[uberthegreat]

I'm planning on getting a tube amp for gigging and stuff. I have it narrowed down to the Peavey Classic amplifiers. These seem to work best for my style and they are in my price range. What are the main differences between the Classic 30 and 50, other than the speakers? Which is better, 2x12 or 4x10? What do you know about the Classic 30 head and the matching cabinet? What is the difference in volume between these amps?

Thanks and sorry for all of the questions.

[billy16]

30W of tube power is loud. I had a Delta Blues which was a 30W amp. At home, it didn't go past 3. It was just too loud. Quite honestly, I'd recommend 30W for gigging. It's certainly enough power, but it's not too much. Unless you need a lot of headroom, in which case the 50W would be better, like for jazz and country. As for loudness, every time you double your wattage, you gain 3 decibels in sound. So a 30W is between 2 and 3 decibels quieter than the 50W. Take into consideration that the 50W is only 3 decibels behind a 100W amp. 100W is what you use for stadiums. Another thing too is that most amps base their wattage on clean power, not with distortion. So technically, that 30W turned up all the way will be a bit louder than 30W. Distortion makes the amp a bit more efficient.

As for speaker size, 12" is widely used because it lets the sound breathe so to speak. When you get smaller speakers, the sound tends to be a bit compressed. Of course, you have 4 10" speakers, so the sound isn't going to be terribly compressed, but you'll definitely have a different sound with 2 12" speakers. Usually, bigger speakers have a bit more low end to them. Smaller ones tend to be a bit more bright sounding.

The head is nice because you're keeping your tubes away from the speaker. That will decrease things going wrong with tubes, like microphonic issues. You get sound pressure bouncing back from the speaker that hits the tubes. I ran a 5150 combo and a 5150 stack with the same tubes, replaced at the same time to see if that really was true. While they lasted about the same amount of time, I was getting a bit more noise with the combo. But that was only one time and the tubes lasted about the same amount of time. With a stack, you get better projection of your sound too. With a combo, you usually have 1 or 2 speakers working for you. With a stack, you get 4 (or sometimes 2). The more speakers you have, the bigger the sound will be. Providing you have enough wattage to push those speakers.

If you're doing a fair bit of gigging, go for the combo. It's easier to carry around and since you'll likely be sending it through a PA, you'll get the projection you need. 30W should be enough for you too.

[uberthegreat]

30W of tube power is loud. I had a Delta Blues which was a 30W amp. At home, it didn't go past 3. It was just too loud. Quite honestly, I'd recommend 30W for gigging. It's certainly enough power, but it's not too much. Unless you need a lot of headroom, in which case the 50W would be better, like for jazz and country. As for loudness, every time you double your wattage, you gain 3 decibels in sound. So a 30W is between 2 and 3 decibels quieter than the 50W. Take into consideration that the 50W is only 3 decibels behind a 100W amp. 100W is what you use for stadiums. Another thing too is that most amps base their wattage on clean power, not with distortion. So technically, that 30W turned up all the way will be a bit louder than 30W. Distortion makes the amp a bit more efficient.

As for speaker size, 12" is widely used because it lets the sound breathe so to speak. When you get smaller speakers, the sound tends to be a bit compressed. Of course, you have 4 10" speakers, so the sound isn't going to be terribly compressed, but you'll definitely have a different sound with 2 12" speakers. Usually, bigger speakers have a bit more low end to them. Smaller ones tend to be a bit more bright sounding.

The head is nice because you're keeping your tubes away from the speaker. That will decrease things going wrong with tubes, like microphonic issues. You get sound pressure bouncing back from the speaker that hits the tubes. I ran a 5150 combo and a 5150 stack with the same tubes, replaced at the same time to see if that really was true. While they lasted about the same amount of time, I was getting a bit more noise with the combo. But that was only one time and the tubes lasted about the same amount of time. With a stack, you get better projection of your sound too. With a combo, you usually have 1 or 2 speakers working for you. With a stack, you get 4 (or sometimes 2). The more speakers you have, the bigger the sound will be. Providing you have enough wattage to push those speakers.

If you're doing a fair bit of gigging, go for the combo. It's easier to carry around and since you'll likely be sending it through a PA, you'll get the projection you need. 30W should be enough for you too.

Thanks, that was really helpful.

[richardmorris]

Good job billy16.

All I can add is to say ditto about the wattage. The diff between 30 and 50 (in the same type of amp) is nominal.
As for the Classic 30 combo vs a Classic head. The combo is on a few dollars ... or pounds ... more. The upside of the head is the flexibility of mixing and matching speaker/cabs. This is my personal choice. If you have the money get a separate head and speaker cab. Personally I'm fond of 2x12's. Bigger sound and you can still get into the trunk (or boot) of your car.

[deadskin]

I have the Classic 30 Head and I run it through Avatar 2x12 cab with mix of Celestion and GH12. The head through a cab really makes a difference in the headroom and the sound is just that much bigger (or feels). You can mix and match cab/speaker combination...and it adds flexibility..i.e.u can swap cab anytime or vice-versa..If you practice with band, you can leave ur cab at the rehearsal space but at the same time carry the head which is easier to transport.

wow..reading post now above me...Richard nailed it and summed up exactly what I feel. I would get 30 head with a 2x12 cab...its really loud.

[Dave C]

I have a Peavey Bravo. 25w all valve. Awsum amp. That probably didn't help much.

[ronbelluso]

I have a Peavey Bravo. 25w all valve. Awsum amp. That probably didn't help much.

Good amp. I bought the 50 and have to say I like the overalll all tube tones of this amp and find it to be not all that noisy and a great amp to record with for that reason. Basically, I would NOT suggest buying this amp if you need ultra gain (found in some newer amps). Think earlly Marshall head to picture the type of tones.

I found reviews of both the 30 and 50 here cheapersounds.com/reviews-30/50

[guitar-review-ninja]

50 watts is less than twice 30 watts... that means that the perceivable loudness between Peavey 30/112 vs. 50/410 is less than 3db.

If you want to learn more about the relationship between decibels & power, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel, or http://www.audioholi...n-watts-and-dbs

This post has been edited by guitar-review-ninja: 22 November 2009 - 09:52 AM

[Editleleshots]

Tried one out at a gig and it wasnt loud enough. Had to mic it, but my teacher plays with the classic 50 4-10 sometimes. That amp sounds good to me He usually plays a vintage tremolux amp, but lately hes been using the Peavey.

[Fillmore_East]

I've never tried a classic 50 but classic 30s suck in terms of playing in a live band mix. They just do not sound good when you crank them up.