Peavey Delta Blues….thoughts?

lustycourtier

Just did a few festivals with a hired Peavey Delta Blues 2x10 and it was great. What are they like reliability wise, if I was to buy one? I do have an AC15tv1, which Id be fine to take out next week, but Im unsure its loud enough as these are big stages. We ran the delta on about 4, with a strat which sounds spot on. 

lustycourtier

How different are they to classics?

randomhandclaps

Whether it's just a case of only the unhappy being bothered to write but I have read a fair few stories of 210 Deltas failing on t'net.  I have a Classic 50 which is as robust as you like and I have never had a issue with.  Of the whole Classic & Delta range it would be my choice every time.

ThePrettyDamned

I was steered away from the 1x15 a while back when I was into funk because it's less reliable and harder to work on than a classic 50.

Having tested a classic 50, I can attest that it's a great sounding amp that takes distortion pedals well, and I saw Joe Satriani and I'm sure he had one behind him, as well as his usual.

Rocker

I had a DB210 some years back. A great amp but heavy for carrying. Regretted selling it as it never gave a bit of trouble and sounded good...

lustycourtier

I know they sound great, and funny you should mention funk as thats the base sort of tone. Its a clean gritty tone he's after, but not fender amp tone. 

randomhandclaps

lustycourtier said:

I know they sound great, and funny you should mention funk as thats the base sort of tone.

Nile Rodgers - Peavey Classic 50: Nuff said.

57Deluxe

Delta Blues are great  - BUT -  You better off with the 1x15" model THEN you get a great range of tones that not much else on market can emulate from a single box...

crunchman

If it's the same type of build as a Classic 30 then it won't be easy to fix if anything ever goes wrong.  The C30 was very hard on power valves as well.

Fretwired

lustycourtier said:

Just did a few festivals with a hired Peavey Delta Blues 2x10 and it was great. What are they like reliability wise, if I was to buy one? I do have an AC15tv1, which Id be fine to take out next week, but Im unsure its loud enough as these are big stages. We ran the delta on about 4, with a strat which sounds spot on. 

Jan Akkerman used to gig with one - he endorsed Peavey products at the time. It sounded great and was built like a tank.

ICBM

crunchman said:

If it's the same type of build as a Classic 30 then it won't be easy to fix if anything ever goes wrong.  The C30 was very hard on power valves as well.

It is, and they are.

Reliable enough until they aren't, and then usually a bugger to fix.

lustycourtier

I think we are looking towards a Blues Jnr now, if anyone knows of a flight cased one going it black or tweed. 

thecolourbox

Hmm, fairly sure they'd be less reliable than the peavey?

crunchman

I can't speak for certain about the Blues Jr but the HRD I had was much better built than the C30 I had.  Assuming Fender's build quality is similar across their line I'd definitely go for the BJ over the Peavey.  The Pro Jr generally ahs a better reputation than the Blues Jr though.

ICBM

The BJ - and PJ too - are less well-made than the HRD. The Peaveys are in between the two in my opinion, although a fair bit different to either.

But the BJ is a far less capable amp than either a C30 or a HRD... not just less powerful, but much boxier and middier-sounding, one channel, and no tremolo if you're comparing to a Delta Blues. And the PJ does actually sound better, as long as you don't mind no frills at all.

If you want a Blues Jr then by all means buy one, but don't buy one if you really want a Delta Blues.

lustycourtier

We do need frills like reverb, and el84s are quite important too.

ICBM

lustycourtier said:

el84s are quite important too.

Why? None of these sound like 'EL84 amps' really - not if you mean a proper, Vox/18W-Marshall type EL84 amp. They are all fixed-bias and use negative feedback, which are more important than the valve type.

The C30 is probably more 'EL84' than the BJ, if it does matter - still fixed-bias and still with NFB, but it's got a more 'British' crunch on the dirty channel. The Delta Blues is the same circuit, but if you want that I'd get the 2x10" version not the 1x15".

crunchman

What about the 2 x 10 version of the Laney VC30?

lustycourtier

crunchman said:

What about the 2 x 10 version of the Laney VC30?

Not a bad idea. I loved my lionheart 20, which is the boutiqueey version.

ThePrettyDamned

crunchman;252159" said:

What about the 2 x 10 version of the Laney VC30?

I like these. IIRC, they're well built where it matters though there are niggles (poor tolex on my lh50 head). My amp tech at the time said they're decent.

The classic 50 is ace though. Still el84 iirc, and generally boss sounding