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Peavey Classic 30

By alan - Posted on 21 April 2009

What we say about the Classic 30

The Peavey Classic 30 has got a tone that some people swear by. Others see it as a poor man's Fender. To be honest, it has a tone of its own that's distinct from the Fender blues amps, but similar enough that you can see why the comparison exists.

Buy the Peavey Classic 30/112 Tube Combo Amp Tweed at Musician's Friend now.

For years, the Classic 30 112 used to be about the cheapest valve amps you could find. What was more surprising was that they actually sounded good. Better still, they were portable, lightweight (as far as valve amps go) and loud enough for live gigs. Add all those features together and you get a great starter valve/tube amplifier.

The Peavey Classic 30 combo with the 1x12" speaker is incredibly portable for what you get out of it, but sometimes I prefer a bit more beef to the sound. I've used a Classic 50 head (now discontinued) into a 4x12" with Celestion Vintage 30s. That made for some awesome blues tone. My guess is that the Classic 30 into the same 4x12 would be even better for that overdriven blues tone.

If you're going to play one of these amps, try the trick of having the volumes at opposite levels, for instance:

pre-amp volume at 11 (yes, these amps go to 12) and the master at 1 or 2 for a real deep and ballsy blues tone
pre-amp volume at 1 or 2 and the master volume at 11, for a cleaner, crisper tone.

I always found these suitable for blues, country and funk. The clean can be warm or clear and bright. The overdrive is nice and warm but it's not rock. It's best used for lifting the lead tone above the mix.

Modifications for the Peavey Classic 30

There are a lot of listed modifications for these amplifiers. The best site so far (although old) is The Blue Guitar. It's worth checking you have the same versions as Peavey have changed the designs over the last decade or two. Also, as with any modification, it may not be worth the expense and effort. If you want a completely different sound, then going for a different amp may be a better option.

Text at Peavey about the Peavey Classic 30

The Classic® 30/112 has been redesigned with an all-new chassis design, but still features the distinctive sound and circuitry of the renowned Classic® Series amps.

Features:

30 watts (rms) into 16 or 8 ohms

Four EL84s and three 12AX7s

12 inch Blue Marvel® speaker

2-channel preamp

Pre- and post-gain controls on lead channel

Normal volume control on clean channel

3-band passive EQ (bass, middle, treble)

Boost switch

Reverb level control

Effects loop

Footswitch selectable channel switching and reverb

External speaker capability

Chrome-plated chassis

Classic tweed covering

Footswitch optional (not included)

Weight Packed: 46.00 lb(20.865 kg)

Width Packed: 13

Depth Packed: 21.5

Height Packed: 19.25