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Blues Guitar Amp - maybe a Peavey Classic 50?

Alexander

Alexander

Aug 13, 2001
3,359
3,609
Seattle, WA
#1
I've picked back up with a bit of guitar playing after many years of sticking exclusively with bass (though bass will still be my primary instrument). I've lucked up on a good cheapie Squier Strat and am looking for a decent, yet affordable amp that will cover blues\country\classic & southern rock.

I used to have a Fender Hotrod Deluxe and the clean channel was great - not a big fan of the overdrive, although I got some good tones with a tubescreamer. Not sure if I should go this route again or try something else. The Peavey Classic 50 caught my eye as it seems to get some great reviews and is a bit cheaper than the Fender.

Any thoughts on these or any other amps I might want to consider?
 
#2
I would honestly say stick with the Fender, Peaveys to me are too grindy and crunchy for a good blues OD. Maybe get a small Marshall Combo and go with a StompBox, but as much as I hate them for anything else, a good Fender Twin is about the top for a good small blues amp, and there's enough of them out there that you can probably get a decent used one fairly inexpensively. Of course, everything is up to personal taste, thats just IMHO.
 
#4
I knew a guy who did Peavey warranty service and he said that he had lots of problems with bad output transformers on the "Classic" line. I don't know if they've fixed that or not, but heads-up anyway.

I have a Blues Jr and it's OK (if hugely overrated in the past and now passe) but pretty badly overpriced for an import amp. It may also not have the power you need. You didn't state what you wanted it for.
 
#8
Thanks for all of the replies here. I tried the Fender Blues Jr and really didn't care for it. Didn't seem to have that "wet" or "round" tone that the larger Fender amps have. It was only in the store for maybe 10-15 minutes, though - I went right up to the Blues Deluxe and was able to dial it in right away. May have to give it a shot though.

Most of this will be home playing as I'm trying to get what little chops I had back up to speed. That said, if possible, I'd like to get an amp I could gig with - just in case the opportunity presents itself...

Interesting reliability issue with the Peavey classic - I've had tons of issues recently with my SVT, so I really want to get a guitar amp that will hold up. I only had one issue with my Hot Rod Deluxe in the five years I had it.
 
#9
I play blues guitar quite a bit and have owned the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and currently own the Peavey Classic 30 combo. I've also tried the Blues Jr. For my taste, the C30 is a perfect blend of tone and power. The HRD was way too loud and the Blues Jr. too boxy.

The C30 has a good clean channel with lots of headroom allowing me to use a tubescreamer when desired. I also like the OD channel much better than on the Fender. I frequently use the OD channel along with an EQ pedal to dial in the perfect SRV tone.

The only issue I've had with the C30 in the 5 or so years I've owned it has been tube rattle. I bought a device on eBay called "Tom's Tube Tamer" and it works great.
 
#11
Thanks, guys - I've read about the sweeter OD on the Peavey vs. the Fender. I rarely used the OD on my Hot Rod Deluxe (and certainly not with the high gain setting) - relying more on pedals for that sort of thing. I'd really like to try a Peavey, but amps are often difficult to try out in stores, it seems...

As for Matchless, unfortunately they are MUCH more than I can pay at the moment. I'm looking to spend less than £500 though I generally prefer to buy used.

Any other thoughts out there?
 
#14
I have two, and there's a third I'd like to have if I was gigging as a guitarist all the time. First, the Blues Jr. Yeah, a bit boxy (small cabinet for the 12" speaker), but the reverb and characteristic Fender clarity is all there. Of course, I got mine way back around 2001 or so, don't know much about changes they've made (and they have made a lot of circuit changes).

Second is the Peavey Delta Blues 210. Very reliable ('though I understand that the output transformers are very unforgiving of different loads- IF you use an extension speaker, make sure it's the right impedance for the amp). The power amp is twice the Blues Jr. (four EL84s versus a pair, so it's roughly twice the power) which helps it hold together without breaking up at more useful volumes than my little Fender. It depends of course on what you're wanting. I'll use the Blues Jr. if we're micing the amps, or if I'm playing at church. The DB210 is much more useful for most gigs for me however because I can play clean at a bit higher level than the BJr allows.

The third one, the one I'd like to have, is the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb. This has a pair of 6L6 tubes, two tens, and no channel switching. It's got the traditional Fender two channels, except the reverb works on both of them. It allows me to set up the tone controls and the volume differently for my Guild Starfire IV than for my Strat, and not fiddle with settings when I switch guitars. Just the right volume for gigs, and worked very well with my pedal OD (a Reverend Drive Train). It's kinda like a Super Reverb with only 2 speakers (a great thing based on my having played in a band with guys who had and used Supers- just too freakin' loud to get the sweet sound), but not exactly. It has a very very touch sensitive pre-amp that I absolutely love. You can really use the volume control on your guitars to shape the sound!

Now, a caveat in my discussions. I don't find OD critical at all for blues playing, but I do want some natural tube crunch and compression. I'm not coming from the histrionic SRV et. al. school of blues guitar sound, but more from a Jimmie Vaughan/Buddy Guy/Bonnie Raitt sound- some break up but not "creamy sustain for days".

John
 
#16
JTE said:
I have two, and there's a third I'd like to have if I was gigging as a guitarist all the time. First, the Blues Jr. Yeah, a bit boxy (small cabinet for the 12" speaker), but the reverb and characteristic Fender clarity is all there. Of course, I got mine way back around 2001 or so, don't know much about changes they've made (and they have made a lot of circuit changes).

Second is the Peavey Delta Blues 210. Very reliable ('though I understand that the output transformers are very unforgiving of different loads- IF you use an extension speaker, make sure it's the right impedance for the amp). The power amp is twice the Blues Jr. (four EL84s versus a pair, so it's roughly twice the power) which helps it hold together without breaking up at more useful volumes than my little Fender. It depends of course on what you're wanting. I'll use the Blues Jr. if we're micing the amps, or if I'm playing at church. The DB210 is much more useful for most gigs for me however because I can play clean at a bit higher level than the BJr allows.

The third one, the one I'd like to have, is the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb. This has a pair of 6L6 tubes, two tens, and no channel switching. It's got the traditional Fender two channels, except the reverb works on both of them. It allows me to set up the tone controls and the volume differently for my Guild Starfire IV than for my Strat, and not fiddle with settings when I switch guitars. Just the right volume for gigs, and worked very well with my pedal OD (a Reverend Drive Train). It's kinda like a Super Reverb with only 2 speakers (a great thing based on my having played in a band with guys who had and used Supers- just too freakin' loud to get the sweet sound), but not exactly. It has a very very touch sensitive pre-amp that I absolutely love. You can really use the volume control on your guitars to shape the sound!

Now, a caveat in my discussions. I don't find OD critical at all for blues playing, but I do want some natural tube crunch and compression. I'm not coming from the histrionic SRV et. al. school of blues guitar sound, but more from a Jimmie Vaughan/Buddy Guy/Bonnie Raitt sound- some break up but not "creamy sustain for days".

John
Click to expand...

Cool - thanks, John. Even though I mention Blues in the title specifically, I'm looking for something that will cover country and classic\southern rock as well. I'm into the Allman Brothers, Govt Mule, SRV, Hendrix type of blues in addition to all of the traditional stuff. That said, I will likely get a tube screamer or the like for OD anyway
 
#18
I finally got to play a Classic 50 at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. I went there three different times and thought it was the best amp ever made all three times. Wish I had the $500 to get it. It wasn't the newer version, it was the original believe. I played a Zakk Wylde custom guitar, strat, and last time I was there the Peavey Wolfgang Special. It is so nice a lot of people always kept coming to see what amp it was and I got compliments on my playing which I never get an more lol. If you ever see one for sale try it out and roll the gain and reverb off and try the (lead channel?) the one that you can boost the power section. You can get amazing overdriven sounds at low levels. That's my take. Best amp ever for blues. Very responsive to volume and chicken pickin' and harmonics. So smooth...might not cut through live but for at home use or recording I would love it.
 
#19
The lead guitarist in one of my blues bands plays a Classic 30 - SWEET sound. The main drawback, IMHO, is the Peavey Blue Marvel speaker. He replaced his with a new clone of an old Jensen - I forget the make & model. My son, who plays blues, classic rock and heavier metal, did sound at one of our gigs and fell in love with it. I bought him an older Classic 50 2x12 for his birthday. The only difference between the Classic 50 and the Classic 30 is that the output stage of the Classic 50 has four EL84's vs two in the Classic 30 - plus, of course, the Classic 50 puts out just about twice the usable power (due to the extra tubes) and the Classic 50 is available as a 4x10 or 2x12, while the Classic 30 is a 1x12.

We replaced the EL84 tubes with some matched JJ's. As I mentioned, he also plays metal, so his choice of replacement speakers was Celestion Vintage 30's - the original British ones, not the newer Chinese ones. It still sounds just about perfect for blues, but now has more flexibility to do metal as well. We put the Blue Marvels into an empty Avatar open back 2x12 cab which he now uses as an extension speaker. That Classic 50 driving a total of four 12's is more than loud enough for any band.
 

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