it an overall 7 because it just lacks the warm distortion on the lead channel and no master volume control. It's an OK amp, but I will soon put it up for sale and get something else.
One little glitch; One of those Mickey Mouse wires that prevents the tubes from falling out was missing when I bought the amp new.

Decent features, not the best reverb, but it will do. Would also like it to have better base, but that is what the $1200 Fenders are for. Boost switch creates a loud hum..needs grounded?

Sounds great, I play a Strat with Texas specials and it pretty much nails the SRV sound if that is what you like(love). Creates a nice overdriven Fender sound at a low volume. I need to pick up a Tubescreamer TS-9 and use a wah-wah in open wah.. I am sure it will be better.

Gives me a loud hum with boost turned on. But what do you expect for $400 out the door.

NA

Overall for the money, assuming you are not going to drop 600-1200 for a real Fender, it gets the job done. I love the sound. And, where else can you get a 15in speaker without buying an old Vibroverb?
Get what I am saying.

I believe it is a 97 model. The amp is relatively versatile. It can meet the ground from blues to rock to lite heavy. It has two chanels, clean and overdrive. The clean breaks up nicely as you increase the volume. External Cab out in the back and footswithch input. For my needs, the amp just barely falls short of having enough clean headroom, just barely.

The amplifier sounds great. It is capable of getting clean blues, rock, heavier rock. The 15" inch speaker compliments the overall sound and gives the amp a dark flavor. The only problem I have is that using P90's the sound is too dark. Its very difficult to use the neck pickups at all. The distortion channel can be "brutal" when pushed.

Haven't had any problems to speak of. As usual with tube amps, the tone does fluctuate at atimes but thats the nature of the beast.

N/A

All tube, 30 W, 3 band EQ, and 15" Speaker.

I love this amp the clean and distortions with pedals sounds great. The clean has a nice full sound, but the distortion on the amp is a little week. I wouldnt play it distorted with out a pedal. But hey it is suposed to be for blues, not metal.

The amp is a tube amp so maintaining it is hard. I play heavy music and this amp should be mostly used for clean. Tubes are a hasle....

Peavey is a great company. There stuff is some of the best on the market today.

Overall I am happy about this amp. I am thinking about switching to solid state, but am going to keep this amp for playing soft music. I love this amp.

This is to update my last review about the Delta Blues guitar amp with the 15" speaker.

I have been using this guitar amp extensively over the past few months. I have used it for electric guitar and even bass. Since I give guitar and bass guitar lessons, this amp has more than paid for itself. I have even used it as a home stereo and it sounds pretty good.

I have to say that this is the best combo amp that I have ever played through and heard in my entire life. I know that may sound like a huge exageration, but I am stating the truth. I have played through Fenders old and new, Marshall combo's, Mesa Boogie Combo's, and the list goes on. I just love the sound and versitility of this Delta Blues amp.

I have found that using the delta blues with a Peavey Classic 115E cabinet sounds even better. The extension cab makes the Delta Blues sound fuller.

We all know its great sounds, so I am just going to list the Delta Blues Pros and Cons. So here it goes:

PROS
-----
1.Affordable
2.Nice clean sound
3.Great distorted sound
4.Nice reverb(too bad it is not a tube reverb)
5.15" speaker awesome for blues and folk
6.Sounds great with electric guitar
7.Sounds great with bass guitar
8.Accoustic guitar can be used with it
9.Has both tremelo and reverb
10.Peavey stands behind their products
11.Looks cool
12.Clean circuit board/ good internal workmanship
13.Goes really loud if needed
14.Can create distortion at low or high volumes
15.Very versatlie
16.Real wood speaker baffle
17.Tubes are easy to get at
18.Easy to fix if needed.
19.2 channels
20.The best combo amp(sound and versatility) ever!
21.Modern output features

Here are the Cons:
------------------
1.Cheap clotheshanger-style tube holders
2.Does not have tube reverb/solid state reverb sounds good but a tad noisy
3.Tubes are mounted directly on circuit board(danger of melting c.b.)
4.Peavey discontinued the 15" speaker version of it(too bad!)
5.Amp's body(excluding speaker baffle) is some form of particle board.
6.No standby switch(should have been put on!!!)

I can just say that I love this amp to death and I will never sell it.

I have heard mostly good reviews and a few bad ones(mostly about the rattle). Do you know what the rattle is? I know part of the problem is those cheap tube holders. They love to rattle.

It still amazes me that Peavey can put out a comprable product to lets say Fender, offer more features, more varieties of sound, more everything and for less money. Fenders are nice, but each amp can only offer one sound(albiet an great sound), but Peavey has found a way to pack a variety of great sounds in one amp.

Some people really try to say Peavey stuff is s**t. My answer to that is:
1.Older Peavey gear(even from the seventies) is still around and being used without having to be restored.
2.Some people keep on thinking about Peavey's P.A. stuff and that's all.
3.Like any company, Peavey has put out a few duds, yet some people just focus on the few duds and nothing else.
4.Peavey's prices are really reasonable, so sometimes people may think "Well since this Peavey item is so inexpensive it must not be any good." The truth is that Peavey uses verticle integration(makes their own parts) which lowers the price. Other amp companies hire buy their parts of suppliers which raises the price.

If you get a chance to buy the Peavey Delta Blues, buy it. It is a really great amp that is accessable to anyone. I am totally happy with mine even though it is not perfect. Nothing is.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at my new email address: newdelta@excite.com

THis amp was made in 1999. I purchased it new from Electro-Music in Doncaster, UK. I played my Godin LGX thorugh a number of amps before choosing the Delta Blues. In the end both the tonal qualities and the price convinced me to buy - so far I have not been dissapointed. I play in a pop/rock covers band, mostly rhythm, the guitar/amp combination suit me perfectly - the Tremelo is a nice touch - I wont use it a lot, but in comes in useful on Blondie's "Sunday Girl"! The amp isn't packed with features. It could do with a separate EQ on both channels, a prescence switch and a standy switch. The sound is typically tube, very warm and full of rich harmonics and swells. The 15" speaker clealry adds to this. It has a boost switch, but unusually this can't be accessed from the footswitch which seems rather silly.

I play a Seymour Duncan Hunbucker equipped Godin LGX and the only pedal I use is a Boss Chorus. The amp suits my music style down to the ground. It is also light enough to carry and just fits in the boot (trunk) of my Saab. It is not a noisey amp. It can produce a reasonable range of sounds from very clean (although this does start to break up once you pass half way on the volume knob) to a rich meidum gain distortion (not good enough for Metallica though) - but as we don't play much metal - I'm not too worried!

As yet no problem. I do worry about reduced tube life from not having a standby switch and as you will have read in other reviews the tubes are mounted right onto the PCB. However, if others are to be beieved this is not a problem. I use it to gig with and find the 30 watt amp to be full of balls - no problem whatsoever in small to medium gigs. For large gigs we hire a sound system and mike up the amps anyway.

No problem so far. The Peavet website is brilliant (www.peavey.com) and has a number of information forums, where you can ask questions and share views with the experts and other users.

As stated I play a Godin LGX thorugh the Delta Blues. I also own a Martin HJ28. If the amp were stolen, I would seriously consider replacing it, although I might look at a Peavey with a few more features.

This is an update of my previous review.

I love the tone that comes from that 1x15 speaker, but the thing is,this is the second one that I owned and they both have the same problem - CABINET RATTLE AND HUM - which is quite intolerable! What it is is that the wrap-around chrome/silver cover for the amp ends up resonating/vibrating on certain pitches so as to make those notes unusable - just like a snare on the snare drum. Anyway, like I said, I love the smokey, ratty lo-fi vibe of this amp, I just wasn't satisfied with all that vibration. Oh yeah....after waiting for a couple of weeks for this amp, I went to the dealer, picked it up in the box, brought it home and not only noticed the cabinet buzz but also - TWO PRE-AMP TUBES WERE DEAD!! They needed immediate replacing.
Dealer did that but still couldn't figure out the buzz/rattle part. But they were great and refunded my money right away. I did try a classic 50 4x10 to see if I'd like that but still didn't think its tone was as good as the delta 1x15. So I give Peavey a 1 for this amp.

Dealer good. Peavey? - don't know.

I've had two of their competitors' combo tube amps and they were both dead quiet compared to this one(Marshall, Fender). What can I say, Peavey lost a customer because of poor quality. I would never get one of these again unless it was proven to me that it was dead quiet and would never develop a chassis hum or other bothersome cabinet noise again. I ordered a marshall Dsl401 and can't wait to hear it!

1999, 1x15, two channel, shared EQ(passive treb, mid, bass), boost switch, reverb level, tremelo w/speed and intensity, 30 Watts, 3 12Ax7, 4 El84(sovtek), basic effect loop, Speaker out jack. Pretty versatile for the $$. Footswitch(optional) for channel switching and tremolo on/off. Wish it had either a presence knob or a bright switch/jack. Maybe seperate Eq for each channel although the tone isn't so drastically different between the two channels as on one of Fender's Hot Rod series which IMO make their practical usefulness nil.

Clean channel - GREAT! It never gets to a point where its muddy or unusable although you do want to cut some bass if you're playing it *very* loud. Holds together well with humbuckers on my Heritage 535 which can't be said about my Fender Vibrolux Reverb (absolute low end mud on chord work!). It's a little thin sounding on my stock Mexistrat which, in turn,sounds quite good on the Vibrolux.
Dirty channel - I actually like this channel. Again with my 535, it sounds kind of like a TS9 with a tube. You can get from an almost clean sound to a very Marshall-like Overdrive(I know, I've owned them). It really doen't sound all that good with my Strat though which is partly due to the cheap pickups I'm sure.
Reverb - Sounds really good and on a par with any Fenders I've played.
Tremolo - Well, this really can't compare to the trem on my vibrolux but it is usable.
Again, the clean channel is what really shines on this baby. It almost sounds like a class A amp (probably the El84s). Sweet, natural OD which cleans up real quickly, responds superbly to pick attack. It's plenty loud enough for club work, cuts through the mix, and can really sing. There's plenty of lowend (this thing moves some air!) but great high end clarity. I popped in a copy of BB King Live At The Regal and I swear I was getting that kind of tone out of this amp with my Heritage.
As far as styles go: Blues, Jazz, Rock, Hard rock I want to see if it will handle some Metal Pedals I have (the Vibrolux sounds like s%$# with them).
I compared this against other peavey and Fenders (Hotrod Deville 2x12, 65 Twin reissue, and a Vibrolux) I don't really like the sound of the 65 Twin - it's harsh and brittle, The clean channel on the Deville actually sounds quite rich and of a better quality than the Delta, but it costs 250-300 more and the disparity in the eq voicings between its two channels make it useless as a channel switcher.
So I must admit, the Peavey does sound kind of like a poor man's Fender. But I love it! Its got a kind of lower fi sound to it that reminds me of all the classic blues and Rockabilly tunes of the 50's-60's which have a kind of smokey, ambient magic to them (& I'm no nostalgia head either- I wasn't born when that music was recorded).

Well here's the thing. I bought it, took it home, plugged it in and was confronted with a huge chassis rattle and hum. I cursed it, isolated the main rattle and tightened down the chassis mounting and baffle board screws and this lasted for a whole day! So I took it back to the dealer, turned it in and asked him to get me another one. He said sure and so I await my new beast with baited breath. I figured after reading the reviews here that I must have ended up with one of the 1 or 2 out of ten that come crappy from the factory. We also did check a 2x10 version side by side and this one and it didn't have any rattles at all. Even though the 2x10 is more midrangey, it still moves alot of air and has tons of low end too. I like the sound of the 1x15 better it sounds richer and fuller and so I ordered another and am hoping that Peavey gets it right this time! If not, the dealer said I can get a full refund, so while I will be majorly disappointed because I love the tone, I at least won't be stuck with a lemon.
You know, I've heard people say things like "What do you expect for the money?". But that's a really dumba$$ed opinion. I expect to get quality for my $450.00. I mean I bought this thing brand new w/my hard earned bucks and I don't want some piece of junk that is unusable!

Dealer gets big points for standing behind their products even when they know my money could very well walk right out their door. I'll either get my money back if the next one doesn't work out or I'll keep ordering one until they get it right.
I guess it's kind of hard to assign a score because we'll see how Peavey does and then I'll submit a follow up for you.

I'll wait on this one until I get the new one and play with it for a while. From the amount that I've played the first one, all I can say is I HOPE IT WORKS OUT!! It's a potentially perfect match for my Heritage 535 if I can just get a decent one.

Mfg. 97, but bought used in '99. 30W, all-tube combo w/15" speaker (other features have been detailed by other reviewers). Tremelo and bass-mid-high controls are a bonus, but no standy switch is a minus. All else is pretty standard in this class. However, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts - this is one flexible little amp! It also looks cool with the Tolex/tweed style covering.

The 15" speaker is a real asset - it can add warmth without mud. With a Fender Standard Strat, it can speak the blues or stay squeaky clean (I don't use the boost channel, so no opinion there). With a Rickenbacker 360, it adds warmth to the chime and ringing tone, but can get gutsy too (this is also a very versatile guitar). However, the best surprise is with my acoustics. Separation and tone with a Taylor 414ce (standard Fishman saddle pick-up) is great, but with a Martin HD-28 (Baggs Dual-Source - simply the best acoustic pick-up system) this amp really shines. It even adds depth to an Ovation CS-257 shallow-body. You need to make the effort to experiment and learn the right settings, but there's a very wide variety of sounds in this little box. I'd give it a 10, but no amp is really perfect and this one can exhibit some noise.

No problems yet, but I agree Peavey could have put a bit more into construction. I keep it at home only, so I can't really add much to how it would stand up to gigging. I'll give it a 7.

No opinion.

I've been playing on and off for 25 years. Mainly acoustic, but some electric, as well. All in all, I think this is a great package, especially for the price. Nothing else came close to the sound and versatility for the money, plus the power is useable in the home without window damage. I would buy it again.