Peavey Combo 300 Bass Amp

dont know what year of make- just one of the "older" models with the blue topped control knobs this is one of the best combos avail for playing 'LOUD ' repeat very loud music this amp will stand up to marshall stacks anytime & will smoke an ampeg svt bass amp it's that loud add another cab & youre dangerous features all alot that you wont find on eden swr ampeg like a crossover control for an extra cab plus a LARGE heat sink in back that keeps this pv amp "cool as a cucumber" also came with factory casters & side handles- its a beast to move like movin a 4x10 bass cab

this amp shines using using active /& or single coil pickups & playing with a pick such my jazz ,rick bass etc sonds the best with my pv patriot bass gets that nasty geddy lee tone this amp sounds kinda muddy with p-bass ebo finger style though this amp is quite quiet except for the single coil buzz which is to be expected the distortion is quite minnimal & even nice an bit of tube tone

this amp will outlive a nuclear hollocaust just keep the top vent open when using this amp is what MADE IN USA quality is all about! THANK YOU PEAVEY! you guys deserve it! for this amp

NOPE never dealt with em but have heard good things about em

been playing 20-25 years on & off mostly classic rock music in bars weddings got this amp for outdoor gigs when i cant get help movin a more massive bass rig this amp fits nicely in a back seat- try doin that with an svt rig i wish peavey made slip covers for their products to keep dust/moisture out other than that if a loud bass amp is what you need here is fine canidate!

Enough of these around that you all know what knobs they have.
Very versatile and plenty of power up to where you would be through the PA anyway, at which point it is a great onstage monitor.

Not the greatest sound in the world but has always been loved by mixing engineers I have worked with as it doesnt muddy up the foh sound like many combo`s with hyped-up bottom.

Been around thew world at least once.
I had to change the mains transformer when I got to Europe with it & the aluminum dust cover came off the speaker at around 3 months old. Carlo`s in Nashville glued me in a JBL replacement and apart from that no probs in 24 years of use!

Since I got the amp for free, I LOVE Peavey! (grin)

But I never had to use their support since nothing ever went wrong.

Since I came off the road after too many years touring, I sold this amp to a pupil on the condition that if I ever got a gig where I needed it, I could borrow it back.
I`ve had Orange, Ampeg, Fender, Marshall and many other amps but this one was hands down the most reliable piece of equipment I have ever owned. It worked it`s butt off for me for nearly a quarter of a century.

Don't know what year it was made. It looks pretty old (80s).

This thing has a BOATLOAD of options on a relatively simple, one-line display.

Pre & Post Gains with push/pull for *bright* or *punch*. These ALONE beat out the EQ on most other amps.

Haven't used the variable crossover yet, but can't wait!

The EQ is one of the best I've seen short of a parametric EQ with a $h!tload of boost/cut frequencies.

The ground switching (neutral, + & -) is great for reducing annoying hum/noise; this should be a standard option on EVERY guitar amplifier.

WAY Powerful! 210 watts into 4-ohm Black Widow 15" internal speaker, with 300 watts on tap when you connect an additional external 4-ohm speaker! If you haven't shopped for an amp of that wattage recently, be prepared to spend some major $$$. (I'm considering wiring up TWO 8-ohm Black Widows in series in a separate cabinet to see what she'll do!)

I absolutely LOVE the ability to replace the speaker basket (retains the original one-piece magnet) with a one-piece unit for less than $100 (@ $69 online). If you fry a voice coil or someone puts a foot thru the cone, you can be up and running within 15 MINUTES!!!

I'm using it as a main guitar amp for my 1973 Ovation Breadwinner (!) with the original active pickups.

I love the amazing array of sounds you can get from both the combination push/pull rheostats on the pre & post gains and the incredible EQ section. Combined with the Hi/Low Gain inputs, crossover & pedal inputs, this is one of the most versatile amps I've ever used.

Distortion is NONEXISTENT (OK, for an 80s amp) unless you want it. The only way to get a cleaner sound at this volume is to spend THOUSANDS on a newer and much more complex system. This sucker will CRANK!

BULLETPROOF. This thing looks like it's literally had the beejeezus beat out of it and still sounds great. I wouldn't be surprised to learn this thing was dropped out of the back of a pickup going down the road.

There is NO NOISE/SCRATCHING in the rheostats or switches; unheard of for an amp this old.

The only weak point I see is the little plastic finger tabs that hold the grill on; they were all but gone on mine. Howeve, they most certainly outlasted any velcro-type option that could have been used.

Unused. However, it is simple as the click of a mouse button to purchase replacement parts online from a variety of vendors.

I've played on and off since 1975 and this is the best amp I've played on. The only other amp I've actually OWNED was an old Sears Silvertone tube head that output about 35 watts into a separate cabinet I made with a 15 woofer, 6" mid and 6" horn tweeter (sweet!). It was pathetic, power-wise, but overall a great sounding system for a teenager.

If my 300 were stolen, I'd immediately hit up eBay for a used replacement! I hate the heaviness but wouldn't trade light weight for any of the reliability or features; without the casters it would be a BEAR to transport.

All amplifier makers today could take a lesson by studying this amp and applying it's innovations, reliability and versatility into their products today. Incredibly impressive for a 20+ year-old amp!

I bought this amp used on eBay. The pic showed an old beat up amp with sawdust all over it (had been sitting in the guy's wood shop where he makes guitars); I was the only bidder and got a HELLUVA deal when I won with the starting $50 bid. Got is home and found the Black Widow paper cone had distorted over time with humidity, etc. and was rubbing the voice coil against the magnet. I found it in time to prevent damage to the amp (THANKS! to the overload light on the display!). I bought a replacement BW on ebay for $70.00. One of the great things about this amp is the ability to purchase a replacement Black Widow speaker basket online for less than $80!!

GET ONE NOW!

Very full featured combo. I have owned mine for 20 years, and I'm still amazed at the versatility of the EQ and the options this combo provides. All this and you can add a 4-ohm extension cabinet to get all 300 watts at 2 ohms. I only give it a 9 because it's very heavy (90 pounds or so).

I play jazz, blues, rock, and contemporary Christian music with no problems. Make no mistake, this amp combined with the 15" Black Widow woofer is LOUD. For about a month, I tried a BX3000T head with a Bag End 4x10 cab just to see how the band would like it. While that combination was nice, when I switched back to the Peavey, everyone said, "AHHH!!!" How's that for a subjective review?

It would take a nuclear war to kill this thing. After 10 years, the fuse blew. I paid 50 cents for a new one at Radio Shack, and that one has been ticking for 10 years without a hitch. I gig with it, drive it everywhere - it is a road warrior. Nuff' said. Did I mention it will run at 2 ohms for 6 hours and only be slightly warm?

Have no idea...never had to use it.

I've been playing bass for 20 years - performing in front of people since week 2 of that period. This, together with my Fender Jazz Special, is still the foundation of my bass gear list. I now use run an Avatar B210 NEO as an extension cab, and the sound is HUGE. I don't have to run through our PA at any venue (apart from large outdoors stuff...that's a different thing altogether). If you find one, get it and keep it. After 20 years, it's still worth what I paid for it and more.

Well, you've all read about the features below... The only thing I might say about it is that there are sometimes TOO many knobs on here. Not that it's difficult to get a good sound out of it, that's pretty easy. The tough part is getting that same great sound that you had before as opposed to a different great sound. Mainly, when I pull off the dust cover, the knobs turn... so I have to reset things. Oh, and other people who use this amp have a tendency to play with the knobs too much because there are so many of them... However, the only way this could be improved is if the knobs could lock, and who really cares? I'm just lazy is all...

My favorite features bar none are the two "pull" switches on the pre and post gain knobs. One gives "punch" AKA "balls" when you need a little more for a tune, and one gives "bright" AKA "sparkle"... Great in a live situation where you don't want to be messing with EQ every song. One click and you've got a whole new tone... FYI, I'm using this with my new Washburn Taurus 5 string bass. This amp had sat in my garage for months because I was playing a Hohner jazz bass which sounded muddy through the Peavey. Turns out it was just the Hohner bass that sounded muddy (I also used it for guitar for a while, but ended up not needing the massive volume - see my review below). With the Washburn, it's cherry! I've used this amp for heavy metal shows (this sucker ended up drowning out the PA), jazz band, and other various rock bands... It does it all.

What I love about this amp is that the speaker is WONDERFUL. You can push as much low end as you want, at whatever volume you want, and the speaker WILL NOT DISTORT. Of course, the rest of the amp tends to rattle itself (and everything around it) crazy... But that's not a real big deal to me.

It died on me once. Turns out the previous owner had installed the wrong fuse or something and ended up damaging other parts. That's why I got it so cheap. Also when I got it, one of the jacks was damaged. Got these things repaired, and it's been a workhorse ever since. I even accidentally dumped this baby off the back of a cart to land headfirst on the pavement (and then fall facefirst onto the same pavement), and the only casualty was the front grill, which is now a little bent and won't attach to the velcro strips correctly which hold it in place in front of the speaker. As far as using it without a backup? I have, I will, and I honestly wouldn't even have a plan B if it broke down... That's how much I trust it. 9 just because some bozo actually managed to damage it.

Never messed with it.

Been playing guitar for about 10 years and bass for about 6 now. I'm a bass major at the state college, so I have to play this thing a lot. If it was stolen, I'd be upset, and I'd be hardpressed to find such a versatile volume monster. Honestly, I'd probably have to go with some sort of rack system to accomplish this. I love how great it sounds and how I never have to worry about the top end of power. I hate how HEAVY it is, but it's a fair tradeoff. I love how it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin... Let's see you drop a SWR or Hartke on the concrete and see how it plays.

I submitted an reiview before I got my amp fixed, now it plas great, turns out that who ever fixed it the first ime screwed it over worse than before!!!!, so I took it to another place and they rewired it so it plays CLEAN and LOUD!!!I still use the boss DS1 distortion but, I can actually hear what the pedal sounds like. it has an amazing low end it will shake the house to death!!! I would love to get another one mine is running off the external speaker jack on the back wich pumps out 300!!! watts to the speaker turns out I didn't get ripped off but Iwas mad at the time so It really plays good now

I still use the crappy ibanez 200. it fits my playing style great,except it is a little loud for some of the stuff I do. the distortion used to be brutal but I have yet to get it to distort!

it has not had any problems since it was fixed. I hope I didn't scare any one away from buying one of these beasts.

waaaaaaaaaay out of warranty. got it repaired twice! for the same problem sort of the first person just srewed it over worse the second place got it right!

I will be playing a year in november 03. I would definnetly buy another! it is just real cool, but awful bulky and HEAVY.
the peavey emblem and a good screen/grille.

everything a growing boy could ever want ! .. many tone-ish nobs .. pre post gain nobs ( volume) pre amp in and out .. cross over .. speaker out, big ass black widow speaker ..

... PERFECT ! ... i love the sound i can get out of this amp .. if you have this thing .. just sit and rip on it for an hour or what ever ..and get to know it ( its gonna be around for awhile)..

i play everything on this ... every style .. with this thing you can make a newly strung bass sound like a fucking upright ( just turn all the tone nobbs to as low as they go .. but turn the bottom, body up ..and a little bit of punch) .. if you want a really shredding twang turn your PRE all the way to 10 ..and then control your master volume with your Post (pull both nobbs out for full rock out .. if you want more twang less bottom then push the POST in and have the PRE out .. switch that for more bottom less twang)..(when you get to 2-4 on your POST stuff around your amp will start to brake and fall over) ... then turn all the other tone nobbs all the way up .. and adjust the over all shredd with TIMBRE .. this setting can even give you a kind of stiff little fingers distortion if you're playin a geetar through it

this thing is a damn work horse nothing stops it .. and this is coming from me .. and i kill amps like nobodys business .. killed a new crate half stack in 5 hours .. but this thing doesn't take shit .. it's tough as nails and i've had mine for 5 years ? .. and gigged it alot .. loaded it in the rain, snow .. no problems .. when i bought my dad and i were cleaning it up ..and there was coke all inside the head .. i'm sure this would've taken anyother amp down ..

i've never had to deal with them ... and doubt i ever will for this monster

i love this amp .. it was the first big amp i bought and it will probably out last anything else i buy.... if you see one of these beauts pick it up for any price .. i have never had any problem with it ... and i play it daily ...

when i bought this i was saving up for one of those yorkville things .. those ugly blue fuzzy things (they were like $800) ... then one day i walking into the music store and there she was .. standing head and shoulders above the yorkvilles ... more power, better sound, bigger, no fuzz ... it was perfect... put a hold on it .. picked it up with my dad later that day

the combo 300 has loads of features. crossover, high & low inputs, lots of tone knobs (8)... i can use it as a pre amp. i bought it in 1990 used (1988 model) & i paid $450 canadian for it. i liked it so much that when a buddy of mine was selling a beat up, yet identical 1984 model, i scooped it for $100. it didn't sound as good, but for a couple of years i used it when playing live... i would plug into one & run a line to the other one on the other side of the stage. BIG venu sound!

currently i play a barracuda jazz bass. i play hard rock/metal... lots of stuff like godsmack & metallica. the amp emits a bit of a hum sometimes, but it's not too bad. the over all sound isn't as good as it was in 1990, but this is 2003 & i've never had anything done to it. at high volume the 'comp' light comes on a lot.

NEVER had a major problem with it. the only thing is that i think the sound quality is starting to degrade after 15 years of abuse

i've never dealt with peavey.

i've been playing since 1990 (13 years). my bass collection currently includes a barracuda jazz bass (my fave), a peavey fury bass & a bc rich warlock LA series (i don't play it any more). i would buy one again, but would shop around for other brands first. i love the reliability of the amp, but i wish it sounded a bit better.

I belive that my combo 300 was either made in 79' or later. I got it as a gift and they paid $149 for it but a little while after I had it the speaker gave out it was repaired at some time in its previous life
but I had to put a $91.15 basket in it wich didnot help it it still plays fully distorted and quiet. I use a 200 seires Ibanez, and lots of metallica and other stuff. I use a BOSS ds1 distortion(not really for a bass but it was cheap) I dont know how the cross over works but it doesnt matter I guess. the eq is nice lots o nobs! I dont really know how it sounds but maybe some day ill get it fixed.

its distorted all the time even after replacing the speaker.

It has pretty much been broken since a little bit after I got it so I cant reaally say how good it is.

past warranty, havent even tried peavey yet.

I havent been playing to long. I use an Ibanez gsr 200 srs.
Might buy another probably just get different one.
didnt really shop around so i got screwed I think.
Depends onthe day some times I hate it other days I dont.
decent sound would be nice !
cool amp if it works right, hey you get to tell your friends check out my amp tis huge and has its own wheels!

This is an early 90's Peavey BlackWidow equiped cab with a 300 watt (into 4ohms) power amp. This is an extremely versitle combo system with enough power for most live indoor performances, and the flexibility for when it does not. 8 band parametric (must be parametric) eq allows for a whole range of tones and playing styles. Has more jacks and features than you can shake a stick at. Heavy-duty 30 amp transitors and thick PCB are also good bonuses. I re-fitted mine with a crossover and 4-inch bullet horn tweeter from JBL However, I rate features only as "9" due to the lack of a headphone jack.

I play mostly classic Rock, Jazz, and Blues. This is a great amp for that, as a simple turn of a dial, and you can totally change the sound without changing basses. Sound is crisp, precise, and punchy, with enough bottom end to fill out the spectrum. I have read on other sites complaining about the dated BlackWidow technology, but it is sufficient. If you need more sparkle, it is easy enough to add a bullet or horn tweeter to the cabinet. But any day of the week, my "big" bass rig (a Sunn Coloseum Lead and 2x 412 cabs) totally blows it away in terms of shear volume and overall sound (as well it should!).

I bought this unit used, and it has been extremely reliable. In the 1 year that I ave had it, I have had to only resolder a single solder joint. No buzzing, snaps, crackles, or pops. It seems very much capable of handling the rigors of the road.

Although I have never had to deal with Peavey about this unit (as it is far out of warranty anyways), when I have had problems with their equipment in the past they have always been very helpful. But this is not a review for the other equipment, so I will refrain from rating their serivce in it.

As I have stated in other reviews, I have been playing pro and semi-pro for 10 years. This is as good or better than any other piece of equipment I have owned. I like to think I buy quality products and treat them well. Overall it is a competent performer for practice use and smaller indoor venues. I am currently looking for another, just as a hot spare, and for when I need more "umph" without the full Sunn system noted above.