Peavey Classic 50 footswitch

[44Bluesman]

Hi everyone,
I just picked up a Classic 50 head this past weekend. Went to the guy's house to demo it, everything was fine, footswitch worked as it should for reverb on/off and channel switching. Got it home, set it up but no reverb. Channel switching works. I own several several Classic 50 amps so I tried another footswitch but same thing. Did something go awry when I disconnected the footswitch after I demo'd it? Anyone ever experience this?

Thanks

[dak]

Sounds more like the reverb tank or its connections did not agree with the transport. Bumpy road? Hard dolly wheels across cobblestones? I'd check the connectors and their solder joints. The insides of a reverb tank are usually surprisingly robust because the wires are so flimsy that inertia does not have much of a hold on them, and it's usually mechanically dampened in some manner. So it's surprisingly rare that a delicate mechanical part like that actually takes a hit but it does happen.

There are also reverb level and master pots that can be turned down in which case the footswitch switched between nothing and nothing. And of course one of those pots may have lost a wire too.

When the reverb levels are dialed up, you can turn up the master gain and tap the reverb tank. If that makes a sound, the reverb receiver circuit probably works and the problem is with the sender.

Usually when pulling the footswitch altogether, reverb should be active according to its settings. So it may make sense to take the footswitch out of the equation by leaving it disconnected.

Good luck!

[44Bluesman]

Thanks, Dak; appreciate the input. The other thing that's strange is that when I turn the reverb control from min to max it affects the tone, similar to the Presence control. Very strange.

Thanks again

[Pappy B]

Make sure you have the plug pushed in all the way. Should feel 2 bumps when inserting.

[dak]

Thanks, Dak; appreciate the input. The other thing that's strange is that when I turn the reverb control from min to max it affects the tone, similar to the Presence control. Very strange.

A functioning reverb will have that effect since the reverb tank is driven with a 6dB/octave high frequency emphasised signal to offset the transfer characteristic of the reverb tank. So the sound does open up in the trebles. But of course for that to happen you need to have reverb in the first place.

Maybe you have "fake reverb"? The reverb send unit is broken but the receiver works and the reverb springs pick up the vibrations from the loudspeaker instead of the reverb send proper? That could give you some faint semblance of a working reverb.

[The Guitar]

I'm with dak on a possible broken connection. Pop that tank out and check the inside where the springs are. Mainly look at where the jacks go in for a broken wire.

[44Bluesman]

I opened up the amp and put a meter across the input/output connections at the molex connector. Output circuit was open and I was able to trace it back to the coil. Swapped the tank with one from another head I have and it's working fine.

Thanks to all you guys for offering tips/advice, I really appreciate it.

[The Guitar]

Awesome!