Peavey Delta Blues

This tube amp was probably made 2 years ago. It is covered in yellow tweed and has the "vintage" look to it. I bought it used and the guy before me had the tubes changed out. All I did to it was buy the $20 tube guard on eBay.

Features:
FX loop- I love it. Modern fx need a this type of loop or your tone will suffer.
Two channels- see thoughts below.
Tremolo- Not the best but I never use it anyway. Volume drops when activated.
Reverb- I like its spring reverb.

I play a semi-hollowbody > modded TS9 (TS808 specs) > Wah > amp. I also have a digitech whammy pedal and a Boss DD-20 delay running through the FX loop. My band plays a mix between rock, blues, and jazz. This amp has some serious volume and gain for 30 watts! I am the loudest one in the band. This amp should be loud enough for any gig.

I love the clean channel. Love it. It is super clear and has the right amount of bite to it. It seems that after you turn the volume up to 5 anything higher just saturates the tubes so you get this dirty overdriven sound, which is smooth as butta. I personally do not like the amp's dirty channel. It sounds muddy. Getting a modded tubescreamer (aramateffects.com $29) can really help get that heavy overdrive sound on the clean channel.

I haven't had any problems yet.

I haven't had to deal with anyone yet.

I like this amp and for the price I can't complain. I would totally buy this thing again if it were stolen. I have been gigging in the past few years and have had other amps (Marshall and Fender) but one has to be my favorite. The clean channel is by far one of the best that I have heard. This is great for my style of music.

This is a follow-up review after I've gigged with the amp. The features of this amp are still good, but some annoyances here and there. First, I bought a two-button foot switch, as this amp doesn't come with one. The Peavey switch wouldn't work (?!) and its LED's were out, so I went with a more expensive and substantial feeling Vox two-button switch. It works fine except the cord is a bit short.
One button on the footswitch will switch between clean and crunch channels, which is fine, but the other switches the tremolo on and off. I would've much preferred that the footswitch allow for switching of the boost, rather than tremolo or reverb. This would be much more useful 90% of the time.
I also which this amp had dedicated EQ for each channel, as it's sometimes hard to match up sounds on the two.
Still, I'm pretty high on this amp. Just have to take some points off here.

Still sounds great. Sound would be even better with dedicated eq for its two channels. Tubes rattle a bit, even when not cranked, but not anything I notice. Still might be an issue for recording.
The amp still makes an intermittent loud pop when shutting off. Makes me nervous, but it still works fine.
I haven't taken the clean channel loud enough to check for any breakup (it's really loud), but the clean sound itself is nice. The lead channel can go from mild crunch to full-blown saturation with pinch harmonics a plenty. The overdrive sound is just as good with my Tele as it is with my Les Paul.

No problems. Well-built. Don't like that popping sound. That burning smell is gone by now, so I guess it was just the newness burning away. We'll see that popping though.

I've tried to get onto the Peavey site to ask about that loud pop. It's a bit cumbersome dealing with the registration, etc. We'll see.

2004 Made in USA. 30 watts into a 15" speaker in an open (way open) back cabinet. Three 12AX7's and 2 6L6's (I think). Sovtek tubes. Built in tremolo and reverb. 2 channels. Tweed covering. Effects loop. Did not come with a footswitch (bogus). But DID come with a nice, possibly leather, amp cover (thumbs up). I had been looking into tremolo pedals and hadn't found a decent one in my price range. Was also looking for an amp to upgrade from my Fender Blues Jr. (a decent tube amp). Read the reviews on Harmony Central and decided to give it a shot. The cabinet is huge and weighs about 50 lbs, so not something you can just throw in your backseat for casual practice. Both preamp and power tubes have retainers to hold them in place. The features are very good, but a two point deduction for no footswitch (this is getting to be common practice and just has to stop).

I use a Fender American Strat with Dimarzio stacked humbuckers in the neck and middle and a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. in the bridge. I also use an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard and a custom built Warmoth Telecaster with Seymout Duncan vintage single coil pickups. The clean channel is huge, with lots of bottom coming from that 15" speaker. I've only taken it about halfway up because this thing is loud and brand new. Nice detail to the clean sound, and to my ears sounds better than new Fender equivalents...yes, better clean than the Fenders! Nice definition and some definite sparkle. The overdrive channel is what blew me away. This has some serious high gain. I was doing pinch harmonics and heavy metal riffing with no effort. Backing down on the volume knob on my Strat cleaned up the sound enough to use for chunky rhythm. Backing down on the preamp drive got me into blues type overdrive. I was truly impressed with the range of this amp's distortions. I may never need my pedals again (once I buy the footswitch that is). The reverb is nice. There's some range to this, unlike the one in my Blues Jr. which is too wet even on low settings. The tremolo was a real treat. Nice vintage style throbbing. The sound of this amp rules both for clarity, body, and versatility. I'll have to give this a 10 because it will cover all the ground I need on my gigs and recording, and then some.

Just bought it, so can't really say. Peavey has a good reputation for reliability. The amp seems very solid (definitely heavy because of that big speaker). I did notice a slightly weird smell when the amp warmed up, but I think it was just the amp cover "burning in" a little bit. I doubt it will be anything to worry about and will probably stop once the newness of the amp wears off. No smoke. What DOES concern me is how open the back of this amp is. The tubes are almost fully exposed and could easily be yanked loose with the power cord or whatever else. I would assume that made this an open back because that big speaker needs to pump a lot of air, and it probably keeps those tubes cool too, but you'll have to careful about how you store and transport this amp. Be careful and it should be fine.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 20 years and have used lots of good (and bad gear), and I have to say this amp is very choice. I would buy it again without even thinking about it. Most people I know play Marshalls and Fender Hot Rod series amps. This amp blows them away in terms of versatility (clean and dirty) and girth (that huge speaker again). I had looked into buying a Hot Rod DeVille (which actually isn't that much bigger or heavier than this amp come to think of it), but the reviews on this website convinced me to give this a try. And I'm glad I did.

This amp is versatile and has excellent tone. The 30 watts will be plenty for me on my gigs without a mic. I will be able to cover almost any genre of music with this amp. I almost hope this amp doesn't become too popular, so I can have something semi-unique. I can't wait to take this out on my next gig, just to see some jaws drop. The best gear purchase I've made yet.

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Further to a previous review, I wantewd to add the following.

I play blues/country tinged modern rock with a peppering of country sounds. I've been gigging this amp for a few months (small venues, always miced thru the PA) and last night tried something that I should have done a long time ago.

Normally I have the clean vol on 4/5 and use the od channel or various od pedals for a crunchy sound ( I don't need a fully saturated gain sound) but last night I pushed the clean channel to between 8/9 (out of 12) and plugged my 52Vintage re-issue tele straight in.

I got this fantastic smooth powertube OD- punchy yet clear with loads of sustain and it really wasn't much louder than when the clean channels on 4/5. It cleaned up beatifully turning down the vol pot on my tele and sounded great and clear thru both bridge and neck pickups. It was truly fantastic. This is what this amp was designed to do. Real powetube OD at manageable volumes!

I will only be using the OD channel and pedals at home in future!

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1 input, 2 channels (clean and drive), reverb, bass-mid-treble, and tremolo controls. Also a boost button and EFX loop. 30W, single 15" speaker, tweed tolex. I don't know exactly when mine was made, but it must be fairly new because it has the clips that prevent tube vibration. It does not have the tube guard, but I'll probably just make one from some scrap wood or metal. Also, I have a full set of JJ tubes in this amp. 3 ECC83-S (aka 12AX7) preamp tubes and 4 EL84 power tubes.

My only gripe is the supplied Peavey footswitch (for channel and tremolo switching). It was really cheap plastic with a bad connection at one end of the cable, but I got it used so that's to be expected. I built a new metal one out of a Hammond 1590B project box. It also didn't come with a cover, so I made my own from some tough automotive vinyl.

It has all your basic features. I use them all to get the sounds I want. I'm used to Fender amps, so I miss the Presence control. But the sound is quite shimmery, so it's not a big deal. I also wish it had a second input like my old Fender Hot Rod DeVille. I liked being able to play two guitars through the amp at the same time (myself on one and a friend on the other), but I can't do that now. Other than that, it really isn't missing anything. I'd say an 8 for features would be about right. It does everything that I really NEED it to do, and most of the things I WANT it to do.

My rig: G&L ASAT (tele w/ ceramic soapbar pickups) or G&L S-500 (strat w/ ceramic pickups) straight into the amp. No acoustics, semi-hollows, or humbucker equipped guitars here. No effects except for the reverb on the amp. I want to get a good wah pedal. But other than that, I don't really want any effects. I like things simple. I also may get a good echo/delay unit one day, but that will have to wait a while.

This is a great sounding amp for the money. The clean tone is great. It's no Twin Reverb, but it's pretty darn good! The drive channel is pretty good too. Not enough gain for metal, but that's not what this amp was intended for anyway. It's called the "DELTA BLUES" here people, and it has plenty of crunch for rock or some smokin' blues leads.

The tone controls are very good. You can get a lot of bass, especially with the big 15" speaker. But it's never muddy. The mid sweep is really nice. Back it off for some scooped-mid type rhythm sounds. Or turn them up for a very good Santana lead. The highs are very sparkly and bell-like, but never piercing or shrill.

The reverb is good. Not quite as good as classic Fender reverb, but excellent for the money. Also, the tremolo isn't bad. There does seem to be a small volume drop when the tremolo is turned on. But I don't use it much, so I really don't have an opinion about it. I've never used the EFX loop.

Overall, an 8 for sound. I've played some better sounding amps, but they were all a LOT more expensive. It's an excellent value, and very versatile. It's really amazing how many different (and GOOD!) sounds are in this small amp. It really does everything except metal. It may not have the volume you need for bigger venues, but it should be good enough for small clubs.

I've never played it at a gig, but I would gladly use it without a backup. It's VERY solid. To use the old cliche, it is indeed built like a tank. It just need a tube guard on the back, and it will be all set for road use.

I've only had it for a couple of months, but I don't forsee any problems at all in the near or distant future. I'll give it a 9 because it originally had the really cheap footswitch.

Never used Peavey customer support. But their website has plenty of schematics and manuals.

I've been playing for almost 7 years now. I'd get another one without hesitation if this one were stolen. I honestly can't think of a better amp for the money. It's super sturdy and versatile at a great price... absolutely perfect for the working rock/blues/country guitarist!

I play Blues-Rock with strato-tele-LP.
This ampli has two channels,effects loop,full(7!) tube circuit,15"cone etc.

This is an authentic blues machine:clean is beautiful(Fender like)
drive is pure tube tone.this ampli sounds fat and warm,with
a thick,deep,beautiful real tube sound.
I like the way tone knobs shape the sound,I like the tremolo
(by far better than expected after reading other reviews here),
I like the reverb(good quality long spring type).

Seems strong and well built.

Hope not need it .

This ampli has that warm,american tube sound I love so bad.
I also own a '65 Deluxe reverb RI and Hot Rod 4X10 DeVille,and I think that this amp has the same basic tone but with a warmer and deeper, really sincere and fat sound.

Mine is a 2003 model made in Peavey's Mississippi factory.
30 Watts all tube 1X15 Combo in tweed.
2 channels clean and overdrive with boost button.
Tank reverb
Built in Tremelo with speed and intensity control
The Good: It's all tube (I'll discuss more in tone), it is built like a tank, with the exception of some tube rattle at high volumes, this can be solved though by a 15 buck add on called Tom's tube tamer, the reverb is great at low levels for thickening up the sound, and the built in effects loop works well.
The Not so Good: My model has no tube guard although you can get an aftermarket one for about 19 bucks, the tremelo basically sucks, it's a good idea especially for playing "Delta Blues" however, turning it on cuts the volume level in half making it very impractical for use in switching back and forth. The boost channel is not great it has kind of a honky sound, and there is no standby circuit so you have to turn everything down before turning off the amp otherwise you get a whop sound through the speaker when you shut down.
Starting at a ten because the basic features are very solid but subtracting a few points because of the above mentioned flaws I give it a 7.

This is where the Delta Blues shines. I play a Fender Highway 1 Strat, mainly blues and rock with some jazz and popular thrown in. The tone through this amp is great very warm and full with a fair amount of head room, keep pushing it and you get a smooth breakup into a nice chunky overdrive tone and if you push it further you get a nice rock style distortion. Past that I don't know I don't play metal but I don't think this amp would work for that at least not without some pedals. It is best to keep the reverb set low because at higher levels it has a strange sound to it, but unless your playing surf how much reverb do you need? One recommendation is to replace the stock tubes with JJ tubes from eurotubes. Doing this will take the tone from good to awesome and Bob at eurotubes will tailor the tubes to your style of music. Overall tone. 10

It's built like a tank, I don't think I'll have a problem.

Only thing I have dealt with is peavey's support forum and the people there have been very helpful.

Overall for the price paid this amp is fantastic. Adding in 60 bucks for the retube and 30 for the tube guard and tamer and it's still an awesome value. If it was stolen I would find who took it track them down and beat them until they gave it back. I love the tone of this amp the only things I hate is the tremelo, I wish it worked better. I highly recommend this amp for those looking for a good blues rock amp at an affordable price, Great job Peavey. For more information on this amp from some real tone gurus check out the tonequest reports review. The only other recommendation to better the sound would be to replace the speaker with a weber or jensen alnico.

As below, 2 channel, reverb, footswitch (optional extra), tremolo, NOMINAL 30 watts, lovely retro styling, 15 inch speaker.

2004 model- has a tube guard on the back, and upgrades to the circuit (dunno what they are though). Seems Peavey have listened to the feedback.

Apart from bizarre tremolo gimmick, quite rudimentary features really, the footswitch (extra #20) is a bit skimpy and wafer-light, has no LEDs (no way to tell what is selected without hitting the strings), and the extra switch defeats the tremolo- reverb would be more useful here. Both channels share one EQ which isn't great and there is no presence, standby or master.

This is refelcted in the excellent price though, the features are adequate (this amp suits raw players who shun gimmicks) but anyway this amp is all about TONE.

Absolutely wonderful sound for the price. Rich, tight clean that doesn't break up too early (even with the high output hbs on my LP). Reverb nice, not too intrusive. Oodles of punch, tight lows and mids as wells as a sparkly top. Tremolo not my thing so can't comment too much apart from the fact it seems a little quiet. OD channel is excellent too, real variety of tones in there. Not bad for a pre-amp OD- not many of us who live in reality can dime a half stack to get the power amp od, so this'll do for now. Fat sound. Portable, perfect for small gigs- very loud for 30W. Metal freaks might not like this, but that's fine by me.

Chassis rattle is present sometimes- not great. Will get the electric screwdriver out.

Bit of tube crackle while the amp warms up, will monitor this closely, could be because it's v new. Gets hot, but that's to be expected. Haven't had it long enough to rate this category.

N/A

It sounds great, looks great, is portable, and you don't have to blast your audience away to get a goog power tube od. It is more versatile than the DSL401 the Marshall competitor and knocks the Fender BluesJr into a cocked hat. Slight pauicity of features for some, chassis rattle and a little bit of tube popping- but these are small negatives...The pest pound for pound affordable tube amp out there.

It's a nice simple combo amp. Clean channel (with - for me useless- boost, overdive channel, reverb,tremelo and FX loop. I like the vintage look of the delta blues, similar to a fender bassman '59 reissue.

I work in a music store and I compared the delta with a fender blues junior and fender hotrod. I play on a Strat (USA). The blues junior is no match for the delta, the junior sounds very thin and cold in comparison with the peavey. The hotrod is a different (and more difficult) ballgame. When you start playing on a hotrod, you get the impression that it sounds extremely good, but after a while, this vision changes. The reverb from the hotrod is overwhelming, but it 'clashes' a bit with the sound. If you turn off the verb, and compare the delta with the hotrod, you'll notice that the delta sounds much richer and warmer. I've always been a fender man, both guitars and amps, for example: the hotrod is no match for an (old) twinreverb, or a bassman. These amps sound way better than the delta (way more expensive too...). But the hotrod vs the delta, I prefer the delta. More mid, more balls, and if you turn up the volume from the clean channel from 4 till 7, you'll notice that the volume isn't that louder, but you'll get a very smooth overdive, with beautiful harmonics and dynamics. The overdrive channel is also nice, but I prefer my Fulltone Fulldrive 2 and Z Vex Super Hard On. In combination with these two baby's, the delta is a ball breaking blues beast. ;-) Conclusion, in the low price range tube amps category, the delta is a really nice amp and I haven't yet heared a similar priced amp which sounds better.

In its price category, I'll give it a 9. In general I'll give it 7 if a Bogner Metropolis is a 10.

Just bought it last wednesday, so don't have an opinion yet. There's a cage which protects the tubes, so that's nice if you carry around your amp much like me.

The peavey customer support in Belgium isn't optimal, it might take a long while to replace a broke amp, but hey, that's the case with most of the brands. For example Fender is a complete disaster...

Overall rating is 8. I play guitar for almost 10 years now. I'm a Strat and Tele man. I play blues, funk and a bit of the good old Hendrix stuff, and the delta blues works out really nice for me. You just might want to help out the delta a little with a good overdrive pedal. I own a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 and a Z Vex Super Hard on and these are a killercombination with the dela, although is hard to find a tubeamp which doesn't sound nice with these two...

Standard tube amp w/gain psuedo-channel, op-amp tremolo, reverb,
effects loop.

Compare to Fender DeVille line for features. Give it a 5 becuase
it's nothing special (hey people 5 = avg! 10 would be better than
90% of all other amps!) so I would give a 6 if not for the op
amp driven reverb + relay switch in/out overdrive. Maybe a 6
since Fender blues/deluxe/deville use relays + op amps to
drive reverband effects loops & this is a less expensive amp.

Never buy a car without lifting the hood or amp without looking
at the schem or at least asking a friend that can read them.

One note, this amp has push-pull 4xEL84. I've only seen the
EL84s used in class A amps. They are cheaper than EL34 or 6L6
& I think the P-transformer is smaller (=cheaper) so the difference
in cost is not for nothing. The Fenders have 6L6s.

Get the black vinyl cab. The 'tweed' is vinyl, too.

Well, it doesn't sound like a Fender, but they built this
chassis (same as Classic 30) to compete with them, so you
might as well compare price/sound.

Clean "channel" is ok. Reverb is good. I don't like the tremolo.
It lacks that organic quality I remember in my Fender sans silicon
amp, i.e. proreverb. Only played the blue/deluxe/deville in the
store so I can't say there. I'd rather they just leave out the
tremolo if the price target cannot afford another tube.

My reagent amp is my pt2pt tweed deluxe. After playing a
while at fuller volumes (3-5) I notice a certain
harshness. I think it's the opamps. I feel the same thing with a
homebrew 12ax7 preamp I built with op-amps to overdrive the
tube stages. I can play my tweed deluxe at the same volumes & never
notice that.

Overdrive 'channel' is not very useful at least at pain-free
volumes. Maybe it sounds good cranked at blues distortion levels.
I'll probably try the blueguitar.org mods at some point & retube
the sucker, but I cannot see myself using the overdrive very
much. Tried it with both humbuckers & stratcoils.

First Peavey I've owned. We'll see. Definitely need the aftermarket
tube jockstrap.

Haven't tried them. I suspect they are good.

I have to bias everything in that I paid $400 clearance. I'm
building a 70s Marshall 2204. I figured I could use the
cabinet & put the 2204 in it for a 2x10 combo or use the cabinet for a
bass combo project. I have a 2x12 combo cab that I can put the DB/C30 chassis in. So I bought it with some projects in mind & also
to run in stereo with my tweed deluxe for a while. Unfortunately,
the PT is so small, it cannot be used on another project. Maybe a
class A, but I don't know.

I wouldn't pay more than $400 for it or buy it if it
was going to be my primary amp. I don't think peaveys
fetch a good resale price. The buyer would just
have to decide if this amp is right for them. I'm not
impressed with the sound, but I'm not underwhelmed either.
A 15" combo amp is kinda strange. I wonder how it would sound with
some other instruments like organ or harmonica. It sounds ok with
my basses & would be ok for low volume gigging. I don't like
the sound of my accoustic-electrics through it. The PA or tweed
deluxe is much, much better.

From the newsgroups, you might as well plan on buying some more
tubes, if you can believe what they are saying: improves sound
dramatically. That would take the amp to $500+ & I just have a
hard time paying that much for a PCB amp with op-amps! That's
starting to get into component cost range for pt2pt amp, without a
cabinet + speakers, of course (can you tell I'm cheap!)

Too bad we cannot buy the tube components for the cost they
were when everything was made that way! You could probably
build a tube chassis for $300!

Here's some picky cons:

-no stanby switch
-no fuse access
- dinky power xform
- vinyl tweed
- not much supergain sounds for 4 stage preamp
- not a true 2 channel
- opamps