Peavey Classic 400 find

Jazzman · #2 07-24-2010, 06:23 PM

I have always wanted the Classic 400. Killer head! Is it the black or tweed one?

chicago_mike · #3 07-24-2010, 07:03 PM

Be prepared to lift 98lbs though. I had 2 of those..not at the same time mind you. great head just....get a roadie.

claybone · #4 07-24-2010, 07:40 PM

Nice find! Found one myself at Ishibashi labeled as 'junk' roughly for the same price! But with good tubes. awesome.

KramerBassFan · #5 07-24-2010, 09:15 PM

I want to see pictures!

Krügmeister · #6 07-24-2010, 09:19 PM

I seen this amp in the CL in Lansing and ALMOST pulled the trigger... let us know what I missed out on

Gord_oh · #7 07-26-2010, 09:49 AM

cool find. id buy it at that price even at the cost of tubes.
any year marked on it?

chicago_mike · #8 07-26-2010, 10:09 AM

Those sound really good with both channels on. THe mid position switch will "pop" as you move it. Thats normal.

The fans are known for getting LOUD as they die out. So a trip to Harbour Freight or someplace might be in order to get a quiet fan.

Replacing the Chinese output tubes will be costly but youll notice a punchier tone. Sovtek 6550's and Teslavek KT88's do well in this beast. Dont get sucked into the Gold Dragon / Gold Lions.

Get that fuse holder replaced asap. I did basement jams with mine and it blew fuses there often. Nothing was worng with the amp, just bles fuses off the mains in the basements.

Oh, this thing sounds KILLER thru a hartke 410xl and 405 bright box if you can find them.

BassmanPaul · #9 07-26-2010, 11:19 AM

Remember that if you change out the output tubes you will need to have the bias set for the new set.

Paul

Gord_oh · #10 07-26-2010, 11:24 AM

you can get a fuse holder at radioshack.
panel mount 1.99
in line 2.69

im at work...

it was in my area? flint, mi (-ish).
hmmm...well i missed on that one.
good thing, im pretty broke.

blendermassacre · #11 07-26-2010, 11:40 AM

I would love one of those amps...

Thornton Davis · #12 07-26-2010, 11:45 AM

I had my Classic 400 for ten years. During that time I replaced the power tubes once, and I replaced all of them at the same time with Sovtek 6550WE tubes. I also swapped out the 6 preamp tubes with new Electro-Harmonix tubes.

I'd still have my Classic 400 today if it didn't weight 97 pounds. It was a fantastic amp, well built and sounded great with two 8 Ohm Peavey 410TX cabinets.

TD

BbbyBld · #13 07-26-2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flygirafda3

Oh yeah, another thing that was on mind, I know with some tube amps you can pull power tubes in pairs for less wattage, but what kind of effect would that have on the load that the output section is expecting?

As long as you remove 1/2 of the power tubes, you use 1/2 the load impedance setting.

For example, if you have an 8 ohm cabinet, you use the 4 ohm tap on the amp. This is pretty much your only option on the 400 since it only has taps for 8 and 4 ohms.

BassmanPaul · #14 07-26-2010, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flygirafda3

Yeah, I realize this, my biggest question is how important is it to replace them all at once? Would it be a bad idea to replace just the bad output tube? Should I do it in pairs? Or am I just going to have to replace all 8 of them at once?

Depends on how the bias supply is designed. Replacing pairs in an amp with eight outputs is immaterial as the new pair could be far out from the existing tubes. If the amp has one bias supply you should replace all eight with a matched set. If two then you can replace just the four, again matched.

Best let a tech determine this for you.

Paul