Peavey Bandit 112 II

One of the Last American made ones, is there a difference between the American and Chinese ones? the jury is still out on that one but they are more sought after. Super versatile close to being a modeling amp with all it's different "modes" but has it's own voice. Not as loud as a twin 12 but near in the upper end of the loudness range for single 12 combo, surprising bottom end for what it is. I am ultra happy that there is an effects loop (switchable)and a preamp out power amp in loop, more on this and why it's important latter. I am one of those play it all guys who has been serching for ultimate tone for ever, clean crunch and distortion. I've owned modelers and they do it tone wise for some but I feel disconected. This doesn't have that problem. You know the features if you've been reading reviews and this amp is up there so a 10

On it's own the amp fares out ok. You can dial it in for great country twang because it's got that trebly almost flat top edgy tweeter sound and for those players thats good and for metal is has that raspy Marshallesque "brilliance" or raspy sound and sounds virtually identical to the JCM 900 twin and though that sound is not for me it suits many others but for blues or modern rock and roll then......well....... people that don't want to hear twang or fizz and it's way to trebly as if there a tweeter in there somewhere.

Here is why I'm so happey there are two loops. I am experienced enought to know the problem (for many of us, not all) lies in the treble response of the Sheffield 1230, a great speaker when coupled with a tube amp that has no top end to speak of but when coupled with a solid state amp that has the range then it comes up very tweeter like, it's a very well designed speaker and the standard thinking is it you have to much treble just EQ it out but that just isn't always a reality, sometimes EQing is a compromise. I could have swaped out the speaker for something like an Emminence 128 wich would have likely cured the problem but here is what I did.

I run my effect pedals on a pedal board, some pedals are pre-preamp some are post yada yada yada.... (this upcoming part is important) and I run a crossover in the effect loop (what?). I have the cross over set to low pass or highcut whichever way you want to look at it and I can dial in or out the high end response of the speaker (for all intents and purposes)I have it dialed in to cut at 2700 HZ and above at -10db per octave. It tottaly and completely get's rid of the harshness but maintains a nice high end and the eq is still totaly responsive, the presence now works like it should and doesn't just ad fizzyness. The bonus is that with running it thru the effects loop I can switch it in or out at will (foot pedal loop in out, nice feature) and with the clean channel I can get the added tweeter like clean any time I want it for a flat top type of sound with my strat. I tried this with an EQ and it just wasn't the same, the cross over gets rid of the offending (for me) high end and warms this amp up completely.

The end result is an amp that for me went from an 7.5 because it was to narrow on it's tone ability to an absolute 10. This little experiment has become my #1 stage rig displacing a Fender Vibrolux for clean and blues (SRV) and a Marshal JCM 800 with a 2X12 cab for R&R and modern Rock. I have the equivalent of two speakers in my rig and my sound palate has opened up dramaticaly and I can do it all with one amp and the amp doesn't have a laggy processed feel to it at all and no more back breaking leghty set ups, I am a happy camper

You are kidding right, duhn hello...Peavey, reliability and support doesn't get any better.

Had a repair once on a mixer, one channel was out and it was done very quickly under warantee, no issues. Peavey stands in front of their product not hiding behind it like some.

I've been playing over 40 years and I've owned a recording studio, I still play and I play any style of music, I'm not prejudiced to music styles or types. There is no such twing as bad music, just bad musicians. If something happens to this amp then I'm buying another used or new they are unreal in every department exept (for me) the speaker. The speaker is the one component that is to ignored in making up your sound and the amp is often blamed. I was able to find a cure that worked for me......I wish you all luck in finding not just the tone, you can do that with a modeling amp but the feel as well and don't ever let anyone tell you tubes are better, it's what is right for you.

I bought this one in 2008 summer. It is an very versatile 80 watt transistor amplifier. It has two channels. Clean with three different modes - vintage, classic and warm and lead channel with classic, modern and high gain modes. It also has high gain and low gain inputs, 3 band EQ and master volume for both channels, boost and reverb. You can run it on 100% (80W), 50% (40W) and 25% (20W). It also has and FX loop and you can put an external cabinet on it. So it's freaking versatile, it has everything I need.

I am using Ibanez RG1570 with Bare Knuckle Nailbomb on the bridge. I am playing everything from heavy metal to thrash metal (lol). It has very beatiful cleans. It's pretty noisy, so noise gate is good with it. I can get pretty good distortion out from it.. But if I crank the pre gain over six and half it starts to squeak like a hell in our small training place. So thats why I boost it sometimes with Boss MT-2 or OD-3. I've tried it with 4x12 cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's and it had very ballsy sound! Too bad that I have no money for an external cab :( I usually mic it on the gigs so maybe I don't need the cabinet that much. Nowadays I am running an Line6 POD XT Live to it's FX loop return, so it is like a power amp to me now. Sad to say, but the POD XT Live has much better sounds, but it costs 100 euros more than the Bandit.. So the Bandit is best buy for the money!

I've gigged and done hm.. different things with it :) Built like a tank. No problems yet. :D

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing 3 years. So yeah, I use the POD XT Live nowadays. If it were stolen, I'd buy an cabinet and poweramp, cos I don't need a combo because the POD XT is my preamp.

I hate it's buzzing and love it's beautiful cleans. Thats all I can say. Best buy for 300 euros!

my bandit was made in the usa. its not bad for a practice amp.the clean channel isnt to bad plus i use the vintage on the lead channel.this is not and i repeat not loud enough for a band.ive read comments on how this thing is extremeley loud. i beg to differ.anyways for a cheap alterative to a good amp i guess i recommend it if you can buy it used to tinker with...

im using it with seymour duncan equipped guitars.it suits 80 rock tones pretty well.it dose seem alittle noisy.the more you crank it the worse it gets......

i would use it without abackup because i would only use this for practice.

its never failed.

ive been playing for years and have had some great amps. this however isnt the greatest but like i said its good for practice.

I found my peavey 112 in a pawn broker for 3oo bucks. I like playing around with tones and different sounds so the extras on the back panel where a good reason to consider buying it.Like the other reviews it is a excerlant amp.I run a zoom 505 on the send return for some different reverbs and slightly different amp simulator.I also use a cheap arion equalizer on the pre amp out and power amp in sockets as well.This all works fine and the amp handles it well. At one point I went to a dealer and tested a fender valve amp and a maton guitar.
I played them for awhile and tried a few guitars through the fender valve amp. I got home and played the Peavey with my old guitars and was surprised to the difference,if any did not warrant a 2000 dollar expense.

The dearest guitar I use is a Fender Squire custom tele with Seymour P90's.The others are just cheap's that sound and play well.
On it's own the amp is a little flat but add a pedal or effects and it shines through big time.The clean channel really good and strong with the distortion sounding a bit muddy.
But with a tad of tweaking with a pedal you can get fantastic rock and grunge out of her.
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If you have a small Marshal Park amp with a pre amp out on it,Plug the sucker into the main amp in on the back of the peavey.....it will blow you away with the most awesome clean sparkley sound.Add a tad of gain on the small amp and it is perfect blues.I was amazed.In fact it worked so well I would recommend buying the two if you have the chance. It works that well.No lie.

Has not put a foot wrong yet.Not a thing has gone bad on it.Have had it for 3 years now.

Have not needed it.

Like I said at the start,for the extra things it has and can have plugged into it,it is a versatile piece of equipment.I did not see the value in buying something dearer this can be made to sound real close to a valve amp anyway. It is blistering load and sounds neat.
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Should you buy one of these I strongly recommend keeping a eye out for a little Marshal Park amp as well.The extra clean blues twang that the two linked together gives and with the distortion added from the little amp gives a fantastic valve blues sound as well.

Its plenty powerful, maybe lacking a little in features but with the money you save buying a peavey rather than a marshall or fender etc, buy some good pedals to suit your style and taste and you'l love it!

I have a range of guitars, danelectro's (lipstick pickup U2's), an epiphone LP with standard epiphone humbuckers, an Ibanez artcore, a jackson with seymour duncans and an ibanez with SD Invader humbuckers and each one can be made to sound stunning by this amp! It's not too noisey unless you want it to be and the clean channel isnt noisey at all. Like I said before it lacks a little using the amps distortion/lead channels but use some pedals through it and its brilliant. it is the loudest amp of its size anywhere guaranteed!

Mine has been used and abused since new, in and out of the car, 3-4 practices for 4 hours a week with the band, played on its own for several hours most days, gigged at great volume, fallen off a very high stack and left out in the rain and its still perfect! It may not look like it but it still sounds like new! I really havnt looked after it in the slightest and if it does ever die I'm going straight back to peavey for another one!

Never had to use them.

I've had my bandit 112 for at least 6 years I cant quite remember, I bought it new (cost about ??300) and as I'd had a tiny little peavey amp to start with it seemed like obvious proggression to me. Its plenty powerful and in my years of owning it and being in 5 bands and playing some moderately big and busy venues it has never failed to be the loudest amp there even without an extension cab! Most people seem to rate marshall over these but really truly this will give you far more for your money and outlast any marshall by years! No noisey fan that needs replacing every month or dodgy inputs! Buy a peavey and enjoy it without having to look after it!

My amp was made in 2007. And i love it, its so powerfull. It have too many sounds, doesnt matter if you play romantic ballads or thrash metal, this amp is unbelieveble. If you want play with drums, its volume level 3 last level you can use if you dont wanna be noisier.

I dont like the distortion too much, i using the distortion effects. But the clean is really awesome. Its look like 15 watts amp.. When i bought it and get out of box i wanted to try it so i jack my guitar in and turn the master volume to level 5. It was something like earthquake. I play punk music and it sounds really cool for this style..

5 year warranty...

I never need it..

You cant get better amp for this money... Im playing for 6 years.

Its only fair that i write a review on the peavey bandit 2 coz its just an amzing amp. Before i go on i'll add that i also own a fender hotrod deluxe 112 tube amp which i purchased before the bandit. The hotrod is a one trick pony and it has a really nice fat, think clean sound, so thick that it colours my line 6 pod xtl effects unit a little too much. Back to the peavey. I bought the peavey after reading the reviews here on harmony central and coz they were all such positive reviews i took the chance and ordered one. WOW, what can i say...to start off this thing is VERY powerful, the clean channel is very nice sounding whether it be on vintage or modern depending on your taste, and will not break up at all. There is some warmth there as well, with the t dynamics adjusted correctly you can get some convincing tube like clean sounds from it. i havent gotten this amp past 6 coz my ears were killing and there was not one bit of breakup at all, absolute clean headroom to the max. The distortion channels and voicings go from slight breakup to full on rectifier high gain(yes mesa rectifier)... its nothing short of incredible. There is absolutely no need for pedals in front of this thing at all and ive had all the vintage ts9's the boss mt2 the ds1...all gone. i still have the visual sound jeckyl and hyde (great pedal) which i put in front of my hotrod for distortion (well used to before i got this thing). There is a massive range in the eq on the bandit and you can almost literally dial in any distortion sound you want. seriously, its not funny, i cant believe this thing is a solid state amp. the clean channel actually sounds better than the clean channel on a mesa rectifier, and i wont even mention a marshall, they just dont compare, marshall clean is no good in my opinion the peavey beats it hands down, and this thing does marshall jcm 800 crunch and jcm900 high gain with ease.. I spent most of my time in music (12 years) being a tone snob, only considering valve amps to have tone but this amp proves me to be absolutely wrong i cannot give this amp enough credit. I only use my fender hotrod now just so that its not sitting there being a waste of money and to clean the dust off it. The clean channel is nice and transparent and all amp emulations and effects from my pod xt live come through accurately and not coloured as they do with my hotrod. The spring reverb on the peavey is more than adequate and is definately not weak and not noisy on mine as others have mentioned. All amps will make noise on extreme high gain settings but in all honesty the bandit 2 is a very quiet amp whether it be single coils or buckers. the only thing i havent tried through the amp is p90's. I play a usa hs telecaster, a 50th anniversary usa strat, a japanese made ibanez rg 470, and an ibanez artcore hollow body. they all sound different but fantastic through this amp. I could afford to buy a more expensive amp but theres no need, it would just upset me coz the peavey bandit will crap on most amps out there. dont let the price fool you! this thing will cut through the mix in your band no worries ;) Go and play one for yourself!

Been playing 12 years and have had many amps including fender twins, marshall jcm's, almost bought a mesa rectifier until i decided to try one of these. id be angry if i got one then heard one of these to be honest. I love this amp. I won this amp anp and a fender hotrod and a fender super champ which is my favourite tube amp of all time but generally sounds best with single coils for an awesome bitey tube distortion. The bandit is the most versatile amp ive ever played and probably ever will. Check out the very first review written about this amp, the guys right, this amps amazing.

??125 on ebay(bargain)this amp is a pre 2007 model.mk2
amp sounds just like a tube amp with 3 channels for selecting the mood of music you desire,whatever takes your fancy really.
i play for fun really as im a bass player who dabbles with guitar.the other reviews mention the channels etc.
i wish it had a master volume control knob as playing at home this thing is mega loud and just under 1 on the output gain is just audible for neighbour abuse.i play at home and it makes a good footrest as well and i like to sit on it while playing.i might enclose slightly the speaker to give a little more umph on the lower end.put a back on the amp.

as i said this amp rocks and destroys walls at will.hoped the clean channel would get more dirty sounding as volume turned up but thats way to loud for me.the distortion is lets say classic sounding as in 70's 80's 90's kinda vibe.the reverb is ace.i missed having a spring tank as one reviewer put it.wish it had built in delay then it would be ten out of ten for me.

i had a mk4 peavey bass head a cabinets previously and had no problems.now using trace elliot.i can say with being american its built like a tank like a snap on toolbox.

been playing 12 years had numerous amps.marshall dfx100 watt.park by marshall 10 watt.zoom 30 fire combo.kustom 12 watt kla10.watson 15watt amp.westfield 60watt twin speaker combo tweed.
i use a fender jagstang.own a rickenbacker bass 4001.fender precision lyte deluxe bass.epiphone ej200 jumbo acoustic.
saving for an sg standard but cannot decide what body finish.
chose this amp because i wanted a big one.loads of storage space behind the speaker grille for carrying bits and bobs.hums a little near the tv but what amp doesnt.delay would have been nice and a built in tuner.

My amp was made 2005. I play hard rock and pop music with clean. Amp has two channels (clean/lead), inclued footswitch, effect loop jack behind.
I need my play very good clean and just right gain/lead sound. I use amp gigs and recording. I use Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul Studio.
Amps 80W(100W)power is enough most of gigs. This is Peavey??s Transtube serie.

First must remember what this amps cost(360 euros). It??s great training amp. Great amp for little gigs.
I??d like very much clean channel. It has lot of bass (if you like it). You can choose modern or vintage sound. This is amps best side.
And if I play only clean pop or rock, amps is my choose. Nine for clean.

Well...then it??s have this lead/gain channel with three kind sound (vintage/modern/high gain). I??ll find sometimes decent sound between volume, my pedal, amps bass/gain/treble/middle...but I never find right sound what I want. There is easily too much or less distortion. Line is too thin. Sound was too metal-kind or un-natural...but for different music style it might work perfectly.
I use Ibanez tube scream pedal front of amp and it makes sound much better!
Eight minus for lead channel.

I haven??t any problem with amp. I have this amps over ten month. Now I have sold it and buy real tube amp.

I??ve been playing almoust 30 years. Like I write, amps has great clean, but lead channel makes me scream cause I never found same good sound twice (or if I find, it takes time).
I buy this amp because it??s price and power. I??d try Marshall transtube serie amps, but I like Peavey??s sound much more.
Peavey Bandit is this price best amp!

Not sure when the amp was MADE, but got it 3 years ago from peavey dealer and it was new. Mine has the "Delta" insignia on the front, something they've dropped on the newest model of the amp.
VERSATILE? I haven't owned a Peavey product that wasn't! That's what keeps them in the game! I play Oldies, Classic & Top 40 Country, Classic & Southern Rock. Gig average 3 weekends/month.
Clean channel has Vintage/Modern switch. Leave mine on the Modern setting. Don't care for the sound of the Vintage setting, but that's just me.
Lead channel has Vintage/Modern/HiGain switch. Again, don't care for the Vintage setting, but use the other 2 depending on what I'm playing.
80 watts as is,or add an 8 ohm ext. cab and it goes to 100 watts. We don't mic anything up when we play out and this thing kicks it! Never had the clean channel over 4 and the lead channel gain & volume never past 3! Used with a Traynor YCV112 ext. cab, this thing will rock you all night long! The closed back ext cab really adds some "depth" to the tone, as well as some "chunk" when using the lead channel.
Keep the Resonance switch on Loose for more bottom end.
Keep the T. Dynamics at 100%, never really tried to tweak it out, never felt like I needed to.

I use Fender Std. Tele's & Strats, G&L ASAT's, Peavey Generation S-3 & Limited USA VT, Epiphone LP's, SG & DOT.
I use an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal and a BOSS CH-1 Chorus Pedal, that's all! All other sounds I get from the amp!
This amp can go from Classic Country Clean to Monster Distortion at the flick of the footswitch! Handles Single coils and Humbuckers both very well. I used to use a DigiTech RP-7 tube Effects Processor, until I tried this amp on a gig without it. Haven't used the RP-7 since.
I got away from using the Bandit after buying a Traynor YCV-40 Tube Combo. Have used the Traynor for the past couple of years. On July 1, 2006 had my first amp failure in 35+ years of gigging. The Traynor went down before our gig and had to make a trip to the rehearsal room to get my bandit. In 35+ years, I've never taken (needed) a back-up anything! Until then, I had no problems with the Traynor. After getting the Traynor home, found the fuse had blown. Replaced the fuse and found a Power tube had gone out. After replacing both the power tubes, I found my Stand-by Switch no longer worked. Now I have to find a Repair Center to have the Traynor worked on & checked over!
Back to the Peavey. After retrieving the amp and setting it up for the gig, to replace the Traynor, found out it sounded JUST AS GOOD, IF NOT BETTER THAN THE TRAYNOR! Not just my imagination, the other guys in the band made comments on how good I (or the amp) sounded! Really kicked a$$!
NOTE: The whole reason for buying the Traynor was because my Bandit sounded so good, I figured a Tube amp would have to sound even better.
After buying the Traynor & 112 ext cab, I went thru 3 complete sets of tubes and speaker replacement in the combo and cab before I found a tone I was happy with! Didn't have to do that with the Peavey Bandit, and now it looks like I wasted my money buying the Traynor in the first place! I do like the sound of the Bandit with the add'l. Traynor 1x12 cab, so I guess that will be my gigging rig from now on!

I did, I do, and I will depend on this amp for everything! Used it without a back-up before, and will do the same in the future. I will tell you this, I am currently looking to buy another Bandit from the Delta Series as the one I have now! I used the original TransTube models when they came out, but really didn't like them. Went back to using the older Peavey Bandit/Special 112 combos with the Blue trim. Just happened to try out this model Bandit while at a local dealer and really liked the tone/sound and thought I'd give it a try. Best chance I ever took on an amp!
In my 35+ years of gigging, and all the Peavey products I've used, I've only had to have 1 amp serviced and replaced one footswitch. Peavey has always been known for RELIABILITY, and I can tell you from experience, gigging 2-3 nights, 50 weekends a year, that Peavey products are as RELIABLE as you can get!
If I could give a higher score than a 10, I would!!

I've called, and talked to Peavey Reps in person over the years; very helpful, very friendly and very knowledgable folks indeed!
Need an old manual for something, you can get those on-line at no cost! Schematics-no problem. Need to have a footswitch made for an older piece of gear, give them a call and you'll have it in no time!
The Peavey dealers I've dealt with over the years, have been the same way. Must be a requirement for the dealers!
My only concern with Peavey nowadays, is how the imported/made in China equipment will hold up over the long haul. Peavey gear should always be made in the USA!

Overall, I don't think you can get a better "workingman's" amp than the Peavey Bandit. It is a good "foundation" to build your sound around. You can run effects into the front of the amp, or thru the effects loop. With the different voicings available on the clean & lead channels and with the resonance and T.Dynamics, it is a very versatile piece of gear.
Wish I had saved the money I spent on the Traynor YCV-40 combo and stayed with the Peavey. Not sure I want to have the worry of a tube amp when out gigging.
Have owned all the major brands over the years and always seem to come back to Peavey. Maybe I should have bought a Peavey Tube amp instead, but the Bandit satisfies all my needs without the worry of tubes/maintainance.
Buy it again? You bet! Replace if stolen? Without a doubt!
Best overall amp I can own, without the worries! Combo can be used alone, or with add'l cabs. Adding a closed back cab can really make this a tone monster!