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Peavey Classic 30 tube rattle- Driving me nuts


Mister Crow

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I just got a Peavey Classic 30 used for $275. Great tones but the tube rattle is truly driving me crazy. It's an older Tweed version, the speaker has a black back and doesn't say Blue Marvel, but it appears original.

 

I've researched about a Tom's Tube Tamer. Will this device really kill ALL of the tube rattle, or is this something that C30 owners just have to live with?

 

Thanks for any info.

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I have a C30 also, that has always had the same problem. I have heard that it has something to do with the power tubes being so close to the internal speaker. I'm not sure if Tom's Tube Tamer will completely eliminate this problem, but I'm sure someone else will be able to chime in.

BUMP!

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I had a C30 with the same problem. Replacing the tubes with EL84M tubes helped, the Ms are built to Military specs and are a little more sturdy but don't sound as good, life is full of trade-offs.

 

I ended up trading the C30 for a 1x15" Delta Blues, the C30 always sounded harsh to me. The tubes in the DB are further away from the speaker and it helps with the rattling but there is still some as the tubes age, EL84s are not the most durable tubes. I got a tube tamer for the DB and it has seemed to help things stay usable longer.

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Get use to it, it's the nature of the beast. I had a Mesa Nomad 45 combo that also used EL84's. The tube rattle also drove me crazy but eventually I grew to accept that these small tubes are gonna rattle in a combo. Even if your lucly enough to find a full set of tubes (pre & power) that don't rattle, they will in time.

 

True some cheaper tubes will rattle more and even get microphonic on you. Your best bet, buy good tubes and get use to rattle.

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Audiophile voodoo , I have a few old mesa tubes that have shrinkwrap around them , the wrap says "Mesa" , but this is the only pic I can find of dampers .


dampers12ax7.jpg

 

My c30 tube "jingle" was driving me crazy too, and it was my frist tube amp and i was pretty pissed that this was going to be something i would have to get used to.

 

I talked to an amp tech and he gave me those rubber washer thingies on my tubes and i would say problem fixed. they are supposedly heat resistant much hotter than a tube could ever get. I have had my C30 cranked and workin hard for hours on end and they have not melted at all.

 

good solution in my opinion.

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My c30 tube "jingle" was driving me crazy too, and it was my frist tube amp and i was pretty pissed that this was going to be something i would have to get used to.


I talked to an amp tech and he gave me those rubber washer thingies on my tubes and i would say problem fixed. they are supposedly heat resistant much hotter than a tube could ever get. I have had my C30 cranked and workin hard for hours on end and they have not melted at all.


good solution in my opinion.

 

 

 

Good to know ;)

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Is this only an issue with the combos? I'm picking up one of the Classic 30 heads, am I in the clear or will is this an issue with heads as well?

 

 

Tube rattle comes from the tubes being to close to the speaker(s). It's litterary the tubes being shaken around by the shear volume in the cabinet. You should not experience this with a seperate head and cab.

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Is this only an issue with the combos? I'm picking up one of the Classic 30 heads, am I in the clear or will is this an issue with heads as well?

 

A Classic 30 head ? I never heard of those, but I hardly know everything. ;) The Classic 50 was fairly common as a head, and never had rattle problems that I've heard of. Generally those are nice sounding heads.

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I have heard that it has something to do with the power tubes being so close to the internal speaker.

 

You need to determine if it is the power tubes rattling, or the pre-amp tubes. Preamp tubes you can just swap out. Power tubes, well, that is a longer discussion.

 

You will either need to find a pair of EL-84s that will match the bias setup on that amp (the easiest way to do it). Then you have to cross your fingers that they don't rattle. Or you can get a set and attempt to rebias the thing. These aren't the easiest amps to bias.

 

New production EL-84s suck in this type of application. I went through 20+ JJs just to get two that were matched and that wouldn't rattle. I ended up using NOS Russian tubes - Polams - those are real tough tubes that hold up and won't have the filament rattle like Sovtek, JJ et. al.

 

Good luck. Don't have me bring up the "interboard connector" issue with the Classic 30.

 

:mad:

 

-WOT

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