Peavey Bandit 65 Pull/Thick

[charlieBravo]

So I just discovered the "Pull/Thick" on my Bandit while playing at performance volume. If you know what this is, then you know what I discovered and why I burst out laughing in joy whe. That is all.

This amp is an absolute Jem.

 

[That Cal Webway]

Pls xplain!

 

[bgmacaw]

From the Bandit 65 manual...

 

[charlieBravo]

Pls xplain!

I guess it's like built in boost pedal??. I'm not a pedal guy so I don't know.

But, Peavey was the defacto amp sound for every band in Illinois in the 80s. We shunned it because it was everywhere, but now that I know how to play and how to set an amp and I can't understand why everyone doesn't buy one. An American made amp for $100. But no one wants one. We are a strange band of brothers.

 

[LGOberean]

I don't know if it's true in New England that "no one wants one," but it's not true in the South. We know about those 1980s vintage MiM (Made in Mississippi) Peavey amps down here. And your a lucky man if you find one for just $100.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

I remember the "saturation" circuit of the mid-80's Bandit 65 sounding awful, and the "pull thick" just made it sound muddy and awful.

 

[strat56]

I used "pull thick" for a long when I wasn't using pedals, it is great!!

 

[mexicanyella]

My 1987ish Peavey Special 150 seems to be evidence of Peavey taking the "thick" control to the ultimate conclusion: make it compulsory! That model defeats all three EQ knobs when you select the lead channel, in favor of a preset "thick" EQ curve. The presence knob remains active so at least you can boost or cut the "teeth."

I joke that the lead channel is optimized for playing Dokken covers, but actually it can sound kind of cool for riffing if you set it super crunchy and present and work the guitar's volume knob. But to my ear the clean channel is where the slam, pants flap and tonal flexibility lies in tht amp.

 

[codamedia]

Things to take note of with the "Pull/Thick" control ....

• It only works on the lead channel
• When engaged the BASS and MID controls are no longer effective on the lead channel. (they work as usual on the normal channel)
  
• Pull/Thick is equivalent to the following...
  • 5 db boost on the general mid frequencies
  • Rolls off the highs 3db
• For reference.... the Pull Bright (on both channels) does the following
  • Provides a 3db boost on the highs
  • Provides a 3db boost on the low end roll off

IMO, a wonderful combination on the lead channel is the THICK and BRIGHT control engaged. The bright puts the highs back in that were rolled out by the thick, and also rolls the lows off a little keeping the sound tighter. Engaging the THICK also allows you to place the LOWS/MIDS wherever you want for the clean channel without consequence on the lead channel.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I remember the "saturation" circuit of the mid-80's Bandit 65 sounding awful, and the "pull thick" just made it sound muddy and awful.

That Saturation circuit was unusable!
I owned a Bandit 65 or 75 ( don't remember) and I just used that great clean channel ( and Reverb!) either alone or with a TS-9.

 

[codamedia]

I remember the "saturation" circuit of the mid-80's Bandit 65 sounding awful, and the "pull thick" just made it sound muddy and awful.

That Saturation circuit was unusable!

IMO... on the models with "saturation" all you had to do was leave that control turned down, and utilize the PRE/POST gain to adjust your overdrive amounts. I found it quite usable but YMMV.

That said... if you ever wanted that Molly Hatchet sound, the "saturation" control was very useful... you could hear the slew rate it was so slow

 

[Chiogtr4x]

IMO... on the models with "saturation" all you had to do was leave that control turned down, and utilize the PRE/POST gain to adjust your overdrive amounts. I found it quite usable but YMMV.

That said... if you ever wanted that Molly Hatchet sound, the "saturation" control was very useful... you could hear the slew rate it was so slow

Now that I think about it, is wasnt just the Saturation control, but the entire Pre/Post OD channel I didn't like.

- I found it harsh/fizzy, unusable for the warmer OD I could craft from just using OD pedals into the Clean channel ( I'm more R&R than hard rocker)

But I dug the Bandit while I owned it.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

Now that I think about it, is wasnt just the Saturation control, but the entire Pre/Post OD channel I didn't like.

- I found it harsh/fizzy, unusable for the warmer OD I could craft from just using OD pedals into the Clean channel ( I'm more R&R than hard rocker)

But I dug the Bandit while I owned it.

The funny thing about the Bandit 65 was if you dimed both channels (including the "saturation" preamp), and switched between them, they were indistinguishable.

 

[McGlamRock]

I loved my old Bandit 65! Sounded great, but I ended up selling it year back or so.

 

[Jeru]

I don't know if it's true in New England that "no one wants one," but it's not true in the South. We know about those 1980s vintage MiM (Made in Mississippi) Peavey amps down here. And your a lucky man if you find one for just $100.

Here in Chicago they can be found for a tick over $100. Ask me how I know.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

So I just discovered the "Pull/Thick" on my Bandit while playing at performance volume. If you know what this is, then you know what I discovered and why I burst out laughing in joy whe. That is all.

This amp is an absolute Jem.

yeah the bandit just might be one of great amp that some folk just won't acknowledge.
Robert Quine was know to use a Bandit , but I think that he mostly used Fenders

 

[2HBStrat]

I remember the "saturation" circuit of the mid-80's Bandit 65 sounding awful, and the "pull thick" just made it sound muddy and awful.

Is that why Lynyrd Skynyrd used Peavey amps?

That Saturation circuit was unusable!...

I used to turn the saturation and the master volume both all the way up and then just barely crank the input volume as needed...an interesting sound! Most of the time, thought, the saturation and the input volume were at about the same level with the master controlling the overall volume.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

Is that why Lynyrd Skynyrd used Peavey amps?.

Did Lynyrd Skynyrd use the Bandit 65?

 

[charlieBravo]

Did Lynyrd Skynyrd use the Bandit 65?

I think they are known for using the Mace

(image removed)

 

[2HBStrat]

Did Lynyrd Skynyrd use the Bandit 65?

I was just joking around. I feel sure that Lynyrd Skynyrd would have been able to get their sound on any quality equipment.