Peavey Classic 50 opinions

[Tubebender]

Looking for some input on a Peavey Classic 50 combo 4x10. Good, bad, great? How is it, what music do you play with it (if you own one), and how are the clean and dirty channels? I'm looking for the best of both worlds, great clean and great mild to searing distortion.
Please withold other suggestions for trying other amps. Just info on the Classic 50 please.

 

[bubbaheat]

I've got the 2x12 and it's a good amp. Not great but very good. The cleans are nice and punchy and if you peg the clean channel it breaks up very nicely. The distortion channel is typical 70 rock and roll fare. It's all very usable but not amazing. The main issue is one set of tone controls for both channels. Dial one in and you loose the other. The reverb tank is also ok, but not as sweet as my Fender Twin.
For a working musician these are a great deal. They are bullet proof, have really good tone and there are a ton of Mods that guys swear by. Mine is straight stock. I would probably consider a speaker swap if I started using it again.

 

[OnlyVees]

What kind of magic does Peavey use to get 50 watts from four EL84's? It seems that most amps using a quartet of 84's nets about 30 watts.

Someone please educate me.

 

[touji]

I tried playing through a 2x12, and I remember it being extremely nice on the cleans. On another forum I'm on, one of the members swore by his PVC50 4x10 for something like 10 years. Again, like bubbaheat said, I've heard that the overdrive is a lot better than a lot of other amps out there but not amazing. I would say its a solid amp that can take a beating!

 

[blackba]

The Peavey Classic 50 is a great amp for the money. Very nice cleans, good gain channel. With the right tubes and speaker it will stack up against alot of amps that are more expensive. I don't think you can go wrong picking one up.

On its own the Classic 50 won't really get into the high gain area, it gets around AC/DC type distortion. Its a nice crunch, but may not be enough gain for you on its own...

 

[keith_t4e]

It is the best thing they have ever made not that there is a lot of competition for that. I love that amp. The litle tweed head with the chicken nobs was way cool. It is the speakers that kill the combo. The amp is very nice for the money----probably the best bang for the buck you can buy.

 

[59Vampire]

theres one on the bay going pretty low buck

 

[Tubebender]

Thanks for the responses. Had a friend of a friend offer me a 1997 Classic 50 410 model for 300. I don't 'need' another amp, but would you call that a "don't pass up"??
Down the road my intent was a Fender Blues or Hotrod Deville 410 thou. Never played a Peavey tuber, but my first amp was an old 12" Peavey solid state. ick.
And thanks for the input on the distortion, 70's rock & AC/DC tones are good....(I've found the 'not as hyper' and lower gain distortion cuts thru better at loud vols)

 

[jumpchamp]

i'll echo most of the comments - solid performer and you can definitely make it work. the shared EQ doesn't help anything, you're probably best off finding a setting you like on the OD side that can get you to clean by rolling the guitar volume back, and then hit it with an OD pedal to get some more gain.

it's truely a one channel amp, with the second 'channel' being a controllable gain stage on that channel. speaker upgrade will help tremendously.

 

[southpawmax]

Fantastic amp. I love how it takes pedals. On its own it has a good clean channel, great light grit and mild overdrive to distortion but it can't really get "searing distortion". I play funk, rock, ska, blues, and dabble in jazz and hardcore punk. Also it isn't quite 50 watts. My tech told me it measured at about 44 watts.
As people have said, there is a shared EQ. It doesn't bother me though. I usually set it to the lead channel, post amp cranked, pre amp at about 5 or 6 and master volume where I need it. Then I kick in the OCD or OD2 depending on what I need. Beautiful sounds come from that.

 

[thesteve]

If you were thinking about getting an HRDvl later on, but could sacrifice those bright spanky cleans for a more usable second channel, then the Peavey Classic 50 could be the perfect choice for you. I would also say that at $300 you are getting an excellent price.

The guitarist for my old band used a C50 410 pretty much exclusively. The recording quality isn't the best, but you can here some tracks at www.myspace.com/yourfavoriteband

 

[stevebest2]

I have had a few Classic 50's and for the price you can't beat them!
My first was a 4x10, in fact, I've had two! After that a stack.
I've gigged and recorded (where you crank 'em all the way up!) and they can go for hours and never blow up!
But you have to decide if it's right by you so go try one out.
But I think you'll like it!
Steve Best

 

[mesabooger]

I had one last year for a few days. I got one when they had the awesome deals going on. It was a fantastic amp, but it had too much headroom for me.

 

[guitargeezer]

What kind of magic does Peavey use to get 50 watts from four EL84's? It seems that most amps using a quartet of 84's nets about 30 watts.

Someone please educate me.

Heh, heh...No magic, but the devil's in the details. Peavey has always been a little "generous" in stating their wattages.

 

[eyeball987]

I had a 2X12 for a while and really liked it. I ran it through a 4X12 though. I didn't like the stock speakers at all and preferred the closed back tone.

 

[rockon1]

What kind of magic does Peavey use to get 50 watts from four EL84's? It seems that most amps using a quartet of 84's nets about 30 watts.

Someone please educate me.

An EL84 is a 12 watt tube. Seems resonable that 50 watts is available from 4 of them. Bob

 

[buddaman71]

LOVE the drive channel and the clean channel, while nothing special, takes pedals like a CHAMP!

I've stated this a few times here, but Tele + EMG in bridge + C50 is a killer budget Keith Urban tone. (If you like that sort of sound)

 

[echodeluxe]

my first tube amp was a peavey classic 50. the 4x10 version. i had that amp for 5 years and it never let me down. not once.

it has been my favorite amp to this day. its perfect. 50 loud watts, great drive channel, great reverb, and versatile as hell. takes pedals really well, and looks spiffy. well, the newer ones with the lame cosmetic changes kinda look dumb to me, but whatever.

it even has a built in fan and effects loop. such a great amp.

 

[bubbaheat]

looks spiffy. well, the newer ones with the lame cosmetic changes kinda look dumb to me, but whatever.

Agreed. I have an older unit and once you pull off the 1980's plastic Peavey logo it looks like a Tweed Amp should.

The Funny thing is I haven't played mine since I got my Twin 4 or 5 years ago. You guys are going to make me pull it out again.

 

[echodeluxe]

yeah that peavey logo has got to go.

i was gonna buy a hot rod deluxe, but if this talk keeps up im gonna have to wait it out for another classic 50.