Peavey Classic 20 mini head

[YamahaGuy]

I play many venues where anything more than 5 watts is too much from a tube amp, and often, I end up running through a PA system. I was just wondering if anyone here had experience with this amp head, and if so, what would be the best type of cab for me to go with.

On paper, this amp has all I'm looking for: 20-5-1 watt selectable, all tube, effects loop, line out with cab simulation, two channels.

I mostly play at churches and play rhythm guitar, and occasionally play lead. I use a pedal board with eq, tube pre, tuner, chorus, reverb, compressor, delay, distortion, noise gate, and looper in that order. I play music ranging from simple choruses to old fashioned 3/4 hymns, to modern contemporary worship, some of which has distortion including the likes of Switch foot.

My arsenal of guitars includes a strat copy with Bill Lawrence bucker in the bridge, stock middle and Duncan Hotrail in the neck, a dual P-90 24.75" scale mahogany/maple capped guitar, a LP style guitar with Dimarzio soap bars, and a dual ceramic humbucker guitar.

I don't mind lugging something as big as a 2x12 but doubt I'd ever need a 4x10 or 4x12.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

[Steve DeRosa]

While I don't own the Classic 20 I have used a Bugera V22 1x12" combo - which has the same tube complement and comparable power - with a P-90 LP in a worship setting on a regular basis, so I'll offer my comments/suggestions on that basis...

First off, with the right combination of preamp tubes in the right positions you can get rid of the tube preamp and distortion stompboxes - a trick that savvy pros have been using for years to tailor their tone. I've been using Preferred Series 7025's in V1/V2 and a Mesa SP-AX7 in the V3 PI/driver stage: gives me a smooth full clean tone, a bluesy crunch in the OD channel, the high-gain Mesa hits the power tubes harder (more about which later) - and when I need to get my Carlos on I just swap the V2 and V3...

I'd also get the best, highest-headroom power tubes I can find; you will need to back it off sooner or later, and since these are the "heart" of your signal chain you don't want anything that's going to sound fizzy/edgy/thin or microphonic - all common problems if you've never worked with EL84's. I'm using a set of Preferred Series 7189's - a pre-Glasnost Soviet military tube comparable to the JAN tubes the hard-core blackface Fender guys would sell their gonads to get, with all the ruggedness implied by its origins. You'll want to use a very high-gain PI/driver tube under most circumstances; not only will these babies just laugh it off and beg for more, but goose them into their sweet spot and they'll sound more like a 6L6/6CA7/7027 American amp - and if you've got the power tubes biased for the Mesa in V3, a V2/V3 swap will add just a hint of "brown" to your tone while boosting the preamp gain, for when you want to snarl...

Finally, with a scaleable-power EL84 amp (my Bugera does 22/15W) I'd go with an ultra-efficient 1x12" cab for both portability and flexibility. I've got an Eminence Swamp Thang (102dB/1W/1M) in my Bugera, and with the aforementioned tube complement it sounds like a 60W 2x12" American combo (got no problem hanging with my '65 Super RI or Frontman 212R), removing nearly all traces of EL84 brashness without losing clarity; it'll also turn your Peavey into an all-purpose head - keep up with a hard-hitting drummer and fill a 600-seat house in 20W mode (I've done it), use the 5W setting for band practice, and 1W for stage mix when you DI to the house...

Here's a pre-packaged set that'll get you most of the way there (you'll need to order the Mesa tube separately from GC/MF or directly from Mesa - or keep the third Preferred Series 7025 in V3 for a sweet country/jazz/surf amp):

http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-...remium-Package

Get the matched-triode option for all the preamp tubes, especially if you intend to do the V2/V3 swap I mentioned at any time - really makes a difference...

Hope this helps...

[blue]

It was one of the frontrunners when I last went amp shopping. The only thing I can say is that if you are willing to look at used, you can find better heads for the same price or not much more.

I ended up with a used Mesa Boogie Transatlantic 15 and I couldn't be happier. It goes 5, 15, and 25 with a master volume and "gain" capability. So why is it called the Transatlantic 15? Ya got me!

It's a far superior amp, has multiple voices (fender, vox, vox topboost, Marshall, and smooth boogie overdrive, not rectifier) but it doesn't have an effects loop. My other bigger amps are all Fender black or silverfaces, so it's not like the loop is an integral part of my playing.

But what I got is only one example.

So to sum up, if you are buying new the peavey is a nice choice for the money. If you are open to used there are a lot more choices.

[YamahaGuy]

Thanks for the tips. I've never gone too far with experimenting with tubes. I had and recently sold an Epiphone Valve Jr combo and a Vox night Train combo and changed tubes on both. As for buying used, I'm not opposed to it, but would rather go new. I like the idea of a 1x12 cab if I go with this head.

Going in a totally different direction, I've been eying the Yamaha THR 100Hd with matching 2x12 cab. I have a THR5 and get great tone from it. It may be nice to not have to worry about blowing a tube 2 hours before a gig (happened with both tube amps I've owned)