# Peavey Classic 30



## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

I have a chance to pick one of these up for about $400. Is anyone here using one or had one? What do you think of it? How does it do with pedals? Thanks.

bd


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## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

its a fantastic amp with a G12H 70th ani, only prob is the el84's tend to burn out rather quick if you crank the snot out of it a lot. takes pedals no prob. Grab itsdsre


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Head or Conbo?

My friend has a Classic 30 head and I think it is a great amp. Wish it had more impedance choices (only has 16 ohms out). The other thing is that it tends to run hot. Otherwise, it seems like a great amp to me and he certainly likes it.

I have an old Classic 50 head. Lots of features. Has an internal fan, so it doesn't run hot. For me, it weighs too much..but that isn't the end of the world as I don't move it that much. I bought it for a very reasonable price. 


I'm not much of a pedal person, so I won't comment on that.

Cheers

Dave


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

They are great amps, from clean to classic rock and take pedals with no problems. Yeah, they get hot when cranked, you can easily install a fan on the back of the amp, that's what I did when I was using a Classic 30. That way your tubes will last longer. Great amp for the money, and plenty loud to keep up with a full band. Is it the Blue Marvel speaker in it? I loaded mine with a V30 and it did improve the tone a lot better.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

I'm not sure what speaker it has in it. It is the combo and I will be going to look at it tomorrow. Is it a problem hooking up an 8 ohm external speaker cab to it? Thanks to everyone for your comments.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Forgot to mention ( kqoct )that I really like the clean tone from the amp...the onboard distrotion is not that great IMHO.

Cheers

Dave


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I have an older Classic 30 and I love it. The only problem is that it gets pretty loud before it starts sounding sweet! You can run an 8 ohm extension on it, but it will run hotter. Transistor amps are more sensitive to impedance mis-matches. I had a Classic 50 that I used to wire the speakers in series so the amp would work harder at lower volumes. If you want an extension, try a 15" speaker. I wouldn't know what brand to recommend, I borrowed one from a friend, and wow, sounded great to me. For $400, it's a good deal, depending on condition. Mine is almost mint and I would ask $500 for it. Runs pedals nicely. Have had a phase pedal, a TS-9, Wah, DDL at one time or another. Used them both straight in and with the FX loop


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

I used to have one. Good amp. I didnt like using the speaker in the combo and ran it into a 2X12 closed back cab. Sounded great.

THey are the only amp I like with JJ tubes.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

I don't recall who makes those..but you need to get the Fan system in the back or it's heating up like crazy. they also make a protective panel for the back. it's a good amp, i would'nt suggest it for gigs as it runs VERY HOT, but for home use. good choice. 400$ is not a deal to jump on realy, you can pick those for as low as 300$. so maybe haggle the guy a bit.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

al3d said:


> I don't recall who makes those..but you need to get the Fan system in the back or it's heating up like crazy. they also make a protective panel for the back. it's a good amp, i would'nt suggest it for gigs as it runs VERY HOT, but for home use. good choice. 400$ is not a deal to jump on realy, you can pick those for as low as 300$. so maybe haggle the guy a bit.


Yeah, I've read that the tubes are just hanging out in the open, uncovered. Won't a fan reduce heat sink enough to gig with this amp? I mean, what's the point of getting a 30 watt combo if you can't gig with it? Thanks again everyone!


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Big_Daddy said:


> Yeah, I've read that the tubes are just hanging out in the open, uncovered. Won't a fan reduce heat sink enough to gig with this amp? I mean, what's the point of getting a 30 watt combo if you can't gig with it? Thanks again everyone!


Yes, once my friend had it insalled it was much better, and the metal grill covered the tubes ok.

This is a popular mod for the Classic
http://www.blueguitar.org/new/articles/blue_gtr/amps/peavey/c30_origmod.pdf

The Tube Guard...if you're good with your hands, that's easy to make, just don't use a full peice to cover it..it's gonna overheat even more.

for the Fan, my friend had him installed a 4" computer style fan, and it worked well.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I've gigged with the C30 everywhere as well as seen it used by other folks everywhere. From small bars to big stages. I've played mine outdoors during the day in the summer heat. Also played it in a bar with no ac during the summer where we were sweating even before we started playing. I don't even turn it off in between sets. I have NEVER had an overheating problem with it. Yes it gets really hot but so far it hasn't been an issue apart from not being able to put your beer bottle on top of it. 

Two years after I bought it, I changed the power tubes to JJs and the preamp tubes with Tungsol 12ax7s. It's been another 2 years since then. I experienced some tube rattle a few months ago, but I've fixed that with Tom's Tube Tamer. Like this.

It is also loaded with a Weber Blue Dog ceramic which I find makes the amp sound much much better. I play it using a Peavey SX112 cab with the original Blue Marvel in it. I find the blue marvel sounds better, not spiky with a closed back cab. I've tried the V30's on it but find it adds more mids to an already mid heavy amp. I've been trying it out with a 2x12 with WGS V30 and CL80 clones but I find the Peavey 1x12 cab seems to give me more bass. 

As for the tubes hanging out in the open, when I got mine it came with an amp cover, which I find sufficient enough to protect the tubes in transit. I just make sure I am aware of the tubes when I put the cable inside the cab. It's not been an issue. I also think the newer ones have the tube cover now.

If I lose it or something goes wrong with it, I'll buy myself another one for sure.

For $400, I suppose depending on the condition as I've seen some beat up ones, I'll buy it.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

Yeah as Chito stated, tube rattle seems to be a bit of an issue with these amps. Tom's Tube Tamer seems like a good investment for Classic 30 users.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Just adding to the chorus here. I've got a Classic 30 as well and it's a great "bang for the buck" amp. Very nice sounding, and as others have said, it does tend to run hot so that's something to watch for. If I were you, I'd try to talk the person down a bit. $400.00 isn't bad but I got mine for $350.00 a couple of years ago.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

The guy wants $440 and won't budge so I am gonna take a pass. (But I will keep my eyes open for another one:smile. Thanks to everyone for some great input.


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have seen plenty of guys gigging Classic 30 amps. They are tough little bastards.


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## avalancheMM (Jan 21, 2009)

I gig with mine all the time, and yes, it runs hot. What's the problem? Don't put your cold beer on top, and you won't even notice how warm it gets.

Regards


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have owned classic 30 amps. Also have many friends that used them. None of them had any problems.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

I had a Peavey Classic 30 for a couple of years.

Pluses :

Very good, versatile drive channel.
Good clean channel.
Excellent reverb.
Lots of headroom on the clean channel.
Controls respond well and as expected.

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.
The boost sounds fuzzy and thin. Essentially unusable.
No standby switch.
Footswitch and dust cover are optional. This is ridiculous.
Footswitch is noisy, doesn't have LED indicators and you can't toggle the boost on/off, only the reverb.
No matching 1-12" cabinet available, it was discontinued years ago.

They do run hot but I wouldn't bother getting a fan or anything of the sort. They Classic 30 is a very giggable amp, in my opinion.


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## Bird (Nov 6, 2006)

If I manage to move to Southern ON later this summer I have a Classic 50 you might be interested in


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## EL34POWER (Jan 16, 2007)

Big_Daddy said:


> The guy wants $440 and won't budge so I am gonna take a pass. (But I will keep my eyes open for another one:smile. Thanks to everyone for some great input.



I bought a Delta blues 2x10. If you see one of these, it'a basically the same amp, with a tremolo. Came tubbed withh JJ's threw out, and the 2 blue marvels sound pretty damn good as is. 
(And i have been swapping speakers for years now)
I use a Mes 3/4 open wide cab with a Weber blue dog as the extension cab.


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