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The Peavey Delta Blues was launched in the early 90s, and is a combination of design influences - |
Spec -
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The latest version of the amp has -
 | Sovtek/Electro-Harmonix valves throughout |
| A perforated metal guard protecting the valves |
The poor quality of the valves and lack of a valve guard in earlier versions of the amp were the subject of much criticism in earlier reviews - it's good to see Peavey responding to this feedback positively.
Although it is often described as an all valve amp - the Delta Blues uses solid-state devices for the following purposes -
| rectifier |
| reverb input and output buffer amps |
| tremolo circuitry |
| effects loop send driver |
Both the tremolo and the channels may be switched using an optional footswitch. Mechanical relays are used in the footswitch circuit.
opinion - there is more of this to come - visit again soon
looks
Starting off with looks - you either like the retro thing or you don't - I do. The Delta Blues' appearance is based almost entirely on early tweed Fenders - down to the chicken-head knobs, chrome-plated panel and fittings, name-plate and carrying handle.
The cabinet is made from well jointed approx 20mm particle-board. The carrying handle is made from folded mock leather. All corners are finished with chrome-plated caps. The electronics chassis is mounted in the cabinet with 4 chromed bolts through the top and 2 through each side. The reverb tray is fixed to the base of the cabinet.
On the Delta Blues a printed, textured Tolex has been used, not the lacquered woven material used on the original tweed amps
The speaker baffle is cut from approx 20mm ply. It is recess-mounted with 8 wood-screws, and covered with a tough ox-blood cloth.
controls
The range of controls is however rather more modern than the appearance of the amp would suggest - reflecting the "sort of twin-channel" operation. I say "sort of two channel" because there aren't actually two separate channels - the "channel" switching adds an additional stage of gain to the amp.
Channel 1 - the clean channel
- produces a clear, punchy sound not unlike a blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb
Channel 2 - the higher gain channel
- produces plenty of crunch
verdict
This amp promotes strong positive feelings in most users - often being favourably compared to both current and vintage Fenders, small Laney combos, Marshall DSL and Bluesbreaker combos and the smaller Mesa Boogies. - what more could you ask? Most users comments that the DB represents excellent value for money - this seem to be especially true in the USA - secondhand models also represent good value for money - but make sure you don't get one that has been thrashed. Perhaps the most telling thing about this fine amp is that it goes to 12 (not just one louder, but two!) - it is amazing just how much further forward Peavey technology is compared to Marshall's.
Visit Harmony-Central's user reviews of the Peavey Delta Blues here
Customising your Delta Blues/Classic 30The circuit used in the Delta Blues is almost exactly the same as that ued in the Classic 30. Some people think that the amp can be considerably improved by modifications ranging from straightforward "re-valving/re-tubing" through to much more challenging and risky modifications to the main circuit. A compendium of mods is contained in the following .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) document which I have mirrored from Steve Ahola's admirable blueguitar.org website. |
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