Peavey Classic 20 MH Micro Head 20W Tube Guitar Amplifier Head
For the money I think this is one of the best mini heads out there and I've been through a number the last few years through an amp hell period (Blackstar HT5 and HT20 (which died within a month), Engl Ironball (no dynamics), Marshall JMP1 (not a mini plexi). Fortunately my sanity and faith in modern amps have been restored with the Classic 20 MH.
This amp has a superb clean channel which is somewhat Fender-ish, yet its an excellent pedal platform too (I am running a Friedman BEOD to excellent effect, this clean channel LOVES dirt boxes.
The gain channel is voiced in the classic to hard rock vein, does a good AC/DC, Led Zep, Aerosmith type distortion with humbuckers and gets to Robin Trower areas with a Strat. Its not voiced for metal, nor is it tight enough even if using a tubescreamer to boost and tighten it. Look elsewhere for that, but its does bring out the character in each guitar and cleans up well from the guitar volume knob. Its has a good spank if you know how to play with right hand picking dynamics.
The power attenuator feature is excellent, 20w, 5w or 1w with minimal loss of tone in the 1w setting, I use this 90% of the time at home. The FX loop is also excellent, takes delay pedals like a charm.
The inbuilt digital spring reverb is ok, not great, but not terrible, sounds a little fake with its echo reverberations in the signal, but it fairs better with the clean channel.
The amp has a boost function which is a full range level boost which yields more volume and a tad more gain when engaged. Note if you don't have the footswitch plugged in the boost is permanently on by default, this cannot be turned on/off on the amp head alone, fortunately Peavey throw in a two button footswitch which can be used to turn boost on/off and change channels.
Alternatively the footswitch can be used to turn reverb and the fx loop on/off. If you need all 4 features footswitchable then you will need to buy a second footswitch.
The amp came well boxed with the aforementioned footswitch and with clear instructions in the user manual. The amp is quiet in operation (no noisy transformer) and has good taper on the master volume controls. Its also sweetly voiced with all knobs at noon producing a pleasing tone across both channels.
Overall I am very pleased with this head, the best home amp I think I've ever had. I've been through amp hell the last 3 years prior to getting this and have been playing for over 25 years and I rather pleased with it. Looks cool too.
If you like classic guitar sounds this is as good as any and better than most even in higher price brackets.
This amp has a superb clean channel which is somewhat Fender-ish, yet its an excellent pedal platform too (I am running a Friedman BEOD to excellent effect, this clean channel LOVES dirt boxes.
The gain channel is voiced in the classic to hard rock vein, does a good AC/DC, Led Zep, Aerosmith type distortion with humbuckers and gets to Robin Trower areas with a Strat. Its not voiced for metal, nor is it tight enough even if using a tubescreamer to boost and tighten it. Look elsewhere for that, but its does bring out the character in each guitar and cleans up well from the guitar volume knob. Its has a good spank if you know how to play with right hand picking dynamics.
The power attenuator feature is excellent, 20w, 5w or 1w with minimal loss of tone in the 1w setting, I use this 90% of the time at home. The FX loop is also excellent, takes delay pedals like a charm.
The inbuilt digital spring reverb is ok, not great, but not terrible, sounds a little fake with its echo reverberations in the signal, but it fairs better with the clean channel.
The amp has a boost function which is a full range level boost which yields more volume and a tad more gain when engaged. Note if you don't have the footswitch plugged in the boost is permanently on by default, this cannot be turned on/off on the amp head alone, fortunately Peavey throw in a two button footswitch which can be used to turn boost on/off and change channels.
Alternatively the footswitch can be used to turn reverb and the fx loop on/off. If you need all 4 features footswitchable then you will need to buy a second footswitch.
The amp came well boxed with the aforementioned footswitch and with clear instructions in the user manual. The amp is quiet in operation (no noisy transformer) and has good taper on the master volume controls. Its also sweetly voiced with all knobs at noon producing a pleasing tone across both channels.
Overall I am very pleased with this head, the best home amp I think I've ever had. I've been through amp hell the last 3 years prior to getting this and have been playing for over 25 years and I rather pleased with it. Looks cool too.
If you like classic guitar sounds this is as good as any and better than most even in higher price brackets.
August 8, 2017
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AndyC
