Are 25year old Peavy Bandits worth owning?

[jguitarman]

A bandmember wants to unload his old Peavy Bandit. I think he'll give me a real good price but I have never owned a Peavy and know very little about them. I've always been a Fender guy and lately I'm into a Marshall JTM45. He said it has a 12" Scorpion speaker in it and that it's about 25 years old. Are these any good? what are they worth?

Any opinions?

[Wally]

For a solid state amp, the BAndit has always had its admirers. IMHO, that amp is getting on in years. There are issues with electrolytics for SS amps just as with tube amps, and that amp is 'of an age', right? Play it. If you like it and have a use for it and he doesn't want more than a $100, maybe it is worth it. Have you done a completed auction search on ebay for this amp???

[TxTeleMan]

I had two, and they were good amps. If it works, is in good shape, and sounds good, all at a good price, go for it.

[clayfeat]

If it is clean and in good working order I'd give $100.

I have been looking for one myself to serve as a backup.

[Rusrant]

Is it a Bandit 65? If so put an Eminence Red, white and blues in it and add a few pedals in front and it's a really good amp, regardless of age or solidstate.

[cotecj]

To answer your question, yes. With that said, if you look around, you can get these for $100 or less without too much trouble. If his price is in that range, I'd grab it.

[Doug 54]

I wil be soon using mine for a project Tic-Tac bass

[mattbastardson]

You should buy it just to stimulate your bands economy!

[HOBBSTER01]

Use one almost weekly for a smaller venue.
Buy it.

[RedRock]

The Bandit 65, 75 and 1 12 are great amps. $100 to $150 is a huge
bang for the buck. The clean tone is powerful and musical, they are portable,
reliable, and take pedals well. Peavy will repair them if they need it at a very
reasonable cost. One of my all-time favorite amps.

[Rusrant]

Originally Posted by RedRock

The Bandit 65, 75 and 1 12 are great amps. $100 to $150 is a huge
bang for the buck. The clean tone is powerful and musical, they are portable,
reliable, and take pedals well. Peavy will repair them if they need it at a very
reasonable cost. One of my all-time favorite amps.

They will still repair the 65's? They are like 25 years old. How would you go about this?

[jguitarman]

Well, I'll get to try it out tomorrow night. For $80. or so I don't see how I could go wrong unless, as Wally said, it needs new caps. I checked out the completed auctions on eBay and it does seem like $80. - $100. or so is right in the ballpark.
I'll let you know if I buy it. I'm very much leaning towards buying it again, as a backup amp at gigs.

[LGOberean]

Originally Posted by cotecj

To answer your question, yes. With that said, if you look around, you can get these for $100 or less without too much trouble. If his price is in that range, I'd grab it.

In your neck of the woods, maybe. It seems that up north (and on the West Coast, apparently) Bandits are not well known/valued. But down here we know about these amps, and you count yourself really lucky to find one in that price range. And they don't typically go for that on eBay, Daddys.com or Music Go Round.

[tiktok]

A Bandit 65 is a workhorse, and I'd always be pleased to see one of those in a house backline. I'd pay no more than $200 though.

[LGOberean]

I checked out the completed auctions on eBay and it does seem like $80. - $100. or so is right in the ballpark.
jguitarman

I don't know how you came up with $80-100 being the average going (or "ballpark") rate for such Bandits, but I just don't see how that can be right.

For more than seven months, I've been monitoring eBay auctions of Peavey amps, particularly the various configurations of the Envoy, Express, Studio Pro and Bandit models. (I have also regularly checked Craig's List in my area, as well as Daddys.com and Music Go Round.)

So I've tracked eBay auctions/Buy It Now/OBO sales, keeping a log of them in tables in my files. In these tables of information I have recorded the specific item/model #, the auction/sale #, the number of bids, the winning bid price/BIN price/accepted offer, the S/H charge and the end date/date of sale.

So here's the latest on the price of 25 year old Bandits (i.e, 65s & 75s) on eBay. Actually, before I list the figures, I need to explain the numbers. All the prices that I list here are what I call the total sales price (TSP), which is the winning bid price/BIN price/accepted offer plus the S/H charge. I realize from the seller's perspective, S/H charges are not profit, but from a buyer's perspective, such charges have to be paid, therefore they must be factored in. So to present an accurate picture here of what these Bandits really cost, I must include the S/H charges. Now, with that said, let's proceed.

Bandit 65s. Last July, while tracking essentially all Bandits then offered on eBay, two 65s sold, for $168.11 and $150. So the average TSP for a 65 in July of 2009 was $159.055.

In January of this year, I once again began looking at 65s (and 75s, more on that in a moment). Five sold, ranging in price (TSP) from $142.50 to $253.46, averaging at $191.872.

Two sold in February at $215.59 and $141.48, with the average TSP being $178.535.

And in this month to date, three have sold, ranging in price from $92.82 (the cheapest I've seen that wasn't a "project" amp) to $178.99. That averages out to $127.603 thus far in March.

So the price range of the 12 Bandit 65s I've tracked on eBay over 8 months or so has been from $92.82 - $253.46, and the average TSP of the 12 is $168.1125.

Bandit 75s. Sightings of these amps are (or have been) a bit rare on eBay. Last July, one sold for $111 (TSP of course). In January, one sold for $134.50, and in this month to date, one has sold, for $166.50. The average TSP of these three amps is $137.333.

The prices that I've seen on the other online sources I've checked (CL, Daddys.com & MGR) are consistent with the eBay prices. Now, you can of course get better deals (if you can find them) from situations like a bandmate selling you his amp, or garage/rummage/estate sales. But when you're looking at regional prices, they aren't created equal. Bandits down here in the South just don't appear to be as cheap as they are up north and/or on the West Coast. (Example: pawn shops here in South Texas charge as much, and often times more, for Peaveys as eBay.)

[jguitarman]

If you are going to make a case for accurate price ranges I wish you would back it up with something.

No, seriously....my price range is really a very rough estimate. There are more than one Bandit models on eBay and I'm familiar with none of them. I'm not including shipping, insurance, tax, etc. I only considered ones that were old or appeared to be old. My estimate of $80.-$100. is what I think he'll ask for it and based on what I saw on eBay.

I pulled up the completed listings just now and the prices range from $57. - $135.
with the average price being $83.00 out of nine amps. I think the difference is that I am including 112's and you are only looking at 65's and 75's.
I guess the 112's are not as desirable as the 65's or 75's.
I also excluded amps that were modded or came with something else in addition to the amp, i.e. amp stand.

BTW I have one Bandit 112 for sale locally on CL with a Sheffield speaker and footswitch for $175.00

He didn't bring the amp last night but I will get to see it tomorrow night and I'll let you know what exactly it is.

Thanks for your input.

[LGOberean]

No problem. If you just want rough estimates for your own comparative purposes, great. I just wanted more detailed info out there. I've noticed a number of comments on TDPRI that also lowball the going price of Bandits, and I just wanted to put another perspective out there. Again, situations like a bandmate selling you his amp, garage/rummage/estate sales and such are great when you find them, but if nothing like that is available when your in the market for another amp, then online and pawn shops and used gear at music stores are what you're left with. And not every locality places a low price tag on these babies, and online prices are as I documented (if you figure out a way to get your amp of choice off of eBay w/o paying S/H, let me know).

Oh, and I listed in my previous post just the 65s & 75s because you stipulated 25 year old amps. There are various configurations of 112s, but they're not quite a quarter of a century old.

[JayFreddy]

Originally Posted by jguitarman

I guess the 112's are not as desirable as the 65's or 75's.

I like the 112 better than the 75, and I like the 75 better than the 65. I like the Transtube 112 the best, as that's the first one that included a jack for an external speaker.

A Transtube Bandit with an external 112 cab is like the slant-six motor, i.e., an understated thing of beauty that gets the job done.

Some people claim the Redstripe Transtube has a better clean channel than the Blackbox Transtube. I don't hear it, but that doesn't mean someone else won't.

I don't care for the new Chinese Bandits as much because they lost the spring reverb, but even the Chinese ones sound pretty amazing.

[RedRock]

Originally Posted by Rusrant

They will still repair the 65's? They are like 25 years old. How would you go about this?

Go to the Peavy website for detailed instructions. Yes, they will repair the
Bandit 65.
You ship the chassis to them In Mississippi, they repair it and send it back to you.
You can also call them and discuss the details. They are very helpful,
and take care of their own. One of the best customer service
departments I have ever seen.

[Rusrant]

Originally Posted by RedRock

Go to the Peavy website for detailed instructions. Yes, they will repair the
Bandit 65.
You ship the chassis to them In Mississippi, they repair it and send it back to you.
You can also call them and discuss the details. They are very helpful,
and take care of their own. One of the best customer service
departments I have ever seen.

Awesome, I would never have imagined they would still repair these. Thanks for the info.