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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 9, 2015 10:14:02 GMT -7
Hey guys/gals,
I've been needing an alternative amp to give me a little more clean headroom for a loud band I play in, than what the CG delivers. I've been thinking about a Peavey Classic 30 as a possibility. Was just curious if any of y'all has experience with them and could compare the headroom to the Ghia's. At 30W, class A/B I assume it would have a bit more but I don't have access to one currently so I can't tell for sure.
I still love the Ghia and have no intention of selling it, it's just that for this particular band/gig, it isn't really the perfect fit so I need an alternative/backup. Cheers-- John/Uncle Eb
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Post by digs57 on May 9, 2015 10:48:03 GMT -7
I regularly attend jam were host player uses one and it sound quite good...my little blues jr definitely struggles to keep up...egnater 40 option too...
"UPDATE"...just got peavey classic 30 today...traded off the ole cardboard box (blue's jr) for apparently one of the last remaining American made's... |
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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 9, 2015 11:08:59 GMT -7
Do you mean that the Egnater 40 also struggles to keep up, or that it is another option? Also, Doesn't the Egnater 40 have trans issues?
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Post by southmusic70 on May 9, 2015 11:55:20 GMT -7
If you like the Ghia, you might want to try a Mazerati (if you can find one). It's not exactly a Ghia "times 2," but has roughly twice the wattage, and the tone control is, at least in my opinion, nothing less than a work of art. It's particularly good with Teles and Strats because you can get a real thickness with the amp's tone control, and it stays clean a good way up the volume control. The judicious use of the guitar's volume control (or, alternatively, a clean boost) can give you a lot of options, and the amp sounds good with a lot of different speakers in various configurations (1x12, 2x10, 2x12, etc.).
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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 9, 2015 12:49:10 GMT -7
Wish I could South, but I'm on a really limited budget. As much as I'd love another Z, it's gonna be awhile before I can aim that high  |
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Post by deltone on May 9, 2015 13:07:59 GMT -7
Years ago, my primary amp was a Peavey Classic 30 head. Played it through a matching 4x12 slant cab, and/or two matching 115 open back cabs. It's a great amp--loud and clean. Back in the day, the Classic 30 and 50 were mainstays in the Nashville studios, and for good reason. I never had the opportunity to AB it with a CG (pre Dr. Z days), but from what I know of the Classic 30, I think it would give you quite a bit more clean head room than the CG. You can't go wrong with the Classic 30.
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Post by "Z" Steve on May 9, 2015 13:24:45 GMT -7
Agreed^^^^^
My first good amp was a Classic 50 head that I bought because of recommendations by Dan Huff and Brent Mason. They do the clean headroom excellent, but the overdive isn't a strong point with them. If you bought a used 30 in decent condition you would probably have no problem selling it and breaking even. |
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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 10, 2015 9:50:54 GMT -7
Awesome guys. That's what I thought. I used to have a Peavey Triumph 120 (my first real amp) and that thing was REALLY loud, so I figured a Peavey could do the trick. I know a guy who has a Classic 50 (410) and it is more than enough headroom than I would ever need and too big to lug around, so I was hoping 30W (112 or head) would be enough.
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Post by jimiata on May 11, 2015 15:00:30 GMT -7
Check out the Peavey Prowler. I played one a few years ago (before Z's) and was impressed. They come up on ebay at reasonable prices. They were 1x12 combos, 2x6L6's,
about 30 watts.
Jim
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 10:30:40 GMT -7
I played w a guy who just would not try anything outside of his 4 x 10" Classic 50. It was driving me and the sound guys nuts. I talked to the Doc about it and said they ship with really crappy speakers (we already had quality glass in there). Without telling the artist we put some reissue Jensen Alnicos in there and it made a really big difference.
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Post by John on May 12, 2015 10:46:58 GMT -7
I played w a guy who just would not try anything outside of his 4 x 10" Classic 50. It was driving me and the sound guys nuts. I talked to the Doc about it and said they ship with really crappy speakers (we already had quality glass in there). Without telling the artist we put some reissue Jensen Alnicos in there and it made a really big difference. But did HE notice? |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 11:44:10 GMT -7
No, and that was good for all of us!!!
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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 12, 2015 12:10:31 GMT -7
Ha! Great story Roscoe.
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Post by LT on May 12, 2015 13:41:24 GMT -7
What speaker are you using with the Ghia? I swapped a Red Fang for a Gold and noticed a change in headroom. Maybe a more efficient speaker instead of a different amp? Just a thought.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 14:07:49 GMT -7
that's only half of it!  We also "adjusted" the amp's controls. We turned the amp down, loosened the set screws on the knobs, then put the knobs on pointing to where the marks had been on the amps for years. That was a Big Help. Also the artist never noticed this either. He just made sure his settings were as marked and went on his way. A little less loud..... |
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Post by BritInvasion on May 12, 2015 18:51:03 GMT -7
that's only half of it! We also "adjusted" the amp's controls. We turned the amp down, loosened the set screws on the knobs, then put the knobs on pointing to where the marks had been on the amps for years. That was a Big Help. Also the artist never noticed this either. He just made sure his settings were as marked and went on his way. A little less loud.....   |
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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 13, 2015 8:53:04 GMT -7
I'm using the Doc's 210 cabinet so I don't know how much more efficient I could get. Besides, I'd really like to get a combo for this particular band/gig. Some of the places we play I really need to tilt my amp which makes a combo a better fit. Also some of the venues have real nightmare load-ins (long walk, lots of steps etc.) and I find it easier to keep it to just one trip with a combo rather than a head/cab. That said, there's a Classic 30 head avail near me (fairly hard to find usually) so I'm tempted. I bet it would sound killer with Doc's cab. Roscoe, the best part of that story is that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't notice either |
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Post by msterling45 on May 13, 2015 17:59:43 GMT -7
Get the classic30. They're great amps. If you don't like it, flip it.
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Post by uncleebeneezer on May 22, 2015 9:39:20 GMT -7
So I finally got a Classic 30. Black combo. A guy near me had one at a great price. It had a bit of a buzz/hum but I'm guessing it just needs new tubes. Of course when I got it home the buzz was much louder (probably because of old/crappy electric here) but I can see one of the tubes acting wonky when playing so I'm still pretty sure it's nothing that some fresh tubes won't fix. Anyways, it is real loud and I think it (along with sometimes adding extension cab) will be more than enough clean headroom for what I need. I was even surprised by how much I liked the dirty channel. Once I get the buzz gone I just need a footswitch and some tilt-back legs and I think this will be my go-to amp for gigging.
The only downside is that I had to sell my Ghia to fund it so for the first time in ages, I don't have any Z amps (but still have a 210 cab.) Just a matter of time though. When I get more money and possibly relocate, I'll definitely looking for a Z when I get back to hunting for a boutique amp.
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