Blues Jr. vs Peavey Classic 30...

[bug music]

I was leaning towards a new BJ, but tried the Classic 30 today. I must say I was impressed, both sounded very similar on the clean channels. It seems like the Peavey has a wider range on the drive channel, and a few more bells and whistles. Anyone owned both ?

- Jay

 

[Nash]

I own a classic 30 and I like it much better than any Blues Jr. I've played through. There are tons of fans of the Blues Jr. and rightfully so because it's a good amp, but the combination of the Peavey's warmer tone, higher wattage, and lower price make it a no brainer for me. I'm biased though because there aren't a whole lot of Fender amps I would actually buy.

One thing I noticed though was that the Peavey has cheap pots which don't like to hold their positions and it takes some time to get a really good eq setting. The Blues Jr. is built better IMO and it sounds good with almost any eq.

Ultimately these are two very different amps so to determine which is better for your needs we'll need to know where, what, how, and when you play.

 

[Warren Pederson]

I owned both. Sold the Blues Junior as the Classic 30 is 3 times the amp. Unlike the previous poster I've never heard or noticed anything negative about the build quality/components of the Peavey.

 

[bug music]

Whoa ! Thanks man, that was fast. Went in to edit spelling, and had a reply !
Hey Nash, yeah the drive channel seemed a bit warmer on the Peavey, (I was comparing it to the tweed NOS BJ with the Jensen speaker). The clean sounds were pretty close, although the Peavey seemed to have a bit more clean headroom (higher wattage rating I'm assuming). I'm looking for something to cover the basic blues/rock stuff as well as some rockabilly and a bit of country. No metal or real heavy rock. I really wanted to like the Blues Jr. since I searched forever for one with the Jensen to demo, but now I'm not so sure. You're right though there are a lot of Blues Jr. fans, so in my search the Peavey slid under the radar, Thanks for the quick response.

- Jay

 

[TexasTim]

3 words on the classic 30 "Tom's Tube Tamer" I had constant problems with rattling tubes on my peavey. As they age you will see.

 

[bug music]

Do you guys think the Classic 30 is enough to cover some small bar gigs. I've heard the BJ was "borderline" powerful enough for gigging without miking it up, but I'm thinking the extra wattage might make it a bit more useable for jams, and small bar gigs.

- Jay

 

[JohnnyCrash]

I used to.

I hated the BJr, but a lot of folks here love em.

I loved the Peavey. Owned 3 classics - still would if I never picked up building my own amps.

 

[Ron C]

I've owned and gigged with Blues Jr's since 2004, and just picked up a used classic 30. Both are plenty loud for small bars. I enjoy both but prefer the Peavey (could be the new toy syndrome, though).

My Blues Jr. has an eminence Texas Heat and a 5751 in V1, and I just swapped the Peavey's stock speaker for a Celestion G12t-75 that I had gathering dust. So I'm not sure how a new/stock comparison would differ from my experience.

Neither seems to have the sparkle and snap of a 65 DRRI or a Rivera pubster (my two favorites of the few amps I've played through), but my Blues Jr. does seem to have more sparkle and more, well, character when going for a little overdrive than the C30. On the other hand, the C30 has a fuller, larger, more versatile sound (both clean and dirty), and the channel switching is very nice. The drive channel seems plenty usable to me -- much more so than on a Hot Rod Deluxe I had about 5 years ago. The darker, bigger tone of the C30 made me switch out nice humbuckers I had in my Strat for some Dimarzio Area 61s that i pulled out a year back. It's a terrific combination now, both clean and dirty. I could picture it sounding great with a Tele or Esquire.

The FAT switch on the Fender is useful, but the boost switch on the Peavey is like a "how to sound bad in an instant" switch. There's plenty of gain in the drive channel anyway.

The Peavey's size is very nice. Yes it's heavier than the Blues Jr. but it feels much easier to tote around than the Hot Rod Deluxe and Traynor YCV40 that I used to own. I don't know of too many tube amps in this power range that are this easy on the back.

I got the Blues Jr. for $360 new and the C30 for $280 used, and they're good values at those prices, in my opinion. But I don't think I would buy either of them new now...the prices for new ones are just too close to Riveras, Lil Dawgs, or used PTP fender, Music Man, etc.

 

[Chris S.]

Do you guys think the Classic 30 is enough to cover some small bar gigs. I've heard the BJ was "borderline" powerful enough for gigging without miking it up, but I'm thinking the extra wattage might make it a bit more useable for jams, and small bar gigs.

I think you nailed it. The BJr might be able to compete with an "enthusiastic" drummer, but the C30 definitely will. I've used mine on all sorts of gigs, from rock/blues to jazz to country, and it's performed like a winner every time. Hope it helps, CS

 

[91xlntS-3]

Owned all the Peavey Classic series at one time or another; the last was the C30 w/add'l. 1x12 cab. Guess I just never bonded with any of the Classics, 30 or 50 watters.

The C30 has more than enough power for most gigs, but the clean just wasn't "clean" enough for me. I found out from talking to a Peavey repair tech that the pre-amps in the Classic series amps are made to break up a little, to get "thier sound". So, I ended up trading my C30 w/cab for a nice used Bandit + some cash from another guitarist I knew. I was much happier.

Present day, been using my stock BJr for over 2 years now. To my ears, there is no comparison between the 2 amps. I get that sparkly, clean tone I'm always chasing, and I add a little dirt to the front end via a DigiTech Bad Monkey O.D. pedal. If it weren't for having to change the controls around, I really love the overdriven tones I can get from just the amp, but I need to go from clean to dirt in an instant, so my set up works for me.

Lots of love for both amps, and it's all personal preference/requirements. One of my other favorite tube amps is a Kustom '36 Coupe. These are very cool amps and have a tone all thier own.

 

[strat a various]

In a steel cage match, the Peavey wins. I don't like either of them, but the Classic 30 is so much better, so very much better, that I feel way less like backing over it with the truck.

 

[electrablue]

I own both and find they each meet a need however my go-to amp is the Classic 30.

 

[Bandera]

I own C30/BJr

I agree with some of the earlier posts. The Jr seems to have better components The C30 will handle bigger volume situations and has a more usable over drive "channel". JJ's in both a speaker swap help both. I am going to send one of them in to Fargen to modify. I havent decided which one yet. First I am sending in my Bassman. I love my Fargen modded DRRI.

 

[stantheman]

I've never owned a Classic 30 but I know people who have and sold them and regretted it big-time. The Classics throughout the entire run of the line from back in the 70's to present-day have been great Amps.