Are Peavey BACK? Classic 20 Combo Review

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Any Peavey fans here? Get your Peavey Classic 20 at Sweetwater (US 🇺🇸) sweetwater.sjv.io/Nk5g7q Music Store (EU 🇪🇺) www.musicstore.com/de_AT/EUR/search?SearchTerm=peavey+classic+20 Andertons (UK🇬🇧) elkqr.link/ti9ot

[@JasonViator]

UES!!! PEAVEY FAN BOI!!!

[@leeasbury7273]

I have a Classic 20 head I bought used, although it was new...was at GC, I think it was a return. I was just trying to demo a guitar, and this amp head was right there, so I used it. I bought the amp head right then, and I don't even remember what guitar I was looking at. I run it through a matching Peavey Classic 115E speaker cab from the 90's, with a 15" Big Ben speaker. So amazing to have a friend that gave it to me in New condition...it matches my Classic 50 4x10 also😊.

[@Wadey1960CS]

I currently have one tube amp. Peavey Classic 20 mini head and matching 1x12 tweed hybrid cabinet. It does the job and does it well. Nothing more needed. Great video Andy!

[@ronniboi312]

I've got the same setup... and I LOVE it It's a fantastic recording amp and I don't Wake everybody up at night AND it's 20 watts of loud in a club

[@infn8loopmusic]

If you ever get a chance to pickup a Peavey delta blues, do not hesitate. They are amazing! Best thing I ever bought. 30 watts, 2 channel with boost 15" speaker, tube tremolo, spring reverb and it's an absolute tone monster. I swapped the tubes for medium headroom groove tubes and WOW just WOW. Throw a jet driver or a tube screamer (low gain OD) in the fx loop and you can crank up the preamp, and it will breakup the pedal within the loop, but you can adjust the pedal output volume to buffer the output volume and effectively push the tubes hard but without quite as much volume. 🤘😉 Now you're cookin

[@Jangorexful]

I have the Delta Blues in a 2x10. Made in the USA .

[@JohnZeeX]

Actually, do hesitate before buying one. Check the power cable. Is it hardwired into the amp? Get it. That’s one of the original American made models. Great amps. Is it a detachable cable like a computer uses? That’s one of the Chinese made amps and they’re complete trash. I bought one from Sweetwater and they replaced it 3 times before they just finally gave me a store credit. Very disappointing.

[@AuntAlnico4]

​@@JohnZeeX😮 Damn, that is shit.

[@DDPAV]

Been using a classic 50 head and a classic 50 4x10 since the mid nineties and it’s been the unsung hero of my recording studio for 30 years. Also both amps are the only amps out of my collection of a dozen or so that have never been in the repair shop.

[@larrydering1598]

I have a boatload of Peaveys. Classic 50 4x10 classic 30 1x12 and their Heritage 2x12, Stereo chorus 2x12, Session 400 limited, Nashville 400, Bandit 1x12 and many more. Peavey has delivered some of the best most durable gear for decades. I love Peaveys products.

[@AuntAlnico4]

I had the hernia inducing Heritage! It was loud and heavy and I never liked it much aside from the reverb ! The Peavey Bravo and The Rock master all tube pre amp are my favorite old Peavey and the valve king and 5150/6534+ are my fave modern Peavey. I love those Peavey amps !

[@Vashed555]

Peavey apparently waited to mount a comeback until they thought millennial guitar players had all forgotten their product line from the 90s.

[@preston2636]

@@Vashed555 to be fair, milleniald probably buy more 6150 than any other generation butnwe didnt forbet how tradh the practice amps are

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

​@@preston2636translate to English.

[@southernpanda33]

@@preston2636 close enough. Welcome back.

[@JasonViator]

I was born in Pascagoula, MS (yes the squirrel place)....but the Mississppi Marshall is my favorite and hearing you jam one....I just LOVE it ...I even went to Meridian to see the birthplace of the Delta Blues amp! Great!!! You rock!

[@summerboy1958]

My 1st amp, 42 years ago, was an '82 Peavy Bandit 65.

[@jjcollins]

First off Andy, you did a fantastic job with the demo and video, and what I have to say next has nothing to do with you, but rather Peavey. I worked for a large guitar retailer for over 10 years, we were one of the largest Peavey dealers in the country. I sold tons of these amps (along with everything else that they made), these amps were around in the early 90's and into the early 2000s I believe. They were made in the USA, and WERE HALF THE PRICE. My problem is that being a Chinese made amp for $1000.00, and we all know the quality isn't there.... PLUS, Undercover Boss anyone??? Look at the inside and see how it's made, lets see the construction and see if it's even going to last for more than a year. I carried the flag for that company for many years as both a dealer/retail and a player/musician, now when I see Peavey, all I see is undercover boss, and how I will never touch one of their products again. It really is unfortunate.

[@Robstafarian]

Were I to pay the same price (as the head) for Chinese production, I would buy an Orange Rocker 15 Terror; its quality is well established, along with several years of other Chinese Orange amps.

[@kingstumble]

I'm not American so I don't care where they are made.

[@jjcollins]

@@kingstumble that's fine, and definitely understandable, but I think you would care when you bought something with terrible quality control, that is made poorly and will break down on you when you need it.

[@brucehayes7251]

I too am not American but agree with crappy build quality leading to disappointment. Doesn’t matter what country your chosen product is made in it’s still going to suck. I’ve got an old peavey classic 30 and save the badge, I’m not even sold on the look of this one let alone it’s build quality or misgivings. Australian consumers will also suffer with the exchange so I’ll stick to my made in china Artist guitars tweed 20 that cost less than $500 and has proven itself

[@flyingstratosurfer6285]

Chinese products got far over the minor quality you expected a couple of years ago. Mr. Dumble was quoted that he loves the chinese celestion speakers better because they are more neatly crafted than the British ones.

[@JKM395]

I've got the Classic 30 and I've had it for years. You're right. Loud as I would ever need and then some. Great little amps.

[@strategist7671]

Love my Bandit 65. Not a bad word to say after 30 years- a roof rattling monster OOF! Nice to see Peavey earning/getting a little kudos 👍

[@randydean23]

I had and loved their classic 30 for many years eventually switching over to a blonde hardwired Vox AC15 50th anniversary model. Great video!!

[@noi5emaker]

I had a Classic 50 head for years and absolutely loved it. I only ever used it clean (with pedals) but it always sounded great. Loud as hell too! I only sold it when I moved to a country with a different voltage. Why people disliked Peavey I'll never know.

[@royrcf]

Still got mine, I bought it secondhand in 94 great amp.

[@jjcollins]

the originals were great, these wont be unfortunately

[@Earthshaker1965]

I'm a huge Peavey fan, so I couldn't wait to see this video. I absolutely love it!!! Looks like they have another hit on their hands.

[@grahamnunn8998]

I also had a Classic 30, not too shabby for the time. I had owned a Hybrid amp before (a Peavey Deuce) but it was my first all valve. This sounds great and at today's gigging levels, it is perfect. I once used a 5150 in low gain mode to record a slide guitar part and it sounded very like a Classic.

[@robertdonosobuchner3129]

This amp combo sounds really good. I like the possibilities and the versatility of this amp. The Peavey amps are always loud, the Peavey amps I know. I have an old Peavey 400 stereo chorus and it's loud as a plane...

[@newtondelmar4416]

WoW...I thought Peavey was out of business ...glad to see them back in the game :)

[@slicerlml]

This interests me...greatly! Awesome demo as always, thanks man.

[@Kaisermb1]

A lot of nostalgia. I had an ancient classic 30 that i gigged for a long time. I went to fender and gave it to a kid. I wish i still had it.

[@PipeCat1965]

I have a Classic 30 mini-stack, a Classic 50 2x12 combo, and Classic 50 4x12 combo. All are amazing and versatile. And LOUD.

[@MrX-tv7mh]

Still have mine, it's a beautiful sounding amp

[@expresidentfortune]

good review - I know what you mean about the reverb, but what a great amp! I have the classic 20MH (through a 1x12 Laney LH G12 heritage cab) and I enjoy playing through it more than any other decent 'grown-up' amp I've owned (Marshall JMP2203, Rivera M60, Engl Sovereign, Laney Lionheart L5T)

[@PrettyStoned-rk8ny]

I turned a peavey duel 2x12 into a head and it’s my badass cheap all tube replacement for a bassman, with extra options. 150 watts of clean surf guitar tone!!

[@martintucker2825]

The classic mini head is the best money I've ever spent, managed to get a second hand peavey speaker to run it through, peavey are really settling the standard

[@lonewhitewolf7772]

I just bought a used classic 30 combo and am loving it.

[@ericeppensteiner8105]

I've have one for 20 years. Haven't had the urge to get anything else

[@AVFCAM]

When I first tried to learn in my 20s back in 2002 I had a Peavey Rage amp!

[@ChrisAdkins1985]

My first tube amp was a Peavey Ultra plus. Loved that thing

[@johndoyle325]

I have the mini head version with matching 12" cab. It's my go to amp for practice and recording at home. Great cleans and decent grind at low volumes. I haven't gigged the amp - my Princeton and Fillmore 50 handle that task - but I could and would be quite happy with it!

[@rcoveyduc]

I've had a Peavey Valve King 20 head for more than 10 years. It's been rock solid. The only issue was the fuse under the power tubes let go and needed to be re-soldered. The clean is like this. Super clean.

[@abergreg]

Hi, its nice to see how your playing has developed over time, you're getting to be a tasty player.

[@jessebusen]

Never played a bad Peavey. My Bandit 112 was a great beginner amp, the Bandit 65 is a sleeper metal amp, and I love my Classic 50 410. Absolutely killer for the price.

[@sebbo1496]

most underrated amp in the history of amps

[@1-eye-willy]

i used to have a solid state peavy from the 80's with a reverb tank in it, it was one of the best amps i ever owned

[@vondoom2876]

Good review, very thorough.. and nice playing.

[@brandt69420]

I have had all the Peavey classic series amps over the years. The Classic 20 MH is the best of the lot for a do it all amp. Better gain structure than the 30 or 50, better cleans than either as well. I played a Classic 50 for years and loved it, the 30 would overdrive too early for what I needed but it sounded great for a small practice amp. The 20mh is clean as loud as you want. I gig on 20 watts with the clean volume around 6 and the OD volume dimed. That's where they are about equal volume. The only gripes I have are the reverb (I use outboard reverb due to the weak onboard reverb) and the OD side could be a little louder to match the clean side. Great gigging amp.

[@myguitarsandme]

Hi Henning, Great video! I always appreciate the quality, comprehensiveness and your candor. I don't know if the HT Club 40 MKIII has the same problem with the volume control and the DI, (Line 6 had the same issue, but the new firmware changed the DI to line level, so the volume is no longer involved with the DI) but it addresses one of your (and my) gripes about the connections being underneath. Here's a question for you. If you had to choose between the St. James EL34 or 6L6, and the HT Club 40 MKIII, which one would you choose, and why? I've only been able to try the EL34 version. P.S. I watched your video on the 100W, it's more than I need and I don't want to schlep a separate cab.

[@yippy327]

So great how we all have difference taste. I personally really liked the Black Secret pedal compared to the Peavey's own distortion. Another great video. Thanks

[@TheGuitarGeek]

thanks for being so respectful. I agree that in listening back, the black secret sounds prettz good. It is just hard to dial in

[@infn8loopmusic]

Fantastic demo!

[@randyt04]

I purchased the Peavey Classic MH 20 (mini head) version recently and it's a great amp. Then bought a Switch Doctor Peavey Classic 20MH (Mini Head Only) Replacement Footswitch which gives you 4 individual switches to control the Channel, Boost, Reverb and FX Loop (SDPEAV-CL20-MH). I think this footswitch would work with the Classic 20 Combo too, but you should check with the builders of the pedal to verify.

[@the_guitar_generation]

I’ve owned 2 tweed classic 30’s over the years. They’re cool amps and great value. The only issue is they sound a little bit too stiff and boxy compared to either a vox or fender. If they could just open it up a little bit, it would be a great amp.

[@traviswaynedoyle]

That thing looks and sounds great. It has a lot of features I wish Fender amps would add.

[@53merlin]

I have the classic 20 head with celestial speaker in the cabinet. Awesome cleans, I don't even touch my deluxe reverb anymore.

[@tubedude4859]

I,ve had a Peavy 400 series bass amp since the seventies and it is a keeper still.

[@petegaslondon]

Remember folks, 4x power is only 6dB - dont ALWAYS go crazy for the bigger amp!

[@flyingstratosurfer6285]

I am a big Classic 30 fan. But when it comes to need of service, these amps can turn into real nightmares. Even changing the power fuse takes ages. (Had to experience that a while ago, when a thunderstorm hit the powerline at a summer gig in a tent and blew the main fuse of the venue. When the storm was gone and the electricity was back on, all amps were back on duty - except for my C30. The thunderstorm had not only struck the general power line, but also killed the power fuse in my amp. Had to extract the whole amp section out of the cabinet to change the fuse. Arrrgh...)

[@MrJohnnyDistortion]

Combos suck in that regard. Did you get a traditional head? It's worth the inconvenience in many ways.

[@SamBrockmann]

My first amp was a Peavey.

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Which one?

[@SamBrockmann]

@@TheGuitarGeek , it was a tiny one. I don't remember the exact model, but I think it was the Rage something? It came in a guitar starter pack with a cheap Fender Squier Bullet, a tuner (before tuners were simply clip-ons like the Snark or were common pedals), a cheap cable, a few picks, and a "How to Start Guitar" chord book. Hahaha This was like back in 2000?

[@charlesbolton8471]

@@TheGuitarGeek My first amp was the Peavey amp built into the case that came with my Peavey T-15 guitar.

[@gerrykavanagh]

20 is 4 x 5, but our hearing is logarithmic, so 4 times as loud, is a very small increment as far as our perception goes.

[@saarangnarayan123]

I wish it had a speaker extension jack, too, so that one can add another 1x12. But otherwise this promises to be an excellent first tube amp! Glad to see the Ferris Blue HB DC in the back btw!

[@MrJohnnyDistortion]

I once had a Peavey Classic 60/60 tube power amp with an ADA MP1 preamp and a BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer, with 4 X 80s 12" Pyle speakers (similar to 25 watt Celestions) and it smoked everything. Should have kept it.

[@raycymbalisty5503]

if you get a chance to grab a classic 50 do it you'll more than likely make it your main or go to amp. i use to use the valve king 50 for club/bar gigs incredible amp

[@GroteSmurf666]

I still have my 2x50 classic power-amp, I have use that for a long time with the Peavey Tubefex until that unit died, not repaireble 😬. Now planning to buy a tonemaster or a quad cortex and combine that with the power amp.

[@sesa2984]

The “looks like it should” section was great. It made me wannna listen to Creedence or something.

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Thank you! Go CCR!

[@Stoobers]

ooh it's lovely

[@asharpbflat7179]

I feel like peavey are back every 10 years or so 😅 still love my peavey Delta blues from the early 2000's

[@connormaclennan9673]

Peavey never left!!!

[@hribc78]

I've had my eye on a classic 30 for the last 10 years at least. But i can't justify cashing out for one. They hold their price amazingly well

[@TheGuitarGeek]

I think Peavey’s greatest competitor is old used Peavey gear.

[@therewasascene]

I think I got a classic 30 for…4-500? Few years ago?

[@southernpanda33]

I Love this amps sound.

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Me too. There’s a lot to like

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

Is the covering real tweed, or Tolex printed to look like tweed? I had a Classic 30 for a very short time a few years ago, and was disappointed that the covering wasn't real tweed. More recently, I bought a 1989 Peavey Bandit, which I've gigged successfully (and very loudly).

[@widmer64]

Nice "Do" Andy! The barber went to town on your mane!

[@kjmdrumz3]

@@widmer64 Thank Christ

[@GraemeCampbellMusic]

Peavey amps are great. I had a Classic 50 in the early 2000s and now I have an old Peavey Studio Pro solid state amp, which will probably survive a nuclear war.

[@evertschut]

I still use my old Peavey 30 Delta blues amp: it has a 15 inch speaker! Otherwise very similar, though I which I had the direct out , and the 5 and 1 watt power stages. I had an attenuator built in to mine which works ok, but I don’t like the drive sound using that so I need to keep it ckean and drive the amp using pedals. And yes it is a monster to carry to a gig. At my age ( 67 ) even more so……

[@oliverjames7315]

@@evertschut always wanted one of those 1x15 peavys. Ultra cool

[@joeystvincent]

Did the Classic 20 ever really go away? Or did it just get washed out by the Classic 30 and Classic 50?

[@doctoribanez]

Hand wired ? Or pcb board. Where is it made?

[@gaetanj.991]

While not a Soldano, this amp does the job

[@silvestrslusis]

They are indeed great amps, however there is 1 flaw with both the old ones and the new ones alike. They both tend to have this boomy low-end flubbiness lingering in the background unless you turn down the bass significantly. None of my VOX or Marshall amps have it, but both Classic 50, 30 and 20 that I have had, have it and I hear it also in this video. I guess it is the circuit, because all of them have it regardless of the speaker.

[@dnadna9317]

They sound decent, used to own a 90s Classic 20. But, after what they did to their factory workers in 2010 I won't use or purchase their gear. For context, the CEO went on Undercover Boss months before they closed the plant he went to and laid off the work force moving their production to China. He was there knowing they were about to close that place down. So, for me, never again.

[@justinwood3278]

Loopers are cool, i was wondering 😊

[@MrJohnnyDistortion]

11:22 Why would you desire a boost switch on the amp when you have it on the floor switch? 🤔

[@therewasascene]

Headphone out?!?! Nice! If you could turn off their IR through the outputs it would be perfect. But theirs does sound great.

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

Judging by the comments, 90's Peveys were pretty good!

[@jjcollins]

90's were definitely decent. They built their reputation from the 70's and 80's amps, built like tanks, and with prices for the common working musician.

[@mikerevis6439]

Good enough for EVH!

[@rebelcat420]

Only fail I see is that they omitted the “boost” control that was on the original classic 20 and 30. With that engaged and cranking the clean channel you could get some killer crunch from these amps. Don’t get me wrong, they sound great as they are, but this omission seriously limits what all you can do with the amp.

[@isitreallyisitreally1756]

A Thousand pounds? , no wonder you didn’t mention the price , I’m sure it’s great , has nice features but 1k ? That is a lot for a Peavey , the head is more reasonable at £600 but still very expensive comparatively

[@GuitarBailey]

I have the head and cab combo of this amp and love it is a wonderful amp although cab has a vintage 30 idk I'd like to try something else but don't know maybe a creamback also noticed I usually have the Bass cut almost all the way out

[@nigellacey559]

Everytime i think of peavey i think of "undercover boss"

[@jjcollins]

100% Accurate

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

I thought they just didn't pay their employees?? ​@@Barry101er

[@PhillipHolt-f9r]

Uh?

[@PhillipHolt-f9r]

Uh?

[@PhillipHolt-f9r]

Uh?

[@nicolasbeaudry6158]

I wish peavey would do there old mark1v it was a killer head… I have a peavey Windsor 100watts , I modded it to make it a bit harder but overall even without tweaking a Windsor is a clone of jcm800 for 300$ used ❤

[@sampaige3833]

What’s the guitar behind top right?

[@therewasascene]

Old c30 has ONLY a boost button, no footswitch, sooo… I’ll take it! lol

[@TheWannabeBusker-z9c]

I still like the old Peavey Bandit

[@iainriley8819]

Arrrrrr where's your hair gone Andy, that amp has the same board as the Haley Benton 15 Wt/1 watt combo reverb amp👍

[@uwedasler425]

Bought one a few months ago for my weekend shed after seeing the review on Premier Guitar... It is lovely and since the volume control behaves better than on any Fender tube amp, it is really usable in every scenario. My first Peavy since my very first real amp (Bandit 65) in the very early 80s, after only having a Vox Pathfinder on loan since 1976...

[@teamhaselmyer]

N I ce Bro 👍

[@secretdaisy6484]

Being a combo means never having to say ‘Turn down the impedance’ 🙃. 👍☮️🌞🎸🎵

[@kevinwagner8697]

the amps of choice of Lynyrd Skynrd!!!

[@PipeCat1965]

...Of course mine go back a lot of years.

[@conniechamberlain6586]

PEAVEY USED TO MAKE SOME GOOD PRODUCTS HERE IN AMERICA, BUT AFTER WHAT THEY DID TO THEIR EMPLOYEES ON UNDERCOVER BOSS I WON'T EVEN THINK OF BUYING ANYTHING FROM THOSE PEOPLE.

[@MrJohnnyDistortion]

@conniechamberlain6586 I would do a little fact checking as to what happened and the final outcome.

[@drewciferf5832]

@@MrJohnnyDistortion What do you mean? What happened? I’m genuinely curious… Because I do agree, after seeing that episode of undercover boss and hearing the employees publicly talk about what happened afterward, I really did lose respect for this company despite their undeniably great products.

[@conniechamberlain6586]

@@MrJohnnyDistortion I know what i saw gofy

[@daveayerstdavies]

Old BBC Snooker theme tune sneaking in there...

[@thatampguy]

The original C20’s get nasty much faster. I love them.

[@AMightyTugboat]

Businesses can be shady. Peavey was no exception. Totally f’ed over the folks in Meridian. However, (and the follow do not excuse their actions) their product was pretty good. If they hadn’t sold their tone license to Headrush they could’ve had a stand alone modeling pedal version of the Vypyr. And tone wise, the Vypyr is actually pretty good too for what it is. At this point they should stick to the same business model as Orange. “Modeling we are not, but here’s our line up of reissues like the triple x, butcher, VTM, classic, etc… . “ contract Headrush to make a stand alone Peavey only modeling pedal with every conceivable peavey guitar and bass amp and cabinet. Maybe get with Eminence and start pumping out some sick cabinets. Point is: I think they’re missing the mark in almost every aspect. They’re either gonna completely tank soon if they don’t get on point, right some wrongs, and take their business a bit more seriously. Cruise control isn’t gonna work.

[@fancykarlmarx]

Sounds just like my delta 2x10

[@phel21]

Still have a 1991 Classic 50/410. Wish the new models had been built to the same standard as the old ones. Plastic input-jack, plastic pedal switch? wtf!

[@57ebartley]

Nope , When I was a young guitar player all I could get was Peavey. Amps never sounded good to me. Now that I have a stable of Fender amps, don’t know if I will buy another amp again.

[@aitken1965]

The back panel is probably stuck because the tolex glue was still wet when it was installed.

[@oqsy]

20 ≠ 4 * 5 ?

[@MatthewBaron]

Only problem is Peavey amps last forever. I'd get one of these except for the fact that my Classic 30 is a tank.

[@jjcollins]

the old ones definitely are, the new ones aren't. the quality has gone severely downhill

[@gergelymorvai1293]

Its hardly available in Europe..stores do not even know about this new peavey amp.

[@mikepj1025]

Peavey not being more utilized is a travesty. Their Transtube series were light years ahead of the competition. LOVE my Bandit 112 Red Stripe. The classic tube line was also very very good

[@11000038]

I got all excited. Then found that it £1k and Chinese. Rapid pass!

[@youngandrew66]

Only bad thing about a peavey?.. yes.. that logo.

[@RcNBeyond]

The BBC Snooker theme...?