NAD: Silver stripe Bandit

[a_pidgeon]

I found a silver stripe Peavey Bandit online for a deal, so I snagged it to see what all the fuss was about.

Included is the original Sheffield speaker and the footswitch, neither of which I had expected based on the listing. I need to spend some more time playing with it, and the pots could stand a bit of contact cleaner, but it sounds very good so far. The gain channel is pretty noisy, but the clean side is great.

I must admit I'm not a huge fan of how heavy it is. The rest of my gear is ultralight by comparison. Has anybody thrown something like a Weber Neomag into one of these to shed some pounds?

 

[Silverface]

pots could stand a bit of contact cleaner

Make sure you *don't* use "cleaner. The pots will be ruined the second you spray it.

ONLY use "cleaner/lubricant". pots have lubricating oils that also protect the element against corrosion - cleaner alone re,moves the oil and carbon deposits start to build immediately at points of contact. Each one causes an irreversible "pop".

 

[a_pidgeon]

Make sure you *don't* use "cleaner. The pots will be ruined the second you spray it.

ONLY use "cleaner/lubricant". pots have lubricating oils that also protect the element against corrosion - cleaner alone re,moves the oil and carbon deposits start to build immediately at points of contact. Each one causes an irreversible "pop".

Good call. I likely wouldn't have thought about it if you hadn't said something.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

Could someone explain to me what the attraction is to the Bandit amps? I had one (Bandit 65) a long time ago, probably 1986-1987, and I saw nothing special about it. It was by no means a bad amplifier, but today I see people showing all kinds of love for what I considered at the time to be a mediocre amp. I thought the "saturation" circuit sounded mushy, like a radio turned up too loud. I remember being disappointed because I expected the distortion to sound like my friend's Backstage Plus, which was tight and crunchy. Please enlighten me!!

 

[Silverface]

Could someone explain to me what the attraction is to the Bandit amps?

Some apparently think the "transtube technology" sounds like a tube amp. I have played through several and...well...err...no, I can't say what the attraction is!

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

Some apparently think the "transtube technology" sounds like a tube amp. I have played through several and...well...err...no, I can't say what the attraction is!

Mine was before the "Transtube" thing came about.

 

[brookdalebill]

Congrats!

 

[codamedia]

Could someone explain to me what the attraction is to the Bandit amps? I had one (Bandit 65) a long time ago, probably 1986-1987, and I saw nothing special about it. It was by no means a bad amplifier, but today I see people showing all kinds of love for what I considered at the time to be a mediocre amp. I thought the "saturation" circuit sounded mushy, like a radio turned up too loud. I remember being disappointed because I expected the distortion to sound like my friend's Backstage Plus, which was tight and crunchy. Please enlighten me!!

Bandits (like all amps) have gone through many versions. The Bandit 65 does not have a very good overdrive circuit... but by the time the Teal Stripe came around, the overdrive tones were very good.... that has continued ever since. You cannot judge any Bandit 112 (1990 and later) overdrive based on the Bandit 65 from the 80's... they are very different.

Personally, I prefer the clean sounds on those older Peavey's (eg: the Bandit 65)... and find they make decent pedal platforms. While the overdrive got better over time, the clean channel got thinner... IMO of course.

What is the attraction? How about an amp that is built like a tank, makes a good pedal platform, later versions have good overdrive circuits, and can be found used for $100... give or take a little. At the very least they make a decent backup amp... and can easily stand up to "grab and go" situations.

 

[Commodore 64]

I have one on my front porch, just like OP. I got it for $25 years ago, needed some jack repairs and a new speaker. If it was the only amp I had, I could get by with. It's serviceable and plenty loud. As it is, I've played it for maybe 4 hours total. There's nothing compelling about it whatsoever, so I tend to go back to using something else.

I'll probably take it back to the practice space where it has sat for the past 3 years. Just in case every other amp there breaks on the same day.

 

[hemingway]

I find it a very good, unpretentious, very cheap all-round amp that you can plug in and go. Doesn't need a lot of tweaking or worrying about the "sweet spot". It's loud, tough, and the vintage channel will cut through any mix with bags of twang.

I gig with an Envoy these days, which is the slightly smaller version. It does what I want it to do and sounds great. Is it for cork sniffers? No.

 

[BB]

For me, the attraction to Peavey amps is not in the distortion side of the amp, it's the ability to get a nice sounding, powerful clean amp that serves well as a pedal platform.

Add that to the fact I can buy one for less than the price of a Mooer pedal....that ups the attraction factor big time!

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[ecoast]

congrats op

I got a silver one from all the 'hype' and then it led me to try a studio pro (little lighter)

 

[Silverface]

Mine was before the "Transtube" thing came about.

Oh - gosh, I'm sorry!

 

[JCW308]

Great pedal platform.

 

[Jakedog]

Attraction is:

They sound great, they're dirt cheap, and bullet proof.

If you gig like mad, they're great for that. They can get knocked over, beer soaked, whatever. If it gets stolen, or if you have too much tequila and don't realize until the next gig in a town 600 miles away that you forgot to load your amp, so what? Go to the pawn shop and get another one for $100.

They don't require a lot of tweaking to sound decent. But if you take time to learn how to tweak them, they can be kinda crazy. Especially the silver stripe and red stripe versions with the T Dynamics knob.

I've always said that someday I'm gonna stick Bandit guts in an old Fender tube amp carcass and fool everybody. Just to prove the cork sniffer point once and for all.

Unlike some, I've never cared for a Peavey dirt channel. I'll use Bandit cleans all day long, though. And with T Dynamics, you can get great edge of breakup and light breakup tones.

They're great little amps for next to no money.

 

[bigben55]

In the past 10 years, I've had all these fine amps:

1965 Fender Tremolux
1960 Fender Twin Reverb
Dr Z Z28
Richter 5E3
Savage Macht 12x
1966 Fender Super Reverb
1966 Fender Pro Reverb

I still have the Super and the Pro, and a Redstripe Bandit. I can say unequivocally that it is a GOOD sounding amp, that it's a good pedal platform, loud enough for most any gig, and the dirt channel is usable. It is the ultimate "beater" amp, the ultimate back up amp. And mine ain't for sale.

 

[richey88]

I had a silver stripe (?) smaller than the Bandit. I liked the tone, was a great pedal platform. Dirt cheap IIRC. Don't see what the beef is......

 

[jvin248]

Could someone explain to me what the attraction is to the Bandit amps? ...

The usual accurate response is "Loud, Clean, Durable, Takes pedals well, and Inexpensive!"

I have both a 65 and a later 112 and they both fit that. I got the 65 with a free Epi 100 guitar for $75, and the 112 with cover and footswitch for $80 two years ago.

I find it interesting that most amps get judged on their distortion channel when I see these massive pedal boards people push in front of them with a dozen different dirt pedals.

I thought Brian Wampler was clever this year at the NAMM show where he unveiled a clean amp that 'takes pedals well'. It's a perfect product space to work in.

For a smaller practice space amp I found the cleanest options on a Line6 Spider 4 I could (it's a challenge and still in-process, it's not a Bandit) as I got it as a throw in on a guitar trade. It can sort of handle a few pedals. So I think that in a few years these amps will surface out of the same soup of "I can push pedals to this $25 amp and hear what I get!" reviews.

.

 

[SolidSteak]

I must admit I'm not a huge fan of how heavy it is. The rest of my gear is ultralight by comparison. Has anybody thrown something like a Weber Neomag into one of these to shed some pounds?

I used to have a red stripe USA Bandit. Not sure a speaker swap is going to buy you more than a few pounds... 4-6 at most maybe? The weight is mostly in the MDF cab I think.

You could try hauling around a 4x10 bass cabinet for a while and then see how light the Bandit is by comparison Seriously though, it balances okay with a guitar in your other hand. Definitely not the lightest amp ever made, I agree.

 

[Dismalhead]

Congrats. I've got the same Bandit. Yes, it's heavy as heck.