Advice on Peavey Classic 50 410

Ralph Willsey · Post by **Ralph Willsey** » 18 Feb 2003 7:14 pm

A friend of mine -- not a steel player -- died of cancer recently and wanted me to have his tube amp. It's important to me to be able to make it work well, but I'm afraid so far it sounds kind of thin as compared to my Nashville 400 (LeMay modified) and also compared to the highly modified Twin I experimented with a few months ago.
I have the bass full up and the mids seem to want to be much higher than on the 400 (there is no shift control) and the treble is cut back but it still sounds shrill.
The speakers do not have a brand name on them that I can see, and comparing them to the Black Widow in the 400 with its heavy cast-iron fraame -- well there is no comparison, although maybe 10-inch speakers don't need that kind of support.
And there just is none of that tube sweetness I'd been hoping for. Is it possible that you don't hear that at household volumes? Is a 410 just not suitable for 12-string E9th?

Any suggestions would be most welcome. (I have already downloaded the manual.)

Just for the record, the guy's name is Steve Forster and he was the front man of an R&B group here in the valley called Powersnooze and a professor of journalism by day. He was mostly a singer and I'm not sure how much he actually used this amp.

Thanks,

RW

Earl Foote · Post by **Earl Foote** » 18 Feb 2003 8:34 pm

Well I honestly can't tell you what kind of steel amp it is but you've got one hell of a guitar amp there. I don't think it was ever intended for steel.

Jeff Peterson · Post by **Jeff Peterson** » 18 Feb 2003 8:51 pm

turn left on main..[This message was edited by Jeff Peterson on 19 February 2003 at 07:25 AM.]

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 19 Feb 2003 8:19 am

You can also put in a new baffle board and install 2 12"s or one 15". I've never liked the sound of 10's, even on guitar.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 19 Feb 2003 11:07 am

Ralph, I don't have a recommendation at this point, but feel free to call me should you have questions. 1-877-732-8391

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

Ralph Willsey · Post by **Ralph Willsey** » 19 Feb 2003 4:58 pm

Thanks for the responses so far, and Mike Brown, I likely will call you when I get some specfic questions formulated.

Jeff Peterson: I saw your reply last night and had some luck with some of your suggestions. But I can't figure out why you changed it, or what this new one means. What are you trying to tell me?

RW

Jeff Peterson · Post by **Jeff Peterson** » 19 Feb 2003 6:41 pm

We just try not to offend. I definitely would not change the 4-10 configuration. These are great sounding amps. I also use a TubeFex into the pwr section and it's sweet. Recording with the 4-10 is always great, using an 'ambient' mic,(that's what they call it around here), which just means they don't 'close mic' it. Usually 2 mics on the same amp, one close-one far...great sound. Live, these things are great..low to high. Again, I use more than one...but you can use any other amp with it...kicks butt!
Again, don't hold back on knob-turnin'. The best formula....high tone knobs down/volume up.[This message was edited by Jeff Peterson on 19 February 2003 at 06:47 PM.][This message was edited by Jeff Peterson on 19 February 2003 at 06:49 PM.]

gary darr · Post by **gary darr** » 22 Feb 2003 8:23 pm

My eyes allways perk up with I see something on the classic 50 four ten, thats because I have played one for some years now. This is a very versitial amp for guitar even as simplistic as it is by todays standards. I have use this amp for steel in low volume situations ie practice,recording but at louder gig levels the ten inch speakers tend to break up too quickly. When It came time to change tubes I used the sovtek blue coded(cleanest output) EL-84's and this seemed to help as I was looking for a little bit cleaner sound. I just wonder what a one fifteen extention cab would sound like rather that butchering the speaker baffle up ?

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Sho-Bud proII custom,Session 500,American standard Strat,Shecter tele,Peavy Classic 50

Ralph Willsey · Post by **Ralph Willsey** » 27 Feb 2003 6:29 pm

Thanks to everyone for the help. I now have this amp sounding very sweet. Not only did I have to turn down all the treble on the amp, I also turned down the tone control on my MSA Classic XL (George L 12-1 pickup). I hear people complain about losing their high frequencies, but that sure doesn't seem to be my problem, at least not at this volume.
I imagine also that this amp will be just the thing if I ever get a real Telecaster, which I am sometimes tempted to do.
RW

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 28 Feb 2003 7:04 am

Without my input on this amp, I'm glad that Jeff commented on this topic. Yes, I do work at Peavey Electronics. No, I don't try each and every product with a steel guitar. Sometimes our customers tell us things that we would never find out otherwise.

My thanks for to Jeff and others for their help.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 28 Feb 2003 1:12 pm

When I started playing pedal steel in the '70s I obtained from Sho-Bud a used Fender Super Reverb blackface. It was a sweet tube amp with 45 watts, so similar to your Classic 50. The 4x10s had been replaced with a JBL 15". That helps by not being very responsive to the highs and emphasizing the lows. Still, with any guitar amp it seems you have to turn the highs way down and the lows way up. The mids may also have to go way down.

Regardless of speakers, tube amps of this wattage will break up at moderate to high volumes because of the way you have the bass turned all the way up, and this is especially true on the low strings of a C6 or 12-string. Six stringers love them for that distortion, but it doesn't work well for pedal steel unless you want that overdriven sound all the time. At low volume you've got a sweet amp. I traded mine without the speaker for about $100 cash in a poker game one night in L.A. (oh the follies of youth). After that I used the JBL 15" with a Peavey tube amp head (200 watts? Can't remember the name), which sounded great and let me switch to an overdrive channel when I wanted that. I'm still using the JBL 15", now with a Peavey Transtube Supreme amp head (100 watts, not enough clean head room).

If you decide to go the 15" route, just hang onto the baffle and 4x10s in case you want to sell it to a six stringer some day (or get in a poker game like I did).

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Student of the Steel, and cheap instrument connoisseur: customized 1970 Sho-Bud Maverick, Fessy S12U, Emmons S12 E9 P/P, Nashville 400, Fender Squire, Peavey Transtube Supreme into JBL 15", 1968 Gibson J50, '60s Kay arch-top, 7-string Raybro, customized Korean Regal square-neck, roundneck Dobro 90C, 1938 Conn Chu Berry tenor sax, '50s Berg mouthpiece, Hamilton upright piano. You make it, I'll play it (more or less)

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 28 February 2003 at 01:14 PM.][This message was edited by David Doggett on 28 February 2003 at 02:35 PM.][This message was edited by David Doggett on 28 February 2003 at 02:47 PM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 28 Feb 2003 4:19 pm

Ralph, a small stomp-box EQ will do wonders for those low-powered amps. No, the amp's not built for steel, but you can still get a good low volume sound out of it with some extra EQ.

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 28 Feb 2003 7:02 pm

These are great sounding amps, but if it has Chinese preamp tubes in it, the tone will be horrible! No bottom, very thin! I had that problem with a Peavey Triumph 60. Once I put good preamp tubes in it the bottom was there and the tone was great all around!

Tim Bridges · Post by **Tim Bridges** » 2 Mar 2003 5:53 am

I would sell the Classic 50/410, get about $350.00-$400 for it (depending on condition), and buy a different tube amp for either guitar or steel. I just sold one on ebay for $400.00 in very good condition. Get you a Nashville 400 (with Lemay mod) and pocket $59 for your steel or go to Carvin.com and order a Carvin Nomad 112 for your guitar. I just bought one and it blows away a Fender Blues Deluxe (not hard to do).