Peavey Bandit 112

my amp was created in the 90's (Made In USA) i dont know exactly when he was used by lot of ppl (3-4) and now its mine :D, 80W, 2 channels,
effects loop and no headphones! (too bad to your parents!).
in my room its dont across 3 at volume! when its maxed u should get out of the room cuze its so powerfull.

i use samick guitar (that sucks) strat style.
i play hard rock, Heavy Metal (old),Punk, Grunge, and lot kinds of rock (and Blues too I guess).
this amps suits PERFECTLY for those styles i just love it! from Nirvana TO Black Sabbath from Eric Clapton to Guns N' Roses pink floyd Steve Vai and Lots More! its have an awesome sound.
when i turn on the gain more than 7 and the master volume at the guitar is more than like 6 its starting to get feedback, but its got a really great sound i would buy a noise gate to fix the feed back probs.
at the clean channel.
AMAZING Clean More than I Expected! Very variety you can Get A Funky Clean And Bassy Clean This amp is Amazing!
this amp can go To High Gain But I Dont Like This.
he can Play Pantera Easly :P
i Would Give this Amp 15\10 but the max is 10\10 so...

i Got It Without A Gain knob but im still can control Just The Plastic Was Off..
but iGuess the last Owner Was Just Crazy~

Well.. this amp is a -+15 years old so i guess ill see if there something wrong with him O:
but hes is Very Good amp.
working Perfectly.

if the amp was stolen i Would Buy This amp Again (Just The USA Made)
and i love everything about it.
if you want to ask something about the amp or anything else Email Me ;]

I bought this amp in 2008 (3rd edition)
2 footswitchable channels and 6 equalizion presets for any style.
I play expecially rock and funk but the lead channel has so many drive to be used for metal.
The power is extreme for exercition but in live plays the bandit goes up and up with the volume and the sound remains clear.
Awesome.It's very useful the power switch (25% 50% 100%) to see how the power is needed for a great suond

I play a Fender Stratocaster 50th anniversary.
This amp seems to be built for this guitar.
With the equalizer is possible to emulate great vintage sound and ultra modern sounds.The clean is perfect even at the maximum volume but the treble are too enfatized.
The distortion is incredible.On ultra gain EQ it seems to never come to an end

Since i Bought it it has a strange noise when i power off it.
But it doesn't appen with a black out.
I used at full power for three hours and he didn't leave me (but the electric group was veeeeeeeery hot)

2 years of warranty but it is very limited

It's a great transistor amp.
I will never sell it because it isn't only a great backup amp but sometimes i prefer it to my Marshall dsl 400

I bought the amp in the mid 1990's. I play country gospel to hard rock. The amp suits my playing fine.
80 Watts (rms) into 8 Ohms
100 Watts (rms) into 4 Ohms (w/external speaker)
12??? Sheffield speaker
High and Low Gain inputs
TransTube tube emulation circuitry
Footswitchable Clean and Lead channels
3 band passive EQ on each channel
2 position EQ/Gain Voicing switch on each channel
Reverb with level control
Footswitchable Boost with level control
1/4" stereo Speaker Simulated Direct Out jack with level control
Footswitch

I play a Fender MIM strat with vintage noiseless pickups and a Ibanez RG-270 through this amp. Not noisey at all. Very versatile amp. You can select 2 different types of clean and distortion styles. The clean channel stays clean at high volume. The distortion channel is very versatile as well. I have a Crate 100 watt amp and a Fender FM 212. My two sons (who play) go for the Peavey everytime.

I had a Peavey Backstage for about 22 years and would still have it if lightning hadn't struck it. I've had this amp for about 13 years and never had any problem with it. I would use it on a gig without a backup.

N/A

I've been playing about 30 years. If I had to choose between the Crate, Fender or Peavey amps I have, I'd take the Peavey. It has a richer, more mellow sound than the other two.

I don't what year this is from but I bought it second hand in a local shop, but I don't think its that old.

The amp is realy good for the kind of music that I play (Rock 'n Roll, Hard rock with some metal sounds)
I
think the features are very good I usualy use the HI-Gain input and als put it on HI-Gain in the lead channel. with a lot of low and mid.

I never use the reverb I just like the amp like it is.

I use this Amp in the practice room with my band and it has enough power for me, I play rythm and the sound is very good for that and I can play loud enough.

I'm using a Epihpone SG over this amp with two open coil humbuckers and it sounds Freaking! good.

I suits my music style perfect, because I can rock with it. But that isn't hard if you think about I played a Behringer first.

Sometimes it wil buzz at higher volumes and it gives feedback if you come to close but I can live with that.

I think its great you can make different sounds with it because you can make alot of different songs with it. Like I sad earlier I mostly use HI-Gain setting but the different settings sound great to.

The clean keeps clean but I don't use the clean channel that often.

The distortion is brutal enough for mee you can make with modern gain setting a very hard metal sound. But I like the HI-gain setting more it has a little more high and mid.

It is very reliable at least I think I don't have it that long.
But I will use it on gigs without backup because I think its very reliable.

It has never broken down not yet at least but I don't think its going to.

I never dealt with the company so I don't know

I've been playing with this not that very long but I'm very happy with this amp. Like I said earlier Before I used a Behringer and this is a very great improvement. So overall I think this amp is great and it realy Freaking rocks.

I don't what year this is from but I bought it second hand in a local shop, but I don't think its that old.

The amp is realy good for the kind of music that I play (Rock 'n Roll, Hard rock with some metal sounds)
I
think the features are very good I usualy use the HI-Gain input and als put it on HI-Gain in the lead channel. with a lot of low and mid.

I never use the reverb I just like the amp like it is.

I use this Amp in the practice room with my band and it has enough power for me, I play rythm and the sound is very good for that and I can play loud enough.

I'm using a Epihpone SG over this amp with two open coil humbuckers and it sounds Freaking! good.

I suits my music style perfect, because I can rock with it. But that isn't hard if you think about I played a Behringer first.

Sometimes it wil buzz at higher volumes and it gives feedback if you come to close but I can live with that.

I think its great you can make different sounds with it because you can make alot of different songs with it. Like I sad earlier I mostly use HI-Gain setting but the different settings sound great to.

The clean keeps clean but I don't use the clean channel that often.

The distortion is brutal enough for mee you can make with modern gain setting a very hard metal sound. But I like the HI-gain setting more it has a little more high and mid.

It is very reliable at least I think I don't have it that long.
But I will use it on gigs without backup because I think its very reliable.

It has never broken down not yet at least but I don't think its going to.

I never dealt with the company so I don't know

I've been playing with this not that very long but I'm very happy with this amp. Like I said earlier Before I used a Behringer and this is a very great improvement. So overall I think this amp is great and it realy Freaking rocks.

Bought new, the 2008 model has a lot more features than the one I bought in 1995 new when the transtube first came out (which I still have for a back-up now....still works great, never had a problem with it and it's been at 100's of gigs)

It has two channels. I only use the clean channel with a TS 808 reissue for overdrive. Has presets for "Vintage, Modern,Warm" settings for each channel. Has a Boost for footswitch to be used as a volume boost which I wont use but may come in handy someday. Back panel has a switch with a cabinet simulation "Tight,Normal,Loose", switch for power amp setting's "25,50,100%" which is nice for different venue's, and a volume for the extension cabinet jack which is a nice feature. This amp is very tweakable but not complicated, and it gets loud enough for the music I play, hardly ever going past "3" on the volume. I play Country, Blues, and Classic Rock mainly and it works for me.

I use a variety of guitar's through this. It stays pretty clean depending how you set it up, with the variety of control options you can make it break up the clean channel if that's what you want or it can be set for a very clean sound. If you're a shredder then this won't be enough amp but for most styles it has plenty of headroom. Most places I play do not want high volumes so this amp works great for my needs, it's enough power to play but not so overpowered that you can drive it enough to get a good sound. The power amp switch on back is nice if you are playing a very small gig and want the amp to sound a little over the edge at low volumes.

I used my old Bandit without a back-up for 13 years so am not too worried about having any problems..If I had to I could plug into the PA if it blew up in the middle of a gig, would suck but oh well.

Never had a problem with Peavey product so don't know about the service.

Been playing 35 years. I've had tube amps and personally want something I don't have to worry about. Plus the Bandit sounds better than a few of the tube amps I have owned. I own a ton of gear, too much to list, 25-to 30 guitars at the moment I guess, a couple 5 string banjo,s, couple of basses and amps, PA, ect. I could afford a much more expensive amp but I like this one and my older Bandit. I did consider other amps, my friend owns the music store I bought it at and tried a number of different amps but decided to get another Bandit.

mine is the very 1st of the transtube series
loaded withe the shefield speaker
2 channels
effects loop
footswitch
reverb
t dynamics knobs

im using this amp with a 1987 rg550 loaded with wsc pickups and an esp eclipse loaded with emg 60-81.i mainly play metal but u can get just about any sound out of this thing even with the active pickups.my only gripe is the cleans can be too compressed but yeh so are mesas.i also have a hughes and kettner switchblade stack sitting next to my peavey and honestly i wish i never bought it.i even sold my marshall dsl because the bandit just sounds better.

built like a tank i got this in the early 90's and and shes still going strong and ive never heard of a bandit breaking down.

havent had to deal with peavey

ive been playing on and off since 94 and have owned expensive valve amps but i keep going back to this thng.
if it was stolen i would look into the new bandit apparently the chinese ones are better.

Low Gain / High Gain inputs, 2 channnel clean and lead. Clean has seperate low, mid, high EQ with volume and vintage/modern switch, lead channel has low, mid, high EQ, pre-gain, post-gain, vintage/modern/high gain switch, master Reverb, Presence, T-Dynamics control, loose/tight speaker selection. effects loop, power amp in and out footswitch and 8 ohm ext. speaker jack. Loaded with Sheffield model 1230 8 ohm speaker. Rated at 80 watts RMS (100 watts with ext. speaker).

Has a very clear clean sound on either selection but esp. on vintage and the volume and EQ on this channel have a wide adjustment spectrum. Lead channel will acheive the old Marshall sounds along with some good more modern metal distortion. Very clear and really doesn't mudd except on a higher volume/gain speaker does not handle high volume as well as it should so I may install an Eminence V-12 or Man-O-War. T-Dynamics seems to have better control on the clean channel or high gain selection on lead. Other settings have little volume variance. Seems to be like 2-2-3-5-7-10 with no in-between. Use many guitars Firebird VII, V, SG, LP, many Strats Stock and modded. Sounds good with all, of course 60 cycle with singles but no worse than others. Blues, Classic Rock, 80's Metal, Jazz are a good. Death Metal would be attainable with the right pedal but I don't think the speaker would perform optimum.

Seems to be built like a tank and that is Peavey's rep.

Unused but I like their site

Transtube is nice but will still look for an older all tube peavey. Wish the T-Dynamics was more responsive. Like tthe fact it more portable than an old tube amp and with a speaker change I may even love it. If it were stolen I'd prob. replace ith with a transtube 2x12 or most likely an old Classic VT series and install and attenuator.

It has great sounds and lots of them. With the Thrash, Gain Boost, Bright and Resonance buttons along with a Presence control you can get any sound you want from the most bright clean sound all the way to an agressive heav metal sound. It also has 2 channels, effects loop, high and low inputs and a reverb control. And it also has a control called T.Dynamics which changes the power from 10% (Weak, soft tone) and everything all the way to 100% (Strong, Heavy tone). You can either use the Pre gain as the main gain control and the Post gain as the volume for a more metal sound or the other way round for a softer more bluesy sound.

The quality is very good the problem i have is buzz when on the distorted channel when just plugged in and not playing. This suits my style very well i play heavy metal of the highest degree and it can do it amazingly. I can also get all sorts of other sounds punk, blues, jazz etc. The distortion has no one sound it cn be insanely brutal then with some slight tweeking can be a soft distortion for blues or jazz. The only problem is the buzz.

This amp is second hand so i would not play it without a backup live. but it seems to be reliable enough. i have not had it break down so far.

Never Dealt With The Company

I have been playing for just over a year and i play Schecters and BC Richs and some others through the Bandit 112 as my main setup for now. I would buy it again or look at some higher range Peaveys. I love pretty much everything about it. I just hate the buzz that is driving me insane but it is not there while playing. I just got this as a spur of the moment style thing but i can compare it to some good ??500 amps and i cant tell the difference. I would say if you can get one of the older Bandits DO IT! i do not like the newer ones because of the softer and brighter tones compared to the older ones (like mine). I dont know what year mine is but i would guess late 90's.

This amp comes with a lot of great features for a decent price: effects loop, head phone jack, line out for a separate cabinet and voicing features for the clean and lead channels (these offer tonal versatility not usually found on amps for this price). I was looking for a pretty cheap amp that could address a wide variety of sounds, and it is successful to an extent. I use this amp for practice and jamming with a rhythym section. Its loud enough to be heard with drums, but if you turn the volume past noon the bottom end begins to sound flubby and if you have it at a level where you can get some decent sounding sustain/harmonic feedback it begins to smell like burning rubber.

I use a single coil strat with this amp and at low volume it sounds pretty decent: sounds like crap above noon. Don't let the transtube feature convince you to buy this amp. It does emulate a tube sound somewhat, but volume suffers, and it doesn't match the rich tones you can get from tubes. If you want variety in your sound (from sparkly clean to metal) I'd suggest getting a decent tube amp and putting a tube screamer or the Dist. pedal of your choice in front. However, if you play at low volume and are looking for cheap, flexible amp to practice on you might want to consider getting it.

I've had the amp for 2 years and it hasn't broken down. I would only use this for a gig for backup (just because I can't get a decent sound past noon) and I'm worried about something burning something up because of the smell eminating from the cabinet when I turn it up to live levels.

n/a

I've been playing 17 years. I own a Crate 50 vintage club with 1 15. Love its sound but the effects loop sucks. (that's why i got this amp for recording/practice with something other than a straight guitar to amp sound). If the bandit were lost or stolen I'd get something else due to the disappointing sound at volume. I love its features, tonal flexibility, ease of use, and price.
I don't have to restate what I hate about it.

i got this amp 2nd hand so not sure of its age, probably the 2000 model not made in U.S.A. this has everything you need, effects loop, footswitch (channel and effects) external speaker out and some different amp modelling switches. this amp is great for band practice and gigging. solid state transtube

bad points first; its reverb isnt the best (i use my digitech gnx1 for that) and the distortion often is a little bit undefined so its kind of hard for soloing. other than that its awesome. its transtube (transistor) but moddeled to sound like a tube amp. NOTE it dosent sound like a tube amp but does sound good. wicked clean channel if your into that kind of stuff.

taken it to band practice heaps and knocked a wire but only effected it the once and its good now. it is one hard *** amp! dont knock it while your playing it goes mental for a second, sounds like you knock the reverb springs and goes amplified trampoline on you. then again i dont know if its spring reverb or not.

dont know never needed it.

great

Let me be brief! Nothing Fancy, but is you are looking for an amp that is an extension of your guitar this is it!

Simply put.... Sound quality is a much about the axe you plug into it (any amp for that matter) as it is about your ability to truly understand sound reproduction thresholds. You can tweak the Bandit 112 to sound like a sweet smooth blues/jazz sound to an all out raunch!

I use a Les Paul Studio, EPI Zack Wilde Les Paul Standard, Taylor T-5 C1, Gibson ES-335 and frankly even my high end acoustics sound great. Remember it's all about taking the time to finding your tone.

I play a lot of CCR, Eagles, Blue Rodeo, and some Queen, AC/DC and the likes as well.

Can you say "TANK" like! Mine was built in the USA in 2000. I understand that the new models are built in China hence I unable to speak to the modern version's overall qualities or lack thereof.

I also DJ with PEAVEY equipment and speakers and I have yet to have to call on them for service or otherwise. Call it a 9 given that they build such great products.

15 years and counting of playing. Owned Fender Deville 410, owned a Peavey Classic 30 and in comparison the Bandit 112 simply delivers on all aspects of what an amp should be. Reliable, tweakable and great sound.

I have no idea when this amp was made, I bought it used and it appears to be much different than today's Bandits. It has pretty much standard everything, no fancy, flashy features to list, except maybe reverb (which isn't that good, by the way).

When I first got it, I was expecting some kind of monstrous hi gain amp, which was my first mistake. What I ended up with was a more bluesy sounding amp that doesn't sound good unless you either overdrive it with a marshall guv'nor on the gain channel, or just put it on clean and use a Line 6 ??ber metal distortion pedal. But even with the need for a pedal, the amp is still pretty versatile for what I play (death metal inspired instrumental-stuff), as I still use it today. One thing I have found, however, is that using an EMG 81 pickup in the bridge of my First Act strat copy, then putting both the gain channel and the gain switch on, I can actually get some pretty nice sounding tremolo riffs out of it, especially downtuned. One thing to keep in mind is that playing it like this is going to be noisy as hell when you're just idle with your guitar (i.e. loads of feedback). The upshot to playing with the emg is that you don't need a pedal, except maybe a noise suppressor.

Seeing as how my amp was bought used, and how old it appears, I'm suprised it actually functions as well as it does. I'd give Peavey an 8 for making this amp reliable enough for what I do.

Never had to deal with them.

Only been playing about 3 years but I'm still getting better everyday. I play mainly death/black/thrashy-metal inspired instrumentals. I have about 6 guitars (which includes 1 bass and 2 acoustics). My main two are my BC Rich warlock (set neck) w/ Dimarzio X2n and Seymour Duncan Invader pickups, and an Ibanez RG370DX with a seymour duncan jazz and stock pickups. The First Act guitar I mentioned above is my first guitar, so i've pretty much mutilated it with all the experimentation. Kind of funny after three years I finally get a handle on soldering electronics.

Anyway, if this amp were stolen I'd have to get another amp, regardless of the praise I've given it here. I wouldn't want to take all the effort of finding this exact year/model only to end up disappointed, so I'd go with a brand new tube amp or something.

The only thing I'd add to this amp is some decent reverb. The built in version sounds like absolute crap. otherwise it's a great bargain amp.

If you have any desire to hear some sound samples of this amp, just email me.

I bought my amp in '96. Back then I was playing Catherine Wheel-esque rock, and relied heavily on effects pedals to give me the sound I wanted. I didn't know much about amps, but it had volume, and the clean tone was good. Now, I play rockabilly, country, and a little bit of those Catherine Wheel type songs, I've learned more about amps, and now I wouldn't trade it for anything. I play a gretsch Tennessee Rose, and a strat, and the clean tone from this guitar is perfect, even at high volumes. I wouldn't even bother with other switch, as it only sounds muddy. At 80 watts, its plenty of power for most of the venues I've played; I haven't been invited to play Shae stadium yet. ;)

I think I covered a lot of this above, but the clean channel sounds great at high volumes. I have no complaints whatsoever with how my guitars sound in the amp. I have tried a number of other amps in the stores, and have never felt as satisfied as I have with this amp. The transtube feature is nice, especially if you are heavy strummer like me. You can dial the power output down quite a ways and get just the barest hint of some overdrive, which is perfect for country tunes.

Like I said, I bought it in '96, used it a lot for 4 straight years, then put it in a closet for 6 years. Got it out a couple of years ago and have been beating on it solid for awhile, lugging it around places, and haven't had anything break. There's a loose wire somewhere which makes a really fun noise if I move it when it's turned on, but as long as it's sitting in place, there is no issue.

Haven't ever talked to them. The manual is ok.

I've been playing for 15 years. I use a lot of effects, SD-1, fabtone, chorus, reverb, phaser, etc, but on a fair amount of songs, I just run clean with a little bit of chorus dialed in. I have used the amp with acoustic guitars, and even vocals and find that it handles everything ok. If it were stolen, I would buy it again, or a comparable Peavey. My only complaint about it is that the built in reverb doesn't sound as nice as I would like, but that's ok. No complaints.

After having to sell my Marshall Artist half stack for financial reasons 10 years ago, I needed to replace it with something cheaper, but with a similiar sound. After trying out several tube combos at the music store, I wasn't happy with any of them soundwise or pricewise. Although I was set on a tube amp, the store manager said, "How 'bout this Peavet Bandit?" I said no way, because the other guitarplayer in my former band had an older one from the 80's, and I thought it sucked. Then he told me it had this "new" transtube circuitry(remember, this was 10 years aqgo) that really emulated that tube sound, so I tried it. I was amazed! I could'nt believe a solid state amp could sound this good. The last solid state amp I had owned before my Marshall was a Crate G40CXL and the distortion on it didn't even come close to real tube overdrive. The Bandit, however sounded(to me) just like a tube amp. It had 2 channels; the clean: crystal clear with plenty of eq and a bright switch, and the distortion sound on the lead channel is awesome. It has separate 3 band parametric eq on both channels, and just one reverb shared by both of them. It also has an effects loop, an effects level switch, an out jack and a preamp out as well as a ground switch. The included footswitch allowed you to switch channels as well as turn off the effects loop. some people complain about not being able to turn off the reverb, but I don't use alot of reverb anyway in a live setting. The lead channel also features a resonance switch, a "thrash" setting, and a gain switch, plus the "tube dynamics" knob. Oh and it also has pwr. amp in and out jacks in the back, but I've never used them. For the money, I really don't think it was missing any general features. I have used this amp for live performance extensively, home practice, and for home recording. At 80 watts its plenty loud for just about any situation. Currently my son is using it in the basement and its powering a Hughes and Kettner 4x12 cab w/Celestions, and it does it with juice to spare.

I pretty much play harder rock, punk, power pop, alternative, emo and metal as well as classic rock and pop, plus a little bit of blues. this amp can handle it all, but the overdrive is where this thing really shines. To get that "tube" sound you have to turn the presence and tube dynamics knobs kind of in conjunction with each other in the opposite direction. I would have the presence turned about 4'o'clock, and the Tube dyn. to about 7'o'clock, which on the knob is marked as "20%". Alot of guys I knew who had tried this amp figured the more you turn the tube dynamics knob up towards 100% the more it would sound like tube distortion, right? Not so. It more or less acts like a dmpening effect. The less percent of tube dynamics the more tubey it sounds, but the more tube dynamics the louder the power amp is. As far as the distortion, it was MUCH more diverse than my Marshall ever was. It broke up the same, but you could control the bottem end and the mids and highs on the eq more. The Thrash button basically added more gain and scooped the mids, which I never used because I like alot of mids in my tone. The gain switch however was interesting. I found that for recording, the break up of the overdrive sang thru more when the gain switch was off. The gain switch adds more gain, tons of bottom end and more noise, which does make it sound tubey, but with out it, you get great tube breakup with out the hum and noise, and you get much more control over your eq. It does sound a little "thinner" and more compressed this way, but for recording I thought it sounded much better. I ran my dod and boss pedals, plus a Crybaby wah/volume pedal thru the effect loop, and got pretty good sounds live. The only problem was that when I would switch from dirty to clean, sometimes the clean level would seem to "drop off" a bit. Maybe it was because I was using a noise suppressor, but I'm not sure, but overall it sounded great live. My guitar player in that band used Marshall tube amps and a Quadroverb and everyone used to tell me how much better my rig sounded than his. I ran a PRS ce 24 Thru it as well as a Les Paul, both with humbuckers and it did well with anything from the Stones to Godsmack to Blink 182 to Korn. I like the Transtube series so much i even bought a Peavey Supreme half stack and a Peavey blazer 158, because they all used basically the same preamp. But I usually ended up using the Bandit because it was easier to transport and seemed to have just as much power as the half stack.For the last four years I switched to a Line6 Flextone cause I got a good deal on it and it was just easier for convenience sake to haul an amp that had all the effects built in. Well That took a crap on me recentely and wouldn't ya know it, I bought another Marshall Artist, so I gave the peavey to my son who loves it. We both agreed we are going to keep it forever. I still use it to record from time to time and to jam with, but it has seen some use and it does seem noisier than it used to.

Overall this amp has never really let me down and its built like a tank. One time I did have to get the effect loop jack fixed, but that was because I was runnin a Peavey Prowler 45 watt tube amp thru it, just to see what it sounded like and wasn't sure how to hook them togeher, and my guitar player hooked it up that way if I remember and I think it messed it up, but my bassplayer fixed it for me, so it didn't cost me anything. I used this amp for recording for about 3 years and almost exclusively for live shows weekly for about 3 years and I always trusted it to deliver. I never had a backup when I used it either

I never had to deal w/the company, and the one problem I had was my own fault and the warrenty was way over and I got it fixed for free so that's that

I've been playing on and off for about 26 years, seriously for the past 17 years and I've owned several solid state amps and a couple of tube and hybrid amps. If this amp was lost or stolen I dunno if I'd get another one or not. I think this is probably the most versatile and reliable amp I've owned, but nowadays most of the tube emulating circuitry is really good on even the cheaper amps. But at the time I bought it(10 years ago) this was one of the best sounding solid state amps. I have no complaints about it and for harder rock or just about anything else, this amp delivers. When I bought it I couldn't even think about affording a Marshall, so I compared it to some Fender tube amps and an Ampeg tube am in the store and I thought they were more suited for blues or Jazz or country, not for harder rock. The one guitar player in my band is a tube conniuesour(?) and we compared it to a 5150 and some of his Marshalls and the sound was comprable to them. Overall I think Peavey got a bad rap in the 80's for some reason or another, but I think bang for the buck ya can't beat 'em. And they do have higher end stuff that is right up there with Mesas and Marshalls alike, both in quality and price, but their lower end stuff is suitable for anyone on just about any level. Eddie Van Halen...Joe Satriani, Hello! These aren't just your run of the mill endorsers here folks, so Peavey must have been doing something right. I've been looking at getting another tube head, and the tried out the Peavey windsor and the Valve King and was very impressed by both of them and these are much cheaper amps than the 6505(formally 5150) and the Joe Satrianni model. sometimes I think people just want to pay more for an amp or other product by an expensive name brand, just so can they say they did. I think that's why people didn't trust Peavey products, but to me they are excellant sounding amps and thats all that matters.

2006 model Transtube ( and yes the T Dynamics does work...subtly...but it DOES work) Same features as listed in other reviews...2 ch. seperate eq's reverb, presence, resonance, effects loop (footswitchable effects loop and channel select but not reverb...bummer) etc etc
I've recently picked up the guitar again seriously after almost 15 years of just "plinkin" around here and there and have spent the past year carefully searching for an amp that can cover all the types of music I like to play, that wont kill my already strained chequing account! I play classic rock, blues ( slow and sleazy, ) mellow jazz, country...all the way to 80's hair metal and Metallica-esque heavy metal. Needless to say trying to find a reasonably priced amp that can do all that even half assed has been a challenge! Then I stumbled accross this lil' gem.
Right now I'm just practicing at home and jamming with the guys for fun. but I wanted an amp powerfull enough to split an eardrum or two when called upon. Bandit more than fits the bill in the power department! Only one Gripe really...No footswitchable reverb! IMO this is a seriously basic need that is overlooked in way too many amps!

I've only had 'er for a week now so bear in mind this is an "initial impression" review. That being said...I have managed to get a surprising number of pleasing tones out of this lil' bugger! In particular...a fantastic sleazy, sultry tube heavy blues overdrive that put a silly ass grin on my face in a hurry :) I have also gotten a great clean, warm Jazz tone...very Les Paul-ish ( the man...not the axe ) And a really nice , creamy 80's metal saturation...at lower volumes anyway. The sound is kinda strained and thin at the higher volumes. Canned and harsh. HOWEVER...the stock speaker has a pretty "anorexic" magnet. I wonder if the speaker itself isn't rated at 16 ohms at a lower wattage than the Bandits 80-85 watts RMS output??? But...I will be replacing the stock speaker with a Celestion G12k 100 and have a feelling that may just open up a whole new can o' potental!
For the record, I'm not putting a high end guitar into this amp but it aint junk either. I recently purchased a Godin Freeway Classic (another real good "bang fer' yer buck" hunk of gear!)
She's a little noisy at higher vol's on the gain Ch. when pushed to insane levels of distortion...another reviewer noted quite correctly that pre and post volumes should not equal more than 10...keep it just below !@#$%^&*( blistering distortion and it aint too bad. lol

As one other person said so simply..."It's a Peavey" Legendary relliabillity. I've owned a few older ones...this one isn't the "Tank" that the older ones were but compared to other amps in it's price point ...it's built like a brick sh*t house!

Hve never had to deal with Peavey cos I've never had a problem.

Been playing on and off for 25 years..owned and sold tons of gear...won't do the drawn out list.... suffice it to say I know what sucks...and what doesn't...and this amp doesn't suck. For the money....I dare ya to find a better one. I paid 300.00 taxes included for this puppy...brand new...in the box! Great lil amp. It is what it is...it doesn't do anything incredibly well...but it does a good variety of things respectably well and for the money...it gets a solid 9

Not sure on the year, I bought it used for $350 CDN and it came with a 12' Line 6 extension cab (bonus) .

I play mostly Rock, and the overdrive channel works really well for that. The amp is loud, for the most part and I can cut through with my band, a heavey armed drummer , ampeg bass fridge and A Randall 412. It has the ability to carry your sound remarkably for a small amp.

I play a pawn shop special Gibson Les Paul classic and like I said the overdrive is good for rock. I like the sound I've been getting from it lately. You just really have to learn the amp to find a good usuable sound. I really don't like the clean channel. I'v plugged into the low gain (-20db..i think) and it seems to help. The clean just seems to belch and ring harsh (maybe thats my playing). It's more harsh than warm.

The effects loop works but I don't know why the efx button cuts the volume of the effects,I spent the day playing it with a borrowed POD 2.o and once all your volumes are correct it works, and you can footswitch it, but I'm not much of an effects user. I don't like running effects before the imput so I apreciate the loop. You have to have the efx button out and your individual effect volume turned up to compensate for the volume difference when footswitching. My efx button when pressed by hand makes an audible crackle like another user mentioned.

Lots of features, but once the desired overdrive is acheived I don't really touch it. Thick, loud and clear, with my humbuckers.

I don't look at the amp and say " Fuck Yeah, I wanna rip that thing" but for now the price works well for jamming.

On the clean channel, I don't like the bright switch it seems to make it more harsh, I also use the pressnce down around 3 and click in the resonance. I tend to use my guitar tone knobs more on this amp than on other ones to achieve a more desirable clean tone.

The Gain is what I use, with the pre gain at around 5 or 6 and the post to control volume. I also use the T-dynamics full. This gives a good loud "classic rock" sound, not metal. The scooped mid Thrash setting doesn't do anything for me. Some reviews were saying things about 3 distorted channels, but I think it's one and these little buttons add or subtract alittle color hear and there.

The amp hums very litle unless the pre gain is over 6. If this was loud quality the amp would get a 10.

It's a very dependable amp. Peavey amps seem to be designed to roll down stair cases. It's heavey and solid.

I use it 2 times a month on stage, never had any problem and is too loud for most bars. The last show, I had it too loud and the sound guy just cut the mic. When I'm jamming the post gain rarely goes over 4.

I've owned a few Peavey amps, all cheap old solid states (80's bandit 65,the one with the 15Black widow in the 80's and a TKO bass amp) and they don't wear out. They keep on blasting.

Another user stated his cut out, mine has done this twice in the year I've owned it but never at a show.

Never dealt with them, but head over to the website and get the manual. It proves how useless most of the buttons are.

I've been playing on and off as much as I can for 5 years.
Everything I've owned was solid state (price) and once I save up I want to Get a Traynor Custom Valve 80 or Twin Reverb or similar.

If it was stolen, I don't think I'd get another one. But it's a great amp for the buck. I checked one out in a pawn shop for $300 in resonable shape so if I only had $300 dollars and nothing else available on gig night I'd buy it.

I'm not sure when this bandit was made, probably 2005-06. You guys all know the features...80W, 2 channels, effects loop... All you need... Could have a headphone jack. I use it mostly Fender fat strats and I have a Danelectro U2 that sounds awesome throught it. I play rock and I'm really into stuff like Foo Fighters. This amp is perfect for that kind of music. About a week after I bought this I realised that mine didn't have a Sheffeild. Instead it has a plane speaker. No sticker, no make... So I emailed peavey and they told me that this speaker was a copy of the ones used in the XXX amps. So they call them SheffeildXXX.

I've been looking for a sound for a fiew years now. A clear, versatile sound. What I like about this amp is that you can get a nice clean sound with the overdrive channel(vintage seting) by turning the volume on your guitar down. I know that many amps can do that but the bandits overdrive channel takes off where the clean chanel stops. Most amps have different voicings for each channels but the bandit seams to sound the same with both channels. The modern setting on the overdrive channel sucks. I noticed that when you switch the effects loop on (with the footswitch) it makes a popping noise but other then that this amp sounds and works great.

The amp still works fine. I'm not sure that the footswitch will stand up to too many years of abuse...

When I emailed the guys at peavey for the speaker they responded the same day with all the information I needed. That's pretty quick.

I used to own a Randall RG100SC that really sucked compared to the bandit. I use the peavey for house playing and a little jamming when I get the chance and it does the job perfectly. The thing is lound has hell. After a couple of months of playing with it I can tell that this amp is really versatile. The clean channel can do Jazz, country... The overdrive channel is great for rock, metal, punk...If it got stolen or lost I'd get an other one right away. Nice bang for the buck too. Can't get any better under 500$ OK I've said enough...

The Bandit 112 is loaded with fetures: 80 watts RMS into 8 ohms,100 watts RMS into 4 ohms ,12 in. Sheffield 1230 speaker, 2 footswitchable channels, T-Dynamics and presence, 3-band EQ each channel, Reverb, Modern/vintage voicing switch on Clean channel, External speaker jack, Footswitchable effects loop, High gain/modern/vintage voicing switch on Lead channel, Resonance switch.

I have yet to own another amp that has that many features in one combo. Awesome.

This am is amazing. You can get just about any sound you want out of the Bandit 112. No matter what style you play. The transtube really does a good job with the tone and I have yet to find another solid-state amp that sounds this good. Not even the new Line 6 Spiders impresses me as much as this amp does. At 80 watts it's plenty loud to play in a band. Sounds great at all sound levels.

I have owned this amp for nearly five years and it's been thrown around a bit. It has yet to fail me.

I have yet to have to deal with them.

This was a second amp, I own a half-stack and other combos now and have played Mesas and Marshals. Whenever I come to this amp I always say to myself "man this is a nice sounding amp". This amp is PERFECT for those who are just starting playing guitar out and want a nice upgrade to play with a band. I don't work at any guitar store but when anybody asks me about a good amp, this first thing I say is a Bandit 112. If it were lost or stolen I don't know if I could get another one because they stopped making them.

Pretty standard features on this rig... "three" channels, one clean, one higher gain, and another even for even heavier distortion. It comes with a high gain and a low gain input (more on this later), reverb, and some presence controls. Has an effects loop, but I've never actually used it.

Okay, here's the thing. If you're looking for versatility, this is *not* the amp for you. It's really only good for two things; the clean channel actually sounds pretty decent (add a little reverb to give it a bit of warmth), and the distortion is great for thrashing around and shredding like a madman. There's no in-between on this amp. Oh sure, you can ramp the gain down a bit in an attempt to play some blues/blues-rock, but it ends up sounding horribly mushy, undefined, and incredibly solid-state. They have no business putting the word "tube" in "Transtube," as this amp gives *nothing* even close to the warmth and dynamics you can get out of a tube amp. Forget backing off on the volume knob to clean things up, if it's on the OD channel, it's always distorted, and it's always obvious you're playing a solid-state amp.

Also, I fail to understand why this amp has two inputs, high and low gain. They both sound exactly the same.

To sum up, if all you ever want to play is Metallica (which is all I played at the time I bought this amp), then fine. This amp will work perfectly. If you ever plan to play anything other than thrash, do yourself a favour and look at something else.

Haven't ever had a problem with it. Would I use it on a gig without a backup? No. I wouldn't use it on a gig at all at this point.

It's never failed on me in any way, so I've never had to contact Peavey for any reason.

I haven't been playing for 30 years, as it seems everyone else here has. I've been playing for about eight or so. This was my first "real" amp, and it served me well enough in high school when all I wanted to do was play metal. I've moved well past that stage of my life now, and this amp has nothing to offer me at this point. If it were stolen, well, I guess I'd be playing without an amp for awhile. There is *no* way I would buy this amp again.

So, to beat this horse to death, I must again reiterate:

**** IF ALL YOU EVER WANT TO DO IS PLAY METAL, THEN BUY THIS AMP. IF YOU EVER PLAN TO GROW AS A MUSICIAN AND EXPLORE OTHER GENRES, GET SOMETHING ELSE. ****

Just bought it a few weeks ago. I presume it's a 2005 or 2006.
By seeing the number of reviews, I'll let you check all features on the previous reviews. This Bandit was bought for home studio use only...but it's so good I'm thinking carrying it at a next gig !!! My main amp is a Fender Stage 1600, and I'm not sure this Peavey is not more appropriate for my music style that is Classic Rock. I only wish it would have a headphone jack, and a 3rd button on the pedal to turn off/on the reverb.

I used to have a Bandit 65 in the 80's, and was very happy with it. That's what brings me to a Peavey dealer. They are now a lot better than that 65 I had. The Transtube makes you have the sound of the tube amp without all the mess of maintenance that goe's with it. Since I have it for omly a few weeks, I did'nt even try everything this amp can do. I'm using it with a American Fender Stratocaster and a LesPaul classic Epiphone, that have all Gibson components. ( 496R and 500T pickups and all the Gibson pots and switches ) It suit my style very well. Both guitars are responding differently, but both have there job to do and it's OK with me. I'm playing in a cover band about 20 gigs a year ( I'm getting older:-)and our style is mainly Classic Rock mixed with a few Ballads and Disco songs. But as I was saying, I never used that Peavey in a gig yet, so I can tell for now, but I will certainly try it pretty soon.

It's to soon to know, but Peavey have a "earthquake resistance" reputation. I presume it will last for a long time. Anyway, I never gig without a back up...My actual back up is a CRATE power block. It's so useful to carry a 4 pounds, 150 watts amp for backup in your pocket :-)

No experience with them never....not even in the 80's.
But thanks to the "Musik shoppe" in Mercier, Quebec, where I bought it. They are nice, helpful and honest.

I'm playing guitar for 40 years. I owned 3 amps, that are a Fender stage 1600, as a gig amp, a Crate power block as a back up and now that Bandit for home studio use. I will certainly bring that Peavey at a gig soon. Before buying this Peavey, I shopped a few Line6, Crate and smaller Marshall, but I definetely stop my choice on the Bandit for all the reasons you read above, but mainly the sound and power of it. In matter of what you have for your money, the Bandit is a great buy. If it get stolen, I would certainly buy another one.

Standard features for the 112. Bought it at a pawn shop in great condition, believe it to be about 3 years old. Love the tone and is a great practive and small gig amp.

Was very impressed with the highs, extremely clean played with several Fenders. I thought it was a little lackluster at high volume but designed more for the practicing player, or small venue. Sounds great for church praise music.

To early to tell, but whomever sold it didn't give it up for any damage reason.

to early to tell

Perfect for small Church, clean sound. Fits my needs.

I got mine new in February 2004, so I assume it was made in 2003 or 2004.

-2 Channels: Clean + Lead
The clean channel has modern and vintage voicing modes, the lead has modern, vintage and high gain.
-2 Inputs (high + low gain)
-Spring reverb
-Effects loop
-Footswitch to change channels and bypass effects loop
-Resonance switch
-Presence and T. Dynamics knob (I'm still not quite sure what the T. Dyamics is supposed to accomplish)

I play a lot of rock and metal and sometimes some jazzy jam type stuff and I can usually get whatever sound I want out of it, the only problem is the noise on some of the distortion.
Other than less noise, the only thing I really wish it had was a switch on the footswitch to turn off the reverb. I know the smaller models in the series had that, so I don't know why the left it out for the Bandit.

The two guitars I regularly run through it are a Dean 7 string Avalanche and some Harmony Strat-copy that I fixed up with Duncan Scorchers.

The sound quality on the clean channel is fantastic. I definately like it better than some similar sized solid-state Marshalls and Fenders my friends have. It handles the extra low end I throw at it with the 7-string perfectly. I even ran a bass through it once or twice and it didn't sound too bad for a guitar amp. At higher volume levels, it does start to crunch, but it's a very pleasant crisp crunch, not a bad speaker crapping out on you crunch.

The lead channel leaves some more to be desired. I usually only use it on the vintage voicing for 2 reasons: the modern voicing just isn't my thing, and both the modern and especially the high-gain are incredibly noisy. The vintage channel can pack a punch though. I was in a metal band for a little over a year and the vintage mode with the pre-gain up all the way worked fine for me.

For the first year it was fine, but then it started cutting out a lot. Some days it would be fine, but it would frequently cut out so that when you turned the volume to 10 it would sound like it wasn't even at 1. After a month or so of that it started to smell like it was burning so I took it back to the store to get it fixed. After two weeks I got it back and they said they opened it up and cleaned the dust out and couldn't find anything wrong with it. So I spent $45 on nothing there. It did work for a little over a year and a half after that and now its doing the same old shit, so I think it's time for a new amp.

It started acting up while it was still under warranty so I called them to see what they could do. Apparently for them to fix it, I'd have to mail it to them and pay for shipping both ways, but the actual repairs would be free. I don't remember the exact amount, but shipping something of that size and weight across the country isn't cheap.

I've been playing guitar and bass for a little over 5 years and this was my first amp other than a small 10 watt beginner's amp. I got an Ampeg SVT806 cab a little while ago, but never got around to getting a head for it since the Bandit started working again. I think it's time to get a head though, cause I'm definately not fooling around with the Bandit anymore.

If it was lost or stolen, I wouldn't been too upset seeing as it's broken.

I would like to say that mine may be a defect, since most people have given it pretty good ratings for reliability.

When it works I love it. But thats WHEN it works.

Overall I give it a 6, because I am assuming mine's a defect. If it worked I'd give it an 8, because for the money it does sound pretty good.

I think the amp was made in 2005 or 2006. I bought it in march 2006. I play a lot of Metal, Heavy Metal and Hard Rock and this amp is perfect for it. 2 clean channels (Modern, Vintage) and 3 distortion channels (High Gain, Modern, Vintage). I can change from clean to distortion with the footswitch (included). I now use this amp all the time. I jam with music alone, with my bands and some friends. This amplifier is LOUD. If I jam with one drummer and one bassist I put the volume around at 5 or 6. When I play with another guitarist I put it around 4 or 5. It's a solid state but with the dynamic feature thingy on it it's still great.

The clean channels are nice. I found the vintage better than the modern sound.

The distortion is AWESOME;

High Gain--> Loud with a lot of midgain.

Modern--> Heavy Metal sound |m|.

Vintage--> Classic Rock sound, AC/DC etc...

I use the modern sound most of the time because at high volume if I put it to high gain it hurts the ears! I'm using an Epiphone Les Paul Standard with this amp.

YES, this amplifier HAS some feedback. But! I have a Noise Suppressor! :) So yeah I strongly recommend to buy a Noise Gate if you want this amplifier.

hell yeah I can depend on it.

Never dealt with Boss. Didn't need to.

I've been playing for about 2 1/2 years, since March 2004. Wow if it were stolen (I wonder how ?), I'd find and kill the bastard that would do a thing like that, then take back my amp. I'm not stupid enough to lose an amp this big. I love all its features but it's kind of heavy :P About 45-50 pounds. Overall, this amplifier is great. You can plug a cab in the external speaker input so it can be louder (from 80 to 100 watts). The normal price was 649.99 and the guy sold it to me for 575!

You've read all the ote reivews so you know. Feature wise it's average, nothing too fancy but doesn't lack in features. 80 watts rms isn't loud enough, maybe good for jam sessions in which you have a very light handed drummer but othrewise it's a practice amp.

Distortion is nice, but way too much hum when on overdrive, you NEED a noise gate to use amp. I play all sorts of stuff related to the rock genre and yeah it can do them all. Has a nice lead sound, terrible rhythm sound. Too use this amp within any band situation it must be run on overdrive channel with full post gain (and full pregain to get that 'bandit' sound!) It's nice at the treble end of tonality pretty rough at bass end. Not even to mention the various annoying buzzes this amp makes with different tonal settings....

It's pretty crap. I mean it's built heavy but really can't be relied on electronically wise.

I have no idea about the company

Okay for practice, really a beggingers amp. I've been playing electric for 4 years and I use a Michael Kelly Tribal Sun as my main guitar I also own an Epiphone Nighthawk. This amp is pretty crap overall. My best amp is a Line 6 HD half stack. That sounds much, much, much better and reachs the required volumes and beyond but cost a fair bit more. If this amp was stolen I wouldn't care too much, and I wouldn't replace it. Really I know a lot of people swear be peavey but I've played many Peavey guitar amps of various sizes and prices and they are all looks and no performance, it's up to you if you buy one but I recommend taking your money else where, I own a small Vox practice amp aswell sounds much nicer and way more reliably. DOn't get fooled by the tough looks of this amp the only thing tough about it is it's ability to take it being kicked becasue it sounds so bad you can't help but kick it!

Bought new in 2004. First off the bad - I use this amp in clubs and had a few gigs coming up in a larger hall so my bass player loaned me a Peavey 410 cab, well I did enjoy the extra 20w of power but 95% of the sound still comes from the 12" Sheffield, I have to lean down to even hear anything from the 410's. This has to be a switch/wiring flaw in the amp design.
I rarely use the raunch side of the amp, I run a DigiTech 300a pedal and stay on the clean channel.

The amp is pretty loud with my DigiTech, alone on it's own it seem weak at mid to higher volumes. The highs you do have to be careful with using a Strat. I'm playing a Strat,SG,and a 335 thru the amp.
I'm in a cover band so my styles of music varies from SRV to Merle Haggard to The Allman Brothers to the Beatles. But again it's not the amp that allows me to do this its the pedal.

Never a hitch.

Never dealt with them

Been playing for 33 years. I've owned Marshalls, and other Peavey Amps. I do gig with this one, But if I could afford it I'd have a JCM200 with a 412 cab or a 70's model 410 Fender.

This amp was made in 1996. It is the OLD one with the cheap shiny vinyl on it. It is rated at 80 watts and is plenty loud. Typical peavey, it is VERY directional. It has two channels, one clean one overdrive. The overdrive is really good for solidstate. For all the tube amps I have, I don't mind the overdrive in this Bandit. Plenty of tone shaping as listed below in the other reviews. It is SOLID STATE, Transistors.
I use it with my pedalboard. I play Country Rock. If you want that Lynyrd Skynyrd sound, this will deliver.

I use a Fender Custom Shop FMT Telecaster with hums. A DiMarzio X2N in the front. The amp only gets noisy when the OD gets turned up high. As you would expect. This amp does well on a number of levels. The clean stays clean and bright until you really crank it, then the clean channel goes a little dirty. The OD is nice for a solid state amp. That is why I bought it. It sounds really good. The crap Sheffield speaker is only good at bedroom levels (as are so many of Peavey's a speakers). As the volume goes up, the sound goes muddy. I solved that with an Eminence Patriot Screamin' Eagle. It will handle the volume and stay clean and deliver the sound of the amp. The reverb is a little weak, but OK for guitar work.

It's a Peavey, for cripes sake. Epoxy glass boards, mil spec components and all the caps and heavy components are glued down.

Beats me, never dealt with them.

I have been playing 41 years. I have owned just about every type amp made. I currently have 5 amps and 6 guitars. If this one were lost I would probably get another. I always take it as a backup as I never play without a backup. This amp has NEVER given me one seconds of trouble. It is the perfect backup amp. I swapped the red LED out to blue, just because I like blue. I have no idea what other amps to compare it to as most solid state amps sound like crap.
It is kind of big and heavy for only a single 12" speaker. Looks like a 2-12.
Had to buy the cover from another manufacturer as Peavey did not have one for this amp. That was odd.
If you can only afford ONE amp, make it a Peavey Bandit. Not the crappy "S" model or the new cheap ones. Get the old, big, heavy Sheffield equipped one with the cheap, shiny vinyl. Swap the speaker out if you play above 30 watts and you will have an amp you will REALLY like and will last you until you croak. It should get a 10 in this rating, but the Sheffield speaker can't keep up with the amp.

Mine has to be atleast 8 years old or older. im not sure, i bought it used. the features have been discussed plenty so ill leave it at that.

The clean channel is ok. The distortions are heavy. I dont use the preamp anymore though. i use a vamp as a preamp and use the power amp and cab on the amp. It sounds great.. Very nice amp.

This is where peavey $%^& stands out to me. i bought this amp from a friend who had it in his house when it burned down.. the fire got most of the house and got to the next room from the amp.. it still worked fine. i have had about 6 years since then and have used it almost everyday and works like te day he ot it..

very good company. i live in ms so getting thing done from them is pretty fast.

i have a lot of stuff and have been playing for about 10 years. if i lost it i would prob get something else but that really doesnt have anything to do with the amp, i just like trying new stuff. it is a wonderful amp with very good sound (for ss). the distortion is very good for heavy music in my opinion but use clean and lightly overdriven sounds mostly. It is also very very loud. i dont see how these people rate all these amps as having low volume.. 80 watts is really loud... period.. if your thinking about buying it i woul recomend it.. built like a mother*&^%$#@ tank... feel free to email me w/ any questions

I bought this amp in 2001 and I feel that it is the most versitile amp I have ever tried... so I bought it. It has 2 channels, lead and clean and it comes with a foot switch. In the clean channel there are 2 settings, modern and vintage. In the lead channel there are 3 settings, high gain, modern, and vintage. It also features a master section which has Reverb, Presence (the tube simulator), a resonance switch (tight and loose), and T.Dynamics (I have no idea what that knob is for).

I uses a Fender Stratocaster with a trio of Seymour Duncan single coil pickups. these pickups are no ordinary single coil pickups, they sound sound soooo beefy that sometimes I think that there's blood comming out of them.

If you just bought this amp or you are looking for new sounds, then I know exactly what you want.

This setting will give you a very Eric Clapton type tone. The tone the early Marshalls made:

CLEAN LEAD MASTER
Vlo Switch Low Mid High Pre Switch Low Mid High Post Rev Pres Res T.D
N/A (Vint) 6 4.5 5.5 3 HiGain 3.5 5.5 6.5 N/A 6 + 8 L 80%

------------------------------------------------------------

This setting will give you a very Dream Theater raunchy distortion tone: (This is my favotite tone.) Amazing Distortion tone. The reverb is optional, (I put it on Zero. If you want to put it up go ahead, never pass 5 though, you loose tone quality in the distortion)

CLEAN LEAD MASTER
Vlo Switch Low Mid High Pre Switch Low Mid High Post Rev Pres Res T.D
N/A (Vint) 6 4.5 5.5 5 HiGain 3.5 5.5 6.5 N/A 0 10 T 80%

------------------------------------------------------------

This will give you a very Steve Vai/Eddie Van Halen tone, that kinda raw 80's rock tone. Good for tapping (though I don't tap)This setting will give you some sweet sounds.

CLEAN LEAD MASTER
Vlo Switch Low Mid High Pre Switch Low Mid High Post Rev Pres Res T.D
N/A (Vint) 6 4.5 5.5 5 Modern 6 5.5 6.5 N/A 0-8 10 L 80%

------------------------------------------------------------

That's about it. Enjoy your new settings. E-mail me and tell me if it helped. :)

This amp goes beyond expectations when it comes to reliability and durability. I dropped it down a flight of stairs and I started crying not because I thought that the amp was not going to work anymore, but because I thought my dad was going to hit me. I plugged it in and started playing. It sounded better than ever before. (I don't suggest that you drop this amp down a flight of stairs to see what happens) but accidents do happen, it will triumphantly stay in tact (I hope). This is the only amp I need.

I never had a problem with this amp and I probably never will.

I don't know how long the warranty is.

It's 2006 and I've been playing guitar for 6 years now. this amp has lased me for 5 and hopefully for 105 years more. I'm hoping to switch to Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier but it's really really really expensive, this is a great substitute, it's not as powerful or as famous, but it has the voice of an angel.

I used to like this girl that lived in Mississippi, and when I moved back to Canada we started calling each other a lot and one day I told her that I play a Peavey Bandit amp and she started laughing I asked he what she was laughing about and she said that her dad used to design amps for them and one of the models he worked was the Bandit. Ever since then I gave more love to that amp.

Please E-mail me if you have any suggestions for the amp settings.

Remember that 90% of your tone comes not from your guitar or your amp, but from the passion behind your fingertips.

Not sure of the year but it's an older one not the transtube.80 watts. Two chanels, high and low. Effects loop, preamp, etc., but no extension speaker! Rats! Very loud! Can't turn up to loud in fear of a police visit or just an angry neighbor! Find settings on the various knobs don't just crank them all up you can get good sounds. If there's a awful Humm it's just because of what I feed it! Giving an 8 for lack of extra speaker.

Using Fender Fat Strat with various effect pedals. I prefer individual pedals over those new effects boards. So what. More batteries and extention cords what's the problem?! Play Stoner rock, Sunno, Boris, yea yea low gain power cords endless sustain.Seattle OK!
This amp suits me just fine for in home use. The search for monster tube amps begins. I don't use the amps distorted controls at all. I leave that up to my pedal selection using the loop for echo and delays. Overdrive and distortion inserted just after guitar. It sounds pretty good on the clean channel. Bright and Punchy.
I punish when I can and it's still alive. Feedback is OK more would be better I like to body form sound waves. Scorpion speaker built tough. 10 cuz it sounds good via my choice of added effects.
By itself stock sound at least an 8.

For me not big enough to gig with. Just a small Loud practice amp.
Kept clean and warm. I neglect no instrument physically just circuitly. Haven't fried anything. A 9. I have a baby Peavey that's still breathing also. Built in USA. Boycot China!

Never had to call Peavey and wouldn't need to. Service is available but haven't needed.

I've been playing music for 30 years. Drums,Bass, and Guitar. Currently have all sorts of stuff. Fender Fat Strat <sweet sunburst> Les Paul copy <old black & creepy modified pu's> , A Westone Bass <it functions>. Synare S3X,
<noise,who's flying the spaceship?> Alesis HR-16,<little Grey drummer Boy, think Thrones>.Yamaha DX27S <keys> Wee small amp Dean Markley K-20 <yellow honey box> Trace Elliott Boxer 65 <good portable mini Bass=good bedroom amp> Peavey Blazer 158 < another old mini ok for home use> Peavey Bandit 112,< see above>
I've ran these amps in series through various effects and have a wonderful time.
I chose the Bandit because it was cheap. Wishing for old Sunn and Ampeg amps & Roland Space Echo. If it were stolen I would probably buy another one and stick with the older version. Trans-tube and British speaker is too rockdom superstar for my taste. What's that like New And Improved? I'm giving it's value for me a 10.

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.

/

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!

I have no idea, probably 2004. I play no bullshit blues and blues rock. I don't give a fuck about a lot of versatility, just want something in my living room that I can practice on and get a decent clean sound and decent crunch from. This amp is more than good enough for that and it is loud. I was a little disappointed in this amp. I've had several Peavey amps and while they are not BAD amps, they just seem to lack something and I can't figure out exactly what that something is. I'll give it an 8 because it does what's its suppose to do.

I have the following guitars:

1956 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, yep - original, passed down from my Dad. Two P-90 pickups.

1962 Fender Stratocaster, also passed down from my Dad. It was upgraded to Fender Vintage Tonless pickups (absolutely suck) switched to Texas Specials. I can deal with the buzz.

1964 Fender Telecaster. The last of the electrics passed down from my Dad. I have the vintage noiseless pickups on these, which are actually stacked humbuckers. They kick ass.

1972, Fender Telecaster Custom. I bought it new. Has a Vintage Noiseless at the Bridge and a stock Fender chrome covered humbucker at the neck. A Keith Richards look alike.

1982 Fender Standard Stratocaster. I also bought it new. Has the stock pickups on it, made in USA. Sounds great as is.

1995 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Everything is stock. Two humbuckers.

I've had lots of other guitars, but these are the only electrics I have kept. This amp is good BUT NOT GREAT for all these guitars. Handles humbuckers quite well. I play pure no bullshit blues based rock. I do my own stuff, but I draw heavily from late 60's to mid 70's blues based stuff and Southern Rock (hey, I'm from fuckin Georgia) like Hendrix, Zeppelin, Sabbath (yes that is blues based hard rock), Stones, Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett, AC/DC, Blacksnake, etc.. Nothing else is music to me. I don't care for this heavy metal shit. This amp will play all the music I like and for a living room or a porch practice amp, it is good. It's noisy though, even with humbuckers and very high quality cables. Clean channel "breaks up nicely" at higher volumes AT IS SHOULD and that is the best thing about this amp. Go to volume level "5" and you can get a very nice crunch but it's a hundred watts so that volume level is pretty fuckin loud. Distortion can be brutal if that's what you want but the distortion doesn't have "soul". I bought this for Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett, 30 Special type stuff and it does it ok......does Ted Nugent type stuff ok. I keep the gain around 3 or 4 and that's more than sufficient for any of the music I play. Again an 8. Not a bad amp - just not a great amp. I wouldn't gig with it. Unlike the Marshalls or VOX amps, you can't compare the Peavey solid state amps (even the transtubes) with the Peavey Tube Amps. To me, Peavey Solid State Amps miss something the others seem to pickup. Peavey tube amps are awesome though - just don't forget your billfold if you go to buy one.

Now in this department - built like a fuckin tank.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing since I was 3 or 4 and I'm 51. I come from a musical family (obviously since most of my guitars were handed to me when my Dad passed away). I have the guitars that I mentioned above, a Gibson Acoustic that is older than me, an Epiphone Hummingbird, and a couple of Martin Acoustics. I have a VOX AC 30 and a Fender Super Reverb for tube amps (the VOX was also passed to me by my Dad), I bought the Fender Super Reverb at a pawn shop for $200.00 several years back. These are my gig amps when I do gig....which is not as often as in my younger days. I also have a Marshall MG30DFX and a Marshall MG10CD which are damn good. Finally I have a VOX Pathfinder 15R, which is the best damn practice amp I have ever played. I don't have all this shit because I'm materialistic or rich. I'm a musician......that should tell you I ain't rich. I've just accumulated this stuff over a period of years. Now that I have a steady job, I can't play as much as before, but I can afford to buy more stuff. I'd get another one if it were lost. It won't be.....and it won't be stolen either. I have a hald timber wolf, half german sheppard who loves to play with intruders. I live very far in the country in the mountains of North Georgia on 30 acres of land so I can play as loud as I want to. Somehow my wife has put up with all this shit for over 30 years.

Bought my Bandit 2 years ago new, so that would make it a 2003 model. This thing on the distortion side goes from Fender tweed/Supro to Marshall combo to drop tune "Cookie monster" crunch with a 3-way switch on the face of the amp, clean channel and effects loop. Comes with a clunky 2 button foot switch for clean/distorted and effects on/off. Solid state, sturdy and no maintenance to speak of.

I use a Warmoth body/'91 jap ('51 re-issue Broadcaster) maple neck "telly" with Texas Custom pick-ups, a Squier Telly for slide, a Resonator for other slide, a law-suit"Strat" from Vester(a great sounding axe!) and a law suit Les Paul from Tokai probably(it's had a decal put on it,but is too well made to be a Korean) a Cry Baby and Boss delay. I play everything from AC/DC to Zepp. The Bandit goes nicely with all those sound palettes. JUST ONE PROBLEM. It's still solid state, and if you're spoiled from using expensive tube amps(as I am) you're first impression will be "golly" it sounds fat at low volume(unlike tube amps which sound like a kazoo until you get up to about 7) and you'll give it a "close but no cigar" rating at higher levels. Well I got this amp to play small venues and it has enough power to be heard on larger stages too..about as loud as a Twin. I had an old B.K. Butler 2-tube driver with a clean/overdrive. I use the clean side of it as a pre-amp and go into the low input of the Bandit..that made all the difference.. now it sounds like my old Marshall combo which had a 100w Mark II head.

Average of four nights a week for two years and the circuit breaker shut down once! when the 9V power tranny for my delay shorted out. Came right back on when i took the offending plug out. No more $280 "tune-ups" to keep the sound every three freekin months. I haven't needed a back up with this thing and we're talking 400 gigs and i don't know how many practices.

Hasn't come up

I've been playing guitar for 40 years and this amp is the best small amp i've ever owned. I constantly get great comments on my tone from other guitarists and soundmen because this thing sounds amazing miked up, although i did put in an 80W Celestion speaker as well. With minor modifications such as a cleanish tube-pre and a Celestion speaker my Bandit sounds identical to a $2000 point-to-point Fender Vibra-King I just tried out and that's no bullshit........my druthers is a pair of Mark II Marshalls with four cabinets, but,again, I'm not trying to break the mirror behind the bar, and don't have roadies to schlepp it all around these days. Give it an 8 without the tube-pre and a 10 with. Hate the way it looks, i took off all the name plates but couldn't get rid of the nasty red stripe so i just hide it behind the sub-woofer and everyone aks me what kinda amp i use because it sounds so goood.

Feature-wise, it's difficult to complain about the Bandit. With an effects loop, footswitchable clean/overdrive channels, 80W of power (100W if you plug in an extension cab) and separate EQ knobs for both channels, if you're actually using both then this is quite accomodating and what you would expect from a quality product. No headphone jack, but save those for practice amps anyway.

The Bandit is my second amp. Before it, I owned a Fender Frontman practice amp (the reverbless version). In my opinion now, the difference between the Frontman and the Bandit is the speaker and cab and not much else. In fact, for what purpose my Bandit has served, I may have been better served keeping the Fender.

My main guitar is a custom-made Warmoth Jaguar with DiMarzio humbuckers (Super Distortion in the bridge and Air Norton in the neck position). I also own a cherry red Fender Toronado with stock pickups (humbuckers), although I rarely pull it out of the case anymore.

My style of playing is very much rooted in alternative and grunge music; my favorite band is Nirvana but I play stuff like My Vitriol, Mansun, Gatsby's American Dream, Catherine Wheel, and other bands that have very eccentric, effected sounds in addition to my own stuff.

As a result, I hardly ever have use of (this) amp distortion. I used to run a DS-1 straight into my amp. This works fine for blitzing, grungy, close-to-over-the-top metal distortion but provides little versatility. My current pedal lineup includes a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde Ultimate Overdrive (GREAT two-in-one pedal, like a TS-808 Tube Screamer and a Marshall JCM800 in a box), an AnalogMan Clone Chorus, a DOD Graphic EQ, and a Digitech RP200 that I pull out sometimes for some of the effects.

Whether the Bandit is "noisy" is debatable. If "noise" means hiss, this amp is as quiet as your pedals and pickups allow. If noise means terrible icepick-to-the-ears overdrive, then the distortion channel is nothing but noise. Personally, I've never used it seriously for more than five minutes -- it sounds absolutely terrible. Unmusical, lifeless static.

The clean channel is better but lacks the warmth, roundness and overall personality associated with tube amps. My main purpose in writing this review, however, is to stress the lack of headroom offered by the Bandit.

As I mentioned previously, I traded in a Fender Frontman amp as part of the payment for this Bandit. Given that I was never bold enough to really turn the Frontman up very far out of fear that it would rattle apart, imagine my surprise when the store guy, in testing it, managed to get the best sound I'd ever heard coming out of the little thing in the 30 seconds he was mucking around with it at about 6-7 on the volume setting.

You WILL NOT get the same results out of a Bandit. Around 3 or 4, it starts distorting like nobody's business and the distortion, either from the horrible built-in channel or from running a pedal in, will sound like absolute fat ass. Blatty and boxy and terrible.

This is really not what I wanted to discover upon finding some guys to start jamming with at band volumes (which I need to crank the Bandit up past 3 or 4 to achieve).

The irony is, at bedroom levels (ie. 1 or 2 to almost 3) this amp can sound pretty decent and with my pedal setup I can get some pretty nice overdrive sounds for bluesy type licks and riffs. There's never been enough definition in the Bandit to allow for crazily-distorted metal stuff; it justs comes out sounding like loud mush.

It's a tank. As are, I suspect, most solid state amps of reasonable make.

Never needed to talk to them.

Been playing about 7-8 years now; I've had this amp for most of that time, and since I haven't been gigging or performing, it's served just fine in its extended residence in my basement.

Would definitely not buy it again if stolen. If you're serious about playing guitar-based music, you need a tube amp, there's no debate about it.

The thing is this: at $300-400 dollars, the Bandit is a pretty high-end solid state amp. Much more than $300-400 and you get into the range of good tube amps that can do ten times better anything this amp claims to be able to do.

Bottom line: not a gigging or band practice amp in any way, shape or form. It sounds like absolute ass at anything higher than basement practice volumes, inspiring me to cry myself to sleep for an afternoon nap instead of play guitar. My advice to anyone currently in my situation from a few years back (got a few hundred dollars to spend to move up from a cheap practice amp) would be, save it that extra bit much to cross over into tube and valve territory and get a good solid guitar amp that will last. I chose the Bandit because I was unexperienced and naive and thought it was a good deal. In the long run, it's going to end up having cost me money. I plan on getting a Hot Rod DeVille at the soonest opportunity and I expect it will last me for a very long time.

Early 90's model without the 'Tube' simulation.
Has power amp in and preamp out
Sheffield speaker
Quite heavy (16 - 17kg's)
Spring reverb

I play 50, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's rock - hard rock

I use various Yamaha pacificas with single and humbucker pickups. I drive the clean channel with a Roland GP8 and have done so for many years live with great success.

I haven't used the lead channel live because I don't like the sound and didn't want to have to adjust clean and lead channel volumes at the Amp. I generally setup the clean channel volume at the start of the gig and change (increase) it for louder sets.

The lead channel isn't bad but is good for distortion while practicing when I don't want to setup te GP8

I like the reverb and generally use it for clean/chorus lead breaks in those 50's and 60's songs. I like the flexibility of the footswitch

Top marks. The amp has failed me once (in 15 years) when it was too close to a backdrop curtain and overheated. The amp came to life when I moved it away from the curtain

Never need customer support

I give it an 8 because it is a workhorse, loud enough for all situations, and I have found the Power Amp input to be very usefull. The amp is great as a 'Monitor' amp now being driven from my recoding mixer.

I deduct points because it has a 'general purpose' overdrive although it is fine. It is also 5kg's too heavy that causes it to be a pain to lug around.

I have recently tried out the Roland cube amps and are very impressed with the sound, size etc and have considered selling the Peavey but may have changed my mind because it has been such a usefull amp and is now proving to be a great general purpose monitor. The power amp in is also great input for guitar amp modelled sounds.

I probably wouldn't get another if it were stolen because there are many great amps around at reasonable prices

I bought the amp a couple of years ago. I was lookin for a fender but they were a little expensive for me at the time. While lookin I never even considered buying a Peavey. I thought no self respecting guitarist would play through one, not so now. It has two channels selected by a footswitch, clean is nice and clean and dirty is not great but as I play the clean through an effect all I need is a little boost for leads and the dirty channel gives me enough boost to carry it off. I wish there was an LED to indicate which channel is selected I know the sound tells you but some times it would be handy. The volume is loud enough to compete with the other guitarist's 100W valve Marshall head connected to 4 10inch speakers(believe me) and has been gigged without being miked.

I play a fender tele and this amp suits it well. I believe in starting with a clean sounding amp and using effects to dirty it up. The crisp sound from the tele comes out well unlike a tube amp which I find is always fuzzy (Yes that's right I DO NOT LIKE TUBE AMPS). Having said the dirty ch is not great it can be alright if you mess with the pre gain and post gain. We play ~Clash Jam and Pistols stuff and I find that you can get that late 70's sound quite easy. I've played this amp at 8/9 vol and there has been no distortion. By the way this was a shop Demo amp so has taken a lot of abuse I would imagine and still it preforms great.

I always gig with no backup and I have no problem in doing so. Like all solid state amps there is no replacing of tubes and this in itself is worth it's weight in gold. So far in two years I have had no problems.

Never dealt with them. Never had to.

I 've playing for donkey's years but only started playing in a band in the last three years. Until I bought this amp I borrowed amps from the rehearsal studio (fenders, marshalls and a roland jazz) But I am happy to use my Peavey 112. It was lost stolen or broken I would probably go for a fender purely for the name but if the price was right I would definately consider the bigger peavey 212.

well it is not a tube amp but it sounds like one. i use it at home and in my band. i play bossa, swing, metal, blues, pop, rock...everything. it has 2 channels but the clean has two choices and the lead 3. it has enough power for me.

it fits to nearly all styles. clean channel has just a little crunch if it is loud. sometimes it is noisy i dont know why. the distortion is okay

ohhh yes the quality is **** when i lifted the amp the handle just broke. i was licky thath the amp did't fall on my feet. so pay attention people! i could use it without a backup.

the warranty is 6 years if you sent in a card. when the handle brome i went to a peavey dealer and he said that peavey didn't get that card i paied 60 ?

amp is great for beginners who wants to have more for less, but some parts are****

Bought the amp at Xmas 2004. It's really versatile for the heavy rock music that I like playing, but can also do nu-metal and bluesy type stuff. I wish the three modes available on the filth channel were able to be selected from the footswitch. Still not quite sure what the benefit of a footswitchable effects loop is!!! It has bags of power, is plenty loud enough

Right this is where I say my true feelings about this amp. I bought it as my second amp, one which I can use when I work away from home without fear of valves letting me down. I wanted something with a british type of rock sound, that would be robust enough to handle a bit of rough treatment and still deliver the goods. BTW, every week when I'm at home I gig in front of a full Marshall TSL100 stack, get the drift......??? I bought a Line 6 spider 2, arse! Then I bought a Marshall AVT 100, even arser! I sold them two and continued my quest for a decent sound out of a combo that wouldn't cost me a bleedin' fortune, trying amps at random until I stumbled on an article about the Peavey bandit. I did own one during the early 90's and seemed to remember that when I put a distortion box through the clean channel, it sounded great. So off I went to try one of these bad boys with a view to throwing my Marshall jackhammer through the clean channel, or maybe a guv'nor. NO NEED!!!! The highly versatile crunch channel sounded fantastic, three voices etc etc etc, all different in their own rights. The purchase was made and I haven't looked back. A truely great buy. Gets a ten for the sound from an SS combo, not compared with a full valve amp. This is the closest I have heard to a valve sound from a tranny amp. It hasn't even got a valve in the pre-amp like a lot have these days, any way, from experience this sounds and feels much better.

Peavey, nuff said.

Five year guarantee if you post off the warranty form which I can't see me needing to use. Never dealt with the company, my Peavey gear has never let me down.

I get fed up of reading reviews on this great musical resource written by people who quite frankly talk out of their backsides. This is a relatively low priced solid state amp and should be reviewed as such. Believe me when I say that I am ultra fussy about my tones and after quite a lot of experiences with equipment that simply doesn't cut the mustard for me even though they're blown up to be the nearest thing to a valve sound, my suggestion is 'use your ears'! Youngsters may go ahead and slate this amp before they proudly announce they've been playing guitar for 4 years or whatever. Do they have a clue? Not IMHO. This amp IS fantastic value for money, sounds great and I would definatly buy another the next day if it was lost or stolen (don't think it'd break down on me!!!).

i dont know what the year is but i think it might be 2004 seems very new
amp is good for clean the transtube does a great job
2 channels clean and lead
3 band eq for both channels and for the lead pre gain and post gain
i use this amp mostly at home doesnt have enough power to keep up with the band even though it says its 300 watts on the back, ive used it as a preamp and plugged it into a 412 cab and it sounded good
no headphone jack that was a let down

solid state amp sounds almost tube amp like

i am using a kramer special with 2 humbuckers
i play classic rock and metal the clean channel sounds flawless and the lead channel doesnt have that good of sound it can do blues like sounds good but i find it gives way too much noise in hum than from strumming the strings if i turn it up. doesnt have much of a variety but i use pedals with it and that seems to work really good. sheffeild speaker 2 thumbs up

i can depend on it to last of corse its a peavey and peaveys dont seem to die i would use it on a gig without a backup if i used it at a gig which i dont. i have not had any problems with this guitar i keep it mostly on the clean channel

havent dealt with them

i have been playing for 4 years i own a kramer special digitech death metal distortion , dod grunge thats about it i sold pretty much everything i had to get what i have
i wouldnt ever buy this guitar new the price is far too high and isnt worth it for the price i payed id buy it again

I got my amp about a year ago (2004) and I think it's part of the last wave of bandits to be made in the states and with good quality etc (or that's what I hear)
The features on this amp are great, very versatille clean and dirty channels. The footswitch is great for gigs if you dont use a distortion pedal. It's got useful stuff that I just havn't found the opportunity to use yet (effects loop which is also footswitch activated) Its got a bunch of other jacks for connecting cabs and stuff, but no headphone jack. (the amp speaker is always on) There is a noise reducing ground switch, that's always good. I don't think that there are too many effects that you would need directly on the amp, I use everything seperately.
The tube is great, love it.
And the 100watt 12inch sheffeild is awesome, more than gig-worthy.

I've tried the bandit with a variety of guitars. It suits just about any style, although it doesn't tend to go extremely crisp clean and the distortion could be heavier, but not for what I play (pop-rock to classic rock to metal) yes I find it is good enough for most metal. There is not alot of noise at all. The sound is great, just could be more crisp.

Hell, I havn't found problems. And I've abused it.

Havn't required any. This thing is a tank.

I love my bandit. I don't think I would buy any other combination (head-cab) amp under any circumstances. I would buy another if it was stolen or lost...yeah. There isn't anything that I have come to hate about it so far, she's great. I don't think it's lacking anything especially for the INSANE great price!
Buy it. Use it as your primary amp for home/band practices/most gigs/whatever. It's great.

This is a '93 model 80 watts, with saturation control. EQ and bright controls are pretty responsive. All the other Bandit stuff on it too.

I use it with a Strat and a LP copy with seymour duncans I installed.
I play music that is very clean to very overdriven. Only thing is, when it's overdriven I still want tonal quality.
This amp sat for about a year because it had a very scratchy, cutting out volume pot. It sucked bad. I finally figured out that you could order parts directlty from Peavey and replaced the pot.
The pot replacement is very easy and well worth the few bucks it costs.
Sounds: I wasn't really happy with the sound on either channel. The clean channel had sort of a muffled sound. The distorted channel just plain sucked. It didn't have any chime to it even with the bright button pushed.
BUT then I tried running my Boss GT3 through the effects loop (which is an excellent pedal if you know how to program it) And the sound was great. It had a much more clean tone. THEN I hooked up my 25 watt all tube Excelsior amp through the other side of the stereo out on the GT3 and it blended so beautifully. The Bandit enhanced the tube amp by giving it a really nice low end. It sounded pretty good when I miked it from the tube amp too.
I knew this amp had to have potential, based on all of the good ratings for it. I just had to take the time to figure out how I could get it too suit me.

I think I could prolly use this thing as a jack stand on my car.
Volume pot was fucked up when I got it and it was an easy fix.

What can I say...Peavey is the BEST company I've dealt with so far. So friendly and helpfull. Great American integrity that seems to be hard to find these days.

I think I'll keep this little beast.
Keep in mind there are many variations of Bandits and they don't all sound the same. One things for sure though, it's a loud SS amp.