Giving the old girl a spruce up.

dilbert

My venerable Classic 30 is sounding a little jaded so I reckon a new set of valves and a speaker is in order. To that end, does anyone want to offer up some suggestions, particularly for the valves ?. I have a Cannabis Rex in mind for the speaker but am pretty open minded about it.so id anyone wants to throw some suggestions, advice or experience into the ring, they'd be welcome. 

Also, I had a look at the Blueguitar mods that are all over the interwebz and I wonder if they are worth doing?. I am aware of the pitfalls of the C30 3 way PCB and some of them are out of my skill range anyway but again I'd be happy to hear (okay, read !) any insights you may have. For anyone who isn't aware of the Blue Guitar mods, here ya go .........

http://blueguitar.org/new/articles/blue_gtr/amps/peavey/c30_origmod.pdf

Thanks in advance.

dilbert

dilbert

83 views and nobody with an opinion (

Must be somebody out there with a view [-O< 

simonk

I tried a Cannabis Rex in a few applications and really didn't like it at all - a peculiar sound that I can't really describe. Of course, it may work perfectly for you in that amp. Watford Valves used to have a great speaker comparison section but it doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

simonk

Here it is (uses Flash so wouldn't work on my phone):

www.watfordvalves.com/soundfactory.asp

strtdv

JJ EL84's are what I'd be going for.

For preamp valves, basically try lots and see what works well, bear in mind that V1 will generally have the biggest impact on tone, and for V3 (phase inverter) basically needs something clear and low noise.

My preference is to use a nice NOS valve in V1, sometimes in V2 as well, and just use a decent low noise current production valve for V3.

In my Laney I have an old stock Mullard in V1, a Brimar in V2 and a JJ ECC83S in V3

In my Matamp I have a Brimar in V1 and a JJ ECC83S in the V2 and V3 positions

In my Orange the valve layout is the same as for a Fender Twin, so I have a bog standard EHX in V1 ( I don't use channel 1), an extremely old Mullard CV4024/12AT7 in V2 (some people say 12AT7's don't sound good in this position, but my ears tell me otherwise), and an old Thorn branded 12AU7 for the phase inverter. The reverb driver takes a real battering in this circuit so I use a current production 12AT7 as I expect to have to replace it fairly often.

I haven't tried a Cannabis Rex, my favourite speaker is a G12H-30

EricTheWeary

Have you looked at the Watford Valves site? They have 3 suggested valve+speaker packages for the Classic 30, might be some inspiration there. However, I think forum wisdom tends to be that Peavey speakers are better than you think they are and upgrades aren't as dramatic as you might think.

57Deluxe

I have no idea what to suggest, but being an owner of a Can Rex still in the box from 3 years ago(!) will be interested to here how it pairs up!

I must install mine in my spare cab...

dilbert

Thank you for all your responses, chaps. 

@simonk interesting to hear your' comments re: the Cannabis Rex. From what I have read, it takes a bugger of a long time to break in as the cone is very stiff, some people quote 40 hrs + of playing time. Before that it does sound quite dark by all accounts. 

@strdv thanks for the suggestions. JJ's seem very popular for power amp valves but get mixed reviews in the pre amp side, so I'll check out Watford Valves as @EricTheWeary suggests and HotRox. 

@57Deluxe I'm a bit of a slacker myself but 3 years ! BTW, this is to replace the Blue marvel, not to pair it up with, I have a Laney cab for that with a Celestion 70/80 in it.

 Thanks again for the suggestions, chaps :-bd

strtdv

Yes, their preamp valves are variable, even some of their power amps are variable, but for el84 chime, they're the only current production valves worth talking about.
I also like their 6CA7s