# Are Peavey's really that bad?



## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I can't say I have that much experience with them, but I seem to always hear people trashing them. 

Obviously some people must like them. Is it due to a stigma attached to them from the 70's and 80's?

What gives?


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## skydigger (Oct 20, 2007)

I paid about $800 for a Triumph 60 back in the late 80's and it was the worst mistake i ever made.

The reverb and tone controls did absolutely nothing.

Lesson learned? Don't always take gear advice from your instructor.


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## Glasstone Amps (Feb 27, 2008)

I think they're decent for the price. I've tried out some of their newer stuff and it sound pretty good. It is built kind of cheaply though...


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

my jsx halfstack fell over at a show once, and fired right back up and didn't do anything wonky.

my peavey rage never broke down, sounds great.

peave makes really solid stuff. i plan on buying a 5150 at some point.

not sure how made in the USA amps can be seen as bad...?


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Budda said:


> my jsx halfstack fell over at a show once, and fired right back up and didn't do anything wonky.
> 
> my peavey rage never broke down, sounds great.
> 
> ...



I've had North American made amps that let me down big time. 

Peavey's are made in China now FWIW.


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## Glasstone Amps (Feb 27, 2008)

The thing that bugs me the most is the fact that almost all front and rear panel components are board-mounted.


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## jv100k (Feb 29, 2008)

I have peavey to thank for my vintage amp obsession.While playing a gig at a club in Niagara on the lake about 10 yrs ago my peavey delta blues?started to smoke.Why?one of the bolts holding the handle vibrated loose and dropped onto the curcuit board shorting it out.
Dumb design to say the least.It was warrantied by Thorold music.Got a 72 Super reverb later that week and vowed never ever again Peavey.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I used 3 different ones back in the 80s and hated every one. The Peavey Renown, The Classic Chorus and a bandit. Of course nothing I ever used in the past compares to the Dr Z's I'm using now.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...the peavey rage is an amazing recording amp. it can sound absolutely huge!

i hope to own a classic 30 one day.

playing through a bandit is great fun.

-dh


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## SinCron (Mar 2, 2006)

I have a Peavey Pacer and it's quite alright.


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

*Delta blues*

I had a delta blues that stopped working when i put new tubes in it, turned out a diode blew in the output stage.

i had a HECK of a time getting to it to replace it, because everything was board mounted. BUT that being said, any amp you buy these days will be like that unless ou get a custom hand made one.

I've never heard of a Bandit every dying, even when beer, smoke, and abuse are involved. i knew some country guys that swore by (not at ) their bandit 65s

I'm a Traynor guy now, will probably never buy Peavey, but Yorkville has me sold.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

butterknucket said:


> I've had North American made amps that let me down big time.
> 
> Peavey's are made in China now FWIW.


Only the Windsor series are made in China. The Classic Series and other amps are still US made.

The Classic series are one of the best budget amps of the last few years. One of the best values out there. As mentioned above, most amps in this low price range are constructed about the same. You get what you get.

I totally think there is a stigma attached to them from the 80's though. The new amps are good amps.

I've only had experience with Peavey bass amps gig wise, and I always found them to be very dependable.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

My understanding is that their larger transistor built amps are a very solid build and trouble free . Some of their transistor amps weigh a ton and have huge transformers so I guess you could say they are overbuilt .

If they (and some other makers) would get away from the PCB mounted tubes that would be an improvement . I can't help but feel the heat is going to cause problems at some point .


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

I used to have a Peavey Deuce. It was loud and rugged but I eventually sold it because it simply didn't warm the cockles of my heart. Later, I came across a Peavey MX which was kind of a Mesa Boogie type amp. It sounded great and eventually needed some attention but the repair guy did something 'creative' and it was never the same after.

Right now I have a Peavey Prowler, a 45 watt kick-ass little amp with a great voice but it is suffering from PC board trouble when it heats up. Some Peaveys are great sounding amps but keep your tech on a short leash.


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## Glasstone Amps (Feb 27, 2008)

nitehawk55 said:


> My understanding is that their larger transistor built amps are a very solid build and trouble free . Some of their transistor amps weigh a ton and have huge transformers so I guess you could say they are overbuilt .
> 
> If they (and some other makers) would get away from the PCB mounted tubes that would be an improvement . I can't help but feel the heat is going to cause problems at some point .


From my experience with PCBs in the industrial and military electronics industries, I strongly believe that the heat from tubes will not cause any problems. PCBs are used in many environments that are much harsher than a guitar amp and hold up very well. As long as the PCB is a good quality fiberglass board with copper on both sides and properly plated holes, AND as long as the soldering is done properly, the board to socket connection will be extremely reliable. The board also must be mounted securely to avoid flexing when the tubes are installed / removed.


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## Glasstone Amps (Feb 27, 2008)

Lester B. Flat said:


> Right now I have a Peavey Prowler, a 45 watt kick-ass little amp with a great voice but it is suffering from PC board trouble when it heats up. Some Peaveys are great sounding amps but keep your tech on a short leash.


That's usually caused by a cracked solder joint. A lot of the time just touching up the solder joints with an iron and some flux can do wonders!


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

Glasstone Amps said:


> That's usually caused by a cracked solder joint. A lot of the time just touching up the solder joints with an iron and some flux can do wonders!


Thanks! I'll look into that.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I have a Delta Blues and just love the sound of that thing. I'm a basement player and it can do pretty much everything well. It has a bit of a buzz when I use the effects loop but other than that it's great. It takes pedals extremely well. 

If I were an amp tech I would not want to stick my fingers in the chassis. Very crowded and probably difficult to work in and diagnose. However, for the money it's hard to beat.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Maybe not the brand for everyone, but a worthy consideration nonetheless. 

I wouldn't want to be retailing amps in the shadow of the big sellers, or even directly competing with the bigsellers. There are some great amps available nowadays.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

I had a Peavey Studio Pro 40, years ago (solid state). That amp took a serious beating - had things spilled on it, fell down stairs, dropped off the back of trucks, etc. - and it just wouldn't die.

It sounded pretty awful, even when it was brand new, but the build quality and durability was great.


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## Mars_all 50 (Jan 8, 2007)

I know some guys who won't even try a JSX.

The stigma of a signature amp, a "shredder" amp, etc.


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## JSX/6505 (Nov 18, 2007)

butterknucket said:


> I've had North American made amps that let me down big time.
> 
> Peavey's are made in China now FWIW.


Some Peavey's are made in China, like the ValveKing, Windsor and some Classic 30's. The JSX, 6505, Penta, XXX, Classic 50/30's are all made in the USA.

I'll admit, I never thought much about Peavey up until about three years ago. Their Ultra tube series amps, Classic 50/30's and 6505 series are all incredible amps. 
I won't go near the Transtube or Bandit lines though.


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## JSX/6505 (Nov 18, 2007)

Mars_all 50 said:


> I know some guys who won't even try a JSX.
> 
> The stigma of a signature amp, a "shredder" amp, etc.


That's pretty close minded. I got over that "stigma" and tried the JSX. It embarassed the competition IMO. Also, I'm no shredder.


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## Mars_all 50 (Jan 8, 2007)

JSX/6505 said:


> That's pretty close minded. I got over that "stigma" and tried the JSX. It embarassed the competition IMO. Also, I'm no shredder.


I've got one too. An excellent amp that is undeserving of that stigma.

I also have a XXX 4x12. 
The JSX 4x12 wasn't available yet when I got the head.


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## Glasstone Amps (Feb 27, 2008)

My very first amp was a Peavey Rage 108 from the early '80s. Then I sold it and got an early 80's Bandit 65. They both sounded like crap, but they worked as beginner amps when I was a kid. I remember my friend had a newer Rage amp that had better distortion, so we'd take the preamp out from that and run it into the input of the Bandit. We were in heavy metal heaven with that setup! The things you have to do when you're 13! :smile:


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

I have to admit, I always thought of Peaveys as more of a bass players rig, or of a cheezy 80's low budget solid state tone (lots of volume, not much tone)...that was until the 5150's came out. 
I think it gained them some credibility.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

no love for the bandits? one of the best SS amps you can buy these days IMO.

same with the XXL. i want that head as a backup to my jsx, it just sounds that good.

peavey is one of the few brands i would actually buy when it comes to SS gear.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

I like mine as well. Very nice sounding, well built amp. 



jroberts said:


> I like the Peavey Classic 30. Fine amp.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Glasstone Amps said:


> From my experience with PCBs in the industrial and military electronics industries, I strongly believe that the heat from tubes will not cause any problems. PCBs are used in many environments that are much harsher than a guitar amp and hold up very well. As long as the PCB is a good quality fiberglass board with copper on both sides and properly plated holes, AND as long as the soldering is done properly, the board to socket connection will be extremely reliable. The board also must be mounted securely to avoid flexing when the tubes are installed / removed.


I should have been a bit more specific Brian , I realise there are some good amps that have tube mounted PCB's but I know some of the X brand stuff that is of poor quality will and does have problems in that area . I know there is a big difference in PCB boards in industrial/military grade compared to some stuff that comes from far away places .


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

I had a Peavey Bandit 65 in the 80's as a teenager and it sounded terrible.

A couple of weeks ago, I sold my Peavey Classic 30, which I had for 14 months as my main/only amplifier. I had a love/hate relationship with it.

Peavey Classic 30 pluses :


Made in USA.
Very good, versatile drive channel.
Good clean channel.
Lots of headroom on the clean channel.
Controls respond well and as expected.
Tweed tolex finish is available.
Makes a very good country, classic rock or blues amplifier and an acceptable jazz amplifier.
Peavey Classic 30 Minuses :


Not much love for the Blue Marvel speaker (manufactured by Eminence), although I tought it was ok personaly.
The tubes are not protected adequately, I had to buy Tube Guard on eBay (some newer models already have similar protection).
The tubes and the cabinet rattle, need to buy Tube Tamer, which doesn't solve the problem completely.
The boost sounds fuzzy and thin.
No standby switch.
Footswitch and dust cover are optional.
Footswitch is noisy, doesn't have LED indicators and you can't toggle the boost on/off, only the reverb, which is useless.
No 1-12" cabinet available, it was discontinued years ago.

I replaced mine with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Special Edition that comes with a Celestion Vintage 30 from the factory. It's designed / built much better and I'm happier with it. But keep in mind that I play clean like 90% of the time (and with just a little grit the rest of the time) and I want Fender cleans not Fendery cleans.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Just chiming in on the Classic 30. I didn't like this amp when I first started using it and was wondering what the big deal was after reading all the good reviews it got. I replaced the tubes with JJ's and there was a bit of a change into how it sounded but wasn't enough to convince me that it's that good of an amp. Not until I replaced the speaker with a Weber Blue Dog Ceramic which changed the character of the amp. Suddenly from being thin and fizzy, it became ballsy and meaty. I got a unloaded Peavey 112SX cabinet for dirt cheap and put the Blue Marvel in it. I find the blue marvel sounds better in a closed cabinet. And with with the ext cab the C30 sounded like it opened up even more. And since then it's been one of my go to amps. I've had friends come over to use it and there are times I'm surprised at some of the things other folks make it sound. Excellent for blues/classic rock.

Haven't had problems with the rattle so far. Or maybe I'm too deaf to hear it. I've had it for 3 years now, have gigged with it countless times without the tube guard. I have cover for it though so I just make sure I don't hit any of the tubes when I take out the power cable.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

replace the stock speaker(s) in a peavey and you can hang with the big boys, IMO.

i'd put my JSX up against a mesa, it'd slaughter a Krank.. im not too worried lol.

taht said i do still want a mesa because i like the recto tone. i also like the peavey crunch, and currently have that. i just want it all  haha


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Chito said:


> Just chiming in on the Classic 30. I didn't like this amp when I first started using it and was wondering what the big deal was after reading all the good reviews it got. I replaced the tubes with JJ's and there was a bit of a change into how it sounded but wasn't enough to convince me that it's that good of an amp. Not until I replaced the speaker with a Weber Blue Dog Ceramic which changed the character of the amp. Suddenly from being thin and fizzy, it became ballsy and meaty. I got a unloaded Peavey 112SX cabinet for dirt cheap and put the Blue Marvel in it. I find the blue marvel sounds better in a closed cabinet. And with with the ext cab the C30 sounded like it opened up even more. And since then it's been one of my go to amps. I've had friends come over to use it and there are times I'm surprised at some of the things other folks make it sound. Excellent for blues/classic rock.
> 
> Haven't had problems with the rattle so far. Or maybe I'm too deaf to hear it. I've had it for 3 years now, have gigged with it countless times without the tube guard. I have cover for it though so I just make sure I don't hit any of the tubes when I take out the power cable.


I have a Peavey Delta Blues (Classic 30 with 15" speaker and Trem) hooked up to a Traynor 1x12 with a Vintage 30 in it. It's unstoppable. Sounds great.


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

Had a Deuce back in the early 70's that would go toe to toe with any twin in that era. The classic 30 sounds great with the right speaker combination. A friend has one and plays it thru a marshall 4-12 and it sounds big.....


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

I have a 410e cabinet (4/10 inch speakers in a tweed/oxblood cab) and used it for 6 years w a 62 tremolux head. Great full sounding solid cab. Now sitting in the corner gathering dust because I turned the fender head into a combo w webers. Well made and sounded very good. Can't speak for the other Peavy stuff cause I have never heard any. Dave


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## SpencerB (Mar 1, 2008)

my classic 30 with JJ's sound pretty good. but it can sound kinda harsh when i crank it to jam. built very well, but i think i'm gonna buy that tube guard off ebay to protect those JJ's. and hopefully...eventually...replace the blue marvel.


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## Universe (Feb 5, 2006)

JSX/6505 said:


> Some Peavey's are made in China, like the ValveKing, Windsor and some Classic 30's. The JSX, 6505, Penta, XXX, Classic 50/30's are all made in the USA.
> 
> I'll admit, I never thought much about Peavey up until about three years ago. Their Ultra tube series amps, Classic 50/30's and 6505 series are all incredible amps.
> I won't go near the Transtube or Bandit lines though.


I run an Ultra Plus. One of the best bang-for-buck sleeper amps out there.

http://www.universe.bookerb.com/amp2.jpg


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

pattste said:


> [*]Made in USA.


I'm just curious about that, why is a plus if it's made in USA? Did the tone is better or something? Or it's just about the hype?


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## SinCron (Mar 2, 2006)

Ti-Ron said:


> I'm just curious about that, why is a plus if it's made in USA? Did the tone is better or something? Or it's just about the hype?


You mean besides not being dinged at the boarder? I'd say better parts at least.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

USA peaveys are built like tanks, whereas the chinese ones not so much. my buddy had an issue with his valveking, and other people haev had issues too. havent heard much about the windsors, dunno if they're USA or import.

not much hype about it, just good ole reliability as well as tone.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2008)

I love my JSX. I've played all kinds of amps and setups and I can say the JSX does a lot of things well for a pretty decent price. My classic 50 on the other hand was a piece of junk, I've pulled the boards out and I'm building my own amp with the remaining chassis and transformers with point to point boards. All amp companies have good product and not so good product to match various price points. I've had similar issues with Marshalls. The JCM800 was a tank, the 900 stuff, not so much.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

konasexone said:


> I love my JSX. I've played all kinds of amps and setups and I can say the JSX does a lot of things well for a pretty decent price. My classic 50 on the other hand was a piece of junk, *I've pulled the boards out and I'm building my own amp with the remaining chassis and transformers with point to point boards.* All amp companies have good product and not so good product to match various price points. I've had similar issues with Marshalls. The JCM800 was a tank, the 900 stuff, not so much.


Funny you should mention that. I've always wondered about how a Classic series amp would sound if it were PTP with upgraded components? Better, worse, same??? Any opinions?


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