Solid State Amp Serviceability

[dmrogers]

I just started looking for a good, relatively light solid state amp. I have a couple of Classic 50s but they are getting heavier and I am getting older.
Initially, I was really eyeing the Roland Blues Cube, specifically the Stage version. I was also checking out the Quilter Aviator Cub 50, and the Orange Crush CR60C.
But then I really zoned in on the Peavey Bandit. I have owned (and still own) a lot of Peavey gear over the years and it has all been rock solid. Two of the reasons I seriously started checking out the Bandit was, of course, price and the fact that if you have a problem, you can simply send the gear to Peavey for repairs. Plus I know of several people in the surrounding area that can repair Peavey equipment. On top of that, I feel that I can get a good tone out of it, especially one with the much talked about Texas Heat speaker.
I saw several posts where people stated that they had trouble getting their Roland equipment repaired after the warranty was over. That really concerned me! I don’t want to buy a boat anchor!
So, here’s my question: Has anyone had experience with repairs of Roland, Quilter and/or Orange?
The Bandit is still very much in the running, but the prices have really climbed up recently. With that said, the other amps are between $200 to $400 more than a nice Bandit. I’m trying to do good research and weigh all the options before making a purchase.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Jakedog]

I don’t anything about the innards of Roland or Quilter. I know Roland has a solid track record of long term reliability. Quilter I’ve never looked at because I do not like the way they sound at all.

The Orange Crush/Crush Pro/Super Crush series should be fine. They’re built very well, and with the exception of the reverb are all analog solid state. No ones and zeroes, just an analog signal path. Shouldn’t be any harder to repair than your average bandit.

Bandits are super hard to beat, though. I’ve got one here I use all the time in addition to my tube stuff. I’ve also got an Orange Crush 35RT that’s been taking a weekly beating as the second amp at my Monday jam night for almost two years now and has been totally bullet proof.

 

[dmrogers]

Well, I figured I would update this post so as to not leave people hanging.
Last night, after much thought, I did something totally wild. I ordered an Orange Super Crush 100 Combo. I figured, at my age, I might as well splurge! It has two channels, is a analog solid state amp, no modeling. Just a solid, no frills amp. The weight is manageable too.
Looking forward to getting it and figuring out how to get ""my tone" out of it.

After searching for "THE" Peavey Bandit, which didn't materialize, I started looking at my original list. The Super Crush checked all the boxes, so I went for it.

 

[schmee]

"....Two of the reasons I seriously started checking out the Bandit was, of course, price and the fact that if you have a problem, you can simply send the gear to Peavey for repairs. ...."
Are you sure you can still send an old Bandit back to Peavey for repair?

 

[dmrogers]

Are you sure you can still send a Bandit back to Peavey for repair?

Well, now that you mention it, I'm not sure. I have set equipment to Peavey before, but the latest was a mixer before the plague.

 

[schmee]

Well, now that you mention it, I'm not sure. I have set equipment to Peavey before, but the latest was a mixer before the plague.

I was just wondering, how old are Bandits? 30 years? Peavey stuff is indestructible though!

 

[Pcs264]

"Peavey stuff is indestructible though!"
Mostly, except for my Classic 30 that, at less than one year old, burst into flames (I mean actual erupting flames and smoke) after about 10 minutes of bedroom volume playing! But that was a tube amp....

 

[bobio]

I probably don't look at amps the same way most here do, I do NOT consider them long term investments.
I buy them fully expecting to pass them on after around 10 years. I just picked up my current ones in 2020 so they have 8 more years before I pass them on. In that amount of time, I have NEVER had an issue with ANY of my solid-state amps so serviceability has never really been a concern of mine.

 

[dmrogers]

I was just wondering, how old are Bandits? 30 years? Peavey stuff is indestructible though!

The first one was made in 1980. So, around 43 years for the very first ones.

 

[Jakedog]

I was just wondering, how old are Bandits? 30 years? Peavey stuff is indestructible though!

First ones hit around ‘80, but they’re still in production.

 

[Robert H.]

I’ve had Roland’s for years - latest is a Blues Cube Stage I got in 2018. Never issues with any - except for an input jack replacement on an old Cube 60. They’re solid

 

[Jakedog]

Well, I figured I would update this post so as to not leave people hanging.
Last night, after much thought, I did something totally wild. I ordered an Orange Super Crush 100 Combo. I figured, at my age, I might as well splurge! It has two channels, is a analog solid state amp, no modeling. Just a solid, no frills amp. The weight is manageable too.
Looking forward to getting it and figuring out how to get ""my tone" out of it.

After searching for "THE" Peavey Bandit, which didn't materialize, I started looking at my original list. The Super Crush checked all the boxes, so I went for it.

Nice choice! I’ve not had a chance to try one yet but I’m super curious about them. Hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it!

 

[Bob M]

I had 2 late 80s Bandits. I loved those amps. They were really heavy for SS amps. I have a Quilter 101 now. 2 x 10 cab and 1 x 12 cab. Great sound and great portability.

 

[schmee]

I had 2 late 80s Bandits. I loved those amps. They were really heavy for SS amps. I have a Quilter 101 now. 2 x 10 cab and 1 x 12 cab. Great sound and great portability.

That is the downside to the old Peavey stuff for sure. And the new Roland stuff also. MDF or some particle board is super heavy.

 

[Greg70]

Anything with discrete electrical components is easy to service. I had a Backstage 30 that went dead. It only had around 6 transistors in it. I desoldered each one and tested them with a meter. Found the dead one and bought a replacement at Radio Shack for 86 cents. Soldered it back in and it worked great.

 

[The Angle]

I have both a Peavey silver stripe Envoy and a Roland Blues Cube Hot / Boss Drive Special. I like the Peavey a lot but between the two, I'd take the Roland every time. Everything the Peavey does, the Roland does better. IMO, there are only two reasons to select the Peavey over the Roland. First, Blues Cubes sound unmistakably like '50s tweed amps (unless you add a tone capsule, but the BCH doesn't allow those). Even the Boss Drive Special, which emulates a JTM45, makes no secret of that amp's Bassman roots. If you want a more modern '60s, '70s, or '80s kind of sound, the Peavey does a better job of it. Second is price. New or used, a Blues Cube Hot will cost up to five times what you'd pay for a Peavey.

Orange amps I have no experience with. They're just not my cup o' Earl Gray. But from all reports, the Super Crush is an excellent amp. I'm betting you'll be happy with it.

 

[Cam]

I've never had to service any SS amps I've owned other than clean pots and replace a JC 120 reverb pan. Tube amps are another story involving lots of different tubes, soldering, replacing this and that, solving this and that, etc. etc.

 

[dmrogers]

Nice choice! I’ve not had a chance to try one yet but I’m super curious about them. Hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it!

I'll be sure to post an update after I've had some time with it.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

This is just my experience, so put down the torches and pitchforks.

Next amp I buy might be a Bandit.
Heard nothing but really positive things about them.
And for the price? Yikes!

Or it might be a Quilter head (Tone Block 202 or 101 Reverb) and cabinet.
Nice and compact, can fit in my possibles bag in case of breakage on regular amp.
Also ability to go direct into PA is a big plus these days.
But the price with a quality speaker and cab is substantial.

Had an Orange 35RT and the honeymoon was brief.
The divorce was swift.
Not my cup of tea.
Still, it was light and portable and had a built-in tuner ...

Also had a Quilter Aviator Cub (current gen). For about 4 months.
Great little amp - delivered 3 flavors of Fender tone and was light to carry.
But I never really bonded with it.
Which is weird, because I've really liked other Quilter heads ...

What I do have and use and thoroughly love is a Roland Blues Cube Stage.
60 Watts of LOUD when you need it, but can be scaled back to comfy volume easily without tone loss.
Delivers tasty Fender-esque tone in spades.
Great on-board reverb.
Line out for direct to PA and jack for headphones.
Highly useable OD from the "Crunch" channel.
Had a Fender HRD for many years - OD sucked bigtime.
Plus you couldn't get any decent sound out of it at non-deafening levels.
Relatively easy to haul around.
Got mine gently used @ Reverb for $450 - lots of them in the low 500s nowadays.
It's my Goldilocks amp and I'm thinking of picking up a second one just in case.

 

[dmrogers]

This is just my experience, so put down the torches and pitchforks.

Next amp I buy might be a Bandit.
Heard nothing but really positive things about them.
And for the price? Yikes!

Or it might be a Quilter head (Tone Block 202 or 101 Reverb) and cabinet.
Nice and compact, can fit in my possibles bag in case of breakage on regular amp.
Also ability to go direct into PA is a big plus these days.
But the price with a quality speaker and cab is substantial.

Had an Orange 35RT and the honeymoon was brief.
The divorce was swift.
Not my cup of tea.
Still, it was light and portable and had a built-in tuner ...

Also had a Quilter Aviator Cub (current gen). For about 4 months.
Great little amp - delivered 3 flavors of Fender tone and was light to carry.
But I never really bonded with it.
Which is weird, because I've really liked other Quilter heads ...

What I do have and use and thoroughly love is a Roland Blues Cube Stage.
60 Watts of LOUD when you need it, but can be scaled back to comfy volume easily without tone loss.
Delivers tasty Fender-esque tone in spades.
Great on-board reverb.
Line out for direct to PA and jack for headphones.
Highly useable OD from the "Crunch" channel.
Had a Fender HRD for many years - OD sucked bigtime.
Plus you couldn't get any decent sound out of it at non-deafening levels.
Relatively easy to haul around.
Got mine gently used @ Reverb for $450 - lots of them in the low 500s nowadays.
It's my Goldilocks amp and I'm thinking of picking up a second one just in case.
View attachment 1103029

The Roland Blues Cube Stage was on the top of my list for a while. I was pretty sure that is what I was gonna order. Then, the search for a nice Bandit started. That just didn't pan out, however, if I ever find one in great shape close enough, I'll pick it up.
It's funny, I spent less time researching the Orange amps than I did any other. With that said, I liked what I saw. So far, I'm loving the Super Crush. After a while, I'm gonna do an update on it. Probably after I take it to our practice space and I try it out in a band situation. Currently, I'm using my Classic 50-410.