Revamp stated as the concept, ClassicRevamp, several years. The idea was a simple one. Improve on the Peavey Classic30. The amp has several things going for it. Inexpensive, vintage tweed looks and tube tone. But the construction is definitely mass-produced.

 

First, back to the vintage methods and materials of construction. I wanted the cabinet to be made of solid pine, not plywood or particle board. The joints were to be precision finger-jointed and glued, like those classic amps of the '50's and '60's. Nothing has been found to create that sweet vintage tone for cabinets , like pine. It has a unique resonance that no other wood posesses. I wanted the enclosure covered with real tweed tolex in the vintage "paneled" method, not the less expensive, assembly line, one piece way that the factory did. Fender Oxblood grill cloth was the only choice ever considered, IMHO, there is no better combination than tweed and Oxblood for a vintage look. I would use genuine Fender replacement corners and the Peavey "Classic" handle, as I liked it better than others available and it was fairly inexpensive, and easy to get.

 

 

 

I commissioned JD Newell, out of Georgia, to build the initial cabinets. I rounded up the tweed and grill cloth and sent them off. As if destiny was at work, both the cabinets and speakers arrived on the same day. I'd bought a retube set of JJ tubes from Eurotubes  to install during the chassis swap. I also installed some large, heavy-duty rubber isolating feet on both cabinets to try to prevent what was one of the biggest knocks on the Classic30 (and most combo amps), tube rattle. My chassis opening dimensions were perfect, the chassis slipped in to place and was held in with the 4 factory screws. Once the speakers were installed, I plugged in and turned it on. It looked and sounded like it was right out of the '50's.

 

I was so happy with, and proud of my creation, that I posted pictues and descriptions of it on several chat rooms for Peavey amps. Response was instant, "Where can I get one?".  I came up with the ClassicRevamp name, put together a website and sat back to wait for the orders to come in. 

 

 

I'm not sure how the word got out so quickly on the cab package. I was getting inquiries from as far away as Germany. The web had more impact that I'd estimated. To set my prices, I sat down and tallied up costs. Orders came in, but the price tag was scaring many buyers away. It was, after all, still a Peavey Classic30. I considered out-sourcing the cabinets to cut costs. I had connections to get them built cheaper overseas, but decided that I wasn't willing to compromise the quality.

 

Kits were selling, though. Great reviews were coming in at HarmonyCentral, but there was absolutely no profit in it. I would be better off taking the time that I spent on this and doing overtime at my "real job". My wife had been very supportive through this whole process, but she could see that it wasn't making sense any more on a financial level. I had come up with several models of speaker cabinets and a head kit for the Classic20, all of which I had demo units in my possession. I decided to keep the original 30 watt head and 1210 speaker cabinet and sell everything else on eBay. Again, the huge response. People liked the idea, they just didn't want to pay what it cost to produce. Everything was sold, including the website (the guy never did anything with it). But, the story doesn't stop there. Apparently, I just can't leave well enough alone.