Peavey Classic Chorus 130 Amplifier

Model

Classic Chorus 130

Type

Amplifier

Brand

Peavey

Reliability & Durability — 9 Peavey's old solid state amps - and this is one of them - really put the "solid" in solid state. This is the second Peavey I've owned, and these things will never break on you. The only drawback, of course, is that they're a bit heavy (though this one's not too bad at the 50-55 lb range). Since this is an old model that's been out of production for almost twenty years at the time that I write this, I will advise you to go ahead and spray some contact cleaner on the backs of the pots from inside the chassis - you can expect a little scratchiness to develop over a couple decades. As long as you use the amp regularly, though, you shouldn't see this issue resurface for another twenty years. Features — 10 Peavey's literature suggests that this solid state amp was built from '86 until around '93 or '94, when they started making the Classic Chorus 212; my particular amplifier was built in the US in 1988. It comes with two channels: "Normal" (clean) and "Lead" (distortion, with Pre Gain, Saturation, and Post Gain controls). There's also spring reverb, along with chorus and vibrato (each of which comes with its own rate and depth controls). As the name suggests, this 2x12 combo packs 130 watts through two very powerful, very efficient, very loud Scorpion speaker. You're not likely to ever come across a venue that this amp isn't loud enough for; I have a hard time cranking the volume knob past 2 of 10. Unlike the first reviewer, I do have the footswitch for this amp. Reverb, channel, and chorus/vibrato are all separately footswitchable, thus severely cutting down on the number of pedals you need. As for pedals, this amp IS in stereo, so it comes with two effects loops. I can't really think of any other features I'd want that this amp doesn't have already. Delay, maybe? But the only amps I know of that are more feature-laden tend to be digital/modelling amps; I've yet to find any all-analog amp that offers more than the Classic Chorus 130. Here's the manual.