Peavey Bandit 112 II

Bought this baby in 2002 for #250. 2 channels, 2 voicings on the clean, 3 on the dirty. Plenty of choice, but no digital FX. Not a problem for me as I never use on-board FX. Footswitch included. The T Dynamics control at first seemed a bit ineffective, but after some tweaking you hear a difference when it's set low. It imitates a power attenuator on a tube amp and gives some Fendery warmth to the clean sounds. Plenty of headroom on the clean channel, easily loud enough for most gigs, which is what I use it for. You can probably get any tone you want from this.

I use Strats only, and find the clean channel superb. It's surprisingly warm on the modern voicing. Don't like the vintage setting, as its got a mid cut and is much like a 60s Twin. Makes a Strat sound like a buzzsaw, but suspect a Gibson will be great on this. Huge amount of clean volume. It doesn't begin to break up until about 8. At that stage, it is ear splitting.

I no longer use the overdrive channel as I prefer a POD XT Live. I need the clean channel "neutral". and it works fine. I still get dynamics and can drown out any drummer!

The dirty channel has a hi gain voicing, which is good for wailing solos and Hendrix-type feedback. Nu metallers will like the modern setting. Vintage is quite, well vintage. Great for crunchy rhythm. The overdrive on this amp perhaps lacks a little character. The sheffield speaker is good, and takes the voicing towards the British area rather than Boogie.

There is a choice between tight and loose resonance. The loose setting is better for bottom end and I have it set to that permanently, whereas the tight setting makes it sound a little more like a small tweed with a restricted bass response and more brittle top end.

Like any 112 combo, it's quite directional and combined with single coils, will howl like a banshee if you stand in front of it when it's at any volume, even with all the distortion coming from a stomp box. Watch the treble and presence settings, and roll some of the tone off the guitar if necessary.

Not a worry. Not even a crackly pot. I've had a few Peaveys over the years and they're tough as you can get. This one gets regular outings.

with a tube amp, maintenance is always on the agenda. Whilst I prefer a real tube sound, I get as close as I can with this, without needing to change parts or worry about a dodgy valve.

Never needed it.

Been playing over 20 years, and do some session work, so versatility is the key. The Bandit covers blues, rock, country, gospel and pop where required.

It is more than powerful enough for pubs or even medium sized gigs. I've used it unmiked many times in some fairly large spaces.

I would replace it like for like if it got stolen, unless there was a Roland JC120 or Fender Twin going for a song!

I tried the Fender Dyna Touch amps and the tranny Marshall MGs before picking this beast. Blew the Marshall away, but was on a par with the Fenders (but without the FX). As I didn't need the FX and there was a BIG PRICE DIFFERENCE in favour of the Peavey, the choice was simple.

I was very impressed with the number of nobs and suff on the front of this amp when i bought it. It is probably the most versatile combo i have ever seen. You can get it to sound like a bass amp almost but then completely trebly the next. I suppose its more of a metal amp really, the distortion channel sound very good for heavy hard riffs, but the clean channel can be used for anything at all, check the other reviews, theres a guy who uses it for country, which shows just how versatile it is.
Its plenty loud enough for smallish gigs or just practices or studio use. It was on "4" volume level at my last band practice and i could hear it over a 150 watt marshall half stack on like three quarters volume. Seriously.

I use this amp with a Peavey Eddie Van Halen Wolfgang and also a shitty squier indonesian telecaster, but the amp even makes the tele sound good! You can make the amp do anything really.
The lead channel has 3 voicings - high gain which i dont really use a lot, MODERN which is for all the heavy riffs and stuff like that, and vintage i think its called that which is for like all the first punk stuff, but also hendrix and alike.
The clean channel is wicked it will do anything you want it too, way betetr than any marshall combo and i really do mean that.
The one bad thing i could find about this amp is that wen i was at my last practice it was squealing terribly if i tunred my guitar volume up to high (on my tele, mite be the single coils, havent tried it with my wolfgang yet), but that is the only bad thing really. thats the only reason the rating is so low.

I would definately use this amp on a gig, i doubt it would break as it has a 5 year peavey warranty as standard, which is good.....

5 year warranty, but i cant say anything else as i have had no trouble with it at all.

Overall, i chose this amp because in my opinion it sounded better than a marshall mg 100dfx (which was slightly more expensive) and a behringer 120 watt somethin... but it didnt sound too good so i bought this 80 watt but it does have output for a 100 watt cab so thats good, and fx loop and remote swith and effects level which i dont no what it does but h well.
BEST AMP FOR THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2004 Peavey Bandit II
Main gigging amp, works extremely well for country music.
The features are pretty self explanatory.

Honestly when I first got this amp it seemed to sound a little brittle with my Tele but after a month of playing this (this was originally purchased as my rehersal amp only being played two hours a week) the speaker must have "broke in" allowing for more warmer lows to come through. Now this combo has replaced my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe as my main gigging amp. For single coil guitars you really have to back the treble off on the clean channel but humbuckers really seem to work best with clean channel. I have a Fender MIM strat with a Seymour Duncan Lil'59 pup (single coil size humbucker)in the bridge and this thing really comes to life through this amp.
I only use the vintage setting on the lead channel as I play mostly classic country and classic rock and it sounds terrific, absolutely no complaints. It actually sounds much better than the lead channel on my HRDX which really is lame.
The thing I notice when setting the amp up for a gig you need to get out in front of the amp about 20 or more feet and try setting your tone controls for distance listening. It seems to sound even better and louder out in front of it than when up close. This thing can project some serious volume.
Alot of reviewers complain about this amp being noisy and maybe it can be in the high gain mode, but I have never noticed any noise in the amp unless plugged in too close to a TV or computer or any other running appliance or an ungrounded wall socket. This amp is dead quiet compared to my Fender.
The T-Dynamics control is a very cool feature for us country pickers wanting a little edge to your clean tones. With the clean volume bumped up a bit and the T-Dynamics turned all the way down you can get some very tubelike grit and compression.
If you are interested in buying a Bandit and you are normally a tube guy, spend a little time messing with the amp and it's features, with a little patience and tweaking you will find this a very pleasing amp cause truthfully if you don't set the tone controls up right your initial reaction might not be all that great but with a little time and a slightly high volume (if possible) you will reconsider your thinking.

I have owned Peavey amps for 18 years with no troubles at all and I am sure there is no exception for my Bandit. I have owned it for a year almost with absolutely no problems.

I have never really had to deal with Peavey but here in the midwest there authorized Peavey repairmen around every corner.

People really like to say "best bang for the buck" and so on, but really this amp sounds better than a lot of tube amps costing up to $1000 with a lot more features and more versatility while being virtually maintenance free. I don't think you will ever get a diehard tube guy to admit that these are great amps and that's more because tube guys won't budge on anything but tubes. I have used both solidstate and tubes over the years and this amp is one of the best I have ever owned.
Not to dog on my tube Fender, but like I said this was my rehersal and back up amp to my Fender so after hauling both these amps around to a gig because I was constantly worrying about the Fender going down I ditched the Fender and now I only haul one amp to gigs. I don't lose an ounce of sleep over my Peavey and that is refreshing.

I don't remember the year of production, it's the newer generation of Transtube series, made in china. used this amp to practice at home to get a nice clean tone and take it to gigs here and there,
but nothing major.

it's a 2 channel amp, clean channel has 2 voicing options, the distortion channel has 3 voicing modes, while the vintage mode is using the Transtube circut to emulate a Tube amp in action.

It's got Footswitch that switches channels and turns on and off the Spring Reverb, it has FX LOOP and Preamp in and out, and speaker out that allows you to connect an extension cab to it turn it to 100 Watts at 4 ohms, it's 80 Watts as it, unlike Studio PRO, connecting an external cab won't mute the internal speaker.
As far as power it had enough power for all situations, but I'm a Tube snob so I don't use Solid state amps anymore.

All I wish it had is tubes I guess but it's a solid state so I'll score it according to what it is.

My guitars are 2 humbucker configured, don't like single coils.
One is a Renegade Pro made by Framus, which is equipped with two Seymour Duncan humbuckers, the other one is Peavey V-type limited edition with Floyd Rose, two ceramic pickups.

It suited me fine at the time for what it is.
As a solid state amp it sounds very decent, a lot better than many other amps at this price range and features, definitely better than Marshalls at this size and price.

It won't make noise more than other amps out there, and the variety of sounds you can get from it is pretty nice, thought I wouldn't use the Distortion channel, it's okay, little muddy and dirty but usable,
note seperation isn't its stronger side however.

I strongy suggest using a Tube stomp box overdrive to warm it up because it tends to sound little sterile and too clean as it is,
But it will sound okay with regular pedals like Boss, Marshall, and a lot more of these.

The distorion channel can get pretty brutal, Nu Metal guys will probably appreciate it, but I dislike Nu metal so it ain't my thing.
The clean sound always stayed clean even when I crancked it, and I mean really crancked it, I actually opened the Clean volume up to the maxium and it didn't fry or got distorted, at a certain level it just won't raise the bar anymore.

Peavey is known for making reliable stuff, even though it's made in China, I definitely didn't feel it when I close examined it.
I could definitely gig without a backup, it doesn't require maintenace like Tube amps, but it doesn't sound like the botique amps.

I didn't need to deal with the company and the local dealer is very helpful and very aware of things going on with the customers.
no need for repairs, it's solid as a rock.

I'm a musicians for 14 years now, aside the guitars, I own a synthesizer, drums, and I record and arrange music on the computer.
I don't own this amp anymore but when I owned it, things were rather nice I would say, a pleasure to use and play but my head takes me elsewhere, to the Tube zone.

If it got stolen I'd probably hunt down to hell the person who would dare to put his hands on it, I couldn't afford another one.
I loved most things about it, the sound was always the same, it was solid and stable and that's how an amp should be.

1) Solidstate (tube emulator - transtube, whatever)
2) 2 channels (there should really be three)
the clean channel has two variants (modern or vintage)
and the lead channel has three (vintage, modern and high gain)
3) three band eq per channel
4) the master contains reverb, presence, resonance and t-dynamics
5) this amp also has the following:
effects loop
preamp out (for recording or mixing or whatever)
it also has space for an external cab
6) the footswitch can switch between channels and turn on/off
the effects in the loop (not onboard reverb)
7) it has 2 inputs (hi and low gain) this is also a nice feature

With the amp I am using two Ibanez Rg's (470 and 570 - customs) and a zoom505II (what junk). I live in South Africa and am studying music at UCT (university of cape town). Music equipment is damn expensive here, all the shops - all four of them :), have a 200% + markup on the US$ retail price. Can you spell RIP OFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought this amp just under 2 years ago and when i bought it I intended it to be used as an effects machine.
OK here goes - this amp sounds like dung. The clean channel is very thin but i suppose is sort of useable. The lead channel sounds/smells so much like shite that I should use it for fartilizer ;). the lead channel is just too thin and shitty sounding it is:
a) THIN (and thats not good like a chick being thin)
b) Fuzzy (as far as solos go it is not useable)
c) unless the vintage section is selected it is just too fuckin
noisy - you have to stand 6 meters away for it to be not squeeling
like a bitch.
d) I have only once recorded with the lead channel engaged
(it was joe satriani - surfing with the alien) and it sounded ok
for that type of edgy rock rythm sound.

gripes with the clean channel:
a) the difference between the modern and vintage selection is almost
purely difference in the eq structure (vintage is very shrill)
there is very little difference in the actual tone.
b) it is also very thin sounding (especially the higher strings)

Ok the rest:
1) the eq is very responsive, be carefull to not set the the highs too high or it will result in a very thin shitty sound (goes for the presence too) and same goes for the lows (they really mudd up the low end)
2) the reverb is such a waste - it sounds sooooooooo sterile (Fake!)
3) the resonance switch and t-dynamics nob offer a nice boost

No problem here

never contacted the guys/gals at PEAVEY

I've been playing for about 7 years now. I've been through different phases in musical taste but at the moment I'm playing a little bit of: blues, rock, pop, funk, jazz. But most of the time i'm playing stuf like: Satch (satriani), Marty friedman, Jason Becker, Megadeth, Dream Theater (80's shred/hair metal) or my own stuff. If this amp were stolen i would gladly take the insurance payout and invest in some good quality rack gear (oh yes, and thank the thief).
I think the fact that there are all these features in this amp should not convince you that it is a good amp (I beleive it is merely a way of easing Peavey's concience for making toneless nonesense).
Before some wanker nocks me for "not using both inputs": I TRIED THAT ! there was a difference in noise levels and tightness but nothing earthshaking.
One thing that I have noticed about peoples comments on other peavey products is that some say that there is a real inconsistancy in peavey's products (i.e. some say they bought two of the same product and one was thin, fuzzy and shit sounding while the other was full tight and big sounding - in regard to 5150 and rockmaster reviews)
Maybe I got a bad one ?
The only thing refreshing about my amp is that I can bypass the preamp section - I bought myself a solidstate poweramp !!!

One word of advice - it's all about the tone don't let yourself be sucked in by all the hype !

All that's needed is there. Clean channel vintage/modern. Lead Channel High Gain/Modern/Vintage. Reverb. Presence. Resonance. Effects loop (footswitchable). Hi & Lo inputs. Line out. Power amp in. Ext speaker out. It's built in China, but many things are... There's no sticker on the sheffield speaker.

I'm using a Japan made Squier strat with single coils. This amp sounds great!!! Very warm and full for a transistor amp. The tube-emulation is not just marketing hype. Love the resonace switch! Great reverb! This amp comes very close to different types of tube amps, and you don' need to cranck it all the way up like a tube amp. Blues clean & dirty, Jazz, Rock, Metal,...whatever your preferred styles; This amp has got it! Comes with footcontroller for channel switching and effects-loop defeat. It must be one of the best and most versatile amps out there. Excellent!

It seems like its well built. It has already survived several transportations. I own it for a month so its a bit early to rate this but since it looks solid and it works...I see no reason to give it less than 10.

Haven't needed them.

I've been playing for 2 years. I also own a Marshall valvestate 10 (crap) and a Stagg 20 Watts transistor amp (quite ok), Wah pedal, etffects. Since I have the Bandit I haven't touched my pedals/effects...don't need them with this amp. I've also been playing a friends Fender twin reverb (excellent ofcourse), but I'm 100% happy with the Peavy (more versatile, less expensive). This amp makes me want to play!

I love having the different voicings on each completely seperate channel wich gives me many different sounds and the 2 seperate EQ's are awesome. My teacher put it best "you dont need a distortion pedal with this thing." On the clean channel, the vintage voicing sounds like it has a bit more treble and it is brighter and the modern voicing has lots of bass and enough highs.

I use a standard American Strat through it and i still get great distortion (can get a nice fuzz voice out of it) and when i put it on clean it is crystal-clear. (Can get noisy when turned real loud on lead channel)

Banged it and even once dropped it from about 1 1/2 feet and still works fine. I have also had it in the rain and no problems.

never had to deal with them

I can do anything with this amp and I love it, whether im playing Hendrix, Pink Floyd, RHCP, anything!

The only thing keeping this from a 10 is the lack of a headphone jack.
Other than that, you'll have a hard time finding more amp for the $$.
Two completely independent channels with separate EQ and volume controls. The clean channel has modern and vintage settings, while the lead has vintage(great for blues), modern(scooped midrange crunch), and hi gain(just what it says). Reverb is more than enough, resonance switch does more than I thought, T-Dynamics are the bomb. It also has a footswitchable effects loop(try to find THAT on any other solid state 112)and an 8ohm external speaker out(not that you'd ever need it with a 12" Sheffield on board).

I play many different styles. Funk to r&b to blues to rock to country.
I use an American Series Strat with a Duncan Distortion in the bridge position. My rig consists of Turbo Rat>Crybaby>MXR 90 Phaser>Yamaha Chorus>DanEcho>Amp. I mostly was in the market for a good flexible clean channel for my effects chain. This amp delivers BIG time. 80 watts may not sound like much to some, but this baby CRANKS. Can you say LOUD?(Sure, I knew you could). The only fly in the ointment is the lead channel. Sounds good enough at low volumes, but it is one NOISY sucker! Feedback is extremely difficult to control if turned much past 2 or 3. NOT saying the sound sucks cause it doesn't. Just VERY difficult to keep a handle on. Do yourself a favor and use your favorite war pedal thru the clean channel. You'll fare much better. Rating? The clean channel gets a STRONG 10, but the lead is a 6 due to the noise factor. Split the difference and make it an 8.

It's a Peavey. It's a truck.

Never dealt with them. Never had to.

Been playing 20+ years. Have used Crate, Fender, and Vox. Can't afford tubes. Keep coming back to Peavey. Can't beat them on the "bang for the buck" scale. No one else does solid state better.
I call it my "mini Marshall". Would a tube half stack sound better? Perhaps. Try explaining that to the wife & 3 kids I have to feed. Would like to see a headphone jack(though it would probly make my ears bleed) and the lead channel could use some work, but overall, good luck finding a better sound without spending sigNIFicantly more cheese. This hits my gut at an "8".

Made in 02 i think
Ive read in few places that this amp is the best selling in its price range and for good reason. The channel voicing is suburb and covers blues, jazz, metal, rock 'n' roll, punk and of anything in between. A 2 button (channel and effects bypass) footswitch comes with it which is good but i wish it had a reverb button on it but its not really important. 80w of solidstate power is enough for me, at about 5-6 it will go over a drumkit and at 9-10 it will blow your inner ear apart. I dont believe there is a better amp out there for this money, but that reverb switch would of made it perfect. But thats just me.

I use a cort X-9 and a digitech RP50, but i rarely use the pedal, because i simply dont need it, amp and guitar are simply too good.

I play punk-rock band but i also play anything from metallica, guns n' roses, the living end, RHCP and jazz, bluesy, general rock n roll stuff. Well the channel voicing ensures everything is catered for.

Ok it can hum a bit when you crank the distortion to full, have it loud, and turn up the presence control etc, but i havent played an amp that doesnt.

Distortion will do any sound you want and will distort to hell and back.

I havent experienced any real distortion on the clean channel at high volume, but its solid state so it shouldnt do it much anyway.

Great reverb too(turn it all the way up an play come as you are by nrvana)

Im gonna have to give it a 10, it simply is awesome!

Well i dont think it will break, and i think 'Bertha' is probably the best name for it. I've read some outrageous stuff about these amps, getting left in rain for 5 mins, having coke spilt in back of it, falling of a 1 metre high stage, and they all still work good. It wont give up on you and i reckon i would gig without a backup.

um well havent dealt with em.

Been playing for about 2 years, but i consider myself pretty good. (Also thatnks to anyone who has written a review about anything and posted on this site)

This amp is easily the best amp around for this money and beats any
crappy MG series from marshall, and even, in my opinion, the fabled fender princeton which is more expensive. But of course fenders are for blues and jazz players usually not for heavier and punk styles.

Anyway If it got stolen i'd track down the theif and drop the amp from a height on to his head. Then probably move to mexico before the impending court case for murder 1. Anyway i would defiently buy another one if need be.

I dont really hate anything about it. You might but i dont (-:

Yeah for this much cash you probably wont get better. Maybe a second hand Marshall AVT *drools*. Sorry. But for the money it is unbeatable in every department; Sound (channel voicing is the best thing out there), Features(channel voicing, great reverb, effects loop, presence control, footswitch), Reliability (well i use it as a bass amp as well and unlike similiar amps it doesnt eat a dick after it gets used for bass.) and yeah overall. Any questions/spam/deaththreats/other boring things you think i may be interested in etc just contact me and you'll recieve an automated photocopied response!

its a 80w, 112 combo. large enuf for practicing, wouldnt reccomend for gigging. 2 channel with 5 distinct modes, fx loop, footswitch, solid state. its a very versatile amp for the beginner/ semi intermediate guitarist

i was using a wolfgang copy with this amp when i was practicing for a music comp. i gotta say despite its flaws i got quite attached to this amp. im a metalhead/shredder and this amp was satisfactory for what i needed it for. the clean channel is quite good and if you set the resonance knob to loose with the clean mode on vintage, its got a pleasant sound, if a little cold. I love the vintage mode on the lead channel. this with the reverb up was a beautiful lead setting and the metallica style leads were great on it. the modern "scooped" setting was ok, but with no cut thru or attack, ud have to crank the bugger to hear it in a band

the high gain mode was absolute shite though and i stayed well away from it. too much buzz and not enough gain!

reverb is quite hot and the t dynamics knob is ok

be warned this amp is no good for live work, it turns to shit when u turn it past 4 because of its meagre wattage and speaker arrangement. im a 212 or half stack man and this amp for me is for bedroom only

its a nice alternative to a marshall mg combo which is really tinny and harsh, but for me a cheaper, louder, cleaner fender fm212 is good enuf for me to run all my effects thru, which is what i did with this n e way!

solid as a rock, but not as heavy
no tubes to mess weverything feels sturdy and knockable
its a school amp and its survived 3 years without servicing!
enuf said

well the music teacher at that school knew less than i did about it, and i was no authority on peavey amps at that point
never needed it!

ive been playing a year and a bit and i own bugger all. ive experimented with ibanez (grx 20 and ex270) and samick

soon to spend $6000 gettin all the pro gear!
its not mine so if it gets stolen I KNEW NOTHING!

i would save up for a xxx (im getting one of these! heheh)
or save up for the less expensive but great XXL head, and steal a cab!

for a first amp it would be great, better than my 10 watt laney!