PV classic 50 410

[rudutch]

anyone have any experience with these. I want to get one and convert it into a hot rod deluxe (sorry, couldn't resist)

I have heard many positive things and the PV logo is removable

[telecast]

I had a 50 410. Biggest pile of crap I ever owned. it was nothing but a headache. I had it and the matching 4-10 cabinet they used to build. A sweet little stack, if only it had worked. I traded the whole thing for $250 toward another amp, that's how bad it was.

YMMV. IMHO. Etc. etc, ad nauseum.

[rudutch]

I was talking to the 'on stage' guy, they rent to bands / shows all over the midwest. - He said they sound decent and hold up.

maybe after I convert it? (lol)

[Rickenjangle]

I've owned the Classic 30, the Classic 20, and the Delta Blues. Oh, and a couple of PV solid state amps too. Never had a problem with any of them.

The C20 was a little boxy but a nice little practice amp, the 30 had just about the right amount of volume and breakup for small clubs, and the DB was a very good amp for less money than the HRDx series.

Perhaps you got a lemon, Telecast. Peavey's got a pretty good reputation for quality, even if it does still carry a bit of a stigma.

OSA has a C30 at our band's practice space that absolutely RIPS with his Teles.

[moonpie]

I've got one. When it worked, it was incredible. It was a 4x10 combo converted to a single 15 before I got it.
I got a Boogie and let the bass player use the Classic 50 for practice....he finaly screwed it up by leaving the speaker unpluged when he powered up.

I liked it, other than portability. The 50 also has a standby switch that's lacking on the 30.

I'm sure most folks will disagree...but I used it with the Boost button engaged.
I'd set it clean enough to do the pretty country stuff and use a pedal (OD-1) when I needed the distortion for the heavier stuff.

I found it to be a versatile amp.
BTW, it won't fit in the trunk of a Mustang.

[Rickenjangle]

anyone have any experience with these. I want to get one and convert it into a hot rod deVille (sorry, couldn't resist)

I have heard many positive things and the PV logo is removable

Are you going to rebadge the amp with a repro Fender badge?

I remember when they came out with that amp, and IIRC Guitar Player magazine gave it a glowing review. 'Sure, they said, (I'm paraphrasing) it's not a tweed bassman, but look! It does the bassman thing PLUS controllable gain at a reasonable volume... AND it looks like a Bassman.'

[Rickenjangle]

I liked it, other than portability... BTW, it won't fit in the trunk of a Mustang.

You'd never know that, if you really never left your house. You've been asking for it, again...

[telecast]

Don't get me wrong, I've owned other PV's, including an olde Classic Chorus, 2 Bandits, and a DB 2-10. That was a great little amp.

The 50 sounded great when it worked. The drive was much more useful than the drive on the HR Deville 4-10 I had. The cleans were not quite Fender, but still very nice.

I'm sure it was a lemon, but I'd never have another one. The reason is simple, if I tried again and it happened all over, I'd feel like a dope.

[rudutch]

Are you going to rebadge the amp with a repro Fender badge?

I remember when they came out with that amp, and IIRC Guitar Player magazine gave it a glowing review. 'Sure, they said, (I'm paraphrasing) it's not a tweed bassman, but look! It does the bassman thing PLUS controllable gain at a reasonable volume... AND it looks like a Bassman.'

I was thinking something silly like 'pontiac' or who knows.
looking for something sonicly different than a Custom Vibrolux, Twin Amp or Ampeg Reverocket.

I used one years back and it sounded good - but when you get old.. well, "CRS" sets in

AC30's are too expensive, Marshalls are a crap shoot, and I think I have the Fender thing covered.

Or this may turn out to be another ' seemed like a good idea at the time' and (as moonpie will testify) with Ebay, I won't even have to leave the house

[moonpie]

Busted...I've got a Fender logo on my Classic 30

[moonpie]

Busted...I've got a Fender logo on my Classic 30.

[fetchzee]

I played one for about 6 years straight in a bar band from about '94 to '00. Bounced it from bar to bar in the back of the band van, threw it up on stage at load in, chucked it offstage and back into the van at load out...several hundred gigs later, the ONLY issues I had with it were various tears in the "tweed" and a resistor in the reverb section that shorts out once every year and a half (kills the reverb but has no other effect). This amp is as bulletproof as any piece of gear I have ever dealt with.

With the stock 12AX7s you get a solid, workmanlike clean sound and a very usable gain channel. If you swap the gain channel's preamp tube with a 12AT7, it smooths out considerably.

It's not boutique and it's not necessarily the greatest tone you've ever heard in your life. It IS, however, an exceedingly workmanlike amp with a pretty decent variety of tones on tap. It will get you through pretty much any style of music you need to play (with the exception of some of the severely mid-scooped metal tones), and it tends to sit pretty well in the PA, EQ-wise.

Here in the Midwest, you couldn't hit an open stage or a benefit show without seeing at least one of these guys as the backline amp...and everyone who came to play was pretty happy about it. It gets a credible Marshall approximation on the gain channel and somthing very similar (to my ears) to a blackface Fender tone on the clean channel. Not the most articulate amp I've ever played, but if I am going to a pick-up gig where I need to jump up, plug in, and play (especially if it's one of those gigs where I don't feel comfortable bringing the 'faces with me), this is my go-to amp.

As a side note, if you happen to find one of the 1x15 extension cabs, this amp makes a killer quasi-stack. 4x10 up top at chest level and a 1x15 at your knees. The respective speakers are voiced to work together.

[rudutch]

score =
-1 +3.5

Thats about as close to a consensus you can get around here

[sigandstrat]

Had one for a while. Great amp IMO. Gigged with it a few times, and I must agree with Moonpie. The thing weighs a ton. I toyed with the thought of putting better speakers in it but never got around to it. Too loud for what I'm doing now, if not for that I'd probably still have it.

[jamisonst]

I have a classic 30 purchased off of Ebay (I think it's about 10 yrs old). I think it had the original tubes in it, regardless it sounded like crap when I got it in. Now, I'm running Ei EL84's, JJ/Tung-Sol, Ei 12AX7's. Celestion G12H30. This amp rocks, and is the best amp I have owned to date - but I have not owned many high-end, boutique tube amps.

[rudutch]

I got it. useable sound, UPS dropped it, the reverb tank is bouncing around (fixed) and the baffleboard shifted (fixed). I preferr this over the ri bassman I had. Tube swap coming and update. Initial reaction: 7/10

[hi-watt357]

I have one that I bought brand-new, still-in-the-box in 1997 for $500.00.

Probably the best $500 I've ever spent on one thing. Plus, I'm amazed at how they've held their value.

The only complaint I really have is that on the Drive channel, it kicks in a preset EQ curve that you can't adjust. However, as others have mentioned, the drive channel does do some nice Marshallesque tones, so it's not a huge deal. The two times I've gigged with it, I ran it clean and used stompboxes (old Japanese-made Boss DS-1, primarily) for distortion. But for recording, I've used the Drive channel, and it sounded great to me. And the Clean channel sounds pretty damn good.

I can't comment on the road-worthiness, though, since it's spent most of its life in the house.

[rudutch]

well, UPS dropped it
1) reverb tank bouncing around
2) baffleboard shifted 1/4" to the right
3) baffleboard inserts damaged
4) side chassis mount screw pulled loose from side

insured, claim filed

Thanks UPS!