Peavey Bandit 112

I believe I have a 95 or 96 model, purchased brand new 9 or 10 years ago. It was the first year of the 100 watt sheffield speaker anyway. Versatility is acceptable. I won't bore you with the features, you've seen them by now. This amp is used for noodling around in the house, and it does everything I need it to do. Most of the time.

I have a Epi Zakk LP with EMG hz's, an Epi Goth Explorer with EMG 81/85, and a 92 American Strat with a Seymour Hotrail in the bridge.

On it's own the distortion is somewhat lacking and there isn't enough bottom end for my taste. I am driving an external 15" bass cab though, and an MXR overdrive peddle to fatten it up. It sounds quite decent. I will say that the Transtube circuit doesn't seem to make much difference in tone. The clean channel is also pretty fair. With the neck pickup on the strat, the blues tone is quite impressive. The overall sound quality of this amp is respectable. When it actually works...

Let me put it this way, I'd depend on finding love in a Turkish prison more than I depend on this amp.

Firstly, this amp has not been abused, it sits in my house is played at low to moderate volume. Over time this amp has developed a tendency to cut out, or fade out gradually. By operating the resonance switch repeatedly, one can make it produce sound again. This happens every 5-10 minutes. After several trips to the local "authorized Peavey service center" the problem persists. I've finally given up on it and purchased another amp. I don't see many people with this issue, so it may just be a quirk with MY Bandit, but it's enough to drive me into a rage.

I've not dealt directly with Peavey, but the people they authorize to fix their gear obviously don't require any training. At least it didn't cost me anything for them to not fix it.

I've been playing 16 years. Would I buy this again? If I was 22 and living in abject poverty again, yes, I probably would. I wouldn't buy it again NOW though. I've always owned Peavey amps of some description, and have recently purchased a Triple XXX head and cab, so one bum amp hasn't soured me on the company. This amp does sound decent, and the price is fair for what you get. Just not in my case.

Transtube Bandit with Shefield speaker. This is a "large - small amp," meaning it is not exactly small, but not that big either. Perhaps it is just right? It definately sounds big, if desired. When I think of a small amp, I'm thinking Fender Champ or Princeton. This amp is bigger than either and much, much louder and more versitile. It has two channels (clean/distortion) with separate tone controls for each and an foot switchable effects loop. Other doodads are bright/normal, "thrash" (midrange boost) and "resonance" (output amp damping factor), reverb, "T dynamics (output power and compression) and "presence." No headphone jack.

I use this amp for backup and for certain types of music such as clean jazz and country.

I have a G&L S-500 Deluxe with magnetic field design single coils and a Peavey T-60 with stock seymour duncan humbuckers. The amp doesn't seem to have a preference for either. I usually play with conservative distortion or "tube clean." Like most Guitarists, I don't care for straight up solid state amps.

I think this amp sounds great for clean country tones. The clean channel is very nice indeed. You can get this amp to be loud AND clean. The amp is capable of great, piano-like bass. You have to look down on it sometimes to check if it's still just a single 12" speaker cabinet. The cabinet is fairly large for a single 12", however I think this is for accoustical reasons.

In clean mode, riffs are very detailed and precise. The resonance switch lets the speaker "ring" more in an attempt to sound tube-like; I like it. The tone controls have lots of range. In all, the clean is very versitile. However, it really doesn't sound like a tube amp in my opinion. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It has much stouter bass than your average 50 watt 6L6 combo. It doesn't have that creaminess and warmth. It's definately not completely cold, but not as warm as a tube amp. Again, that's not always a bad thing. Telecasters really twang and strats really quack with the bandit, hence my recomendation for Country work. For a solid state amp, it sounds fantastic.

The distortion channel is pretty extreme. At the lower settings it is crunchy but as more drive is added it goes into a very compressed and noisey tyrade which is not very useable in my opinion. Even at conservative settings, there's a lot of hiss. The distortion sounds alot like Danelectro Fab overdrive. In other words, like crap - like smashing glass or whatever. Not the rounded, singing, sustaining Snarling Dogs Blue Doo which is nice for blues solos. The Bandit distortion is to much compression and not enough sustain if you can image that contradiction. However you can compensate with the tone controls somewhat.

To sum up, very nice for country, clean jazz, fusion. Ok for blues, metal, etc, with a good pedal.

I've had Peavey's in the past and they have generally been reliable. I haven't had this long enough to make a determination.

Never used it.

Probably one of the best in the "all around" category. It's a jack of all trades, master of none.

I have owned a transtube bandit for almost five years. I originally bought it when they first came out. Prior to this amp, the transtube series was rather lackluster and confusing. What a difference. The bandit 112 has 2 channels and only the eq that is truly useable. Did I mention reverb? It rocks! What a versatile amp. Clean tones are always clean no matter the volume, and the OD channel has 3 seperate modes of gain personalities for any playing style. The OD is fantastic in that it is truly touch-sensitive. When set low, it only overdrives when you attack the strings, and you can sample different overdrive tones simply by altering your playing technique and attack. At 80 watts with external speaker, this thing is loud and clear enough for any gig that I ever did, which includes indoor arena, club, outdoor festival, party, etc. The ONLY weakness of this amp is the footswitch. Works well for a few years, but then the plastic construction begins to fail if you gig with it for every weekend like I did for four years. Not bad for $500.

I use a Jeff Beck 2000 Stratocaster, a 50th anniversary Stratocaster and a SRV signature stratocaster. I also use a Martin Jc16RGTE (oustanding acoustic) and the bandit even does a decent job of amplifying that. I also have a bunch of vintage effects that I run through the loop on the bandit. It ould'nt have done a better job. You can crank almost any sound out of this thing, and the OD can be brutally crushing (A sound I never use) or round, fat and vintage with everything imbetween. The bandit is in fact quite midrange-heavy when compared with other amps - not too heavy, but enough to give a great sonic "cut" in a live band situation. After a show, people would come up onstage a want to see the gear that I used because they said I had a killer tone. Immediately they would walk over to the 1974 Marshall stack that my rhythm guitarist used and start saying "Killer stack man!" "that's why your sound is so deep!". I would then have to point them across the stage to the bandit 112 that was miked and show them what an amplifier can do for $500.

Here's where this thing really pulls it weight. By the end of 5 years my bandit had been abused. It had beer spilled in the back of it, several large gashes in the tolex and had even fallen off a seven-foot high tractor-trailer stage. After my whole stack went crashing off the back, I picked it back up, plugged it in and kept on playing. This is the kind of amp you can throw in the back of your truck, drive to the gig, plug in and you know it will work and sound great every time. That kind of reliability you can't find in an expensive tube amp. This thing only sounds like its got tubes, but you never have to worry about having to change them, perhaps in the middle of a set. Most durable amp ever.

Never had to deal with customer support. My brother also has a bandit and his input jack went after four years of gigging. He hads it replaced for free at the local peavey dealer.

I have been playing for 10 years and six semi-professionally. I am currently in college as a jazz guitarist. I just sold my bandit and bought a mesa boogie nomad 55, and I could not be more dissappointed. The bandit sounds better than the mesa and has about 10 times the reliability and flexibility. I am now selling the mesa nomad 55 to but another bandit. If you think I'm crazy, then you havn't owned a bandit. If it where lost I would just go to the store and buy another one second hand because they are so cheap and easy to find. You can't say that about any mesa, marshall, fender, or any other big name hype. The only problem with this amp is the footswitch. It does not match the durability of the amp. So I am having a steel one made for it. In conclusion, this is the best sounding and performing amp you can buy for $500 bucks. Period. It may not have true tube tone, but it gets you 90% of the way there. Is that extra 10% worth dealing with broken tubes, a bigger price tag and 20 pounds more weight? That's up to you.

alright this amp has 2 channels one for clean, other for distortion. each channel has different settings of tone, in the clean theres a vintage tone then a mordern tone. the distortion channel there are another 2 of vintage and again modern. its pretty cool but there both weak tones. i use this amp for band practices and at high volumes i have to turn down my tone all the way on my guitar to get feedback on my strings and i still get this big buzz in the amp when not playing

i play a ibanez 320 SZ with a pod 2.0 effects pedal i used to play with a strat and it sounded horrible, but when i used my ibanez it sounded way better alot better, but at high volumes it starts to buzz alot when im not playing. I bought this amp for the volume not the tone, i was an idiot for doing that. This amp is good for light distortions, you can make some heavy sounds from it but not decent ones

this thing is awesome on reliablity, its built like a tank omg you can throw this thing around and it wouldnt fall apart, i bought it used and it was like 5 years old or something liek that and i have it for a year now and it owns!

didnt have to deal with the company

this amp is very good for the volume, bad for the distortion so i suggest you getting a nice pedal to get some better distortion sounds

This one is a solid state amp with tube simulation build in 2005. It was wired in the usa but fitted in China. It is very easy to get great sounds in a turn of the knob. 12 inch speaker. It features two channels lead and clean. the lead section has three settings that can be adjusted using the tone, pre and post gain controllers. Effect loop is switched on/of using the footswitch that came with the package. I wish I could switch between the three sections in the lead channel, now I have to go to my amp to choose the right lead sound for the next song. The vintage buttons are really helpfull and the tubedynamics switch allows you to obtain various sounds. it is extremely loud but stays clean when clean is used. Realy great to use with the grunge and brit pop we play

I use it with a Marina strat with single coils fender picups and a Squire Telecaster custom with p90's. It sounds great with both. Like I said it works great with brit pop and grunge. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a nice bluessound. You are able to beat the best tube amps for distortion it is brutal.

It is a Peavey need I say more. Don't think that Chineese can't put in some screws to mount it. Us cars never match asian standards in build so you needed worry. It will last forever.

Never needed them teh website is very user friendly

Only for the switch wich is not available in a four way version it is a killer amp with great value for your money. Blow the tube amps away and never run hot during gigs. A Peavey won't let you down. I play over 30 years (10 years as a pro) owned several amps, Fender studiomaster, Davoli, London City, Marshall atv 50, Kitty Hawk 50 tube. This one blows them away.

2004, made in china
Basic power amp, sounds great (as desired).

Guitar choice:
Ibanez 2671 Randy Scruggs Professional 1979 (awesome)
Fender Strat 1989

Suits well various styles, powerfull enough for small bar gigs.
Haven't tested the output over 5 so far. Sounds great with the Ibanez, creamy and warm, great overdrive. Lacks gradual increase of distortion, the middle section. The clean preset sounds great on the low gain channel.

Dependable, well constructed and protected.
Definitely no backup for this amp.

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Experienced musician, 12 years in the business.
Came as winner against Vox Valvetronix AD50 and Line 6 Spider II at the local store.
The Vox basically sounded soulless, so digital, consequently same story with the modelling and effects built in. The Spider was somewhat better, still not reaching the Bandit level. I also tried 40W tube Marhsall. Seriously, did not notice that big of a difference, considering the 500$ differential.
I have also tried various tube fenders, decided that this is the best deal for the price.

I was not impressed by any of the features of this amp. I bought one for my SG and despised it from the beginning. I've had it for about 2 years and am currently selling it. There are no built in "effects," just a few EQ's and channel type switches.

It is a loud amp, at the sacrifice of quality. I could never get rid of the hissing in the background. The "modern" setting is blotchy, the "vintage" setting is dull, the Lead channel has horrible gain overdrive, the reverb is too distorted, and the transtube has virtually no effect on the quality/level of sound.

It is dependable for what it's worth. Rigid design. Electronics are stout. Speaker is durable. Knobs are persistant.

I have been playing guitar for about 3 years. I am fairly decent, but recently discovered I'm a bassist. If this amp were stolen, I'd want my money back... Overall, it has a cheap loud sound. You would need a very high end guitar to make up the difference

I bought the Bandit used out of a pawnshop in 1991 or thereabouts. I think I gave $150 for it. This is not the Transtube model.

I've been playing rock for about 15 years, from blues to metal and all points in between.

I have never used the effects loop, like most folks seem to do I put all my pedals between the guitar and amp. For the most part, I use the clean channel for everything. There have been times I've used both inputs at once (hi and low gain).

For the price I paid I certainly can't complain about the features. I do think it's an awfully heavy amp for what it is.

I use a Jackson and a Schecter dual humbucker currently, all stock. The amp gets plenty loud enough, I doubt I've ever been able to get it over 4 on the clean channel. I've used it for band rehearsals and it has no trouble keeping up with half stacks or 2x12 tube amps. I wouldn't have a problem gigging with it in a small bar, though I would add another speaker to get a bigger sound.

The sound is a bit sterile and dry, however, and it just isn't very warm at all compared to a tube amp.

I have never liked the lead channel. Seems I can never get the dirty breakup sound I like so much, it's either distortion or no distortion. It's OK in a pinch but it's definitely a one trick pony. Also there is some sort of clipping or something happening at higher volumes, but it isn't too noticeable using the clean channel. You will probably have to depend on pedals to get the most out of this amp unless you are the 10% of players who like the distortion.

The amp is very quiet, in fact I have left it turned on all night several times, forgetting it was on.

It's seen its share of bumps and knocks but nothing nasty. It has held up like a champ for 15 years, and it has never needed the first repair.

Never dealt with Peavey. The extent of my customer support experiences is when I downloaded the manual for it off their website.

The Bandit has excelled in the role I purchased it for, which is bedroom practice / jam / rehearsal. If you're looking for a no-hassle, dependable workhorse that will get as loud as you need it to within these circumstances, the Bandit is hard to beat -- as long as you realize you will need to bring your own tone.

Bought it in 2004 in Russia. Must have been made prior to that, right?
I bought it because I liked the power 80W, the two channels with vintage modes selectable, the spring reverb, the T-dynamics kind of output compressor.

having bought the amp I stopped using my Korg AX1 Guitar processor for gain - I like the amp preamp section a lot better. The processor is now in effects loop only doing the Wah and the Flanger.
I like the built in reverb - it's got life to it. It's spring reverb and it doesn't sound like a digital and it should not!

The amp is really loud - it rattles the windows at home and at reharsals it makes drummer beat the shit out of the drums just to be heard.

if I worked at Peavey on making a new model of this amp I would include a separate compressor knob for the clean channel. T-dynamics does work as a compressor for the clean but sometimes you want it at 10 for clean and at 100 for distorted...

I use Ibanez blazer series custom guitar - it's got two single coils and a humbucker. With this amp I can dial anything, and particularly:

I get Smoke on the water - dead on with neck single coil using modern setting in lead channel and mid gain.
If I turn up gain and the highs and the presence with single coil I get the dirt which I use for Smills Like Teen Spirit.
Whole lotta love - very crunchy with vintge on lead channel - i's close but it will get closer when I get a better guitar.
Metallica Sad but true - very close in in modern setting with humbucker
Blues tone like Since I've been Loving you - in vintage setting.

The clean is really nice for anything - it can twang, in can jazz and do dire straights.. or clean like Nirvana kind of clean. Just don't overdo the high freq EQ - it will be shrill especially at high volume.

I can't get Pantera kind of Sound - not enough gain. I probly could get that tone with a more powerfull humbucker but I'm not missing it that much...
I never use the High Gain mode out of the tree - it got too much mid.
All other features are very usable to create and fine tune your sound.

the T-dynamics thing is really weird. it's a kind of out put compressor but it's got something else to it. At mid power when you turn TD to 10 %it makes the sound tight and controllable, and at 100% it let's the dogs off the leash - the attack goes crazy, the sound jumps out. Setting of about 50% helps the clean not to bash you on your head with attack.
At full power T-dynamics is meant to be set to max or so. Just for the hell of it I sometimes turn T-dynamix to 10 and power to max - that's when it becomes real weird.. it sounds like the speaker is overpowered, it's suffocating and it's gasping for life.. really makes me nervous... But it's a cool sound... Closest to Pantera I can get...

Sometimes I feel like the bass isn't punchy enough. but hey, it's just one 12" speaker. I guess that's why we have the bass guitar in the band. 4x10 cab could make a difference probably in bass deparment.

Nothing ever happend to it in a year and it gives me confidence that it won't. It's solid.

I like to play STANDING ON IT. then I begin to rock on top of it and the springs of the reverb begin to bash against the reverb metal casing and that makes a real loud bang like I just blew the guts out of it! Scares everyone when they hear it for the first time :)

One thing to complain about is that when I just bought it it made some rattling sound at full power.. I didn't bother with warranty cause I'm in Russia. I just took the electronics section apart and found out that the circuit board was rattling against the shielding case. I stuck a rubber pad between them and haven't heard the problem since..
It's must have been just my amp cause nobody else seams to have complained about it... So I still give it a 9.

Again I'm in russia. I never even thougt about warranty here. In Russia you just fix your amp :)

I've been playing for 8 years and all this time that same Ibanez guitar was my first and only real guitar. I use the above mentioned Korg AX1. I used to plug my guitar into it and run it into some power amplifiers most of which were Russian made and even into one tube power amp.. But this Peavey really makes the best sound of all combinations I ever tried. I like it's sound better over my fiends set up, which is Jackson (explorer kind of guitar) - into marshal jackhammer dist pedal - into solid state 60 watt amp - into 2x12 cab. He might be doing better in bass punch department but I get nicer and more natural tone...

At the music store I chose this amp over Marshall AVT50. I A\B'ed the two and found the Bandit actually more natural sounding in gain department than Marshall which has a real tube in it. Peavey sounded smother and was more versatile, Marshal sounded like sand with lot's unpleasant high frequency harmonix and could only really do metal.

If it got stolen i'd buy another cause I don't know a better amp for the price... Or perhaps I would have saved on a more expensive amp..

I've got a 2003 Bandit so its got al the bells and whistles. Couldn't really ask for any more

I've got 10 different guitars. 2 1950's Hofners, 1984 Gibson "The Paul", 1979 Epiphone Firebird, 1982 jap strat, Aerodyne Tele, Wesley (see through, look on ebay), Tanglewood Oddysey, Brunswick 12 string and a Maverick F1 so they are quite varied. They all sound fantastic. Anyone that says that these amps don't deliver the goods is a fool. Anyway, if there that bad why the hell did you buy it you useless gits.

I have no worries gigging this without a backup. It's tough and well made and can with stand a good kicking and can survive serious beer spillage.

I've never had to phone them but they're Peavey for christ sake so I'm confident they would be good

?250 for a brand new amp is peanuts nowadays and when the amp is this good then it's just rude if you don't buy one. Don't take any notice of the these valve amp purists, this sounds the bollocks what ever style you play. I've been playing for 13 years and this has good tone PERIOD!