Peavey Artist Series Amplifiers.
The story begins in 1964. Buddy got his first electric guitar amp, a Gibson Hawk. Although it sounded great, it was too small to keep up with the other’s rigs. Sometimes he would be allowed to use his older brother’s Silvertone 6×10. That is where the love for 10″ speakers began, but not much admiration for solid state technology.
The Search Began
The search began,,, First was a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. During a performance in about 1975 he was playing a newly acquired type of instrument called a lap steel, and flames shot out of the front of the amp. That probably was one of the best things that could have happened for the audience, but put Buddy back to scratch with amplifiers. While it was being repaired the folks at Duncan Music in Winston Salem NC. loaned him an early model Crate amp that was in a case made of old crates. After one show, he went amp shopping!!! “No offense intended” Buddy told the music store owner, “but this thing SUCKS!!” He got them to replace the speakers in the Twin that day and he headed to Raleigh for a show. On the way to the venue, he found a small shop called Whetstone Music. He traded the Fender Twin for a 1957 Fender Vibroluxe. He said he and the store owner were both laughing at the other for their loss,,,, It was the best sounding amp Buddy had ever plugged into and he used it for a couple of years till it and his 1962 Gibson SG were stolen. He went to Camel Pawn in Winston-Salem and bought a 1966 Fender Vibroluxe. That’s where the magic really began. It was an amp powerful enough to keep up on most stages, and the return of 10″ speakers to his life. It had the most liquid reverb Buddy had ever experienced and with 
the hotter pickups Gibson guitars of the day had, literally SCREAMED! It sounded pretty good with his Stratocasters too but he believed a little more gain would help, so the hunt was on again.
The Hunt For More Gain
In 1979 he bought his first 1959 Fender Bassman amp. It had more power than the Vibroluxe and four 10″ speakers. He bought another one and 2 Fender spring reverb units. Buddy started using one on each side of the drummer and the stage ROCKED! In 1989 Buddy went in The Music Connection in Raleigh NC. and saw some new models Peavey had started making called The Classic series. They had tweed covers and the Classic 50 looked almost identical to his Fender Bassman amps. There were a couple of things different though. The circuitry was nearly the same as his Bassman amps but had a volume control before and after the preamp and another for output volume. The reverb was built in and was wet and lush like the Vibroluxe. 
A love affair with those amps began and continues today. He has moved up a little in power. His stage rig is several full stacks. 8-10″ speakers powered by Classic 100w heads. The same volume configuration but double the power of the Classic 50. Botique amp designer and builder Marc Auble made a tube driven line conditioner for Buddy so up to 20 stacks can be used at a time without impedence issues. It looks like the hunt for the perfect sound is over. Buddy smiles a lot now!!!
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