Nigel,
The Peavey Classic 30 with 1 12" speaker and Classic 50 with either 2 12" or 4 10" speakers are both great amps. The peavey amps are american made, the fenders are made in Mexico, and are priced less than the Fenders. All and all, both brands are very good quality although for most, the resale value of the Fender's are probably a little higher.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Had to gig last night so no not much time yesterday.
I just listned to THE SKA music of your son.

Allthough it's not my style of music I do like the songs , refreshing and a kind of positive "have fun" feeling with it.
Note: the trumpet needs to practice his timing...that's not meant negative but just as an advise.
If it's played tight it will lift the songs to real swingin'..

Alex,
You shuld not borrow the money to your son for the amp, but give it away he's good enough

Friends,

Once again, thank you for the advice. The story ends that I took my son to the Guitar Center where he found the Peavey, and after trying it for half an hour, he did not like it much, so instead he settled on a new Fender Hot Rod DeLuxe 40 1x12 (so I have lent him $550 instead of $400). My son loves the tube sound, and I guess 40 watts is enough for him - I listened to them play an outdoor gig last night, and while the PA was struggling to match the drummer (who always seems to have too much caffeine) and the bass player with his own 4x12 cabinet, the guitar came through the mix quite well.

Fred, thank you for taking time to listen to their music, I am glad, though, that my son did not see your comment before our visit to the Guitar Center (or he'd have tried to get me to "give" him the amp). I also like the "happy" quality of his music, as well as the fact that his ear for harmonies is totally different from mine (I am more of a traditional "3 chord+" person myself).

I think that often guitar players suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) even more than us the keyboard players - I only have 2 keyboards, the newest one is G1000 that is almost 8 years old. My son has gone through 3 guitars of his own (and at least 3 that he borrowed from friends), a banjo, a
a bass, numerous pedals (using one of my kb amps), and now his own amp - and I can afford to pay for my gear much easier than my son. I can also justify buying it much better, as I make more money in one gig than my son's entire band made in their entire musical carreer so far. It's hard to make kids (of all ages) happy these days...

That's a great choice Alex. While it may be a little more than you were hoping to spend he will be using that amp for many years to come so is well worth the extra. The Hot Rod Deluxe has a great tone and is very versatile.

Although it is 40 watts it is a powerful little amp. I have used one for years with my band and I never really get the volume control much past 2. We have a drummer playing an electronic V-Drums kit which does help keep the level down but the Hot Rod Deluxe is quite capable of cutting through the mix with an acoustic kit. I have had 100 watt Marshall amps when I was younger and found them to be too loud ie. I couldn't run them into distortion easily without deafening everyone. I find it is much better to have a smaller amp that you can run harder without overpowering everyone in the band.


[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 10-30-2005).]

Good choice Alex.
Peavey or Fender is more a matter of taste and also depends a bit of which guitar you are using.









Absolutely..
You will have noticed that most guitar players here have more then ten guitars by the way I'm still looking for an affordable VOX AC30

Fred

Those AC30s really are nice. I used one back in the 70s. Though the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe does remind me a lot of that Vox.

I was in a Guitar Center recently and tried out one of the Vox Guitar Modellers ( can't remember the name ). It surprised me how much it REALLY sounded like a tube amp. I guess Vox have quite reputation to keep up so made sure their modeller really is convincing. I have a Line 6 POD which is very good and fun to play through but doesn't really convince me as much as the Vox modeller did.

I accumulate a lot of guitars. I have around 10 guitars and basses. I bought a few cheap copies from http://www.rondomusic.com in New Jersey. Their Agile guitars made in Korea are VERY good value for the price. Harmony Central have a good collection of user reviews in their guitar database that confirm my opinion. I just love guitars I guess and can't help myself.