NAD: 1988 Peavey KB100 (v1)

[MrShake]

Had to vacate our shared rehearsal room and my buddy just couldn't fit a few things in the truck, so we adopted them to save them from the Abandon Pile. Every good practice room needs a Peavey in the corner, and this one was the one in our room for the last 5-6 years.

Serial says 1988, but it's the V1 of the KB100, before the first channel had an XLR input (I think the V2 with XLR was introduced later in 1988). I didn't know what to expect from a "keyboard" amp, but a passive bass into each channel one at a time to test, turned up to about 3, filled my apartment with bass. And that was without the "Pull For Gain" option for low inputs.

Seems to bas(s)ically be a self-contained 3-channel PA. Nothing game-changing, but very useful, and we've always joked that our band is a "3-track band" -- our first recordings only used 3 of the 4 on a Tascam, for guitar, voice, and an overhead for drums.

Seems like the cosmos knows us. And I don't turn down Vintage Peavey, I know better.

What's your experience? Ever play one? Tips and tricks?

[JSett]

When I was in my first punk band in the 90s we used to use Peavey keyboard amps for vocals as a lot of places we'd play (basements, barns, etc) wouldn't have a PA and they were LOUD, clean and indestructible. 3 channels is good for 3 mics, reverb of you need it. Perfect ghetto PA.

I had a garage full of old Peavey until recently...I'd just buy everything local to me that was cheap and pre-1990. It got a little out of hand, truth be told

Pedal steel players used to swear by Peavey KB amps too. And I've also used one for bass...you can get a good 'old school Trace Elliott' sound from them with a bit of tweaking.

Good save.

[efiug]

picked up a sick Peavey Bandit 112 locally a few months ago for less than 80 bucks because the listing said the high gain channel was cutting out (which it never has for me I think, not that I really use it). Its one of the teal ones which i think are from the 80s but I honestly am not sure. Spring reverb unit on it seems to work great too. Peavey stuff always gave off the vibe of like really high gain metal stuff so I was really surprised which I plugged in and it sounded pretty great clean.

[MrShake]

It's hard to resist a good Peavey, isn't it?

That Bandit sounds like a score. For some reason I've always wanted a "teal stripe" Peavey, always liked the aesthetic, but I'm not gonna buy an amp just for the stripe. A little Deoxit works wonders on vintage Peavey, so you have one fantastic little amp there. My Deluxe 112 Plus is basically a Fender Bandit, and if I didn't have that, I'd already own one from Mississippi.

Ghetto PA or backup bass amp was about what I was thinking. I hear you about the garage. My VERY understanding and supportive wife has even encouraged all this. She was even the one who returned our pal's messages saying "Yeah, we'll take 'em.". Our one-bedroom apartment is starting to look like a Discount Vintage Amp Depot.

But I'm still not passing on a Peavey gift. I went out years ago and scratched the "vintage Fender" itch once, and ever since, the other amps I play the most usually fit the "loud, clean, and indestructible" mold. I'd take something like that most days over something fancy that has buckets of its own personality I have to adjust for. Make me loud, keep it clean, and hold up to dragging around bar gigs and cranking up. Finding them in the trash or having them offered to us (i.e., free) has just been the icing on the cake. And old Peavey is the ultimate in "durable".

And I've always been amused by the chicken/egg with Peavey. Does this Peavey era's aesthetic lend itself to '80s teenage metal players with it's pointy logo and aluminum trim, or is that the '80s teenage metal aesthetic because they all ended up with Peaveys? Even Eddie from Stranger Things was rocking a Peavey 2x12 (maybe a Classic VTX?) next to his Super Six.

And to really bake my noodle, didn't Hartley infamously come up with that logo in the late '50s/early '60s?

But thanks for validating my insanity. I don't WANT to hoard these things, but I'd rather take it and use it and maybe store it if I have to than see good Peavey go to waste. And one day there might be a young bassist who needs an amp or something.

[sessylU]

I also have nothing but affection for Peavey. My best friend/bassist when I was a teenager had some big combo with a Black Widow that I always loved.

I also remember playing a really shitty gig in a pub in a tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere when I was about 15 and a different guitarist had provided the amp, which was a Bandit. It was the best amp I had played through at that point, and that was the best I had ever sounded.

Obviously I've sounded better since, but that still sticks in my memory as a high water mark.

[MrShake]

People have their reasons, but I say that a good Peavey does the job when you need an amp. It might not be a carefully calibrated racecar, but it's an old hillbilly truck that won't quit. And I feel like if you can bond with that philosophy, you're gonna have a lot less stress about finding the "perfect amp". Both of 'em get you there, and there's probably a Sabbath tape stuck in the truck's deck.

Speaking of, I think my bedroom dooms.

[ryland]

My first amp was a little 10 watt Peavey, this was 1989-1990. They were the only reasonably priced, seemingly bullet proof, and readily available amps in my backwater part of the world. $100 and I was off to the races. I think this is why the metal kids played them...we couldn't afford anything else and they did the job very well!

[OffYourFace]

I love old Peavey. Those keyboard amps are great.

I have a teal strip Bandit with the Scorpion speaker. It does really great cleans and the gain channel is useable.
You can find these dirt cheap sold as ‘broken or not working’. It’s usually a bad switching jack for the FX loop on the back. If one doesn’t stay normally closed, the amp won’t make any sound. As a quick fix, I’ll just close the ckt with a patch cable from the FX in to the FX out.

I have an old Musician head with the phaser too. It’s a really great amp but so fkn loud.

[DrQuasar]

I used a KB300 for bass for about 4 years in the 90s. It was huge and so loud. I think about how powerful it felt to play bass with that thing cranked all the time. It moved soooo much air. I think it had an 15 in speaker and a tweeter. Black widow speaker. I used a Peavey Classic Chorus with scorpions during that same time period for guitar. Teal stripes all around. They were great amps. So loud. I don't remember anyone thinking they were cool at the time. I certainly didn't.

[JSett]

I found some pictures of some of my old Peavey collection. There was substantially more than this at one point, I clouding a Mace, another 4x12, a Peavey Festival, some PA stuff, Mixing desk, a Bass II & III, Peavey Nano, and more I can't remember...




temporary upload

[MrShake]

God, I love that. Thank you for posting.

I'm still hoping, with the way the cosmos seems to know my taste sometimes, that I eventually end up with an old '70s Deuce, Mace, or Artist. I don't have any idea where I'd have use for them, but maybe one day.

But please, not too soon. My apartment's still digesting the latest pile of amps.