Love for old Peavey

[therizzla]

I just picked this one up locally for $100. I've had a couple of the Bandit 65's over the years and wanted to hear what all the fuss was about with the teal versions. F'n loud as hell and man does this thing slay for clean surf, country, and heavy stuff (takes dirt pedals well). I'm throwing a Tornado in it to lighten the load and get even more spank out of it.

Peavey: Solid State. Solid Tone.

The tagline they should have used but never did. I'll settle for some sweet resid's (residuals) if they wanna buy it.

I went through three Bandits while I was on my OSG hiatus and the Teal stripe with a Scorpion speaker was my favorite! I sold them all after getting into lighter Quilter amps (Peaveys are HEAVY) but I have a Special 130 now that isn't going anywhere. It defaults to the distortion channel so you'll need a footswith or shorted jack to access the clean channel if you didn't already know. Also, the inputs work kind of opposite to the classic Fender set-up, the low gain input is more like input 1, the high gain input adds another gain stage that I don't like as much.

HNAD!

[burpgun]

I'm not saying it's wrong but the Peavey reappraisal blows my mind. I started playing in the 80s and it was starter gear, a step above Crate but still something we wanted to move on from as soon as we could. I started on what I think was a Combo 300, then on to a DataBass, which might have been one of the first mass produced Class D amps and tapped out on an Alpha Bass tube head with some 15 inch Peavey cab. I stepped up to a Harke head that had the sole virtue of being loud. The DataBass was pure trash, the amp was too loud for the speaker and blew it with no effort, over and over again. I had so many warranty repairs they threatened to cut me off. It died during a gig and I vowed off Peavey. Later, I switched to guitar for a band and lots of practice spaces had various Classic combos and honestly those things were solid and in some ways better than low end Fender gear like Hot Rod Deluxes, and at the time also have the virtue of being U.S. made. To see folks get some action with the solid state combos is something I never would have expected, we should have been listening with our ears back then rather than covering the Peavey logos with tape.

[BoringPostcards]

I'm not saying it's wrong but the Peavey reappraisal blows my mind. I started playing in the 80s and it was starter gear, a step above Crate but still something we wanted to move on from as soon as we could. I started on what I think was a Combo 300, then on to a DataBass, which might have been one of the first mass produced Class D amps and tapped out on an Alpha Bass tube head with some 15 inch Peavey cab. I stepped up to a Harke head that had the sole virtue of being loud. The DataBass was pure trash, the amp was too loud for the speaker and blew it with no effort, over and over again. I had so many warranty repairs they threatened to cut me off. It died during a gig and I vowed off Peavey. Later, I switched to guitar for a band and lots of practice spaces had various Classic combos and honestly those things were solid and in some ways better than low end Fender gear like Hot Rod Deluxes, and at the time also have the virtue of being U.S. made. To see folks get some action with the solid state combos is something I never would have expected, we should have been listening with our ears back then rather than covering the Peavey logos with tape.

Yeah, in our circle of musicians we used to say “friends don’t let friends buy Peavey”.

I guess we were just ignorant of the actual good models they had put out.

[B.T.]

To see folks get some action with the solid state combos is something I never would have expected, we should have been listening with our ears back then rather than covering the Peavey logos with tape.

My first real amp was a Bandit 65 I got in a trade. I didn't really care about or even noticed what others thought so much as for some reason I HAD TO HAVE a Twin Reverb and the Bandit was traded off in that pursuit.

Then some time later I heard all the slagging and indeed those older 70's/80's PV's looked long in the tooth and funky. But I love that look now for some reason.
That said there was a lot of stuff I loved about the Bandit and secretly lusted for another for years and had to have another. Then the idea of getting even more wattage with a teal was enticing.

My logo is broken. I'm debating about finding a replacement. It kinda looks cool without, we shall see.

[therizzla]

My logo is broken. I'm debating about finding a replacement. It kinda looks cool without, we shall see.

I may have a whole one in a parts bin at home.

[B.T.]

I went through three Bandits while I was on my OSG break and the Teal stripe with a Scorpion speaker was my favorite! I sold them all after getting into lighter Quilter amps (Peaveys are HEAVY) but I have a Special 130 now that isn't going anywhere. It defaults to the distortion channel so you'll need a footswith or shorted jack to access the clean channel if you didn't already know. Also, the inputs work kind of opposite to the classic Fender set-up, the low gain input is more like input 1, the high gain input adds another gain stage that I don't like as much.

HNAD!

Thanks!

Yeah I had the Scorpion in my other Bandit's, fantastic speaker but man it really adds some weight. I would have been really happy to get this one with the Scorpion just to have but I knew right out of the gate I was going to throw a Tornado Neo in to get more volume, spank, and cut the weight considerably.

I have considered the Quilter's. I guess I'm nostalgic for the PV's, definitely not the weight. I do all my own repairs and the USA made PV's were all through hole designs with readily available components. From what I have seen Quilter uses SMD components which isn't a big deal, I know they make great stuff but I have a harder time fixing that stuff if I can fix it at all. If I wasn't a slave to the soldering iron I probably would have gone that route.

I think I can get this one down to approx 33 lbs which isn't bad but not Quilter 20-something lbs light. It does have those rip-yer head off loud cleans at 80 watts and live it sure beats carrying around a vintage Twin Reverb with JBL's or an Ampeg VT-40, THOSE are some HEAVY combos let me tell ya.

[B.T.]

My logo is broken. I'm debating about finding a replacement. It kinda looks cool without, we shall see.

I may have a whole one in a parts bin at home.

Right on, keep me posted

[therizzla]

This amp has no business being as good as it is, especially for the $89 I spent on it.

My logo is broken. I'm debating about finding a replacement. It kinda looks cool without, we shall see.

I may have a whole one in a parts bin at home.

Right on, keep me posted

Found it! It’s a little worn but not broken and it has the screws too. PM me if you’re interested, I’d just ask that you cover shipping.

[B.T.]

This amp has no business being as good as it is, especially for the $89 I spent on it.

I may have a whole one in a parts bin at home.

Right on, keep me posted

Found it! It’s a little worn but not broken and it has the screws too. PM me if you’re interested, I’d just ask that you cover shipping.

I have an eye on acquiring a 80's era Special 130 down the road lucky dog you.

Mighty kind of you to offer. My logo has the screw holes approx 3 3/8" from center hole to center hole. If that's a fit PM me!

[therizzla]

Mighty kind of you to offer. My logo has the screw holes approx 3 3/8" from center hole to center hole. If that's a fit PM me!

I'll measure it tonight. I personally like that logo design, it's so bad that it's good!

[B.T.]

Mighty kind of you to offer. My logo has the screw holes approx 3 3/8" from center hole to center hole. If that's a fit PM me!

I'll measure it tonight. I personally like that logo design, it's so bad that it's good!

Right??? Hahaha

[MrShake]

Have I really not posted in this thread?

I love them, too. Other people have articulated reasons why. But I definitely dig 'em.

From 2001-2008, this 1977 Classic 212 was my main/live amp. I knew nothing about how to take care of an amp, because amps "just WORKED". Because mine was a Peavey. Easily worth the $100 I paid for it, several times over. In the years before the Peavey Cvlt, there was no shame in my sound, but a little "gear shame" for playing one. If only I'd known Elvis Costello, a total favorite, played a Classic all through my favorite era. Overdue for a checkup and probably a recap, but after that, it will be damn near immortal.



The Rage 108 came from Goodwill. I think it's a 1990. Priced at $20, and I had a $20 coupon. Didn't quite work when I got it, but Deoxit made it work like new. Does exactly what I expected, does it well, reminds me of high school, and now I run a second output from my pedalboard so my drummer has a personal monitor with EQ and level controls within arm's reach at shows.

The KB100 used to live in our practice space, it belonged to our space-mates. It's from 1988, the tail end of the first version without an XLR input.

We'd see it every week and cite that wisdom that @s_mcsleazy shared: every practice room has a Peavey amp. When the building shut down, our friend couldn't take it and offered it to us. Now it lives in our living room. Where we practice. The circle loops again. Used it as a vox/eDrums/guitar "PA box" a couple of times, and would make a fine bass amp in a pinch, if you're not picky.



I bought this one earlier this year. I believe its a 1977 "Version 1.5" (my term). It was a dumb-but-fun impulse buy, but then I found out it's THE Black Flag amp up to My War. I went down an insane rabbit hole researching all that. I bought books. I scoured photos. I cross referenced tour itineraries. I wrote pages and pages of research and journalism.

The fact that I later got to talk to Keith Morris about it (in my own neighborhood! It was so surreal and cool!) means I'm keeping it forever. Plus, it's just a beast of a simple, clean platform... until you torture it with the volume knobs.

I'm gonna get the grounding updated (I dont like polarity power switches) and try to find somewhere I can turn it up to make that sound without knocking our apartment building down.



Damn I love old Peavey, and I love reading everyone's stories in this thread.

[budda12ax7]

Peavey MK 4 bass head.....used for a long time doing my hard core project....