I’d noticed this little Peavey amp “Classic 20” at the local used gear joint and just kept walking by it for the last 2 months, about the size of a little champ with fake tweed covering. I finally picked it up a few weeks ago and was shocked at how heavy it was and that it had tubes…. Well I hooked it up and my jaw dropped. I then hooked it into a 2x12 with CELESTION G12M Greenbacks and OH MY GOD… I bought it and the cab right there on the spot , that’s all I’ve been playing through for the last few weeks…. The Tremolux, Gretsch Executive, Deluxe and Twin are having some quite time at the moment….. oh and when I got it home it had a new set of JJs in it.. Anyone messed with these, I run it clean with pedals... Pic is the amp with the 2x12 cab behind it

It's probably a very similar circuit to the Classic 30 and the Delta Blues. I have the DB115 and have had a similar experience to you. I love it clean; great EL84 sound with a Strat or with my Gretsch with filters. I wasn't that taken with the fake tweed, so I mixed up some artists shellac and gave in a coat... now it looks like a worn 50s bassman! What I like about it is that it's not exactly like a Fender or Vox, but it makes all my guitars (Strat, Gretsch 5120, 335) sound good with minimal tweaking. It's also a damn sight lighter to lift than my 72 Fender Twin, which is why I got it. Congrats on finding an amp that "sends you".

I've been keeping my eye on craigslist for a Classic 20 to play smaller gigs with. Nice to hear you're diggin yours!

I had seen these before and just thought; it’s a Peavey, blablabla. My first amp was a Peavey Backstage Plus and I really hated that amp (I was 15 and wanted a Marshall stack) then I worked at a local music store and we all became Peavey haters. I really don’t know why…I was 18 then and maybe just going with the crowd. We were Peavey dealers and they tried to send me to Mississippi for Peavey training (they all called it Hartley Boot Camp) and I always found a way out to not go…I really wish I had gone, man I was 18-20 at the time I worked there….should have done it.

On another note, I got it for $175 (??? Don’t know the going price and did come with JJ tubes) and the 2x12 custom made pine cabinet with 2 Celestion greenbacks (G12M) for $175 too. $350 seems a lot but it’s a heck of a rig when you hook the two up. But the C20 just by its self it pretty awesome and is as of right now the best little portable amp I have for a grab “n” go. That little sucker can go anywhere it’s so small.

I remember those. The Classic 20 is the predecessor to the Classic 30. IIRC, for a period of time, Peavey made them concurrently with the Classic 30. When I had my Classic 50 212 back in the 90s, I briefly considered getting a Classic 20, but I wanted a 2x12 combo, so the Classic 50 it was. Classic 20s are great sounding amps, but (especially in the earlier [90s] versions) have a tendency to get a bit hot. Keeping the finals cool, does help them to last longer. They make great sounding dirt, and'll put a Blues Jr. to shame without even trying IMO.

heck yeah , its a 93 and what a sound clean and dirty all for $175 with new JJ tubes....woohoo i could not be happier, well maybe if it was a Victoria Regal II at that price

I have a C50, and used to have a C50 head. I absolutely love the Classic line. So far it's as close to the tone in my head as I've found (for the OD sound anyway).

They're bullet proof too. Mine has taken a few big spills and keeps on rockin.

Even the 2x12 C50 needs a closed back cab under it, just no low end if there isn't.

FWIW I paid $350 for my C50 (which was a pretty good deal).

Good score man, those are always on my radar.

Peavey has some bad amps (hybrids, Wiggy) and some great ones---Delta Blues, Classic20/30/50. Sounds like you got yourself a winner. Nice score on that.

Another big fan of the Peavey Classic line here.. Used to have a C50 head with 2x12 cab and Ripley is 100% right..it needs to be closed back.

Congrats on the C20!!

Actually when I used my head through a closed back alone it was too dark. The best sound I've gotten is the open 2x12 combo, and my closed Orange 2x12" with Vintage 30s. Best of both worlds.

They made an oversized 2x12 for the C50, I'd love to get my hands on one. It's almost as if it was designed to be coupled with another cab.

The Classic 20 is a screamer. Best kept secret in the Peavey line up.

I'm surprised to hear you say that Ripley. I never found the C50 head to be dark through any cab. Still great amps though.

Hi, I´m new to the Gretsch pages and to this forum... your discussion of the Peavey Classic 20 amp cought my interest: Having played mostly Gibson and vinatge Guild electrics over the past decades I bought my first Gretsch guitar only a couple of weeks ago. It´s a 1959 Double Annie with PAF filtertrons and after getting a wonderful refret job and lots of hours of cleaning and adjustments I am totally blown away by this instrument! Playability and tonal possibilities are just superb ( I did change the tone-switch caps to different values). Here´s where the Classic 20 came in: I´ve had mine for years, but hardly ever played it until I rediscovered it half a year ago. Took it to an amp-builder friend of mine and he replaced all the trannys with Mercury Magnetics replacement ones...with sensational results I think. But these improvements (a much stronger definition, warm and "bluesical" break up, better bass response...) only show when you play the amp with a bigger speaker in a bigger cabinet. I first changed the 10" stock speaker with good results, but inside this tiny amp-cabinet it will always sound boxy. I do a lot of studio recording and now usually hook up the classic 20 to a small oben-back cab with one 12" Celstion silver bell (from a vintage Vox AC 30) or a 30 watt Celestion G12H and I just have to say this set up beats three vintage Fender combos amps I own.....especially with the Double Annie and other humbucker guitars. I have to mention though that I am using this at moderate levels with a singer/guitar-player duo or for recording, but if you´re interested in warm rich and singing tone for blues/Jazz or clean playing the Classic 20 with a larger speaker/cab is truely a surprise! Thank you all for this interesting forum !..being new to the wonders of Gretsch guitars I do appreciate to find lots of valuable information here.

Slipstone, there are a few factors at work there. One being I like stupid bright tones out of my gear (think tele bridge pickup bright). The other being I've got 2 very dark cabs. My Ampeg Blue Diamond 4x12, and an Orange PPC212 closed back with Vintage 30s. Between those two cans, there's not much bright happening. I did play the head through a sheffield loaded Peavey cab and it was bright as hell. The guy that bought it played it through a VHT with a Celestion (not sure if it was open or closed, but only one has the Celestion) 1x12". That sounded really great. I almost backed out of the deal when I heard that.

I have an old C20 my uncle "loaned" to me when I was in high school. My dad said I couldn't own an amp while living under his roof, hence the quotes around loaned.....anyway, I was never all that impressed with it till the day my studio was flooded by an idiot contractor who put a silt fence up wrong.....long story short(too late).... The cone disintegrated, so before I put a new speaker in it, I plugged it into my Marshall 2061xc(212) and holly @&$)! New Head?!

My biggest problem is the bottom of the mid pot fell off, so that affects the sound a bit. The pots are attached to the pcb, so I sent it to the shop for repairs, and recap.

I had one, I replaced the Blue Marvel speaker with an alnico from Weber, they are great little amps, but very little headroom. Basically sold it because as cool as it was, I was looking for something more ...pure?... circuit-wise, so I ended up with a Champion 600, which I did a few mods to... and sold it! lol

But I agree with several posters, the C20 is a sleeper in the PV line-up. Worth the prices they sell for.

I got mine back from the shop, and now am looking into transplanting the chassis into a 212 combo cabinet. I am talking to a guy at mojotone now to see if their 18 watt 212 cabinet will work without modifying the amp in chassis. If it all works out it should look like a small blues breaker...anyone else do anything similar to this?

Been eyeing a Peavey Classic 30, and a Peavey Jack Daniels (seems it's the 30 with JD branding) on the buy/sell pages here. A lot of people seem to really like these Peaveys.

The Classic 30/50 are NOT the same circuit as the Classic 20... the 20 is different, much less headroom... almost "Deluxe-ish" when compared to the bigger PVs. With a 12" speaker and a bigger cab, I'll bet the thing would kick serious ass.

I don't believe Peavey makes them any more. A friend of mine had one and I thought it was a great amp but the speaker it came with stock wasn't that great...Probably the same reason you like your amp run to another cab. If I recall it had a weird 10" speaker that was 16 ohms so hard to find other speakers as readily to try out. It reminded me a little of a Blues Junior.

For clean, I preferred the Blues Jr. For dirt, the Peavey.

I just found that Mercury Magnates makes a 8/16 ohm OT for the c20 for $220. That may be cheaper way to get there than what I did.

some of the old peaveys are incredible sleepers -- also look at the Deuces, etc. Some interesting gear they made in the day, an it still holds up!

I got mine back from the shop, and now am looking into transplanting the chassis into a 212 combo cabinet. I am talking to a guy at mojotone now to see if their 18 watt 212 cabinet will work without modifying the amp in chassis. If it all works out it should look like a small blues breaker...anyone else do anything similar to this?

Well, here it is. It sounds great too. The 212 speaker setup makes it loud enough.....